Exoscale vs Gcore: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Exoscale and Gcore to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Exoscale
6.4/10
Swiss-based European cloud provider that offers compute instances, managed Kubernetes, managed databases and S3-compatible object storage, aimed at businesses that need data sovereignty.
Gcore
6.9/10
Luxembourg-based edge and cloud provider offering CDN, virtual machines, bare metal, managed Kubernetes, object storage, AI GPU cloud, and DDoS/WAF security for businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.4/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free SKS Starter | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
Exoscale vs Gcore cost by team size
Exoscale costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Exoscale | Gcore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeSKS Starter | €390/moDDoS Protection Start |
| 5 users | FreeSKS Starter | €390/moDDoS Protection Start |
| 10 users | FreeSKS Starter | €390/moDDoS Protection Start |
| 25 users | FreeSKS Starter | €390/moDDoS Protection Start |
| 50 users | FreeSKS Starter | €390/moDDoS Protection Start |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Exoscale
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs €390/mo
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Gcore
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Scalability score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (8/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Exoscale
Pros
- Data stays in Swiss and EU zones, backed by ISO 27001/27017/27018, BSI C5, SOC 2 and HDS certifications.
- Per-second billing with no commitment, plus about 1 TiB of free outbound traffic per instance each month.
- The Kubernetes control plane is free on the SKS Starter tier.
- A broad managed-database lineup includes Kafka, ClickHouse and OpenSearch.
- S3-compatible storage and Terraform support make migration from AWS easier.
Cons
- Its service catalogue is much smaller than AWS, Azure or OVHcloud.
- There is less community documentation than for the major clouds.
- Faster paid support starts at 50 per month and Enterprise support needs a 1,500 monthly minimum.
- There is no shared hosting, managed WordPress or CDN product for simple websites.
- Storage costs per GB are higher than at budget providers such as Contabo.
Gcore
Pros
- The CDN includes 1 TB of traffic and 1 billion requests free each month, and traffic after that starts at 0.01 EUR per GB.
- DDoS protection pricing does not depend on attack size, and mitigation is not metered on any plan.
- The managed Kubernetes control plane is free with high availability, so you pay only for the nodes.
- A large edge footprint, reported at about 210 PoPs and 200 Tbps of capacity, suits latency-sensitive workloads such as gaming and streaming.
- Headquarters in Luxembourg is an advantage for buyers who prefer an EU-based provider.
Cons
- Trustpilot scores are around 2.5 out of 5, with complaints about recurring billing, refunds, and slow support.
- There is no public price list for VMs and bare metal; prices are only available through the calculator.
- The Terraform v2 provider is still in alpha and Gcore says it is not ready for production.
- The product range is very broad, which can make it harder for small teams to understand how pricing works.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Gcore scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.4/10 for Exoscale. The largest gap is in Analytics: 5/10 for Exoscale and 7/10 for Gcore.
Exoscale costs less for 10 users: free on its SKS Starter plan, against about €390/mo on its DDoS Protection Start plan for Gcore, billed monthly.
Yes, both Exoscale and Gcore have a free plan.
Gcore is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 6/10 for Exoscale.
