Direct comparison
STACKIT vs Scaleway
STACKIT or Scaleway? The direct cloud comparison of services, data centers, costs and sovereignty. Services, pricing, data centers and sovereignty in a direct comparison.
Management summary
As of 2026-07STACKIT and Scaleway are both sovereign EU cloud providers, but pursue different strategic focuses. STACKIT positions itself as the maximum compliance cloud for the DACH region with the highest operational sovereignty (10/10) and data security (9/10), but is limited to a focused IaaS/PaaS portfolio. Scaleway offers a broader, cloud-native portfolio with strong bare metal infrastructure (9/10) and superior pricing (9/10), while operational sovereignty is slightly lower than STACKIT's (9/10 vs. 10/10). While STACKIT is ideal for organizations with the highest security requirements and a Linux focus, Scaleway is better suited for cost-sensitive, containerized workloads and AI infrastructure within Europe. Both providers lack global reach and workplace integrations, clearly defining them as pure infrastructure platforms.
Methodology & data basisSTACKIT
EU providerUSP: German cloud with maximum compliance and a clear focus on IaaS and PaaS
Recommendation: Recommended for organizations prioritizing local security and trust
Scaleway
EU providerUSP: European portfolio with a focus on AI infrastructure and cloud-native development
Recommendation: Recommended for companies looking for European Cloud Native alternatives
Performance chart
STACKIT and Scaleway across 8 core categories, compared with the average of all providers (1–10).
Market positioning
All 13 providers by sovereignty and portfolio performance — purely computed from the category ratings.
Positions are purely computational: X = mean of technological & operational sovereignty, Y = mean of all remaining rating categories (each 1–10). Not a ranking recommendation. Methodology & data basis
Strengths & weaknesses
Automatically derived from the editorially reviewed rating data and backed by the category ratings (1–10) — fair to both sides.
Strengths
- Maximum operational sovereignty (10/10): STACKIT achieves the highest score in the comparison field for operational control from Europe, supported by a SEAL score of 8.2/10 (82%) and SEAL 3 certification.
- Strong data security and encryption (9/10): With a score of 9/10 (avg. others: 7.8), the platform offers technical protection mechanisms such as Confidential Cloud by Edgeless Systems, Confidential Server, and a Secrets Manager (Encryption 8/10).
- Excellent Linux support (10/10): With the highest score in the comparison field (10/10, avg. others: 8.7), STACKIT is an optimal target platform for Linux workloads and open-source ecosystems.
- Solid managed database portfolio (8/10): The offering of true DBaaS services (8/10, avg. others: 7.1) includes PostgreSQL Flex, MariaDB, SQLServer Flex, MongoDB Flex, Redis, and OpenSearch.
Points to consider
- No global reach (1/10): With only 2 regions in 2 countries (Germany and Austria) and 3 Availability Zones, the provider is unsuitable for workloads outside Europe (avg. others: 4.8).
- Weak AI and Big Data offering: The categories AI (3/10, avg. others: 5) and Big Data (3/10, avg. others: 5) are thinly populated; many AI services are only 'announced' and Dremio is in beta stage.
- No bare metal offering (1/10): Dedicated physical servers are not offered (avg. others: 5.5), which limits specific hardware requirements.
Strengths
- Outstanding pricing (Price 9/10, avg. others: 6.2): With a Cost Rating of 8.5/10 and up to 25% discount via Saving Plans, Scaleway offers competitive rates, particularly for GPU (9.0/10) and Egress (10.0/10).
- Strong bare metal and container infrastructure: Bare Metal achieves the highest score in the comparison field (9/10, avg. others: 4.8), complemented by mature containerization (8/10, avg. others: 7.3) with Managed Kubernetes.
- Maximum technological sovereignty (9/10): Scaleway achieves the highest score in the comparison field for technological independence (9/10, avg. others: 7.4), supported by a SEAL score of 7.9/10 and EU residence.
- Growing AI portfolio (6/10): With an AI score of 6/10 (avg. others: 4.8), Scaleway offers productive Generative APIs and Managed Inference, which is above average for a sovereign provider.
Points to consider
- No global reach (Global Reach 1/10, avg. others: 4.8): With only 3 countries and 1 continent, the provider is unsuitable for international workloads; however, this is irrelevant for purely European users.
- Weak enterprise virtualization (Virtualization 4/10, avg. others: 5.8): No Managed VMware or direct hypervisor access complicates the migration of classic enterprise estates.
- Thinner Big Data offerings (Big Data 4/10, avg. others: 4.9): The portfolio of analytics and data platform services is less extensive compared to other providers.
Which provider when?
Use-case-based decision aid — both options are a valid choice.
Choose STACKIT if:
- if highest operational control and compliance in the DACH region (SEAL 3, C5) are a priority.
- if you want to host Linux workloads with maximum data security (Confidential Computing).
- if you need a broad portfolio of managed databases (incl. MSSQL Flex).
- if you do not need bare metal infrastructure but value free egress costs.
Choose Scaleway if:
- if cost efficiency (Cost Rating 8.5/10) and flexible Saving Plans are in the foreground.
- if you need bare metal servers or a mature container platform (Kubernetes).
- if you are looking for productive AI/ML services (Generative APIs, Managed Inference) in the EU.
- if you prefer a broader cloud-native portfolio with file storage and serverless options.
Service comparison by category
All 19 rating categories in a head-to-head duel (1–10). A notable lead is marked from a 2-point difference.
| Category | STACKITvsScalewayScale 1–10 | Avg. all | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security & Encryption | 97 | 7.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| Technological Sovereignty | 99 | 7.4 | balanced |
| Operational Sovereignty | 109 | 8 | balanced |
| Strategic Capabilities | 56 | 6.2 | balanced |
| Price | 59 | 6.4 | Lead Scaleway |
| Collaboration Tools | 53 | 5.1 | Lead STACKIT |
| Global Reach | 11 | 4.5 | balanced |
| Big Data | 34 | 4.8 | balanced |
| AI | 36 | 4.8 | Lead Scaleway |
| Bare Metal | 19 | 5.2 | Lead Scaleway |
| Virtualization | 64 | 5.7 | Lead STACKIT |
| Containerization | 68 | 7.3 | Lead Scaleway |
| Databases | 87 | 6.9 | balanced |
| High Availability | 66 | 6.7 | balanced |
| Microsoft | 44 | 4.5 | balanced |
| Linux | 108 | 8.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| Encryption | 87 | 6.8 | balanced |
| Storage | 78 | 7.7 | balanced |
| Network | 88 | 7.8 | balanced |
Management Summary
Sovereign Cloud
SEAL Framework
Strategic (15 %)
Legal & Jurisdictional (10 %)
Data & AI (10 %)
Operational (15 %)
Supply Chain (20 %)
Technology (15 %)
Security & Compliance (10 %)
Environmental (5 %)
Availability & Locations
Compute
shared & low-budget
Hot Storage
Cold Storage
Managed Databases
Network & Security
Orchestration
Virtualization
Management
Big Data
AI & Machine Learning
Quantum Computing
Compliance & Certificates
German cloud security catalogue
IT service management system standard
Information security management system
Privacy information management extension
Energy management for data centers
Cloud Security Alliance assurance registry
Service organization control audit reports
Payment card data security standard
Cost Indication
vCPU/h
H100/h
GB/h
Ratio1/4
GB/h | 3000 IOPS
GB/h
GB/h
Cluster/h
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
per GB
Our comparison methodology
The scores show a relative price comparison per service category. The lowest price earns 10 points; higher prices are marked down proportionally. Missing services are treated neutrally.
As of: List prices as of 11 September 2025, location Germany (DE).
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Frequently asked questions: STACKIT vs Scaleway
What is the difference between STACKIT and Scaleway?
STACKIT focuses on maximum operational sovereignty (10/10) and data security (9/10) in the DACH region with a strong focus on managed databases and Linux. Scaleway offers a broader, cloud-native portfolio with strong bare metal infrastructure (9/10), superior pricing (9/10), and productive AI services (6/10), while operational sovereignty is slightly lower (9/10).
Which provider is more sovereign?
STACKIT has higher operational sovereignty (10/10 vs. 9/10 for Scaleway) and a slightly higher SEAL score (8.2/10 vs. 7.9/10). However, both providers achieve the maximum score for technological sovereignty (9/10) and are sovereign as EU providers based in Germany and France, respectively.
Who is cheaper?
Scaleway is significantly more price-competitive with a price score of 9/10 and a Cost Rating of 8.5/10, compared to STACKIT's price score of 5/10 and Cost Rating of 5.4/10. Actual costs are always workload-dependent; however, STACKIT offers free egress costs (10/10), which can be relevant for high data volumes.
Which provider is better for AI and Big Data?
Scaleway is clearly superior with an AI score of 6/10 (productive Generative APIs) and Big Data 4/10. STACKIT performs weaker here with AI 3/10 (many services only 'announced') and Big Data 3/10 (Dremio in beta stage).
Do both providers offer bare metal servers?
No, only Scaleway offers bare metal servers and achieves the highest score in the comparison field here (9/10). STACKIT does not offer dedicated physical servers (score 1/10).
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