Migration · 1 hour · Zero data loss

Migrate from Hetzner to Valebyte

Move to Valebyte: 10 Gbps unmetered, multi-region presence beyond DACH, predictable billing, crypto + card payment.

Why people leave Hetzner

Limited locations — DACH and US only

Hetzner has 5 datacenters: Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki, Ashburn, Hillsboro. If your audience is in LATAM, Asia, India, Africa, Middle East or Eastern Europe, your latency is 100-300ms — and it shows in conversion.

Bandwidth caps with overage charges

Cloud servers cap at 20 TB/mo, then €1.19/TB. Dedicated has higher caps but the surprise bill at the end of a busy month is real. Forecasting traffic is harder than it should be.

Shared CPU steal on cheap plans

CX (shared vCPU) plans suffer measurable steal under load — typical 5-15% during peak. Dedicated vCPU plans (CCX) cost 2-3x more for the same RAM.

Single-region data residency

Hetzner servers are physically in Germany, Finland, or US — meaning EU GDPR rules apply by default. If your customers are in LATAM, Asia or the Middle East, hosting closer to them improves both latency and legal alignment with their local data laws.

Card-only payment, German IBAN preferred

International cards sometimes fail 3DS, no crypto, no SEPA outside EU, no MIR/SBP for Russian customers. Payment options matter when you serve customers globally.

Slow setup on dedicated

EX-line dedicated servers ship within 1-3 hours during working hours but can take overnight on weekends. AX-line auctions can wait days for the right config.

Hetzner vs Valebyte: honest comparison

No marketing — actual differences. Including where they win.

FeatureHetznerValebyte
Cheapest VPS CX22 — €4.59 — 2 vCPU shared, 4 GB, 40 GB VPS-XS — $7.59 — 1 vCPU dedicated, 2 GB, 20 GB NVMe
Network 1 Gbps shared, 20 TB cap then €1.19/TB 10 Gbps unmetered (no overage)
Locations DE, FI, US-VA, US-OR (5 DCs) FR, NL, DE, NO, JP, IN, US, ZA, AE, BR via Scaleway + own
CPU type on entry plans Shared vCPU (steal under load) Dedicated vCPU on every plan
Storage Local SSD only NVMe SSD on all VPS plans
Dedicated server fleet AX/EX/SX (auction + new) Scaleway Dedibox + Elastic Metal + Apple Silicon — 350+ configs
Payment methods Credit/debit card, SEPA (EU only) Stripe, Square, SEPA, USDT/BTC/ETH/TON, MIR/SBP
VPS provisioning 30-60 sec via Cloud Console 30 sec via panel API
Dedicated provisioning 1-3 hours business hours / overnight off-hours 1-24 hours, multi-provider catalog
Languages of support English, German English, Russian, Spanish

Migration checklist: 12 steps

Total time — 1 hour (small VPS) to 4 hours (TB-scale DB). Zero-downtime possible — steps 4-6.

  1. 1

    Snapshot your existing servers

    Hetzner Cloud Console → server → 'Snapshot' tab. For dedicated, use rsync from rescue mode or `dd | ssh` to a temporary host. Snapshots are free for the first 7 days, after that storage is charged.

  2. 2

    Export DNS records to BIND zone file

    Hetzner DNS Console → 'Export' → save as zone file. Most registrars accept this format directly. If you use Cloudflare for DNS, this step is optional — DNS lives there.

  3. 3

    Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds

    Do this 24h before cutover. Means visitors see new IP within 5 min instead of waiting hours for caches to expire.

  4. 4

    Order your Valebyte VPS or dedicated matching specs

    Match RAM and vCPU to your Hetzner plan; disk you can grow later. Pay in your preferred method — card, SEPA, USDT/BTC, MIR/SBP.

  5. 5

    Restore data via rsync over SSH

    `rsync -avzP --delete /source/ root@new-server:/dest/` works for files, configs, Docker volumes, and pre-dumped databases. Run with `--dry-run` first.

  6. 6

    Migrate databases with logical dump

    Postgres: `pg_dumpall | ssh new-server psql`. MySQL: `mysqldump --all-databases | ssh new-server mysql`. For TB-scale: physical replication or `pg_basebackup` over SSH.

  7. 7

    Re-create users, SSH keys, sudoers

    Don't copy `/etc/shadow` blindly across distros — re-add users with `useradd` and copy `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`. Verify sudoers with `visudo -c`.

  8. 8

    Install your stack

    Same Docker Compose, Ansible playbook, or k3s manifest works on Valebyte (Ubuntu 22/24, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 are available). No vendor-specific lock-in.

  9. 9

    Re-create firewall rules

    Hetzner Cloud Firewall → list rules → recreate via `ufw` or `nftables` on Valebyte. Test all inbound services with `nmap` from outside before going live.

  10. 10

    Update DNS A/AAAA records to new IPs

    Wait for old TTL to expire (5 min if you lowered earlier). Watch traffic on the new server with `tcpdump` to confirm requests are arriving.

  11. 11

    Run both servers in parallel for 48 hours

    Don't shut down the Hetzner side immediately. Watch error rates, latency, customer complaints. If something breaks — flip DNS back instantly.

  12. 12

    Cancel Hetzner only after 7 days

    Wait until you're sure nothing references old IPs (cron jobs, webhooks pointing at the old server, hardcoded configs in 3rd-party services).

Pick a plan that matches your Hetzner budget

All plans: 10 Gbps, dedicated IP, full root, KVM console

VPS-XS
$7.59/mo
  • 1.00 vCPU
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 20 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order
VPS-S
$13.10/mo
  • 2.00 vCPU
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 40 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order
VPS-M
$24.14/mo
  • 4.00 vCPU
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 80 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order
VPS-L
$47.69/mo
  • 8.00 vCPU
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 150 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order
VPS-XL
$88.46/mo
  • 16.00 vCPU
  • 32 GB RAM
  • 300 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order
VPS-2XL
$182.50/mo
  • 24.00 vCPU
  • 64 GB RAM
  • 400 GB NVMe
  • 10 Gbps unmetered
Order

Frequently asked questions

Will Hetzner refund unused balance?
Yes — Hetzner refunds prepaid balance via SEPA transfer within 14 days of account closure. Cloud servers cancel pro-rata. Dedicated has fixed monthly billing without partial refund — close at the next billing cycle.
How long does the actual cutover take?
DNS propagation 5-30 minutes if you lowered TTL to 300s 24h before. Database dump+restore depends on size: 10 GB ~ 5 min, 100 GB ~ 30 min, 1 TB ~ a few hours over a 1 Gbps link. Total user-visible downtime if scripted well: 5-15 minutes.
Can I run the same Docker Compose on Valebyte?
Yes. Valebyte VPS provides full root access on KVM virtualization. AlmaLinux 9, Ubuntu 22/24, Debian 12 are available — all run Docker out of the box. Bring your existing `docker-compose.yml` unchanged.
Do you have an API like Hetzner Cloud?
VPS provisioning is fully API-driven via our HostPVE-powered panel (create, snapshot, rebuild, console, power). Dedicated server ordering is currently manual fulfillment within 1-24 hours; full API by Q3 2026.
Can I migrate without downtime?
Yes if you set up database replication (logical or physical) before cutover, then flip DNS. Most users accept 5-15 minutes of downtime as it's much simpler. True zero-downtime migration requires work proportional to your service architecture — we can advise on a free call.
Will my IP-based licenses keep working?
License keys tied to specific IPs (Plesk, cPanel, MetaTrader VPS plans, some IDS appliances) need re-issuing. Talk to your license vendor before cutover. Floating IPs are an option if you want to keep an IP that can be re-attached.
Do you support BYOIP (bring your own IP)?
Not currently. We provide IPv4 + IPv6 addresses from our own and partner pools (Scaleway AS12876 / 51924, GH-Net AS49532). For specific routing or IP-reputation requirements, contact us before ordering — we can advise on the best location.

Leave Hetzner today

10 Gbps unmetered, multi-region, flexible payment (card, SEPA, crypto, MIR). VPS in 30 seconds.

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