Short answer: Hetzner Cloud Backups copy your server’s disk, not the Volumes attached to it. Hetzner’s docs say "Backups and Snapshots do not include any Volumes which are attached to your server." So before you pay for the add-on, find out which of your files sit on the server disk and which sit on an attached Volume. Data on a Volume needs its own copy plan.
Scope: Hetzner Docs pages on Cloud server Backups and Snapshots and the Cloud billing FAQ, checked October 13, 2026, 00:14 KST (October 12, 15:14 UTC). This covers Hetzner Cloud servers only, not dedicated servers or Storage Boxes. It’s a reading of Hetzner’s published docs, not a test. We haven’t created a server, enabled Backups, taken a Snapshot or run a restore, and we can’t see your account.
What is inside the server copy?
Hetzner describes both Backups and Snapshots as "copies of a server’s disk." That gives a simple first split:
| Where the data lives | In a Backup or Snapshot? |
|---|---|
| The Cloud server’s own disk | Yes. Both are copies of the server’s disk |
| A Volume attached to the server | No. Hetzner says attached Volumes are not included |
Now add your own rows. Write down where each important kind of data actually lives on your server. We can’t guess your mount points, and you shouldn’t either. Check them on the server itself.
| Your data | Path on your server | Server disk or attached Volume? |
|---|---|---|
| Database files | UNKNOWN | |
| User uploads / media | UNKNOWN | |
| App and web-server configuration | UNKNOWN |
Any row that ends up "attached Volume" is outside what the Backup add-on copies.
Coverage versus retention
Coverage is what gets copied. Retention is how long a copy stays. Hetzner’s two disk-copy types differ mainly in retention:
| Backups | Snapshots | |
|---|---|---|
| How they’re created | Automatically, on a daily basis | Manually |
| How many | Seven Backup slots per server | Up to 30 across all projects by default |
| When old copies go | Oldest is deleted when a new one is created and the slots are full | Never deleted automatically; kept until you delete them |
| If you delete the server | Deleted with it. Backups "are bound to a single server" | Remain available |
Two caveats matter before you rely on either one.
Seven slots is a count, not a promise. Hetzner says each server has seven Backup slots and the oldest is deleted once the limit is reached. The docs don’t promise that any given copy restores cleanly.
A running server is a consistency risk. Hetzner recommends that you "power off your server to ensure data consistency on the disk." You can create Backups or Snapshots from a running system, "however, in this case, we cannot guarantee data consistency." That matters most for files that change all the time, such as a database.
Restoring has a cost of its own, too. Rebuilding an existing server from a Backup or Snapshot "will overwrite the contents of the server’s disk," and Hetzner’s overview warns that "you will lose any data that is not saved on the Backup/Snapshot." Creating a new server from the copy is the other route the docs describe.
What the add-on price does not prove
Hetzner’s billing FAQ says Backups are billed "with a monthly flat price, which is 20% of the price of the server you activate them for," and that "for this price, you will get a total of 7 Backup slots."
That tells you how the add-on is priced. It doesn’t tell you:
- your own server’s price, tax or invoice total (check the info box at hetzner.com/cloud and your own bill; we haven’t seen either)
- whether your important data is on the server disk at all
- anything about copies of attached Volumes, which the add-on doesn’t include
So budget for two different things: the add-on for the server disk, and a separate plan for whatever lives on attached Volumes.
Pre-purchase worksheet
Fill this in before you enable Backups. Leave every field as UNKNOWN until you’ve checked it yourself. This is a planning sheet, not a tested backup setup.
| Field | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Cloud product (Cloud server, not dedicated / Storage Box) | UNKNOWN |
| Data path you care about most | UNKNOWN |
| On the server disk or an attached Volume? | UNKNOWN |
| Oldest recovery point you’d need | UNKNOWN |
| Copy you’ll keep beyond the seven slots (e.g. a Snapshot) | UNKNOWN |
| Separate copy for attached Volume data | UNKNOWN |
| Date of your last successful restore test | UNKNOWN |
| What your bill shows for the server and the add-on | UNKNOWN |
If "separate copy for attached Volume data" stays UNKNOWN, the Backup add-on alone leaves that data uncovered.
FAQ
Do Hetzner Cloud Snapshots include attached Volumes? No. Hetzner’s docs say "Backups and Snapshots do not include any Volumes which are attached to your server." Both are copies of the server’s disk.
Do server Backups survive if I delete the server? No. Hetzner says Backups "are bound to a single server and will automatically be deleted if you delete the server." Snapshots, by contrast, "remain available even if you delete the server a Snapshot was taken of."
Does a Snapshot of a running server guarantee consistent data? No. Hetzner allows it but says "we cannot guarantee data consistency" in that case, and recommends powering off the server first.
Your next step
Before you pay, map your data paths with the worksheet, then read Hetzner’s Backups/Snapshots overview and Backups/Snapshots FAQ on the day you decide. No link on this page is an offer or an affiliate link.
Related StackValue worksheets for other cloud servers: Amazon Lightsail stop vs. delete billing and DigitalOcean CPU Droplet monthly cap and IPv4.
Sources (checked October 13, 2026, 00:14 KST / October 12, 15:14 UTC)
- Hetzner Docs, Backups/Snapshots: Overview (page shows last change 2026-09-03)
- Hetzner Docs, Backups/Snapshots: FAQ (page shows last change 2022-08-23)
- Hetzner Docs, Cloud: Billing FAQ (page shows last change 2020-07-07)