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Cloud · head to head

Scaleway vs Vitess

Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vitess logo

Vitess

Databases

Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage; Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • They diverge on capability: Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Scaleway and Vitess actually diverge.

Attributes where Scaleway and Vitess differ
AttributeScalewayVitess
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes
CategoryCloudDatabases
Founded19992010

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 Vitess

  • Horizontal Sharding
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Routing
  • Online Schema Changes
  • Shard Management
  • Replication Management
  • Automated Failover
  • MySQL

Both cover

  • Kubernetes

What people use each for

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

Scaleway

  • Web hostingnot Vitess
  • Container orchestrationnot Vitess
  • Development environmentsnot Vitess
  • Data storage

Vitess

  • Transaction processingnot Scaleway
  • Data storage
  • Application backendnot Scaleway
  • Reportingnot Scaleway
  • Data analyticsnot Scaleway

Both are used for data storage, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

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

Vitess

  • VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
  • Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
  • Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation

Pricing, plan by plan

Scaleway

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

Vitess

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Vitess 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 Vitess if

  • You need horizontal sharding.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want connection pooling.
Vitess review

Questions people ask

Is Scaleway or Vitess better?
Neither clearly leads. Scaleway starts at Free and Vitess at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Scaleway or Vitess?
Scaleway starts at Free and Vitess at Free.
Does Scaleway or Vitess run on more platforms?
Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli. Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
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 Vitess is typically brought in for.
What can Scaleway do that Vitess cannot?
Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Connection Pooling, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes. Both handle Kubernetes.

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
Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?

Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.

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
Vitess: What databases does Vitess support?

Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.

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
Vitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?

No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.

Source
Vitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?

Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.

Source
Vitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?

Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.

Source
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