What it does
Exoscale Compute Instances are virtual machines in Exoscale's public cloud. Users choose a zone, operating-system template, instance type and storage, then manage the VM through the portal, CLI or API. The product offers standard, CPU-optimized, memory-optimized, storage-optimized and GPU instance families. Product materials also describe encrypted root volumes, security groups, snapshots, instance pools and live migration.
Compute Instances are Exoscale's self-managed VM service, not an application platform that deploys code from a repository. The product page describes Linux and Windows templates, predefined sizes, local SSD or NVMe storage, encrypted root volumes, snapshots and instance pools. Provisioning is documented through the portal, CLI, API and Terraform.
First launch, as an example
The official quick start shows a CLI route for launching a Linux VM. For example, the documented CLI can create an instance with:
exo compute instance create my-first-instance \
--zone <zone> \
--template 'Linux Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 64-bit' \
--instance-type standard.medium \
--disk-size 50 \
--ssh-key <ssh-key-name> \
--security-group <security-group-name>
The guide calls for a registered SSH key and a security-group rule allowing inbound SSH from a trusted source; a security group with no rules blocks incoming traffic. The CLI examples show how to inspect and connect to an instance. No account or VM was created here.
The pricing page describes per-second billing and separately priced local storage. Instance CPU and memory come in predefined combinations rather than arbitrary independent amounts. The page also notes that powered-down instances can continue to incur charges for resources still in use, such as local storage and software licences, so a cost estimate should include more than VM runtime.
Strengths
- Supports portal, CLI and API management, and the product page names Terraform among its integrations.
- Documents VM controls including encrypted root volumes, security groups, snapshots and instance pools.
- The pricing page describes per-second billing and separately itemized instance families and storage.
Watch out for
- CPU and memory are offered in predefined combinations instead of independently selected amounts.
- Local storage and software licences can continue to incur charges while an instance is powered down.
Best for
- Developers creating test, development or CI environments from Linux or Windows templates.
- Operators automating VM provisioning with the Exoscale CLI, API or Terraform.
- Teams that need cloud VMs with features such as snapshots, security groups or instance pools.
Sources
- Compute & Virtual Machine Instances In Europe (Oct 25, 2026)
- Exoscale Cloud Pricing | Calculate Your Costs Quickly (Oct 25, 2026)
- Quick Start - Instances – Exoscale Documentation (Oct 25, 2026)