The verdict in three sentences
For a medium-load business app, budget EUR 180-400/month for sovereign EU hosting, rising to EUR 950/month with a high-availability managed database and disaster recovery. OVHcloud stays cheapest on raw compute, while Scaleway shines on managed databases and DevOps ergonomics. Both are certified and store your data in the EU: the real risk is staying on a US cloud subject to the Cloud Act.
Why price is not the only question
Hosting a business app that handles personal data (customers, HR, health) triggers three concrete GDPR requirements: data stored in the EU, a processor bound by a DPA (art. 28), and no unframed transfer outside the EU. A US cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) can technically host in a European region, but the parent company remains subject to the US Cloud Act, hence the appeal of sovereign clouds OVHcloud or Scaleway for sensitive data.
Beyond compliance, your real cost breaks into five items: compute (VPS/instance), storage (block + object), managed database, egress (outbound traffic) and backup/disaster recovery. It's the sum, not the headline price, that matters.
OVHcloud vs Scaleway: cost by line item (2026 order of magnitude)
| Item | OVHcloud | Scaleway |
|---|---|---|
| Instance 4 vCPU / 8 GB | EUR 35-55/mo | EUR 40-60/mo |
| Instance 8 vCPU / 16 GB | EUR 70-110/mo | EUR 80-120/mo |
| Managed PostgreSQL (HA) | EUR 90-260/mo | EUR 110-320/mo |
| Object storage (100 GB) | EUR 6-9/mo | EUR 7-11/mo |
| Egress (outbound) | included/low | included to threshold |
| Managed backups + snapshots | EUR 15-45/mo | EUR 20-50/mo |
| Load balancer | EUR 18-30/mo | EUR 20-35/mo |
Egress is the classic US-cloud trap: what OVH/Scaleway include can cost EUR 0.08-0.10/GB elsewhere, meaning hundreds of euros for a high-traffic app.
Total monthly cost by load
| App profile | Compute | DB + backups | DR/HA | Total/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (1 instance) | EUR 45 | EUR 100 | no | EUR 180-230 |
| Growth (2 instances + LB) | EUR 140 | EUR 260 | basic | EUR 420-520 |
| Critical production (HA) | EUR 260 | EUR 420 | full | EUR 750-950 |
| Multi-region | EUR 400 | EUR 600 | full | EUR 1,200+ |
A disaster recovery plan with failover to a second certified data center adds 30-45% to the base: it's the most underestimated item in an initial quote.
Mini case study
Sarah, IT director of a 90-person industrial SME in Amsterdam, migrates her production-management app from a US cloud to OVHcloud. Old bill: EUR 610/month, including EUR 180 of unplanned egress. New architecture: 2 instances (EUR 140), managed HA PostgreSQL (EUR 260), backups + snapshots (EUR 40), load balancer (EUR 25) = EUR 465/month. Annual saving: about EUR 1,740, plus the end of Cloud Act exposure on her HR and customer data. One-off migration cost: EUR 6,500 (audit, IaC, cutover).
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FAQ
OVH or Scaleway for a GDPR business app?
OVHcloud for the best price/compute ratio and a broad catalogue; Scaleway for modern managed databases and a pleasant DevOps console. Both host in the EU and sign an art. 28-compliant DPA. The price gap stays under 15% in most cases.
Is EU hosting enough to be GDPR-compliant?
No. EU hosting is necessary but not sufficient: you also need a signed DPA, a retention policy, encryption and access management. Sovereign hosting mainly reduces the risk of transfers outside the EU.
How much does a disaster recovery plan cost?
Budget 30-45% on top of the hosting base for failover to a second certified data center, with a 1-4 h RTO. For the growth app above, that's roughly EUR 150/month extra.
Can you migrate from AWS without downtime?
Yes, via progressive DNS cutover and database replication: budget 2-4 weeks and EUR 5,000-12,000 depending on complexity and data volume.
What does egress cover and why does it matter?
Egress is outbound traffic (downloaded files, API calls). At OVH/Scaleway it's often included or low; at US clouds it can reach EUR 0.08-0.10/GB, meaning unpredictable overages at high traffic.
Let's scope your project. Describe your app (stack, data volume, criticality) and we'll price the right sovereign architecture, disaster recovery included. 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.
