Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Scaleway vs Visual Studio

Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Scaleway and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Scaleway and Visual Studio differ
AttributeScalewayVisual Studio
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliWeb
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Scaleway

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

Only in Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Scaleway does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Scaleway

  • Web hostingnot Visual Studio
  • Container orchestrationnot Visual Studio
  • Development environmentsnot Visual Studio
  • Data storagenot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Scaleway
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Scaleway
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Scaleway
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Scaleway
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot 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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Scaleway

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

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 Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

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

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
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

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
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

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
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Scaleway

More on Visual Studio

Keep looking

Other head to heads