# Hyperscaler Database vs Private Cloud Managed PostgreSQL

When your application needs a production PostgreSQL database, you face a fundamental choice: run it on a hyperscaler's managed service, operate it yourself, or delegate operations to a specialist. Each path has different implications for data sovereignty, vendor lock-in, and total cost.

This comparison covers five options available to Swiss organizations today.

## Quick comparison

| | AWS RDS | Google Cloud SQL | Aiven | Self-Hosted | VSHN Managed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Data location** | EU (Frankfurt, Zurich) | EU (Zurich) | EU (various) | Your choice | Your choice (Swiss cloud or on-premises) |
| **Jurisdiction** | US (CLOUD Act) | US (CLOUD Act) | Finnish company, US infrastructure | Your jurisdiction | Swiss company, Swiss or your infrastructure |
| **Data sovereignty** | Limited — US parent company | Limited — US parent company | EU company but data on US hyperscalers | Full control | Full — Swiss operations, your infrastructure |
| **Ops model** | Fully managed by AWS | Fully managed by Google | Fully managed by Aiven | You manage everything | VSHN manages, you control infrastructure |
| **SLA** | 99.95% (Multi-AZ) | 99.95% (regional) | 99.99% (Premium) | None (your own) | Up to 99.99% |
| **Oracle compatibility** | No | No | No | Via EDB manually | Via EDB — VSHN is an official partner |
| **Open source** | Uses PostgreSQL, proprietary platform | Uses PostgreSQL, proprietary platform | Uses PostgreSQL, proprietary platform | Fully open source | Fully open source (CloudNativePG) |
| **Vendor lock-in** | High (AWS ecosystem) | High (GCP ecosystem) | Medium (multi-cloud, but proprietary layer) | None | None — runs on any infrastructure |
| **Starting price** | ~$170/month (db.t3.medium, Multi-AZ) | ~$130/month (db-custom, regional HA) | ~$200/month (Business plan) | $0 (software) + ops team | CHF 80/month (single), CHF 480/month (HA with SLA) |

## AWS RDS for PostgreSQL

[Amazon RDS](https://aws.amazon.com/rds/postgresql/) is the market leader in managed PostgreSQL. It handles provisioning, patching, backups, and failover within the AWS ecosystem.

**Strengths:**

- Mature service with a broad feature set (read replicas, Performance Insights, automated backups)
- Zurich region (eu-central-2) available since 2022
- Deep integration with AWS services (Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch)
- Automated minor version upgrades

**Limitations:**

- **US jurisdiction applies.** Amazon is a US company subject to the CLOUD Act. Even with a Zurich region, US authorities can compel data access without Swiss judicial process.
- **No Swiss cloud or on-premises option.** AWS RDS runs exclusively on AWS infrastructure. No deployment on cloudscale.ch, Exoscale, or your own data centre.
- Deep AWS lock-in: IAM roles, VPC networking, and monitoring are AWS-specific
- No EDB enterprise tools or Oracle compatibility layer
- Pricing scales with compute, storage, IOPS, and backup separately. Costs are hard to predict

**Best for:** Teams already committed to AWS who accept US jurisdiction trade-offs.

See our [PostgreSQL sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/) for a detailed comparison of jurisdictional risk.

## Google Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL

[Cloud SQL](https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/postgres) is Google's managed relational database service. The Zurich region (europe-west6) puts compute and storage in Switzerland.

**Strengths:**

- Zurich region with low-latency access from Swiss infrastructure
- Automated backups, point-in-time recovery, and high availability
- Integration with Google Cloud IAM and VPC
- Competitive pricing for smaller instances

**Limitations:**

- **Same US jurisdiction issue as AWS.** Google is subject to the CLOUD Act regardless of data location.
- **No Swiss cloud or on-premises option.** Cloud SQL runs exclusively on Google infrastructure. No deployment on cloudscale.ch, Exoscale, or your own data centre.
- GCP lock-in: networking, identity, and monitoring are GCP-specific
- No Oracle compatibility or EDB tooling
- Major version upgrades require downtime or manual migration
- Maximum storage of 64 TiB but IOPS tied to disk size, so performance tuning is constrained

**Best for:** Teams invested in Google Cloud who need a Zurich-hosted database.

See our [PostgreSQL sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/) for a detailed comparison of jurisdictional risk.

## Aiven for PostgreSQL

Aiven is a Finnish company offering managed databases across multiple clouds. They deploy PostgreSQL on AWS, GCP, or Azure infrastructure in your chosen region.

**Strengths:**

- EU-headquartered company (Helsinki)
- Multi-cloud: deploy on AWS, GCP, or Azure without changing provider
- Terraform provider for infrastructure-as-code workflows
- Good developer experience with CLI tools and integrations

**Limitations:**

- **No Swiss-owned infrastructure option.** Aiven runs on US hyperscalers even in EU regions, so CLOUD Act exposure remains.
- No dedicated Swiss region (closest is typically Frankfurt or Zurich on the underlying hyperscaler)
- No Oracle compatibility or EDB partnership
- Premium tier required for 99.99% SLA
- Higher starting price than direct hyperscaler offerings

**Best for:** Multi-cloud teams wanting a single database provider across AWS, GCP, and Azure.

## Self-Hosted PostgreSQL

Running PostgreSQL on your own VMs or Kubernetes clusters gives you complete control over every aspect of the database.

**Strengths:**

- Full control over data location, version, configuration, and access
- No per-service fees, only infrastructure costs
- Can run on any provider including Swiss clouds (cloudscale.ch, Exoscale)
- Full access to EDB tools if you hold your own EDB license

**Limitations:**

- **Operational burden is substantial.** Production PostgreSQL requires:
  - 24/7 monitoring and incident response
  - Backup automation with regular restore testing
  - Replication setup and failover testing
  - Security patching (including emergency zero-day fixes)
  - Major version upgrades with thorough testing
  - Connection pooling, vacuum tuning, and performance management
- A PostgreSQL DBA in Switzerland costs CHF 130,000-160,000/year
- Smaller teams often defer upgrades and skip restore testing, and both create risk that only surfaces during incidents
- Building HA with automated failover (Patroni, repmgr, or CloudNativePG) requires deep PostgreSQL and infrastructure expertise

**Best for:** Large organizations with a dedicated database team and specific customization needs.

## VSHN Managed PostgreSQL (EDB Partner)

VSHN operates your PostgreSQL instance on the infrastructure you choose: Swiss cloud or on-premises. As an official EDB partner, VSHN provides access to EDB enterprise tools including the Oracle compatibility layer.

**Strengths:**

- **Swiss company, Swiss jurisdiction**: VSHN is headquartered in Zurich. No CLOUD Act exposure through the operations layer.
- **Your infrastructure, your choice**: cloudscale.ch, Exoscale, or on-premises
- **Official EDB partner**: access to EDB Postgres Advanced Server, Oracle compatibility, and EDB migration tooling
- Automated backups with configurable schedule and retention (default: daily, 6 retained)
- CloudNativePG operator for Kubernetes-native high availability
- Up to 99.99% SLA with service credits
- ISO 27001 certified operations since 2014
- Self-service provisioning via Kubernetes API or Servala

**Pricing:**

| Plan | Single instance | Replicated (HA) |
|---|---|---|
| Best Effort | CHF 80/month | CHF 160/month (2 replicas) |
| Guaranteed Availability (99.99% SLA) | — | CHF 480/month (2 replicas) |

Computing resources (CPU, memory, storage) are billed separately by the infrastructure provider. Support is available via VSHN support plans.

**Best for:** Swiss organizations needing data sovereignty, Oracle migration support, or production PostgreSQL without building a dedicated database team.

## The sovereignty question

For Swiss companies in regulated industries (banking, insurance, pharma, government), data jurisdiction is not just a preference. It is a compliance requirement. Here is how the options compare on sovereignty:

| Dimension | AWS RDS / Cloud SQL | Aiven | Self-Hosted | VSHN Managed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Operating company jurisdiction** | US | Finland (EU) | Yours | Switzerland |
| **Infrastructure jurisdiction** | US (even in Zurich region) | US (hyperscaler) | Your choice | Your choice |
| **CLOUD Act exposure** | Yes | Yes (via hyperscaler) | Depends on provider | No (Swiss ops + Swiss cloud option) |
| **FINMA-compatible** | Requires additional controls | Requires additional controls | Depends on implementation | Yes, with Swiss cloud infrastructure |

Choosing VSHN with a Swiss cloud provider (cloudscale.ch or Exoscale) eliminates US jurisdiction exposure entirely. Both the operations company and the infrastructure provider are Swiss.

For a detailed analysis, see our [PostgreSQL sovereignty assessment](/sovereignty/).

## When to choose VSHN

VSHN Managed PostgreSQL fits when:

- Your data must stay under Swiss jurisdiction (not just in a Swiss data center owned by a US company)
- You are migrating from Oracle and need EDB enterprise tools and migration expertise
- You want PostgreSQL on your existing cloud tenant, managed by specialists rather than your dev team
- Your team is too small for 24/7 database operations but too regulated for a US-owned SaaS
- You need predictable monthly costs instead of pay-per-IOPS pricing that surprises at invoice time

## Next steps

Ready to discuss your PostgreSQL setup? [Book a free 15-minute call](#contact) with our team. We will review your current environment and recommend the right approach: VSHN, a hyperscaler, or self-hosted.