gridscale vs TransIP

Compare gridscale and TransIP on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

Both listed as alternatives to: Amazon Web Services (AWS), DigitalOcean, Microsoft Azure

Logo: gridscale

gridscale

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.

EU-operated (DE entity)Multi-country EU/CH locationsManaged KubernetesHybrid Core HCIBSI C5 (claimed)OVHcloud group
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Logo: TransIP

TransIP

Netherlands· Cloud Computing

Needs review

Shortlist TransIP when you want a Dutch BV contract for domains plus NL-hosted VPS, managed Kubernetes, OpenStack, or S3/SWIFT object storage. Skip when you need hyperscaler global regions or first-party managed databases; consider Hetzner, OVHcloud, or Scaleway instead.

EU-operated (NL BV)Netherlands residency (claimed)KVM VPS + APIManaged KubernetesOpenStack public cloudISO 27001 (claimed)
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Highlighted rows differ between the two products.

gridscale vs TransIP: Snapshot
FeatureLogo: gridscalegridscaleLogo: TransIPTransIP
Country of originGermanyNetherlands
CategoryCloud ComputingCloud Computing
Open sourceNoNo
Self-hostedNoNo
HeadquartersGermanyNetherlands
Legal entitygridscale GmbH, Oskar-Jäger-Straße 173, 50825 Köln (HRB 97235, Amtsgericht Cologne)TransIP B.V., Vondellaan 47, 2332 AA Leiden (KvK 24345899, VAT NL812334966B01). ISO certificates published as team.blue NL B.V. Part of European team.blue group (Belgian group HQ).
Governing lawGerman law (GTC; English GTC for information only—German prevails)Not listed
US parent / controlNo known US parentNo known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)MediumMedium
EU-hosted statusNot listedPartial
Hosting / residencyCustomer 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.Primary VPS/Kubernetes/object workloads marketed on TransIP-operated Netherlands infrastructure (AMS0/RTM0; object store 3x NL replication). OpenStack across multiple NL datacentres; KB also names Equinix AMS3 and EUNetworks as OpenStack facility providers. Ancillary: Google Analytics and reCAPTCHA (website, consent), PayPal/iDEAL/card payments. No AWS/GCP/Azure listed as primary IaaS fabric.
Summary

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.

Dutch domain registrar and cloud host: KVM VPS, managed Kubernetes, OpenStack public cloud, and S3/SWIFT object storage on Netherlands infrastructure.

Tags
kubernetescloudiaaspaashybrid-cloudhcigerman-clouddata-sovereigntyapi
kubernetesvpsopenstackobject-storagedomainsnetherlandsgdpriso-27001
At a glance: gridscale vs TransIP
At a glanceLogo: gridscalegridscaleLogo: TransIPTransIP
HQCologne, GermanyLeiden, Netherlands
Legal entitygridscale GmbH (HRB 97235)TransIP B.V. (KvK 24345899); certs under team.blue NL B.V.
ParentOVHcloud (100% since Sept 2023)Not listed
HostingEuropean Tier 3 sites DE/NL/CH/AT (+ partners)Not listed
Commercial modelB2B; trial then per-minute usage meteringVPS packages + add-ons; pay-as-you-go Kubernetes/OpenStack/object storage
Open sourceNo (API/IaC clients only)Not listed
GroupNot listedteam.blue (European hosting group, Belgian group HQ)
Primary regionsNot listedNetherlands (AMS0, RTM0; OpenStack multi-DC)
RegionsNot listedNetherlands: AMS0 (Amsterdam), RTM0 (Alblasserdam); OpenStack across multiple NL DCs (incl. Equinix AMS3 / EUNetworks named for some paths)
Compliance certs in regionNot listedISO 27001:2022, ISO 9001:2015, NEN 7510:2017 (vendor PDF certificates)
Key capabilities: gridscale vs TransIP
Key capabilitiesLogo: gridscalegridscaleLogo: TransIPTransIP
EU-operated (DE entity)YesYes
Multi-country EU/CH locationsYesNot listed
Managed KubernetesYesYes
Hybrid Core HCIYesNot listed
BSI C5 (claimed)YesNot listed
OVHcloud groupYesNot listed
Netherlands residency (claimed)Not listedYes
KVM VPS + APINot listedYes
OpenStack public cloudNot listedYes
ISO 27001 (claimed)Not listedYes

gridscale

  • 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.

TransIP

  • KVM VPS on AMS0/RTM0 with NVMe triple copies

    Root VPS on TransIP's KVM platform with package tiers, optional dedicated vCPU and IOPS add-ons, private networking, HA-IP, and load balancers. Storage is described as distributed NVMe with three copies; free in-zone backups every four hours, with optional weekly and offsite backups.

  • Managed Kubernetes with free control plane

    Control-panel Kubernetes where TransIP runs the control plane; customers add shared or dedicated worker node pools, attach NVMe or Big Storage volumes, and use HA-IP load balancing. Data is marketed as stored in the Netherlands with minute-based pay-as-you-go nodes.

  • OpenStack Public Cloud (API + Horizon)

    Programmable OpenStack with Octavia load balancing, Barbican secret management, Cinder volume backups, and Terraform-friendly automation. First project is offered with a free trial window; infrastructure is described as multi-datacentre with triple rack-level copies.

  • S3 and SWIFT Object Store in the Netherlands

    Object storage with S3 and OpenStack SWIFT APIs, Keystone/S3 token management, and triple replication across Dutch availability zones. Usable standalone or beside VPS/OpenStack; billed on used storage and egress rather than reserved blocks.

  • Domains, DNS, and REST API in one panel

    Domain registration and DNS alongside infrastructure, with a documented REST API (api.transip.nl) for domains, VPS, Kubernetes, and OpenStack projects. Fits teams that want registrar plus compute under one Dutch operator.

Assurance & compliance: gridscale vs TransIP
Assurance & complianceLogo: gridscalegridscaleLogo: TransIPTransIP
Independent security / no-logs audit
Not applicable

IaaS/PaaS provider—not a no-logs VPN product. Request penetration-test or SOC-style reports under NDA if required.

Not applicable

IaaS/hosting provider, not a no-logs VPN. Assurance is via ISMS certifications and responsible disclosure (Intigriti), not a public no-logs audit.

ISO 27001
Vendor claimed

Vendor compliance pages and chronology claim ISO/IEC 27001; obtain current certificate for verification.

Vendor claimed

Vendor publishes ISO 27001:2022 PDF (team-blue-nl-bv naming). Independent registry re-check not completed in this draft.

ISO 27017 (cloud security)
Vendor claimed

Compliance page links a certificate PDF download; treat as vendor-published evidence until auditor validates.

Not listed
ISO 27018 (cloud PII)
Vendor claimed

Claimed on compliance/about materials; request current scope.

Not listed
SOC 2 / SOC 3
Not found

No public SOC 2 found; vendor promotes ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 instead (different standard).

Not found

No clear TransIP product-level SOC 2/3 claim found on primary legal/security pages reviewed.

ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2
Vendor claimed

About chronology highlights successful ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 (incl. January 2025 call-out). Request full report.

Not listed
BSI C5
Vendor claimed

Prominently listed on compliance pages; About chronology pairs C5 with January 2025 certification success. Request current attestation.

Not listed
GDPR / EU data protection
Vendor claimed

German controller (gridscale GmbH); European location marketing; privacy policy under DS-GVO. Confirm DPA and location selection for your processing.

Vendor claimed

Dutch controller/processor entity; privacy policy and control-panel DPA. Residency depends on selected product/zone.

US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)
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.

Partial

EuropeanStack assessment: Dutch entity / no known US parent / NL-first hosting, but privacy names Google Analytics, reCAPTCHA, and PayPal, and OpenStack KB names Equinix colo. Not a vendor safety claim. Not legal advice.

Data processing agreement (B2B)
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.

Vendor claimed

Processor agreement available to view/accept in the control panel per knowledge base.

EU AI Act
Not applicable

Infrastructure cloud; not an AI system product. GPU capacity may host customer AI workloads under shared-responsibility model.

Not applicable

Infrastructure hosting/registrar; not marketed as an AI system provider. Optional third-party AI assistant images on VPS are customer-chosen workloads.

Trusted Cloud (DE)
Vendor claimed

Compliance page links Trusted Cloud service listing; verify current entry on trusted-cloud.de.

Not listed
NEN 7510 (Dutch healthcare information security)Not listed
Vendor claimed

Vendor publishes NEN 7510:2017 certificate PDF; accounts processing medical data can be marked for extra handling per cert page.

Considerations & known limitations: gridscale vs TransIP
Considerations & known limitationsLogo: gridscalegridscaleLogo: TransIPTransIP
Parent-group integration after OVHcloud acquisition
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.

Not listed
Partner-operated Hybrid Core locations
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.

Not listed
US-group ancillary processors (account/marketing)
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.

Not listed
Certifications need current attestation packs
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.

Not listed
Narrower global footprint than hyperscalers
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).

Not listed
team.blue group entity complexityNot listed
Low

Brand is TransIP B.V.; certificates use team.blue NL B.V. Procurement should map the exact contracting entity, DPA signatory, and cert scope to the services purchased.

US SaaS on website/payments pathNot listed
Medium

Privacy policy discloses Google Analytics, reCAPTCHA, and PayPal. These are not described as the VPS storage backend, but they affect overall vendor diligence and CLOUD Act style questionnaires.

Equinix-named OpenStack facilitiesNot listed
Low

OpenStack facility list includes Equinix AMS3 (US-parent colo operator). Workloads remain in Amsterdam physically; treat as partial EU-hosted diligence, not AWS-region hosting.

Narrower managed-platform depth than hyperscalersNot listed
Medium

No broad multi-continent region map or hyperscaler-class managed database suite on the pages reviewed. Teams needing those should plan self-managed stacks or another cloud.

No standalone public subprocessor register foundNot listed
Medium

Diligence relies on privacy policy, product pages, and DPA rather than a dedicated exhaustive subprocessor HTML table. Request an up-to-date schedule under NDA if required.

Fit

gridscale

Best fit when

  • DACH mid-market teams wanting German contracting plus managed PaaS (Kubernetes, databases, load balancers)
  • MSPs and hosters needing white-label branding, multi-tenant accounts, and optional Hybrid Core hardware
  • Workloads that must pick DE/NL/CH/AT regions with Tier 3 marketing claims and green-energy positioning
  • AI/ML or data-science jobs that need GPU bare-metal with per-minute metering
  • Buyers who value panel + API/Terraform over hyperscaler IAM sprawl

Poor fit when

  • Global multi-region applications that need hyperscaler edge, marketplace services, or non-European regions
  • Teams optimising only for lowest bare VM or dedicated-server unit cost (evaluate Hetzner first)
  • Buyers requiring public SOC 2 Type II specifically rather than ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 / BSI C5 packs
  • Organisations that forbid any US-group ancillary processors (Stripe/Google marketing tools appear in the privacy recipient list)

Consider instead when

  • 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

TransIP

Best fit when

  • Teams that need domains, DNS, and root VPS under one Dutch operator
  • Workloads that must stay in the Netherlands with AMS0/RTM0 style zone choice
  • Builders who want managed Kubernetes without running their own control plane
  • OpenStack users who want Horizon/API automation and EU-stored projects
  • Backup/media pipelines that need S3 or SWIFT endpoints with Dutch triple replication

Poor fit when

  • Architectures that require many non-EU regions as first-class products
  • Buyers who need a broad first-party managed database catalogue
  • Procurement that requires a published exhaustive customer-workload subprocessor register before scoring
  • Teams seeking a fully open-source TransIP control plane (the company operates OpenStack/K8s but is not an OSS vendor)

Consider instead when

  • When: You need large bare-metal choice and owned DE/FI parks with optional extra-EU cloud

    Consider: Hetzner

    Deeper server auction and multi-park footprint; different registrar story.

  • When: You need multi-country EU cloud plus SecNumCloud-style private cloud paths

    Consider: OVHcloud

    Broader region map and product depth; French group contracting.

  • When: You want more EU region pins or managed data services with selectable residency

    Consider: Scaleway or UpCloud

    Compare region lists and managed DB/Kubernetes packaging directly.

  • When: You specifically want another Dutch IaaS peer for side-by-side diligence

    Consider: Leaseweb or Cyso Cloud

    Similar NL diligence questions; different panel and product mix.

Open questions for due diligence

gridscale

  • Will gridscale execute your template AV/DPA and attach a location-specific subprocessor list for the regions you enable?
  • What is the current scope and report date for BSI C5 and ISAE 3402 SOC 1 Type 2 covering the services you will buy?
  • Which privacy-policy third parties process production account/identity data versus website marketing only?
  • How are OVHcloud group affiliates involved in support, billing, or platform operations for gridscale customers post-acquisition?
  • For Hybrid Core partner sites, who is the data-center operator of record and what audit rights apply?

TransIP

  • Which legal entity signs the order form and DPA for your SKU mix (TransIP B.V. vs team.blue NL B.V.)?
  • Can TransIP provide a current customer-workload subprocessor list covering backups, support tooling, and OpenStack facility operators?
  • What is the exact ISO/NEN certificate scope relative to VPS vs Kubernetes vs OpenStack vs Object Store?
  • Are offsite VPS backups always confined to Dutch availability zones under contract, including disaster scenarios?