AWS vs T Cloud
Both are bring your own account providers on Elestio, and both get the exact same management layer. The difference is jurisdiction, stack and reach. T Cloud is Deutsche Telekom infrastructure in Germany, built on OpenStack. AWS is the largest cloud on the planet, and proprietary.
The real differences
What actually differs between AWS and T Cloud
Elestio deploys and manages the same 400+ open-source services on both. Backups, SSL, updates, monitoring and security hardening are identical. So the decision comes down to who operates the infrastructure, under which jurisdiction, and on which stack.
Jurisdiction is the real choice
T Cloud is operated by Deutsche Telekom and T-Systems under German and EU law. AWS is operated by a US company. If data residency, GDPR scope or digital sovereignty are on your requirements list, that single line decides more than any benchmark.
OpenStack vs proprietary
T Cloud runs on OpenStack, an open standard with multiple implementations. AWS runs on proprietary APIs. Portability is not a marketing word here, it is whether your infrastructure definitions mean anything outside one vendor.
AWS wins on reach, and it is not close
Elestio supports 27+ AWS regions across six continents. T Cloud data centers are in Germany and the Netherlands, with a separate Swiss offering. If you need low latency in Sao Paulo, Sydney or Mumbai, this comparison ends here and AWS is your answer.
Encryption with a key you already own
On T Cloud, Elestio provisions encrypted EVS volumes using the evs/default key that already exists in your account. Elestio never creates encryption keys. The key stays under your control, in your jurisdiction.
Identical management layer
Same 400+ open-source catalog. Same automated backups, SSL certificates, OS and software updates, 24/7 monitoring, firewall rules and security hardening. Same Elestio dashboard. You are not trading away operations to gain sovereignty.
You are not locked into the choice
Elestio supports 9 cloud providers. You can clone or migrate a service from AWS to T Cloud, or the other way, to any supported provider and region, at any time. Start where you are and move when the requirement changes.
Side by side
How they compare
Pricing
The Elestio fee is the same on both
Both are bring your own account providers. You pay the cloud provider directly for infrastructure, and Elestio charges the same management fee either way: $5 per vCPU, plus $2.50 per GB RAM, plus $0.025 per GB disk. A 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB instance costs $22 per month in Elestio management fees on AWS and $22 per month on T Cloud. Any credit, committed spend or negotiated discount you already hold with either provider still applies, because their invoice never passes through Elestio.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is T Cloud the same as Open Telekom Cloud?
Yes. T Cloud Public is the current name of the service previously known as Open Telekom Cloud, operated by Deutsche Telekom and T-Systems. The console is still hosted at console.otc.t-systems.com and account domain names still start with OTC00, which is why both names still appear in documentation.
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Should I choose AWS or T Cloud?
Choose T Cloud when data residency, GDPR scope or digital sovereignty drive the decision, and your users are in Europe. Choose AWS when you need a wide global region footprint, low latency outside Europe, or you already hold committed spend and want to use it. Elestio manages both identically, so this is a business and compliance decision rather than an operational one.
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Does Elestio manage both providers the same way?
Yes. The same 400+ open-source catalog, automated deployment, daily backups, OS and software updates, SSL certificate management, 24/7 monitoring, firewall configuration and security hardening apply on both. The provider changes where the virtual machine lives, not what Elestio does with it.
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Is the Elestio management fee different between the two?
No. Both are bring your own account providers and use the same formula: $5 per vCPU, plus $2.50 per GB RAM, plus $0.025 per GB disk. Infrastructure is billed separately and directly by Amazon or by Deutsche Telekom on your own account.
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Can I move my services from AWS to T Cloud later?
Yes. Elestio supports 9 cloud providers and lets you clone or migrate a managed service to another provider and region at any time. Because T Cloud runs on OpenStack rather than a proprietary stack, moving away from it later is equally unconstrained.
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Which regions can I deploy to on each?
Elestio supports 27+ AWS EC2 regions across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Africa and the Middle East. On T Cloud, Elestio currently deploys to the European region in Germany, hosted in Magdeburg.
Deploy on AWS or T Cloud, managed the same way
400+ open-source tools, fully managed on your own cloud account. You keep the infrastructure, Elestio runs the operations.
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