bellaauc
Member
OP
3-2-1 Believer
- Joined:
- Jun 2024
- Posts:
- 190
- From:
- Auckland, NZ
Just got my December bill from Hetzner and nearly fell out of my chair. 847GB "bandwidth" used, charged for both incoming and outgoing. I assumed "unmetered" on the plan page meant what it says—turns out their TOS defines it as "unmetered outgoing only, incoming counted against quota."
Did anyone else hit this? I run nightly off-site backups to this box, so incoming dominates. My fault for not reading every clause, but it feels deliberately buried.
Before anyone asks: yes I test my restores, and yes I follow 3-2-1. This VPS is my 3rd copy.
Quick checklist for others:
- Check if your provider counts both directions
- Check if "unmetered" has a hidden cap
- Check if overage is throttled or billed
What's the honest provider these days?
3-2-1 or you're already dead
carlos2
Member
- Joined:
- Jun 2024
- Posts:
- 158
- From:
- Medellín, CO
Privacy matters when you're pushing backup traffic, don't want that tied to identity.
OVHcloud used to be crypto-friendly but their bandwidth accounting is opaque. Anyone audited their counters?
not your keys, not your coins
tinaworm
Member
- Joined:
- Jun 2024
- Posts:
- 84
- From:
- Riga, Latvia
- the term "unmetered" lacks industry standard definition
- "bandwidth" technically refers to rate, not volume; providers conflate the two
- Hetzner's ToS has something about how they define it, from memory
- three providers known to count egress only: RackNerd, HostHatch, InterServer
- verification method: iptables counters against provider dashboard
-t
worst bandwidth, best stories
tinaworm
Member
- Joined:
- Jun 2024
- Posts:
- 84
- From:
- Riga, Latvia
RackNerd really egress-only? Their network page says "fair use"
"Fair use" is not the same as metering. RackNerd's counters track egress only in practice. I have three boxes with them, checked iptables vs dashboard for six months. Incoming does not increment. The fair-use clause is their escape hatch for abusers, not a quota.
HostHatch same. Verified in London and Stockholm.
-t
worst bandwidth, best stories
