Guides / Best AWS region for a European Django app, chosen in Django Cloud
Peter van Doorn
Best AWS region for a European Django app, chosen in Django Cloud
All five European AWS regions that Django Cloud offers can run a Django app. The right pick depends on three things: where your users are, what your client's rules say, and what you want to pay. Here is how to choose without overthinking.
The regions
- Frankfurt (
eu-central-1): Germany. Central in Europe, a common choice for German, Dutch, Nordic and Eastern European users. - Ireland (
eu-west-1): the oldest European region. Good for users in the UK, Ireland and Western Europe. - Paris (
eu-west-3): France. The natural choice for French customers or clients who want data in France. - Stockholm (
eu-north-1): Sweden. Close to the Nordic countries and the Baltics. - London (
eu-west-2): the United Kingdom, which is not in the EU. The EU recognizes UK data protection as adequate through an adequacy decision; check that it is still in force for your project.
Step 1: legal requirements first
If a client requires data in the EU, London is out unless the client accepts the UK. If a client requires data in one country, the choice is made for you. See GDPR and Django hosting for what is and is not required.
Step 2: users
Pick the region closest to most of your users. Distance affects how fast each page loads, since every request travels there and back. A Danish audience is well served by Frankfurt or Stockholm. A UK and Irish audience by Ireland or London.
Step 3: your database and your team
- Keep the app and its database in the same region. Cross-region database calls are slow and cost money.
- Put staging in the same region as production, so that what you test behaves the same.
- If your other services (email, storage, queue) are in one region, match it.
Step 4: price
AWS prices can differ slightly between regions. Check the pricing page for the current numbers; if two regions satisfy your rules, take the cheaper one.
Things that do not change with the region
- The kind of service you get. It is the same deploy, the same dashboard.
- Who owns the account.
- The legal status of AWS as a US company (see EU region vs digital sovereignty).
A simple default
For an EU-based project with no special rules: Frankfurt or Ireland. Pick one, put everything there, and move on to building the product.
Or skip it
You choose the AWS region for each Django Cloud project, from five in Europe to others worldwide. Your app and database run there, in your own AWS account on Self-hosted.
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