What is Hetzner Cloud and how to use its VPS servers
Published on 2026-10-26 by frfrand
Hetzner servers, SSH, firewalls, and what changes when using ArduMaker
Hetzner often appears in comparisons when someone asks how many VPS they can hire for their budget. Price matters, of course, but once you receive the server, another job begins: configuring access, deploying, protecting, and maintaining.
A platform is not chosen for its logo or for how easy the first demo looks. It is chosen thinking about what happens when you have to update it, recover data, or deliver the project to a client.
What is Hetzner and what is it really for?
Hetzner Cloud offers cloud instances with resources and infrastructure options specific to the provider. Hiring a virtual machine is not the same as hiring a panel that already manages Git, applications, email, and databases.
A concrete case, without smoke
A booking site with Django and PostgreSQL can run on an economical instance while traffic is low. If you add Redis, workers, and a video processing process, memory and CPU consumption change; test the real load before choosing solely based on vCPU.
How to get started step by step
- Choose region and plan based on user latency and actual resources.
- Create an instance with an SSH key instead of relying only on a password.
- Configure firewall and updates without losing access to the server.
- Install runtime, Nginx, and PostgreSQL or connect the corresponding managed database.
- Publish the HTTPS domain, measure resources, and test the backup.
Test everything with a test user, from an external device. Don't just load the home screen: perform an operation that persists data, restart the process, and query it again. If it depends on emails or webhooks, simulate an external provider failure and check what happens.
The point that usually causes problems
Check IP, additional storage, backups, traffic, region, and support responsibility. Don't assume that having a snapshot equals properly backing up active PostgreSQL transactions.
It's also a good idea to separate quick tasks from background jobs. A reservation API shouldn't block the response because it's generating a PDF or sending an email; a worker can handle those operations with retries and logs.
How would you solve it in ArduMaker?
ArduMaker provides a VPS with a management environment focused on deploying Git, managing services, databases, domains, and MCP. The difference isn't that one is "more professional" hardware, but how much you want to prepare yourself and how much you want to have integrated from the panel.
For example, for a FastAPI + PostgreSQL project, you could set up a VPS in ArduMaker, connect the Git repository, prepare the backend service, configure the database with restricted access, and associate a domain with SSL. If you also use Redis or n8n, you can integrate them into the architecture, always respecting the memory and CPU of the contracted plan.
The comparison that really matters
| Question | Hetzner | ArduMaker |
|---|---|---|
| What do you contract? | Hetzner Cloud offers cloud instances with resources and infrastructure options typical of the pr | VPS and integrated management tools |
| Who configures the app? | The team, with the product's facilities | The team, with Git deployment and VPS tools |
| Can you use PostgreSQL and workers? | Depending on the product and architecture | Yes, within the environment's resources and services |
| Do you need to review backups and security? | Yes, with different responsibilities | Yes, equally important |
What costs should you take into account?
Hetzner may be suitable for teams that want to build their own infrastructure from a cloud instance; ArduMaker for those who value the management environment from the start. To compare fairly, add not only the base price but also the functions your application really needs: RAM, disk, persistent storage, backups, transfer, licenses, separate databases, and maintenance hours. Plans and prices change, so you should always review current conditions.
A rule that avoids surprises: if tomorrow you need to move your application, make sure you can export the database, your files, and the domain configuration. Git code does not automatically include the data.
Mistakes I would avoid when starting
- Contracting too many resources blindly. Measure the load before scaling.
- Opening the database to the Internet. Use private networks or authenticated tunnels when appropriate.
- Confusing snapshot with validated backup. Restoration is tested, not assumed.
- Publishing without logs or a rollback plan. A green deploy can hide a broken API.
So, what do I go with?
Hetzner may suit teams that want to build their own infrastructure from a cloud instance; ArduMaker, those who value the management environment from the start.
Instead of arguing about brands for days, build the same small application in the chosen environment. If you can publish it, diagnose a failure, and recover it without turning every step into an odyssey, you found a reasonable option.
Sources: Official Hetzner Documentation · Comparison with ArduMaker · What is a VPS.
In one sentence: what matters is how much control you need and who takes care of keeping the application running. The rest are tools to achieve it.