What is Scaleway and what services it offers for developers
Published on 2026-10-26 by frfrand
Scaleway: instances, storage and cloud services with web example
Scaleway is one of those European providers that mix servers, storage, and cloud services. It's good to be able to combine pieces, but it's also easy to turn a simple project into ten different invoices and configurations.
The first question is not «which platform wins?», but what problem you solve with it. A WordPress store, an API with PostgreSQL, and a system that generates videos do not need the same infrastructure.
What Scaleway is and what it really does
It offers cloud instances and products that you can combine according to the load. A traditional VPS and an architecture with managed services do not have the same responsibilities, nor necessarily the same final invoice.
Think about it with this example
A reservation system has a FastAPI API, PostgreSQL, and a small photo bucket. You can distribute those pieces among cloud services; you can also put the API and the database together on a VPS when the volume and technical responsibility allow it.
How to test it without putting production at risk
- Choose a region where it makes sense to host data and serve users.
- Create a test instance and configure SSH key access.
- Prepare the runtime and web proxy; verify network rules.
- Connect storage and database according to real needs, not trends.
- Publish HTTPS and measure consumption during a week of testing.
After the last step, open the service from another network, run a real operation and check what the logs show. If you store data, verify that it survives restarts and application updates. Nothing is more deceptive than a demo that works fine until the first redeploy.
The most common stumble
Do not assume that all pieces are included in the instance. Add transfer, backups, databases and external storage. If you have several services, document what happens when one stops responding.
VPS security is not just opening port 443 and forgetting about it. It also includes permissions, system updates, backend credentials, database access, verifiable backups and a way to act if someone loses a key.
Doing the same project in ArduMaker
ArduMaker brings together the VPS, apps, Git, databases and domains from a developer-centric environment. Scaleway offers a broader catalog of cloud components. If your project requires multiple regions or specialized services, compare their scope; if you want to simplify day-to-day work on a VPS, try ArduMaker.
A typical workflow in ArduMaker would be: create a VPS, connect the GitHub repository, deploy an application, associate an HTTPS domain and, if necessary, install PostgreSQL or Redis within the infrastructure. For client projects, separation by Company avoids mixing permissions and invoices. And if the service needs to stay active, it is configured and supervised as a process, not as a temporary demo.
Clear comparison, no weird promises
| Aspect | Scaleway | ArduMaker |
|---|---|---|
| Main product | Offers instances and cloud products that you can combine according to the load | VPS with integrated infrastructure and application management |
| How you publish | Depends on the tools and services of the product | Git, services and domains from the platform |
| Databases and containers | Depending on edition, installation or additional services | PostgreSQL, Redis and Docker available in the VPS environment |
| Who maintains the app | Your team and the provider, according to the management level | Your team maintains the app; VPS administration via the panel |
What would I look at before deciding?
Scaleway is convenient when you need to choose infrastructure piece by piece. ArduMaker helps when you prefer to keep the application and its services under more unified administration. But first, calculate the full cost: infrastructure, panel licenses, storage, backups, traffic, and maintenance time. The cheapest rate on the cover can end up being expensive if you end up spending hours recovering services.
It is also useful to distinguish hosting from administration. There are panels that need an external VPS, providers that give you an almost empty server, and managed platforms that limit access to certain layers. These are different problems, so comparing them only by monthly price is a trap.
Questions I would ask myself before migrating
- Can I extract my data and restore them without depending on the panel?
- Where do I check logs when a request fails?
- What happens when I restart or update the server?
- Can I separate access for each client without sharing passwords?
- Does the service support the runtime, ports, and processes I really need?
To keep reading: Scaleway Documentation · Scaleway and ArduMaker Comparison · ArduMaker Documentation.
In short: choose the tool that lets you deploy, maintain, and recover the project with the lowest reasonable risk for your team. Everything else is a list of features worth checking with a real test.