The verdict in three sentences
For a B2B SaaS with 2,000 users, hosting on a European cloud (OVHcloud, Scaleway) costs as an order of magnitude about half what AWS costs for a comparable architecture, and makes public sector security questionnaires easier to pass. AWS keeps the edge on advanced managed services and global reach, but the US CLOUD Act weighs on sensitive tenders. For the most sensitive data, only a sovereign cloud certification such as France's SecNumCloud will do, usually at 30 to 60 % more.
What hosting a B2B SaaS really costs
We take a typical architecture for 2,000 active users, with about 200 concurrent users at peak: two app servers behind a load balancer, a managed PostgreSQL database with a replica, 500 GB of object storage, daily backups kept for 30 days and a staging environment.
| Monthly item (2026 order of magnitude, excl. VAT) | OVHcloud | Scaleway | AWS (EU region) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App servers (2 instances) + load balancer | 70 to 150 EUR | 80 to 160 EUR | 140 to 330 EUR |
| Managed PostgreSQL with replica | 60 to 130 EUR | 70 to 150 EUR | 130 to 320 EUR |
| Object storage 500 GB | 5 to 10 EUR | 5 to 10 EUR | 12 to 25 EUR |
| Backups and snapshots, 30 days | 15 to 40 EUR | 15 to 45 EUR | 25 to 80 EUR |
| Outbound bandwidth | Mostly included | Mostly included | 20 to 70 EUR |
| Staging, monitoring, logs | 30 to 70 EUR | 30 to 85 EUR | 25 to 75 EUR |
| Monthly total | 180 to 400 EUR | 200 to 450 EUR | 350 to 900 EUR |
The AWS gap comes mainly from managed databases, outbound bandwidth and usage-billed extras. It narrows with 1 to 3 year reserved instances, at the cost of a commitment.
What public sector clients will ask you
Public buyers and large accounts send questionnaires of 80 to 300 questions. The blocking points are always the same: data location, the host's nationality, backups, disaster recovery (DR), logging and reversibility.
| End-client requirement | OVHcloud | Scaleway | AWS | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data hosted in the EU | Yes | Yes | Yes (EU regions) | All three work |
| Host not subject to the CLOUD Act | Yes | Yes | No (US company) | European cloud |
| SecNumCloud qualification (France) | Yes, on some dedicated offers | Check the current ANSSI list | No | Qualified offer, 30 to 60 % premium |
| Health data certification | Certified offers available | Certified offers available | Certified | Pick an explicitly certified offer |
| DR with RPO under 1 h and RTO under 4 h | Possible, multi-zone | Possible, multi-zone | Native, multi-zone | DR budget: plus 40 to 80 % |
| Clients outside Europe (Americas, Asia) | Fewer regions | Few regions | Global coverage | AWS or mixed architecture |
Certifications change every year: always check the official lists and current certificates before answering a tender.
Backups, DR and reversibility: the forgotten items
Compliant hosting is not only a choice of provider. You need encrypted backups outside the main zone, tested at least quarterly, a documented DR plan with measured objectives, access logs kept 6 to 12 months, and a reversibility clause letting clients retrieve their data in an open format. These items often weigh more in tender scoring than the host's name.
At Kolonell, managed hosting and DR setup are quoted on request depending on the chosen architecture. Application maintenance, covering fixes and application backups, is 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA a month (53, 114 or 183 EUR).
Mini case study
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Nina, CTO of an HR software vendor in Lyon, hosts her 2,000-user SaaS on AWS for about 650 EUR a month. A regional authority issues a 60,000 EUR a year tender that excludes hosts subject to the CLOUD Act.
An equivalent architecture on OVHcloud is estimated at 290 EUR a month, a saving of 360 EUR a month, 4,320 EUR a year. The migration, with rehearsals and an overnight cutover, costs as a 2026 order of magnitude 8,000 to 15,000 EUR with a provider. On hosting savings alone, payback takes 2 to 3.5 years. With the regional contract at stake, the decision is obvious: the first contract repays the migration in 2 to 3 months, and the same compliance file then serves other public bodies.
FAQ
Is hosting on AWS in an EU region enough for GDPR compliance?
GDPR does not forbid a US host if transfers are properly framed, notably through the EU-US Data Privacy Framework adopted in 2023. However, many public buyers now require a host not subject to the 2018 CLOUD Act, which rules AWS out of some contracts.
Is a sovereign cloud certification mandatory to sell to the public sector?
Not always: in France it is required for sensitive state data and some operators. For most local authorities, a European cloud with DR and logging is enough, without the 30 to 60 % premium.
How much of the budget does disaster recovery take?
Multi-zone DR with database replication and external backups adds, as an order of magnitude, 40 to 80 % to monthly hosting costs. It must be tested at least once a year, ideally every quarter.
How long does a migration from AWS to a European cloud take?
For a SaaS this size, allow 4 to 8 weeks: inventory, infrastructure as code, two migration rehearsals and an overnight cutover with under 2 hours of downtime.
Should we host in Africa for African clients?
Some national laws, such as Senegal's 2008 personal data law, regulate transfers out of the country. A mixed architecture, with those clients' data hosted locally, is decided case by case with their IT department.
Let's scope your project. We review your end clients' requirements, your current architecture and your DR constraints to recommend the right host and a 4 to 8 week migration plan. 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.
