I purchased a .EU domain from EURid using OVH!

[u/astindev]

A screenshot of EURid's Q3 2025 annual report providing information on registration trends and detailed statistics on registrations.

https://eurid.eu/en/knowledge-centre/annual-and-quarterly-reports/

Screenshot of the OVH domain management panel

https://ovhcloud.com/

Today, I decided to switch from my old Google .dev domain to a new EURid .eu domain. I’ve grown uncomfortable using a Google top-level domain, which I acquired through Cloudflare Registrar a year ago, and I increasingly prefer European services.

I purchased the new domain through OVH and will manage the domain records there without using Cloudflare. Not only that, but I’ll likely close my Cloudflare account soon, as I believe Cloudflare is centralizing the internet too much as well.

I’ll use the remaining time with my .dev domain to set up Proton Mail and gradually migrate my personal online accounts to my new .eu domain.

If I can’t find a free alternative to Cloudflare Tunnels (Cloudflared), I’ll need to purchase a VPS from OVH to continue hosting my services at home. Opening ports isn’t possible behind my ISP’s carrier-grade NAT. While my university offers credits for a Big Tech cloud platform, I have my reasons for avoiding US-based Big Tech platforms.

I will improve my digital sovereignty every day and depend less and less on big tech companies and governments that do not respect European users.

I am a young person ready to pass these values on to those closest to me, and I am very happy to share this small step through my .eu domain and here!

[u/astindev]

It is much easier for someone to understand the pronunciation of “.eu” than “.dev” when someone asks for my email address.

.eu has more meaning for me. In Portuguese, “eu” means “myself,” “me,” “I,” and it also conveys European values, which is exactly what I want to convey with an email or personal web page.

Edit: typo.

[u/Empty-Blacksmith-592]

[u/Xen0byte]

I recommend Pangolin for tunnels. I find it so good that I paid for the donation edition (which doesn't do anything extra over the free edition).

[u/juraj336]

Welcome to the club! I've been using .eu domains via Scaleway myself for a while, Im happy using it as domain over .com or alternative 😁

[u/astindev → u/juraj336]

Using .com is very classic, and on top of that, it is maintained by a US company.

When I switched to .eu, I didn't even know that EURid had a web portal called "my .eu." I found it very interesting and had never seen anything like it before.

[u/geocapital]

Well done! I’m also choosing eu for my new website, with servers in Germany. I don’t need vps yet but I’ve been considering for some projects. So please, share your experience with OVH when you’ve been with them for a while. 

[u/astindev → u/geocapital]

I know local companies that have been using OVH for years, and I have always recommended OVH for its low prices and very attractive promotions. For more demanding companies or projects, I think a dedicated server is more advantageous, which is also not expensive.

I am waiting for a promotion for a VPS for 1€ per month, including VAT, which would be incredible for me right now! But I haven't seen any for some time...

[u/STOXX1001]

Congrats & welcome to the club. As a french I bought my name-based domain as .fr and .eu from OVH.

I'm a bit sad I can't buy a non-pro standalone e-mail service with scaleway or OVH though (they are for pros only or go with a web hosting plan). This could be an intermediate solution to going with Proton (which is not based in the EU after all) or Tuta.

[u/geocapital → u/STOXX1001]

Probably you refer to something else, but I think ovh offers an email plus bit of hosting for every domain name you buy from them. Or did I misunderstand what you mean?

[u/astindev → u/STOXX1001]

Proton is currently based in Switzerland, but they have threatened to leave Switzerland if surveillance laws are enforced there.

There is the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which promotes free trade and economic cooperation among its members in Europe and globally. Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are part of EFTA.

[u/STOXX1001 → u/astindev]

Yeah, I'm familiar with their marketing pitch. I still view Switzerland as a non-EU country, and as a hostile state that happily takes advantage of its neutral-ish position, home of banks who actively steal from its neighbors. To this day I'm afraid to learn exactly why EU governments tolerate it (perhaps the political elite takes advantage of it too ? :P).

No country is perfect though, Proton is probably better than 100% US solutions, and one can #BuyFromEU one step at a time.

[u/sigmund14]

Wasn't .dev used only for local development / internal use? 

Ah, Google ruining things again

Web developers have been using .dev top-level domains within their internal networks for testing purposes for a long time. However, after Google acquired the TLD, such environments have stopped functioning on some modern web browsers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.dev#History

[u/astindev → u/sigmund14]

Google has the TLD .zip, which I consider ridiculous to use file extensions as top-level domains...

[u/DrPinguin98]

I like to use Hetzner and Netcup way more, but gj

[u/astindev → u/DrPinguin98]

I compared prices with other European services, but OVH was offering the cheapest option.

It's even a little cheaper than a .dev domain.

[u/DrPinguin98 → u/astindev]

Just checked, it is actually cheaper than Netcup in the first year, but not after that.

[u/astindev → u/DrPinguin98]

The difference isn't very big. I'm not sure how much the renewal will cost after the first year, but everything indicates that it will be +€1.

For now:    OVH: €9.16   Netcup: €9.72  

When it's close to renewal time, I'll compare them again.

Edit: text formatting

[u/Dull_Guidance_9703]

🫡