Comparison

Elestio vs Google Cloud Run

Google Cloud Run runs your containers serverless on Google Cloud. Elestio runs your containers on a dedicated VM across 9 cloud providers including Hetzner, AWS, Azure, and DigitalOcean. Both auto-deploy from a Dockerfile. The architectural choice has major implications for pricing, performance consistency, and vendor lock-in.

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AWS Azure Hetzner DigitalOcean Vultr Linode Scaleway Netcup TensorDock On-Premise
Trustpilot 4.6/5 G2 G2 4.8/5 SOC 2 ISO 27001 HIPAA GDPR

Quick verdict

Which one is right for you?

Pick Elestio if

  • Predictable monthly cost
  • Multi-cloud freedom (not GCP lock-in)
  • Persistent storage / stateful workloads
  • Sub-100ms responses always (no cold starts)
  • Full root SSH access
  • Built-in 400+ app catalog

Pick Cloud Run if

  • Spiky traffic with long idle periods
  • Already deeply integrated with GCP
  • Need true scale-to-zero economics
  • OK with 1-10s cold starts
  • BigQuery / Pub/Sub / Firestore native

Feature comparison

Elestio vs Cloud Run, feature by feature

Architecture and pricing differences that drive the choice.

Feature Elestio Google Cloud Run
Architecture Dedicated VM (yours) Shared container (serverless)
Cloud providers 9 (Hetzner, AWS, Azure, DO, Linode, Scaleway, Vultr, Netcup, TensorDock, BYOVM) GCP only
Pricing model Flat per-hour rate Per-request + per-CPU-second + per-GB-second
Starting price $11/mo all-inclusive Free tier, then variable
Cold starts None (always-on VM) 1-10s on first request after idle
Persistent storage Included (60 GB+ SSD) Cloud Storage / Cloud SQL extra
State management Native (it is a VM) Stateless containers, state externalized
Root SSH Yes No
Custom OS / kernel modules Yes No (sandboxed)
Daily backups Automated, included Manual Cloud Storage snapshots
SSL Free Let's Encrypt, auto-renewed Managed but tied to Cloud Run domains
Multi-region deploys Yes (any of 100+ regions) Yes (GCP regions)
Vendor lock-in None (Docker image portable) High (GCP-specific)
400+ pre-configured apps Yes No
GPU support Yes (via TensorDock) Limited (preview)
Compliance SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR SOC 2, HIPAA via GCP

Pricing in practice

Three real-world scenarios

Generic feature comparisons miss how the bills actually land. Here are three.

Scenario A

Steady 24/7 web service, ~1M req/mo

Elestio$11/mo
Cloud Run total$60-100/mo

Winner. Elestio, 5-10x cheaper.

Scenario B

Spiky traffic, 10x bursts, ~500K req/mo

Cloud Run wins here. Scale-to-zero means you pay only during active requests. Elestio runs continuously at $11/mo regardless of traffic.

Winner. Cloud Run, when idle periods are long.

Scenario C

Compliance + EU data residency

Elestio wins. 3 EU-based providers, Elestio Limited registered in Dublin Ireland, dedicated DPO. Cloud Run uses GCP regions, GCP is US-headquartered, subject to CLOUD Act.

Winner. Elestio.

Why Elestio

Where Elestio beats Cloud Run

Multi-cloud, predictable pricing, full root, no cold starts.

No GCP lock-in

Multi-cloud across 9 providers. If one cloud has an incident, redeploy on another in minutes. Docker image is portable, your data is on a VM you own.

Flat monthly cost

Per-hour billing on the VM size you chose. No request charges, no egress surprises, no Cloud SQL invoice on top. You know your bill from day one.

No cold starts

VM runs continuously. Response time is sub-100ms regardless of traffic patterns. Important for user-facing apps where consistency matters.

Stateful by default

Persistent SSD, full root SSH, run a database directly on the same VM. Cloud Run requires Cloud SQL for state, doubling the invoice.

Migration

From Cloud Run to Elestio in 5 steps

  1. 1

    Containerize your service

    Already done if on Cloud Run. Push your Docker image to any registry (Docker Hub, GCR, ECR).

  2. 2

    Sign up for Elestio free trial

    free trial, no credit card required for the trial period.

  3. 3

    Choose Docker custom image deploy

    Paste your image registry URL. Pick a cloud provider (Hetzner for cost, AWS for hybrid).

  4. 4

    Migrate Cloud SQL / Cloud Storage

    Use Elestio managed Postgres or object storage. Migration scripts in the docs.

  5. 5

    Switch DNS

    Point your domain to the Elestio VM. SSL is auto-configured. Done.

Most Cloud Run migrations take 1-2 hours including database migration.

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Reviews

Trusted by 10,000+ Developers Worldwide

Real reviews from real users on Trustpilot.

“
★★★★★

"I'm in the IT industry for over 25 years and Elestio stands out in many ways. The managed services are top-notch, support is incredibly fast, and the platform just works. Couldn't be better!"

Conflock IT Director, Germany, Verified on Trustpilot
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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is Cloud Run cheaper than Elestio for low traffic?

    Cloud Run has a generous free tier (2 million requests per month). For very low traffic apps, Cloud Run is essentially free. Above that threshold or for 24/7 workloads, Elestio becomes significantly cheaper.

  • Can I run a Postgres database on Cloud Run?

    No. Cloud Run runs stateless containers. Postgres requires persistent storage. On Cloud Run you would use Cloud SQL (separate paid service). Elestio runs Postgres directly on the dedicated VM with daily backups included.

  • Does Elestio scale to zero like Cloud Run?

    Not to zero, but Elestio does scale. You can scale vertically (resize the VM to more CPU / RAM in a few clicks) and horizontally (add nodes or run a multi-node cluster behind a load balancer). The dedicated VM runs 24/7, so for very spiky workloads with long idle periods Cloud Run's scale-to-zero can be cheaper, while for steady workloads dedicated VMs are cheaper and have no cold starts.

  • Can I move my Cloud Run Dockerfile to Elestio?

    Yes, directly. Push your Docker image to any registry (Docker Hub, GCR, ECR), point Elestio to it during setup, and Elestio runs your container on a dedicated VM.

  • What about cold starts on Elestio?

    There are no cold starts. The VM runs your app continuously. Response time is sub-100ms regardless of traffic patterns.

  • Is Elestio more reliable than Cloud Run?

    Elestio runs on dedicated VMs across 9 cloud providers, while Cloud Run is single-cloud (GCP). If one cloud has an incident, you can redeploy on another within minutes on Elestio.

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