The verdict in three sentences
For a B2B brochure or catalogue website that collects contact forms, European hosting with OVHcloud, Scaleway or Hetzner at EUR 15-80 a month settles the GDPR question at no real extra cost. A US cloud such as Vercel or AWS remains legally defensible under the Data Privacy Framework, but it requires a transfer assessment and weakens your answers to public tenders. If you bid for sensitive public contracts, only sovereign or certified cloud offers tick every box, at EUR 150-180 a month and up.
What GDPR actually says about hosting
GDPR does not ban hosting outside the European Union. It regulates transfers of personal data. Since July 2023, the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) allows transfers to certified US companies such as Amazon or Microsoft. Two risks remain: the DPF could be struck down like Safe Harbor (2015) and Privacy Shield (2020), and the US Cloud Act lets US authorities access data managed by a US company, even when stored in Europe.
For a DPO, the practical question is: what data goes through the website? A contact form with names, emails and phone numbers of B2B contacts, analytics cookies, sometimes a client portal. This is ordinary personal data, not health data. The risk is moderate, but it must be documented in the record of processing activities. The Dutch regulator, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, applies the same reasoning.
2026 hosting comparison
| Offer | Jurisdiction | Monthly price | Best for | GDPR note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVHcloud Pro web hosting | France | EUR 15 to 25 | WordPress brochure site | No non-EU transfer |
| Hetzner Cloud | Germany | EUR 10 to 40 | Next.js site, small API | Data in Germany or Finland |
| Scaleway Instances + Object Storage | France | EUR 25 to 80 | Modern site, API | Data in Paris or Amsterdam |
| Vercel Pro | United States | USD 20 per member, about EUR 60 to 120 | Next.js front-end team | DPF, transfer assessment needed |
| AWS (EC2, CloudFront) Frankfurt region | United States | EUR 40 to 150 | Complex architecture | EU data, but Cloud Act applies |
| Sovereign or certified cloud | EU | EUR 150 to 180 and up | Sensitive public tenders | Strongest assurance |
Prices are 2026 estimates for a B2B site with 10,000 to 50,000 monthly visits, excluding managed services. CDN is often included: OVHcloud and Scaleway offer European CDNs, while Cloudflare remains a US company even with European points of presence.
Migrating: cost, timeline and risks
Leaving Vercel or AWS for a European host is rarely a heavy project for a brochure site. The cost depends mainly on the current architecture.
| Starting point | Migration cost | Timeline | Tricky part |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress on a US host | EUR 1,500 to 2,000 | 1 week | Redirects, SSL certificates |
| Next.js on Vercel | EUR 2,000 to 3,500 | 1 to 2 weeks | Replacing serverless functions and image optimisation |
| Site + API on AWS | EUR 3,000 to 4,000 | 2 to 3 weeks | Database, backups, monitoring |
| Adding a European CDN | EUR 300 to 800 | 2 days | Cache rules |
| Updating GDPR records and notices | EUR 400 to 900 | 2 to 3 days | DPO sign-off |
Schedule the cut-over on a Friday evening after lowering the DNS TTL to 300 seconds. Actual downtime is counted in minutes.
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Sander, IT lead at a 140-employee industrial SME in Amsterdam, pays Vercel Pro for 3 members, about EUR 60 a month, plus EUR 25 for functions and bandwidth. His DPO points out that the company bids for municipal tenders where EU hosting is scored. Migrating to Scaleway costs EUR 2,800, with hosting at EUR 45 a month. Monthly savings are EUR 40, or EUR 480 a year: the migration does not pay for itself on savings alone (almost 6 years). However, a single extra public contract won on the sovereignty criterion, worth EUR 35,000, repays it more than 12 times.
FAQ
Is hosting on AWS in an EU region enough for GDPR?
Data stays in the EU, which limits transfers, but AWS is subject to the Cloud Act. For a standard B2B site this is acceptable with a documented assessment; for sensitive public contracts, a sovereign offer at EUR 150 a month and up is safer.
Is the Data Privacy Framework reliable?
It has been in force since 2023 and was upheld by the EU General Court in 2025, but both predecessors were struck down. Budgeting an exit plan of EUR 2,000 to 4,000 is a sensible precaution.
How much does EU hosting cost for a B2B website?
From EUR 15 to 25 a month for shared WordPress hosting, EUR 10 to 90 for a VPS or cloud instance, and EUR 150 and up for sovereign offers.
Is Google Analytics a problem?
Several EU regulators ruled the older version non-compliant in 2022. EU-hosted tools such as Matomo or Plausible cost EUR 9 to 30 a month and avoid the question.
How long does it take to move a Next.js site off Vercel?
One to two weeks for a 20 to 50 page site, testing included. The DNS switch itself takes less than an hour.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your current host, monthly traffic and public tender constraints: we will price the target hosting and the migration, usually EUR 1,500 to 4,000 over 1 to 3 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.
