This year I began looking for another provider for my Hetzner Cloud VPS CPX21 because I wanted to scale my current setup and reduce my cloud costs for my hobby projects. The Hetzner CPX21 VPS I was using only has 80GB disk space, 4GB RAM, and shared CPU cores and currently hosting 12 wordpress sites and 1 high traffic website.
In my search for an alternative provider for this, I found Netcup and PHP-Friends, and Contabo. Here are my review for each:
Hetzner CPX21 (€20 credits link)
3vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB Disk Space, 20 TB traffic (€7.55/month. tax excluded)
Hetzner CPX21 YABS
Basic System Information:
---------------------------------
Processor : AMD EPYC Processor
CPU cores : 3 @ 2495.310 MHz
AES-NI : ✔ Enabled
VM-x/AMD-V : ❌ Disabled
RAM : 3.7 GiB
Swap : 0.0 KiB
Disk : 75.0 GiB
Kernel : 5.15.0-56-generic
fio Disk Speed Tests (Mixed R/W 50/50):
---------------------------------
Block Size | 4k (IOPS) | 64k (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 136.79 MB/s (34.1k) | 1.69 GB/s (26.5k)
Write | 137.15 MB/s (34.2k) | 1.70 GB/s (26.6k)
Total | 273.95 MB/s (68.4k) | 3.40 GB/s (53.2k)
| |
Block Size | 512k (IOPS) | 1m (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 1.93 GB/s (3.7k) | 2.28 GB/s (2.2k)
Write | 2.03 GB/s (3.9k) | 2.43 GB/s (2.3k)
Total | 3.96 GB/s (7.7k) | 4.72 GB/s (4.6k)
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv4):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 6.82 Gbits/sec | 8.39 Gbits/sec | 20.8 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | busy | busy | 13.4 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 11.3 Gbits/sec | 11.3 Gbits/sec | 10.1 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | 2.47 Gbits/sec | 2.08 Gbits/sec | 96.8 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | 1.73 Gbits/sec | 2.26 Gbits/sec | 86.6 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 1.44 Gbits/sec | 1.55 Gbits/sec | 125 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 1.06 Gbits/sec | 1.19 Gbits/sec | 146 ms
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv6):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 5.16 Gbits/sec | 2.00 Gbits/sec | 20.8 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | busy | 8.11 Gbits/sec | 13.5 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 10.6 Gbits/sec | 8.32 Gbits/sec | 10.0 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | 2.22 Gbits/sec | 1.85 Gbits/sec | 96.6 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | 1.64 Gbits/sec | 2.10 Gbits/sec | 86.6 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 855 Mbits/sec | 1.27 Gbits/sec | 125 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 1.04 Gbits/sec | 1.22 Gbits/sec | 146 ms
Geekbench 5 Benchmark Test:
---------------------------------
Test | Value
|
Single Core | 933
Multi Core | 2629
Full Test | https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/20613518
YABS completed in 9 min 14 sec
Hetzner Pros:
- Very good performance
- Easy-to-use control panel
- Effective firewall rules
- Fast support response times
- Scalability and the ability to add new volumes or IPs
- Regular updates and improvements and new locations
Hetzner Cons:
- Limited disk space, RAM, and shared CPU cores on some VPS plans
- Some users complain about support or verification process
Netcup RS 1000 G9.5
4 dedicated cores, 8 GB RAM, 160 GB Disk Space, 120 TB traffic (€9.81/month/yearly contract. tax included)
copouns for 3 months free of Netcup RS 1000 G9.5 root server. [2915nc16765569659, 2915nc16765569658, 2915nc16765569657, 2915nc16765569656, 2915nc16765569655]
Netcup RS 1000 G9.5 YABS
Basic System Information:
---------------------------------
Processor : AMD EPYC 7702P 64-Core Processor
CPU cores : 4 @ 1996.205 MHz
AES-NI : ✔ Enabled
VM-x/AMD-V : ❌ Disabled
RAM : 7.8 GiB
Swap : 0.0 KiB
Disk : 157.3 GiB
Kernel : 4.19.0-23-amd64
fio Disk Speed Tests (Mixed R/W 50/50):
---------------------------------
Block Size | 4k (IOPS) | 64k (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 64.99 MB/s (16.2k) | 592.03 MB/s (9.2k)
Write | 65.12 MB/s (16.2k) | 595.14 MB/s (9.2k)
Total | 130.12 MB/s (32.5k) | 1.18 GB/s (18.5k)
| |
Block Size | 512k (IOPS) | 1m (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 1.99 GB/s (3.9k) | 2.81 GB/s (2.7k)
Write | 2.10 GB/s (4.1k) | 3.00 GB/s (2.9k)
Total | 4.10 GB/s (8.0k) | 5.81 GB/s (5.6k)
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv4):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 1.37 Gbits/sec | 2.33 Gbits/sec | 22.1 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | 1.31 Gbits/sec | 2.37 Gbits/sec | 23.0 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 2.11 Gbits/sec | 2.38 Gbits/sec | 10.5 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | busy | 824 Mbits/sec | 181 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | 120 Mbits/sec | 1.00 Gbits/sec | 100 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 474 Mbits/sec | 660 Mbits/sec | 127 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 474 Mbits/sec | 602 Mbits/sec | 150 ms
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv6):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 1.58 Gbits/sec | 2.33 Gbits/sec | 22.0 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | busy | busy | 31.6 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 2.31 Gbits/sec | 2.35 Gbits/sec | 10.5 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | 612 Mbits/sec | 2.30 Mbits/sec | 180 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | busy | 1.01 Gbits/sec | 99.9 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 376 Mbits/sec | 722 Mbits/sec | 127 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 419 Mbits/sec | 779 Mbits/sec | 150 ms
Geekbench 5 Benchmark Test:
---------------------------------
Test | Value
|
Single Core | 831
Multi Core | 2793
Full Test | https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/20642549
YABS completed in 9 min 6 sec
Netcup Pros:
- Good performance and benchmark results
- Cheap and affordable plans
- 2-factor authentication for control panel
- Discount coupons available and frequent offers
Netcup Cons:
- Difficulties with the activation process and address verification
- Poor reviews regarding contract cancellation
PHP-Friends vServer S SSD G3 AMD
2 dedicated cores, 10 GB RAM, 80 GB Disk Space, 10 TB traffic (€7.55/month/yearly contract. tax excluded)
Basic System Information:
---------------------------------
Processor : AMD EPYC 7452 32-Core Processor
CPU cores : 2 @ 2349.998 MHz
AES-NI : ✔ Enabled
VM-x/AMD-V : ✔ Enabled
RAM : 9.8 GiB
Swap : 0.0 KiB
Disk : 77.7 GiB
Distro : Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster)
Kernel : 4.19.0-5-amd64
fio Disk Speed Tests (Mixed R/W 50/50):
---------------------------------
Block Size | 4k (IOPS) | 64k (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 118.76 MB/s (29.6k) | 1.28 GB/s (20.0k)
Write | 119.08 MB/s (29.7k) | 1.29 GB/s (20.1k)
Total | 237.85 MB/s (59.4k) | 2.57 GB/s (40.2k)
| |
Block Size | 512k (IOPS) | 1m (IOPS)
------ | --- ---- | ---- ----
Read | 3.24 GB/s (6.3k) | 2.30 GB/s (2.2k)
Write | 3.42 GB/s (6.6k) | 2.45 GB/s (2.3k)
Total | 6.66 GB/s (13.0k) | 4.75 GB/s (4.6k)
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv4):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 8.83 Gbits/sec | 3.46 Gbits/sec | 11.6 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | busy | 1.33 Gbits/sec | 12.4 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 8.84 Gbits/sec | 6.69 Gbits/sec | 7.20 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | 1.98 Gbits/sec | 616 Mbits/sec | 75.7 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | 1.38 Gbits/sec | 2.22 Gbits/sec | 79.1 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 840 Mbits/sec | 1.29 Gbits/sec | 116 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 1.14 Gbits/sec | 1.22 Gbits/sec | 139 ms
iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv6):
---------------------------------
Provider | Location (Link) | Send Speed | Recv Speed | Ping
----- | ----- | ---- | ---- | ----
Clouvider | London, UK (10G) | 8.52 Gbits/sec | 1.03 Gbits/sec | 11.7 ms
Scaleway | Paris, FR (10G) | busy | busy | 9.63 ms
NovoServe | North Holland, NL (40G) | 8.59 Gbits/sec | 7.81 Gbits/sec | 7.12 ms
Uztelecom | Tashkent, UZ (10G) | 1.81 Gbits/sec | 2.43 Gbits/sec | 73.6 ms
Clouvider | NYC, NY, US (10G) | 2.22 Gbits/sec | 2.06 Gbits/sec | 78.9 ms
Clouvider | Dallas, TX, US (10G) | 1.52 Gbits/sec | 1.56 Gbits/sec | 116 ms
Clouvider | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 1.27 Gbits/sec | 1.31 Gbits/sec | 136 ms
Geekbench 5 Benchmark Test:
---------------------------------
Test | Value
|
Single Core | 829
Multi Core | 1616
Full Test | https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/20613025
PHP-Friends Pros:
- Excellent performance and benchmark results of all of the three providers
- Very Friendly and responsive support team
- Good pricing for plans and additional storage
- Allows nested Virtualization
- Low latency in almost all locations tested by yabs
PHP-Friends Cons:
- SolusVM control panel lacks 2-factor authentication
- Limited disk space on the vServer plans but the pricing of both the server and additional storage is reasonable
I have also tried Contabo CLOUD VPS S
4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB Disk Space, 32 TB traffic (€5.99 /month. tax excluded)
Not recommending them
Contabo Pros:
- Cheap pricing for their Cloud VPS.
- No verification required.
Contabo Cons:
- Limited link speed of 300 MB/s.
- High CPU steal.
- Not suitable for production.
- IPs repuation is not that good
Overall, after trying out all three providers options and Contabo, I liked PHP-Friends overall experience more but because the SolusVM lack of 2-factor authentaction I settled on Netcup. While I did have some difficulties with the activation process, they were resolved after a phone call with their support team. However, I will continue to monitor their service and provide updates in the future.