Compare Easypanel and gridscale on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Amazon Web Services (AWS), DigitalOcean
Romania· Cloud Computing
Needs review
Shortlist when you want a polished, proprietary self-hosted PaaS panel with Git builders, automatic HTTPS, databases, backups, and a large template catalogue on servers you control. Skip when you need a managed cloud runtime SLA, or when procurement requires an open-source control plane (consider Coolify or CapRover) or pure EU IaaS without a commercial panel (Hetzner or Scaleway alone).
Germany· Cloud Computing
Needs review
Shortlist when you need a German GmbH cloud with EU/CH/AT location choice, managed Kubernetes/databases, and Hybrid Core white-label HCI. Skip when you need global hyperscaler coverage or pure lowest-cost VMs—consider Hetzner for cost-sensitive compute or AWS/Azure for worldwide breadth; use OVHcloud parent portfolio when scale across more European regions is the priority.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Easypanel | gridscale |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Romania | Germany |
| Category | Cloud Computing | Cloud Computing |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Romania | Germany |
| Legal entity | Canta Andrei PFA (CUI RO52148795) | gridscale GmbH, Oskar-Jäger-Straße 173, 50825 Köln (HRB 97235, Amtsgericht Cologne) |
| Governing law | Not listed | German law (GTC; English GTC for information only—German prevails) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Medium |
| EU-hosted status | Partial | Not listed |
| Hosting / residency | Application workloads and panel data on customer-controlled servers. Vendor account/license billing via Lemon Squeezy (US merchant of record). Public website uses Google for sign-in and optional analytics; DNS on Cloudflare. | Customer infrastructure marketed on European Tier 3 locations (Frankfurt multi-AZ, Eichenzell, Hannover, Paderborn, Amsterdam, Gais, Lucerne, Vienna); some Hybrid Core sites partner-operated (hosttech, rhöncloud, BAIONITY, windCORES). Privacy policy also lists US-group ancillary processors: Stripe (payments), Google Analytics/GTM, Microsoft Bing Ads, Meta, LinkedIn; Mautic on-prem DE; Recruitee NL. No public claim that primary VM storage runs on AWS/GCP/Azure. |
| Summary | Self-hosted deployment platform for apps, databases, Docker images and Docker Compose projects, with automatic SSL, backups and monitoring. | Cologne-based German IaaS/PaaS and Hybrid Core HCI cloud (OVHcloud group) with European locations, managed Kubernetes, and white-label private cloud options for DACH teams. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Easypanel | gridscale |
|---|---|---|
| HQ / entity | Romania (Canta Andrei PFA) | Not listed |
| Product model | Self-hosted proprietary panel | Not listed |
| Runtime | Docker on your server | Not listed |
| License metering | Per server (free tier available) | Not listed |
| Merchant of record | Lemon Squeezy | Not listed |
| HQ | Not listed | Cologne, Germany |
| Legal entity | Not listed | gridscale GmbH (HRB 97235) |
| Parent | Not listed | OVHcloud (100% since Sept 2023) |
| Hosting | Not listed | European Tier 3 sites DE/NL/CH/AT (+ partners) |
| Commercial model | Not listed | B2B; trial then per-minute usage metering |
| Open source | Not listed | No (API/IaC clients only) |
| Workload regions | Customer-chosen server or VPS region | Not listed |
| Compliance certs (vendor) | No public ISO/SOC cert pages found | Not listed |
| Key capabilities | Easypanel | gridscale |
|---|---|---|
| EU-operated | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Not listed |
| Proprietary | Yes | Not listed |
| Docker PaaS panel | Yes | Not listed |
| Git deploy | Yes | Not listed |
| Multi-country EU/CH locations | Not listed | Yes |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | Yes |
| Hybrid Core HCI | Not listed | Yes |
| BSI C5 (claimed) | Not listed | Yes |
| OVHcloud group | Not listed | Yes |
Git, image, and Compose deploys with multiple builders
Connect GitHub or generic Git, upload archives, pull Docker images, or run Compose projects. Build with Dockerfile, Cloud Native Buildpacks, Nixpacks, or Railpack. Auto-deploy webhooks are available for GitHub sources. Limit: you still operate the underlying server and must keep ports 80/443 free on a typical install.
Automatic HTTPS domains and Traefik routing
Attach hostnames to services, terminate TLS, and apply proxy middlewares from the dashboard. Useful for teams that want certificate renewal and routing without hand-editing reverse-proxy files. Limit: DNS and server firewall remain your responsibility.
Managed databases plus scheduled backups
Run Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis as services beside apps. Schedule database and volume backups to local disk, FTP/SFTP, S3-compatible storage, Dropbox, or Google Drive, then restore from the UI. Limit: a local-only backup destination does not protect against full server loss.
Large one-click application template catalogue
Install maintained templates for hundreds of open-source apps (vendor states 750+) such as n8n, Supabase, WordPress, Immich, and Nextcloud, with service wiring handled by the panel. Limit: each upstream app still needs its own hardening, upgrades, and credential hygiene.
In-browser operations: metrics, logs, and shell
Monitor CPU, memory, disk, and network, stream logs, and open a container shell or saved scripts without separate SSH tooling for routine tasks. Limit: deep incident response still needs host-level access and your own observability stack for production SLAs.
Panel + API + Terraform provisioning
Deploy VMs with attached storage in seconds via the control panel or automate with the REST API and common IaC clients (Terraform, Packer). Built for teams that want both click-ops and git-ops without a hyperscaler control-plane learning curve.
Managed Kubernetes, databases, and load balancers
PaaS layers cover managed Kubernetes orchestration plus fully managed databases with audit logs and automatic backups, and managed load balancers for traffic distribution—so app teams avoid running the full stack themselves.
S3-compatible object storage and Rocket NVMe storage
Object storage follows S3-style APIs for backups, archives, and unstructured data, with region choice called out for GDPR-oriented placement. Rocket Storage targets high-IOPS NVMe workloads; not every Hybrid Core location exposes object storage—check the data-center matrix.
Per-minute GPU bare-metal for AI/ML
GPU instances are marketed as dedicated bare-metal performance for AI/ML and data science, with CPU, RAM, and storage included and usage billed by the minute rather than only long-term reserved shapes.
Hybrid Core Concierge HCI and white-label cloud
Fully managed hyperconverged packages combine hardware delivery, installation, remote operations, white-label branding/SAML options, and access to the wider gridscale location ecosystem—aimed at enterprises and hosters building private or partner clouds.
| Assurance & compliance | Easypanel | gridscale |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found No public third-party audit PDF located on primary site. | Not applicable IaaS/PaaS provider—not a no-logs VPN product. Request penetration-test or SOC-style reports under NDA if required. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found | Vendor claimed Vendor compliance pages and chronology claim ISO/IEC 27001; obtain current certificate for verification. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found | Not found No public SOC 2 found; vendor promotes ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 instead (different standard). |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Romanian (EU) PFA entity and public Privacy Policy; confirm processing roles for your account data. | Vendor claimed German controller (gridscale GmbH); European location marketing; privacy policy under DS-GVO. Confirm DPA and location selection for your processing. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial EU operator with no known US parent, but Lemon Squeezy (billing) and Google (website sign-in/analytics) are US-linked. Customer app data stays on the customer server unless backups are sent to US-group storage. Not legal advice. | Partial EU entity, no known US parent (OVHcloud France owns group). Customer hosting marketed in EU/CH/AT. Partial because privacy recipient list includes US-group Stripe, Google Analytics/GTM, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn for payments/marketing. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Not found No public DPA download found on marketing/docs pages during research. | Vendor claimed GTC §14.2 requires a separate order-processing contract when gridscale processes personal data for the customer, finalised at latest on contract conclusion. Execute AV/DPA—do not rely on website privacy alone. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Deployment panel, not an AI system product. | Not applicable Infrastructure cloud; not an AI system product. GPU capacity may host customer AI workloads under shared-responsibility model. |
| ISO 27017 (cloud security) | Not listed | Vendor claimed Compliance page links a certificate PDF download; treat as vendor-published evidence until auditor validates. |
| ISO 27018 (cloud PII) | Not listed | Vendor claimed Claimed on compliance/about materials; request current scope. |
| ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 | Not listed | Vendor claimed About chronology highlights successful ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 (incl. January 2025 call-out). Request full report. |
| BSI C5 | Not listed | Vendor claimed Prominently listed on compliance pages; About chronology pairs C5 with January 2025 certification success. Request current attestation. |
| Trusted Cloud (DE) | Not listed | Vendor claimed Compliance page links Trusted Cloud service listing; verify current entry on trusted-cloud.de. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Easypanel | gridscale |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary control plane | Medium You cannot fork the panel under an OSI license. Budget for license renewals and an exit plan (Compose/export) if requirements change. | Not listed |
| You operate the server | Medium Availability, OS patching, capacity, and firewall rules remain yours. This is not a managed PaaS SLA. | Not listed |
| US-linked account subprocessors | Medium Lemon Squeezy handles checkout/licenses; Google appears on the website for sign-in/analytics. App data can stay local, but identity and billing metadata do not. | Not listed |
| Backup targets can leave your host | Low Optional backup providers include S3-compatible services, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Choose EU-controlled destinations if residency of backups matters. | Not listed |
| No public independent audit package | Medium No ISO/SOC or public penetration-test report was found. Enterprise procurement may need questionnaires and contractual security exhibits. | Not listed |
| Parent-group integration after OVHcloud acquisition | Not listed | Medium 100% OVHcloud ownership since 2023 may change roadmap, tooling, support model, or cross-entity data flows over time. Confirm entity, subcontractors, and exit terms for your contract generation. |
| Partner-operated Hybrid Core locations | Not listed | Medium Some sites are operated with partners (hosttech, rhöncloud, BAIONITY, windCORES, etc.). Capability matrices differ (for example object storage not everywhere). Map exact location codes to SLA and subprocessor wording. |
| US-group ancillary processors (account/marketing) | Not listed | Medium Privacy policy lists Stripe, Google Analytics/GTM, Microsoft Bing Ads, Meta, and LinkedIn. Material for DPIAs even when VM disks stay in EU halls. Ask which tools touch production account identities versus marketing only. |
| Certifications need current attestation packs | Not listed | Low BSI C5, ISAE 3402, and ISO claims are vendor-published. Production security reviews should obtain dated reports rather than relying on marketing badges alone. |
| Narrower global footprint than hyperscalers | Not listed | Low Location set is European-weighted. Unsuitable as a drop-in for multi-continent latency or hyperscaler-only services (global CDN marketplaces, specialized managed services). |
When: You want an open-source self-hosted PaaS panel you can fork
Consider: Coolify or CapRover
Not currently separate EuropeanStack entries; evaluate licenses and multi-server features directly.
When: You want managed cloud app hosting instead of operating a VPS
Consider: DigitalOcean App Platform or AWS application hosting
Less server ops, less direct control of the host.
When: You only need EU IaaS and will run raw Docker or Kubernetes yourself
Consider: Hetzner or Scaleway
Complementary as places to install Easypanel, or alternatives if you reject a commercial panel.
When: You need the broader European hyperscale portfolio and more regions under one group brand
Consider: OVHcloud
OVHcloud is the parent group; gridscale stays the HCI/panel-focused product line
When: Cost-sensitive VMs or dedicated servers dominate and you do not need Hybrid Core white-label
Consider: Hetzner
Hetzner typically wins raw price/performance for simple compute
When: France-centric developer cloud with different location and product skew
Consider: Scaleway
Compare ARM options and FR footprint versus gridscale DACH Hybrid Core
When: Swiss-rooted EU cloud positioning is the primary evaluation criterion
Consider: Exoscale
Still compare DE/CH site maps and managed service depth side by side
When: You need worldwide regions, marketplace depth, or US-public-sector cloud programmes
Consider: Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure
Trade EU-entity simplicity for hyperscaler breadth and US ownership path