Oracle Cloud Free Tier vs Netcup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Oracle Cloud Free Tier and Netcup.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Oracle Cloud Free Tier
0 reviews
4.2/5
Netcup
0 reviews
Netcup is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.0). Oracle's perpetual Always Free tier offers 2 AMD micro VMs plus a 2 OCPU/12 GB Ampere A1 allocation (halved from 4/24 in July 2026), 200 GB block storage, two 20 GB Autonomous Databases, 10 GB object storage and 10 TB egress/month; a card is required for identity verification at signup. German hosting company selling low-cost VPS and root servers in Europe, the US and Singapore. Smallest VPS starts at about EUR 2.21/month incl. VAT (12-month contract).
Oracle Cloud Free Tier Always-free compute, database, and storage for development and testing | Netcup German VPS with exceptional price-to-performance | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | paid |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $2.21/mo |
| Best for | Developers, students, and side projects that want always-on cloud infrastructure — including real Arm compute and managed databases — at zero cost, without a time limit | European buyers who can run their own Linux server and want maximum cores and RAM per euro, with data residency in Germany, Austria, or the Netherlands |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 2 vCPU | 2 vCPU |
| RAM | 12 GB✓ | 4 GB |
| Storage | 200 GB✓ | 64 GB |
| Bandwidth | 10 TB/mo | — |
| SLA uptime | — | 99.6% |
| Data-center count | 50✓ | 5 |
| €/vCPU/mo | €0.00✓ | €1.10 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | €0.00✓ | €0.55 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ✓ | |
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | 50+ regions across 28 countries (NA, SA, EU, MEA, APAC) | Germany, Austria, Netherlands, United States, Singapore |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierapi accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenterarm processors | hourly billingnvme storageipv6ddos protectionbackups includedeu datacentergdpr compliantwindows available |
| Visit Oracle Cloud Free Tier → | Visit Netcup → | |
Oracle Cloud Free Tier
Pros
- + Unmatched perpetual free resources: A1 Arm compute, 200 GB block storage, two managed Autonomous Databases, 10 TB egress/month
- + Real hyperscaler underneath: 50+ regions, full VCN networking, S3-compatible object storage, Terraform-based provisioning
- + 30-day $300 trial to exercise paid services (including GPUs) with no automatic charges afterwards
- + No expiry on Always Free resources — unlike competitors' 12-month credit-style free tiers
Cons
- - Free-tier terms are changeable without notice — Oracle halved the A1 allowance in July 2026 with no announcement
- - No SLA and no Oracle Support for Always Free accounts; community forums only
- - Credit/debit card required for identity verification at signup for most users
- - Free-shape capacity in popular regions is often out of stock; OCI console/IAM complexity applies in full
Netcup
Pros
- + Exceptional hardware per euro — 8 vCore / 16 GB at €26.92/month on a 12-month term
- + Five locations on three continents from one catalog: Nuremberg, Vienna, Amsterdam, Manassas, Singapore
- + DDoS protection, IPv4/IPv6, traffic flat rate, snapshots, and hourly billing included as standard
- + German company with own Nuremberg data centers and GDPR-aligned practice
- + 30-day money-back guarantee on root servers; honest, clearly stated availability guarantees
Cons
- - 99.6% VPS availability guarantee is below the 99.9% many enterprises expect
- - Support, community, and deep documentation are German-first with business-hours ticket support
- - Best headline prices require 12- or 24-month terms; monthly terms cost noticeably more
- - Standard VPS line is unmanaged — managed service is a separate product
- - No free tier; identity verification required at signup; contracts auto-renew with strict notice periods
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