The developer-friendly Scaleway alternative
Both run in the EU — but where Scaleway hands you cloud building blocks to assemble, HostStack is a git-push PaaS with managed databases bundled in, on one bill.
By Michael Michelsen, Founder of HostStack · Updated September 2026
Scaleway prices checked 29 September 2026 against its public pricing pages.
The short answer
Scaleway and HostStack are both EU-incorporated, in France and Denmark, so data residency is clean either way. The difference is what you are handed. Scaleway is a full cloud of Instances, Serverless Containers, Kubernetes and managed databases that you assemble yourself; HostStack is a git-push PaaS with the database on the same bill.
Prices cut both ways. HostStack’s managed Postgres starts lower, at €4/mo against roughly €11/mo for DEV-S, and includes 3-node HA (beta) on the €15 and €50 tiers. At 4 GB with HA, Scaleway DEV-M is cheaper (about €41/mo plus storage, against €50/mo), and Scaleway sells 8 GB dedicated tiers that HostStack does not offer yet.
Choose Scaleway for raw IaaS, Kubernetes, GPUs or bare metal, or for a tender that requires SecNumCloud.
Where HostStack differs from Scaleway
- Git-push PaaS: connect a repo and HostStack builds and deploys it. Scaleway gives you Serverless Containers, Instances, and Kubernetes that you wire together yourself
- Managed Postgres from €4/mo (Micro) vs Scaleway DEV-S at ~€11/mo — and HostStack bundles MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, and Redis under one platform
- 3-node Patroni HA (1 leader + 2 sync replicas, ~5 s failover) at no extra cost on the €15 Standard and €50 Pro database tiers (beta, enabled per team) — Scaleway bills HA as an extra node on top of the main one
- One bill for app + database + queues + full-text search. On Scaleway each is a separate product you assemble and invoice
- Flat, predictable per-resource pricing prorated to the hour — no serverless metering math to forecast
- Both are EU-incorporated (HostStack Denmark, Scaleway France), so you keep clean GDPR data residency either way
Features: HostStack vs Scaleway
| Feature | HostStack | Scaleway |
|---|---|---|
| Git-push auto-deploy | Wire up containers/VMs | |
| Web services | Serverless Containers / Instances | |
| Background workers | DIY on containers/VMs | |
| Cron jobs | Serverless Jobs | |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ||
| Managed MySQL | ||
| Managed MariaDB / MongoDB | Not first-party | |
| Object storage | Managed, S3-compatible | |
| Bundled queues & search | Separate products | |
| Custom domains + SSL | ||
| CLI tool | ||
| Terraform provider | ||
| EU data residency | Helsinki, FI (Danish company) | FR, NL, PL (French company) |
| Managed HA database | Patroni 3-node, included | Add-on (one extra node) |
| Pricing model | Flat per-resource | Per-resource + serverless metering |
| App + DB on one bill | Assemble building blocks |
Pricing: HostStack vs Scaleway
| Tier | HostStack | Scaleway |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1 Nano + 1 Starter Postgres — €0/mo, no card | No always-free compute tier |
| Cheapest always-on service | €1/mo Pico (128 MB) | Serverless Containers (pay-per-use) or a small Instance (hourly) |
| Cheapest managed Postgres | €4/mo Micro (managed, backups) | ~€11/mo DEV-S (2 vCPU / 2 GB) + storage |
| Production Postgres, 4 GB | €50/mo Pro (2 vCPU / 4 GB, 40 GB) — 3-node HA included (beta) | ~€28/mo DEV-M (shared CPU), ~€41/mo with HA, + storage |
| Production Postgres, 8 GB dedicated | Not offered yet | ~€80/mo PRO2-XXS, ~€123/mo with HA, + storage |
| Managed HA | Included on Standard (€15) and Pro (€50) | One extra node at ~half the main-node rate (DEV-S ~€21, PRO2-XXS ~€123) |
| Bandwidth overage | 200 GB included on paid teams, then €0.01/GB | Varies by product — none listed for managed databases |
When NOT to choose HostStack
Scaleway is the better fit in some cases. Here's when we'd tell you so.
You need raw IaaS — VMs, Kubernetes (Kapsule), bare-metal, or GPU instances to build your own orchestration. Scaleway is a full cloud; we are an opinionated PaaS.
You require French SecNumCloud-qualified infrastructure or are answering a French public-sector tender that names Scaleway specifically.
You're already standardized on Scaleway compute and storage and want the database in the same dashboard with zero egress between them.
You want Scaleway's broader product menu (IoT Hub, managed Kubernetes, dedicated bare metal, a large object-storage tier). We focus on application + database workloads.
Migrate from Scaleway
Open a HostStack account
Sign up at hoststack.dev with an email — no card during migration. Create a project in our EU region.
Connect your repo
Connect the GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Codeberg repo you deploy from. Framework auto-detection fills in build and start commands — no Dockerfile required for common stacks.
Import your environment
Save the config you set on your Scaleway Serverless Containers or Instances as a .env file and load it with hoststack env import svc_… .env --apply. Import merges: variables already on the service stay, and imported ones default to runtime-only secrets (add --target both --no-secret for build-time values). Or paste it into Import .env on the service's Variables tab.
Move your database
Provision a managed PostgreSQL (or MySQL) on HostStack and stream a pg_dump from your Scaleway managed database straight into it. Comparing tiers? See our Scaleway PostgreSQL pricing 2026 breakdown and the managed PostgreSQL Europe buyer's guide.
Cut over DNS
Point your A/AAAA or CNAME records at HostStack and wait for the Let's Encrypt certificate to provision. Rotate any Scaleway-issued credentials and decommission the old resources.
Reference for the move: environment variables (including hoststack env import for a .env export), managed databases, the CLI and, to script the whole thing, the TypeScript SDK.
Frequently asked questions
Is HostStack or Scaleway cheaper for managed PostgreSQL?
It depends on size. HostStack is cheaper to start: managed Postgres from €4/month (Micro), and 3-node Patroni HA (in beta, enabled per team) at no extra cost on Standard (1 GB, €15/month) and Pro (2 vCPU / 4 GB, €50/month), with storage and backups in the price. Scaleway's smallest managed Postgres (DEV-S, 2 GB) is ~€11/month or ~€21 with HA, plus storage. At 4 GB, Scaleway's shared-CPU DEV-M with HA (~€41 plus storage) is cheaper than our Pro tier; its dedicated-CPU PRO2-XXS (8 GB) is ~€80/month, ~€123 with HA. Scaleway list prices verified 29 September 2026 (Paris); check scaleway.com before committing.
Is Scaleway a PaaS like HostStack?
Not in the same sense. Scaleway is a French cloud provider — you assemble Instances (VMs), Serverless Containers, Kubernetes, managed databases, and object storage into an application yourself. HostStack is a git-push PaaS: connect a repo and it builds, deploys, and runs the service with managed databases, queues, and search bundled on one bill. Scaleway also resells a managed PaaS ("Web Platform") powered by Clever Cloud, which is a separate product from its core cloud.
Are both HostStack and Scaleway GDPR-compliant?
Yes — and importantly, both are EU-incorporated, so for this comparison data residency is a tie, not a differentiator. Scaleway is French (data centres in Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw); HostStack is Danish (data in Helsinki, Finland today, with Germany regions on the roadmap). Neither is subject to the US CLOUD Act, and both publish a DPA. Choose between them on developer experience, bundling, and price rather than on jurisdiction.
How do I migrate from Scaleway to HostStack?
Connect your GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Codeberg repo; HostStack auto-detects the framework and fills in build and start commands. Copy your environment variables across with the CLI, stream a pg_dump from your Scaleway managed database into a managed HostStack database, and cut over DNS once the Let's Encrypt certificate provisions.
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