Verdict in 30 Seconds
Pros
- Choice of 5 cloud providers
- Pay-as-you-go, no annual contracts
- Excellent performance at mid-range pricing
Cons
- No email hosting included
- No domain registration service
- More technical setup than traditional hosts
Cloudways offers managed cloud hosting with a twist, you choose the infrastructure (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud) and Cloudways handles the server management. Pay-as-you-go pricing with no long-term lock-in.
How We Rate Cloudways
Weighted score: 4/5. Our full methodology →
Key Features
- 5 Cloud Providers
- ThunderStack Cache
- Free SSL
- Staging Environment
- Team Collaboration
- 24/7 Monitoring
Pricing Breakdown
Plans and pricing as of our latest review. Always check the provider’s site for current rates.
DO1GB
$11/mo
- 1 GB RAM
- 25 GB storage
- 1 TB bandwidth
DO2GB
$24/mo
- 2 GB RAM
- 50 GB storage
- 2 TB bandwidth
DO4GB
$46/mo
- 4 GB RAM
- 80 GB storage
- 4 TB bandwidth
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Choice of 5 cloud providers
- Pay-as-you-go, no annual contracts
- Excellent performance at mid-range pricing
- Built-in caching, CDN, and free SSL
Cons
- No email hosting included
- No domain registration service
- More technical setup than traditional hosts
- Support quality varies by time of day
Who Cloudways Is For
Cloudways is best for flexible cloud hosting.
There's a free trial, so test it on a real project before you commit.
When to Choose Cloudways
Different tools suit different teams. Here’s where Cloudways fits best.
Developers and agencies who want cloud performance without sysadmin work
Pick your cloud provider, get a managed layer on top. The staging environment and one-click WordPress install save real time, and you're not babysitting a VPS. If you've outgrown shared hosting but don't want to hire a DevOps person, this is the middle path.
Growing ecommerce stores that need to scale
The pay-as-you-go model means you can bump server size when traffic spikes and scale back after. No annual contract, no overpaying for capacity you don't use year-round. The built-in caching handles WooCommerce traffic without breaking checkout.
Teams needing collaboration on hosting
The team features let you add users with restricted permissions, useful for agencies handing a client partial access. Combined with running multiple servers on one account, it's built for managing several sites at once.
How We Tested Cloudways
How it went
I spun up a DigitalOcean 2GB server, installed WordPress via the one-click app, configured a staging environment, and ran load tests with 50 concurrent users against a WooCommerce test store. I also tested the team collaboration features by adding a second user with restricted access. Setup is more technical than shared hosting, you're choosing server specs and regions, but the staging push-to-live workflow was clean and fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Cloudways actually do differently?
It's managed hosting on top of cloud infrastructure you pick, DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, or Linode. You get the performance of a cloud VPS without managing the server yourself, Cloudways handles security, updates, and the control panel. The trade-off is that it's more technical than cPanel-style shared hosting, and there's no email or domain registration included.
Is Cloudways cheap?
It starts at $11/mo on DigitalOcean, which is fair for managed cloud hosting, but that's a small server. A realistic site with decent traffic sits on the $24-46 tiers. The advantage is pay-as-you-go with no annual contract, so you're not locked in. For a developer or a growing site that's outgrown shared hosting, it's good value. For a beginner, the setup curve isn't worth it.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?
No. You'll need a separate email provider, Google Workspace or Zoho, adding roughly $1-6 per user per month. Same with domains, Cloudways doesn't sell or register them. If you want email bundled with hosting, SiteGround or Bluehost are the better fit. If you're fine managing email separately, this isn't a dealbreaker.
Final Verdict
If you've outgrown shared hosting but don't want to babysit a VPS, Cloudways is the middle path. Pick your cloud, they manage it, pay as you go. The setup is more technical than cPanel, and email isn't included, so factor that in.
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