European Alternatives to DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is a popular developer-friendly cloud hosting platform. While it has Amsterdam and Frankfurt data centers, it's a US company subject to CLOUD Act provisions.
Why switch from DigitalOcean?
- US company subject to CLOUD Act even when using EU data centers
- European VPS providers often offer significantly better pricing
- Hetzner, OVHcloud, and Scaleway all own and operate their own data centers in the EU
- EU-based VPS providers eliminate legal uncertainty around transatlantic data transfers
Best European Alternatives to DigitalOcean
Hetzner Cloud
🇩🇪 Germany, GunzenhausenHetzner Cloud — European alternative
- CX22 VPS from EUR 3.79/month (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM) - unbeatable value
- Data centers in Nuremberg, Falkenstein, Helsinki, and Ashburn
- Snapshots, floating IPs, firewalls, load balancers, volumes
OVHcloud VPS
🇫🇷 France, RoubaixOVHcloud VPS — European alternative
- VPS starting at EUR 2.50/month with anti-DDoS protection included
- 43+ data centers globally with options for EU-only deployment
- Automated backups, snapshots, and additional storage volumes
Scaleway VPS (Instances)
🇫🇷 France, ParisScaleway VPS (Instances) — European alternative
- STARDUST instances from EUR 0.0025/hour (ultra-low cost dev/test)
- Data centers exclusively in Europe (Paris, Amsterdam)
- Block storage, object storage, managed databases available alongside VPS
IONOS VPS
🇩🇪 Germany, MontabaurIONOS VPS — European alternative
- VPS plans from EUR 1/month with dedicated resources
- European data centers with 100% green energy
- Plesk or cPanel management available
UpCloud
🇫🇮 Finland, HelsinkiUpCloud — European alternative
- MaxIOPS storage for up to 100,000 IOPS (industry-leading I/O)
- 100% SLA uptime guarantee with financial backing
- Data centers across Europe: Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Poland
Aruba Cloud VPS
🇮🇹 Italy, Ponte San Pietro (Bergamo)Aruba Cloud VPS — European alternative
- Cloud VPS from EUR 1/month (extremely budget-friendly)
- Data centers in Italy and Czech Republic
- VMware-based infrastructure for reliability
Cyso Cloud (formerly Fuga Cloud)
🇳🇱 Netherlands, AlkmaarCyso Cloud (formerly Fuga Cloud) — European alternative
- OpenStack-based cloud for maximum interoperability
- Data centers in North Holland and Frankfurt for geo-redundancy
- Managed Kubernetes, object storage, and networking services
How They Compare to DigitalOcean
| Product | Country | Open Source | Free Tier | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | US | No | Varies | — |
| Hetzner Cloud | 🇩🇪 Germany | No | No | 1997 |
| OVHcloud VPS | 🇫🇷 France | No | No | 1999 |
| Scaleway VPS (Instances) | 🇫🇷 France | No | Yes | 1999 |
| IONOS VPS | 🇩🇪 Germany | No | No | 1988 |
| UpCloud | 🇫🇮 Finland | No | Yes | 2011 |
| Aruba Cloud VPS | 🇮🇹 Italy | No | Yes | 1994 |
| Cyso Cloud (formerly Fuga Cloud) | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | No | No | 2016 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best European alternative to DigitalOcean?
Hetzner Cloud is the most direct alternative — similar developer-friendly approach with even better pricing. UpCloud (Finland) offers superior storage performance with their MaxIOPS technology.
Is Hetzner cheaper than DigitalOcean?
Yes, significantly. A comparable Hetzner VPS typically costs 40-60% less than DigitalOcean with equal or better performance.
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