centron vs. IONOS: Who manages your cloud servers?
Both run cloud infrastructure in German data centres, and both hold the same certifications: a C5 attestation Type 1 and ISO 27001 based on IT-Grundschutz. The difference lies in who looks after your servers. With IONOS Cloud, you manage your VMs yourself or commission an IONOS partner. At centron, our own team takes this on if you wish, for €50 per VM per month plus infrastructure.
As of 30 September 2026 · Publisher: centron GmbH
centron and IONOS at a glance
centron is the right fit if you want your cloud servers managed by the provider itself: one contract for infrastructure and operations, personal contacts, data exclusively in Germany. You decide per VM what we take on, with no minimum term.
IONOS is the right fit if your team manages the servers itself or already has a service provider, if you need locations in the UK, Spain, France or the USA, or if a higher availability commitment matters to you.
This comparison covers IONOS Cloud for business customers and centron ccloud³. IONOS web hosting, VPS plans and domains are not part of the comparison. The overview below the table shows which other products both providers offer.
| Criterion | centron | IONOS |
|---|---|---|
| Server operations | ccloud³ VMs with root access, self-managed or with Premium Full Managing: our team takes on administration, updates, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery. Bookable per VM, with no minimum term. | Compute Engine and Cubes as self-service via the Data Center Designer and the API. Managing the VM and operating system is up to the customer or an IONOS partner. IONOS offers its own managed services for Kubernetes and databases, among others. |
| Support | With Premium Full Managing, personal contacts and 24/7 monitoring with proactive fault resolution. Response times contractually defined per SLA level. | 24/7 support by phone and email in German and English, free of charge, response to malfunctions within one hour, plus an account manager. Support does not log on to customer VMs. |
| Availability | 99.5 % in the Worker and Power Pool, 99.8 % in the HA Pool, each monthly. | 99.95 % monthly average for the Compute Engine, 99.9 % for Cubes, each with service credits. |
| C5 attestation | C5:2020 Type 1 for ccloud³ / Managed Cloud, audit report dated 12 June 2026. | C5:2020 Type 1 for 33 IONOS Cloud services, received on 28 May 2026. |
| ISO 27001 | ISO/IEC 27001 based on IT-Grundschutz, certificate BSI-IGZ-0773-2026. | ISO/IEC 27001 based on IT-Grundschutz, certificate BSI-IGZ-0730-2025, covering among others Compute Engine, Managed Kubernetes and S3 Object Storage in Germany. Also ISO/IEC 27001:2022. |
| Data centres | Own data centre in Hallstadt, plus rented space in Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg and Coburg. Data location 100 % Germany. | In Germany, Berlin and Frankfurt am Main, in Frankfurt using rented space. Plus locations in the UK, Spain, France and the USA. |
| Billing | Billed by the hour, no minimum term. All prices excluding VAT. | Billed by the minute, no minimum term, discounts via Savings Plans with a one- or three-year commitment. All prices excluding VAT. |
| Prices | €50 per VM per month for managed operations, plus the infrastructure at public list prices. | Public price list for the infrastructure. Plan for operations by your team or a partner at their terms. |
Products and prices at a glance
Both providers offer more than cloud servers. The overview shows entry prices, not a total price. The configurations differ, so the amounts do not show which provider is cheaper. All prices exclude VAT.
| Product | centron | IONOS |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud servers | From €3.11 per month with 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM and 10 GB SSD, billed by the hour | Basic Cube XS for €5.04 per 30 days with 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM and 60 GB storage, billed by the minute. Freely configurable from €0.012 per vCPU per hour, plus RAM and storage |
| GPU servers | Cloud GPU NVIDIA RTX A4000 from €0.13 per hour or €92.59 per month, plus vCPU, RAM and NVMe | NVIDIA H200 from €3.00 per hour with 1 GPU, 15 vCPUs, 267 GiB RAM and 1,024 GB NVMe, Frankfurt only, no SLA |
| Kubernetes | cStack from €29.99 per month, control plane included | Managed Kubernetes, control plane free of charge, nodes billed by usage from €0.017 per vCPU per hour plus RAM |
| Managed servers | Premium Full Managing: €50 per VM per month, plus infrastructure | No management of VMs by IONOS itself. The operating system and application are looked after by you or an IONOS partner |
| Block storage | Volumes from €0.05 per GB per month | From €0.04 per GB per 30 days (Essential), SSD Performance €0.15 |
| S3 object storage | €0.02 per GB per month, minimum €5.00 (250 GB), traffic free of charge | €0.007 per GB per 30 days, data transfer not included: 2 TB outgoing per month and contract free, above that from €0.03 per GB |
Managed for you or self-run?
IONOS Cloud is designed as a platform you build on yourself. You create servers, networks and storage in the Data Center Designer or via the API. The 24/7 support helps with malfunctions of IONOS services, but according to the IONOS support agreement it does not log on to your virtual machines or make changes there. You look after the operating system and application yourself or through an IONOS partner.
Not every team has its own staff or a partner for this. Anyone running a business application on two or three servers needs someone for patch days, alerts at night and recovery when things go wrong. With Premium Full Managing, our team takes on this work on your ccloud³ VMs, without a third contractual partner. You book managed operations per VM and agree with us which systems and tasks are included.
Who does what in day-to-day operations?
The table shows who takes on which task.
| Task | centron with Premium Full Managing | IONOS Cloud as self-service |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system updates and security patches | Our team, within the agreed scope. | Your team or your partner. |
| Monitoring and fault resolution | Our team: 24/7 monitoring with proactive fault resolution. | Your team or your partner. IONOS resolves malfunctions of its own services. |
| Data backup | Our team, backup is part of the scope of services. | Backup Service as an add-on, €0.07 per GB per 30 days. Set-up and testing by your team or your partner. |
| Disaster recovery | Our team, disaster recovery is part of the scope of services. | Your team or your partner. |
| Database and application | We agree this with you in the quote. | Your team or your partner, alternatively databases as a managed service from IONOS. |
The allocation follows the public product descriptions of both providers; only the quote is binding.
When is centron the better choice?
In two cases centron is the better fit.
You want to hand over server operations without looking for a second service provider.
At centron, any ccloud³ VM can become a managed server on request, with your own configuration and personal contacts. Infrastructure and operations come from a single source, and you decide per VM, with no package tiers and no minimum term.
A lot of data flows out of your object storage.
Traffic is free of charge in centron S3 Object Storage. IONOS charges for data transfer from €0.03 per GB after 2 TB free per month and contract. With little retrieval, IONOS is cheaper per stored GB; with a lot of retrieval, traffic is what counts.
When is IONOS the better choice?
In four cases you should take a serious look at IONOS.
Your team administers the servers itself or has a partner.
Then you do not need management from the provider. IONOS offers free 24/7 support by phone and email, a response to malfunctions within one hour and an account manager.
The availability commitment is decisive.
IONOS commits to 99.95 % monthly average for the Compute Engine, with tiered service credits. centron commits to 99.5 % or 99.8 % for VMs depending on the pool. When comparing, also look at the measurement method and exclusions.
Your users are also outside Germany.
IONOS operates cloud locations in the UK, Spain, France and the USA. centron operates locations in Germany only.
You need high-end GPUs or ready-made platform services.
IONOS offers NVIDIA H200 in Frankfurt as well as databases, Kafka and an AI model hub as managed services. At centron, the focus is on entry-level and mid-range cloud GPUs and on managing your servers.
What do operations and management cost?
Both providers publish their infrastructure prices, but only one includes managed operations in its offer. An example: your application runs on two virtual machines, a web server and a database server.
At centron, managed operations for this cost €100 per month excluding VAT, that is €50 per VM. This includes updates and security patches, 24/7 monitoring, backup and disaster recovery. On top come the servers at the prices of the ccloud³ price list, and depending on your needs also backup storage and data traffic.
With IONOS Cloud you pay for servers, storage and data traffic according to the IONOS price list. Operations are handled by your team or an IONOS partner at their prices.
A fair comparison is only possible for the same environment with the same scope of services, including your team's hours if you administer the servers yourself.
For a broader market overview, see Alternatives to US cloud providers.
Customer voices and success stories
Three companies that have been running their infrastructure at centron for years.
FOC Solutions: from proof of concept to full service
The Hamburg-based EDI service provider with more than 200 customers has been with centron since 2019 and migrated all systems after a proof of concept, with personal support and full-service management.
Read the success story
GIS Consult: from physical servers to virtual environments
The specialist for geographic information systems has been with centron since 2015 and moved step by step from physical servers to virtual environments.
Read the success story
meinBafög: from startup to million-euro business
The Cologne-based BAföG platform has relied on virtual managed servers at centron for around ten years and grew from €80,000 in annual revenue to a million-euro business over this time.
Read the success storyFrequently asked questions
How do centron and IONOS differ?
Why does a cloud provider from Germany matter?
Do centron and IONOS hold the same certifications?
Does IONOS support also help on my server?
Let us talk about your environment
Tell us which servers you run and which tasks you would like to hand over. From that we will put together a specific quote for you. Prefer to test it yourself first? New business accounts receive €200 in starting credit for the first 60 days.
Provider information as of 30 September 2026, checked on the public pages of IONOS and centron. Prices and services may change; the specific quote is authoritative. All prices exclude VAT. The trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.