UpCloud Cloud Servers

UpCloud Cloud Servers deliver exceptional performance and reliability for businesses seeking European-based cloud infrastructure with global reach. The platform stands out with its innovative MaxIOPS storage technology, achieving up to 100,000 IOPS that significantly surpasses traditional cloud storage solutions.

Built on cutting-edge 5th generation AMD EPYC 9575F Turin processors, UpCloud provides superior single-core performance that translates into faster application response times and enhanced overall efficiency.

Performance and Architecture

The foundation of UpCloud's performance advantage lies in its custom-built infrastructure. Each server benefits from premium AMD EPYC hardware that delivers over 37% better performance compared to previous generations, as confirmed by independent Geekbench testing.

MaxIOPS technology delivers:

• Up to 100,000 IOPS consistently (10x traditional cloud storage)
• Faster database queries and reduced application load times
• Smooth user experiences even under heavy concurrent access
• Premium tier at €0.22/GB monthly

Global Infrastructure

UpCloud operates 15 data centers across 12 countries, with particularly strong coverage in Europe. This European focus makes UpCloud ideal for businesses prioritizing GDPR compliance and EU data sovereignty requirements. The infrastructure is ISO 27001 certified and protected by strict EU regulations.

European locations: Helsinki (dual zones), Stockholm, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Warsaw, Copenhagen

Americas: New York, Chicago, San Jose

Asia-Pacific: Singapore, Sydney

Server Plans and Pricing

UpCloud structures its cloud servers into distinct plan categories designed for different workload profiles:

• Developer Plans — Starting from €3/month with 1GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10-100GB SSD. Perfect for testing and personal projects.
• General Purpose — Balanced configurations from €10/month offering 2-32 vCPU, 4-128GB RAM, 80-320GB MaxIOPS storage.
• High CPU Plans — Computation-focused starting at €20/month, optimized for analytics and data processing.
• High Memory Plans — Memory-intensive configurations from €40/month for databases and caching.

Cloud Native Plans

UpCloud's innovative Cloud Native plans introduce a modular, pay-as-you-go pricing model specifically designed for Kubernetes workloads and applications with variable usage patterns. Unlike traditional plans that bill continuously, Cloud Native servers only charge for compute resources when powered on.

This billing model proves particularly cost-effective for:

• Development and staging environments
• CI/CD pipelines and automated testing
• Scheduled batch processing jobs
• Auto-scaling Kubernetes clusters

Zero-Cost Egress

One of UpCloud's most compelling competitive advantages is its complete elimination of data transfer egress fees. While competitors like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure charge $0.08-$0.12 per GB for outbound traffic, UpCloud includes unlimited outbound bandwidth at no additional cost.

This transparency prevents the infamous "cloud bill shock" scenarios where unexpected traffic spikes result in massive charges. The Fair Transfer Policy ensures network resources remain available for all customers while preventing abuse.

45-Second Deployment Speed

UpCloud has optimized the entire server provisioning pipeline to deliver functional cloud servers in just 45 seconds from deployment to SSH access. This remarkable speed stems from preoptimized disk images, streamlined network configuration, and efficient resource allocation algorithms.

Storage Options

Every UpCloud server includes primary storage, but the platform offers three distinct storage tiers:

• MaxIOPS Storage — Up to 100,000 IOPS at €0.22/GB monthly. Ideal for databases and transaction processing.
• Standard SSD — Up to 10,000 IOPS at €0.085/GB monthly. Perfect for most web applications.
• Archive Storage — Up to 600 IOPS at €0.056/GB monthly. Designed for backups and long-term retention.

Each storage device scales from 10GB to 4TB in 1GB increments, and servers support up to 16 concurrent volumes for a maximum of 64TB total storage per instance.

Automated Backup Solutions

Data protection operates automatically without requiring manual backup scheduling. The Day Plan provides complimentary daily backups retained for 24 hours, included automatically with General Purpose, High CPU, and High Memory servers.

Extended backup retention plans:

• Week Plan (7 days) — adds 20% to server cost
• Month Plan (4 weeks + daily) — adds 40%
• Year Plan (monthly + weekly + daily) — adds 60%

Network Performance

All UpCloud servers include 1000 Mbps network connectivity as standard, with a public IPv4 address and unlimited IPv6 addresses at no additional cost. The network infrastructure leverages Software Defined Networking (SDN) to provide advanced networking capabilities.

Additional networking services:

• Floating IP addresses (€3.15/month) for high-availability failover
• NAT Gateway for outbound internet access without public IPs
• VPN Gateway for secure site-to-site IPSec connections
• Private networks for secure inter-server communication

Security Features

Security is embedded throughout UpCloud's infrastructure stack. All servers include integrated firewall capabilities at no extra cost, allowing granular control over traffic. DDoS protection at the network edge shields your infrastructure from volumetric attacks without requiring manual intervention.

Encryption-at-rest for storage volumes ensures data remains protected even if physical storage media is compromised. Combined with SSL/TLS support for network encryption, this provides end-to-end data protection meeting stringent compliance requirements.

Operating System Support

UpCloud supports a comprehensive range of Linux distributions and Windows Server editions:

Linux: Ubuntu (18.04-24.04), Debian (10-12), CentOS Stream (8-9), Rocky Linux (8-9), AlmaLinux (8-9), Fedora

Windows: Server 2016, 2019, 2022 (Standard and Datacenter)

Custom image support allows you to create golden images from configured servers or import external disk images, enabling standardized deployments across environments.

API and Infrastructure-as-Code

UpCloud provides extensive automation capabilities through a comprehensive RESTful API, command-line interface (CLI), and native Terraform provider. The API exposes virtually every platform capability including server lifecycle management, network configuration, storage provisioning, and billing queries.

For infrastructure-as-code practitioners, UpCloud's official Terraform provider integrates seamlessly with Terraform workflows, enabling reproducible deployments and preventing configuration drift.

Control Panel

The UpCloud Hub control panel provides an intuitive web interface for managing your entire cloud infrastructure. The dashboard presents real-time resource utilization, cost summaries, and system status at a glance.

Support and SLA

UpCloud distinguishes itself with exceptional support responsiveness, averaging under 46 seconds for initial support response times 24/7/365. Unlike tiered support models, all UpCloud customers receive direct access to experienced engineers.

The platform backs its reliability with a 99.999% uptime SLA (five-nines), translating to less than 5.26 minutes of permissible downtime annually. This aggressive SLA demonstrates confidence in the infrastructure's stability and redundancy.

Use Cases

UpCloud Cloud Servers excel across diverse workload categories:

• Web hosting and content delivery — Zero-egress costs and MaxIOPS storage for high-traffic websites
• SaaS providers — Flexible scaling and European data residency for GDPR compliance
• Development teams — Affordable Developer plans and rapid 45-second deployment for CI/CD
• E-commerce — High-performance storage and reliable 99.999% SLA for critical sales periods
• Data analytics — High CPU configurations and MaxIOPS storage for fast processing
• Media streaming — Zero-egress bandwidth eliminates traffic costs

Competitive Positioning

UpCloud positions itself as a premium alternative to hyperscale cloud providers, offering superior price-performance ratios particularly for European businesses. The zero-egress pricing eliminates a major cost component that makes other clouds expensive for bandwidth-intensive applications.

MaxIOPS storage performance rivals or exceeds premium storage tiers from larger providers at comparable or lower costs, while the 99.999% SLA exceeds the 99.95-99.99% guarantees typical of basic tier services elsewhere.