Is there a European alternative to AWS?

There is no single provider with the same breadth of services. OVHcloud, IONOS, STACKIT, Open Telekom Cloud and Scaleway cover the core building blocks most companies need: compute, storage, networking, managed Kubernetes and databases. Specialised AWS services often need an open-source or third-party replacement.

Which European cloud is cheapest?

For plain virtual servers, Hetzner is widely seen as one of the most affordable options. For complete platforms with managed services, compare the total for your workload, including traffic and support, rather than headline server prices.

Are European cloud providers automatically GDPR-compliant?

No provider is compliant on your behalf. A European seat and EU data centres make some questions easier, especially around access by non-EU authorities, but you still need a data processing agreement and your own technical and organisational measures.

C5 is a criteria catalogue for cloud security published by Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Providers are audited against it; a Type 1 report checks the design of controls, a Type 2 report checks their effectiveness over a period.

European Cloud Providers 2026: 8 Alternatives Compared

The leading European cloud providers in 2026 are Hetzner, STACKIT, IONOS Cloud and Open Telekom Cloud from Germany, OVHcloud and Scaleway from France, UpCloud from Finland and Exoscale from Switzerland. All of them run data centres in Europe and are headquartered there, which sets them apart from US hyperscalers with European regions. They are not interchangeable: some focus on affordable servers, others on managed services and compliance documentation for regulated industries.

How we compared

This is an editorial overview based on the providers’ own information, not a benchmark. Criteria:

Company seat and group, as the starting point for which law applies.
Data centre locations in Europe, according to the provider.
Focus and breadth: servers only, or managed Kubernetes, databases, object storage and more.
Compliance documentation: only where the provider publishes it.
Target group: developers and small teams, SMEs, enterprise and public sector.

For the difference between data location and legal control, see sovereign cloud explained.

Overview

As of October 2026. Locations and services change; the providers’ own pages are authoritative.

Provider	Seat	European locations (per provider, selection)	Typical focus
Hetzner	Germany	Germany, Finland	Low-cost cloud servers and dedicated servers
STACKIT	Germany (Schwarz Group)	Germany, Austria	Enterprise cloud, managed services, regulated industries
IONOS Cloud	Germany	Germany and further European countries	Enterprise IaaS, managed Kubernetes, SME offers
Open Telekom Cloud	Germany (Deutsche Telekom)	Germany, Netherlands	Large enterprises, public sector
OVHcloud	France	France, Germany, Poland, UK and more	Broad portfolio from VPS to hosted private cloud
Scaleway	France	France, Netherlands, Poland	Developer-friendly cloud, serverless, AI compute
UpCloud	Finland	Several European cities	Fast cloud servers, managed databases and Kubernetes
Exoscale	Switzerland	Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria	Compact European cloud with Swiss base

The providers in brief

Hetzner

Hetzner is known for very affordable cloud and dedicated servers from its own data centres in Germany and Finland. The cloud product covers servers, volumes, networks, load balancers and object storage. The range of managed services is narrower than at enterprise-focused providers, so databases and Kubernetes are usually run yourself. A direct comparison with a US developer cloud is in Hetzner vs. DigitalOcean.

STACKIT

STACKIT is the cloud of the Schwarz Group, the retail group behind Lidl and Kaufland, and has been opened to external customers. It offers compute, storage, managed Kubernetes, databases and other platform services from data centres in Germany and Austria. STACKIT has published a BSI C5 Type 2 attestation for its core infrastructure services (announcement).

IONOS Cloud

IONOS, based in Montabaur, combines a large hosting business with an enterprise cloud offering virtual data centres, managed Kubernetes and S3-compatible object storage. IONOS reports a C5 Type 1 attestation for its Compute Engine, Cloud Cubes and S3 Object Storage (IONOS announcement).

Open Telekom Cloud

Deutsche Telekom’s public cloud targets larger organisations and the public sector, with a broad set of IaaS and platform services. It is a natural candidate where a German operator with established enterprise contracts is preferred.

OVHcloud

OVHcloud from Roubaix is one of the largest cloud providers founded in Europe, with its own data centres in several European countries and beyond. The portfolio ranges from VPS and bare-metal servers to public cloud, managed Kubernetes and hosted private cloud. OVHcloud lists a C5 attestation on its compliance page.

Scaleway

Scaleway, part of the French Iliad group, offers a developer-friendly cloud with instances, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, serverless functions and containers, and GPU capacity for AI workloads.

UpCloud

UpCloud from Helsinki focuses on fast cloud servers with a simple pricing model, complemented by managed databases, Kubernetes and object storage, in several European cities.

Exoscale

Exoscale, headquartered in Switzerland, runs a compact cloud with compute, object storage, managed Kubernetes and databases in zones across Central and Eastern Europe.

Choosing a provider

Lowest cost for servers you manage yourself: Hetzner, followed by smaller VPS offers at OVHcloud, Scaleway or UpCloud.
Managed services and compliance documents for enterprise or public sector: STACKIT, IONOS Cloud, Open Telekom Cloud or OVHcloud. A deeper comparison is in STACKIT, IONOS Cloud and OVHcloud.
Developer experience with serverless and AI compute: Scaleway.
Swiss or Nordic base: Exoscale or UpCloud.

Before you switch

Map the managed services you use today to their European counterparts, estimate egress and support costs, and check whether certifications cover the specific services you need, not just the company. A step-by-step plan is in moving from AWS or Azure to a European cloud, and data protection basics are in GDPR-compliant cloud hosting.

This overview is for orientation and is not legal advice.