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.
| Feature | Hetzner | Valebyte |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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`.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Frequently asked questions
Will Hetzner refund unused balance?
How long does the actual cutover take?
Can I run the same Docker Compose on Valebyte?
Do you have an API like Hetzner Cloud?
Can I migrate without downtime?
Will my IP-based licenses keep working?
Do you support BYOIP (bring your own IP)?
Leave Hetzner today
10 Gbps unmetered, multi-region, flexible payment (card, SEPA, crypto, MIR). VPS in 30 seconds.
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