AWS vs Cloudflare Pages
AWS vs Cloudflare Pages compared for European indie developers and small startups. Pricing, EU jurisdiction, GDPR posture, and why Runsite (an EU-registered PaaS in Frankfurt) is worth a look.
AWS vs Cloudflare Pages: quick answer
AWS and Cloudflare Pages both offer Git-push deploy workflows, but they differ where it counts. AWS and Cloudflare Pages are both US-headquartered, so neither escapes US jurisdiction or the CLOUD Act, and neither runs EU-native infrastructure or offers hard spending caps. For European teams that need GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt with predictable EUR billing and a permanent free tier, Runsite is the EU-native alternative to both.
// aws problems → runsite solutions
Common AWS frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every AWS frustration, solved.
AWS problem
"I need DevOps just to deploy a simple app"
EC2 requires VPC config, security groups, IAM roles, and manual deployment pipelines. Even ECS/Fargate has a steep learning curve.
Runsite solution
Git push and done
Connect your GitHub repo, choose a region, deploy. No cloud certifications required.
AWS problem
"My AWS bill had 47 line items"
EC2, EBS, data transfer, NAT gateway, CloudWatch, Route53, ACM, every service adds charges.
Runsite solution
One line on your invoice
Web service: €5/mo. PostgreSQL: €5/mo. That's it. No data transfer fees, no hidden charges.
AWS problem
"Budget alerts don't actually stop spending"
AWS sends you an email when you hit 80% budget. But charges keep accruing. There's no hard cap.
Runsite solution
Hard spending cap + Telegram alerts
Set a monthly limit. Get Telegram notifications at 80%. We physically stop charges at your cap.
// comparison
Runsite vs AWS
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | ✓ Git push deploy | EC2 + VPC + IAM + Security Groups |
| Billing Clarity | ✓ One plan, one price | ✗ 20+ line items per invoice |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap: cannot overspend | ✗ Budget alerts only, charges continue |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, not subject to CLOUD Act | ✗ US company, CLOUD Act applies |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | 12-month trial only |
| Data Egress | ✓ Included in plan | $0.09/GB after 100GB |
| Service Catalog | Focused PaaS | ✓ 200+ services |
| Global Regions | Frankfurt (eu-central) only | ✓ 30+ regions worldwide |
// the other side
What about Cloudflare Pages?
Cloudflare Pages serves static sites and edge functions beautifully. But for full-stack apps with databases and Docker, you need Runsite.
// cloudflare pages problems → runsite solutions
Common Cloudflare Pages frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Cloudflare Pages frustration, solved.
Cloudflare Pages problem
"Pages Functions can't run my backend"
Cloudflare's edge functions have CPU time limits and no native Node.js modules. Complex backends don't fit.
Runsite solution
Full Docker containers
Run any framework in persistent containers. No CPU time limits, no V8 isolate restrictions.
Cloudflare Pages problem
"I need PostgreSQL, not D1"
Cloudflare's D1 is SQLite-based with size limits. Production apps need a real relational database.
Runsite solution
Managed PostgreSQL from €5/mo
Standard PostgreSQL with auto-backups, point-in-time recovery, and no vendor lock-in.
Cloudflare Pages problem
"Cloudflare is a US company"
Even with EU data centers, Cloudflare is subject to US jurisdiction and the CLOUD Act.
Runsite solution
EU entity, full sovereignty
Runsite is registered in the EU. Your data is governed by European law with no US jurisdictional exposure.
// comparison
Runsite vs Cloudflare Pages
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Cloudflare Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Backend Hosting | ✓ Full containers, any stack | Edge Functions only (V8 isolates) |
| Docker Support | ✓ Any Dockerfile | ✗ Not supported |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ✓ From €5/mo | ✗ Not available (use D1/KV) |
| Long-Running Processes | ✓ Persistent containers | ✗ Edge functions have CPU time limits |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity | ✗ US company (San Francisco) |
| Static Site Hosting | Via S3 + CDN | ✓ Unlimited bandwidth, global CDN |
| Bandwidth Cost | Included in plan | ✓ Free, unlimited |
| Edge Network | EU-focused | ✓ 300+ global PoPs |
// in-depth comparison
How AWS and Cloudflare Pages each compare to Runsite
AWS vs Runsite
Two hundred-plus services. Thirty-plus regions. Deep integrations across every technology stack you can name. AWS is the most comprehensive cloud platform on the planet, and for enterprises with dedicated DevOps teams and complex multi-service architectures, that flexibility is unmatched.
Now try to deploy one small web application. Suddenly you are navigating EC2, VPC, IAM, security groups, and load balancers, or learning the abstractions of ECS, Fargate, or App Runner. The invoice lands with dozens of line items. Worse, the budget alerts you set up do not actually stop spending. And AWS is a US company subject to the CLOUD Act.
Runsite runs the other way: a focused PaaS with git-push deploys, hard spending limits, one-line invoices, and EU-only infrastructure under EU jurisdiction. If your project does not need 200 AWS services and you just want to ship an application to EU users without hiring a cloud engineer, Runsite gets you deployed in minutes with transparent, predictable costs.
Cloudflare Pages vs Runsite
You reached for Cloudflare Pages because it is one of the fastest static site hosts around, riding Cloudflare's 300+ point-of-presence global network. The free tier is genuinely generous with unlimited bandwidth, and Pages Functions, powered by Cloudflare Workers, push server-side logic to the edge with impressive cold-start performance. For a static site or a lightweight API, you made a good call.
The friction shows up the moment you go full-stack. Pages Functions run in V8 isolates with CPU time limits and no native Node.js module support, so a complex backend simply does not fit. Your storage is capped to D1 (SQLite-based, with size limits) and KV (eventually consistent key-value). And because Cloudflare is a US company subject to the CLOUD Act, EU data centers exist but you do not control where compute runs.
If you now need persistent server-side processes, a real relational database, or guaranteed EU data residency from an EU entity, Runsite runs full Docker containers with managed PostgreSQL in EU-only data centers under EU legal jurisdiction, covering what the edge-first model leaves out.
// why consider runsite
Beyond AWS and Cloudflare Pages
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While AWS and Cloudflare Pages default to US markets, Runsite is built exclusively for European developers. Frankfurt (eu-central) region, EU entity, EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers.
Real GDPR Compliance
EU-registered entity. Your data is governed by European law. No US jurisdiction, no CLOUD Act.
Predictable Pricing
No per-invocation charges, no surprise bills. Fixed plans with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts.
Common Questions
FAQ
Which is better for EU hosting, AWS or Cloudflare Pages?
Neither AWS nor Cloudflare Pages is EU-native. Both are US-based (AWS: US-headquartered (Amazon); Cloudflare Pages: US-headquartered (Cloudflare)) and route most traffic through US regions, with EU availability that is usually limited or gated behind higher tiers. Even when you can select a European region, the parent company stays subject to the US CLOUD Act, which can compel disclosure of EU customer data. For genuine EU data residency, an EU-registered platform is the safer choice: Runsite runs exclusively in Frankfurt (eu-central) under EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers and no CLOUD Act exposure — the kind of guarantee neither US provider can make.
Which has the better free tier, AWS or Cloudflare Pages?
Free tiers on both AWS and Cloudflare Pages change frequently and tend to share the same catch: compute that sleeps after inactivity, bandwidth or build-minute caps, or trial credits that expire after a fixed window. They are fine for quick experiments but rarely sustainable for an always-on hobby project. If a permanent free tier matters, read the current terms carefully. Limits are often buried in the pricing footnotes. Runsite takes the opposite approach: a free tier with no credit card and no expiry, designed to keep small projects online indefinitely rather than nudging you onto a paid plan.
Is AWS or Cloudflare Pages GDPR-compliant?
Both AWS and Cloudflare Pages can be configured to support GDPR-compliant workloads through a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and EU region selection where available. However, as US-incorporated entities they remain subject to the US CLOUD Act regardless of where the data physically sits, which is a documented sticking point for European compliance and DPO review. For workloads where US jurisdiction is a hard blocker (public-sector, healthcare, or privacy-sensitive consumer apps), an EU-headquartered provider removes the ambiguity entirely. Runsite is EU-registered with data kept inside the EU, so GDPR posture is the default rather than a configuration exercise.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project, AWS or Cloudflare Pages?
For a single small service, both AWS and Cloudflare Pages can look inexpensive on paper. The headline price rarely matches the real bill. Per-service billing, metered bandwidth, build minutes, and add-ons for databases or key-value stores stack up quickly, and neither platform offers a hard spending cap to stop a surprise invoice. The cheapest predictable option is one with fixed monthly pricing and an enforced ceiling. Runsite bills in EUR from €5/month with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts, plus a permanent free tier, so a side project stays cheap by design, not by careful monitoring.
// explore alternatives
Try the European Alternative
Skip the AWS vs Cloudflare Pages debate. Deploy on Runsite.
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