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Hetzner Cloud

Hetzner Cloud is the infrastructure provider Tiller uses to host your servers. This guide explains what Hetzner is, why Tiller uses it, and how to add your API token if you're using BYOK (Bring Your Own Key).

What is Hetzner Cloud?

Hetzner Cloud is a German cloud infrastructure provider offering high-performance virtual private servers (VPS) at competitive prices. Hetzner is known for:

  • Excellent Price-to-Performance - Competitive pricing compared to AWS, DigitalOcean, or Google Cloud
  • European Data Centers - Located in Germany and Finland with excellent connectivity
  • Global Reach - Data centers in the US and Asia as well
  • Reliable Infrastructure - 99.9% uptime SLA
  • Developer-Friendly API - Easy automation and management

Why Does Tiller Use Hetzner?

Tiller chose Hetzner Cloud for several reasons:

  • Cost-Effective - Lower costs mean you save money on infrastructure
  • Fast Provisioning - Servers are ready in seconds
  • Good Performance - AMD and Intel CPUs with NVMe storage
  • Privacy-Focused - European company with GDPR compliance
  • Simple API - Reliable automation for provisioning and management

Do I Need a Hetzner Account?

It depends on which hosting option you choose:

  • Managed by Tiller - No Hetzner account needed. We handle everything.
  • Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) - Yes, you need a Hetzner account and API token.

Learn more in our Managed vs BYOK guide.

Creating a Hetzner Account (BYOK Only)

If you're using BYOK, follow these steps to create a Hetzner Cloud account:

  1. Go to console.hetzner.cloud
  2. Click Sign Up
  3. Complete the registration form
  4. Verify your email address
  5. Add a payment method (credit card or PayPal)

Hetzner typically processes new accounts within a few hours. You may need to verify your identity for fraud prevention.

Creating a Hetzner Project

After your account is approved:

  1. Log in to the Hetzner Cloud Console
  2. Click New Project
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "Tiller Servers")
  4. Click Add Project

Generating an API Token

To allow Tiller to create servers on your behalf, you need an API token:

  1. Select your project in the Hetzner Cloud Console
  2. Click Security in the left sidebar
  3. Click the API Tokens tab
  4. Click Generate API Token
  5. Give it a description (e.g., "Tiller Integration")
  6. Select Read & Write permissions
  7. Click Generate Token
  8. Copy the token immediately - you won't see it again

Adding Your Token to Tiller

  1. Log in to your Tiller account
  2. Navigate to Settings → Cloud Credentials
  3. Click Add Credential
  4. Select Hetzner as the provider
  5. Give it a name (e.g., "My Hetzner Account")
  6. Paste your API token
  7. Click Save

Tiller will verify the token and you can now create servers using your Hetzner account.

Understanding Hetzner Costs

When using BYOK, you pay Hetzner directly. Tiller doesn't charge anything—we just orchestrate the deployment.

Hourly Billing

Hetzner bills by the hour. If you run a server for 10 days, you only pay for those 10 days. This makes it easy to test and experiment without long-term commitments.

Typical Costs

Server costs vary by region and size. As of 2025, typical pricing:

  • CX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM) - ~€5/month
  • CX32 (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM) - ~€11/month
  • CX42 (8 vCPU, 16GB RAM) - ~€22/month

Check current prices at hetzner.com/cloud.

Additional Costs

  • Traffic - Each server includes 20TB of free traffic per month (more than enough for typical usage)
  • Backups - Optional automated backups cost 20% of the server price
  • Snapshots - €0.0119 per GB per month (rarely needed with Tiller)

Monitoring Hetzner Usage

You can view your Hetzner usage and costs:

  • In Hetzner Console - Go to your project dashboard to see running servers and costs
  • In Tiller - View your servers in the Tiller dashboard (we show which servers are running)

Deleting Servers

When you delete a server in Tiller, we automatically delete it from Hetzner as well. You'll stop being charged immediately.

Security Considerations

API Token Security

  • Keep tokens secret - Never share your API token publicly
  • Use read/write tokens - Tiller needs full permissions to create and manage servers
  • Revoke old tokens - If you stop using Tiller, delete the token from Hetzner
  • Monitor usage - Check your Hetzner dashboard regularly for unexpected servers

Tiller's Access

When you add a Hetzner token to Tiller:

  • Tiller can create, start, stop, and delete servers
  • Tiller cannot access billing information or payment methods
  • Tiller stores the token encrypted in our database
  • You can revoke access anytime by deleting the credential in Tiller

Troubleshooting

Token Invalid

If Tiller says your token is invalid:

  • Ensure you selected Read & Write permissions
  • Check that you copied the entire token
  • Verify the token hasn't been deleted in Hetzner

Account Pending Approval

New Hetzner accounts may need manual approval. This typically takes a few hours but can take up to 24 hours. Check your email for updates from Hetzner.

Quota Limits

Hetzner limits the number of servers per project (typically 10 by default). If you need more, contact Hetzner support to request a quota increase.

Alternative to BYOK

If managing a Hetzner account seems complicated, consider Managed by Tiller instead. We handle all Hetzner infrastructure for a simple monthly fee, and you don't need to create any accounts. Learn more in our Managed vs BYOK guide.