Company snapshot
| Category | Hetzner | Transparent CDN |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | active |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
Hetzner, founded in 1997, is a German hosting provider offering cloud servers, dedicated servers, and storage solutions. It operates data centers in Germany, Finland, the United States, and Singapore, serving developers, SMBs, and enterprises. Known for cost-effective pricing, Hetzner provides scalable infrastructure for web hosting, applications, and storage-heavy workloads. While it does not market a traditional CDN, its cloud and object storage services support content delivery use cases, particularly for European customers. Hetzner’s customer base includes startups, developers, and businesses prioritizing affordability and performance.
Transparent CDN, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, offers content delivery and web optimization services tailored for e-businesses. The provider focuses on accelerating website performance, optimizing images, and providing detailed analytics through real-time logs. Its services are designed to be accessible via an API-first approach, enabling seamless integration for developers. Transparent CDN serves a range of clients, from small businesses to larger enterprises, with a global network presence. The company emphasizes straightforward pricing and ease of use for performance-focused content delivery.
Network & Architecture
Hetzner operates data centers in Nuremberg and Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Ashburn (Virginia, USA), Hillsboro (Oregon, USA), and Singapore. Specific POP counts are not publicly detailed, but its infrastructure leverages high-speed connectivity within Europe, with extensions to North America and Asia-Pacific. The network is optimized for low-latency delivery in EMEA, with growing presence in APAC and NA. Limitations include less coverage in LATAM, Africa, and the Middle East compared to global CDNs like Cloudflare or Amazon CloudFront. Object Storage supports S3-compatible APIs, enabling content delivery for static assets.
Transparent CDN operates a global network with points of presence (POPs) across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, though specific POP counts are not publicly disclosed. The provider leverages HTTP/3 and TLS 1.3 for efficient and secure content delivery. Its architecture supports real-time traffic analytics, which aids in performance monitoring. The network is optimized for general web content and image delivery but lacks specialized capabilities for video streaming or edge computing. Regional strengths include Europe and North America, with growing coverage in Asia and Latin America.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Hetzner | Transparent CDN |
|---|---|---|
waf | ✗ | ✗ |
bot_mitigation | ✗ | ✗ |
ddos | ✓ | ✓ |
rate_limit | ✗ | ✗ |
http3_quic | ✗ | ✓ |
tls13 | ✓ | ✓ |
tiered_cache | ✗ | ✗ |
origin_shield | ✗ | ✗ |
instant_purge | ✗ | ✓ |
stale_while_revalidate | ✗ | ✗ |
stale_if_error | ✗ | ✗ |
image_optimization | ✗ | ✓ |
video_vod | ✗ | ✗ |
video_live | ✗ | ✗ |
drm | ✗ | ✗ |
hls_dash_packaging | ✗ | ✗ |
websockets | ✗ | ✗ |
signed_urls | ✗ | ✗ |
edge_compute | ✗ | ✗ |
functions | ✗ | ✗ |
kv_storage | ✗ | ✗ |
api_first | ✓ | ✓ |
realtime_logs | ✗ | ✓ |
log_push | ✗ | ✗ |
terraform | ✓ | ✗ |
Legend: ✓ = Supported, ✗ = Not supported, — = Not listed
Pricing
Hetzner uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with no long-term commitments, appealing to SMBs and developers. Cloud server pricing starts at €3.79/month for shared vCPU plans, and Object Storage begins at €4.29/month. No free tier is available, but pricing is transparent with per-GB rates for storage and traffic. For example, Object Storage costs €0.00429/GB/month. Full details at https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/pricing.
Transparent CDN uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with no minimum commitments, making it accessible for small to medium-sized businesses. Pricing is based on data transfer and requests, though specific per-GB rates are not publicly listed. A free trial is available for testing the service. For detailed pricing, visit https://www.transparentcdn.com/pricing.
Integrations & DevEx
Hetzner supports Terraform for infrastructure provisioning and offers a RESTful API for managing servers, storage, and DNS. SDKs are available for languages like Python and Go, facilitating automation. CI/CD integration is possible via APIs, though no specific plugins for tools like GitHub Actions are documented. The Hetzner Console provides a user-friendly interface for managing resources, with detailed documentation at https://docs.hetzner.com.
The API-first design supports integration with developer workflows, offering programmatic access to configuration and analytics. Real-time logs are available through the Transparent Edge dashboard, aiding in performance monitoring. The provider does not support Terraform or other Infrastructure-as-Code tools, and no SDKs or CI/CD integrations are documented. Migration tools are not explicitly offered, but the API simplifies onboarding for developers familiar with programmatic setups.
When it fits
- Developers and SMBs need cost-effective cloud hosting or storage in EMEA with S3-compatible APIs.
- Projects require flexible, API-driven infrastructure with Terraform support.
- Workloads prioritize affordability and performance over extensive global CDN coverage.
- Small to medium-sized e-businesses needing cost-effective CDN services with simple integration.
- Websites prioritizing image optimization and real-time analytics for performance monitoring.
- Developers seeking an API-first CDN for programmatic control and global content delivery.
When it doesn’t
- Enterprises requiring advanced edge computing, serverless functions, or key-value storage.
- Businesses focused on video streaming, needing VOD, live streaming, or HLS/DASH packaging.
- Organizations needing robust security features like WAF, bot mitigation, or rate limiting.
History & Notes
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