Direct comparison
IBM Cloud vs Scaleway
IBM Cloud or Scaleway? 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 2026-07IBM Cloud positions itself as an Enterprise Hybrid Cloud with a strong focus on OpenShift, Confidential Computing, and Big Data Analytics, while Scaleway appears as a cost-effective, sovereign EU cloud with a strong Bare Metal and Cloud Native foundation. The decisive difference lies in jurisdictional sovereignty: Scaleway achieves a SEAL Score of 7.9/10 and high operational sovereignty (9/10), whereas IBM Cloud, as a US corporation, is subject to a SEAL Score of 4.9/10 and an operational sovereignty of 3/10. In terms of pricing, Scaleway is significantly more competitive with a Cost Rating of 8.5/10 compared to IBM Cloud (4.5/10), particularly for GPU and Egress. IBM Cloud, on the other hand, convinces with a broader portfolio of Managed Services, Enterprise Databases, and global reach, which Scaleway cannot offer with only 3 countries and 1 continent. Companies with strict European sovereignty requirements and Cloud Native architectures will find a better fit with Scaleway, while IBM Cloud is suitable for complex Enterprise Hybrid scenarios with Microsoft integration and global presence.
Methodology & data basisIBM Cloud
HyperscalerUSP: Enterprise hybrid cloud for native Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Power and LinuxONE and Hyper Protect confidential computing (KYOK, FIPS 140-2 Level 4)
Recommendation: Recommended for enterprises that need hybrid cloud, OpenShift and confidential computing with Keep-Your-Own-Key
Scaleway
EU providerUSP: European portfolio with a focus on AI infrastructure and cloud-native development
Recommendation: Recommended for companies looking for European Cloud Native alternatives
Performance chart
IBM Cloud and Scaleway 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
- IBM Cloud offers native Red Hat OpenShift and IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service without a fee for the Control Plane; only the Worker Nodes are charged (9/10).
- Confidential Computing with Hyper Protect Crypto Services (KYOK, FIPS 140-2 Level 4) offers market-leading key and encryption sovereignty (9/10).
- IBM Cloud offers a strong Enterprise Data and AI portfolio (watsonx.ai, watsonx.data, Db2, Analytics Engine) (8/10).
- Affordable Block Storage and affordable memory (RAM) in direct provider comparison (10/10 and 7.7/10, respectively).
Points to consider
- As a US parent company, IBM Cloud is subject to the CLOUD Act and FISA 702, which limits jurisdictional sovereignty (3/10).
- Compute (vCPU) and GPU (H100) are priced in the upper range (4/10 and 3/10, respectively).
- The global region density is lower than that of AWS or Azure (5/10).
Strengths
- Scaleway offers maximum sovereignty in the European region with a SEAL Score of 7.9/10 and high operational sovereignty (9/10).
- The pricing is outstanding (Price 9/10, Ø others: 6.2) with a Cost Rating of 8.5/10 and competitive rates for GPU (9.0/10) and Egress (10.0/10).
- Strong Bare Metal infrastructure with the highest score in the comparison field (9/10, Ø others: 4.8) and mature containerization (8/10).
- Solid foundation for Linux (8/10) and a comprehensive storage portfolio (8/10), with Archive Storage being particularly inexpensive (9.5/10).
Points to consider
- Scaleway has no global reach (Global Reach 1/10, Ø others: 4.8) with only 3 countries and 1 continent.
- There is no portfolio for Workplace integrations such as Office, Mail, or Conferencing (Collaboration Tools 2/10, Ø others: 3.8).
- Enterprise Virtualization is weak (Virtualization 4/10, Ø others: 5.8), as no Managed VMware or direct Hypervisor access is available.
Which provider when?
Use-case-based decision aid — both options are a valid choice.
Choose IBM Cloud if:
- You need an Enterprise Hybrid Cloud with native Red Hat OpenShift integration and IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service.
- Confidential Computing with Keep-Your-Own-Key (KYOK) and FIPS 140-2 Level 4 encryption is crucial for your compliance requirements.
- Your workloads require a broad portfolio of Managed Enterprise Databases (e.g., Db2, MongoDB, Elasticsearch) and Big Data Analytics.
- You need a global presence with regions outside Europe (e.g., USA, Asia-Pacific) and strong Microsoft integration.
Choose Scaleway if:
- Sovereignty and EU residency are your highest priorities, supported by a high SEAL Score (7.9/10) and operational control from Europe.
- You are looking for a cost-effective cloud solution with low prices for GPU, Egress, and Archive Storage.
- Your architecture is based on Cloud Native technologies such as Kubernetes, Bare Metal, and Linux, without the need for complex Enterprise Virtualization.
- You do not need global reach outside Europe and can do without Workplace integrations such as Office or Conferencing.
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 | IBM CloudvsScalewayScale 1–10 | Avg. all | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security & Encryption | 97 | 7.8 | Lead IBM Cloud |
| Technological Sovereignty | 69 | 7.4 | Lead Scaleway |
| Operational Sovereignty | 39 | 8 | Lead Scaleway |
| Strategic Capabilities | 66 | 6.2 | balanced |
| Price | 49 | 6.4 | Lead Scaleway |
| Collaboration Tools | 23 | 5.1 | balanced |
| Global Reach | 51 | 4.5 | Lead IBM Cloud |
| Big Data | 84 | 4.8 | Lead IBM Cloud |
| AI | 76 | 4.8 | balanced |
| Bare Metal | 89 | 5.2 | balanced |
| Virtualization | 64 | 5.7 | Lead IBM Cloud |
| Containerization | 98 | 7.3 | balanced |
| Databases | 87 | 6.9 | balanced |
| High Availability | 76 | 6.7 | balanced |
| Microsoft | 44 | 4.5 | balanced |
| Linux | 98 | 8.8 | balanced |
| Encryption | 97 | 6.8 | Lead IBM Cloud |
| Storage | 78 | 7.7 | balanced |
| Network | 98 | 7.8 | balanced |
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
Compute
shared & low-budget
Hot Storage
Cold Storage
Managed Databases
Network & Security
Orchestration
Virtualization
Management
Big Data
AI & Machine Learning
Quantum Computing
Compliance & Certificates
German cloud security catalogue
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
Ratio1/4
GB/h | 3000 IOPS
GB/h
GB/h
Cluster/h
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).
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Frequently asked questions: IBM Cloud vs Scaleway
What is the difference between IBM Cloud and Scaleway?
IBM Cloud is a global hyperscaler with a strong focus on Enterprise Hybrid Cloud, OpenShift, and Big Data, but is subject to the CLOUD Act as a US corporation. Scaleway is a European provider with a high focus on sovereignty (SEAL Score 7.9/10), lower prices (Cost Rating 8.5/10), and strong Bare Metal infrastructure, but is limited to European markets.
Which provider is more sovereign?
Scaleway is significantly more sovereign with a SEAL Score of 7.9/10 (79%) and an operational sovereignty of 9/10. IBM Cloud has a SEAL Score of 4.9/10 (49%) and an operational sovereignty of 3/10, as it is subject to the CLOUD Act as a US corporation.
Which provider is cheaper?
Scaleway is significantly cheaper with a Cost Rating of 8.5/10 compared to IBM Cloud at 4.5/10. This applies particularly to GPU (9.0/10 vs. 3.0/10) and Egress (10.0/10 vs. chargeable). However, actual costs always depend on the workload.
Which provider offers better Big Data and AI services?
IBM Cloud offers a more extensive portfolio for Big Data (8/10) and AI (7/10) with services such as watsonx.ai and Db2 Warehouse. Scaleway has lower scores here (Big Data 4/10, AI 6/10), but offers Generative APIs and Managed Inference, which is above average for a sovereign provider.
Which provider is better suited for Microsoft workloads?
Both providers have limitations here. IBM Cloud has a Microsoft score of 4/10 and offers SQL Server on IBM Cloud Virtual Servers (BYOL). Scaleway also has a score of 4/10, offers Windows Server only as an image, and has no Managed MSSQL or AD integration. For complex Microsoft integrations, neither provider is the first choice.
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