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Hetzners Statement on the adjustment of setup fees

PacketsDecreaserPacketsDecreaser Member, Patron Provider
edited February 2 in News

Open and honest communication with our customers is very important to us. That is why we would like to explain transparently why we are currently adjusting our prices and how this came about.

Our server calculations are generally designed for a long, stable term. Our goal is to offer fair and predictable monthly prices that remain stable over many years. However, the current exceptionally high purchase prices for hardware components are significantly disrupting this model. The RAM market is currently dominated by very few manufacturers. In our view, their pricing policy is hardly comprehensible and has driven up costs massively in a short period of time. The situation is similar for NVMe SSDs. In addition, it is apparent that even promised quotas and price commitments from suppliers are currently only reliable to a limited extent.

These significantly increased procurement costs arise directly from the provision of a dedicated server and cannot be distributed economically over the current contract period. We view this development critically—it affects us as a provider just as much as it affects you as a customer.

For this reason, we are initially adjusting the one-time setup fees for dedicated servers. This increase does not cover the actual additional costs by far, but it is a necessary first step in order to continue using high-quality hardware, meet our quality standards, and remain able to deliver.

At the same time, we would like to communicate openly that this is unlikely to be the only step. There are currently no signs that market conditions will ease. According to market research company TrendForce, price pressure is likely to continue in the current year. Therefore, adjustments to monthly prices will be necessary in the coming weeks. We are currently reviewing whether we need to extend the price adjustment to other product lines in addition to dedicated servers and our cloud service, and whether existing servers will also be affected.

We greatly value the trust and partnership we have built with our customers. We are confident that we will continue to offer you competitive price-performance ratios and kindly ask for your understanding.

Source: https://www.hetzner.com/pressroom/statement-setup-fees-adjustment/

Thanked by 1dev077

Comments

  • wonder what are they gonna blame the ram shortage for next, not being able to make their wives cum?

  • LeviLevi Member

    Interesting. AX162-R - 542 EUR setup fee, but AX162-S - 411 EUR setup fee. This is RAM bound. Because s type has more storage, but this does not affect setup fee.

    Well, OVH to help.

  • So, realistically, you pay RAM for next clients server setup.

    Thanked by 1RCVmedia
  • PacketsDecreaserPacketsDecreaser Member, Patron Provider
    edited February 2

  • sliixsliix Member
    edited February 2

    WTAF are those setup fees lol. You definitely pay for (future) RAM here. Crazy.

  • gbzret4dgbzret4d Member
    edited February 2

    @Hetzner_OL
    Why should we pay for future customers and their ram? Raise the monthly prices if the ram prices are too high but some hundred bucks as setup fee is crazy imo

    Thanked by 1sillycat
  • layer7layer7 Member, Host Rep, LIR
    edited February 2

    @ascicode said:
    So, realistically, you pay RAM for next clients server setup.

    @gbzret4d said:
    Why should we pay for future customers and their ram? Raise the monthly prices if the ram prices are too high but some hundred bucks as setup fee is crazy imo

    @sliix said:
    WTAF are those setup fees lol. You definitely pay for (future) RAM here. Crazy.

    Hi,

    i do not really understand what you both mean with future?

    The RAM/stuff is NOW crazy expensive.
    The orderform is to order NOW a service that is based on this crazy expensive hardware.

    So where exactly is the future? The future is now :) Actually since 2 months =)

  • PacketsDecreaserPacketsDecreaser Member, Patron Provider

    @gbzret4d said:
    @Hetzner_OL
    Why should we pay for future customers and their ram? Raise the monthly prices if the ram prices are too high but some hundred bucks as setup fee is crazy imo

    Why is it considered too high?
    128 GB of RAM costs around €800 while the setup fee in this example is €200.

  • @layer7 said:

    @ascicode said:
    So, realistically, you pay RAM for next clients server setup.

    @gbzret4d said:
    Why should we pay for future customers and their ram? Raise the monthly prices if the ram prices are too high but some hundred bucks as setup fee is crazy imo

    @sliix said:
    WTAF are those setup fees lol. You definitely pay for (future) RAM here. Crazy.

    Hi,

    i do not really understand what you both mean with future?

    The RAM/stuff is NOW crazy expensive.
    The orderform is to order NOW a service that is based on this crazy expensive hardware.

    So where exactly is the future? The future is now :) Actually since 2 months =)

    I prefer paying higher monthly prices instead of such setup fees. For someone who needs a server only for 2 months, this setup prices are way too high. I'll go eith another hoster, hetzner auction servers or wait until they have a promo for their setup prices

  • NeoonNeoon Community Contributor, Veteran
  • gbzret4dgbzret4d Member
    edited February 2

    @layer7 I get the logic, but the math is terrible for the customer.
    ​A ~130€ setup fee on a 55€ server means I am basically financing the hardware for Hetzner. If I cancel early, I paid for the RAM/Disk and they keep it. That isn't renting, that's hardware sponsorship.
    ​If procurement costs are the issue, why not offer 12-month contracts to spread the cost? I'd rather commit to a year or pay a higher monthly rent than pay this huge lump sum upfront. This fee structure kills the whole point of renting vs. colo

    Thanked by 2Kodomu tux
  • Thanked by 3dev077 bokuyaba tentor
  • Short-term customer: “I don’t want to pay a hefty installation fee!”
    Long-term customer: “I don’t want the monthly price to go up!”

    I can’t help but laugh.

  • ralfralf Member

    In a sense though, their statement makes sense. If you are planning to keep the server long term, it is better to keep the monthly fees lower and have the upfront fee. Likewise, if RAM prices drop again later on, they can just reduce the setup fee again.

    That said, it does make a complete mockery of their hourly charges. On the AX162-R, the setup fee is 1700x the hourly rate (over 70 days) so literally nobody is going to be renting these by the hour!

  • LeviLevi Member
    edited February 2

    Take a note, recuring prices will be reviewed upcoming weeks for dedicated and cloud services. So not only setup fees get a bump, but also everything else.

    Expect the same all over the place.

    Thanked by 2bokuyaba gbzret4d
  • @gbzret4d said:
    I prefer paying higher monthly prices instead of such setup fees. For someone who needs a server only for 2 months, this setup prices are way too high.

    Well that's the whole idea so then it works.

    As they said in the statement:

    Our server calculations are generally designed for a long, stable term. Our goal is to offer fair and predictable monthly prices that remain stable over many years.

    Dedicated providers do not want customers that rents a server for 2 months, that's not hard to figure out.

    Thanked by 2gbzret4d Falzo
  • KodomuKodomu Member
    edited February 2

    @gbzret4d said:
    @layer7 I get the logic, but the math is terrible for the customer.
    ​A ~130€ setup fee on a 55€ server means I am basically financing the hardware for Hetzner. If I cancel early, I paid for the RAM/Disk and they keep it. That isn't renting, that's hardware sponsorship.
    ​If procurement costs are the issue, why not offer 12-month contracts to spread the cost? I'd rather commit to a year or pay a higher monthly rent than pay this huge lump sum upfront. This fee structure kills the whole point of renting vs. colo

    This is my thought as well, I understand why prices have to rise, but high initial setup costs to a customer is like flushing money down the toilet, and it surely encourages people to consider purchasing their own hardware instead of gifting money to a company to buy theirs, and then still being made to pay monthly for it.

    In my opinion it would be better to simply raise the monthly price instead and spread that setup cost over a year, because I'd be sure that they are charging a new customer the same setup fee even if a customer before has already paid it.

    @bokuyaba said:
    Short-term customer: “I don’t want to pay a hefty installation fee!”
    Long-term customer: “I don’t want the monthly price to go up!”

    I can’t help but laugh.

    Damned if you do and damned if you don't I guess. What a mess the IT industry is at the moment.

  • zedzed Member

    Holy shit those are impressive setup fees, team all getting new company bmws.

    Thanked by 1ralf
  • RubbenRubben Member
    edited February 2

    if you pay that high setup fee with other providers (namely ovh) being around, you're genuinely retarded

  • layer7layer7 Member, Host Rep, LIR

    Hi,

    @gbzret4d

    doing longterm contracts makes in international business just no sense if you talk about business 2 customer contracts. Do you think a company will sue a private person because of 600 EUR/USD that were not paid on another continent? Nope. Say thank you to all the idiots out there.


    No worry, the raise of monthly prices will come too. Not only for hetzner. Just give it some more time until stock hardware is sold and providers are confronted with current pricings that are easily 3x higher than last year for crucial components like RAM and SSD. On top comes reduced availability.

    If you plan to rent hardware this year, then better do it now while the prices are still low, even if you dont need the hardware now. Things wont become better this year as it seems.

    Worst time to need capacities...

    This 600 EUR setups are by the way still low.

    Good luck to all of us... thank you dear AI :)

  • fiberstatefiberstate Member, Patron Provider
    edited February 2

    About to change as well.

    https://x.com/olesovhcom/status/2017929649599263218?s=20

    After the 3x increase from September–December 2025 driven by U.S. demand, we are now seeing another rise in RAM prices linked to Chinese demand. By September 2026, RAM will be up +500% compared to September 2025. With NVMe drives, a PC will cost 2x its September 2025 price by September 2026. That’s why PC sales increased at the end of 2025: who will buy a PC at the end of 2026 at twice its usual price?

    All of this is tied to GPU demand for AI. GPU orders are so profitable that RAM manufacturers have shifted production from CPU RAM to GPU RAM. The result: PC RAM production collapses and prices explode.

    GPU prices are not increasing. On the contrary. Each GPU generation (every 18 months) is more powerful and therefore several times cheaper (compared to the H100)! The ultra-fast depreciation of GPU assets is set to accelerate further. Why? If you have 1 MW of data center power, you can choose to invest in CPUs (PCs) or GPUs (AI). In 2023, GPUs cost 4x more than CPUs for only 2x more revenue. This 2x ratio is being eliminated through two scenarios: either reduce GPU costs while keeping CPU costs the same, or reduce GPU costs and increase CPU costs. It is this second scenario that is currently being tested globally.

    On the AI side, we now see that the number one topic is Free Cash Flow, even before discussing LLM model quality. With cross-blood investments among around ten U.S. companies funded by extreme valuations, the question is no longer who will release the best LLM. Now, the goal is to maintain a semblance of normality to avoid panic despite massive investments. The watchword: none of these players must run out of cash, otherwise the entire house of cards collapses at once, with impacts across the whole AI supply chain as well (LLMs, GPUs, servers, networks, data centers, energy).

    That’s why right now everyone is chasing cash and therefore free cash flow. We will see price increases, workforce reductions, asset sales, in order to survive — and also to help others survive. We will see cross-investments with no real business logic, just to avoid panic around valuations.

    AI has become incredibly good in terms of token quality. And it remains cheap (while it continues to absorb the remaining data and further improve models). Token speed is still lacking, but token quality is insane. The entire SaaS world is being questioned: there is no longer any glass ceiling for “cranking out code.” You can build anything, fast, with a small team. Developers are evolving into architects and also becoming product managers. The return of “superhero” profiles capable of doing everything: customer, market, UX, frontend, backend. Productivity makes it possible to do all jobs at once. In this context, passion becomes the core of each human’s value.

    Because AI is cold. Factual. Sometimes still approximate. An AI-generated video has no value — we skip it immediately. Why? Because we think we’re being lied to. Because “I don’t believe it.” Because “if it’s made with AI, it must not have been important.” Because AI completely lacks empathy and love. Sometimes we will seek human contact, sometimes just a quick answer via AI.

    All of this is happening right now. An incredible moment in human history!

    I started this text talking about Free Cash Flow and I’m ending it talking about love. AI cannot do this authentically because AI has no history, no lived experience. Yet these fundamentals are what generate the emotions we need to live.

    Have a nice Sunday.

    Kind regards,
    Octave

  • WhiteRoseGWhiteRoseG Member
    edited February 2

    LOL Ram prices skyrocket because of datacenter, then datacenter say we raise price because ram is expensive. Looks like some sort of pyramid scheme to me. Iam going to play outside for the next couple of years ! Already canceled al my servers at Hetzner so more money for beers.

    Thanked by 2niranjan tux
  • layer7layer7 Member, Host Rep, LIR
    edited February 2

    @WhiteRoseG said:
    LOL Ram prices skyrocket because of datacenter, then datacenter say we raise price because ram is expensive. Looks like some sort of pyramid scheme to me. Iam going to play outside for the next couple of years ! Already canceled al my servers at Hetzner so more money for beers.

    Hi,

    no not really ( i think ).

    AI wants capacity and order hardware with the big vendors ( micron / samsung / ... )

    At some point the vendor's realized that AI is building up so fast capacity that the vendors have to make a decision... selling to AI companies for +500% price or to everyone else for the regular price...

    Guess what they decided ;-)

    We are here all victims. The endcustomers, the "normal" companies/hosters/...., the datacenters ( AI is growing hard, but the whole rest of the market wont with this prices ).

    The only winner's here are the big vendor's who sell the same chip now suddenly for +500% ( current price level, might increase more =)))) )

    And of course the winners are all the cool people who are using AI extensively because its so cool.

    Essentially you are paying now for your ( supposedly free ) AI usage through the backdoor hrhr... well done :D

    And yes, i agree with you... time to do some digital detox ^^; Maybe AI will safe the planet because noone can afford participating anymore with this all internet stuff as the hardware is too expensive ( do not worry, mobile phones will be hit too i assume ). So no energy/resources need to be spend on that.

    So i have to correct myself: Use AI, safe the planet!

    Seems a multi dimensional scheme to safe the planet... or maybe kill it... not sure yet =) Obviously too big for my small brain... have to ask AI for its opinion about it...

  • @layer7 said:

    @WhiteRoseG said:
    LOL Ram prices skyrocket because of datacenter, then datacenter say we raise price because ram is expensive. Looks like some sort of pyramid scheme to me. Iam going to play outside for the next couple of years ! Already canceled al my servers at Hetzner so more money for beers.

    Hi,

    no not really ( i think ).

    AI wants capacity and order hardware with the big vendors ( micron / samsung / ... )

    At some point the vendor's realized that AI is building up so fast capacity that the vendors have to make a decision... selling to AI companies for +500% price or to everyone else for the regular price...

    Guess what they decided ;-)

    We are here all victims. The endcustomers, the "normal" companies/hosters/...., the datacenters ( AI is growing hard, but the whole rest of the market wont with this prices ).

    The only winner's here are the big vendor's who sell the same chip now suddenly for +500% ( current price level, might increase more =)))) )

    And of course the winners are all the cool people who are using AI extensively because its so cool.

    Essentially you are paying now for your ( supposedly free ) AI usage through the backdoor hrhr... well done :D

    And yes, i agree with you... time to do some digital detox ^^; Maybe AI will safe the planet because noone can afford participating anymore with this all internet stuff as the hardware is too expensive ( do not worry, mobile phones will be hit too i assume ). So no energy/resources need to be spend on that.

    So i have to correct myself: Use AI, safe the planet!

    Seems a multi dimensional scheme to safe the planet... or maybe kill it... not sure yet =) Obviously too big for my small brain... have to ask AI for its opinion about it...

    Hahaha you see it's a circle, let's go all outside again, and let them die a quick death. Then the pain is gone sooner.

    Thanked by 2layer7 OhJohn
  • GattoGatto Member

    Can't wait for the bubble to pop, then I hope everyone remembers what Micron did.

  • @Gatto said:
    Can't wait for the bubble to pop, then I hope everyone remembers what Micron did.

    I can tell you now, will never buy there products in my life again, also Nvidia can go f themselves.

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