The verdict in three sentences
If your website collects personal data (contact forms, quote requests, job applications) and runs on a US provider, moving to EU-owned hosting costs EUR 1,500 to 5,000 once, then EUR 6 to 300 per month depending on the service level. The main gain is legal: you step outside the direct reach of the US Cloud Act and simplify your GDPR records and processor contracts. For a Dublin firm with 10 to 50 staff, the most rational 2026 option is an EU VPS or serverless platform with light managed support.
Why US hosting is a problem in 2026, even in eu-west-1
Many Dublin companies assume that hosting on AWS eu-west-1 (Ireland) solves data residency. The data does sit in Ireland, but Amazon remains a US company subject to the Cloud Act. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework still allows transfers to certified companies, yet it is fragile: a CJEU challenge could strike it down like Safe Harbor (2015) and Privacy Shield (2020). For a mid-sized firm, the practical risk is less a fine from the Irish Data Protection Commission than an awkward question in a public tender or a large client's vendor questionnaire: "Where is the data hosted, and by whom?"
| GDPR checkpoint | US provider (incl. eu-west-1) | EU-owned provider (OVH, Scaleway) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer outside the EU | Possible, covered by DPF or SCCs | No |
| Cloud Act exposure | Yes, even in an EU region | No (EU-law company) |
| Transfer impact assessment (TIA) | Recommended, 2 to 4 days of work | Not needed |
| DPA (processor agreement) | Standard, non-negotiable | Article 28 compliant, EU jurisdiction |
| Sovereign cloud certification | Limited | Available on some OVH offers |
| Standard answer to an enterprise questionnaire | Justification required | "Hosted in the EU by an EU company" |
Hosting options compared for 2026
The prices below are 2026 estimates, excluding VAT, for a corporate or B2B website of 20 to 200 pages with forms and a light database.
| Option | Monthly cost | Skills required | Strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVH VPS (France, Germany) | EUR 6 to 30 | Linux administration | Unbeatable price, full control | Updates and security are on you |
| Scaleway serverless (Paris, Amsterdam) | EUR 10 to 80 | Developer | Automatic scaling | Variable billing to monitor |
| Vercel (common current setup) | USD 20 per user | Developer | Very easy deployment | US company, Cloud Act |
| AWS eu-west-1 | EUR 15 to 150 | DevOps | Close to Dublin users | US company, Cloud Act |
| Managed hosting by an agency | EUR 80 to 300 | None | Monitoring, patches, on-call | Provider dependency |
| Sovereign cloud offer | EUR 300 and up | IT team | Required for some public contracts | Oversized for an SME |
The migration cost breaks down as follows: audit and data mapping (EUR 300 to 800), server and deployment pipeline setup (EUR 500 to 1,500), database and file migration (EUR 300 to 1,200), DNS switch and testing (EUR 200 to 600), updates to the GDPR record and legal notices (EUR 200 to 900). Expect EUR 1,500 for a simple corporate site and up to EUR 5,000 for a site with a client portal or CRM integrations.
3-2-1 backups and documentation: what everyone forgets
A successful move is more than a server change. The 3-2-1 rule means three copies of the data, on two different media, one of them off-site. In practice: the production database, a daily backup to Scaleway or OVH object storage (about EUR 0.01 per GB per month) and a weekly copy at a second EU provider. You also need to update your record of processing, your privacy policy and the DPAs of every processor, including your email marketing and analytics tools.
Mini case study
Aoife, managing director of an industrial maintenance firm in Dublin (28 staff), runs her website and quote forms on Vercel and a US form service. Current cost: 2 Vercel seats at USD 20 plus USD 29 for forms, about EUR 63 per month. She moves to an OVH VPS at EUR 18 per month with managed support at EUR 120 per month and a self-hosted form. Migration: EUR 2,800. New monthly cost: EUR 138, i.e. EUR 75 more per month (EUR 900 per year). In return, in 2026 she wins an EUR 85,000 maintenance contract with a county council whose tender required user data to be hosted by an EU company. The annual extra cost equals about 1% of that single contract.
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FAQ
Does GDPR require hosting in Ireland or the EU?
No, GDPR allows hosting anywhere in the EU and, under conditions, outside it. However, many public tenders and enterprise buyers require EU hosting by an EU company, which affects 20 to 40% of B2B tenders depending on the sector.
How long does a migration take?
Allow 1 to 2 weeks for a corporate site and 3 to 5 weeks for a site with a client portal. Actual downtime is limited to 15 to 60 minutes during the DNS switch if the TTL was lowered 48 hours beforehand.
Will my site be slower if hosted in Paris instead of Dublin?
The difference is marginal: Paris to Dublin adds about 15 to 20 ms. An EU CDN, at EUR 0 to 20 per month, removes the gap for static content.
Should email and CRM move too?
Ideally yes, in stages. Forms and the website database come first, since they hold prospect data; EU-hosted CRMs typically cost EUR 30 to 80 per user per month.
What does a small firm risk with the Data Protection Commission?
The theoretical maximum is 4% of global turnover, but most SME cases end with corrective orders or fines in the low thousands of euros for missing records or notices. An up-to-date record sharply reduces that risk.
Let's scope your project. We audit your current hosting, price the migration (EUR 1,500 to 5,000) and deliver an EU-hosted site with an updated GDPR record in 2 to 5 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
