Northflank vs Selectel: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Northflank and Selectel to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Northflank
7.3/10
Northflank is a Kubernetes-based developer platform for deploying services, jobs, databases and GPU workloads on its managed cloud or on customers' own cloud accounts.
Selectel
6.6/10
Russian infrastructure provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, VDS, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, S3 storage, CDN and GPU/ML services for businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.3/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Sandbox | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Free SSL Certificates | Not listed | |
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Object Storage | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
Northflank vs Selectel cost by team size
| Team size | Northflank | Selectel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeSandbox | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 5 users | FreeSandbox | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 10 users | FreeSandbox | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 25 users | FreeSandbox | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 50 users | FreeSandbox | RUB 200/moVDS small |
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 Northflank
- Has a free plan (Selectel does not)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for developers (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Selectel
Our data shows no clear advantage over Northflank.
Pros & Cons
Northflank
Pros
- Per-second usage billing with no seat or workspace fees. Northflank's own comparison prices a 2 vCPU, 4 GB service at $48 a month, against $85 at Render.
- The same platform can run workloads in your own AWS, GCP, Azure or Civo account, or on imported Kubernetes clusters, so moving off the managed cloud does not mean switching tools.
- G2 reviewers praise fast support from engineers who know the product.
- Builds from GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket are built in, and preview environments are created for each pull request.
- GPU options run from L4 to B200, so AI workloads can sit next to ordinary services.
Cons
- SLAs, SSO, SCIM, audit logs and the WAF are only available on Enterprise.
- G2 reviewers mention a limited choice of regions and slow builds because local Docker caching is missing.
- Some Trustpilot reviewers report slow support, and the review base is small overall.
- The vendor's pricing and features pages carry a notice about a security incident and ask users to rotate their credentials.
Selectel
Pros
- Very broad catalogue from one vendor: bare metal, VDS, cloud, Kubernetes, DBaaS, S3, CDN, VMware and GPU/ML.
- Certified for Russian personal data law (152-FZ) and holds FSTEC/FSB licences, plus PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
- Low entry prices, with VDS from about 200 RUB a month and desktop-CPU dedicated servers from 800 RUB.
- Infrastructure can be automated through the API and Terraform.
Cons
- Capacity is concentrated in Russia, with only a few sites in Central Asia and Kenya.
- Prices are in rubles and services are aimed at the Russian market, so sanctions and payment issues may apply for foreign buyers.
- No serverless functions product appears in the catalogue.
- Little independent English-language review coverage.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Northflank scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 7.3/10 against 6.6/10 for Selectel. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 8/10 for Northflank and 6/10 for Selectel.
Northflank has a free plan; Selectel does not list one.
Northflank is the better fit for developers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Selectel.
