As enterprises increasingly demand high performance, low-latency infrastructure without the overhead of virtualization, bare-metal cloud solutions have emerged as a strategic choice. In 2025, top cloud providers are delivering robust, scalable, and secure bare-metal offerings tailored to enterprise workloads such as AI training, data analytics, high-performance computing (HPC), and mission-critical applications.
This guide explores 2025’s best bare-metal cloud vendors, comparing their features, performance, and value to help enterprises choose the right partner.
What Is Bare-Metal Cloud?
A bare-metal cloud provides physical, single-tenant servers directly to users without a hypervisor layer. Unlike virtual machines (VMs), bare-metal servers offer dedicated resources with no performance overhead, making them ideal for latency-sensitive, compute-intensive, and custom hardware use cases.
Key Benefits for Enterprises
- Full control over hardware and configurations
- No noisy neighbors or shared infrastructure
- Better performance for workloads like AI/ML, video processing, and databases
- Customizable security policies and compliance alignment
- Scalability on demand without on-prem maintenance costs
Top Bare-Metal Cloud Vendors of 2025
1. IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers
IBM continues to lead in delivering enterprise-grade infrastructure. Their bare-metal servers offer deep configurability, GPU options, and integration with Watson AI and Red Hat OpenShift, making them ideal for complex workloads in regulated industries.
Key strengths: Compliance-ready, AI/ML workloads, hybrid cloud support
2. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Bare Metal
Oracle provides high-performance, low-latency bare-metal compute with flexible networking and block storage. OCI is a top choice for running Oracle databases, ERP systems, and analytics platforms.
Key strengths: Enterprise database workloads, security-first architecture
3. Equinix Metal
Equinix Metal offers automated, interconnected bare-metal infrastructure in global data centers. Its integration with private interconnects and ecosystems is perfect for edge deployments and hybrid IT strategies.
Key strengths: Global reach, low-latency edge locations, direct cloud access
4. AWS Bare Metal Instances (EC2 Metal)
Amazon Web Services delivers bare-metal performance via EC2 instances that give users direct access to physical resources while retaining AWS ecosystem advantages.
Key strengths: Broad service ecosystem, scalability, hybrid and cloud-native tools
5. PhoenixNAP Bare Metal Cloud
Known for flexibility and developer-friendly APIs, PhoenixNAP delivers customizable bare-metal instances with hourly billing and automated provisioning.
Key strengths: Cost-effective, DevOps-focused, GPU and high-bandwidth options
6. OVHcloud Bare Metal
OVHcloud offers reliable and competitively priced bare-metal servers across Europe and North America. Their solutions target businesses looking for GDPR compliance and price-performance balance.
Key strengths: European data sovereignty, DDoS protection, transparent pricing
7. Hivelocity
Hivelocity’s bare-metal offering includes fully customizable dedicated servers with global deployment options, ideal for gaming, content delivery, and media streaming.
Key strengths: Global locations, low latency, private network options
8. Leaseweb Bare Metal
Leaseweb supports bare-metal cloud with automated provisioning, hybrid support, and attractive pricing. Enterprises can tailor compute, storage, and networking for specific needs.
Key strengths: SMB-friendly, automated management, scalable deployments
9. Scaleway Bare Metal Cloud
Scaleway, based in France, delivers flexible and developer-centric bare-metal cloud services with a focus on simplicity, automation, and performance.
Key strengths: ARM and x86 support, eco-efficient datacenters, European focus
How to Choose the Right Bare-Metal Cloud Provider
When evaluating vendors, enterprises should consider:
- Performance benchmarks relevant to your applications
- Global data center presence for latency and compliance
- Provisioning and automation capabilities
- Networking flexibility and private connectivity
- Support for hybrid and multi-cloud architectures
- Pricing transparency and total cost of ownership
Conclusion
Bare-metal cloud is no longer a niche offering—it’s a powerful infrastructure model for modern enterprises in 2025. Whether you’re running AI models, database clusters, or latency-critical applications, these top vendors provide the tools and environments needed to scale securely and efficiently.
By aligning your workload needs with the right provider, you can unlock the performance benefits of bare-metal while maintaining cloud flexibility.
Keywords: bare-metal cloud, best bare-metal vendors 2025, enterprise cloud infrastructure, high-performance cloud, bare-metal cloud comparison, IBM, AWS, Oracle, Equinix Metal, PhoenixNAP