Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Scaleway vs Vault

Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Vault covers Secrets management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Scaleway and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Scaleway and Vault differ
AttributeScalewayVault
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded19992015

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 Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication
  • Databases

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Ansible
  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Scaleway

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

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Scaleway
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Scaleway
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot 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

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

Scaleway

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

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

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 Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want authentication.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Scaleway or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Scaleway starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Scaleway or Vault?
Scaleway starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Scaleway or Vault run on more platforms?
Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
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 Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Scaleway do that Vault cannot?
Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Vault covers Secrets management, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Ansible.

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
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

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
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

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
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

Source
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Scaleway

More on Vault

Keep looking

Other head to heads