Gcore vs Platform9 (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Gcore and Platform9 both score 6.9/10 on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria. Both Gcore and Platform9 have a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Gcore
6.9/10
Luxembourg-based edge and cloud provider offering CDN, virtual machines, bare metal, managed Kubernetes, object storage, AI GPU cloud, and DDoS/WAF security for businesses.
Platform9
6.9/10
Platform9 Private Cloud Director turns existing servers and storage into a KVM and OpenStack-based private cloud for VMs and Kubernetes, aimed at enterprises leaving VMware.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start | $1,000/mo Service Provider (PCSP) launch period |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | €390/mo DDoS Protection Start | Free Community Edition |
| Features | ||
| Dedicated Servers | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Cloud Compute | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | Not listed | |
| Object Storage | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
Gcore vs Platform9 cost by team size
| Team size | Gcore | Platform9 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | FreeCommunity Edition |
| 5 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | FreeCommunity Edition |
| 10 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | FreeCommunity Edition |
| 25 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | FreeCommunity Edition |
| 50 users | €390/moDDoS Protection Start | FreeCommunity Edition |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Gcore and Platform9 suit
Gcore fits developers better than Platform9.
| Audience | Gcore | Platform9 |
|---|---|---|
| Developers | 8/10The API, the Terraform provider, the free Kubernetes control plane, and pay-per-use functions all suit developers. | 5/10Terraform, the CLI and OpenStack APIs support infrastructure as code, but the product targets operators rather than app developers who need hosted compute. |
| Enterprise | 8/10It offers enterprise DDoS protection with IP transit, a large network capacity, and custom CDN deals. | 9/10It is built as a VMware replacement for large estates, and the vendor cites deployments of 18,000+ hypervisors and a 40,000-VM migration. |
| IT Teams | 7/10It covers a broad infrastructure stack, from colocation to edge security. | 8/10Infrastructure teams get a familiar VMware-like model for HA, live migration and rebalancing on hardware they already own. |
| Mid-Market | Not rated | 6/10The per-core pricing has no socket minimum, and the free Community Edition lowers the barrier, though running it still requires OpenStack skills. |
| SaaS Companies | 7/10SaaS companies can run compute, CDN, and WAF security on a single EU-based platform. | Not rated |
| Small Business | Not rated | 2/10Info-Tech says the platform is not designed for small or midsized businesses with little infrastructure. |
| Startups | 6/10Pay-as-you-go pricing and a free CDN allowance lower the cost of starting, but there are complaints about support. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Gcore
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for developers (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Includes Dedicated Servers, which Platform9 lacks
- Includes Managed Databases, which Platform9 lacks
Why choose Platform9
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Gcore
Pros
- The CDN includes 1 TB of traffic and 1 billion requests free each month, and traffic after that starts at 0.01 EUR per GB.
- DDoS protection pricing does not depend on attack size, and mitigation is not metered on any plan.
- The managed Kubernetes control plane is free with high availability, so you pay only for the nodes.
- A large edge footprint, reported at about 210 PoPs and 200 Tbps of capacity, suits latency-sensitive workloads such as gaming and streaming.
- Headquarters in Luxembourg is an advantage for buyers who prefer an EU-based provider.
Cons
- Trustpilot scores are around 2.5 out of 5, with complaints about recurring billing, refunds, and slow support.
- There is no public price list for VMs and bare metal; prices are only available through the calculator.
- The Terraform v2 provider is still in alpha and Gcore says it is not ready for production.
- The product range is very broad, which can make it harder for small teams to understand how pricing works.
Platform9
Pros
- The free Community Edition has no time limit and includes the full feature set for a single region, which makes evaluation and small production use cheap.
- The free vJailbreak tool migrates VMs from VMware while keeping IP addresses and network and storage configuration, which lowers cutover risk.
- It reuses existing servers and enterprise storage from vendors such as Dell EMC, NetApp, Pure Storage and HPE, so buyers avoid a hardware refresh.
- Per-core pricing includes all features and support, and third-party estimates put it well below VMware Cloud Foundation per-core costs.
- Support is a strong point: G2 reviewers of its Kubernetes product rate support quality 9.6, and the vendor reports 100% CSAT four years running.
- Automation through OpenStack-compatible APIs, the pcdctl CLI and a first-party Terraform provider.
Cons
- Enterprise pricing is quote-only. Third-party estimates of about 200 to 350 USD per core per year are unverified.
- It is built on OpenStack, so troubleshooting the lower layers requires OpenStack knowledge.
- With the SaaS option, control depends on Platform9's hosted management plane.
- Built-in PaaS services such as managed databases, DNS and VPN are still on the roadmap.
- It is not hosting. Customers supply and run their own hardware, and analysts say it does not suit small businesses.
- Independent reviews are few. Most evidence and case studies come from the vendor, and one aggregator notes reports that support quality varies.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Gcore and Platform9 both score 6.9/10 on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria. The largest gap is in Support: 5/10 for Gcore and 8/10 for Platform9.
Yes, both Gcore and Platform9 have a free plan.
Gcore is the better fit for developers: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 5/10 for Platform9.
Gcore has Dedicated Servers and Managed Databases, which Platform9 lacks.
