Most cloud providers sell virtualised capacity only. OVHcloud sells both public cloud instances and physical dedicated servers, which makes it a genuine option for workloads where the cloud pricing model does not suit the load shape.
The core trade
| Public Cloud | Bare Metal | |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioning | Minutes, API-driven | Longer, less elastic |
| Billing | By the hour or month | Monthly commitment |
| Scaling | Up and down freely | Fixed until you order more |
| Cost at steady load | Higher | Substantially lower per unit |
| Noisy neighbours | Possible | None, the hardware is yours |
When bare metal wins
The cost curves cross when load is steady. If a workload runs at consistent utilisation twenty-four hours a day, you are paying a virtualisation and elasticity premium you never use. Dedicated hardware at a monthly rate is frequently far cheaper for the same throughput.
Bare metal also removes contention entirely, which matters for databases and any workload where latency consistency is the requirement.
When public cloud wins
- Load varies by time of day or season.
- You need to create and destroy environments programmatically.
- You want managed services rather than administering everything.
- You are still discovering what capacity you need.
Elasticity is worth paying for when you actually use it. Paying for it while running a fixed workload is waste.
A common hybrid
Run the steady core on dedicated hardware and burst into public cloud instances for peaks, batch jobs and non-production environments. OVHcloud supports both under one account, which is the practical reason to choose it over providers that only sell one model.
European data residency
OVHcloud is a European company operating European data centres, which is the usual reason teams shortlist it. Note the distinction: choosing a European region gives geographic residency, while choosing a European company changes the jurisdictional picture. Neither makes you compliant on its own, as covered in OVHcloud and European data residency.
Account access
OVHcloud sign-up involves email verification, account type selection and, depending on region and payment profile, an identity review that is a common source of delay. Our OVHcloud listings cover configurations including a 34 vCPU tier and an option with outbound port 25 opened.
How it compares
Against Hetzner, OVHcloud offers a wider catalogue while Hetzner usually wins on raw price. Against UpCloud, UpCloud leads on storage performance. See OVHcloud vs Hetzner.
Common questions
Can I mix both in one project?
Yes, and private networking between them is the usual pattern.
Is bare metal harder to operate?
You own more of the stack, including hardware failure planning. Budget for redundancy rather than assuming the platform provides it.
How quickly can dedicated servers be provisioned?
Longer than an instance and it varies by configuration. Plan capacity ahead rather than assuming on-demand availability.