European Alternatives to Amazon Web Services (AWS)

STACKIT is a cloud infrastructure platform operated by the Schwarz Group, Germany's major retail corporation. Their managed service portfolio includes object storage, Kubernetes orchestration, block storage, and database solutions. Beyond standard MySQL and PostgreSQL offerings, they provide managed Redis, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and the complete ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana). Infrastructure spans two data centers located in Germany and Austria.

Elastx is a Swedish cloud computing provider built on OpenStack infrastructure. Their service catalog includes managed Kubernetes, object storage, and web application firewall capabilities. For high-availability deployments, they maintain three separate availability zones across Swedish data centers positioned 20 kilometers apart.

OVHcloud is a French public cloud provider delivering an extensive service portfolio. Standard offerings include virtual machines for diverse workloads, object storage, managed database solutions, and managed Kubernetes clusters. The platform leverages OpenStack architecture, enabling service configuration through the OpenStack command-line interface.

Seeweb is an Italian cloud computing provider operating multiple state-of-the-art data centers across Italy, all powered by renewable energy sources. Their service offerings encompass virtual servers, managed database solutions, and message queuing services.

Exoscale is a Swiss cloud computing provider with multiple European server locations. Services include virtual machines, S3-compatible object storage, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, DNS, and CDN. Database options extend beyond MySQL and PostgreSQL to include Apache Kafka and Redis. Virtual servers come in various configurations optimized for CPU, memory, or storage workloads, plus dedicated GPU instances for compute-intensive tasks. API keys support granular permissions down to individual service groups and bucket-level restrictions for object storage. The company is a subsidiary of A1, Austria's leading telecommunications provider.

IONOS is a German cloud computing provider delivering standard infrastructure services. Their portfolio includes virtual servers, virtual private cloud networking, managed database solutions, and object storage capabilities.

Cyso Cloud is a Dutch cloud platform providing virtual servers in numerous configurations including GPU-accelerated and memory-optimized instances. Additional services include attachable block storage, object storage, load balancers, managed Kubernetes, and DNS management. Built on OpenStack, the platform supports configuration via the OpenStack CLI, helping minimize vendor lock-in through open-source foundations.

UpCloud is a Finnish cloud computing platform with global server presence. Their service lineup includes virtual machines, virtual private cloud networking, managed databases, managed Kubernetes, and object storage. Block storage can be upgraded for enhanced read/write performance (IOPS), particularly beneficial for database workloads and other storage-intensive applications.

Scaleway is a French cloud provider offering diverse infrastructure services. Beyond their public cloud platform Scaleway Elements, they provide dedicated servers and data center rack rental options. The Elements platform delivers essential cloud components including virtual machines, S3-compatible object storage, DNS services, and VPC networking. Managed service offerings include Kubernetes orchestration and database hosting for MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Aruba Cloud is an Italian VPS provider operating numerous data centers throughout Europe. Their service portfolio includes virtual servers, managed database solutions, domain registration, and DNS management.

Open Telekom Cloud is a cloud computing platform operated by Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany's largest telecommunications company. The infrastructure is built on OpenStack, an open-source framework that helps reduce vendor lock-in risks for customers.

gridscale is a German cloud computing provider. Standard offerings include virtual servers, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, load balancers, and object storage. Database options are extensive, covering PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL, MariaDB, MySQL, and Redis for both caching and persistent storage. They additionally offer managed NFS servers useful for sharing data across Kubernetes nodes. Server locations span Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.