For many agencies, Amazon Web Services has become the default cloud choice—but not without frustration. While AWS is incredibly powerful, its pricing structure can feel like a maze of calculators, hidden costs, and billing surprises. Agencies that value predictable margins, easier client proposals, and faster onboarding often look elsewhere for cloud platforms that offer transparency, simplicity, and competitive performance.
TLDR: Agencies increasingly move away from AWS because of complex pricing and unpredictable bills. Platforms like DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Hetzner Cloud, and Scaleway offer simpler pricing models with fewer hidden costs. These providers make it easier to forecast expenses, explain costs to clients, and maintain healthy margins. Choosing the right alternative depends on project scale, region, and compliance needs.
Why Agencies Care So Much About Transparent Pricing
Agencies operate differently from in-house engineering teams. They manage multiple clients, fixed-price contracts, and tight margins. When cloud costs fluctuate unpredictably, profitability and trust are at risk.
Transparent pricing means:
- Clear, public pricing without dozens of variables
- Few or no surprise charges for data transfer or API calls
- Invoices that clients can actually understand
- Predictable monthly spend that aligns with contracts
Below are five cloud platforms agencies often prefer over AWS—and why.
1. DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean has built its reputation on simplicity and clarity. Its pricing model is refreshingly straightforward, making it a favorite among small to mid-sized agencies.
Why agencies like it:
- Flat monthly pricing for droplets (virtual machines)
- Bandwidth included in most plans
- No complex billing calculators
- Clean, intuitive UI that clients understand
Instead of charging separately for every component, DigitalOcean bundles CPU, RAM, storage, and data transfer into a single price. Agencies can confidently quote hosting costs without worrying about sudden spikes.
Best for: Web apps, SaaS MVPs, staging environments, and long-term client sites.
2. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
While not as minimal as some niche providers, Google Cloud is often seen as more transparent and predictable than AWS—especially at scale.
What sets GCP apart:
- Automatic sustained-use discounts
- Clear per-second billing
- Less aggressive upselling than AWS
- Strong analytics and data tooling
Agencies appreciate that discounts apply automatically without complex reservations. Pricing documentation is also more readable, which helps teams explain costs to non-technical stakeholders.
Best for: Data-heavy applications, AI workloads, and clients already using Google Workspace.
3. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
Image not found in postmetaOracle Cloud Infrastructure is often overlooked, but many agencies quietly prefer it for one reason: surprisingly simple pricing.
OCI advantages:
- Compute priced by actual usage, not instance bundles
- Outbound data transfer far cheaper than AWS
- Generous always-free tier
- Strong performance for the price
OCI’s pricing model is based on resources consumed rather than pre-packaged instances, reducing overpaying. For agencies managing backend-heavy workloads, this can translate into significant savings.
Best for: APIs, backend systems, enterprise migrations, and cost-sensitive clients.
4. Hetzner Cloud
Based in Germany, Hetzner Cloud has become a go-to choice for European agencies that want extreme price transparency and compliance-friendly hosting.
Why agencies trust Hetzner:
- Very low, flat-rate pricing
- Simple server tiers with no hidden fees
- Excellent performance per dollar
- Strong GDPR compliance
Hetzner publishes clear prices that rarely change, making financial forecasting easy. There are no complicated charging dimensions—what you see is what you pay.
Best for: European clients, privacy-focused projects, and performance-driven applications.
5. Scaleway
Scaleway is another Europe-based cloud provider gaining traction with agencies that value openness and sustainability.
Standout features:
- Transparent hourly and monthly pricing
- Clear separation of compute, storage, and bandwidth
- Focus on renewable energy data centers
- Simple pricing pages without calculators
Scaleway’s documentation is honest about costs, including bandwidth limits. Agencies appreciate being able to forecast expenses without digging through fine print.
Best for: Green tech projects, EU-based startups, and pricing-sensitive agency work.
AWS vs Transparent Cloud Platforms: The Real Difference
AWS excels in scale and breadth of services, but agencies often pay for complexity they do not need. Multiple pricing dimensions, regional variations, and unexpected data transfer costs make AWS harder to justify when margins matter.
Agencies prefer transparent platforms because:
- Proposals are easier to price
- Monthly invoices are predictable
- Clients trust clear cost breakdowns
- Teams spend less time managing billing
This does not mean AWS is obsolete—it simply means it is not always the best fit for agency workflows.
How Agencies Choose the Right Platform
Most agencies do not pick one cloud for everything. Instead, they align platforms with project needs:
- Client-facing apps: DigitalOcean or Scaleway
- Data-intensive projects: Google Cloud
- Cost-optimized backends: Oracle Cloud
- EU compliance: Hetzner or Scaleway
The key is understanding both technical requirements and financial constraints—then choosing a cloud provider that supports both.
Final Thoughts
Transparent pricing is more than a convenience—it is a competitive advantage. Agencies that adopt cloud platforms with simple, predictable billing can move faster, quote more confidently, and build stronger client relationships.
As more providers challenge AWS with clarity and fairness, agencies finally have real choices. The best cloud is no longer just the most powerful one, but the one that makes business sense.