Frequently Asked Questions

Pilvio's smallest Linux VPS (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB SSD) costs €6.95/month with 24/7 usage. A popular development server (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD) comes to €16.15/month. A larger production server (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD) costs €32.30/month. The price is always predictable — every resource has a fixed hourly rate.

No. Every resource has a fixed price: 1 vCPU = €0.0052/hour (€3.80/month), 1 GB RAM = €0.0033/hour (€2.40/month). If you choose 2 vCPU + 4 GB RAM and the server runs 24/7, the bill is exactly the same every month. The only difference from a fixed plan is that when you power off your server, you don't pay for vCPU and RAM — only disk space. This is an advantage, not a risk. You never pay more than a fixed plan, but you can pay less.

When a server is stopped, you are not charged for vCPU and RAM. You only pay for disk space, since your data is preserved. This is ideal for development and testing environments that you only use during working hours. For example: a 2 vCPU + 4 GB + 50 GB server running only on workdays (10h × 22 days = 220h/month) costs roughly 30% less than running 24/7.

Yes. Every new account receives €30 in free credit. This is enough to test a small server (1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM) for about 3 weeks. No credit card is required during registration. When the credit runs out, you decide whether to continue.

Up to 15 TB per month is free. This covers the needs of most small and medium projects — even an active web application rarely uses more than 5 TB per month. For volumes exceeding 15 TB, a custom agreement applies.

No. Pilvio works without long-term contracts. You pay only for resources actually used, based on a monthly invoice. You can stop at any time — delete your servers and billing ends.

Pilvio data centers are in Estonia: Greenergy DC near Tallinn (Harku) and Jõhvi DC in Eastern Estonia. Both are connected via a fast internal network. There is also a direct link to Helsinki for low-latency connectivity towards Finland. Greenergy DC is PCI-DSS certified.

Yes. Pilvio is 100% Estonian-owned (Astrec Data OÜ) and data never leaves Estonian jurisdiction. Since Pilvio is not a subsidiary of a US company, the CLOUD Act does not apply. All data processing complies with GDPR requirements. You don't need to prepare a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for third-country data transfers, because there are no such transfers.

Pilvio infrastructure meets the requirements of the former ISKE-M level and has been audited at that level. Since 2023, Estonia has adopted a new information security standard called E-ITS (Estonian Information Security Standard), which replaced ISKE and is based on the German BSI IT-Grundschutz. E-ITS is aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 requirements. Pilvio's primary data center, Greenergy DC, is PCI-DSS certified, which also covers e-commerce and payment data processing requirements.

The CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act) is a US law that allows the US government to demand data from US companies regardless of where servers are physically located. This means that even if you use AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud on European servers, the US government can demand your data. Pilvio is 100% Estonian-owned and the CLOUD Act does not apply — your data is accessible only through Estonian and EU jurisdiction.

Yes. Pilvio is an API-first platform — everything you can do in the dashboard is also available via REST API (api.pilvio.com). An official Terraform provider is registered on the Terraform Registry (pilvio-com/pilvio). This means you can manage your entire infrastructure as code — VM creation, scaling, snapshots, networking, and StorageVault S3. Pilvio is the only Estonian cloud service with an official Terraform provider.

Ubuntu (20.04, 22.04, 24.04), Debian (11, 12), Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS, Fedora, openSUSE, and Windows Server. There are also pre-configured solutions for Docker, Kubernetes, WordPress, Nextcloud, Magento, and many other applications. You can also upload your own ISO image.

Yes. Pilvio offers a pre-configured Docker solution — you can get a Docker-ready server with one click. You can also run Docker Compose and build your own CI/CD pipelines. Everything is manageable from the dashboard, API, and Terraform. A Kubernetes cluster is also available as a pre-configured solution.

StorageVault is Pilvio's S3-compatible object storage. It works with the same API as Amazon S3, meaning all S3-compatible tools (aws-cli, boto3, rclone, Terraform S3 backend, etc.) work directly. Suitable for storing files, images, videos, backups, and archives. Data is physically stored in Estonia. Each bucket gets a unique URL and supports versioning.

Yes. Since StorageVault is S3-compatible, you can use it as a Terraform remote state backend exactly like Amazon S3. This means your Terraform state file is stored in Estonia, not on AWS servers. Setup is straightforward — add the StorageVault endpoint, bucket, and credentials to your Terraform backend configuration.

Yes. A VNC console is available directly in your browser. This is useful when SSH isn't working — for example, during firewall misconfigurations, network issues, or OS restarts. It also works for managing Windows Server.

Hetzner offers lower prices (CX23 from €3.49/month after the April 2026 price increase) and more free traffic (20 TB vs 15 TB). However, Hetzner raised prices by 30–35% in April 2026, significantly narrowing the gap — for example, CPX22 (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB) went from €5.99 to €7.99/month. Pilvio differentiates with servers in Estonia (not Helsinki), Estonian-language support with ~5-minute response times, and infrastructure audited to Estonian information security standards. Both have Terraform providers and full APIs. If price is the only criterion and a Finnish location works, Hetzner is still cheaper. If you need Estonian data sovereignty, local support, or regulatory compliance, Pilvio is the better choice.

Zone.ee uses unit prices identical to Pilvio (1 vCPU €3.80, 1 GB RAM €2.40, SSD €0.075/GB), but its bundled plans cost more than Pilvio — for example a 2 vCPU + 4 GB + 50 GB configuration is €18.29 at Zone (VPS III) vs €16.15 at Pilvio (Dev server), making Pilvio ~12% cheaper. Zone's public API on the VPS side is essentially limited to placing a new order (POST /v2/order/cloud) — no scaling, snapshots, start/stop, or networking. Pilvio's API covers the full VM lifecycle, plus an official Terraform provider on the Terraform Registry. Zone.ee is a good fit if you want domain, email, and hosting from one vendor at a fixed monthly rate.

Pilvio is simpler, more transparent, and more local. Hyperscale clouds offer a wide range of services and global reach, but they come with complex pricing models, CLOUD Act risk, and support that doesn't speak Estonian. Pilvio fits when your workload is Estonia- or Europe-centric, you value data sovereignty, and you want support that responds in minutes. Pilvio is not an AWS replacement for every use case — but for many Estonian businesses, it's the better choice.

Yes. If you build apps with AI tools (Cursor, Claude, Bolt, Lovable, etc.), a Pilvio VM is the best choice when your app needs a database, long-running processes, Docker containers, or full control over your environment. Unlike serverless platforms (Vercel, Cloudflare Workers), Pilvio has no runtime restrictions, timeouts, or "Runtime Wall" — if the code runs on Linux, it runs on Pilvio. The API and Terraform provider mean AI tools can also set up the server for you.

Yes. Pilvio is suitable for hosting Magento, WooCommerce, and custom e-commerce stores. Greenergy DC is PCI-DSS certified, covering payment data processing requirements. Scale resources up during campaign periods and back down afterward — you only pay for actual usage. Data stays in Estonia and GDPR compliance is ensured.

Yes. Pilvio's pay-as-you-go model is ideal for development environments: create servers automatically in CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.), test, and delete. Pay only for hours used. With the Terraform provider, you can manage your entire dev/staging infrastructure through code. A server running only during working hours costs ~30% less than 24/7.

Yes. Pilvio offers a pre-configured Nextcloud solution — you get a working Nextcloud instance with one click. Data stays in Estonia, which matters for companies seeking an alternative to Google Drive or Microsoft 365 for data sovereignty reasons. Combine with StorageVault S3 for high-volume file storage.

The Pilvio dashboard (app.pilvio.com) gives you a complete overview of your servers, storage, invoices, and usage. You can manage resources, take snapshots, view logs, and monitor performance. All the same operations are also available via REST API.

Estonian-language support with an average response time of 5 minutes. You communicate directly with our engineers — not scripted first-line support. We help with server setup, migration, architecture planning, and troubleshooting. Business clients get a personal consultant.

SSH (Linux), Remote Desktop (Windows), and VNC console (directly in browser). VNC is always available, even when SSH isn't working — for example, during network issues. You can also check server status and perform operations via API.