Hetzner Cloud Cost-Optimized Plans: Starting at €3.49/Month
Hetzner introduces cost-optimized cloud plans with CX Gen3 and CAX ARM servers. Get 4 vCPU and 8GB RAM for €5.49/month. Complete pricing and performance analysis.
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 starting at €3.49/month.
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What Changed: Server Plan Structure
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:
Shared: Cloud Regular Performance (CPX Gen2)
These servers run on the latest AMD hardware available at each location. As of 2025, CPX servers use AMD EPYC-Genoa processors.
- 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
Use these for: Production workloads that need consistent performance
Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized (CX Gen3 / CAX)
These plans use older x86 hardware (CX Gen3) or ARM servers (CAX).
CX Gen3 (x86):
- CX23: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD - €3.49/month
- CX33: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €5.49/month
- CX43: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €9.49/month
- CX53: 16 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 320GB SSD - €17.49/month
CAX (ARM - Ampere):
- CAX11: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD - €3.79/month
- CAX21: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD - €6.49/month
- CAX31: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD - €12.49/month
- CAX41: 16 vCPU, 32GB RAM, 320GB SSD - €24.49/month
Use these for: Development, testing, non-critical workloads, and cloud-native ARM applications
Dedicated: Cloud General Purpose (CCX Gen)
These servers run on the latest hardware with dedicated vCPUs.
- 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
Use these for: High-traffic applications, databases, and production servers
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.
Performance Testing: CX Gen3 Cloud Cost-Optimized
I tested the CX33 plan (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD) at €5.49/month in the Nuremberg datacenter.
System Specifications
- Processor: AMD EPYC-Rome
- CPU Cores: 4 @ 2445.404 MHz
- RAM: 7.6 GiB
- Disk: 75GB SSD (NVMe)
- Location: Nuremberg, Germany
- Bandwidth: 20TB included
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 | €6.49 (CPX22, 80GB) | €3.49 (CX23, 40GB) | 46% |
| 4 vCPU, 8GB | €10.99 (CPX32, 160GB) | €5.49 (CX33, 80GB) | 50% |
| 8 vCPU, 16GB | €19.99 (CPX42, 320GB) | €9.49 (CX43, 160GB) | 53% |
| 16 vCPU, 32GB | €38.99 (CPX62, 640GB) | €17.49 (CX53, 320GB) | 55% |
Cost-Optimized plans save about 50% while providing similar RAM with less storage. For most workloads, the performance difference is minimal.
Try Hetzner Cloud NowWhen to Choose Cost-Optimized Plans
Good Use Cases
- 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
When to Use Regular Performance Instead
- 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
ARM vs x86: Choosing Between CAX and CX
The Cost-Optimized line offers ARM (CAX) and x86 (CX Gen3) servers.
- 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
Pricing: €3.79 to €24.49/month
- 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
Pricing: €3.49 to €17.49/month
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.
Pricing Breakdown: All Plans
Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized (EU & SIN)
CX Gen3 (x86 - Intel/AMD):
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CX23 | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €0.0056 | €3.49 |
| CX33 | 4 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.0088 | €5.49 |
| CX43 | 8 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0152 | €9.49 |
| CX53 | 16 | 32GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.028 | €17.49 |
CAX (ARM - Ampere):
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Hourly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAX11 | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €0.0061 | €3.79 |
| CAX21 | 4 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €0.0104 | €6.49 |
| CAX31 | 8 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.02 | €12.49 |
| CAX41 | 16 | 32GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.0392 | €24.49 |
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 | €0.0104 | €6.49 |
| CPX32 | 4 | 8GB | 160GB | 20TB | €0.0176 | €10.99 |
| CPX42 | 8 | 16GB | 320GB | 20TB | €0.032 | €19.99 |
| CPX52 | 12 | 24GB | 480GB | 20TB | €0.0457 | €28.49 |
| 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 | €0.0392 | €24.49 |
| 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: CPX21 (3 vCPU, 4GB, 80GB) - €7.90/month Now: CX23 (2 vCPU, 4GB, 40GB) - €3.49/month Savings: €4.41/month (€52.92/year) - 56% reduction
Scenario 2: Development Environment
Before: CPX31 (4 vCPU, 8GB, 160GB) - €15.90/month Now: CX33 (4 vCPU, 8GB, 80GB) - €5.49/month Savings: €10.41/month (€124.92/year) - 65% reduction
Scenario 3: Multi-Server Setup (3 servers)
Before: 3x CPX11 (2 vCPU, 2GB) - 3 × €4.90 = €14.70/month Now: 3x CX23 (2 vCPU, 4GB) - 3 × €3.49 = €10.47/month Savings: €4.23/month (€50.76/year) + double the RAM
Migration Guide: Moving to Cost-Optimized Plans
Try Hetzner Cloud NowStep 1: Assess Current Usage
- 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
Step 2: Choose the Right Plan
Decision matrix:
- 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
Step 3: Create and Test
- 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
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 | €5.49 | Baseline |
| DigitalOcean | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $18/€17 | 3x more expensive |
| Linode | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $18/€17 | 3x more expensive |
| Vultr | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $18/€17 | 3x more expensive |
| AWS Lightsail | 2 | 4GB | 80GB | $24/€23 | 4x more expensive |
| Azure B2s | 2 | 4GB | 30GB | $38/€36 | 6.5x more expensive |
Hetzner’s Cost-Optimized plans offer good value, providing 2-4x the resources at lower cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I upgrade from Cost-Optimized to Regular Performance?
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.
What's the performance difference between CX Gen3 and CPX Gen2?
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.
Are Cost-Optimized plans suitable for production?
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.
Which datacenters offer Cost-Optimized plans?
Cost-Optimized plans are available in:
- EU: Nuremberg (Germany), Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland)
- Asia: Singapore
US datacenters (Ashburn, Hillsboro) maintain the previous plan structure.
Can CX Gen3 run on Intel or AMD?
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.
Should I choose ARM (CAX) or x86 (CX) for Docker containers?
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.
Best Practices for Cost-Optimized Servers
- 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
Conclusion
Hetzner’s Cost-Optimized plans offer good value in the VPS market as of 2025. At €5.49/month for 4 vCPU and 8GB RAM, you get solid infrastructure at low prices.
Key Takeaways:
- 50% cheaper than Regular Performance plans
- 3-6x 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
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
€20 Free Credit
Sign up for Hetzner Cloud and receive €20 credit to test these Cost-Optimized plans. That’s enough to run a CX33 server (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM) for almost 4 months free.
For modern workloads: Try CAX21 (€6.49/month) if your stack supports ARM.
For more detailed benchmarking and comparisons, check out our Hetzner Cloud Review 2025.
