On the other, a Europe strengthening its requirements around digital sovereignty, data protection, and control over critical infrastructures. In this context, the question is no longer purely technical or budgetary: it has become strategic.
AWS provides broad functional coverage and proven elasticity at scale. However, its model introduces long-term constraints for organisations seeking to maintain a controlled technical and legal trajectory: vendor lock-in driven by proprietary services and APIs, exit costs (including data egress), architectural complexity, and security responsibilities that largely remain with customer teams depending on the services used.
Legal considerations further complicate the picture. Beyond data location, organisations must address operational data governance: access conditions, support processes, key management, and reversibility. The challenge, therefore, is not to “do with less”, but to rely on a sovereign, automated, and operationally simple platform, suited to modern application workloads.
The following sections present sovereign and production-ready AWS alternatives, highlighting what each approach concretely brings to teams deploying and operating applications in production.
AWS alternatives: key points for European teams
- AWS is powerful and scalable, but combines complexity, vendor lock-in, and exit costs (including egress).
- European AWS alternatives exist — both PaaS and IaaS — and are credible and mature, with certifications, regional data centres, and structured service portfolios.
- Each platform addresses a specific need: automated PaaS, governed IaaS, or qualified cloud for sensitive environments.
- Clever Cloud stands out with a 100% sovereign, automated, reliable, and certified PaaS approach.
Why AWS raises sovereignty and operational concerns
AWS follows a global hyperscaler model, with a vast service catalogue, fine-grained configuration, and tight integration between components. This approach is attractive for complex or highly specific architectures. In practice, however, it often results in a high operational burden, strong dependency on the AWS ecosystem, and legal challenges related to data location, control, and management.
For European organisations, these limitations drive the exploration of more focused AWS alternatives. Some prioritise automated PaaS platforms to reduce infrastructure management. Others choose sovereign IaaS solutions, offering greater control and flexibility, with broader DevOps latitude. The right choice depends on priorities: deployment speed, compliance, operational control, or architectural flexibility.
The 6 best alternatives to Amazon Web Services (AWS)
1. Clever Cloud — A sovereign PaaS for application deployment and hosting
Clever Cloud is a European PaaS designed for deploying, hosting, and operating applications without infrastructure management. It targets teams looking to industrialise production environments with automation, resilience, and sovereignty.
Advantages
- Full sovereignty: European jurisdiction, no dependency on the US Cloud Act or FISA, guaranteed reversibility
- Resilience by design: autoscaling, self-healing, daily backups, built-in disaster recovery
- Structured security: ISO 27001, ISO 9001, HDS certifications, Zero Trust architecture
- Controlled stack: in-house hypervisor and open-source technologies developed internally (Biscuit, Sōzu, Materia)
- Multi-runtime support: Node.js, PHP, Docker, .NET, Go, Python, etc.
- SecNumCloud zone via a partnership with Cloud Temple for highly sensitive workloads
Limitations
- Non cloud-native applications may require adaptation (stateless design, 12-Factor principles)
- No low-level infrastructure access, by architectural choice
Why Clever Cloud differs from AWS
Clever Cloud favours a strong PaaS abstraction: infrastructure is invisible, automated, and designed for operational reliability, whereas AWS leaves a large share of configuration and responsibility to customer teams.
2. OVHcloud — European cloud infrastructure for custom platforms
OVHcloud is a major European cloud provider, structured around a broad IaaS offering combined with managed services. It is well suited to organisations building their own internal platforms (Kubernetes, observability, IAM, networking) on a sovereign foundation.
Advantages
- ISO 27001 and HDS certifications, GDPR compliance
- Wide range of IaaS services: compute, storage, networking, containers
- Strong presence across multiple European countries
Limitations
- SecNumCloud qualification applies only to specific scopes
- Primarily IaaS-driven approach, with variable automation levels
- Some managed services require significant customer-side configuration
3. Scaleway — European cloud for cloud-native and DevOps architectures
Scaleway offers a European cloud widely used in cloud-native contexts, including managed Kubernetes, compute, and bare metal. It targets teams seeking to assemble robust production chains using standard services and open APIs.
Advantages
- 100% European cloud with 10 data centres across Europe
- ISO 27001:2022 and HDS certifications
- Compute, bare metal, and managed Kubernetes services
- Clear commitment to data localisation
Limitations
- Strong involvement required from teams for DevOps tooling and integration
- More focused PaaS catalogue compared to PaaS-first platforms
4. Cloud Temple — Qualified sovereign cloud for sensitive environments
Cloud Temple is a French provider specialised in regulated and sensitive environments. Its value lies in qualification and governance, particularly where strict security, isolation, and compliance requirements apply.
Advantages
- SecNumCloud certification issued by ANSSI
- Clear focus on public sector, critical infrastructure operators, and essential service operators
- Strong governance, isolation, and security guarantees
Limitations
- Primarily designed for critical and regulated workloads
- Limited developer-oriented abstractions by default
5. IONOS Cloud — European IaaS focused on governance and control
IONOS Cloud targets organisations seeking a reliable European IaaS foundation with management tools, while retaining control over the application platform (CI/CD, runtimes, observability).
Advantages
- Data centres under European jurisdiction, GDPR compliant
- Commitment to 100% renewable energy usage
- Integrated DevOps tools such as the Data Center Designer
- Competitive performance-to-price ratio across several benchmarks
Limitations
- Mainly infrastructure-oriented
- More limited PaaS ecosystem than specialised platform providers
6. Jelastic Cloud (Infomaniak) — Swiss sovereign PaaS for web and API applications
Jelastic Cloud is a PaaS operated by Infomaniak in Switzerland. It targets teams seeking an elastic PaaS (autoscaling, pay-per-use) for web and API applications, with fast onboarding and hosting outside extra-territorial jurisdictions.
Advantages
- Sovereign hosting in Switzerland, outside the Cloud Act and GDPR compliant
- Pay-as-you-go pricing and autoscaling
- Support for Java, Node.js, PHP, Docker, and other environments
- Simple and accessible interface
Limitations
- More limited native CI/CD integrations
- Less suited to complex multi-project environments
Choosing a sovereign AWS alternative based on technical priorities
Sovereign AWS alternatives now offer distinct and mature technical trajectories. Some focus on infrastructure control and governance, others on application-level automation. The right choice depends on the desired level of abstraction, regulatory constraints, and DevOps maturity.
In this landscape, Clever Cloud occupies a specific position: a European, automated, and certified PaaS, designed to reduce operational burden without compromising sovereignty. For technical teams that want to focus on applications rather than infrastructure, this approach represents a credible and sustainable alternative to hyperscaler models.