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Cloud · head to head

Scaleway vs Thanos

Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Scaleway and Thanos actually diverge.

Attributes where Scaleway and Thanos differ
AttributeScalewayThanos
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliKubernetes, Linux, Docker
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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
  • Load Balancer

Only in Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

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

Scaleway

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

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Scaleway
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Scaleway
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Scaleway

Where each one falls short

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

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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Pricing, plan by plan

Scaleway

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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.
Scaleway review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Scaleway or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Scaleway starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Scaleway or Thanos?
Scaleway starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does Scaleway or Thanos run on more platforms?
Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
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 Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Scaleway do that Thanos cannot?
Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

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
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

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
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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