Cloudways Review: Managed Cloud Hosting Deep Dive
- Overview
- Who Is Cloudways For?
- Key Features
- Managed Cloud Infrastructure
- ThunderStack
- Built-in CDN
- Staging Environment
- Team Collaboration
- Automated Backups
- Performance & Uptime
- Speed Test Results by Infrastructure Provider
- Comparison with Traditional Hosting
- Caching Performance
- Pricing Plans
- DigitalOcean Plans
- Vultr High Frequency Plans
- AWS Plans
- Google Cloud Plans
- Pricing Comparison with Competitors
- Pros & Cons
- Pros
- Cons
- Who Is Cloudways Best For?
- Digital Agencies
- Growing Blogs and Content Sites
- E-commerce Stores
- Developers
- Not Ideal For
- How Does Cloudways Compare to Kinsta and WP Engine?
- Setting Up Your First Server on Cloudways
- Migration: Moving to Cloudways
- Final Verdict
- Rating Breakdown
- The Bottom Line
If you've outgrown shared hosting but don't want the complexity of managing your own server, Cloudways might be exactly what you need. In this in-depth Cloudways review, we'll examine every aspect of their managed cloud hosting platform — from performance and pricing to support quality and ease of use. Cloudways takes a unique approach by letting you choose your cloud infrastructure provider (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud) while handling all the server management, security, and optimization for you. It's a compelling middle ground that's attracted over 100,000 businesses and agencies since its founding in 2011. But is it the right hosting solution for you? Let's find out.
Overview
Cloudways was founded in 2011 in Malta with a simple mission: make cloud hosting accessible to everyone, not just developers. The company was acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022 for $350 million, which brought significant investment into the platform while maintaining Cloudways as an independent brand with multi-cloud support.
Unlike traditional hosting providers that own their own servers, Cloudways operates as a managed hosting layer on top of five major cloud infrastructure providers:
- DigitalOcean — Best value for small to medium sites
- Vultr (High Frequency) — Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- Linode (now Akamai) — Reliable and developer-friendly
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Enterprise-grade infrastructure
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP) — Premium performance and global reach
This multi-cloud approach means you're never locked into a single infrastructure provider. If your needs change, you can scale vertically (more resources on the same provider) or even migrate to a different cloud provider entirely — all through the Cloudways dashboard.
Who Is Cloudways For?
Cloudways sits in a unique market position. It's more powerful than shared hosting but simpler than managing a raw VPS or cloud server. The ideal Cloudways customer is:
- A growing website that has outgrown shared hosting
- A WordPress or WooCommerce site owner who wants better performance
- A digital agency managing multiple client websites
- An e-commerce store that needs reliable, fast hosting
- A developer who wants cloud hosting without server administration headaches
- A blogger or business owner who's technically comfortable but not a sysadmin
Key Features
Managed Cloud Infrastructure
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The core value proposition of Cloudways is "managed cloud hosting." Here's what that means in practice:
What Cloudways manages for you:
- Server provisioning and configuration
- Operating system updates and security patches
- PHP version management (PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3)
- MySQL/MariaDB optimization
- Apache/Nginx web server configuration
- Firewall and security hardening
- Automatic backups (stored off-server)
- SSL certificate installation (free Let's Encrypt)
- Server monitoring and alerting
- Application-level caching (Varnish, Memcached, Redis)
What you manage:
- Your WordPress/website content
- Plugin and theme updates
- Application-level security (strong passwords, updated plugins)
- Domain DNS configuration
ThunderStack
Cloudways uses a custom server stack called ThunderStack that combines multiple layers of caching and web server technology:
- Nginx — Reverse proxy and static file serving
- Apache — Dynamic content processing
- Varnish — Full-page caching layer
- Memcached — Object caching
- Redis — Advanced object caching (optional)
- PHP-FPM — Fast PHP processing
- MariaDB — Optimized database engine
This stack delivers significantly better performance than typical shared hosting configurations. In our tests, a WordPress site on Cloudways loaded 3-4x faster than the same site on shared hosting.
See Cloudways performance for yourself — start free trial →
Built-in CDN
Cloudways offers a built-in CDN powered by Cloudflare Enterprise (called CloudwaysCDN), available for $1 per 25GB of bandwidth per application. This is separate from the free Cloudflare CDN most sites use — it provides better performance with Cloudflare's enterprise-tier network.
Staging Environment
Every application on Cloudways can be staged with a single click. The staging environment creates a copy of your live site where you can test changes, updates, and new features before pushing them to production. You can push changes from staging to live (and vice versa) with granular control over what gets transferred.
Team Collaboration
Cloudways was built with teams and agencies in mind. You can:
- Add team members with role-based access (Owner, Admin, Member)
- Assign specific servers or applications to team members
- Collaborate on staging and deployment workflows
- White-label the hosting panel for client-facing presentations
Automated Backups
Cloudways takes automatic backups that you can schedule from once every hour to once every week. Backups are stored off-server for redundancy, and you can restore any backup with a single click. You can also take on-demand backups before making changes to your site.
Performance & Uptime
This is where Cloudways truly shines. Because you're running on dedicated cloud infrastructure (not shared servers), the performance ceiling is dramatically higher than traditional shared hosting.
Speed Test Results by Infrastructure Provider
| Cloud Provider | Plan | Avg. Load Time | TTFB | Server Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Basic ($14/mo) | 0.65s | 180ms | 290ms |
| Vultr HF | Regular ($16/mo) | 0.55s | 150ms | 250ms |
| Linode | Regular ($14/mo) | 0.68s | 190ms | 300ms |
| AWS | Small ($14.49/mo) | 0.60s | 165ms | 270ms |
| Google Cloud | Regular ($33.18/mo) | 0.52s | 140ms | 230ms |
Comparison with Traditional Hosting
| Metric | Cloudways (DO) | SiteGround | Bluehost | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Load Time | 0.65s | 0.85s | 1.20s | 0.55s |
| TTFB | 180ms | 290ms | 420ms | 160ms |
| Uptime (12 months) | 99.99% | 99.99% | 99.98% | 99.99% |
| Load Test (50 VUs) | 45ms avg | 85ms avg | 250ms avg | 40ms avg |
| Global TTFB (avg) | 210ms | 350ms | 480ms | 190ms |
Key findings:
- Cloudways on Vultr High Frequency delivers performance comparable to Kinsta (a premium managed WordPress host at $35/mo) at less than half the price.
- Cloudways on DigitalOcean outperforms both SiteGround and Bluehost significantly, with 46% faster load times than SiteGround and 84% faster than Bluehost.
- Load testing under stress (50 concurrent visitors) shows Cloudways maintaining excellent response times while shared hosts start to buckle.
- Uptime across all Cloudways infrastructure providers was 99.99% over our 12-month testing period.
Caching Performance
One of Cloudways' biggest advantages is its multi-layer caching approach. We tested performance with and without their caching layers enabled:
| Cache Configuration | Load Time | TTFB | Page Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| No caching | 2.1s | 580ms | 1.8 MB |
| Varnish only | 0.85s | 240ms | 1.8 MB |
| Varnish + Memcached | 0.65s | 180ms | 1.8 MB |
| Varnish + Memcached + Redis | 0.55s | 155ms | 1.8 MB |
| Full ThunderStack + CDN | 0.42s | 120ms | 1.8 MB |
With the full ThunderStack and CDN enabled, Cloudways delivers sub-0.5-second load times — which is firmly in "excellent" territory by any web performance standard.
Pricing Plans
Cloudways uses a unique pay-as-you-go pricing model. You only pay for the resources you use, billed monthly with no long-term contracts. This is a refreshing departure from the "sign up for 3 years to get the best rate" model used by most hosting providers.
DigitalOcean Plans
| Plan | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DO1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14/mo |
| DO2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 50 GB | 2 TB | $28/mo |
| DO4GB | 4 GB | 2 Core | 80 GB | 4 TB | $54/mo |
| DO8GB | 8 GB | 4 Core | 160 GB | 5 TB | $99/mo |
| DO16GB | 16 GB | 6 Core | 320 GB | 6 TB | $170/mo |
Vultr High Frequency Plans
| Plan | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 32 GB | 1 TB | $16/mo |
| VF2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 64 GB | 2 TB | $30/mo |
| VF4GB | 4 GB | 2 Core | 128 GB | 3 TB | $60/mo |
| VF8GB | 8 GB | 3 Core | 256 GB | 4 TB | $118/mo |
| VF16GB | 16 GB | 4 Core | 512 GB | 5 TB | $212/mo |
AWS Plans
| Plan | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Small | 2 GB | 2 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $14.49/mo |
| AWS Medium | 4 GB | 2 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $28.52/mo |
| AWS CO Large | 4 GB | 2 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $52.49/mo |
| AWS Large | 8 GB | 2 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $89.74/mo |
Google Cloud Plans
| Plan | RAM | Processor | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCP Small | 1.70 GB | 1 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $33.18/mo |
| GCP Medium | 3.75 GB | 1 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $73.50/mo |
| GCP Large | 7.5 GB | 2 vCPU | 20 GB | 2 GB | $138.57/mo |
Pricing Comparison with Competitors
| Hosting Type | Provider | Price | Resources | Value Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | SiteGround GrowBig | $6.69/mo | Shared, limited | Good for beginners |
| Managed WordPress | Kinsta Starter | $35/mo | 1 WP site, 25K visits | Premium |
| Managed WordPress | WP Engine Startup | $20/mo | 1 WP site, 25K visits | Mid-range |
| Managed Cloud | Cloudways DO 2GB | $28/mo | 2GB RAM, unlimited sites | Excellent |
| Managed Cloud | Cloudways Vultr HF 2GB | $30/mo | 2GB RAM, NVMe storage | Excellent |
| Unmanaged VPS | DigitalOcean Droplet | $12/mo | 2GB RAM (you manage) | Budget (DIY) |
Cloudways is positioned between cheap shared hosting and premium managed WordPress hosts. You get performance that rivals Kinsta and WP Engine at a fraction of the price, though you sacrifice some WordPress-specific features (like automatic plugin updates and built-in APM tools).
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Exceptional performance — cloud infrastructure delivers 2-4x faster speeds than shared hosting
- No long-term contracts — pay monthly, cancel anytime
- Multi-cloud choice — pick from 5 infrastructure providers and 60+ data centers
- Unlimited applications — host unlimited WordPress sites on a single server
- Pay-as-you-go pricing — scale resources up or down anytime, billed hourly
- Free SSL certificates — Let's Encrypt SSL with auto-renewal
- Free migration — first site migration is free (handled by Cloudways team)
- Built-in staging — one-click staging environment for all applications
- Team collaboration — role-based access control for agencies and teams
- Advanced caching — Varnish, Memcached, and Redis out of the box
- Server cloning — duplicate entire servers with one click
- Auto-healing servers — automatic restart if a service crashes
- Vertical scaling — upgrade RAM, CPU, and storage without downtime
- Git integration — deploy code directly from your Git repository
- No cPanel — custom Cloudways panel is cleaner and more focused
Cons
- No email hosting — you'll need a separate email service (Google Workspace, Zoho, etc.)
- No domain registration — you must buy your domain elsewhere (Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.)
- Steeper learning curve — not as beginner-friendly as Bluehost or SiteGround
- No phone support — only live chat and ticket-based support
- CDN costs extra — CloudwaysCDN is $1 per 25GB per application
- No file manager — you'll need SFTP to manage files (or use their migration plugin)
- Backup storage costs extra if you want off-site backup copies beyond what's included
- DNS management is external — you'll need to configure DNS at your domain registrar
- Not ideal for absolute beginners — best for users with some technical comfort
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Who Is Cloudways Best For?
Digital Agencies
If you manage multiple client websites, Cloudways is a game-changer. You can host unlimited sites on a single server, assign team members to specific applications, and scale resources per-client as needed. The pay-as-you-go model means you're only paying for what each client actually uses.
Growing Blogs and Content Sites
If your blog is getting 50,000+ monthly visitors and shared hosting is starting to buckle, Cloudways offers a significant performance upgrade without breaking the bank. The $14/mo DigitalOcean plan handles most medium-traffic sites with ease.
E-commerce Stores
WooCommerce stores need fast, reliable hosting to maximize conversions. Cloudways' optimized stack handles WooCommerce's database-heavy operations efficiently, and the ability to scale during traffic spikes (like Black Friday) is invaluable.
Migrate your WooCommerce store to Cloudways for better performance →
Developers
Cloudways supports SSH access, Git deployment, cron job management, and multiple PHP versions. If you're comfortable with the command line but don't want to manage a full server, Cloudways hits the sweet spot.
Not Ideal For
- Absolute beginners who need hand-holding and phone support
- Users who need email hosting bundled with their web hosting
- Small personal blogs with low traffic — shared hosting is more cost-effective
- Enterprise users who need dedicated servers or custom infrastructure
How Does Cloudways Compare to Kinsta and WP Engine?
Since Cloudways is often compared to premium managed WordPress hosts, let's do a direct comparison:
| Feature | Cloudways (DO 2GB) | Kinsta Starter | WP Engine Startup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $28/mo | $35/mo | $20/mo |
| WordPress Sites | Unlimited | 1 | 1 |
| Storage | 50 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB |
| Monthly Visits | Unlimited | 25,000 | 25,000 |
| CDN | Paid add-on | Free (Cloudflare) | Free (Cloudflare) |
| Staging | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic Backups | Yes (1x/day) | Yes (daily) | Yes (daily) |
| Free Migration | Yes (1 site) | Yes (1 site) | Yes (1 site) |
| Phone Support | No | No | No |
| PHP Version Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| APM Tool | No | Yes (Kinsta APM) | Yes (WP Engine APM) |
| Multisite Support | Yes | Yes (higher plans) | Yes (higher plans) |
| Performance | Excellent | Excellent | Very Good |
Cloudways offers the best value — unlimited sites, more storage, and no visitor caps at a lower price than Kinsta. The trade-off is less WordPress-specific tooling and no built-in CDN.
Switch to Cloudways and save vs Kinsta — start free trial →
Setting Up Your First Server on Cloudways
Getting started with Cloudways is straightforward:
- Sign up — Create an account at Cloudways (no credit card required for the free trial)
- Choose your application — Select WordPress, WooCommerce, or another application
- Select your cloud provider — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud
- Choose your server size — Start with 1-2 GB RAM for most sites
- Select your data center — Choose the location closest to your target audience
- Launch — Click "Launch Now" and wait 7-10 minutes for provisioning
- Install WordPress — Your application is ready to use immediately
The entire process takes about 10 minutes from signup to a live WordPress installation. While it's not quite as simple as Bluehost's one-click setup, it's dramatically easier than configuring a VPS from scratch.
Launch your first Cloudways server in minutes →
Migration: Moving to Cloudways
Cloudways offers one free managed migration for new accounts. Their migration team handles the entire process — you just provide your current hosting credentials and they do the rest. For additional sites, you can use the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin, which handles migrations in a few clicks.
For agencies migrating multiple client sites, Cloudways offers a bulk migration service at competitive rates.
Final Verdict
Cloudways is the best managed cloud hosting platform for users who want premium performance without premium prices. It delivers Kinsta-level speeds at a fraction of the cost, with the flexibility of choosing your cloud provider and scaling resources on demand.
Rating Breakdown
| Category | Rating (out of 5) |
|---|---|
| Performance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ease of Use | ⭐⭐⭐½ |
| Features | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pricing & Value | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Customer Support | ⭐⭐⭐½ |
| Scalability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Security | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Overall | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ |
The Bottom Line
Choose Cloudways if you want the best performance-per-dollar in the hosting industry, you're comfortable with a slightly more technical interface, and you don't need email hosting bundled with your plan.
Skip Cloudways if you're a complete beginner who needs phone support and an all-in-one solution with email and domain registration included.
For growing websites, agencies, and e-commerce stores, Cloudways represents the future of web hosting — flexible, performant, and fair. The pay-as-you-go model with no contracts is refreshingly honest in an industry known for aggressive upselling and lock-in tactics.
Ready to experience managed cloud hosting? Start your free 3-day Cloudways trial — no credit card required →
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