Colocation prices are hard to compare because providers put different things into their rate. Under the bonnet the model is much the same everywhere: you pay for space, for power and for network, and those three are independent of one another.
The three items
- Space — in units (U). One unit is a single "slice" about 4.4 cm high; a 2U server takes two. With us this starts from €32.50 per unit per month.
- Power — two parts: a capacity charge per kW for the capacity held for you, plus your actual consumption per kWh. Why those are two separate things is set out in power in the data centre.
- Network — a fixed bandwidth in Mbit/s, from €0.85 per Mbit per month, with volume discounts as you take more. Note: this is not the same as your port speed.
That last point is the most common misunderstanding. A 1 Gbit/s port says nothing about what you pay; you are billed on an agreed level, measured at the 95th percentile. The port is the upper limit, the commit is the bill.
Which item weighs heaviest
Almost everyone assumes space is the largest cost item. It rarely is.
Depending on the type, a rack has a certain number of units — 42, 46 or 47 in our case — but most racks do not fill up with equipment. They fill up with power. Twenty densely populated machines draw more than half a rack's connected load can handle, and you are then left with physical space you can no longer use. That is why, when an enquiry comes in, we always ask about the power first and only then about the number of units.
A worked example
Suppose: two servers, 3U together, drawing around 500 watts under normal load. The traffic is modest — nightly backups and some sync traffic, with an expected commit of around 100 Mbit/s.
| Item | Calculation | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Space | 3U × €32.50 | €97.50 |
| Power — capacity charge | 0.5 kW × kW rate | approx. €55 |
| Power — consumption | 0.5 kW × approx. 730 hours × kWh rate | approx. €90 |
| Network | 100 Mbit with volume discount | approx. €68 |
| Recurring total | approx. €310 |
Alongside that there are one-off costs: a BGP announcement, a VLAN, a cross-connect. These come to a few dozen euros each and appear once, on the first invoice.
All amounts are indicative and exclude VAT. They are meant to show the proportions — power together accounts for nearly half here — not to serve as a quote.
Where the bill turns out differently
Three things shift the picture fastest:
- More traffic. Network keeps scaling and quickly becomes the largest item for traffic-intensive applications. The volume discount absorbs part of it.
- Densely populated machines. A rack full of GPUs or dense storage nodes turns the power item from a side issue into the main one.
- A rack of your own instead of shared space. That costs more, but gives physical separation and your own access. With compliance requirements it is often not a choice.
What is not itemised separately
Useful to know when comparing: with us 24/7 physical access to your own equipment is part of the service — you only register your visit in advance, which is arranged within five minutes. Remote hands for day-to-day work is included as well: a restart, repatching a cable, taking a look at a light that is not doing what it should.
What is quoted separately are projects: a data centre migration, extensive DDoS protection, or bespoke work on a connection to an internet exchange.
A price for your situation
The fairest way to find out what colocation costs in your case is to fill in the three items with real numbers. If you do not know your consumption or your bandwidth precisely yet, we can measure them for a period first and set the agreement afterwards.
The quote form includes calculators for power and bandwidth that give you a feel for the order of magnitude yourself. Rather talk it through? Get in touch — or first read what colocation actually involves.