Software · head to head
Scaleway vs Alibaba Cloud
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Scaleway scaleway's entry-level cloud instances start at 4.99 EUR per month, and its consumption-based services (serverless jobs, IoT hub, container functions) bill by vCPU-second and GB-second beyond a fixed free-tier allowance per account per month, so costs scale with usage rather than a flat seat price.; Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- They diverge on capability: Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Scaleway and Alibaba Cloud actually diverge.
| Attribute | Scaleway | Alibaba Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Linux, Windows, Api, Cli |
| Founded | 1999 | 2009 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Scaleway
- Virtual Instances
- Bare Metal
- Kubernetes Kapsule
- Object Storage
- Serverless Functions
- Managed Databases
- Container Registry
- Packer
Only in Alibaba Cloud
- Elastic Compute Service
- Object Storage Service
- RDS Database
- MaxCompute
- Function Compute
- CDN
- API Gateway
- Data encryption
Both cover
- Load Balancer
- Terraform
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Ansible
- SOC2
- ISO27001
- Cloud deployment
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Scaleway
- Web hostingnot Alibaba Cloud
- Container orchestrationnot Alibaba Cloud
- Development environmentsnot Alibaba Cloud
- Data storagenot Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
- Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Scaleway
- Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Scaleway
- Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Scaleway
- CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Scaleway
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Scaleway
- Scaleway's entry-level cloud instances start at 4.99 EUR per month, and its consumption-based services (serverless jobs, IoT hub, container functions) bill by vCPU-second and GB-second beyond a fixed free-tier allowance per account per month, so costs scale with usage rather than a flat seat price.
Alibaba Cloud
- Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
- Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic
Pricing, plan by plan
Scaleway
Free- DEV1-S$7.99/month
- 2 vCPU
- 2GB RAM
- 20GB SSD
Alibaba Cloud
Free- Free TrialFree
- Free tier credits
- ECS instances
- Cloud storage
- Pay-as-You-GoFree
- Flexible billing
- No commitments
- Global reach
Which should you pick?
Choose Scaleway if
- You need virtual instances.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want bare metal.
Choose Alibaba Cloud if
- You need elastic compute service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- You also want object storage service.
Questions people ask
- Is Scaleway or Alibaba Cloud better?
- Neither clearly leads. Scaleway starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Scaleway or Alibaba Cloud?
- Scaleway starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free.
- Does Scaleway or Alibaba Cloud run on more platforms?
- Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli. Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- Can I use Scaleway for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Scaleway best used for?
- Scaleway is most often used for web hosting, container orchestration, development environments, data storage. Of those, web hosting and container orchestration are not what Alibaba Cloud is typically brought in for.
- What can Scaleway do that Alibaba Cloud cannot?
- Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Both handle Load Balancer, Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker.
Related pages
More on Alibaba Cloud
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