OVHcloud vs SiteGround

Compare OVHcloud and SiteGround on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

Both listed as alternatives to: Google Cloud Platform

Logo: OVHcloud

OVHcloud

France· Cloud Computing

Needs review

Shortlist OVHcloud when you need a European-owned IaaS/bare-metal stack with SecNumCloud/HDS options and multi-continent regions you control per project. Skip when you need hyperscaler platform depth, or when even optional US subsidiaries/regions are a procurement red line—consider Scaleway for leaner French cloud or Hetzner for simpler dedicated/VPS estates.

EU-operated (global regions)Bare Metal + Public CloudOpenStack Public CloudSecNumCloud Private CloudAnti-DDoS includedEU / US / CA / APAC
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Logo: SiteGround

SiteGround

Bulgaria· Web Hosting and Cloud Computing

Needs review

Shortlist when you want managed WordPress or PHP hosting with an EU or UK contract, a named European Google Cloud region, and Site Tools. Skip when you need EU-owned metal with no US-group cloud. Consider IONOS, OVHcloud, Scaleway, or Hetzner instead in that case.

EU-operated (BG origin, ES/UK contracts)Managed WordPress / PHP hostingGoogle Cloud regions (not EU-only)Site Tools control panelSuperCacherDPA in TOS pack
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Highlighted rows differ between the two products.

OVHcloud vs SiteGround: Snapshot
FeatureLogo: OVHcloudOVHcloudLogo: SiteGroundSiteGround
Country of originFranceBulgaria
CategoryCloud ComputingWeb Hosting and Cloud Computing
Open sourceNoNo
Self-hostedNoNo
HeadquartersFranceBulgaria
Legal entityOVH SAS / OVH Groupe (Roubaix); regional entities include OVH US LLC for US servicesSiteGround Hosting EOOD (BG UIC 204181297). EU: Spain S.L. B-87194171. UK: Hosting Ltd 09348602. US storefront: SG Hosting Inc.
Governing lawFrench/EU law for EU contracts; US terms apply for OVH US LLC-contracted servicesNot listed
US parent / controlNo known US parentNo known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)MediumMedium
Hosting / residencyOwn global infrastructure: EU regions (FR including Paris 3-AZ, DE Limburg, PL Warsaw, UK Erith, IT Milan 3-AZ, many Local Zones); US (Vint Hill VA, Hillsboro OR); Canada (Beauharnois, Toronto); APAC (Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai). Primary hosting is OVH-operated, not AWS/GCP resale. Optional non-EU regions are first-class products.Primary hosting: Google Cloud Platform in customer-chosen SiteGround regions (Europe: Madrid, Eemshaven, Frankfurt, Paris, London; plus US and APAC). CDN: SiteGround CDN on the Google Cloud edge network (global, including US). Backups: vendor says geographically separate / offsite on Cloud. No public dated subprocessor register found. Payments, analytics, and third-party AI models are mentioned in privacy/TOS.
Summary

French cloud and infrastructure group (Roubaix): Bare Metal dedicated servers, OpenStack Public Cloud, Hosted Private Cloud (incl. SecNumCloud), and Web Cloud on OVH-operated datacentres across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.

Sofia-origin managed web and WordPress hosting on Google Cloud, with Site Tools, SuperCacher, and EU or UK contracting entities depending on storefront.

Tags
gdprcloudinfrastructurebare-metalopenstacksecnumcloudeuropean-cloudapi
gdprweb-hostingwordpress-hostinggoogle-cloudmanaged-hostingbulgaria
At a glance: OVHcloud vs SiteGround
At a glanceLogo: OVHcloudOVHcloudLogo: SiteGroundSiteGround
HQRoubaix, France (OVH SAS / OVH Groupe)Not listed
Founded1999 (Octave Klaba)Not listed
Hosting modelOwn datacentres and network; multi-region IaaS/bare metalNot listed
Open source product?No (OpenStack-based public cloud uses open APIs)Not listed
Commercial modelHourly/monthly public cloud; dedicated server subscriptions; free public cloud trial credits (vendor)Prepaid subscription (shared StartUp/GrowBig/GoGeek and Cloud). Confirm live site.
Notable certs (claimed)ISO 27001 family, SOC 1/2/3, HDS, SecNumCloud (Private Cloud), PCI DSSNot listed
HQ / originNot listedSofia, Bulgaria (founded 2004, privately owned)
EU contractNot listedSiteGround Spain S.L. (CIF B-87194171, Madrid)
UK contractNot listedSiteGround Hosting Ltd (09348602)
BG operating companyNot listedSiteGround Hosting EOOD (UIC 204181297)
US storefrontNot listedSG Hosting Inc. (Delaware)
InfrastructureNot listedGoogle Cloud (customer-chosen region + global CDN)
Control panelNot listedSite Tools (not cPanel)
Open source / self-hostNot listedNo / no
Key capabilities: OVHcloud vs SiteGround
Key capabilitiesLogo: OVHcloudOVHcloudLogo: SiteGroundSiteGround
EU-operated (global regions)YesYes
Bare Metal + Public CloudYesNot listed
OpenStack Public CloudYesNot listed
SecNumCloud Private CloudYesNot listed
Anti-DDoS includedYesNot listed
EU / US / CA / APACYesNot listed
Managed WordPress / PHP hostingNot listedYes
Google Cloud regions (not EU-only)Not listedYes
Site Tools control panelNot listedYes
SuperCacherNot listedYes
DPA in TOS packNot listedYes

OVHcloud

  • Bare Metal dedicated servers (in-house hardware)

    Physical servers assembled and operated by OVHcloud across ranges such as Advance, Scale, High Grade, and Game—full CPU/RAM/storage without a hypervisor layer. Water cooling and hardware lifecycle are part of the industrial model. Best for performance-sensitive, virtualisation, gaming, or large single-tenant workloads where you administer the OS.

  • OpenStack Public Cloud and managed PaaS

    On-demand compute, multi-class object storage (S3-compatible API), block/file storage, managed databases, Kubernetes/container services, networking, and data/AI platforms. Deploy via Control Panel or OpenStack APIs with 1-AZ or 3-AZ region options (for example Paris and Milan). Suited to cloud-native and hybrid automation without US hyperscaler lock-in.

  • Hosted Private Cloud with SecNumCloud path

    VMware-based Hosted Private Cloud (and related stacks) for dedicated virtualisation estates. Selected Private Cloud offerings hold French ANSSI SecNumCloud qualification, with customer data under European regulation and hosting in French sites (Roubaix, Gravelines, Strasbourg)—relevant for French public sector and sensitive workloads under Cloud at the Center doctrine.

  • Global multi-region footprint (EU, US, CA, APAC)

    Own datacentres and regions spanning Europe (France, Germany, Poland, UK, Italy, many Local Zones), North America (Vint Hill VA, Hillsboro OR, Beauharnois and Toronto in Canada), and Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai and related offerings). Choose residency for latency and law; do not assume EU-only by default.

  • Anti-DDoS and vRack private networking included

    Network-integrated anti-DDoS mitigation is standard across services. vRack provides private L2 networking across eligible OVHcloud locations so bare metal, public, and private cloud can interconnect without public exposure. Public bandwidth is typically unmetered in Europe and North America with fair-use rules; Asia-Pacific often uses lower default bandwidth and monthly traffic caps—verify per SKU.

SiteGround

  • Customer-chosen Google Cloud data center

    You pick a SiteGround location at signup and can relocate later from the Client Area (per site on shared plans, per plan on Cloud). Documented European data-center cities include Madrid, Eemshaven, Frankfurt, Paris, and London. US and APAC locations exist on the same map. The fleet runs on Google Cloud. This is not an EU-only host.

  • SuperCacher (NGINX, Dynamic Cache, Memcached)

    SiteGround's own caching stack: NGINX Direct Delivery for static files, Dynamic Cache in RAM for generated pages, and Memcached for database and API objects. All clients manage it in Site Tools > Speed > Caching. It is a host-level accelerator, not a substitute for application-level cache plugins when you need custom rules.

  • Site Tools instead of cPanel

    The company replaced cPanel with its in-house Site Tools panel for DNS, email, PHP, SSL, Git, backups, and caching. Useful if you want a single vendor UI. Poor fit if your runbooks assume WHM/cPanel, standard cPanel plugin hooks, or reseller WHM.

  • WordPress staging on mid-tier and Cloud plans

    A one-click staging copy, edit, and push-to-live flow is documented for GrowBig, GoGeek, and Cloud. The company says it takes an automatic backup before a staging push. StartUp is not listed as including this tool. Pair with the SiteGround Security plugin if you want the vendor's WP hardening pack.

  • Daily backups with self-serve restore

    Site Tools > Security > Backups lists automatic daily copies: up to 30 on shared plans, up to 7 on Cloud. Restores can be full or files/database only. Academy copy says shared backups are stored in a geographically separate location. Premium Backup is a paid add-on. Destination cloud for those copies is not published as a separate provider list.

  • Server-level WAF and AI anti-bot

    The company describes a custom WAF with rules written by its security team for common CMS exploits, plus an AI anti-bot layer that it says blocks large volumes of brute-force traffic before it hits customer sites. These are vendor-operated controls, not a customer-auditable WAF appliance you can export rules from.

Assurance & compliance: OVHcloud vs SiteGround
Assurance & complianceLogo: OVHcloudOVHcloudLogo: SiteGroundSiteGround
Independent security / no-logs audit
Not applicable

IaaS/hosting provider, not a no-logs VPN product. Security is covered via ISO/SOC programme rather than a public no-logs audit.

Not found

No public independent security or no-logs audit PDF found. Vendor describes in-house WAF and AI anti-bot.

ISO 27001
Vendor claimed

Vendor compliance pages assert ISO/IEC 27001 (with 27017/27018) for cloud services and datacentres; US pages reference Schellman certificate directory. Confirm current scope per product and region.

Not found

No current SiteGround ISO 27001 certificate found. 2021 staff comment: not certified; rely on Google Cloud certifications.

SOC 2 / SOC 3
Vendor claimed

Vendor asserts SSAE 18 Type 2 SOC 1, SOC 2 (+NIST), and SOC 3 attestations; reports available to prospective customers under vendor process.

Not found

No SiteGround SOC 2/3 report found. Historical support replies pointed customers at Google Cloud documentation.

GDPR / EU data protection
Vendor claimed

EU headquartered; GDPR compliance asserted; DPA documents published for relevant subsidiaries. Residency depends on chosen region.

Vendor claimed

EU/UK entities and public DPA in the TOS pack. Controller depends on storefront (Spain SL vs UK Ltd vs US Inc).

US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)
Partial

French group with no known US parent, but operates US datacentres (Vint Hill, Hillsboro) and OVH US LLC. Medium indicative exposure: EU-region workloads on EU contracts differ from US-region workloads. Not legal advice.

Partial

European HQ and contracting for EU/UK, no known US parent, but primary infrastructure is Google Cloud (US-group) with optional US regions and a global GCP CDN. Not legal advice.

Data processing agreement (B2B)
Vendor claimed

Published DPAs form part of terms (e.g. OVH SAS Europe paths; separate US DPA for OVH US LLC). Obtain the DPA matching your contracting entity.

Vendor claimed

DPA is incorporated in the TOS pack for EU/UK storefronts.

EU AI Act
Not applicable

Core product is IaaS/bare metal/hosting; AI/ML platforms are optional infrastructure offerings, not a single AI system product under typical procurement framing.

Not found

Product includes Coderick AI and AI Studio. No public AI Act classification or compliance statement found. TOS says third-party providers may use Inputs/Outputs to improve models.

ANSSI SecNumCloud
Vendor claimed

Hosted Private Cloud (VMware on OVHcloud and related) holds SecNumCloud qualification; hosted in French sites (Roubaix, Gravelines, Strasbourg). Not all products are SecNumCloud-qualified.

Not listed
HDS (French health data hosting)
Vendor claimed

Vendor lists HDS certification for healthcare data hosting options; confirm which products and locations are in scope.

Not listed
PCI DSS
Vendor claimed

Vendor asserts PCI DSS Level 1 certification for payment data hosting—confirm applicability to your architecture.

Not listed
Considerations & known limitations: OVHcloud vs SiteGround
Considerations & known limitationsLogo: OVHcloudOVHcloudLogo: SiteGroundSiteGround
US regions and US subsidiary
Medium

US East/West datacentres and OVH US LLC mean CLOUD Act and US process risk apply to US-placed data and some contracts. EU-only deployment reduces this but buyers must enforce region and contracting path.

Not listed
2021 Strasbourg datacentre fire (resilience history)
Medium

A major fire at SBG caused widespread customer outages. Treat multi-AZ/multi-region backup design as mandatory for critical data; do not rely on single-site assumptions.

Not listed
Certification scope is product- and region-specific
Medium

ISO, SOC, HDS, SecNumCloud, and PCI claims do not automatically cover every SKU and location. Procurement should request the exact report for the services ordered.

Not listed
APAC bandwidth and traffic rules differ
Low

Vendor documents unmetered traffic exceptions for Asia-Pacific (lower default bandwidth and monthly volume caps vs Europe/North America). Model egress and bandwidth options for APAC workloads.

Not listed
Broad catalogue complexity
Low

Bare Metal, Public Cloud, Private Cloud, and Web Cloud under one brand can confuse account structure, IAM, and billing. Define landing-zone standards early.

Not listed
Google Cloud as primary infrastructureNot listed
Medium

Since 2020 SiteGround has run hosting on Google Cloud. A European region does not remove US-group cloud exposure. Badging this product as EU-only infrastructure would be wrong.

Contracting entity depends on storefrontNot listed
Medium

The same brand signs as Spain S.L., UK Ltd, or Delaware Inc. depending on scid/region. US privacy.htm names SG Hosting Inc. as controller. Procurement must capture the entity on the order, not the brand name.

Vendor can relocate data centersNot listed
Medium

TOS 4.2 allows SiteGround to move accounts between data centers or jurisdictions for quality, continuity, or security. Non-emergency jurisdiction changes have a 10-day objection window. Emergency moves may happen without prior notice.

No public SiteGround ISO/SOC certificateNot listed
Medium

Assurance for many RFPs will be Google Cloud's reports plus SiteGround's DPA and internal WAF, not a SiteGround ISO 27001 or SOC 2 badge.

Third-party AI may retain Inputs and OutputsNot listed
Medium

TOS 4.6.3: third-party AI providers may store and use Inputs and Outputs to provision and improve models. SiteGround advises against putting confidential or personal data in prompts.

No standalone public subprocessor registerNot listed
Low

Google Cloud is named. A dated annex listing backup, email, support, analytics, and payment subprocessors was not found as a standalone page.

Fit

OVHcloud

Best fit when

  • Teams wanting European ownership with optional global regions (EU, US, Canada, APAC) under one operator
  • Workloads that need exclusive Bare Metal performance or hybrid bare metal + OpenStack/vRack designs
  • French public sector or sensitive estates needing ANSSI SecNumCloud-qualified Hosted Private Cloud paths
  • Organisations standardising on OpenStack APIs and S3-compatible object storage for reversibility
  • Sites that benefit from network-integrated anti-DDoS and private multi-site networking as defaults

Poor fit when

  • Buyers who require the deepest managed AI/marketplace/IAM ecosystems of AWS, Azure, or GCP
  • Policies that forbid any provider with US legal entities or US datacentre options regardless of region selection
  • Teams seeking the simplest low-SKU VPS experience—Hetzner or similar may fit better
  • Anyone assuming EU-only residency without selecting and enforcing EU regions in architecture

Consider instead when

  • When: You want a leaner French public cloud with a strong developer product surface and less enterprise sovereign packaging

    Consider: Scaleway

    Often simpler for cloud-native teams; confirm region and compliance fit.

  • When: You primarily need price-performance VPS or dedicated servers with a smaller catalogue

    Consider: Hetzner

    Strong for lean estates; different sovereign/cert posture and global region set.

  • When: You need maximum managed-service breadth, global account tooling, and partner marketplace density

    Consider: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform

    Hyperscalers win platform depth; accept US ownership and CLOUD Act parent exposure.

  • When: You want German SMB hosting plus cloud IaaS with EU and some non-EU options

    Consider: IONOS

    Different product mix and compliance packaging than OVHcloud's bare-metal industrial model.

SiteGround

Best fit when

  • Agencies and SMBs that want managed WordPress or PHP hosting with 24/7 vendor support and Site Tools instead of raw VMs
  • EU buyers who will contract with SiteGround Spain S.L. and pin production to Madrid, Eemshaven, Frankfurt, or Paris
  • UK buyers who will contract with SiteGround Hosting Ltd and can use the London Google Cloud location
  • Teams that want SuperCacher, daily self-serve restores, and (on GrowBig/GoGeek/Cloud) one-click staging
  • Workloads that already accept Google Cloud as infrastructure and need a managed layer on top

Poor fit when

  • Organisations that ban US-group clouds (AWS/GCP/Azure) regardless of region
  • Buyers who need a public ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certificate in SiteGround's own name
  • Teams whose automation depends on cPanel/WHM rather than Site Tools
  • IaaS, Kubernetes, or root-server use cases better served by IONOS Cloud, OVHcloud, Scaleway, or Hetzner
  • StartUp-plan sites that require staging (documented on GrowBig, GoGeek, and Cloud only)

Consider instead when

  • When: You need EU-owned infrastructure with no Google Cloud or other US-group IaaS underneath

    Consider: IONOS, OVHcloud, Scaleway, or Hetzner

    Those peers are closer to metal or EU public cloud. SiteGround is a managed host on GCP.

  • When: You want a European-origin shared host comparison rather than IaaS

    Consider: Hostinger (catalog incumbent) or Swissnode

    Different panels and footprints. Confirm each operator's contracting entity and hoster.

  • When: You need a current ISO 27001 or SOC 2 report from the hosting brand itself

    Consider: IONOS or another certified EU host after checking their live trust center

    SiteGround staff said in 2021 they were not ISO certified. Relying on GCP certs is not the same as a SiteGround cert.

Open questions for due diligence

OVHcloud

  • Which contracting entity and DPA (EU OVH SAS path vs OVH US LLC) will apply to our account?
  • Which exact products/regions are in scope for the ISO/SOC/HDS/SecNumCloud certificates we need?
  • What is our multi-region DR design given historical single-site fire risk?
  • Are any non-OVH subprocessors used for our specific managed services (support, monitoring, payments) beyond OVH-operated infrastructure?
  • Do APAC or Local Zone bandwidth/SLA terms meet our traffic profile?

SiteGround

  • Which exact legal entity and TOS scid will this order use (Spain S.L., UK Ltd, or US Inc.)?
  • Will SiteGround contractually lock the production region (for example Eemshaven or Madrid) and notify before any jurisdiction change?
  • Can they provide a current subprocessor list covering backups, email, support, analytics, payments, and AI vendors?
  • Is there a current ISO 27001, SOC 2, or other audit letter in SiteGround's name, or only Google Cloud shared-responsibility materials?
  • For AI Studio / Coderick: which model vendors are used, is training on customer Input disabled under a B2B addendum, and is there an AI Act position?