LaunchPad vs Hatchbox
Both put a friendly control panel on servers you own. Here is an honest comparison — including the things Hatchbox does well and where LaunchPad is still early access.
Side by side
| Capability | Hatchbox | LaunchPad |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $10/server/month (~R170), unlimited apps, 14-day free trial | Free tier (1 server); Solo R149 and Team R249/mo ex VAT — early access, paid billing not yet enabled |
| Infrastructure bill | Your cloud account, billed directly | Your Hetzner + Backblaze accounts, billed directly — no markup |
| Server provisioning | Connects to your cloud provider | Provisions Hetzner Cloud servers and hardens them (Docker, UFW, fail2ban, swap), or connects an existing server over SSH |
| Deploys | Zero-downtime deployments for Ruby, Rails and Node.js | Kamal zero-downtime deploys for any Dockerized app, with live log streaming and health-check-gated cutover |
| PostgreSQL backups | See hatchbox.io for current database features | Scheduled pg_dump to Backblaze B2, encrypted client-side, drill-verified restores, restore drills, and WAL-based point-in-time recovery (Beta; validate with a drill) |
| Scheduled tasks | Cron support | Managed cron entries per app |
| Teams | Unlimited team members | Workspaces with member roles |
| Custom domains + SSL | Yes | Yes — SSL provisioned automatically once DNS resolves |
| Maturity | Established product with years in production | Early access — free while paid billing is switched off |
Hatchbox prices and plan details checked June 2026 (app.hatchbox.io/pricing); Rand conversion at roughly R17.0/$. LaunchPad prices exclude 15% South African VAT. We only list Hatchbox capabilities published on their pricing page — check their site for the full picture.
When to pick which
Pick Hatchbox if…
- You want a battle-tested product today.
- You deploy Node.js apps alongside Rails.
- You prefer a flat per-server fee over tiered plans.
Pick LaunchPad if…
- You want Hetzner provisioning and hardening built in.
- Database safety matters: encrypted off-site backups and restore drills are first-class, with WAL-based point-in-time recovery in Beta (validate with a drill before relying on it — it shows as "Verified" in-product once a drill passes for that database; it drops back to unverified if a later drill fails, and is flagged stale for a re-run once the proof ages).
- You bill and budget in South African Rand.
- You want to try the whole platform free during early access.
Try LaunchPad free
Connect a Hetzner account, ship with Kamal, and let LaunchPad look after your database. See the deploy guide for the full walkthrough.
Get Started FreeNo credit card required to get started.