Top 6 Equinix Metal Alternatives to Consider [2025]

Searching for the best Equinix Metal alternatives to future-proof your infrastructure? With Equinix Metal set to sunset by June 2026, many businesses are seeking strong options to maintain their bare-metal infrastructure.

As cloud and bare-metal needs evolve, businesses demand scalable, cost-effective solutions tailored to hybrid workloads and AI-driven demands. Whether you’re aiming at high-performance computing, global scalability, or enhanced support, the market offers compelling options.

This guide explores the top Equinix alternatives in 2025, helping you navigate the transition confidently. Ultimately, the evolving landscape means you have more choices than ever to find a hosting partner that matches your unique needs and ambitions.

#Equinix Metal end of life

Equinix Metal announced its end of life, with services scheduled to be fully sunset by June 30, 2026. This decision marks a shift in Equinix’s focus toward integrated digital infrastructure services rather than standalone bare metal offerings.

Following the announcement, current customers are encouraged to begin planning for their migration to alternative platforms well in advance. With limited new feature development and a phased support reduction, finding the right Equinix Metal alternatives has become a priority for many businesses in 2025.

Here at Cherry Servers, we researched the most viable Equinix Metal alternatives to help you with this transition.

#What is Equinix Metal?

Equinix Metal is a dedicated, on-demand bare metal cloud service that provides single-tenant servers and integrates compute, networking, and storage without forced virtualization or multi-tenancy. This ensures high security and performance.

Equinix Metal is widely used as the foundational layer for private clouds, high-performance computing, AI, gaming, big data analytics, and applications requiring strict security or regulatory compliance. With Equinix Metal end of life approaching, businesses relying on it must migrate to alternative infrastructure solutions.

This can be a complex and disruptive process, especially for clients whose operations are deeply integrated with the platform. Fortunately, we have found the best alternatives to help you survive the Equinix Metal sunset.

#6 Equinix Metal alternatives to consider

When evaluating the best alternatives to Equinix Metal, we considered providers with strong global coverage, flexible and high-performance bare metal offerings, robust automation and developer tools, transparent pricing, and reliable support.

We also considered small players alongside hyperscalers to create a healthy mix. These criteria ensure that businesses can find a replacement that matches or exceeds Equinix Metal’s capabilities for scalability, security, and operational efficiency.

Here are the best Equinix Metal alternatives to consider in 2025:

#1. Cherry Servers

Customer reviews: 4.4 / 5 stars on Trustpilot

Summary: Cherry Servers is a leaner, more cost-effective bare metal provider, especially for SMEs and developers. It offers a reliable and more flexible alternative to Equinix Metal. Its bare metal servers are tailored to developers and businesses that prioritize performance. Based in Lithuania, the company has been in business for over two decades, offering highly customizable dedicated servers with flexible billing options.

Pros

• Fully customizable options (offers both pre-built and custom servers)
• Premium 24/7 technical support included for all customers
• Latest-generation hardware - AMD and Intel CPUs
• Flexible hourly and monthly billing options
• Equinix data center locations
• 99.97% uptime SLA guarantee
• DevOps-friendly with RESTful API and integrations for automation
• Up to 100TB free egress traffic per server, free ingress traffic
• Add a bandwidth plan for any extra for €0.50 per TB of egress

Cons

• Technical knowledge is required for setting up some of their plans
• No free credits

Best for: Cherry Servers is ideal for developers and system administrators who need full control over their infrastructure without vendor lock-in. It’s particularly well-suited for organizations and SMEs running CPU-intensive applications, blockchain companies, AI/ML applications, and data processing workloads that require stable performance and dedicated resources.

Read more: What makes Cherry Servers the best Equinix Metal alternative?

#2. Hetzner

Customer reviews: 3.2 / 5 stars on Trustpilot

Summary: Hetzner is a German-based hosting provider known for its high-performance infrastructure and budget-friendly pricing. It serves developers, startups, and enterprises with cloud servers, dedicated machines, storage solutions, and colocation services. Its data centers in Germany, Finland, and the US ensure strong uptime and security.

Pros

• Affordable pricing across all services
• Wide range of hosting options (cloud, dedicated, storage)
• Easy-to-use control panel

Cons

• Performance isn’t great which shows in reviews, cost is prioritized
• Limited data center locations (dedicated servers only in Germany and Finland)
• No 24/7 support, and it can be slow for some urgent issues.

Best for: Hetzner is ideal for developers, agencies, and businesses that need scalable, affordable infrastructure at low cost and are comfortable managing their own servers. It’s less suited to beginners or those requiring managed, hands-on support or global data center coverage. Less suited for applications requiring premium performance and reliability.

#3. OVHcloud

Customer reviews: 3.4 / 5 stars on Trustpilot

Summary: OVHcloud is a major European cloud and hosting provider offering VPS, dedicated servers, and cloud solutions at competitive prices. Its plans combine the simplicity of shared hosting with scalable cloud resources. OVHcloud’s global data centers and DDoS protection appeal to businesses seeking affordable, flexible infrastructure.

Pros

• Competitive pricing, especially for dedicated servers
• Wide range of server and cloud options
• Global data center presence (Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific)
• Unmetered bandwidth and strong DDoS protection
• Performance optimizations for popular CMS platforms

Cons

• Support is limited to business hours and can be slow
• No free trial or money-back guarantee
• Budget plans may lack some features

Best for: OVHcloud suits businesses seeking affordable, scalable hosting with global reach and strong security. It’s best for users comfortable managing their infrastructure and are less reliant on round-the-clock support or free trials.

#4. Latitude

Customer reviews: 4.8 / 5 stars on G2

Summary: Latitude is a global bare metal cloud platform designed to provide developers and businesses with high-performance, single-tenant servers that combine the power of dedicated hardware with the flexibility of cloud infrastructure.

Pros

• Servers in seconds across 19+ locations
• Developer-Friendly Tools
• Web3 & AI Focus
• Transparent Billing
• Low Latency Network
• Cloud Gateway allows you to connect your servers to major cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP
• Easily manage your servers via dashboard or API

Cons

• Limited customization
• No crypto payments
• No managed storage, database, or container platforms

Best for: Latitude bare metal servers are best for startups, generative AI companies, enterprises, and crypto projects.

#5. Vultr Bare Metal

Customer reviews: 4.3 / 5 stars on G2

Summary: Vultr Bare Metal provides dedicated single-tenant servers with rapid deployment, hourly or monthly billing, and a global footprint. Users appreciate its ease of use, intuitive dashboard, and transparent pricing. Highly regarded for its VPS offerings, its bare metal servers are positioned for customers seeking uncompromised performance without virtualization overhead.

Pros

• Fast deployment and setup, often within minutes
• Flexible billing with hourly or monthly options
• Global data center locations for low latency
• Transparent, pay-for-what-you-use pricing
• Intuitive control panel and reliable uptime and performance

Cons

• Higher starting price for bare metal
• Limited hardware customization
• Low bandwidth caps and no unlimited transfer option

Best for: Vultr Bare Metal is best for developers and businesses seeking quick, global deployment of dedicated servers with straightforward management, especially when simplicity and reliability are more important than maximum hardware value.

#6. IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers

Customer reviews: 4 / 5 stars on G2

Summary: IBM Cloud Bare Metal servers deliver fully dedicated hardware with extensive configuration options. It also supports advanced networking of up to 100 Gbps and integration with IBM Cloud VPC. Customers highlight robust performance, reliability, and security, alongside excellent support. The platform is particularly suited to enterprises with complex, high-performance, or compliance-driven workloads. It offers flexible billing and a wide range of hardware profiles.

Pros

• Highly customizable hardware, including CPU, RAM, storage, and GPUs
• Multiple billing options (hourly, monthly, and reserved)
• Strong reliability and uptime
• Advanced networking up to 100 Gbps
• Integrated with IBM Cloud VPC for security and scalability

Cons

• Pricing can be higher than that of some competitors
• Management and updates can be complex
• Deleting/updating resources may not be as seamless

Best for: IBM Cloud Bare Metal servers are best for large enterprises or regulated industries with complex, high-performance, or compliance-driven workloads that require granular customization, high availability, and integration with IBM Cloud services.

#Final thoughts

With Equinix Metal EOL coming in June 2026, organizations relying on its bare metal solutions face an urgent need to evaluate alternatives that deliver comparable performance, flexibility, and global reach.

Each of these providers excels in different areas, including automation, developer experience, and transparent pricing. As you plan your migration, prioritize providers that align with your technical requirements, budget, and growth strategy to ensure a smooth transition and continued infrastructure reliability.