This post is part of a series on moving off American software.
AWS is the hardest replacement in this series, and the reason is breadth. Compute and object storage are easy to swap; the difficulty is the hundred adjacent managed services a large organization accumulates over the years.
So scope the problem first. The European platforms below cover the core — virtual servers, object storage, managed databases, managed Kubernetes — with varying depth beyond that. If your workload is a handful of servers, a database, and an S3 bucket, several of these will do. If you are deep into specialized AWS services, expect a staged migration, not a weekend switch.
All providers here appear on European Alternatives in its cloud computing and VPS categories.
Full cloud platforms
OVHcloud (France) offers the classic set: virtual servers, object storage, managed databases, and managed Kubernetes. It is based on OpenStack and configurable via the OpenStack CLI — a real advantage if you want to avoid proprietary lock-in at the API level.
Scaleway (France) runs the Scaleway Elements public cloud: virtual servers, S3-compatible object storage, DNS, VPC, managed Kubernetes, and managed MySQL and PostgreSQL. It also sells dedicated servers and rack rental, which is unusual among cloud providers and useful for workloads that outgrow shared hardware.
UpCloud (Finland) has servers around the world and offers virtual servers, VPC, managed databases, managed Kubernetes, and object storage. Its distinguishing feature: block storage IOPS can be upgraded for higher read and write speeds — genuinely useful for databases and other storage-intensive applications.
STACKIT (Germany) is the cloud platform of retail group Schwarz Group, with data centers in Germany and Austria. Its managed database lineup goes beyond the usual MySQL and Postgres to include Redis, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, and ELK — one of the deeper managed-service menus on this list.
Exoscale (Switzerland) has several locations within Europe and offers virtual servers in CPU-, memory-, and storage-optimized variants plus GPU instances, S3-compatible object storage, managed Kubernetes, DNS, and a CDN. Managed databases cover MySQL and PostgreSQL, plus Kafka and Redis.
VPS-first hosters
If all you need is a server with defined resources, a VPS hoster is simpler and cheaper than a full cloud.
Infomaniak Public Cloud (Switzerland) runs top-of-the-range equipment in secure tier 3+ data centers in Switzerland. Aruba Cloud (Italy) has many data centers across Europe and offers virtual servers, managed databases, domains, and DNS. V.PS (Estonia), a subsidiary of xTom, offers servers around the world. AlphaVPS (Bulgaria) splits its offering into high-performance, storage, affordable, and hardware-specified server types, with locations in Europe — Bulgaria, Germany, the UK — and the USA. Clouding (Spain) targets developers and startups that want flexibility: CPU, RAM, and storage adjustable in real time, no long-term contracts, transparent hourly pricing, and 24/7 support in English and Spanish.
How to plan the move
- Inventory which AWS services you actually use. Object storage and databases map cleanly; proprietary services may not.
- Prefer OpenStack-based providers like OVHcloud if API portability matters to you.
- Match region requirements early — data residency is often the reason for switching, and not every provider has the countries you need.
- Consider a hybrid first step: move a VPS workload to a European hoster while keeping specialized services in place.
The honest summary: for the core building blocks, European providers are ready today. The long tail of AWS managed services is where migrations stall — know your list before you start.
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