Hetzner alternative for PHP hosting
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fortrabbit vs Hetzner.
fortrabbit is a Hetzner alternative for PHP teams who want managed hosting instead of a bare Linux VPS to maintain.
Hetzner alternative for PHP at a glance
fortrabbit is a managed PaaS built exclusively for PHP. Hetzner is excellent value for raw infrastructure — German-based, reasonably priced VPS, dedicated servers, and cloud compute. But Hetzner gives you a bare Linux server and root access; everything above the OS is your responsibility: web server, PHP-FPM, MySQL, SSL, patches, monitoring, backups.
If you want German / EU hosting without the sysadmin work, fortrabbit gives you a tuned PHP environment on top — git push deploys, integrated MySQL, atomic releases, persistent storage, SSL by default, and human support. You trade some control for far less operational overhead. Plans start at €2.50 per month; the trial doesn't require a credit card.
Hetzner vs fortrabbit — feature comparison
| Feature | Hetzner Cloud | fortrabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Abstraction | VPS, root access | Managed PaaS |
| PHP runtime | DIY | Pre-tuned, version-pinned |
| Web server | DIY | Managed |
| Managed MySQL | — | Native |
| Deployment | SSH, own scripts | git push |
| SSL certificates | DIY | Automatic Let's Encrypt |
| Patching / updates | DIY | Managed |
| Backups | DIY | Built-in |
| Region | EU + US | EU (Germany) |
| Support | Email / docs | Human chat, all plans |
| Pricing model | Per-VPS, hourly | Per-app, monthly |
| Time-to-first-deploy | Hours | Minutes |
Pricing comparison
| Use case | Hetzner Cloud (DIY) | fortrabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Small site / dev | CX11 €4 + your time setting it up | €5 / mo |
| Production app | CX21 €6 + your time maintaining it | €30 / mo |
| Scaled app | CCX or dedicated + sysadmin hours | €60–€120 / mo depending on tier |
Hetzner's monthly fee looks lower — until you count the engineering hours spent on stack setup, patching, monitoring, backups, and incident response. See fortrabbit pricing for the current matrix.
Migrating from Hetzner to fortrabbit
- Provision the app on fortrabbit. Pick a region (EU) and a plan. The free trial is enough to validate the move.
- Add the MySQL component. From your Hetzner server,
mysqldumpand import via fortrabbit's SSH tunnel — see MySQL import guide. - Connect your git provider. Install the fortrabbit GitHub App (or connect GitLab / Bitbucket) and link your existing repo to the new fortrabbit app — see deployment intro. Pushes to your branch trigger an automatic deploy; Composer install runs as part of it.
- Move environment variables and secrets. Set them in the fortrabbit dashboard.
- Move uploads and assets. rsync from your Hetzner server into your fortrabbit app's persistent storage via SFTP / SSH.
- Cut over DNS. Add the domain in the fortrabbit dashboard, update the DNS record, and watch the certificate issue automatically via Let's Encrypt.
- Decommission the VPS. Once cutover is verified, retire the Hetzner server.
Why teams switch
- No server maintenance. No patches, no firewall rules, no NGINX configs to debug at 11pm.
- PHP-first ergonomics. Composer, OPcache, PHP version pinning, integrated MySQL.
- Human support. You talk to engineers, not a ticket queue.
- Predictable bills. Per-app monthly pricing, no per-hour math.
For background on Hetzner itself, see our hosting guide entry.
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