Softwr

AI · head to head

Poolside vs Scaleway

Poolside logo

Poolside

AI

Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering

From
$0.06/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scaleway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways; Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • They diverge on capability: Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Poolside and Scaleway actually diverge.

Attributes where Poolside and Scaleway differ
AttributePoolsideScaleway
Starting price$0.06/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Platformsweb, api, mac, windows, linuxWeb, Api, Cli
CategoryAICloud
Founded20231999

Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Poolside

  • Laguna S 2.1
  • Laguna XS 2.1
  • Desktop and CLI tools
  • Open-weight models
  • Third-party gateway access

Only in Scaleway

  • Virtual Instances
  • Bare Metal
  • Kubernetes Kapsule
  • Object Storage
  • Serverless Functions
  • Managed Databases
  • Container Registry
  • Load Balancer

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Poolside

  • Enterprises deploying AI coding assistance across large developer organizationsnot Scaleway
  • Government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding modelsnot Scaleway
  • Teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation modelsnot Scaleway
  • Organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding modelsnot Scaleway

Scaleway

  • Web hostingnot Poolside
  • Container orchestrationnot Poolside
  • Development environmentsnot Poolside
  • Data storagenot Poolside

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Poolside

  • No self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
  • Pricing for the flagship enterprise and government offering is not public and requires a sales conversation
  • Targets organizations with large (5,000+) developer headcounts, making it a poor fit for individuals or small teams
  • Documentation and product surface area are thin compared to consumer-facing coding assistants

Scaleway

  • No free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • Specific pricing requires navigating to individual product category pages
  • Base pricing starts at 4.99 EUR per month but varies significantly by service type

Pricing, plan by plan

Poolside

$0.06/month
  • Laguna XS 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.06 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.12 per 1M output tokens
    • Available via OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
  • Laguna S 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.10 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.20 per 1M output tokens
    • 1M token context window
  • Enterprise / Government$undefined/month
    • Custom contracts for large engineering organizations
    • Sales-quoted pricing
    • On-premise or dedicated deployment options

Scaleway

Free
  • DEV1-S$7.99/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 2GB RAM
    • 20GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose Poolside if

  • You need laguna s 2.1.
  • You work on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
  • You also want laguna xs 2.1.
Poolside review

Choose Scaleway if

  • You need virtual instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal.
Scaleway review

Questions people ask

Is Poolside or Scaleway better?
Neither clearly leads. Poolside starts at $0.06/month and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Poolside or Scaleway?
Scaleway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.06/month for Poolside and Free for Scaleway.
Does Poolside or Scaleway run on more platforms?
Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Scaleway for free?
Yes. Scaleway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
What is Poolside best used for?
Poolside is most often used for enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations, government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models, teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation models, organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding models. Of those, enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations and government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.
What can Poolside do that Scaleway cannot?
Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Poolside: How is Poolside's Laguna model usage priced?

Laguna XS 2.1 is priced at $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.12 per 1M output tokens; Laguna S 2.1 is $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens.

Source
Scaleway: Does Scaleway have a free tier?

Scaleway does not mention a free tier or trial period on its pricing or homepage. Users must select specific services to see rates.

Source
Poolside: Where can I access Poolside's models?

Laguna models are available through third-party gateways OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway, as well as via Poolside's own desktop and CLI tools.

Source
Scaleway: What is Scaleway's pricing model?

Scaleway uses transparent, usage-based pricing that varies by service. Different categories (bare metal, compute, AI, storage, network) have separate pricing. Dedibox servers start at 4.99 EUR per month.

Source
Poolside: Does Poolside offer enterprise or government pricing?

Yes, Poolside offers custom, sales-quoted contracts for large enterprises and government/defense customers, including on-premise or dedicated deployment options.

Source
Scaleway: How does Scaleway billing work?

Scaleway emphasizes transparent, predictable billing where customers know exactly what they'll pay. Users must select products and view pricing within each category.

Source
Poolside: How do I get started building with Poolside's models?

Poolside's documentation provides a quickstart guide for installing the `pool` CLI and running an agent task, alongside API documentation for custom integrations.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Poolside

More on Scaleway

Keep looking

Other head to heads