European Alternatives to AWS for Startups

Motivations for EU-first cloud selection:

**Regulatory requirements**: Some sectors (fintech, healthtech, govtech) face regulations that favour or mandate EU infrastructure.

**Client requirements**: Enterprise and public sector clients increasingly request sovereignty assurances in procurement.

**Strategic positioning**: Sovereignty positioning can differentiate in European markets, particularly B2B and regulated sectors.

**Values alignment**: Some founders prefer EU infrastructure for philosophical or political reasons.

**Cost**: European providers are often more cost-effective than hyperscalers, particularly for compute-heavy workloads.

**Not a universal requirement**: Many startups have no sovereignty needs. If your data isn't sensitive and your clients don't require it, hyperscaler convenience may outweigh sovereignty benefits.

Honest assessment of whether sovereignty matters for your specific situation should precede provider selection.

Overview and assessment:

**Company profile**: French company (OVH Groupe SAS), publicly traded on Euronext Paris. Major European cloud provider with significant scale.

**Strengths**: - Broad service catalog including compute, storage, networking, Kubernetes (Managed Kubernetes Service), databases, and AI/ML offerings - Competitive pricing, particularly for compute and storage - Strong bare-metal server offerings - Genuine EU ownership and operations - Growing enterprise features and compliance certifications

**Limitations**: - Developer experience less polished than AWS/GCP - Ecosystem (integrations, marketplace) smaller - Some advanced managed services less mature - Documentation and support quality variable

**Best for**: Startups needing substantial compute power, cost-sensitive workloads, organisations with compliance requirements preferring major EU provider.

**Pricing model**: Generally competitive; bare-metal and Public Cloud offerings suit different needs.

**Startup programs**: OVHcloud offers startup programs with credits and support.

Overview and assessment:

**Company profile**: French company (part of Iliad Group), based in Paris. Developer-focused cloud provider.

**Strengths**: - Excellent developer experience and clean APIs - Attractive pricing with transparent billing - Good Kubernetes offering (Kosmos, Kapsule) - Serverless and container offerings - Strong documentation - Innovative features (e.g., Apple Silicon cloud instances)

**Limitations**: - Smaller than OVHcloud with fewer data centre locations - Some enterprise features less mature - Limited presence outside Europe

**Best for**: Developer-focused startups, containerised workloads, cost-conscious teams valuing clean UX.

**Pricing model**: Simple, competitive pricing. Good free tiers for experimentation.

**Startup programs**: Scaleway has startup programs with credits and support.

Overview and assessment:

**Company profile**: German company (Hetzner Online GmbH), family-owned. Known for value and reliability.

**Strengths**: - Extremely competitive pricing (often 50%+ cheaper than hyperscalers) - Excellent for dedicated servers and storage - Reliable infrastructure with long track record - Good Kubernetes support via Robot (dedicated) and Cloud - Strong German engineering culture

**Limitations**: - Fewer managed services (more DIY approach) - Less automation and orchestration tooling - Support less extensive than larger providers - Primarily appeals to technically capable teams

**Best for**: Cost-sensitive startups with strong technical teams, high-storage workloads, teams comfortable with self-management.

**Pricing model**: Extremely competitive. Dedicated servers particularly good value.

Additional options worth considering:

**Exoscale** (Switzerland): - Strong compliance positioning (Swiss data protection) - Clean API design and good developer experience - Smaller scale but quality offering - Good for regulated workloads, Swiss or EU clients requiring Swiss infrastructure

**IONOS** (Germany): - Part of 1&1 group, enterprise-oriented - Broad service offerings - Good for organisations wanting established EU provider with enterprise features

**Contabo** (Germany): - Extremely low-cost VPS and dedicated servers - Minimal managed services - Good for very cost-sensitive, technically capable teams

**Upcloud** (Finland): - High-performance compute focus - Growing presence - Good for performance-sensitive workloads

**Infomaniak** (Switzerland): - Environmentally focused - Growing cloud offerings alongside established hosting - Swiss jurisdiction

Each has different sweet spots. Evaluate based on specific requirements rather than choosing generically.

Honest assessment of where European providers trail hyperscalers:

**Managed services breadth**: AWS has 200+ services; European providers have far fewer. Custom workloads requiring specialised managed services may find gaps.

**Global presence**: If you need global edge presence or regions outside Europe, options are limited.

**AI/ML infrastructure**: While improving, European providers generally have less mature AI/ML offerings than hyperscalers.

**Ecosystem and integrations**: Fewer third-party integrations, marketplace options, and community resources.

**Enterprise features**: Some governance, compliance, and enterprise features may be less mature.

**Documentation and community**: Smaller communities mean fewer tutorials, Stack Overflow answers, and third-party guidance.

**That said**: For most startup workloads—web applications, APIs, databases, Kubernetes deployments—European providers are fully adequate. Gaps matter only if you need the specific capabilities that are missing.

Practical guidance for moving workloads:

**Containerised workloads**: Easiest to migrate. If you're running Kubernetes, most European providers offer managed Kubernetes that accepts standard manifests.

**Managed databases**: May require more work. Evaluate equivalent offerings carefully; consider self-managed databases on EU compute if managed options are inadequate.

**Object storage**: Most providers offer S3-compatible APIs. Migration tools exist, but large datasets take time.

**Serverless**: Fewer serverless options in EU. May require architectural changes.

**Multi-cloud from start**: New startups can design for portability, using Terraform, Kubernetes, and abstraction layers that ease future migration.

**Cost modelling**: Compare total cost including migration effort, not just runtime pricing.

**Pilot approach**: Test workloads on European providers before full commitment. Most offer free tiers or credits.

**Support evaluation**: Engage with provider support during evaluation to gauge responsiveness.

Migration is operationally significant. Factor realistic effort into sovereignty benefit assessment.