Hosting Your Data in Europe: A Complete Comparison of Countries and Solutions

The location of your data has become a major strategic concern. Between the American Cloud Act, European GDPR, and growing client demands, hosting in Europe is no longer optional—it\'s a necessity. But where exactly? France, Switzerland, Germany? This guide compares the different options to help you make the right choice.

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Why European hosting has become essential

The American problem

Over 90% of global data passes through infrastructure controlled by American companies (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure). This data is subject to several problematic US laws:

• Cloud Act (2018) – US authorities can access data, even when hosted in Europe
• FISA 702 – Surveillance of foreign communications without a warrant
• Executive Order 12333 – Foreign intelligence collection

GDPR requirements

The GDPR requires that data transfers to third countries guarantee an "essentially equivalent" level of protection. American companies have struggled to meet this requirement since the invalidation of the Privacy Shield (Schrems II ruling, 2020).

Client demand

More and more clients (large enterprises, government agencies, healthcare sector) contractually require European or sovereign hosting. It has become a vendor selection criterion.

Comparison of European countries

France: the sovereignty champion

France has made digital sovereignty a national priority with the "Cloud de confiance" label and numerous initiatives.

Recommended French hosting providers: OVHcloud, Scaleway, Clever Cloud, Outscale (Dassault)

Switzerland: confidentiality at its finest

Switzerland is not in the EU but benefits from an adequacy decision from the European Commission, making data transfers as straightforward as intra-EU transfers.

Recommended Swiss hosting providers: Infomaniak (our choice), Exoscale, Proton

Germany: technical rigor

Germany is a European cloud leader with a strong data protection culture.

Recommended German hosting providers: Hetzner, IONOS, Open Telekom Cloud, Strato

The Netherlands: the European hub

The Netherlands hosts Amsterdam, one of the largest internet exchange points in the world (AMS-IX).

Recommended Dutch hosting providers: TransIP, Leaseweb, Tilaa

Complete comparison table

The best European hosting providers by use case

For professional email and collaboration

Alternatives:

• Proton (Switzerland) – End-to-end encrypted email, for extreme confidentiality needs
• Mailbox.org (Germany) – Eco-friendly and privacy-respecting email
• OVH Email Pro (France) – Simple and affordable solution

For web and application hosting

Showcase sites and WordPress:

• Infomaniak (Switzerland) – Managed WordPress hosting, SSL included, responsive support
• o2switch (France) – All-inclusive single plan, excellent value for money
• PlanetHoster (France/Canada) – Good performance/price balance

Applications and APIs:

• Scaleway (France) – Complete French cloud, containers, serverless
• Clever Cloud (France) – European PaaS, simplified deployment
• Hetzner (Germany) – VPS and dedicated servers at unbeatable prices

For storage and backup

• kDrive (Infomaniak, Switzerland) – Sovereign Dropbox/Google Drive alternative
• Swiss Backup (Infomaniak, Switzerland) – Encrypted multi-device backup
• Proton Drive (Switzerland) – End-to-end encrypted storage
• Nextcloud (self-hosted) – Open-source solution to deploy yourself

For cloud infrastructure (IaaS)

• OVHcloud (France) – The most complete European alternative to AWS/Azure
• Scaleway (France) – Innovative cloud, competitive pricing
• Exoscale (Switzerland) – Premium Swiss cloud
• Open Telekom Cloud (Germany) – For large enterprises

How to choose: the decisive criteria

1. Your regulatory obligations

Certain sectors have specific requirements:

• Healthcare – HDS-certified hosting provider in France, or Swiss equivalent
• Finance – DORA compliance, specific certifications
• Government agencies – SecNumCloud in France, often requiring national sovereignty
• Lawyers/Accountants – Professional secrecy, Switzerland particularly well-suited

2. Your budget constraints

Approximate price ranking (cheapest to most expensive):

1. Hetzner (Germany) – Unbeatable prices, bare-metal services
2. OVH, Scaleway (France) – Good value for money
3. Infomaniak (Switzerland) – Reasonable prices, managed services included
4. SecNumCloud-certified solutions – Premium, for specific needs

3. Your support needs

If you don\'t have an internal IT team, prioritize:

• Managed services (WordPress hosting, turnkey email)
• Phone support in your language
• Comprehensive documentation

Infomaniak excels on these criteria with human-based support located in French-speaking Switzerland.

4. The hosting provider\'s actual nationality

Switzerland vs France: the showdown

This is the question French companies ask us most often. Here\'s a detailed analysis.

From a legal standpoint

From a practical standpoint

• Support – Equivalent (Infomaniak = native French-speaking support)
• Performance – Equivalent (similar latency from France)
• Billing – France in EUR, Switzerland sometimes in CHF (Infomaniak bills in EUR)
• VAT – 20% France, 8.1% Switzerland (advantage Switzerland for businesses)

Our verdict

For a French company:

• Choose France if you have SecNumCloud requirements or work with French government agencies
• Choose Switzerland for maximum protection, confidentiality (regulated professions), and value for money

In most cases, Switzerland offers a slight advantage thanks to its neutrality, stability, and independence from major powers.

Migration guide to a European hosting provider

Step 1: Inventory

List all your services currently hosted outside Europe:

• Email (Gmail, Outlook.com)
• Storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)
• Website (current hosting provider)
• Business applications (CRM, ERP as SaaS)
• Backups

Step 2: Prioritization

Start with the most sensitive data:

1. Emails (confidential data, client communications)
2. File storage (internal documents, contracts)
3. Customer databases
4. Website and applications

Step 3: Progressive migration

Don\'t migrate everything at once. Proceed service by service:

Step 4: Documentation update

Update your legal notices, privacy policy, and GDPR processing records to reflect the new hosting arrangement.

FAQ: your questions about European hosting

Can a European hosting provider match AWS performance?

For 95% of use cases, yes. European hosting providers like OVHcloud, Scaleway, or Infomaniak offer comparable performance. For very specific needs (massive machine learning, proprietary AWS services), adjustments may be necessary.

Is it more expensive?

Not necessarily. Hetzner (Germany) is often cheaper than AWS. Infomaniak is competitive against Google Workspace. Premium sovereign cloud (SecNumCloud) is more expensive, but serves specific needs.

How do I know if my current hosting provider is problematic?

Check:

• The company\'s headquarters (not the datacenter\'s)
• The ownership structure (American shareholders?)
• The terms of service (jurisdiction, applicable law)

Will latency be affected?

No. European datacenters are well connected. From France, a Swiss or German server responds just as fast as an AWS Ireland server.

Conclusion

Hosting your data in Europe is no longer an ideological choice—it\'s a business and regulatory necessity. Whether you choose France for its proximity, Switzerland for its confidentiality, or Germany for its rigor, what matters is breaking free from Big Tech dependency.

Our recommendation for most French companies: Infomaniak in Switzerland. The best balance between data protection, quality of service, French-speaking support, and pricing.

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