Fastly vs Hetzner
The ultimate side-by-side head-to-head analysis for 2026.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — Fastly is usage-based pricing, Hetzner is usage-based pricing.
- How to start: both are usage-based pricing.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. We do not publish a quality score, because we do not have one we can stand behind. They cannot tell you which tool fits your workflow — the sections below are there for that. How we score tools.
Fastly
Hetzner
Category
Hosting
Hosting
Base Price
Usage-based
Usage-based
Public API
Yes
Yes
Mobile app
No
No
Open source / self-hostable
No
No
SSO (SAML)
Yes
No
Choose Fastly if:
Teams that need control over caching behaviour at the edge.
Choose Hetzner if:
Teams comfortable managing their own infrastructure who care about cost.
Fastly: pros & cons
- Instant global cache purge
- Programmable edge with VCL and Compute
- Strong performance and observability
- Configuration is developer-oriented
- Pricing suits larger traffic volumes
- Steeper learning curve than simple CDNs
Hetzner: pros & cons
- Price per unit of compute is hard to beat
- European data residency
- Dedicated hardware available
- Fewer managed services than AWS or GCP
- Support is documentation-first
- Account verification can be strict
Our verdict on Fastly
Powerful for teams who will use the programmability. Simple static sites do not need it.
Our verdict on Hetzner
Excellent value if you can run your own stack. If you need managed everything, you will assemble it yourself here.