The European AWS EC2 Mac alternative
AWS EC2 Mac offers M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max, but only in US regions, on dedicated hosts billed per hour with a 24-hour minimum. vBoxx gives you dedicated Mac mini M6 and M5 Pro hosting in the Netherlands, billed in EUR from €140/mo excl. VAT.
From €140/mo excl. VAT · flat
vs hourly billing on AWS
Hosted in the Netherlands
Schiphol-Rijk & Naaldwijk · GDPR · NIS2
ISO 27001 certified
Certified by TÜV NORD
AWS EC2 Mac vs vBoxx: the short answers
What people ask when leaving EC2 Mac
Is there an EU-hosted alternative to EC2 Mac for iOS build farms?
Yes. A dedicated Mac mini M6 at vBoxx starts at €140/mo excl. VAT, hosted in the Netherlands, with no 24-hour host allocation and no per-hour metering.
How do I migrate an EC2 Mac dedicated host to vBoxx?
Re-create your macOS setup on your new Mac mini M6 or M5 Pro, re-attach your Xcode runners and repoint DNS. Most teams move a small build farm within a few days.
Which Macs does AWS EC2 Mac offer in 2026?
AWS offers M4 and M4 Pro Mac instances and M4 Max Mac Studio instances, in US East (N. Virginia) and US West (Oregon). vBoxx offers Mac mini M6 and M5 Pro with up to 64 GB memory, in the Netherlands.
Where can I host a dedicated Mac in the EU under GDPR?
vBoxx B.V. runs ISO 27001-certified operations in Schiphol-Rijk and Naaldwijk. Contracts, support and invoices are Dutch and billed in EUR.
TL;DR
Choose AWS EC2 Mac if
- • You need to burst many Macs for short periods and can absorb the 24-hour minimum.
- • You are already deep in AWS (IAM, VPC, S3) and want tight integration.
- • US hosting is fine for your data.
Choose vBoxx if
- • You want the newest Mac mini M6 / M5 Pro on dedicated hardware.
- • You want flat monthly or yearly billing in EUR from a Dutch company.
- • Your data must stay in the EU (Schiphol-Rijk / Naaldwijk): GDPR, NIS2, ISO 27001.
- • You want real people in EU hours, remote power and an optional JetKVM console.
Cost comparison
EC2 Mac is billed per hour on dedicated hosts with a 24-hour minimum allocation, so a Mac running 24×7 costs the full monthly equivalent. Each row compares the closest AWS instance with the vBoxx Mac named in that row.
| Workload | AWS EC2 Mac | vBoxx | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single dev / CI runner (24×7) | M4 Mac instance · US regions only · hourly, 24-hour minimum | Mac mini M6 · from €140/mo excl. VAT | Hosted in the EU · flat monthly price |
| Team CI · 3 runners | 3× M4 Mac dedicated hosts · billed per hour | 3× Mac mini M6 · from €420/mo excl. VAT | No per-hour metering |
| Build farm · 10 Macs | 10× M4 Mac dedicated hosts · billed per hour | 10× Mac mini M6 · from €1400/mo excl. VAT | Predictable monthly cost in EUR |
| More CPU and memory | M4 Pro Mac instance · US regions only | Mac mini M5 Pro (24-64 GB) · €213-323/mo excl. VAT | Data stays in the Netherlands |
AWS prices vary by region and change over time: see the AWS EC2 Mac pricing page for current hourly rates. Storage and network egress are billed separately on AWS. vBoxx prices are yearly billing per month, excl. VAT.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | AWS EC2 Mac | vBoxx |
|---|---|---|
Current Apple silicon | M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max (Mac Studio) | Mac mini M6, Mac mini M5 Pro |
Current Mac hardware available in the EU AWS current-generation Mac instances: US East (N. Virginia) and US West (Oregon) only. | ||
Per-hour billing vBoxx bills monthly or yearly: predictable costs. | ||
24-hour minimum host allocation | ||
Dedicated hardware (single tenant) | ||
Datacenter location | US East / US West | Schiphol-Rijk & Naaldwijk (NL) |
ISO 27001 certified operations | Yes, by TÜV NORD | |
Remote power (APC PDU) included | via API | |
Console access | Managed through the AWS console and API. No physical KVM access to the Mac. | JetKVM console with virtual media (optional add-on) |
Contracting party | Contract with a US-headquartered provider, not a Dutch company. | vBoxx B.V., a Dutch company |
Human support in EU business hours | Paid support plans | |
Egress fees | Billed separately | None, fair-use bandwidth included |
Migrating from AWS EC2 Mac to vBoxx
1. Configure
Pick your Mac mini M6 or M5 Pro in the configurator, hosted in Schiphol-Rijk or Naaldwijk.
2. Re-register runners
Point your GitHub Actions, GitLab, Buildkite or Jenkins runner at the new Mac using the token from your CI provider.
3. Release the AWS host
Release the EC2 dedicated host once its allocation period ends, and clean up related storage and IP addresses.
Frequently asked questions
›Is vBoxx a real alternative to AWS EC2 Mac?
Yes. vBoxx provides dedicated Mac mini M6 and Mac mini M5 Pro servers in Schiphol-Rijk and Naaldwijk (the Netherlands), billed monthly or yearly in EUR from €140/mo excl. VAT, with no hourly metering and no 24-hour host allocation.
›Can I run AWS EC2 Mac in an EU region?
AWS's current-generation Mac instances (M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max) are only available in US East (N. Virginia) and US West (Oregon). vBoxx runs Mac mini M6 and M5 Pro in the Netherlands, so your data stays in the EU.
›How is AWS EC2 Mac billed?
EC2 Mac runs on dedicated hosts billed per hour with a 24-hour minimum allocation. vBoxx bills a flat monthly price from €140/mo excl. VAT, or save 10% with yearly billing.
›Can I migrate an existing EC2 Mac workflow to vBoxx?
Yes. Most teams move GitHub Actions runners, GitLab runners and Xcode build pipelines by re-registering the runner on their new vBoxx Mac. SSH, remote power and JetKVM are available from day one.
Ready to bring your Macs to the EU?
Flat monthly billing · EU support · ISO 27001 certified.
Competitor information based on publicly available sources, checked October 2026.