Compare / Render vs Scaleway Instances
Render vs Scaleway Instances
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Render checked 2026-08-06, Scaleway checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
Render wins more of our comparison points, but Scaleway Instances still fits if eU projects that want real cloud ergonomics — hourly billing, CLI, Terraform, managed databases — without a US hyperscaler describes you.
Price Render
Render is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease Render
Render is easier to get running: connect the Git repo; Render builds and deploys on push, with Docker support and instant rollbacks.
Control Scaleway Instances
Scaleway Instances gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Free tier Render
Render has a free tier; Scaleway Instances doesn't.
Features Render
Render comes out ahead on 5 of the 15 features we track, versus 0.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| Render | Scaleway Instances | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Apps and APIs that want git-push deploys with a fixed, understandable instance price. | EU projects that want real cloud ergonomics — hourly billing, CLI, Terraform, managed databases — without a US hyperscaler. |
| How deploys work | Connect the Git repo; Render builds and deploys on push, with Docker support and instant rollbacks. | Spin up an instance from the console or the scw CLI, then manage it like any VPS; Terraform and cloud-init are first-class. |
| The tradeoff | The workspace-plus-services model means several line items, and bandwidth overage is pricey. | À la carte pricing makes the real cost higher than the sticker, and account verification can be painful. |
| Free tier | Hobby workspace: $0 — static sites, free web services (0.1 CPU, 512 MB), a 30-day free Postgres, a 25 MB free key-value store, 5 GB bandwidth, 500 build minutes, 1 seat. | None |
What you'd realistically pay
Render Scaleway Instances
| Project stage | Render | Scaleway Instances | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$7/mo Starter — One Starter web service (0.5 CPU, 512 MB) on the free Hobby workspace. | ≈€10.42/mo DEV1-S + IPv4 + 10 GB volume — ~€6.55 instance (2 shared vCPU, 2 GB RAM) + €2.92 IPv4 + ~€0.95 block storage. Ex-VAT, ~730h/month. | Render |
| Steady traffic | ≈$7/mo Starter — Move to Standard ($25, 1 CPU / 2 GB) if 512 MB gets tight; a managed database adds more. | ≈€24.92/mo PLAY2-NANO + IPv4 + 20 GB volume — ~€20.10 instance (2 shared vCPU, 4 GB RAM) + €2.92 IPv4 + ~€1.90 block storage. | Render |
| Growing | ≈$50/mo Standard + Pro workspace — $25 Standard instance plus the $25 Pro workspace for bandwidth, builds, and team seats. | ≈€45/mo PLAY2-MICRO + IPv4 + 20 GB volume — ~€40.20 instance (4 shared vCPU, 8 GB RAM) + €2.92 IPv4 + ~€1.90 block storage. | ≈ Tie |
Render pricing notes
- Bandwidth beyond the workspace allowance bills at $0.15/GB; build minutes beyond it at $5 per 1,000.
- Managed Postgres bills separately: $6/month for Basic-256mb, $19/month for Basic-1gb. The Redis-compatible Key Value store starts at $10/month for 256 MB.
Scaleway Instances pricing notes
- Hourly billing (~730 h/month), ex-VAT, with no egress fees — bandwidth is an unmetered per-instance speed.
- Flexible IPv4 €0.004/h (~€2.92/month); IPv6 is free. Block Storage 5K is €0.000130/GB/h (~€0.095/GB/month).
- Savings Plans (12/36-month commitment) take up to 25% off compute.
- New Professional accounts with a payment method get €100 in credit.
Our ratings
Ease of use Render
Pricing clarity Render
Free tier Render
Scaling Render
Control Scaleway Instances
Feature by feature
Render wins 5, Scaleway Instances wins 0, with 10 even.
Deploy workflow
| Render | Scaleway Instances | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Connect GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket; pushes build and deploy. | No Not on Instances — bring your own CI, or use Scaleway’s separate serverless products. |
| Preview deploys | Partial Full preview environments exist but require a paid workspace plan. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes The render CLI manages services, deploys, and logs. | Yes The scw CLI covers instances, volumes, IPs, and snapshots. |
| Instant rollbacks | Yes One-click rollback to any previous deploy. | Partial Snapshots and images restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Render | Scaleway Instances | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains with automatic TLS on all plans. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Partial Static sites are served from a global CDN; web services run in one region. | Partial Edge Services adds a CDN in front of load balancers and object storage; nothing automatic on a bare instance. |
| Serverless functions | No Services are long-running processes, not functions. | No Not on Instances — Scaleway sells separate Serverless Containers and Functions products. |
| Docker containers | Yes Deploy from a Dockerfile or a pre-built image. | Yes Docker-ready images or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Yes SSH into any running paid instance. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Frankfurt region alongside US regions and Singapore. | Yes Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw, and Milan — EU-only by design. |
Runtime & operations
| Render | Scaleway Instances | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Partial Horizontal autoscaling is available from the Pro workspace up. | No Manual resizing on Instances; autoscaling lives in the serverless products. |
| Scale to zero | Partial Free web services spin down when idle; paid instances run (and bill) continuously. | Partial A fully powered-off (archived) instance stops compute billing, but IPs and volumes keep billing. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Cron jobs are a first-class service type from $1/month. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Yes Managed Postgres and key-value stores with backups and metrics. | Yes Managed PostgreSQL/MySQL from ~€11.40/month plus storage; Redis and MongoDB too. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Yes Logs, metrics, and alerts in the dashboard; log streams can export. | Partial Cockpit collects instance metrics and logs into managed Grafana; app-level instrumentation is yours. |
Watch out for
Render
- Costs assemble from parts: per-service compute, plus the workspace plan, plus bandwidth overages. The advertised $7 is rarely the whole bill.
- The free Hobby workspace includes only 5 GB of bandwidth; overage bills at $0.15/GB, among the highest rates here.
- The $7 Starter instance is small: half a CPU and 512 MB of RAM.
Scaleway
- List prices exclude storage and public IPv4: add ~€2.92/month for a flexible IPv4 and ~€0.095/GB/month for block storage.
- Scaleway raised prices across Stardust, PLAY2, PRO2, BASIC3, and storage on 1 June 2026.
- "Standby" bills as a running instance; only a full power-off (archive) stops compute billing — and IPs and volumes keep billing regardless.
- Automated KYC can freeze accounts (sometimes with servers running) until you re-verify with ID and selfie.
- The famous €0.43/month Stardust instances are chronically out of stock.
Read the full reviews: Render and Scaleway. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.