What it is
Cloudways sits between shared hosting and running your own server. You choose a cloud provider, they manage the server, and you get a panel for deploying and maintaining sites on it.
You are renting a managed virtual server rather than a slot on a shared machine, which is why performance is closer to premium managed hosting at a fraction of the price.
It is where most of my client sites live. The panel asks slightly more of you than Kinsta's, and the price difference across ten sites is substantial.
What it does
Server-level caching through their stack is properly fast, and you can turn on object caching for WooCommerce or membership sites where it makes a real difference.
Staging environments, one-click cloning and automated backups cover the maintenance workflow, though less elegantly than WP Engine's.
Scaling is genuine: you resize the server when traffic grows rather than moving host or hitting a visit limit and paying overage.
The trade-off is that you are exposed to a few more concepts: server versus application, PHP versions, cron jobs, and the fact that email hosting is not included and never will be.
Who it's for
Features
Pros and cons
Pricing
| PLAN | WHAT YOU GET | WORTH IT FOR |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest DigitalOcean or Vultr server | One or two small sites. | Freelancers and single business sites. Start here. |
| Mid-size servers | Several sites or one busy site. | Agencies and growing businesses. |
| Larger and AWS or Google tiers | High traffic and demanding applications. | Businesses with real scale. |
| Add-ons | Backups, monitoring and email add to the base cost. | Budget for these. |
Priced on server size plus a management fee, with backups and add-ons separate. Ten sites on one mid-size server is where the economics become compelling.
The smallest DigitalOcean or Vultr server to start, resized upwards when performance data says to. Add their backup service; do not skip it.
Alternatives
My verdict
Cloudways is the best value in this category and it is what I use for most client work. Performance close to premium managed hosting, real scaling, no visit limits, and several sites on one server that would each cost more individually elsewhere.
The price of that value is a panel that expects you to understand the difference between a server and an application. That is a small learning cost and it is not zero, and it is the reason I still send non-technical clients to Kinsta.
Buy their backup service. The one thing you should never economise on is the ability to undo a bad afternoon.
Try Cloudways →Who should use it
Who should avoid it
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Affiliate disclosure
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the price you pay. It also does not decide what appears on this page: I recommend tools with no affiliate programme just as readily, and leave off tools with generous ones when they do not deserve the space.