--- title: "Elastic Beanstalk vs while: the French alternative" url: https://while.sh/en/comparisons/while-vs-elastic-beanstalk/ author: "Grégoire Mougeolle, co-founder of Nextmap" updated: 2026-11-02 --- # AWS Elastic Beanstalk vs while: which one to choose when your AI agent deploys? Elastic Beanstalk takes your apps as they are and runs them on AWS machines, with an RDS database it creates for you. With while, your AI agent deploys the app, its database and its access in one request, over MCP, in France. ## What changes between AWS Elastic Beanstalk and while | What matters | AWS Elastic Beanstalk | while | |---|---|---| | Who it's for | Teams that keep their Java, .NET, PHP, Python or Ruby apps as they are, on AWS machines (sources 1 and 7) | People who build their apps with an AI agent, solo or as a team | | Your AI agent | No MCP server of its own: the general AWS MCP server, based on your IAM permissions (source 2) | Connected over MCP, with OAuth: it deploys, creates the database, reads the logs and fixes things | | What protects production | Your agent's AWS permissions, an optional read-only mode, and your approval in your AI tool (source 8) | Sensitive actions, like deleting a production database, wait for a person | | The database | RDS for PostgreSQL, point-in-time recovery up to 35 days depending on your setting, 7 by default (source 3) | PostgreSQL in while, backed up every day, with point-in-time recovery | | Who opens your app | No built-in password, company SSO through the AWS load balancer (source 4) | Everyone, a password, or the company account with the Pro plan | | In France | Yes, one region in France (source 5) | Yes, with Nextmap, a French company | | To get started | Beanstalk is free: you pay by the hour for the machine, the database and the IPv4 address (sources 1 and 9) | A trial without an account. Then €0 to get started, and €13.75 per month for an app and its database | ## Elastic Beanstalk, your apps as they are on AWS Elastic Beanstalk takes your Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Go or Node.js apps as they are (sources 1 and 7), and updates your machines in batches, without downtime, with a quick rollback if the new version disappoints (source 6). AWS updates your machines' operating system for the whole life of the app (source 7). ## With while, your AI agent does the rest - **No server to maintain.** No system to update, no disk to watch, no certificate to renew: your agent deploys, and while takes care of the rest. - **Your databases are backed up for you.** Every day, with point-in-time recovery, and a production backup tested every day. - **Nothing serious happens without you.** Deleting a production database waits for your approval, before it runs, and every action is recorded in a signed activity log. - **Your keys stay secret.** Your app uses them, your agent never sees them. - **Your colleagues sign in with the company account.** Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, on the Pro plan, with no sign-in page to code. ## Moving from AWS Elastic Beanstalk to while ### Take over your app > You, to your agent: Move our Beanstalk app to while. Your agent takes over your code, writes while.yaml and deploys the app. ### Copy your database > You, to your agent: Copy our database to while. Your agent exports the database with `pg_dump`, then loads it into while. ### Carry over your variables > You, to your agent: Carry over our environment variables. Your agent carries your settings over to while. You enter your secret keys yourself: it never sees them. ## Which one to choose - **Choose AWS Elastic Beanstalk** if your team already lives in AWS, with Java or .NET apps to keep as they are. - **Choose while** if your AI agent is the one deploying, and you want the app, the database and access in one go, in France, without breaking anything. ## Next steps - [Deploy a Spring Boot app](/en/guides/deploy-spring-boot/) - [Deploy an ASP.NET Core app](/en/guides/deploy-aspnet-core/) ## Sources 1. [AWS Elastic Beanstalk, overview](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/Welcome.html), 2026-11-02 2. [AWS, the AWS MCP server is generally available](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/the-aws-mcp-server-is-now-generally-available/), 2026-11-02 3. [Amazon RDS, the backup retention period](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_WorkingWithAutomatedBackups.BackupRetention.html), 2026-11-02 4. [Application Load Balancer, user authentication](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/application/listener-authenticate-users.html), 2026-11-02 5. [AWS Elastic Beanstalk, regions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/elasticbeanstalk.html), 2026-11-02 6. [Elastic Beanstalk, deployment policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/using-features.deploy-existing-version.html), 2026-11-02 7. [AWS Elastic Beanstalk, product page](https://aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/), 2026-11-02 8. [AWS, the Agent Toolkit (permissions, read-only)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/agent-toolkit/latest/userguide/what-is-agent-toolkit.html), 2026-11-02 9. [Amazon VPC, pricing (IPv4 addresses)](https://aws.amazon.com/vpc/pricing/), 2026-11-02 ## Questions ### How much does a small app with its database cost on Beanstalk? Beanstalk is free: you pay by the hour for the machine, its IPv4 address and the RDS database (sources 1 and 9). On while, €13.75 per month for a small app and its database, backups included. ### Does Beanstalk host in France? Yes, one region is in France (source 5). So does while, with Nextmap, a French company. ### Can my agent move from Beanstalk to while? Yes. It takes your code or your Dockerfile, copies the RDS database with pg_dump and carries over your settings.