The Essence
OVHcloud is a French cloud provider founded in 1999. It’s the largest in Europe and third globally by physical server count. The key differentiator: in-house server manufacturing and full control over the chain — from hardware assembly to DC cooling. This allows them to keep prices 30-50% below American competitors.
Key Features
In-house servers. OVH doesn’t buy Dell or HP — they design and assemble servers themselves. Lower cost, faster deployment. For clients, this means cheaper plans.
Anti-DDoS included. Every OVH server is protected by the VAC (VACuum cleaner) anti-DDoS system. Included at no extra cost, filters up to 480 Gbps.
Global presence. 32 data centers across four continents. Unlike Hetzner, OVH has DCs in the US (Virginia, Oregon), Canada (Beauharnois), Singapore, and Australia. A real option for international projects.
Regulatory compliance. ISO 27001, HDS (for medical data in France), SOC 1/2 certified. Critical for European companies handling sensitive data.
Pricing
Cloud VPS lineup:
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | NVMe | Price/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 | 2 GB | 20 GB | €3.50 |
| Value | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB | €7.00 |
| Essential | 4 | 8 GB | 80 GB | €14.00 |
| Comfort | 8 | 16 GB | 160 GB | €28.00 |
Prices are comparable to Hetzner, but with the bonus of choosing a DC on four continents plus anti-DDoS protection.
Who It’s For
- European businesses — full GDPR compliance with EU data storage
- Projects under DDoS attack — built-in protection saves $50-200/mo on third-party services
- International SaaS — DCs in the Americas and Asia for low latency
- Those outgrowing Hetzner — need global geography without AWS pricing
Getting Started
Registration is easier than Hetzner — usually just email and phone. Verification takes 15 minutes to a few hours. After activation, servers deploy in 30-60 seconds. Terraform provider, OpenStack-compatible API, cloud-init support.
Affiliate Program
OVHcloud Partner Program with three tiers. Commission is a percentage of referred client payments. The OVHcloud Referral program offers account credits for referrals and a first-month discount for referred clients. Suitable for bloggers and agencies.
Watch Out For
- Support — ticket-based, response time 30 minutes to several hours.
- UI — functional but not intuitive. Newcomers need time to learn.
- 2021 incident — a fire at the Strasbourg DC destroyed client data without backups. OVH learned lessons and strengthened fire protection, but the memory lingers.
Bottom Line
OVHcloud is a mature, reliable provider with a 25-year history. If you need European hosting with global ambitions — this is your best candidate. Prices are slightly higher than Hetzner, but you get geographic choice, built-in DDoS protection, and international infrastructure. For projects planning to grow beyond Europe, OVHcloud is the stronger bet.