Side-by-side
| Axis | Hetzner | Hostinger |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Account verification can be strict for first-time customers (passport scan, phone). Then 60 seconds to provision a CX22. | Faster signup. Some plans require longer commitments for the headline price. |
| Security model | Standard VPS isolation. EU data residency (Falkenstein, Helsinki). Solid track record. | Standard VPS isolation. Multiple EU data centres. Reasonable record. |
| Model support | n/a: VPS hosting, not an LLM. You bring your own LLM provider. | n/a: same. |
| Cost | CX22 €5/month: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD. CCX13 €38/month: dedicated CPU, 16 GB RAM. Competitive. | Cloud Startup ~€9/month: 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM. Pricier per spec but easier signup. |
| Ecosystem | Strong dev community, broad Linux distro support, reliable network. | Newer in the dev VPS market. Solid for general hosting. |
| Best for | EU-based self-hosters who want best-in-class price-performance and don't mind strict signup. | Users who want easier signup and are OK paying ~30% more for similar specs. |
Verdict
Our opinion: Hetzner for price and EU locations, Hostinger if you want more hand-holding. Compare their current plans on their own price pages before you choose.
Notes
- Hetzner's verification can take a day or two for first-time customers: plan ahead.
- Both providers offer EU data residency, important for GDPR-sensitive deployments.
- Cloudflare Workers free tier is the third option for low-volume agents: no VPS at all.
Going deeper
For the full landscape report including hosting economics, security posture and regulatory context, see the 2026 landscape report. For the OpenClaw-specific history, see the complete OpenClaw timeline.
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