---
title: "Hetzner Cloud Pricing After the April 2026 Increase (Still 4x Cheaper)"
description: "Hetzner raised cloud prices up to 37% in April 2026. Updated CX Gen3 and CAX ARM pricing, how it compares to DigitalOcean and Vultr, and whether it's still worth it."
date: 2026-06-12
categories: ["vps"]
tags: ["hetzner","hosting"]
---

Hetzner changed how it organizes cloud servers in EU and Singapore locations. The new setup includes Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized plans, which use x86 and ARM servers. Note: Hetzner raised prices by up to 37% on April 1, 2026 — this article reflects the updated pricing.

<Notice type="success" title="Get Started with Hetzner">
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## What Changed: Server Plan Structure

<YouTubeEmbed
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  label="Hetzner Cloud Cost-Optimized Plans: Starting at €3.49/Month"
/>


Hetzner now uses a generation-based system instead of categorizing by hardware type across EU and Singapore datacenters. The new setup has three main server lines:

<Accordion label="Shared: Cloud Regular Performance (CPX Gen2)" group="plans">

These servers run on the latest AMD hardware available at each location. As of 2025, CPX servers use AMD EPYC-Genoa processors.

<ListCheck>
- CPX22: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €6.49/month
- CPX32: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €10.99/month
- CPX42: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 320GB SSD - €19.99/month
- CPX52: 12 vCPU, 24GB RAM, 480GB SSD - €28.49/month
- CPX62: 16 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 640GB SSD - €38.99/month
</ListCheck>

Use these for: Production workloads that need consistent performance

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized (CX Gen3 / CAX)" group="plans">

These plans use older x86 hardware (CX Gen3) or ARM servers (CAX).

CX Gen3 (x86):
<ListCheck>
- CX23: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD - €3.99/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €4.49)
- CX33: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €6.49/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €6.99)
- CX43: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €11.99/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €12.49)
- CX53: 16 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 320GB SSD - €22.49/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €22.99)
</ListCheck>

CAX (ARM - Ampere):
<ListCheck>
- CAX11: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD - €4.49/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €4.99)
- CAX21: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €7.99/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €8.49)
- CAX31: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €15.99/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €16.49)
- CAX41: 16 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 320GB SSD - €31.49/month (+€0.50 IPv4 = €31.99)
</ListCheck>

Use these for: Development, testing, non-critical workloads, and cloud-native ARM applications

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Dedicated: Cloud General Purpose (CCX Gen)" group="plans">

These servers run on the latest hardware with dedicated vCPUs.

<ListCheck>
- CCX13: 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €12.49/month
- CCX23: 4 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €24.49/month
- CCX33: 8 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 240GB SSD, 30TB bandwidth - €48.49/month
- CCX43: 16 vCPU, 64GB RAM, 360GB SSD, 40TB bandwidth - €96.49/month
- CCX53: 32 vCPU, 128GB RAM, 600GB SSD, 50TB bandwidth - €192.49/month
- CCX63: 48 vCPU, 192GB RAM, 960GB SSD, 60TB bandwidth - €288.49/month
</ListCheck>

Use these for: High-traffic applications, databases, and production servers

</Accordion>

<Notice type="info" title="Existing Servers Not Affected">
    Existing CX Gen2 and CPX Gen1 servers continue to work normally. This change only affects new server deployments in EU and Singapore locations.
</Notice>

## Performance Testing: CX Gen3 Cloud Cost-Optimized

I tested the CX33 plan (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD) at €6.49/month in the Nuremberg datacenter.

### System Specifications
<ListCheck>
- Processor: AMD EPYC-Rome
- CPU Cores: 4 @ 2445.404 MHz
- RAM: 7.6 GiB
- Disk: 75GB SSD (NVMe)
- Location: Nuremberg, Germany
- Bandwidth: 20TB included
</ListCheck>

### Disk Performance (fio)

| Block Size | Read Speed | Write Speed | Total | IOPS |
|------------|------------|-------------|-------|------|
| 4k | 115.01 MB/s | 115.32 MB/s | 230.34 MB/s | 57.5k |
| 64k | 988.49 MB/s | 993.69 MB/s | 1.98 GB/s | 30.9k |
| 512k | 1.78 GB/s | 1.88 GB/s | 3.66 GB/s | 7.1k |
| 1m | 2.16 GB/s | 2.30 GB/s | 4.46 GB/s | 4.3k |

Peak speeds reached 4.46 GB/s for large block operations. The NVMe drives perform well at this price point.

### Network Performance (iperf3 IPv4)

| Provider | Location | Upload | Download | Latency |
|----------|----------|--------|----------|---------|
| Eranium | Amsterdam | 12.3 Gbits/sec | 12.8 Gbits/sec | 9.27 ms |
| Clouvider | London | 5.16 Gbits/sec | 5.60 Gbits/sec | 17.8 ms |
| Leaseweb | NYC | 1.88 Gbits/sec | 2.53 Gbits/sec | 97.7 ms |
| Uztelecom | Tashkent | 1.96 Gbits/sec | 2.24 Gbits/sec | 94.6 ms |
| Clouvider | Los Angeles | 1.03 Gbits/sec | 1.21 Gbits/sec | 158 ms |
| Leaseweb | Singapore | 665 Mbits/sec | 841 Mbits/sec | 166 ms |

European network speeds were strong, hitting 12+ Gbits/sec to Amsterdam. Transatlantic connectivity performed well, and Asia-Pacific speeds were decent for a European server.

### CPU Performance (Geekbench 6)

| Test | Score |
|------|-------|
| Single Core | 1508 |
| Multi Core | 4919 |

The multi-core score of 4919 is good for the €5.49/month price point.

## Cost Comparison: Regular vs Cost-Optimized

Here's the pricing difference between Regular Performance and Cost-Optimized plans:

| Specs | Regular (CPX) | Cost-Optimized (CX) | Savings |
|-------|---------------|---------------------|---------|
| 2 vCPU, 4GB | €7.99 (CPX22, 80GB) | €3.99 (CX23, 40GB) | 50% |
| 4 vCPU, 8GB | €13.49 (CPX32, 160GB) | €6.49 (CX33, 80GB) | 52% |
| 8 vCPU, 16GB | €25.49 (CPX42, 320GB) | €11.99 (CX43, 160GB) | 53% |
| 16 vCPU, 32GB | €38.99 (CPX62, 640GB) | €22.49 (CX53, 320GB) | 42% |

Cost-Optimized plans save about 50% while providing similar RAM with less storage. For most workloads, the performance difference is minimal.

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## When to Choose Cost-Optimized Plans

<Accordion label="Good Use Cases" group="use-cases">

<ListCheck>
- Development environments - Full-featured dev servers at minimal cost
- Testing servers - Spin up test environments without breaking the budget
- Small WordPress sites - Handle moderate traffic efficiently
- Staging environments - Match production specs for less
- Personal projects - Host hobby projects affordably
- Learning platforms - Practice DevOps without high costs
- CI/CD runners - Cost-effective build and deployment pipelines
- Monitoring tools - Run Grafana, Prometheus, Uptime Kuma cheaply
</ListCheck>

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="When to Use Regular Performance Instead" group="use-cases">

<ListCheck>
- Production applications with consistent traffic
- Database servers requiring reliable performance
- High-traffic WordPress sites (1000+ daily visitors)
- E-commerce platforms where performance impacts revenue
- Real-time applications needing consistent latency
- Video processing or CPU-intensive tasks
- Enterprise workloads with SLA requirements
</ListCheck>

</Accordion>

## ARM vs x86: Choosing Between CAX and CX

The Cost-Optimized line offers ARM (CAX) and x86 (CX Gen3) servers.

<Tabs>
<Tab name="CAX (ARM) Advantages">

<ListCheck>
- Better performance per euro for cloud-native apps
- Good multi-core performance with Ampere processors
- Energy efficient
- Native support for ARM-compiled software
- ARM is gaining wider adoption
- Works well with containers and microservices
</ListCheck>

Pricing: €3.79 to €24.49/month

</Tab>
<Tab name="CX Gen3 (x86) Advantages">

<ListCheck>
- Compatible with all software
- Proven technology with mature ecosystem
- Legacy application support without recompilation
- Wider OS selection including older distributions
- Standard tooling works out of the box
- No architecture considerations needed
</ListCheck>

Pricing: €3.49 to €17.49/month

</Tab>
</Tabs>

<Notice type="warning" title="ARM Compatibility">
    Before choosing CAX ARM servers, verify your application stack supports ARM64. Modern frameworks like Node.js, Python, Docker, and Go work, but some legacy software may require x86.
</Notice>

## Pricing Breakdown: All Plans

### Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized (EU & SIN)

CX Gen3 (x86 - Intel/AMD), prices excl. IPv4 (add €0.50/mo for IPv4):

| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|------|------|-----|---------|-----------|--------|---------|
| CX23 | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €0.0064 | €3.99 |
| CX33 | 4 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.0104 | €6.49 |
| CX43 | 8 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0192 | €11.99 |
| CX53 | 16 | 32GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.036 | €22.49 |

CAX (ARM - Ampere), prices excl. IPv4 (add €0.50/mo for IPv4):

| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|------|------|-----|---------|-----------|--------|---------|
| CAX11 | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €0.0072 | €4.49 |
| CAX21 | 4 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.0128 | €7.99 |
| CAX31 | 8 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0256 | €15.99 |
| CAX41 | 16 | 32GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.0504 | €31.49 |

### Shared: Cloud Regular Performance

As of 2025, CPX servers use AMD EPYC-Genoa processors.

| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|------|------|-----|---------|-----------|--------|---------|
| CPX22 | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.0128 | €7.99 |
| CPX32 | 4 | 8GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0216 | €13.49 |
| CPX42 | 8 | 16GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.0408 | €25.49 |
| CPX52 | 12 | 24GB | 480GB | 20TB | €0.0548 | €34.49 |
| CPX62 | 16 | 32GB | 640GB | 20TB | €0.0625 | €38.99 |

### Dedicated: Cloud General Purpose

| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|------|------|-----|---------|-----------|--------|---------|
| CCX13 | 2 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.02 | €12.49 |
| CCX23 | 4 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0504 | €31.49 |
| CCX33 | 8 | 32GB | 240GB | 30TB | €0.0777 | €48.49 |
| CCX43 | 16 | 64GB | 360GB | 40TB | €0.1546 | €96.49 |
| CCX53 | 32 | 128GB | 600GB | 50TB | €0.3085 | €192.49 |
| CCX63 | 48 | 192GB | 960GB | 60TB | €0.4623 | €288.49 |

## Real-World Example: Cost Savings Scenarios

### Scenario 1: Small WordPress Site
**Before**: CPX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB, 80GB) - €7.99/month
**Now**: CX23 (2 vCPU, 4GB, 40GB) - €3.99/month
**Savings**: €4.00/month (€48/year) - 50% reduction

### Scenario 2: Development Environment
**Before**: CPX32 (4 vCPU, 8GB, 160GB) - €13.49/month
**Now**: CX33 (4 vCPU, 8GB, 80GB) - €6.49/month
**Savings**: €7.00/month (€84/year) - 52% reduction

### Scenario 3: Multi-Server Setup (3 servers)
**Before**: 3x CPX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB) - 3 × €7.99 = €23.97/month
**Now**: 3x CX23 (2 vCPU, 4GB) - 3 × €3.99 = €11.97/month
**Savings**: €12.00/month (€144/year)

## Migration Guide: Moving to Cost-Optimized Plans

<Button
  text="Try Hetzner Cloud Now"
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<Accordion label="Step 1: Assess Current Usage" group="migration">

<ListCheck>
- Review CPU utilization over the past 30 days
- Check average RAM usage patterns
- Analyze disk space requirements
- Monitor network bandwidth consumption
- Identify peak traffic periods
</ListCheck>

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Step 2: Choose the Right Plan" group="migration">

Decision matrix:

<ListCheck>
- Under 50% average CPU: Cost-Optimized is perfect
- 50-80% average CPU: Consider Regular Performance
- Over 80% average CPU: Stay with Dedicated or Regular
- Storage needs < 100GB: Cost-Optimized works well
- Cloud-native stack: Consider CAX ARM for better value
</ListCheck>

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Step 3: Create and Test" group="migration">

<ListCheck>
- Create new Cost-Optimized server
- Deploy application to test environment
- Run performance benchmarks
- Test under load with realistic traffic
- Verify all services function correctly
- Compare response times with current server
</ListCheck>

</Accordion>

## Comparing with Competitors

How do these Cost-Optimized plans stack up against other providers?

| Provider | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Price | vs Hetzner |
|----------|------|-----|---------|-------|------------|
| Hetzner CX33 | 4 | 8GB | 80GB | €6.49 | Baseline |
| DigitalOcean | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $24/€22 | 3.5x more expensive |
| Linode | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $18/€17 | 2.5x more expensive |
| Vultr | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $18/€17 | 2.5x more expensive |
| AWS Lightsail | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $24/€23 | 3.5x more expensive |
| Azure B2s | 2 | 4GB | 30GB | $38/€36 | 5.5x more expensive |

Hetzner's Cost-Optimized plans offer good value, providing 2-4x the resources at lower cost.

## Frequently Asked Questions

<Accordion label="Can I upgrade from Cost-Optimized to Regular Performance?" group="faq">

Yes, you can easily scale up to Regular Performance or Dedicated plans. Hetzner allows vertical scaling with minimal downtime. However, you cannot downgrade from Regular to Cost-Optimized without creating a new server.

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="What's the performance difference between CX Gen3 and CPX Gen2?" group="faq">

CX Gen3 runs on older hardware generations (formerly CX Gen1/Gen2 and CPX Gen1), while CPX Gen2 uses the latest AMD hardware. In practice, for most web applications, the performance difference is minimal (5-15%). CPU-intensive workloads may see more noticeable differences.

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Are Cost-Optimized plans suitable for production?" group="faq">

Yes, for many production workloads. If your application runs at moderate CPU utilization (under 60%), Cost-Optimized plans work excellently. High-traffic or CPU-intensive production apps should consider Regular Performance or Dedicated plans.

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Which datacenters offer Cost-Optimized plans?" group="faq">

Cost-Optimized plans are available in:
- EU: Nuremberg (Germany), Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland)
- Asia: Singapore

US datacenters (Ashburn, Hillsboro) maintain the previous plan structure.

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Can CX Gen3 run on Intel or AMD?" group="faq">

Yes, CX Gen3 plans can run on either Intel or AMD hardware depending on availability at provisioning time. You cannot choose the specific CPU type, but both deliver similar performance for the price point.

</Accordion>

<Accordion label="Should I choose ARM (CAX) or x86 (CX) for Docker containers?" group="faq">

For modern Docker containers with multi-architecture images, CAX ARM servers often provide better performance per euro. Most official Docker images support ARM64. Check your specific images at Docker Hub before committing.

</Accordion>

## Best Practices for Cost-Optimized Servers

<ListCheck>
- Monitor resources actively - Set up alerts for CPU/RAM/disk usage
- Implement caching - Use Redis or Memcached to reduce compute load
- Optimize databases - Proper indexing and query optimization help
- Use CDN - Offload static assets to reduce server load
- Schedule intensive tasks - Run backups and processing during low-traffic hours
- Right-size your plan - Start small and scale up if needed
- Use hourly billing - Test different plans without long-term commitment
- Enable backups - 20% server cost for automated daily backups is worth it
</ListCheck>

## Conclusion

Hetzner's Cost-Optimized plans still offer good value even after the April 2026 price increase. At €6.49/month for 4 vCPU and 8GB RAM, you get solid infrastructure at low prices.

### Key Takeaways:

<ListCheck>
- 50% cheaper than Regular Performance plans
- Still roughly 3-5x cheaper than DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr
- Regular Performance now uses AMD EPYC-Genoa processors
- Good performance for development, testing, and moderate production workloads
- ARM option (CAX) offers better performance per euro for cloud-native apps
- 20TB bandwidth included in European datacenters
- Hourly billing for flexibility
- IPv4 costs an extra €0.50/month on all shared plans
</ListCheck>

### Who Should Use Cost-Optimized Plans?

- Developers and startups watching costs
- Side projects and personal websites
- Development and staging environments
- Learning and experimentation
- Small to medium WordPress sites
- Microservices and containerized workloads

### Who Should Consider Regular or Dedicated?

- High-traffic production applications
- Database servers with heavy queries
- CPU-intensive processing tasks
- Enterprise applications with SLA requirements
- Applications needing consistent performance guarantees

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<Notice type="success" title="€20 Free Credit">
    [Sign up for Hetzner Cloud](https://go.bitdoze.com/hetzner) and receive €20 credit to test these Cost-Optimized plans. That covers about 3 months of a CX33 server (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM) at the new pricing.

For modern workloads: Try CAX21 (€7.99/month excl. IPv4) if your stack supports ARM.

</Notice>

For more detailed benchmarking and comparisons, check out our [Hetzner Cloud Review](https://www.bitdoze.com/hetzner-cloud-review/).