Gcore vs UpCloud: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Gcore and UpCloud to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
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.
UpCloud
7/10
A Finnish cloud infrastructure provider offering cloud servers, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, object storage, and networking to developers and businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start | €3/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start | €3/mo Starter |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
Gcore vs UpCloud cost by team size
UpCloud costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Gcore | UpCloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | €3/moStarter |
| 5 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | €3/moStarter |
| 10 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | €3/moStarter |
| 25 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | €3/moStarter |
| 50 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | €3/moStarter |
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 Gcore
- Has a free plan (UpCloud does not)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose UpCloud
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: €3/mo vs €390/mo
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Reliability score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
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.
UpCloud
Pros
- Independent benchmarks recorded very low p99 disk latency on its MaxIOPS storage
- Advertises a 100% uptime SLA with 50x credits for downtime
- Fixed plan prices include data transfer, which keeps bills predictable
- Official Terraform provider, REST API, and CLI support infrastructure as code
- Broad managed portfolio covering Kubernetes, four database engines, object storage, and a CDN
- EU headquarters, ISO 27001 certification, and GDPR focus suit European buyers
Cons
- Reviewers find it several times more expensive than Hetzner for similar specs
- Fewer locations than larger providers, concentrated in Europe
- Smaller community and fewer third-party reviews than DigitalOcean or Vultr
- One user reports outbound port 25 is blocked by default, which hinders mail servers
- Pricing is changing in November 2026, so older published prices may be out of date
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
UpCloud scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7/10 against 6.9/10 for Gcore. The largest gap is in Support: 5/10 for Gcore and 8/10 for UpCloud.
UpCloud costs less for 10 users: about €3/mo on its Starter plan, against about €390/mo on its DDoS Protection Start plan for Gcore, billed monthly.
Gcore has a free plan; UpCloud does not list one.
Gcore is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 6/10 for UpCloud.
