Direct comparison
AWS vs SysEleven
AWS or SysEleven? The direct cloud comparison of services, data centers, costs and sovereignty. Hyperscaler versus European cloud – focused on sovereignty, GDPR and compliance.
Management summary
As of 2026-07AWS and SysEleven represent two fundamental cloud strategies: AWS offers the deepest and broadest portfolio on the market as a global hyperscaler (Strategic Opportunities 10/10), ideal for international scaling and innovative workloads such as AI and Big Data. SysEleven positions itself as a sovereign German platform with maximum operational (10/10) and technological sovereignty (9/10), operated exclusively under German jurisdiction. While AWS convinces through its global reach (9/10) and core infrastructure competencies, SysEleven focuses on compliance, OpenStack-based exit-friendliness, and transparent cost structures, particularly regarding egress (10/10). The choice depends primarily on prioritization: maximum service breadth and global presence versus highest data sovereignty and independence from US jurisdiction.
Methodology & data basisAWS
HyperscalerUSP: Market leader with the widest range of features and global reach
Recommendation: Recommended for innovation drivers and international scaling
SysEleven
EU providerUSP: German cloud platform built for tailored operations, not standardized infrastructure.
Recommendation: Custom-operated workloads with strong support requirements in a German cloud environment
Performance chart
AWS and SysEleven across 8 core categories, compared with the average of all providers (1–10).
Market positioning
All 13 providers by sovereignty and portfolio performance — purely computed from the category ratings.
Positions are purely computational: X = mean of technological & operational sovereignty, Y = mean of all remaining rating categories (each 1–10). Not a ranking recommendation. Methodology & data basis
Strengths & weaknesses
Automatically derived from the editorially reviewed rating data and backed by the category ratings (1–10) — fair to both sides.
Strengths
- Broadest service portfolio: Strategic opportunities rated 10/10 (avg. others: 5.9) with over 200 services ranging from IaaS to Quantum Computing (Braket) and GenAI (Bedrock).
- Excellent core infrastructure competencies: Databases, storage, network, virtualization, and high availability each rated 10/10, including a comprehensive DBaaS offering (Aurora, RDS) and VMware Cloud on AWS.
- Global market leadership: Global reach rated 9/10 (avg. others: 4.1) with 114 data centers, 30+ regions, and 700 Points of Presence across 6 continents.
- Strong data security and encryption: Data security & encryption rated 9/10 (avg. others: 7.8) and Encryption rated 9/10 (avg. others: 6.7), supported by CloudHSM, KMS, and Nitro Enclaves.
Points to consider
- Low technological sovereignty: Score of 4/10 (avg. others: 7.7) due to proprietary technologies and high lock-in, making a later exit more difficult.
- Weak price competitiveness: Price rating of 4/10 (avg. others: 6.6) with particularly high costs for CPU (4.2/10), RAM (3.0/10), and egress (3.0/10).
- Limited operational sovereignty: Operational sovereignty rated 7/10 (avg. others: 8.3) is below average, due to US jurisdiction and a low SEAL Score of 4.1/10.
Strengths
- Maximum sovereignty: SysEleven achieves an operational sovereignty of 10/10 and a technological sovereignty of 9/10, operated exclusively in German data centers under German jurisdiction. The SEAL Score is 8.0/10 (SEAL 3).
- Open stack without lock-in: The platform is based on OpenStack and offers Managed Kubernetes (MetaKube Core, Accelerator, Operator) as well as a Terraform provider, ensuring exit-friendliness and independence from proprietary technology (SOV-6 Technology 8/10).
- Attractive cost points at critical junctures: SysEleven offers free egress (10/10), very cheap block storage (9/10), and affordable Kubernetes premium clusters (8.5/10). The overall cost rating is 6.7/10.
- Broad, certified compliance basis: SysEleven holds certifications such as BSI C5, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018, as well as GDPR and KRITIS suitability, underscoring its suitability for regulated and sensitive workloads.
Points to consider
- Narrow strategic portfolio: Strategic opportunities are rated 4/10, indicating limited innovation headroom beyond IaaS and Kubernetes.
- Practically no AI and analytics services: Ratings for AI and Big Data are each 1/10, making the platform unsuitable for data-driven, analytical, or GenAI workloads.
- Thin data platform and missing enterprise features: Managed databases are rated 4/10 (mostly managed VMs), encryption 3/10 (no full-fledged KMS/HSM). Furthermore, there is no Microsoft/Windows suitability (1/10) and no global reach (1/10).
Which provider when?
Use-case-based decision aid — both options are a valid choice.
Choose AWS if:
- You require a comprehensive portfolio of managed services, particularly for databases (10/10), Big Data (9/10), and AI/ML (7/10), to realize complex, innovative use cases.
- Your application requires global availability with low latencies in many regions outside Europe (Global Reach 9/10).
- You are migrating existing VMware environments or require specific Microsoft integrations (Virtualization 10/10, Microsoft 6/10).
- Highest availability and disaster recovery across multiple global regions are critical requirements (High Availability 10/10).
Choose SysEleven if:
- Sovereignty and compliance under German jurisdiction are the highest priorities (Operational Sovereignty 10/10, SEAL Score 8.0/10).
- You want to avoid dependence on proprietary cloud technologies and prefer open standards such as OpenStack and Kubernetes (Technological Sovereignty 9/10).
- Your workloads are primarily Linux-based (Linux 8/10) and you require transparent cost structures, particularly without egress fees (Egress 10/10).
- You need a cloud solution specifically tailored to the German market that does not require global expansion.
Service comparison by category
All 19 rating categories in a head-to-head duel (1–10). A notable lead is marked from a 2-point difference.
| Category | AWSvsSysElevenScale 1–10 | Avg. all | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security & Encryption | 99 | 7.8 | balanced |
| Technological Sovereignty | 49 | 7.4 | Lead SysEleven |
| Operational Sovereignty | 710 | 8 | Lead SysEleven |
| Strategic Capabilities | 104 | 6.2 | Lead AWS |
| Price | 46 | 6.4 | Lead SysEleven |
| Collaboration Tools | 41 | 5.1 | Lead AWS |
| Global Reach | 91 | 4.5 | Lead AWS |
| Big Data | 91 | 4.8 | Lead AWS |
| AI | 71 | 4.8 | Lead AWS |
| Bare Metal | 31 | 5.2 | Lead AWS |
| Virtualization | 101 | 5.7 | Lead AWS |
| Containerization | 96 | 7.3 | Lead AWS |
| Databases | 104 | 6.9 | Lead AWS |
| High Availability | 105 | 6.7 | Lead AWS |
| Microsoft | 61 | 4.5 | Lead AWS |
| Linux | 108 | 8.8 | Lead AWS |
| Encryption | 93 | 6.8 | Lead AWS |
| Storage | 103 | 7.7 | Lead AWS |
| Network | 105 | 7.8 | Lead AWS |
Management Summary
Sovereign Cloud
SEAL Framework
Strategic (15 %)
Legal & Jurisdictional (10 %)
Data & AI (10 %)
Operational (15 %)
Supply Chain (20 %)
Technology (15 %)
Security & Compliance (10 %)
Environmental (5 %)
Availability & Locations
SoonCompute
shared & low-budget
Hot Storage
Cold Storage
Managed Databases
Network & Security
Orchestration
Virtualization
Management
Big Data
AI & Machine Learning
Compliance & Certificates
German cloud security catalogue
IT service management system standard
Information security management system
Cloud security controls for providers
Personal data protection for cloud
Privacy information management extension
Energy management for data centers
Cloud Security Alliance assurance registry
Service organization control audit reports
Payment card data security standard
Quality management system standard
Cost Indication
vCPU/h
H100/h
GB/h
CPU/h
Ratio1/4
GB/h | 3000 IOPS
GB/h
GB/h
GB/h
Cluster/h
per 1 Mil Requests
GB-Sec
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
per GB
Our comparison methodology
The scores show a relative price comparison per service category. The lowest price earns 10 points; higher prices are marked down proportionally. Missing services are treated neutrally.
As of: List prices as of 11 September 2025, location Germany (DE).
More cloud comparisons
Frequently asked questions: AWS vs SysEleven
What is the difference between AWS and SysEleven?
AWS is a global hyperscaler with the broadest service portfolio (Strategic Opportunities 10/10) and strong global presence (9/10), but with lower technological sovereignty (4/10) due to proprietary technologies. SysEleven is a German provider with maximum operational (10/10) and technological sovereignty (9/10), based on open standards, but with a significantly narrower portfolio (Strategic Opportunities 4/10) and no global reach (1/10).
Which provider is more sovereign?
SysEleven is significantly more sovereign. It achieves a SEAL Score of 8.0/10 (80%) and rates itself 10/10 in operational and 9/10 in technological sovereignty. AWS has a SEAL Score of 4.1/10 (41%), operational sovereignty of 7/10, and technological sovereignty of 4/10, due to US jurisdiction and proprietary dependencies.
Who is cheaper?
SysEleven's cost rating is 6.7/10, while AWS is 6.0/10. SysEleven offers particular advantages in egress (10/10 vs. 3.0/10 for AWS) and block storage (9.0/10 vs. 10.0/10 for AWS, where AWS is top-rated but SysEleven is very competitive). Actual costs, however, are highly workload-dependent; AWS offers higher Saving Plan discounts (72% vs. 54%), which can be advantageous for long-term, stable loads.
Which provider is better for AI and Big Data?
AWS is significantly better suited for AI and Big Data. AWS scores 9/10 in Big Data and 7/10 in AI, with services such as SageMaker, Bedrock, and EMR. SysEleven rates itself 1/10 in both categories, as corresponding managed services are not part of the portfolio.
Are there differences in data security?
Both providers rate their data security & encryption at 9/10. However, AWS offers a deeper product range for encryption (9/10) with CloudHSM and KMS, while SysEleven is rated 3/10 here, as only secrets management via Barbican is offered. For the highest key management requirements, AWS is therefore better equipped.
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