Switching guide, 2026
Looking for a Hetzner alternative? Here’s the one that says yes.
You didn’t search for this because Hetzner is perfect. Here’s where LiteKeep picks up, and how to move this afternoon.
Hetzner, 2 GB plans outside Europe
- United StatesCPX11, 2 GB€17.99
- SingaporeCPX12, 2 GB€15.99
- Japan, Turkey, RomaniaNo locationNone
Per month, plus VAT. Card, bank or PayPal only.
LiteKeep Lite 2, everywhere
$4
- Netherlands
- Germany
- United States
- Singapore
- Japan
- Turkey
- Romania
- Iceland
- + 7 more
2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB, 1 TB. Same price in all 15 countries, paid in crypto.
The short answer
LiteKeep is the Hetzner alternative for people Hetzner turns away or can’t serve. Pay with Bitcoin, USDT or USDC. Sign up with an email and a password, no ID. Pick any of 15 countries at the same price, billed by the hour.
Hetzner doesn’t accept crypto, may ask for a government ID, and runs in four countries. If any of that is why you’re here, you can have a server running, usually within 15 minutes. The picker below matches your Hetzner plan to a Lite.
People don’t leave Hetzner on a whim. Something stopped them.
A card that didn’t go through. An ID request they didn’t want to answer. An account that was declined. Users in a country Hetzner doesn’t serve. A US server that costs three times the EU price.
Here’s the thing: every one of those has a simple fix. LiteKeep takes crypto, asks for no ID, runs in 15 countries at one price, and bills by the hour, so trying it costs you cents.
This guide shows the five reasons people switch, a side-by-side for the regions where it matters, the Lite that replaces your Hetzner plan, and a step-by-step move with no downtime.
In this guide you’ll learn
- A free picker that matches your Hetzner server to a Lite
- The five reasons people leave Hetzner, and how LiteKeep handles each
- Side by side in the US and Singapore, where the gap is widest
- Which Lite replaces which Hetzner plan
- How to move without downtime
Chapter 1
The short answer
Find your reason in the left column. The right column is what you get on LiteKeep.
| If you… | On Hetzner | On LiteKeep |
|---|---|---|
| Want to pay with crypto | Not accepted | BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB, XRP, SOL, TRX, LTC, XMR |
| Don’t want to send ID or card details | May ask for a government ID or card prepayment | Email and password only |
| Need a country besides DE, FI, US or SG | Six locations in four countries | 15 countries, one price |
| Need small US or Singapore servers | About three times the EU price | Same price as Amsterdam |
| Want to run nodes, mining or a mail server | Mining prohibited, ports 25 and 465 blocked by default | Mining and nodes allowed, port 25 open |
Chapter 2
Find your matching Lite
Tell the picker where your server should be, how much RAM you use on Hetzner today and how much traffic you send. It picks the LiteKeep plan that fits, prices a full month with any overage, and lets you deploy it straight away.
Your LiteKeep match
Lite 2, $4.00 a month
2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe, 1 TB traffic.
- In the US, Hetzner’s matched 2 GB plan costs €17.99 plus VAT at this traffic. Your Lite 2 costs $4.00.
- Pay with Bitcoin, USDT, USDC or seven other coins. Hetzner does not accept cryptocurrencies.
- Sign up with an email and a password. No ID upload and no card.
- Billed by the hour, never more than the monthly price. Delete it any time and the meter stops.
A full month at 1 TB out, overage included. Billed by the hour, so a test afternoon costs cents. See every Lite
Moving lots of data? Push the traffic slider up. Past a few terabytes the picker switches to a Traffic Lite with 32 TB included, so a busy month doesn’t turn into an overage bill.
Chapter 3
Why people look for a Hetzner alternative
These are the walls people hit. Each one has a LiteKeep answer.
1. No crypto payments
Hetzner takes cards, SEPA direct debit, bank transfer and PayPal. It does not accept cryptocurrencies. That’s why people end up buying prepaid cards just to pay for a server.
On LiteKeep, crypto is how you pay. Top up your balance from $20 in Bitcoin, USDT, USDC or seven other coins, and servers draw from it by the hour. Our crypto payment guide walks you through your first top-up.
2. ID checks and declined accounts
Hetzner may ask you to verify your account before it processes an order, with a copy of a government ID or an advance card payment. Incomplete details can get an account rejected.
LiteKeep asks for an email, a password and your country. No document upload, no card, no waiting for a review.
3. Four countries
Hetzner Cloud runs in Germany, Finland, the US and Singapore. If your users are in Japan, Turkey or Eastern Europe, there’s no Hetzner server near them.
LiteKeep runs in 15 countries, and a plan costs the same in every one.
4. The US and Asia cost much more
Hetzner prices differ by region. At 2 GB of RAM, its US plan is €17.99 a month with 1 TB of traffic, and Singapore is €15.99 with 0.5 TB. Both plus VAT.
A Lite 2 is $4 in New York, Singapore and Tokyo alike, with 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB NVMe and 1 TB of traffic.
5. Workloads the rules don’t allow
Hetzner’s cloud server policy prohibits crypto mining and network scanning, and it blocks ports 25 and 465 by default.
On LiteKeep, crypto mining and nodes are allowed, and outbound port 25 is open with reverse DNS you set yourself. Run your node, your mail server or your miner without asking first.
Chapter 4
Hetzner vs LiteKeep where it counts
Matched on memory. Hetzner’s prices are in euros and exclude VAT; ours are in US dollars.
| Hetzner | LiteKeep Lite 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| United States | CPX11: 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB, 1 TB, €17.99 + VAT | 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB NVMe, 1 TB, $4 |
| Singapore | CPX12: 1 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB, 0.5 TB, €15.99 + VAT | 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB NVMe, 1 TB, $4 |
| Payment | Card, SEPA, bank transfer, PayPal | BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB, XRP, SOL, TRX, LTC, XMR |
| Sign-up | May ask for ID or card prepayment | Email and password |
| Countries | 4 | 15, same price in each |
What else you get on LiteKeep
- Pooled traffic. Every plan’s allowance adds to one pool across your servers, so a quiet server covers a busy one.
- Hourly billing with a cap. Pay by the hour, never more than the monthly price.
- DDoS filtering included on every server.
- Snapshots at $0.0072 per GB a month and volumes at $0.012 per GB, on our pricing page.
- Pay once, if you like. A Forever Keep has no renewals at all.
Chapter 5
Which Lite replaces your Hetzner server
Find the Hetzner server you run today. The right column is the LiteKeep plan to deploy.
| You run on Hetzner | Deploy on LiteKeep | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CPX11 or CPX12 (2 GB) | Lite 2 | 2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB NVMe, same price in every country |
| CX23 (4 GB) | Lite 6 | 6 vCPU and 6 GB: more cores and more RAM |
| A busier 8 GB server | Lite 8 | 8 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB NVMe |
| Anything moving lots of data | Traffic Lite | 32 TB of traffic a month included |
| Backups and archives | Vault | 700 GB to 3 TB of NVMe |
| Bigger than that | Lite 16 to Lite 256 | Up to 64 vCPU and 256 GB of RAM |
Chapter 6
How to move from Hetzner without downtime
Moving a server is mostly copying files and changing DNS. Do it in this order and your users won’t notice.
- Lower your DNS TTL a day beforeHow to check: Set it to 300 seconds, so the final switch spreads in minutes rather than hours.
- Deploy your Lite and secure itHow to check: Same OS version if you can. Follow our VPS security guide first.
- Copy your filesHow to check: From the new server:
rsync -avz --progress root@old-server:/var/www/ /var/www/. Run it again just before the switch; the second pass only copies changes. - Dump and restore databasesHow to check: For example
mysqldumporpg_dumpon the old server, then import on the new one. - Test before you switchHow to check: Point your own PC at the new IP with your hosts file and click through the site.
- Switch DNS, keep the old server two daysHow to check: Then delete it. With hourly billing on both sides, you only pay for the overlap.
Chapter 7
Quick answers
The questions people ask most before they switch.
Can I pay for a server with Bitcoin or USDT? On LiteKeep, yes: Bitcoin, USDT, USDC and seven other coins. Hetzner doesn’t accept crypto. Here’s how paying for hosting with crypto works.
Do you ask for ID? No. An email, a password and your country are all you need to sign up.
Is the US price really the same as Europe? Yes. A plan costs the same in all 15 countries.
Do you have snapshots and volumes? Yes: snapshots cost $0.0072 per GB a month and volumes $0.012 per GB a month, both on our pricing page. Our API is being prepared.
Can I run Windows? Yes: Windows Server for $4 a month extra on any Lite.
What if I don’t like it? Delete the server. Billing stops at the hour, and you’ve paid for what you used.
Now it’s your move
You came here because something about Hetzner didn’t work for you: how you pay, what you’re asked to show, or where your users are.
A Lite fixes all three. Crypto, no ID, 15 countries, billed by the hour. Deploy one now, move a site over this afternoon, and keep the old server only as long as you need it.