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Cloudways Reviews: 4.7/5 — Highly Rated
Cloudways is a managed hosting provider that focuses on performance and simplicity. Whether you need simple server and application launches, or ongoing server maintenance, Couldways is built to simplify the whole process of server management to support business growth thanks to its powerful suite of tools and services that can help manage your eCommerce stores and business sites. It also underscores user options–from cloud providers and hosting.
| Capabilities |
API
CLI
|
|---|---|
| Segment |
Small Business
Mid Market
Enterprise
|
| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based |
| Support | 24/7 (Live rep), Chat, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
Cloudways Pros and Cons
- Option to add as many website installations as you want
- Server speed is faster than competition
- Pay as you go pricing plan
- Managed app option with database backups
- No root access or server modifications
- Add ons require additional cost
- Inability to use Plesk or cPanel
Cloudways includes unlimited websites and unlimited visits on every plan, starting at $14 a month. That is the whole proposition, and it is a genuine outlier. Kinsta’s entry plan is $35 a month for one WordPress install with 20 GB of bandwidth; Cloudways’ $14 Micro server carries no install cap at all and 1 TB of transfer. You are renting a server rather than buying licensed slots, and the difference in what that gets you is substantial.
- What it is: Managed cloud hosting for WordPress, Magento, Laravel and PHP, on your choice of cloud provider.
- Best for: Agencies and developers hosting many sites who want managed infrastructure without per-site licensing.
- Pricing: From $14 a month for 1 GB RAM, rising to $99 for 8 GB. Verified July 2026.
- The honest catch: Server resources are the real limit — unlimited sites still share one server’s RAM.
What Is Cloudways?
Cloudways is a managed hosting layer that sits on top of cloud providers rather than running its own metal. You choose the provider and the server type — Basic, General Purpose or CPU Optimized; Standard or Premium — and Cloudways manages the stack, now branded Lightning Stack.
Two product lines sit side by side: Cloudways Flexible, the customisable managed hosting reviewed here, and Cloudways Autonomous, a fully managed autoscaling WordPress product for high-traffic ecommerce and LMS sites.
There is a free trial with no credit card required.
How Cloudways Works
- Server size is the meter — RAM, vCPU, storage and bandwidth.
- Websites and visits are unlimited on every plan.
- Billing is hourly, with a monthly figure shown alongside.
- Offsite backup storage costs $0.033 per GB per server.
- You choose the cloud provider and server class.
- All listed prices exclude tax.
Cloudways Pricing
Captured from Cloudways’ pricing page in July 2026 in US dollars, on DigitalOcean Standard servers.
| Plan | Monthly | Hourly | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Per GB RAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | $14 | $0.0208 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB NVMe | 1 TB | $14.00 |
| Small | $28 | $0.0417 | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB NVMe | 2 TB | $14.00 |
| Medium | $54 | $0.0804 | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB NVMe | 4 TB | $13.50 |
| Large | $99 | $0.1473 | 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB NVMe | 5 TB | $12.38 |
Every plan: Lightning Stack, unlimited visits, unlimited websites.
What actually decides your cost:
- Unlimited websites is the reason to be here. Managed WordPress hosts almost universally meter installs — Kinsta allows one at $35 a month and forty at $450. Cloudways allows as many as your server can run, at $14. For an agency with twenty small client sites, that difference is the entire business case.
- The real constraint moves from licences to resources. Unlimited sites on 1 GB of RAM is unlimited in the licensing sense only. What you are actually buying is a server, and twenty WordPress sites on a Micro will perform accordingly. Size by expected load, not by site count.
- The volume discount is real but modest. Cost per GB of RAM runs $14.00, $14.00, $13.50 and $12.38 across the four sizes — about 12% better at the top than the bottom, and no improvement at all from Micro to Small. Compare that with the flat-rate hosts reviewed here, where the per-unit price never moves at any size.
- Check how the hourly rate resolves against a full month. The published hourly figures correspond to the monthly price divided by 672 hours, a 28-day month — $0.0208 × 672 is $13.98, and the same holds for all four sizes. A 30-day month is 720 hours and a 31-day month 744, so confirm with Cloudways whether the monthly figure is a cap or whether a full month bills above it.
- Backups are an add-on. Offsite backup storage is charged at $0.033 per GB per server. On a 160 GB Large server that is a small but non-zero line, and it is separate from the storage included in the plan.
- Prices exclude tax, which the page states plainly. For EU buyers that is a meaningful addition to compare against gross-quoting competitors.
Who Should Use Cloudways
- Agencies hosting client sites. The clearest case — one server, many sites, no per-install licence.
- Developers running multiple projects. Laravel, Magento and PHP alongside WordPress on the same platform.
- Businesses wanting cloud choice. Pick the provider and server class rather than accepting one stack.
- Anyone testing before committing. A free trial with no credit card.
It fits poorly for people who want one high-performance site with dedicated support, where Kinsta or WP Engine invest more per site; for teams wanting a fully hands-off product, which is what Cloudways Autonomous exists for; and for buyers who need certainty on monthly cost before understanding hourly billing.
Honest Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Unlimited websites and unlimited visits on every plan, from $14.
- 1 TB of transfer bandwidth even on the entry server.
- Choice of cloud provider and server class.
- NVMe storage across the range.
- A free trial with no credit card.
- A real, if modest, volume discount — 12% better per GB at the top.
Limitations
- Unlimited sites still share one server’s RAM.
- No per-GB improvement from Micro to Small.
- Offsite backups cost $0.033 per GB on top.
- Hourly rates imply a 28-day month — confirm whether monthly is a cap.
- Prices exclude tax.
- Support and tuning are lighter than dedicated managed-WordPress hosts.
Cloudways Alternatives and How It Compares
- Kinsta and WP Engine are the premium managed-WordPress hosts, metering installs but investing more per site.
- Flywheel targets designers and agencies with a similar philosophy to Kinsta.
- SiteGround and A2 Hosting sit in the mid-market with simpler shared plans.
- Hostinger and DreamHost compete at the budget end.
- Liquid Web offers managed VPS and dedicated infrastructure.
- DigitalOcean directly, if you are willing to manage the stack yourself.
For a broader survey, browse our cloud hosting directory.
The Verdict
Cloudways answers a question the managed-WordPress market mostly refuses to: what if you just rented a server and put as many sites on it as it could handle? Unlimited websites and unlimited visits on every plan, starting at $14 a month with 1 TB of transfer, is a fundamentally different proposition from hosts that license installs. Against Kinsta’s $35 entry plan for a single WordPress site with 20 GB of bandwidth, the contrast is stark — and for an agency carrying twenty small client sites, it is the whole argument.
The honest counterweight is that “unlimited” describes licensing, not physics. Twenty sites on a 1 GB Micro server will perform like twenty sites on a 1 GB server, and the skill Cloudways asks of you is sizing by real load rather than by site count. That is a fair trade for the price, but it does move a responsibility onto you that premium managed hosts absorb — which is also why their per-site investment, support depth and tuning tend to be greater.
Two commercial details to settle before you commit. The published hourly rates work out to the monthly price divided by 672 hours — a 28-day month — so $0.0208 × 672 gives $13.98 against the $14 headline, and the same relationship holds at every size. Real months run 720 to 744 hours, so ask Cloudways directly whether the monthly figure is a cap or whether a full month bills above it. And offsite backup storage is $0.033 per GB per server, separate from the NVMe storage in the plan, with all prices excluding tax. The volume discount, meanwhile, is modest but genuine: $14.00 per GB of RAM at Micro and Small, falling to $12.38 at Large — roughly 12%, which is more than several flat-rate competitors offer at any size.
FAQ
How much does Cloudways cost?
Captured in July 2026 in US dollars on DigitalOcean Standard servers, excluding tax: Micro $14 a month for 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB NVMe storage and 1 TB bandwidth; Small $28 for 2 GB; Medium $54 for 4 GB; and Large $99 for 8 GB. Every plan includes unlimited websites and unlimited visits. Offsite backup storage costs an additional $0.033 per GB per server.
Does Cloudways limit how many websites I can host?
No. Unlimited websites and unlimited visits appear on every plan, including the $14 Micro server. The practical limit is server resources rather than licensing — the sites you host share the RAM, CPU and storage of the plan you buy — so size the server by expected traffic and application load rather than by how many sites you intend to run.
Is Cloudways billed hourly or monthly?
Both figures appear. Each plan shows a monthly price and an hourly rate, and the hourly rate corresponds to the monthly price divided by 672 hours — a 28-day month. Since real months run 720 to 744 hours, it is worth confirming with Cloudways whether the monthly figure acts as a cap or whether a full month of hourly billing can exceed it.
Cloudways or Kinsta?
They solve different problems. Cloudways rents you a managed server with unlimited sites from $14 a month, putting resource-sizing in your hands. Kinsta licenses WordPress installs — one at $35, forty at $450 — with more per-site tuning, support and infrastructure investment. Choose Cloudways for many small sites at low cost, and Kinsta for fewer sites where performance and support matter more than price per site.
Does Cloudways include backups?
Not offsite ones at no charge. The pricing page notes that “$0.033/GB per server will be applied for offsite backup storage”, so backup retention is a separate usage-based line on top of the plan. The NVMe storage listed against each plan — 25 GB to 160 GB — is the server’s own disk rather than backup capacity.
Compare Cloudways with other popular tools in the same category.
Simple dashboard, Easy To Use, easy to manage Function, 1 click server cloning and server migration without Complex process. Cloud Server vertical scaling, flexible and scalable features, multiple cloud service Providers in Single Dashboard
One the Most Dislike about cloudways No emails included,lack of a cpanel, Downsizing a server possible only Server cloning. and Cloudways Pricing More then Other Hosting Companies. But Overall cloudways is Good.
Staging Facility for New Theme and Plugin Testing. Quality Service with quality support and Easy To Use. One click Installation. Server vertical scaling. Auto Load Balancer.
The migration from another server was a breeze and the best experience I have had with a server. I love the ease of use, admin panel and flexible pricing for growth. My developer thought it would serve us better and IT HAS! My page speed insights have vastly improved!
Nothing so far. Maybe your SEO! I wish you had ranked for BEST SERVER FOR WORDPRESS when i was researching! (Maybe you do now!)
Site speed, DNS
Well managed servers and reliable with high security
Till now we didn't face any issue with cloudways we are satisfied
Managed server was perfectly done for our platform
supported PHP applications Magento, Prestashop, Drupal, Joomla, 24/7 live expert support, supporting entrepreneurship beyond borders.
The Cloudways dashboard and functionality is sophisticated.
Free and Simple WordPress migrator plugin, free managed migration By Support Staff.
I like the export feature a lot it's realy easy to migrate the website to cloudways
Maybe the pricing is a little steap. But nothing much.
Manged hosting so i don't have to do all the work
Lots of different plans to choose from, so I could find one that fit my needs and budget. Very easy to set-up my online server, there are step by step instructions that are easy to follow. I also like that all the information I need to work with my FTP is easy to find and to copy and paste (host, uername, password). Whenever there is some new task I must do I can always find instructions or support to make it easy to do. My website is always running and I've never had anytime it was down. I'm not a very technical person, I created my own website (I'm not a professional web designer) and using cloudways has been easy for me and hasn't presented me with any difficulties so far. My website runs so well I don't really need to access my cloudways acount very often, since it seems once it's set up there isn't much to do. I use Joomla for my site and Cloudways is totally compatible with the platform and doesn't give me any bugs or problems. Since my website runs so well I don't need to frequent my Cloudways account very often, only recently I had to update the PHP and the process went easy and smooth.
I honestly haven't had a negative experience with Cloudways yet, and I'm not really a very technical person and I simply can't find any faults with the service.
They updated their PHP so I could continue to use Joomla. They are also keeping in step with all Joomla Updates.
The user interface for Cloudways makes setting up a Wordpress or other PHP based websites easy. Having LetsEncrypt built-in to the system is a huge plus for quickly getting an SSL site off the ground. Page load and response times are great, much better than shared hosting.
No email, but that isn't a big problem as it makes more sense these days to use an email provider.
Fast creation of sites, fast page loads. Not having to deal with cPanel or Plesk.
I know I'll get someone right away and be helped.
There isn't anything I dislike about cloudways
All of it. I had so many issues with hosting and they fixed it.
That you don't have to manage your own Server and get it updated yourself. They do it for you. So far I had hardly any downtime. Features are easy to access and control. The web integration is done well.
Because I am not a server admin, some settings are unavailable directly. In that case, you have to go through customer service
We needed a platform to run 2 e-commerce platforms. The problem was always speed. They are doing a good job including CDN and all the different caching to make the sites run smooth
Cloudways' most important benefit is its user-friendly control panel which is easy to use and implement. It doesn't require much technical know-how to work with its platform. Also, the best about Cloudways is that it provides a range of reliable cloud vendors, like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean. This versatility allows individuals to select the cloud infrastructure that is best suited to their particular needs. Cloudways provides a great 24/7 Customer support
Although Cloudways' pricing is competitive, it might not be the most budget-friendly choice for small sites or personal assignments. Individuals need to consider their hosting budget and prerequisites. Cloudways concentrates on web hosting, however, it doesn't provide email hosting. Individuals might need to find independent email hosting options, which may be less hassle-free.
Cloudways is a trustworthy as well as user-friendly managed cloud hosting program that helps us easily manage the servers for our site. It helps us boost the speed of our site to a great level as compared to shared hosting, which we used earlier. Cloudways helps us in reducing the bounce rate of our site and increases the ROI of our digital marketing campaign.
I've used many hosting providers and Cloudways is by far the best so far. I like the ease of creating a staging environment. Not forgetting how you can add different features to your server based on your requirements.
Not found any dislikes yet. Hopefully it will stay that way.
They make it easy to set up a server and quickly deploy different applications.
Excellentes performances pour le prix. Très bon support pour la migration et le soutien technique
Interface utilisateur légèrement difficile à utiliser pour les néophytes
Migration de l'ancien site web vers Cloudways
The support team is PHENOMENAL! They're so helpful and knowledgeable. Theres very little downtime with the servers but in the few times that they have been, the team is quick to help me rectify the issue
The billing cycle is weird. I wish I could have my own single preferred billing date for every month.
Hosting websites I build for myself and clients
We are able to spin up a WordPress server in minutes. We can customize each WordPress server to the needs of the client. We can scale and add resources very quickly or instantly in some cases. We can report on server health. WordPress instance is usually very fast - faster than previous server environments. Migration to a Cloudways server is very quick and easy with their plugin. Support and documentation is top notch.
The email option with Elastic could be improved - albeit it still works well when it's setup properly. I'd like to see more pre-approved add-ons like reporting, site analysis, and potentially auto-AI server optimization. I think the cost for auto-update plugins is a little expensive but it is worth it for certain clients, but not all.
Am able to host multiple clients while adding individual resources to them in a cost effective way.
Very straightforward interface with lots of user autonomy to manage server.
I have't experienced any difficulties with Cloudways.
Cloudways allows my agency to host our clients websites for an affordable rate while providing fast load times and backups.
Cloud ways is very easy to use but it's very stable in my opinion and had no issues with it
Price is reasonable but could be a bit lower
I haven't had any problems with it
Scalability, management platform options.
The only thing is no integrated Mail like cPanel.
Realiable WordPress hosting platform. Better uptime!
I like to scale my servers as I need. The interface is easy to use and the support is absolutely amazing.
I have nothing bad to say about Cloudways product or support. It's the best from any hosting service I've ever used. I do wish they offered free email hosting like other vendors, but not having that is a small price to pay due to the speed of servers and support.
Updates and new features are frequent on the platform. Being able to scale or autoscale servers is huge for me. The ease of doing this along with exceptional add-ons on Wordpress keep me with the company.
Price, speed, support and all the interface that I use to manage my server
Actually I dont have any negative feedback about cloudways..
I solving high prices from other providers and keeping my websites up all time
It is so easy to spin up a new application, like a WordPress site, and even a completely new server. Literally just a few clicks and 15 minutes of waiting.
There are email add-ons, very resonably priced and they work well, but if you want email servers, they don't have it. :(
The biggeset issue at first was getting off a shared server. Bluehost would not do anything about the spammers on the shared server, bringing down the reputation. The next issue was cost savings. Then there is the ease of use. Spinning up a new server, or a new application is cake. I create short lived websites a few times a year. It's so nice that I can just pop them up in only 15 minutes, toss on a WP theme, then let the client know we're ready for content.
I like that Cloudways offers different amounts of memory, power, and bandwidths. Plus, the standard cloud-based hosting plan has an impressive selection of options to suit any customer's needs.
There's nothing not to like about Cloudways, it's one of the best options for a reliable host server that offers great pricing and plugin options, with awesome site functionality.
Since we use Cloudways, we have the ability to keep users online, it allows us to use WordPress tools to design and configure our site to ensure loading speed and maintain security.
I have a dedicated account manager, which is a real bonus. Also, can access support via chat or email & the response is always fast and more comprehensive than I've experienced with any other host.
More technical understanding is required, but on the plus side, the support is there and the it always involves learning around an issue, rather than simply answering the exact question. Sometimes I don;t know what the exact question is, but the support so helpful!
The retail websites are running much faster and don't crash, which was happening on the previous company's shared hosting platform.
I like that this tool integrates strong caching and security tools, which makes it a very user-friendly application. I love that it's very easy to create and manage multiple servers, as well as create cross-server staging sites. Also, their pricing structure is absolutely wonderful.
There is a learning curve when using cloud services, but it's nothing to write home about. I am really very satisfied with this tool, I love the overall simplicity of the platform and they have super fast, responsive and really helpful support.
This tool allows you to deploy cloud hosting servers quickly and easily. It offers a great way to move your website, with the help of its migration plugin and of course because the speed is very good. Allows you to see increased performance and speed when migrating sites.
Excellent service provides quality hosting that everything works well and the administration panel is good and fast support through chat. I like all those things in addition to the security and its backup features.
It seems to me that it is a bit expensive despite what it offers.
It is a service that solves problems with the speed of the webistes and, in addition to being of high quality, simplifies hosting or management and coding and allows good traffic and improvements in the workflow.
One of the reasons why I like Cloudways is because of the speed in all aspects, especially the speed of loading the website and access speed through the 'back-end', incredibly fast.
I have nothing negative to say about Cloudways, it is a tool that is very committed to the web hosting service they provide. Also, I don't think I've ever experienced such amazing customer service as I've received here.
I was looking for a platform that I could trust and have my websites with high traffic volume. With Cloudways I got to the right site, it has benefited hosting my sites, and makes it easy to manage old files on the server.
I like that it simplifies all the work in the cloud because its servers are high speed and we were able to migrate our websites to improve speed and stability. I also liked the price and storage.
Only the contorl panel is a bit confusing and the email service is additional and has a separate cost.
It is definitely a solution that offers good features and solves hosting problem for our websites for example WordPress hosting, VPS and everything related to the cloud.
I'ts an amazing hosting service that I liked because it's easy to use and set up and I can personally say that the built-in features to process work are amazing and the price is affordable.
I have not had a problem but some colleagues claim to have a problem with the VPS.
We are enjoying this solution to get servers up and running in minutes and it benefits us with fast page loading and no issues so far.
Well I could say that it is a fantastic and important tool for us but I liked how easy it is to understand and that the load times are much shorter that before and on the other hand the storage is safe.
It's amazing and modern and I don't see anything negative about it.
It was a good decision to go for this realiable cloud VPS software and it benefits us a lot and solves security and hosting problems and in terms of price it is very low.
I like that we can access it from anywhere so it gives us the freedom to stay connected and working. In addition, if a problem occurs, the technician can find the solution in an efficient and timely manner.
We have not had any problems and there is really nothing to dislike about it. The best thing about the system is that it's a portable desktop wherever you are!
During the pandemic Cloudways was the complete solution to work from anywhere. In addition, the system is always active, they make the backup copies and handle the email! y I appreciate that communication is constantly updated when there are outages.
I like that the services they offers as hosting service providers are very well known and famous, thats why they caught my attention. In addition, the experience in site migration is excellent and its interface is pleasant. Everything about Cloudways is wonderful.
I only have one particular complaints, for example the plans seem expensive to me, that's the only thing.
We had no problems but we needed an external cloud service to migrate our sites and acquire some VPS and everything has gone very well as hosting and we have been able to keep the servers afloat.