The verdict in three sentences
Managed hosting in Europe with OVH or Scaleway costs in 2026 between EUR 25 and 90 per month depending on resources, guaranteed uptime and management. For a B2B site serving mainly West Africa, the key is not the server but the CDN with edge caching (Cloudflare) that brings content closer to visitors in Dakar, Abidjan or Bamako. A local alternative exists around 150,000 FCFA/year, relevant for data sovereignty but often less equipped on monitoring and backups.
EU, CDN or local: the trade-off
Hosting in Europe offers mature infrastructure (uptime, snapshots, support), but latency to Africa can reach 150-250 ms without a CDN. A CDN like Cloudflare caches pages at nearby points of presence (Dakar, Abidjan, Lagos) and drops that latency to 20-60 ms on static content. The table places the options for a B2B site.
| Option | 2026 cost | Uptime | Dakar latency | Backups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVH shared + CDN | EUR 25-40/month | 99.9% | 20-60 ms (cache) | Daily |
| Scaleway managed VPS | EUR 45-90/month | 99.9% | 20-60 ms (cache) | Daily + snapshot |
| Cloudflare CDN (add-on) | EUR 0-20/month | 100% edge | 20-60 ms | — |
| Local Dakar host | ~150,000 FCFA/year | 99.5% | 10-30 ms | Depends on plan |
| Premium cloud (AWS/GCP) | EUR 90-250/month | 99.95% | 20-60 ms (cache) | Automated |
What managed hosting covers
Managed means the provider handles server updates, security, backups and monitoring: you never touch the command line. It is the right choice for a company without an infra team. Here are the included items and their value.
| Item | Included when managed | Value if self-run |
|---|---|---|
| OS/security updates | Yes | 2-4 hrs/month |
| 24/7 uptime monitoring | Yes | Tool + on-call |
| Daily backups + restore | Yes | Loss risk |
| Renewed SSL certificate | Yes | Manual |
| Incident support | Yes, SLA | Variable delay |
| African edge cache (CDN) | Option | Latency x3-x5 |
Mini case study
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Moussa, manager of a 25-person consulting firm in Dakar with clients in France, hosted his site on shared hosting without a CDN: load time of 4.1 s in Dakar, prospect complaints. He moves to OVH managed + Cloudflare for EUR 35/month (about 275,000 FCFA/year). LCP falls to 1.4 s, uptime reaches 99.9% with monitoring, and daily backups secure his lead form. Compared with an internal infra hire, he saves the equivalent of several person-days a year and strengthens his image with demanding European clients.
FAQ
How much does managed hosting for a B2B site cost in 2026? Between EUR 25 and 90/month with OVH or Scaleway depending on resources and management. A premium cloud (AWS/GCP) rises to EUR 90-250/month.
Must I host in Dakar to serve West Africa? Not necessarily: EU hosting + Cloudflare CDN with an African edge cache gives 20-60 ms latency in Dakar, close to local. Local hosting (~150,000 FCFA/year) is justified mainly for data sovereignty.
What does 99.9% uptime mean concretely? It allows about 8.7 hours of downtime per year. Serious managed plans guarantee this level with 24/7 monitoring and automatic alerts.
Are backups really included? When managed, yes: daily backups with restore, often complemented by a snapshot at Scaleway. On basic hosting, it is often a paid option or absent.
Is a CDN enough to speed up a slow site? A CDN speeds up static content (images, CSS, cached pages) and drops latency, but a poorly optimised site stays slow on first render. CDN + good hosting + optimised code go together.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your audience (EU, West Africa, mixed), your traffic and your uptime needs, and we will size managed hosting + CDN at the right cost. 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.
