What to look for in a VPS comparison
A VPS comparison can quickly become overwhelming. Dozens of providers, hundreds of plans, and different specs. Here are the key criteria that help you pick the right server for your project.
Why we sort by price
Most comparison sites sort by affiliate commission. That means the provider who pays the most appears first, regardless of whether it suits you.
RackDiff does it differently. We always sort by price ascending. You see the cheapest offers that match your filters first. Yes, we use affiliate links for some providers — but that never changes the order.
We also show community reviews from public sources (e.g. Trustpilot) so you can quickly see how other users rate each provider — transparent and unfiltered.
Hetzner vs Contabo vs Netcup & more: quick comparison
Six popular providers at a glance to help you compare price, support, and flexibility.
| Provider | Strengths | Weaknesses | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | Modern AMD EPYC, NVMe, strong API, top community score | More expensive than Contabo, support mostly English | DevOps, self-hosting, high-performance projects |
| Contabo | Maximum resources per euro, lots of RAM & storage | Older hardware, slower SSDs, mixed community score | Budget projects, homelabs, storage-heavy apps |
| Netcup | Good value, German support | Fewer plan options, no hourly billing | SMBs, agencies, teams needing German support |
| IONOS | German support, easy setup | Higher prices | Beginners, SMBs |
| Strato | German support | Less flexible | Conservative customers |
| Hostinger | Low entry prices, modern UI | Support in English | Budget projects |
Tip: Start with Hetzner for performance, choose Contabo for maximum resources per euro, and pick Netcup if you want a balanced option with German support.
Which VPS for which use case?
| Use case | Min. RAM | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Minecraft server | 4 GB | Netcup, Hetzner |
| n8n workflow automation | 2 GB | Hetzner, Contabo |
| Nextcloud private cloud | 4 GB | Hetzner, Netcup |
| WordPress / WooCommerce | 2-4 GB | IONOS, Hostinger |
| Ollama / local AI | 16 GB+ | Contabo, Hetzner |
| Paperless-ngx | 2 GB | Hetzner, Netcup |