Claude Code recommended Hetzner EU server at ~€4/month — pricing is outdated, cheapest available is now €12.42/month
Summary
A previous Claude Code Desktop session recommended Hetzner Cloud as a hosting provider, specifically citing European cloud servers at ~€4/month. Based on this recommendation, I created a Hetzner account and deposited €25 to verify the account.
Upon logging in to the Hetzner Console, I discovered:
- The CX11 server (~€3.49–4.49/mo, 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM) that was presumably referenced has been discontinued.
- The next cheapest tier listed is CX23 (Cost-Optimized, 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM), shown at €5.93/mo — but it is not selectable in any EU datacenter (Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki). Clicking it shows: "Not available. Please choose another location or type."
- The actual cheapest available EU server is the CPX12 (Regular Performance, 1 vCPU AMD, 2GB RAM) at €12.42/month including Swiss VAT — more than 3× the quoted price.
Impact
The user (me) deposited €25 into Hetzner specifically because Claude Code said servers start at ~€4/month. That was incorrect at the time of the conversation, and no server near that price is currently available in the EU. I have since submitted a refund request to Hetzner.
Suggestion
Claude Code should avoid making specific third-party pricing claims that can quickly become stale. A disclaimer like "prices may have changed — verify on the provider's website before depositing funds" would prevent this kind of situation.
Alternatively, if pricing data is used to make hosting recommendations, it should either be fetched in real time or explicitly flagged as potentially outdated.
Environment
- Claude Code Desktop (macOS)
- Model: Claude (exact version not recorded at time of incident)
- Date of recommendation: approximately early May 2026
- Hetzner region: EU (Switzerland account)