Netcup vs Hetzner After the RAMpocalypse - Updated 2026 Price Comparison
Netcup vs Hetzner After the RAMpocalypse: Updated 2026 Price Comparison
The hosting world just got more expensive. Both Netcup and Hetzner have announced significant price increases in early 2026, driven by a global shortage of RAM and SSDs. AI companies are consuming a massive share of memory production capacity, and the ripple effects have hit every hosting provider in Europe.
If you read our original Netcup vs Hetzner comparison from January, those prices are now outdated. Here's what changed and what it means for your wallet.
What Happened: The RAMpocalypse
The term "RAMpocalypse" comes from Netcup's CEO Alexander Windbichler, who used it in a forum post explaining why price increases were unavoidable.
The short version: DRAM prices surged roughly 171% year-over-year through 2025. Server memory (DDR4 and DDR5) rose 45-50% in Q4 2025 alone, with Q1 2026 seeing another 55-60% quarter-on-quarter jump. Global DRAM inventory dropped to just 8 weeks of supply, down from 31 weeks in early 2023.
Why? AI hyperscalers are buying out production capacity. Reports suggest that companies like OpenAI are securing up to 40% of global RAM production. Manufacturers are prioritizing these high-margin buyers, leaving mid-tier hosting providers scrambling for hardware. Hetzner stated that their DRAM costs increased up to 500% since September 2025.
Both Netcup and Hetzner absorbed costs as long as they could. Both eventually had to raise prices. The difference is how much.
The Price Increases Side by Side
Netcup (effective May 1, 2026)
- Existing customers: +18.51%
- New orders: +24.33%
- Storage add-ons: +21.52%
- Domains, licenses, network products: No change
Source: netcup.com/en/priceadjustment
Hetzner (effective April 1, 2026)
- Cloud servers: +30-43%
- Dedicated servers: +3-21%
- Object Storage: +30%
- Memory add-ons: +575%
- Server Auction: +3% flat
Source: Hetzner price adjustment statement
The Takeaway
Netcup kept the increase under 19% for existing customers. Hetzner's cloud servers went up 30-43%. That's a significant gap, and it changes the competitive landscape.
Updated Pricing: What You Actually Pay Now
Netcup Root Servers G12 (Post-Increase)
| Plan | Cores | RAM | Storage | Old Price | New Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS 1000 G12 | 4 dedicated | 8 GB DDR5 ECC | 256 GB NVMe | €8.74/mo | €10.36/mo |
| RS 2000 G12 | 8 dedicated | 16 GB DDR5 ECC | 512 GB NVMe | €14.58/mo | €17.28/mo |
| RS 4000 G12 | 12 dedicated | 32 GB DDR5 ECC | 1 TB NVMe | €27.08/mo | €32.09/mo |
All running AMD EPYC 9645 "Turin" processors (Zen 5, 4nm) with up to 2.5 Gbps dedicated networking.
Hetzner Cloud Shared vCPUs (Post-Increase)
| Plan | vCPUs | RAM | Storage | Traffic | Old Price | New Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CX22 | 2 shared | 4 GB | 40 GB | 20 TB | €3.49/mo | ~€4.59/mo |
| CX33 | 4 shared | 8 GB | 80 GB | 20 TB | €5.49/mo | ~€7.19/mo |
| CX43 | 8 shared | 16 GB | 160 GB | 20 TB | €9.49/mo | ~€12.49/mo |
Hetzner Cloud Dedicated vCPUs (Post-Increase)
| Plan | vCPUs | RAM | Storage | Traffic | Old Price | New Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCX13 | 2 dedicated | 8 GB | 80 GB | 1 TB | €12.49/mo | ~€16.49/mo |
| CCX23 | 4 dedicated | 16 GB | 160 GB | 2 TB | €24.49/mo | ~€31.49/mo |
Note: Some Hetzner prices are approximate based on the announced 30-43% range for cloud products. Check hetzner.com for exact post-increase pricing.
The ~€10/Month Tier: Before and After
This is the price range where most budget buyers shop. Here's how the landscape shifted.
Before (January 2026)
| Server | Price | Cores | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netcup RS 1000 G12 | €8.74 | 4 dedicated | 8 GB DDR5 | 256 GB |
| Hetzner CX43 | €9.49 | 8 shared (throttled) | 16 GB | 160 GB |
| Hetzner CCX13 | €12.49 | 2 dedicated | 8 GB | 80 GB |
After (May 2026)
| Server | Price | Cores | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netcup RS 1000 G12 | €10.36 | 4 dedicated | 8 GB DDR5 | 256 GB |
| Hetzner CX43 | ~€12.49 | 8 shared (throttled) | 16 GB | 160 GB |
| Hetzner CCX13 | ~€16.49 | 2 dedicated | 8 GB | 80 GB |
In January, the Netcup RS 1000 G12 was already the better deal. After the RAMpocalypse, the gap widened even further.
The RS 1000 G12 still gives you 4 dedicated EPYC 9645 cores for €10.36/mo. To get dedicated cores from Hetzner, you're now looking at ~€16.49 for the CCX13, which only has 2 cores and 80 GB of storage. That's 59% more money for half the cores and a third of the storage.
Performance Hasn't Changed
The price increases affect your bill, but the hardware stays the same. All the benchmarks from our original comparison still apply:
| Metric | Netcup RS 1000 G12 | Hetzner CX43 | Hetzner CCX13 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single | ~2000-2200 | ~1200 | ~1400 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | ~6300-7200 | ~4000-4500 | ~2800 |
| 4K Random Read | 373 MB/s | 137 MB/s | 134 MB/s |
| 4K Random Write | 374 MB/s | 137 MB/s | 134 MB/s |
Netcup's RS 1000 G12 still scores 40-50% higher in single-core and delivers 2.5-3x the disk I/O. The value-per-euro ratio just got even better.
Value Per Euro: The Real Comparison
Let's break it down to what each euro actually buys you after the increases.
Dedicated Cores Per Euro
| Server | Dedicated Cores | New Price | Cores/€ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netcup RS 1000 G12 | 4 | €10.36 | 0.39 |
| Hetzner CCX13 | 2 | ~€16.49 | 0.12 |
| Hetzner CCX23 | 4 | ~€31.49 | 0.13 |
Netcup gives you 3x more dedicated cores per euro compared to Hetzner's CCX line.
Storage Per Euro
| Server | NVMe Storage | New Price | GB/€ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netcup RS 1000 G12 | 256 GB | €10.36 | 24.7 |
| Hetzner CX43 | 160 GB | ~€12.49 | 12.8 |
| Hetzner CCX13 | 80 GB | ~€16.49 | 4.9 |
Netcup offers roughly 2x the storage per euro vs Hetzner CX43 and 5x vs CCX13.
What About Traffic and Network?
Nothing changed here with the price increases:
| Netcup RS 1000 G12 | Hetzner CX43 | Hetzner CCX13 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic | ~80-120 TB/mo | 20 TB/mo | 1 TB/mo |
| Network | 2.5 Gbps dedicated | 10 Gbps shared | 10 Gbps shared |
| Overage | Throttled | €1/TB | €1/TB |
Netcup's traffic allowance remains 4-6x higher than Hetzner's EU plans and over 80x higher than Hetzner's dedicated cloud tier. If you run anything bandwidth-heavy (media servers, backups, CDN edge nodes), this alone could justify the choice.
Who Gets Hurt Most?
The RAMpocalypse hits different users differently.
Small hobbyists and self-hosters feel the squeeze most at the entry level. Hetzner's cheapest cloud servers jumped 33-43%, which is painful when you're optimizing every euro. Netcup's lower increase (18.5%) keeps their entry-level VPS and Root Server options more accessible.
Business users running production workloads care more about total cost of ownership. If you're running 5-10 servers, the difference between 18.5% and 35% adds up fast. A fleet of five Hetzner CX43 instances went from €47.45/mo to ~€62.45/mo (+€15/mo). Five Netcup RS 1000 G12s went from €43.70/mo to €51.80/mo (+€8.10/mo). Over a year, that's a €83 difference on a small fleet.
Heavy bandwidth users are mostly unaffected by traffic pricing changes at either provider, but the base price increase still matters.
The Bigger Picture
This isn't just a Netcup and Hetzner story. The entire hosting industry is adjusting:
- OVHcloud has also announced price adjustments
- Contabo has paused some product offerings due to hardware availability
- Smaller European providers are facing even steeper increases or supply shortages
The AI-driven memory crisis is structural, and prices likely won't return to 2024 levels anytime soon. When choosing a provider, the question isn't "who didn't raise prices" (everyone did), it's "who absorbed the most and still delivers the best value."
On that front, Netcup's 18.5% increase for existing customers looks very reasonable compared to Hetzner's 30-43% on cloud servers.
Quick Summary Table (Post-RAMpocalypse)
| Spec | Netcup RS 1000 G12 | Hetzner CX43 | Hetzner CCX13 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Price | €10.36/mo | ~€12.49/mo | ~€16.49/mo |
| CPU | 4 dedicated (EPYC 9645) | 8 shared (throttled) | 2 dedicated |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR5 ECC | 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB NVMe | 160 GB NVMe | 80 GB NVMe |
| Traffic | ~80-120 TB | 20 TB | 1 TB |
| Network | 2.5 Gbps dedicated | 10 Gbps shared | 10 Gbps shared |
| GB6 Single | ~2000-2200 | ~1200 | ~1400 |
| Price Increase | +18.5% | +31% | +32% |
The Verdict
Before the RAMpocalypse, Netcup's RS 1000 G12 was already the budget king. After both providers raised their prices, Netcup's lead grew even larger. You're getting 4 dedicated EPYC 9645 cores, 8 GB of DDR5 ECC RAM, 256 GB NVMe, and 2.5 Gbps dedicated networking for €10.36/month. Hetzner's closest dedicated-core option (CCX13) now costs 59% more for half the cores.
Hetzner remains a solid choice if you need hourly billing, ARM servers (CAX series), or their polished cloud API. Their shared CX plans can still make sense for bursty workloads where you won't hit the throttle limits. And their dedicated server auction is still competitive for high-end hardware needs.
For sustained workloads, self-hosting, development environments, game servers, databases, and anything where you want consistent dedicated performance at a fair price: Netcup's G12 Root Servers are the clear winner in 2026, now more than ever.
Current Deals
Looking for voucher codes to save even more?
- Netcup Vouchers - RS 1000 G12 with up to 2 months free, plus deals on VPS, Root Servers, and Webhosting
Happy hosting!