Top 5 European S3-Compatible Object Storage Providers in 2026

If you are building in Europe, object storage usually means one of two things: use AWS S3 and accept the hyperscaler complexity, or pick an S3-compatible provider that keeps your data closer to your users and your legal/compliance setup simpler.

This post compares European S3-compatible object storage providers for app uploads, backups, generated files, static assets, and boring business files that still need to survive.

Prices and product details change often, so treat this as a practical shortlist, not a legally binding procurement document. The details below were checked in July 2026.

What we compared

For this list, I focused on object storage providers that are useful for European developers and companies.

The main criteria:

• S3-compatible API
• European data center options
• Clear public pricing
• Good fit for app uploads and backups
• Reasonable developer experience
• Predictable egress and request costs

I am also the co-founder of Sliplane, so yes, Sliplane is in the list. The comparison is still based on public product pages and the boring details that actually matter when you connect an app to a bucket.

Quick comparison

1. Sliplane Object Storage

Sliplane Object Storage is S3-compatible storage built into Sliplane's developer cloud. You can create buckets from the same dashboard where you run apps and managed databases.

The pricing is intentionally boring: 5 EUR per month for each additional 250 GB block, excluding tax. The first GB is free. There are no request fees, no ingress fees, and no egress fees.

That makes Sliplane especially nice for product teams that do not want to calculate S3 requests, bandwidth tiers, retrieval fees, or the cost of one accidentally popular file download.

You also get scoped access keys, versioning, object locking, bucket management with no per-bucket charges, and object sizes up to 50 TiB.

Use Sliplane if:

• You want S3-compatible storage in Germany.
• You care more about predictable pricing than exotic storage classes.
• You already run apps on Sliplane or want app hosting and object storage in one place.
• You store user uploads, exports, backups, generated files, or app assets.

Skip it if:

• You need deep archive tiers.
• You need a hyperscaler-size object storage feature matrix.
• You want dozens of global storage regions.

2. Hetzner Object Storage

Hetzner Object Storage is a natural choice for many European developers because Hetzner already has a strong reputation for affordable infrastructure. Their object storage is S3-compatible and available in Nuremberg, Falkenstein, and Helsinki.

It supports features like object locking, server-side encryption, pre-signed URLs, versioning, and expiry rules. Hetzner also says you can create up to 100 buckets, each up to 100 TB.

As of July 2026, Hetzner pricing starts at 6.49 EUR/month, excluding VAT, including 1 TB of storage and 1 TB of egress. Extra storage is listed at 8.70 EUR/TB-month, extra egress at 1 EUR/TB, and Hetzner lists ingress, internal eu-central traffic, and S3 API calls as free.

The caveat in 2026 is availability under load. On July 2, 2026, Hetzner's status page showed degraded Object Storage in multiple locations and an ongoing note that high Object Storage traffic may lead to timeouts. The durability and feature set can still make sense for backups or Hetzner-local workflows, but I would not make it the first choice for availability-sensitive app paths right now.

Use Hetzner if:

• You already host infrastructure on Hetzner.
• You want German or Finnish storage locations.
• You like low-level infrastructure products and do not need a PaaS-style workflow.

Skip it if:

• You want app hosting, object storage, and billing in one simple product.
• You prefer a fixed block price with no egress surprises.
• You want human support closer to your app platform rather than a separate storage provider.

3. Scaleway Object Storage

Scaleway Object Storage is a strong European option from France. It supports an Amazon S3-compatible API and offers multiple storage classes, including Standard Multi-AZ, Standard One Zone, and Glacier.

Scaleway is more cloud-platform-like than tiny-tool-like. That is good if you want lifecycle rules, storage classes, and a broader European cloud around the storage product. The pricing is transparent, but you need to pay attention to region, storage class, egress, and retrieval behavior.

As of July 2026, the Scaleway pricing page lists request and ingress as included for object storage, with 75 GB of free egress per month and paid egress after that.

Use Scaleway if:

• You want a broader European cloud platform.
• You need multiple storage classes.
• You want lifecycle rules and archival storage.

Skip it if:

• You want the simplest possible object storage bill.
• You want egress included without thinking about thresholds.
• You only need basic S3-compatible app storage.

4. OVHcloud Object Storage

OVHcloud Object Storage is another large European cloud option. OVHcloud is a serious provider with a broad public cloud catalog, so object storage can fit naturally if your infrastructure already lives there.

OVHcloud is a better fit for teams that want a full cloud provider rather than just a storage bucket. It is not always the easiest provider to compare at a glance, but it belongs on the shortlist for European companies evaluating AWS alternatives.

Use OVHcloud if:

• You already use OVHcloud Public Cloud.
• You want a large European infrastructure provider.
• You need object storage as part of a broader cloud setup.

Skip it if:

• You want a very small developer-friendly setup.
• You want the pricing model to be obvious in one minute.
• Your main need is simple app uploads and backups.

5. Exoscale Object Storage

Exoscale Object Storage is a European S3-compatible object storage service with zones across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Croatia.

The interesting angle is data residency and European operations. Exoscale is often a good fit for teams that care about keeping infrastructure in Europe but want something smaller and more focused than the huge hyperscaler clouds.

Use Exoscale if:

• You want European zones, including German-speaking markets.
• You care about GDPR and European infrastructure.
• You want a cloud provider that is not AWS, Google, or Azure.

Skip it if:

• You want storage bundled into your app hosting dashboard.
• You want no egress fees.
• You want the most familiar brand name for developers.

Which provider should you choose?

Conclusion

There is no single best European S3-compatible provider for every team.

If you need hyperscaler-scale storage classes and enterprise procurement, look closely at Scaleway, OVHcloud, and Exoscale. If you already run everything on Hetzner, Hetzner Object Storage is worth evaluating, but check the current status page before putting availability-sensitive paths on it.

If you mainly want S3-compatible buckets for app uploads, backups, assets, and generated files without surprise egress or request fees, Sliplane Object Storage is the simplest option in this list.