The verdict in three sentences
For a public agency in Berlin, hosting on a sovereign cloud with a BSI C5 attestation (IONOS, STACKIT, Open Telekom Cloud or the Delos-style sovereign offers) costs EUR 200 to 650 per month, 3 to 5 times the price of standard cloud. Add EUR 4,500 to 10,000 for migration, including IT-Grundschutz alignment and a BITV 2.0 accessibility check. The yearly premium of EUR 1,900 to 6,400 stays small compared with the legal risk of citizen data on infrastructure exposed to extraterritorial laws.
Why sovereign cloud is becoming the norm in the public sector
German federal and state guidance increasingly expects public bodies to use cloud services audited against the BSI C5 catalogue, operated under European law and protected from extraterritorial access. A purely informational website is not always bound by this, but as soon as it collects applications, citizen files or supporting documents, the question becomes unavoidable.
| Criterion | Standard cloud (hyperscaler or VPS) | Sovereign cloud with C5 |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price, site + forms | EUR 40 to 120 | EUR 200 to 650 |
| Data location | EU, sometimes under non-European jurisdiction | Germany, European-law operator |
| Protection from extraterritorial laws | Not guaranteed | Core of the offer |
| BSI C5 attestation | Sometimes, without sovereignty | Yes |
| IT-Grundschutz alignment | Partial, to be demonstrated | Largely covered by the provider |
| German-language 24/7 support | Variable | Usually included or optional |
| Availability commitment | 99.5 to 99.9% | 99.9 to 99.95% |
Sovereign offers compared in 2026
The figures below are 2026 estimates for a CMS website with a database, file storage for attachments and a staging environment.
| Offer | Model | Estimated monthly cost (EUR) | Strength | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IONOS Cloud | Public IaaS, German operator | 200 to 450 | Berlin and Frankfurt data centres | Managed services less extensive |
| STACKIT (Schwarz group) | Public IaaS and PaaS | 220 to 500 | Strong sovereignty positioning | Younger service catalogue |
| Open Telekom Cloud | IaaS and PaaS | 250 to 550 | Public sector track record | Pricing complexity |
| Agency-managed service on a sovereign cloud | Managed service | +150 to 350 | Monitoring, patching, on-call | Exit plan needed |
| Standard cloud (reference) | Public IaaS | 40 to 120 | Cost | No sovereignty guarantee |
A Berlin data centre slightly reduces latency for local users, but it is not decisive: the gap with Frankfurt stays under 10 ms.
Migration cost and what it includes
| Item | Range (EUR excl. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Audit of the current setup and data mapping | 900 to 1,700 |
| Preparing the sovereign infrastructure | 1,100 to 2,800 |
| Migrating CMS, databases and attachments | 1,300 to 2,700 |
| Hardening (CSP headers, WAF, audit logging) | 700 to 1,700 |
| BITV 2.0 check on forms after migration | 500 to 1,100 |
| Total migration | 4,500 to 10,000 |
The accessibility check is not tied to hosting, but a migration is the right moment to fix forms: BITV 2.0 applies to public bodies, with a published accessibility statement.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Katrin, IT director of a Berlin public agency, currently hosts the website and 14 forms (grants, applications, tenders) on standard cloud at EUR 90 per month. She moves to a sovereign offer at EUR 400 per month with managed service, plus EUR 7,000 for migration. Premium over 3 years: (400 - 90) × 36 + 7,000 = EUR 18,160, or about EUR 6,050 a year. Spread across 22,000 citizen files a year, that is EUR 0.28 per file to remove extraterritorial access risk and simplify the security approval.
FAQ
Must a public agency website be on a sovereign cloud?
Not always: the expectation mainly concerns sensitive data. When forms collect ID documents, social or health data, a sovereign C5-attested offer is the simplest answer, at EUR 200 to 650 a month.
How long does a migration take?
Allow 4 to 8 weeks, including 1 to 2 weeks of provisioning at the provider. The cutover itself happens in a 2 to 4 hour overnight window.
Does the attestation cover the CMS too?
No, it covers the provider's infrastructure. The CMS, updates and application security remain with the agency or its managed service provider, hence the EUR 150 to 350 monthly fee.
Is a public tender required?
Above the EU threshold of about EUR 221,000 for services, a European tender applies; below it, national procurement rules govern the procedure. Framework agreements already list sovereign cloud offers.
What about reversibility?
A written exit plan with data export in open formats within 30 days. Executing it typically costs EUR 1,700 to 4,500.
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of forms, file volumes and current host, and we will price the migration at EUR 4,500 to 10,000 plus monthly operation on a sovereign cloud. 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.
