EU Cloud Alternatives to AWS, Azure, and GCP in 2026

Your AWS bill is not high because the instance is expensive. It is high because every gigabyte that leaves the region costs about nine cents after the free tier. A single terabyte a month adds roughly eighty dollars. That one line often costs more than the whole server. Teams look for an EU cloud alternative for two reasons that show up together: they want the bill to drop, and they want the data to sit with a European company instead of a US hyperscaler. Both reasons are real. They are not the same decision. The right provider depends on how portable your stack is and which of those two motives matters more this quarter.

Which EU cloud fits which job

Four jobs appear most often.

• Lowest monthly bill for a portable app (VMs, containers, standard databases): Hetzner Cloud, when the cheaper plans are actually orderable.
• Cleaner console plus managed Postgres or Redis: Scaleway.
• More locations and a finished VPS bundle with unmetered traffic: OVHcloud.
• App locked to Lambda, DynamoDB, Azure AD, or a contract that names the current provider: stay on the hyperscaler.

No single name wins every case. The filter is the job plus how much of the stack can move without a rewrite.

What a real monthly bill looks like

Take a steady workload that needs 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM plus 1 TB of outbound traffic.

On AWS in an EU region a t3.medium sits around $33–35 for the instance. After the 100 GB free allowance the remaining traffic is billed near $0.09 per GB. That adds about $81. The total is near $115 before any extra storage.

Hetzner’s CX23-class plan (2 vCPU / 4 GB / 40 GB NVMe) is listed between €5.49 and €5.99 in EU locations. The same server includes 20 TB of outbound traffic, so 1 TB costs nothing extra. The whole bill stays under €6 when the plan is available. Servers ordered before the mid-June 2026 price rise keep the older rate unless you resize them. The cheapest CX sizes have been intermittently out of stock.

OVHcloud’s VPS-1 class matches the same shape at roughly $4.54–$5.35 depending on the term and region. Traffic is unmetered on most European VPS plans, so the egress line is zero. Public-cloud instances are a different product and often charge separately for storage and IPv4.

Scaleway’s nearest 2 vCPU / 4 GB instance (PLAY2-NANO) is listed around €20 for compute alone. Flexible IPv4 adds about €3 a month and block storage is extra. Egress on instances is included. A realistic total lands in the mid-€20s once the extras are counted. The headline compute price is not the full price.

The difference is not subtle. For this portable shape the EU options cut the bill by an order of magnitude, almost entirely because the egress meter disappears. A few extra terabytes on AWS changes the total more than any reasonable difference in instance price.

What moves in weeks and what needs a rewrite

Portable pieces move with ordinary operations work. A Linux VM or container, a Postgres database you already manage or can run on a compatible managed service, and object storage that speaks the S3 API can usually be copied, reconfigured, and cut over in weeks. Kubernetes, Redis, and most open-source middleware follow the same pattern.

Locked pieces do not. An application built around Lambda functions, DynamoDB data models, Step Functions, or deep ties to Azure AD almost always needs a rewrite. The data model, the execution model, or the identity layer has to change. That work is measured in months, and the risk of subtle differences is real. The monthly saving on compute and egress rarely covers the engineering cost for those stacks.

If most of your architecture is VMs, containers, standard databases, and S3-compatible storage, Hetzner, OVHcloud, and Scaleway are practical options. If it is heavily serverless or proprietary managed services, stay until the rewrite is already planned for other reasons.

Hetzner Cloud — lowest bill when the plan is available

Hetzner is the cost-first choice for steady EU workloads that stay inside the included traffic. Each EU cloud server includes 20 TB of outbound traffic. Overage is roughly €1 per TB. Incoming and internal traffic are free. The CX line (shared vCPU, cost-optimized) remains the cheapest entry when stock allows. The June 2026 increase raised prices for new orders and for any resize. Existing servers keep the prior rate unless you resize them. The cheapest CX sizes have been intermittently unavailable because of hardware limits. Check the console before you plan around the €5.49–€5.99 number.

Take it when the workload is portable, traffic is under 20 TB per server, and you can accept shared vCPU plus the chance that the cheapest size is temporarily out of stock. Skip it when you need dedicated vCPU, a broad managed-service catalog, or guaranteed same-day ordering of the entry plan. US locations include far less traffic, so the economics change if you must place the server there.

OVHcloud — broadest catalog and unmetered VPS

OVHcloud offers the widest set of locations and product shapes among the three. Its VPS line bundles compute, storage, IPv4, and unmetered traffic in most regions into a simple monthly price. The VPS-1 class matches the 2 vCPU / 4 GB shape at the low end of the example range and includes a daily backup. Dedicated servers and public-cloud instances sit alongside the VPS line, so the catalog is broader than a pure VPS provider.

Public-cloud instances are not the same product as the VPS bundle. Storage and public IPv4 are frequently unbundled on the instance side. Some Asia-Pacific zones apply traffic quotas even on VPS. Take OVHcloud when you want more locations, dedicated options, or a finished VPS bundle with unmetered traffic. Skip it if the only goal is the absolute lowest compute-plus-egress number and Hetzner stock is available, or if you want the cleanest developer console and managed databases.

Scaleway — cleaner console and managed services

Scaleway’s strength is the developer surface and the managed layer. Managed Postgres and Redis, a relatively clean console, Kubernetes, and GPU options sit in one EU-owned platform. Instance egress is included (bandwidth caps apply by size). The trade-off is unbundling. Many instance families are priced compute-only. Flexible IPv4 is billed separately at roughly €0.004–€0.005 per hour, and local or block storage is extra on most production families. The June 2026 adjustments touched several of those lines.

Take Scaleway when the team values managed databases, a cleaner console, or GPU access and can accept the add-on math. Skip it when the only goal is the absolute lowest total bill for a simple portable VM; Hetzner or OVHcloud VPS will usually undercut it once IPv4 and storage are counted. Confirm the live console total before you compare.

When the monthly saving is not worth the move

Stay on AWS, Azure, or GCP when the application depends on proprietary managed services that would require a rewrite, when a contract or compliance framework specifically names the current provider, or when the migration engineering cost exceeds any realistic monthly saving. AWS European Sovereign Cloud (launched in 2026) is an extra option for buyers who want more EU controls but remain on a US company. It is not the same as an EU-owned provider. For many teams the monthly difference on compute and egress is real, yet the operational and rewrite cost of leaving is larger. The arithmetic only works for portable stacks.

This page answers one job

This URL answers which EU-owned or EU-jurisdiction provider works as a practical alternative to AWS, Azure, or GCP when the motives are cost, jurisdiction, or both, and what the bill actually looks like once egress is counted. It does not compare Scaleway against OVHcloud in detail, does not walk through Hetzner verification, and does not treat Contabo density. Those topics live on their own pages. If you are choosing only between Scaleway and OVHcloud, read the dedicated comparison. If you are also weighing non-EU options or the verification process, the Hetzner alternatives page covers that ground. If pure density without an EU constraint is the goal, Contabo is a different conversation. This page stays on the hyperscaler-exit job and the total bill that includes egress.

FAQ

Which EU cloud is cheapest for most workloads?
For portable EU workloads with moderate egress, Hetzner Cloud is usually the lowest total bill when the CX plans are orderable. OVHcloud VPS plans are close on price with unmetered traffic. Scaleway costs more once IPv4 and storage are added.

Does Hetzner include egress?
Yes for EU locations. Each cloud server includes 20 TB of outbound traffic. Overage is roughly €1 per TB. US and Singapore locations include far less.

Is Scaleway a good AWS alternative?
It is a strong option for portable stacks that want managed databases, a cleaner developer experience, and EU jurisdiction. It is not a drop-in replacement for every AWS managed service. Instance prices are often compute-only.

Can I move an AWS app without rewriting it?
VMs, containers, standard Postgres, and S3-compatible object storage usually move with modest work. Lambda, DynamoDB, Step Functions, and deep Azure AD or proprietary managed services usually need a rewrite.

Is OVHcloud unmetered traffic real?
Yes on most VPS plans in European and many other regions. Some Asia-Pacific local zones apply monthly quotas. Public-cloud instances are priced differently and may unbundle storage or IPv4.

What about CLOUD Act exposure?
Hetzner, OVHcloud, and Scaleway are EU-owned companies. An EU-owned provider reduces exposure relative to a US hyperscaler, but it is not a complete legal shield. AWS European Sovereign Cloud is a separate US-company offering with different controls.

Should I stay on AWS if my app uses Lambda or DynamoDB?
Usually yes. The rewrite cost and operational risk for proprietary managed services often exceed any monthly compute or egress saving. Stay if a contract or heavy managed-service dependence locks the stack.

Close

Route by job and by how portable the stack is. Lowest bill for a portable app: Hetzner when stock allows. Cleaner console and managed services: Scaleway. Broadest catalog: OVHcloud. Heavy proprietary services: stay. Confirm live prices and availability before you order. Both Hetzner and Scaleway adjusted numbers in 2026, and stock can change.

I need the lowest bill for a portable app
I need managed services and a cleaner console
I need the broadest catalog and more locations