GDPR-Compliant Cloud Hosting & IaaS

Cloud infrastructure underpins every digital service you run, and the physical location of your servers determines which legal jurisdiction governs your data. By choosing an EU-based IaaS provider, you guarantee that customer data, application logs, and backups remain under GDPR protection and cannot be compelled for disclosure under non-European law.

GDPR Compliance Checklist

1 Data stored in EU/EEA

2 Data Processing Agreement available

3 GDPR-compliant privacy policy

4 Right to data portability

5 Right to erasure (right to be forgotten)

6 Data breach notification procedures

7 All data centers located exclusively within EU/EEA member states

8 Provider is incorporated in an EU/EEA country and not subject to foreign surveillance laws

9 Encrypted backups with EU-only storage and configurable retention policies

Compliant Products (10)

Hetzner Cloud

Affordable European cloud infrastructure

From €4.51/mo (usage-based)

Gunzenhausen

🇩🇪🇫🇮

GDPRISO 27001DPA

Scaleway

European multi-cloud infrastructure provider

From €7/mo (usage-based)

Paris

🇫🇷🇳🇱🇵🇱

GDPRISO 27001SOC 2DPA

OVHcloud

Major European cloud infrastructure provider

Free

Roubaix

🇫🇷🇩🇪🇵🇱🇪🇸

GDPRISO 27001SOC 2DPA

IONOS

Cloud hosting and infrastructure by United Internet

Infomaniak

Swiss cloud, email, and hosting provider

UpCloud

High-performance European cloud infrastructure

From €5/mo (usage-based)

Helsinki

🇫🇮🇩🇪🇳🇱🇪🇸🇵🇱

GDPRDPA

Bunny.net

Slovenian CDN and edge platform with blazing fast global performance

From €1/mo (usage-based)

Ljubljana

🇸🇮🇪🇺

GDPRDPA

Gcore

Luxembourg-based edge cloud and CDN with global infrastructure

KeyCDN

Swiss high-performance content delivery network with transparent pricing

From €4/mo (usage-based)

Winterthur

🇨🇭🇪🇺

GDPRDPA

Exoscale

Swiss cloud infrastructure with full EU data sovereignty

From €5/mo (usage-based)

Lausanne

🇨🇭🇩🇪🇦🇹🇧🇬

GDPRISO 27001SOC 2DPA

What Makes a Cloud Hosting & IaaS GDPR Compliant?

Is it enough to use an AWS or Azure EU region for GDPR compliance?

Using an EU region on AWS or Azure means your data is physically located in Europe, but the provider is still a US company subject to the CLOUD Act. US authorities can legally compel AWS or Microsoft to hand over data stored in EU data centers. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework provides some safeguards, but its legal future is uncertain (its predecessors Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield were both invalidated). An EU-incorporated cloud provider is not subject to US jurisdiction at all.

Can European cloud providers match the scale and services of AWS?

European IaaS providers have matured significantly. Providers like Hetzner, OVHcloud, and Scaleway offer virtual machines, managed Kubernetes, object storage, load balancers, and CDN services at competitive prices. While the total breadth of managed services may be smaller than AWS's 200+ products, most businesses use only a fraction of those. For standard workloads, European providers deliver equivalent performance, often at lower cost.

What about sub-processors and third-party tools running on EU cloud infrastructure?

Hosting on EU infrastructure is a critical first step, but GDPR compliance extends to every sub-processor in your stack. If you run a European VM but use a US-based monitoring tool that ingests your server logs, personal data may still leave the EU. Audit your full toolchain: logging, monitoring, backups, CI/CD, and DNS. Many European cloud providers offer integrated solutions for these services, making it easier to keep your entire stack within EU jurisdiction.