What is the difference between Hetzner and Supabase?

Hetzner is best for European developers wanting affordable, powerful servers, while Supabase is best for Full-stack developers wanting a hosted Postgres backend. Hetzner starts at €3.29/mo and Supabase starts at Free.

Is Hetzner or Supabase cheaper?

Hetzner starts at €3.29/mo. Supabase starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Hetzner?

Yes, Supabase offers a free tier (Free for 2 projects).

Hetzner vs Supabase

Hetzner is german cloud provider with high-performance servers at unbeatable prices, while Supabase is Open-source Firebase alternative with Postgres database, auth, and edge functions. The biggest difference up front: Supabase is free, while Hetzner starts at €3.29/mo. Hetzner is built for european developers wanting affordable, powerful servers, whereas Supabase targets full-stack developers wanting a hosted postgres backend.

At a glance

	Hetzner	Supabase
Best for	European developers wanting affordable, powerful servers	Full-stack developers wanting a hosted Postgres backend
Starting price	€3.29/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Auth	—	✓
Block Storage	✓	—
Cloud VMs	✓	—
Dedicated Servers	✓	—
Edge Functions	—	✓
Load Balancers	✓	—
Postgres	—	✓
Real-Time	—	✓

Hetzner

Strengths

Includes Dedicated Servers as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows
Includes Cloud VMs as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows
Affordable at €3.29/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the cloud hosting category
Established product with 29+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

No free plan — you need to pay €3.29/mo from day one to use it
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Costs can spike unexpectedly during traffic surges if limits aren't configured
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Hetzner → Full review

Supabase

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Postgres as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
Free for 2 projects — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Costs can spike unexpectedly during traffic surges if limits aren't configured
Community support can be slower than the dedicated support teams at commercial alternatives

Try Supabase → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Supabase is completely free (Free for 2 projects), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Hetzner starts at €3.29/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Hetzner offers Block Storage, Cloud VMs and Dedicated Servers that Supabase lacks. Supabase brings Auth, Edge Functions and Postgres that Hetzner does not have.

Team fit: Hetzner is geared toward any size teams, while Supabase is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Supabase is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Hetzner is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Hetzner's biggest strengths are: includes dedicated servers as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows. includes cloud vms as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows. Supabase's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes postgres as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows.

Watch out for: With Hetzner, users commonly note that no free plan — you need to pay €3.29/mo from day one to use it. With Supabase, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Hetzner if...

You need a tool built for european developers wanting affordable, powerful servers
You specifically need Block Storage and Cloud VMs
You care about includes cloud vms as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows
Your team size fits the any size profile Hetzner is designed for

Choose Supabase if...

You need a tool built for full-stack developers wanting a hosted postgres backend
Budget is a hard constraint — Supabase is free, Hetzner is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Auth and Edge Functions
You care about includes postgres as a core feature, purpose-built for cloud hosting workflows