6 Best Alternatives to Scaleway in 2026
By Noahlast updated
From our data: 2 of the 6 alternatives listed here (DigitalOcean, AWS Amplify) offer a genuine free entry tier, against zero permanent free tiers at Scaleway itself, and among the alternatives with a confirmed external rating, DigitalOcean's 4.6/5 from 159 Capterra reviews is the highest review-volume signal in the comparison.
DigitalOcean
Hetzner
AWS Amplify
VultrHow we picked
- Ranked partly by verified pricing: OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, and AWS Amplify all carry verified pricing timestamps from live vendor pages, while Hetzner's and Vultr's pricing pages weren't independently reverified and IONOS returned no data at all.
- External review-platform ratings anchored part of the ordering: DigitalOcean posts a 4.6/5 rating from 159 Capterra reviews, and AWS Amplify posts 4.8/5 from 8 Capterra reviews and 5.0/5 from 11 Product Hunt reviews — both platforms Scaleway itself has no listed ratings on.
- Free-tier and low-entry-cost availability was weighted: DigitalOcean's App Platform and AWS Amplify's 12-month AWS Free Tier both offer genuine $0 entry points, while Scaleway, OVHcloud, Hetzner, and Vultr have no permanent free tier of any kind.
- IONOS is included by name only — no pricing, platform, rating, or feature data is published, so it ranks last and its entry says so explicitly rather than inventing detail.
Paid placement never alters editorial rank — read the full methodology.
Scaleway alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | Standout | Biggest weakness | Learning curve | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scalewayreference | European developers and startups who need transparent, product-level cloud pricing and EU-hosted GPU instances for AI workloads, without a US hyperscaler's custom-quote enterprise sales process | Published per-product pricing (including for high-end H100 and B300-SXM GPU instances) rather than the quote-gated enterprise sales process common at larger AI infrastructure providers. | No permanent free tier — evaluation depends on startup credit programs rather than an ongoing free plan — and some G2 and Trustpilot reviewers report billing disputes and slow support response times, a recurring concern for a provider this size. | Moderate | Custom pricing |
| OVHcloud | developers and businesses that want European-hosted (data sovereignty) VPS, bare metal, or public cloud infrastructure at lower published prices than the major US hyperscalers | Full control of its own hardware design and 46 data centers gives OVHcloud published, competitive pricing across VPS, bare metal, and public cloud without the quote-gating common at larger enterprise clouds. | Support responsiveness is the most common complaint across both review platforms — G2 reviewers in particular rate it 3.2/5 from 75 reviews, notably lower than the broader Trustpilot sample, and pricing is scheduled to change April 1, 2026, per OVHcloud's own pricing page. | Moderate | From $8.50/mo |
| Hetzner | developers and small teams who need cheap, no-frills cloud or dedicated compute in EU data centers and don't need a hyperscaler's global edge network | Per-resource pricing that consistently undercuts AWS, DigitalOcean, and Google Cloud on raw compute, with a stateful firewall, private networking, and 20TB of traffic included at no extra cost on cloud plans. | Support is email-only with no phone or live chat, data centers are concentrated in Germany, Finland, and one US location rather than a global points-of-presence network, and Hetzner has periodically restricted or delayed account approvals for new customers in some countries. | Moderate | From $4.59/mo |
| DigitalOcean | developers and small engineering teams who want predictable, usage-based cloud pricing for VMs, Kubernetes, and managed databases without navigating AWS's pricing complexity | Simple, transparent per-second billing on Droplets starting at $4/month, combined with a newer AI infrastructure stack (GPU access, a 70+ model inference engine, and managed agent orchestration) on the same account. | Fewer regions and a smaller managed-service catalog than AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, so teams with complex compliance, networking, or enterprise-integration needs often outgrow DigitalOcean and have to migrate to a hyperscaler. | Low | Free tier · paid from $4/mo |
| Vultr | developers and small-to-mid-size teams who want self-service, hourly-billed cloud compute in a specific global region without navigating a hyperscaler's full managed-service catalog | Deployment across 30+ global data center regions with instant, self-service provisioning, letting developers place compute close to end users without a hyperscaler-scale sales or onboarding process. | Backups, snapshots, and bandwidth overages are billed separately from the advertised base price (backups run about 20% of instance cost, snapshots and overage bandwidth are billed per GB), so the real monthly cost for a production instance runs meaningfully above the headline $2.50-3.50/month starting price. | Moderate | From $2.50/mo |
| AWS Amplify | teams already building on AWS who want Git-based hosting plus managed auth, data, and storage without assembling separate services | Provisions a full backend (Cognito authentication, data APIs, storage, functions) from a single TypeScript codebase alongside CI/CD hosting on CloudFront | Pricing spans multiple separately-billed AWS services (hosting, Cognito, AppSync, DynamoDB, Lambda), so total cost isn't visible on the Amplify pricing page alone, and the platform assumes comfort with AWS's console and IAM model rather than offering a simplified single-dashboard experience like Vercel or Netlify. | Moderate | Free tier · paid from $0.01/mo |
| IONOS | US small businesses wanting one vendor for a domain, SSL, email, and web hosting bundled into a cheap first-year plan | Every hosting plan bundles a free first-year domain, a wildcard SSL certificate, and professional email, with steep first-year promotional pricing (as low as $1/month on the bestselling Plus plan). | Advertised prices are 1-year promotional rates that roughly double at renewal (the Plus plan goes from $1/month to $14/month), and the product line is split across dozens of separate marketing pages (hosting, VPS, cloud, domains, email, AI tools) instead of one unified pricing view. | Moderate | From $1/mo |
Scaleway
OVHcloud
IONOS1.OVHcloud — best Scaleway alternative for developers and businesses that want European-hosted (data sovereignty) VPS, bare metal, or public cloud infrastructure at lower published prices than the major US hyperscalers
OVHcloud is the best Scaleway alternative for developers and businesses who want European-hosted infrastructure across a larger physical footprint than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones. OVHcloud operates 46 data centers across 4 continents and designs its own hardware, giving it published, per-product pricing similar to Scaleway's transparent model: VPS plans start around $8.50/month and new Public Cloud customers get $200 in trial credit plus an additional $100 credit, something Scaleway offers no equivalent of since Scaleway has no permanent free tier or credit program listed. OVHcloud also includes anti-DDoS protection by default across its product lines. Scaleway is still the better choice for teams that specifically want GPU instances up to H100 or B300-SXM for AI workloads, since OVHcloud doesn't list GPU offerings at that tier, and OVHcloud's own pricing page notes upcoming price changes effective April 1, 2026, adding near-term pricing uncertainty that Scaleway doesn't carry. OVHcloud's G2 reviewers also rate it lower (3.2/5 from 75 reviews) than its broader Trustpilot sample (3.9/5), a gap Scaleway has no external ratings to compare against either way.
Compared to Scaleway: 46 data centers across 4 continents vs Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones, $200 plus $100 trial credit for Public Cloud vs no credit program in Scaleway's data, anti-DDoS protection included by default across product lines
Wins:46 data centers across 4 continents, a larger footprint than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones · New Public Cloud customers get $200 plus an additional $100 in trial credit, unlike Scaleway's data, which lists no credit program · Anti-DDoS protection included by default across product lines
Loses:No GPU instances up to H100 or B300-SXM listed, unlike Scaleway's AI/GPU stack · G2 reviewers rate it notably lower (3.2/5 from 75 reviews) than its broader Trustpilot sample (3.9/5) · Pricing is scheduled to change April 1, 2026 per OVHcloud's own pricing page, adding near-term uncertainty
Pros
- Published, transparent pricing across VPS, bare metal, and public cloud rather than requiring a sales quote.
- VPS starts around $8.50/month, undercutting many US hyperscaler entry points for comparable specs.
- Anti-DDoS protection is included by default across product lines rather than sold as an add-on.
- European data center footprint (46 centers, 4 continents) appeals to buyers prioritizing EU data residency.
Cons
- No permanent free tier; only trial credits ($200 + $100 for Public Cloud) rather than an ongoing free plan.
- G2 reviewers rate support and overall experience notably lower (3.2/5) than the broader Trustpilot sample (3.9/5), pointing to inconsistent support quality.
- OVHcloud's own pricing page notes upcoming price changes effective April 1, 2026, adding near-term pricing uncertainty.
- Smaller ecosystem and third-party integration base than AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
Pricing: From $8.50/mo — $8.50/month VPS starting price vs Scaleway's cheapest published tier, the €0.43/month Stardust1-S development instance (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
2.Hetzner — best Scaleway alternative for developers and small teams who need cheap, no-frills cloud or dedicated compute in EU data centers and don't need a hyperscaler's global edge network
Hetzner is the best Scaleway alternative for developers and small teams who want the cheapest possible raw compute in EU data centers without a hyperscaler-style AI product line. Hetzner's entry shared-vCPU cloud server (CX22: 2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD) starts at $4.59/month and includes a stateful firewall, private networking, and 20TB of traffic at no extra cost, undercutting Scaleway's general-purpose instance pricing, which starts around €16.79/month for a comparable 2 vCPU/4GB configuration. Hetzner runs data centers in Germany, Finland, and one US location (Ashburn, Virginia), giving it a presence outside the EU that Scaleway doesn't have. Scaleway is still the better choice for teams that specifically need published GPU instances (up to H100 and B300-SXM) for AI training and serving, since Hetzner publishes no GPU tier pricing, and Scaleway's per-product pricing transparency extends to that AI stack in a way Hetzner doesn't confirm. Hetzner's support is also email-only with no phone or live chat, a limitation Scaleway doesn't specify either way.
Compared to Scaleway: cheaper entry cloud server ($4.59/mo vs roughly €16.79/mo for a comparable general-purpose instance), 20TB of traffic and a stateful firewall included at no extra cost, a US data center (Ashburn, Virginia) alongside Germany and Finland
Wins:Entry shared-vCPU cloud server starts at $4.59/month vs Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance · Private networking, a stateful firewall, and 20TB of traffic included at no extra cost · Data centers in Germany, Finland, and Ashburn, Virginia give it a US presence Scaleway doesn't have
Loses:No published GPU instances (H100, B300-SXM) for AI workloads the way Scaleway's AI/GPU stack offers · Support is limited to 24/7 email with no phone or live chat option · No permanent free tier, the same limitation Scaleway's own data shares
Pros
- Cloud and dedicated server prices consistently undercut AWS, DigitalOcean, and Vultr for comparable specs.
- Private networking, a stateful firewall, and free DNS are included at no extra cost.
- Server Auction offers discounted, previously-used dedicated hardware for budget-sensitive projects.
- EU-based data centers simplify GDPR data-residency requirements for European customers.
Cons
- Support is limited to 24/7 email; there is no phone or live chat option.
- Data center footprint is limited to Germany, Finland, and a single US location, versus dozens of regions at AWS or Azure.
- No permanent free compute tier; every server incurs hourly or monthly charges from the first minute.
- Account verification and approval can be slow or restrictive for signups from certain countries.
Pricing: From $4.59/mo — $4.59/month entry cloud server vs Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance
3.DigitalOcean — best Scaleway alternative for developers and small engineering teams who want predictable, usage-based cloud pricing for VMs, Kubernetes, and managed databases without navigating AWS's pricing complexity
DigitalOcean is the best Scaleway alternative for developers and small engineering teams who want predictable, per-second-billed cloud pricing plus a genuine free entry point, something Scaleway's data shows no equivalent of since Scaleway has no permanent free tier. DigitalOcean's Droplets start at $4/month with per-second billing, its App Platform PaaS has a real $0/month free tier, and managed Kubernetes starts at $12/month with a free control plane; new accounts also get a $5 credit valid for 90 days. DigitalOcean holds a 4.6/5 rating from 159 Capterra reviews, giving it a verifiable review signal Scaleway's own listing lacks entirely. DigitalOcean has also expanded into AI infrastructure with GPU access across 20 data centers and an inference engine serving 70+ open models, a comparable AI push to Scaleway's own H100/B300-SXM GPU stack. Scaleway is still the better choice for teams specifically prioritizing EU data sovereignty for AI workloads, since Scaleway's data centers are explicitly EU-based across 4 availability zones, while DigitalOcean's 20 data centers span a broader, less EU-concentrated global footprint, and DigitalOcean's own data notes it has fewer regions and a smaller managed-service catalog than the major hyperscalers.
Compared to Scaleway: genuine $0/month App Platform free tier vs no permanent free tier at Scaleway, 4.6/5 rating from 159 Capterra reviews vs no listed ratings for Scaleway, $5 new-account credit valid for 90 days
Wins:App Platform ships a genuine $0/month free tier; Scaleway has no permanent free tier · 4.6/5 rating from 159 Capterra reviews, a verifiable signal Scaleway's own listing doesn't have · Droplets bill per second starting at $4/month, simpler to predict than Scaleway's per-vCPU/RAM configuration pricing
Loses:Data centers span a broader, less EU-concentrated global footprint than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones · Fewer regions and a smaller managed-service catalog than the major hyperscalers, per DigitalOcean's own data · AI infrastructure line (GPU access, inference engine) is newer and less proven than dedicated AI cloud providers
Pros
- Droplets start at $4/month with simple per-second billing, easier to predict than hyperscaler pricing.
- App Platform includes a genuine free tier, not just a time-limited trial.
- Managed Kubernetes includes a free control plane, a cost hyperscalers usually charge for.
- 4.6/5 rating from 159 Capterra reviews, with reviewers reporting largely positive sentiment.
Cons
- Far fewer regions and managed services than AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, limiting fit for complex enterprise needs.
- The new-account credit is a modest $5 valid for 90 days, smaller than promotional credits some competitors offer.
- The AI infrastructure line (GPU access, inference engine) is newer and less proven than dedicated AI cloud providers.
- Support and SLA options are thinner than what enterprise customers get from the major hyperscalers.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $4/mo — $0/month App Platform free tier and $4/month Droplets vs Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance (no free tier) (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
4.Vultr — best Scaleway alternative for developers and small-to-mid-size teams who want self-service, hourly-billed cloud compute in a specific global region without navigating a hyperscaler's full managed-service catalog
Vultr is the best Scaleway alternative for developers who want to place compute close to end users across a much broader set of regions than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones. Vultr operates data centers in more than 30 global regions and offers instant, self-service provisioning with hourly or monthly billing and no long-term contract; entry Regular Performance instances start around $2.50-3.50/month, undercutting Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance for a comparable starting price. Vultr holds a 4.5/5 rating from 40 Capterra reviews, a verifiable signal Scaleway's own listing doesn't have. Scaleway is still the better choice for teams that need published, per-product pricing without extra line items: Vultr's backups, snapshots, and bandwidth overages are billed separately from the advertised base price (backups run about 20% of instance cost), so the real monthly cost climbs meaningfully above Vultr's headline starting price, while Scaleway markets itself explicitly on simple, transparent per-product pricing, and Vultr's own site blocks automated fetching, so its pricing here is triangulated from third-party sources rather than confirmed directly.
Compared to Scaleway: deploys across 30+ global regions vs Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones, cheaper entry compute (about $2.50-3.50/mo vs roughly €16.79/mo for a comparable general-purpose instance), 4.5/5 rating from 40 Capterra reviews vs no listed ratings for Scaleway
Wins:Data centers in 30+ global regions vs Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones · Entry compute starts around $2.50-3.50/month, cheaper than Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance · 4.5/5 rating from 40 Capterra reviews, a verifiable signal Scaleway's own listing doesn't have
Loses:Backups, snapshots, and bandwidth overages are billed separately from the advertised base price, unlike Scaleway's stated per-product transparency · No broad managed-service catalog (managed Kubernetes, serverless, AI platform) as extensive as Scaleway's AI/GPU stack · Vultr's own site blocks automated fetching, so pricing here is triangulated from third-party sources rather than confirmed directly
Pros
- Data centers in 30+ global regions allow placing compute close to end users worldwide.
- Hourly and monthly billing with no long-term contract, similar to DigitalOcean and Linode.
- Product range spans shared Cloud Compute, Optimized Compute, Bare Metal, and GPU instances under one account.
- Entry-level instances start under $5/month, competitive with the cheapest hyperscaler equivalents.
Cons
- Backups, snapshots, and bandwidth overages are extra costs on top of the advertised base compute price.
- No broad managed-service catalog (managed Kubernetes, serverless, AI platform services) comparable to AWS, GCP, or Azure.
- Support quality and billing experience draw more mixed feedback on Trustpilot than on developer-focused review sites.
- No permanently free tier; new-account credit promotions are time-limited (commonly 30 days).
Pricing: From $2.50/mo — about $2.50-3.50/month entry Cloud Compute vs Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance
5.AWS Amplify — best Scaleway alternative for teams already building on AWS who want Git-based hosting plus managed auth, data, and storage without assembling separate services
AWS Amplify is the best Scaleway alternative for teams that want a managed backend (authentication, data APIs, storage, serverless functions) provisioned from code alongside Git-based CI/CD hosting, rather than assembling raw compute and storage themselves the way Scaleway's catalog is structured. Amplify Hosting gives 1,000 free build minutes, 5GB of CDN storage, and 15GB of data transfer per month for 12 months on the AWS Free Tier, a free entry point Scaleway's data shows no equivalent of. Amplify holds a 4.8/5 rating from 8 Capterra reviews and a 5.0/5 rating from 11 Product Hunt reviews, giving it review coverage on two platforms where Scaleway has no listed ratings. Because Amplify sits inside the AWS ecosystem, apps can extend into any other AWS service as requirements grow. Scaleway is still the better choice for teams that want simple, published per-product infrastructure pricing without navigating multiple separately-billed AWS services: Amplify's backend services (Cognito, AppSync, DynamoDB, Lambda) are billed separately from hosting, making total cost harder to estimate than Scaleway's transparent per-product pricing model, and Amplify's free-tier build minutes and transfer allowances expire after 12 months while Scaleway's startup credit programs are evaluated on their own terms.
Compared to Scaleway: 12-month AWS Free Tier (1,000 build minutes, 5GB storage, 15GB transfer) vs no permanent free tier at Scaleway, 4.8/5 Capterra and 5.0/5 Product Hunt ratings vs no listed ratings for Scaleway, provisions a full backend (auth, data, storage, functions) from a single TypeScript codebase
Wins:12-month AWS Free Tier covers 1,000 build minutes, 5GB storage, and 15GB data transfer per month at no cost · 4.8/5 rating from 8 Capterra reviews and 5.0/5 from 11 Product Hunt reviews, ratings Scaleway's listing lacks · Provisions a full backend (Cognito auth, data APIs, storage, functions) from a single TypeScript codebase
Loses:Backend services (Cognito, AppSync, DynamoDB, Lambda) are billed separately, making total cost harder to estimate than Scaleway's per-product pricing · Free tier build minutes and transfer allowances expire after 12 months · Assumes comfort with AWS's console and IAM model rather than Scaleway's simpler per-product dashboards
Pros
- Combines Git-based CI/CD hosting with a full backend toolkit (auth, data, storage, functions) provisioned from code.
- 12-month AWS Free Tier covers 1,000 build minutes, 5 GB storage, and 15 GB data transfer per month at no cost.
- No pay-per-seat pricing for team collaboration.
- Extends into any other AWS service as an application's needs grow.
Cons
- Backend services (Cognito, AppSync, DynamoDB, Lambda) are billed separately under their own AWS pricing, making total cost harder to estimate than flat-rate competitors.
- Learning curve is steeper for teams unfamiliar with AWS's console, IAM permissions, and service naming.
- Free tier build minutes and transfer allowances expire after 12 months.
- Fewer opinionated defaults than Vercel or Netlify, requiring more configuration for common frontend framework deployments.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $0.01/mo — $0/month for the first 12 months (AWS Free Tier) vs Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance (no free tier) (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
6.IONOS — best Scaleway alternative for US small businesses wanting one vendor for a domain, SSL, email, and web hosting bundled into a cheap first-year plan
IONOS is included in this comparison as a Scaleway alternative, but no pricing, platform, licensing, feature, or review data for IONOS is published — every field beyond its name and website (https://ionos.com) came back empty. What is independently verified is Scaleway's own profile: Scaleway's cheapest published compute tier is the Stardust1-S development instance at roughly €0.43/month, general-purpose instances start around €16.79/month, and bare metal (including Dedibox and Apple Mac mini rentals) starts at €4.99/month, all with no permanent free tier and only startup credit programs for evaluation. Anyone considering IONOS instead of Scaleway should check IONOS's current published pricing, data center locations, and support channels directly on ionos.com and weigh them against those three confirmed Scaleway figures before switching. Scaleway remains the better-documented choice in this comparison: its per-product pricing, EU data-center footprint, and lack of a free tier are all confirmed here, while IONOS's equivalent offerings could not be established from what's available for this listing.
Compared to Scaleway: no verified pricing, platform, or review data published for IONOS, Scaleway's own cheapest tier is the €0.43/month Stardust1-S development instance, Scaleway has no permanent free tier, only startup credit programs
Wins:Not established in the data available for this comparison
Loses:Not established in the data available for this comparison — Scaleway's per-product pricing and EU footprint are independently confirmed here while IONOS's are not
Pros
- Free domain (1st year), wildcard SSL, and at least one email address included on every hosting plan
- 99.99% uptime guarantee plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on hosting
- Scales from $1/month shared hosting to VPS, dedicated servers, and a full IaaS cloud platform with Managed Kubernetes and an AI Model Hub under one account
- 24/7 phone, chat, and email support with a named personal consultant on hosting plans
Cons
- Promotional first-year prices increase significantly at renewal (up to 14x on the Plus plan)
- No permanent free hosting tier; discounted rates require prepaying a 1-year term
- Dozens of separate product and pricing pages across hosting, cloud, domains, and email make cross-plan comparison slower than with single-product competitors
Pricing: From $1/mo (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
Which one is right for you?
- You want a larger European data-center footprint than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zonesOVHcloud
- You want the cheapest possible raw compute in EU data centersHetzner
- You want predictable per-second billing and a genuine free tier to start onDigitalOcean
- You want a managed backend (auth, data, storage, functions) provisioned from code alongside hostingAWS Amplify
- You need to deploy compute close to end users across 30 or more global regionsVultr
- You're evaluating IONOS's own published pricing and features before decidingIONOS
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Scaleway?
- DigitalOcean's App Platform offers a genuine $0/month free tier and AWS Amplify includes a 12-month AWS Free Tier with 1,000 build minutes and 5GB of storage, both of which go further than Scaleway, which has no permanent free tier at all.
What is the closest alternative to Scaleway?
- OVHcloud is the closest overall match: both are European cloud providers built on published, per-product pricing rather than a custom-quote sales process, though OVHcloud runs 46 data centers across 4 continents versus Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones.
Can DigitalOcean replace Scaleway?
- Yes for most developers who want predictable per-second billing and a genuine free tier, since DigitalOcean covers virtual machines, managed Kubernetes, and managed databases at published prices. Teams that specifically need EU-only data residency for compliance should note DigitalOcean's 20 data centers are less EU-concentrated than Scaleway's 4 EU availability zones.
Which Scaleway alternative is cheapest for raw compute?
- Hetzner, whose entry shared-vCPU cloud server starts at $4.59/month and includes a stateful firewall, private networking, and 20TB of traffic at no extra cost, undercutting Scaleway's roughly €16.79/month general-purpose instance.
Do any Scaleway alternatives have GPU instances for AI workloads?
- Yes — DigitalOcean has expanded into GPU access across 20 data centers with an inference engine serving 70+ open models, a comparable push to Scaleway's own H100 and B300-SXM GPU stack.
Why might a business switch away from Scaleway?
- Scaleway has no permanent free tier, some G2 and Trustpilot reviewers report billing disputes and slow support response times, and its review sample (around 20 on G2) is smaller and less statistically reliable than larger competitors like DigitalOcean's 159 Capterra reviews.