When your app starts getting real traffic, shared hosting in Europe quickly feels like a bottleneck. Pages load slowly, logs pile up, and you keep one eye on uptime charts. At that point, dedicated server hosting in Europe gives you what the web hosting industry rarely offers on cheap plans: predictable performance, control, and better GDPR peace of mind.
This guide walks through what actually matters when picking a European dedicated server, then compares 7 reliable providers so you can match the right hardware, network, and support level to the way your team really works.
European hosting isn’t just “same thing, different map.” Between GDPR, data residency rules, and network routes, where and how your server runs matters a lot.
Here’s what to check before you swipe the company card:
GDPR & data residency
Make sure customer data stays inside the EU (or in locations that clearly respect EU rules). Don’t just trust a landing page badge—ask for real compliance documents or a DPA you can sign.
Smart data center locations
Amsterdam is great for Western Europe and big internet exchanges. Frankfurt is a hub for central Europe via DE-CIX. London is still key for UK traffic. The closer your users are to these routes, the better your latency and stability.
Modern hardware stack
Look for recent-gen AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon CPUs, ideally from the last couple of years. DDR5 RAM and NVMe SSD storage should be the baseline if you care about IO-heavy workloads, databases, or real-time apps.
Honest pricing & bandwidth
The same hardware in Germany can cost more than in Lithuania. Watch out for “cheap” servers with tiny bandwidth caps, setup fees, or expensive upgrades that quietly kill your budget later.
Network quality & protection
For modern apps, 3 Gbps+ network capacity is a comfortable starting point. Check for built-in DDoS protection, good peering to AMS-IX or DE-CIX, and clear uptime guarantees.
All the spec sheets in the world still won’t beat a quick real-world test. If you can, spin up a server, run a few load tests, and see how it behaves under pressure.
👉 Launch a GTHost European dedicated server in minutes and measure real latency instead of guessing
A short test run tells you more than hours of reading marketing pages.
Below are seven popular providers in the European dedicated hosting space, what they’re good at, and where you may hit limits.
Cherry Servers focuses on flexible, bare-metal infrastructure. You pick the CPU, RAM, and storage you want, hit deploy, and usually have a ready server in about 15 minutes. No long-term contracts, so you can spin up, test, and tear down without getting stuck.
They also lean heavily on automation: an API to script deployments, reboots, and rebuilds, plus built-in DDoS protection to handle basic attacks without extra tools.
Key strengths
Fast deployments, often ready to use within minutes
Modern AMD and Intel CPUs optimized for low-latency workloads
API-first approach for developers who automate everything
Pay-as-you-go style billing without long commitments
Pros
Very flexible server configurations
Good performance for CPU- and IO-heavy projects
Developer-friendly tools and automation
Quick provisioning for new projects
Cons
No fully managed services
Best suited to users comfortable managing Linux and infrastructure themselves
Hetzner is a long-time favorite in the European hosting world, especially when you want strong performance at a low monthly price. They offer both pre-built and customizable dedicated servers to cover small apps, game servers, and heavy workloads.
Their data centers are in Germany, Finland, and the USA, with decent network capacity and built-in DDoS protection. You get root access by default, so you control everything from OS choice to firewall rules.
Key strengths
Budget-friendly dedicated servers with solid specs
Full root access and custom OS installs
Flexible storage and backup options that don’t break the bank
Pros
Very competitive pricing for the hardware
Scalable infrastructure with many server tiers
Good performance for the cost
Cons
Support can be slow, especially on cheaper tiers
Setup fees on some services
Less hand-holding for beginners
OVHcloud is all about scale: many data centers across Europe and beyond, lots of server variants, and strong network capacity. They offer unlimited data transfer with speeds from around 500 Mbps up to 10 Gbps, which works well if you move a lot of data.
They also care about energy efficiency. Their water-cooling tech keeps power consumption under control while still pushing good performance.
Key strengths
Wide range of dedicated servers, including GPU options
Advanced DDoS protection and firewall management
Global data center footprint for low latency to many regions
Pros
Strong built-in security features
Flexible, scalable infrastructure
High-performance server options
Cons
Platform can feel complex when you’re new
Support response times aren’t always fast
Control panels can be a bit clunky and slow
UltaHost targets users who want powerful dedicated servers with “don’t think about bandwidth” simplicity. Most plans come with unmetered bandwidth, and they use newer Dell hardware with SSD and NVMe storage.
They also include daily backups at no extra cost, which is nice if you’d rather sleep than rebuild databases from scratch after a mistake.
Key strengths
Unmetered bandwidth on all dedicated plans
SSD and NVMe storage for fast data access
Free daily backups and DDoS protection
Pros
High-speed servers that can handle heavy traffic
Security baked into every plan
Automatic backups for extra safety
Cons
Premium plans can get pricey
Overkill if you just run a small, low-traffic site
Contabo is known for packing a lot of resources into relatively cheap plans. You can customize CPU, RAM, and storage quite a bit, and their servers run on AMD EPYC CPUs with NVMe SSDs.
They also operate data centers in multiple regions, giving you decent options for serving both European and global audiences.
Key strengths
Cost-effective dedicated servers with good specs
Customizable hardware options for CPU, storage, and RAM
Multiple data center locations
Pros
Very affordable pricing
High level of configuration flexibility
Good global reach for the price
Cons
Support can feel slow or basic
Setup fees on some offerings
Not the most beginner-friendly documentation
Bluehost leans into fully managed dedicated servers. You get strong hardware, but the main selling point is that their team handles OS updates, security patches, and performance monitoring for you.
Under the hood, they use AMD EPYC processors, DDR5 RAM, and NVMe storage, plus RAID-1 mirroring for redundancy. Free SSL and 24/7 support are included, so you can focus more on your app than on kernel updates.
Key strengths
Fully managed servers with round-the-clock support
RAID-1 storage to reduce risk of data loss
DDoS protection, free SSL, and cPanel access included
Pros
Very accessible for non-infrastructure experts
Clean control panel for managing websites and apps
Free domain in the first year on many plans
Cons
Renewal prices can be significantly higher than intro rates
Fewer data center choices compared to some competitors
FastComet aims at users who want managed dedicated hosting but still care a lot about performance. Their servers use AMD EPYC CPUs and NVMe storage, with DDoS protection and Imunify360 to lock down security.
Daily backups and Cloudflare CDN integration come built in, which helps both with safety and global page load speed. You also get cPanel/WHM for familiar management if you come from shared hosting.
Key strengths
Automatic daily backups included
Cloudflare CDN integration for faster global delivery
SSD-only, performance-tuned setups
Pros
Fully managed support, 24/7
Good combination of speed and security
Friendly for users moving up from shared or VPS hosting
Cons
Higher entry price than some budget providers
Limited number of data center locations
No free trial, so you need to commit to test
Picking the best dedicated server hosting in Europe really comes down to what matters most for your project: strict GDPR compliance, super-low latency, fully managed support, or raw hardware value. The seven providers above cover most use cases in the hosting industry, from bootstrapped side projects to busy production platforms.
If you want something you can deploy quickly, test easily, and scale across European locations without long contracts, that’s exactly why GTHost is suitable for fast-moving teams that need reliable EU dedicated servers with low latency and predictable costs.
👉 Check out GTHost’s instant-deploy dedicated servers in Europe and spin up your first machine in a few minutes