Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting that runs your apps on DigitalOcean, Vultr, and more.
What is Cloudways?
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that runs applications on top of providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud without requiring server administration. It targets agencies, developers, and businesses wanting managed performance-focused hosting. Cloudways is a DigitalOcean company since 2022.
Best known for: Managed cloud hosting layered over DigitalOcean, Vultr, and other providers
Key features
- Managed hosting on multiple cloud providers
- One-click app and server setup
- Built-in caching and CDN
- Automated backups
- Free SSL and staging
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
Who Cloudways is best for
- Scalable WordPress and WooCommerce
- Agencies wanting cloud without DevOps
- Growing sites needing flexible resources
Ideal team: Small-to-mid teams and agencies comfortable with a managed layer over cloud VPS infrastructure.
Cloudways pricing
DigitalOcean 1GB
$11/flat / mo
- 1 GB RAM
- 25 GB storage
- Managed caching + backups
DigitalOcean 2GB
$14/flat / mo
- 2 GB RAM
- Handles ~50k visits/mo
- Free SSL + staging
DigitalOcean 4GB
$28/flat / mo
- 4 GB RAM
- Good for WooCommerce
- Autoscaling resources
Costs to watch before you commit
- Off-site backups, email add-on, and extra bandwidth billed separately
- No cPanel; custom dashboard has a learning curve
- Premium support tiers cost extra on top of the plan
Cloudways pros and cons
Pros
- Sits as a managed layer on top of real cloud infrastructure (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud), so you pick the provider and data-center region that fit your performance, geography, and budget rather than being locked into one host's stack.
- Server provisioning, OS and stack patching, security hardening, and daily automated backups are handled for you, which removes most of the sysadmin burden of running a raw VPS while still giving you root-level SSH/SFTP access.
- Strong performance-tuned stack out of the box, with server-level caching via Varnish, Redis, and Memcached plus a hybrid Nginx/Apache setup, so WordPress, WooCommerce, and other PHP apps tend to load fast without hand-tuning.
- Genuinely useful developer tooling: one-click staging environments, Git-based deployment, multiple PHP versions, and team member roles that let you grant collaborators or clients scoped access without sharing master credentials.
- Vertical scaling is fast and low-drama; you can bump a server's RAM and CPU in a few clicks with minimal downtime, which makes it easy to grow with traffic instead of migrating hosts.
- Transparent pay-as-you-go, no-contract billing with free managed migrations, so it's low-commitment to trial and you're not locked into an annual term.
Cons
- You pay a management premium on top of the underlying VPS, so a server that would cost a few dollars a month directly at DigitalOcean or Vultr costs noticeably more through Cloudways; it is not the cheapest way to run those exact servers.
- Email hosting is not included; you have to bolt on a paid add-on (or run email elsewhere like Google Workspace), which surprises people migrating from shared hosts where mailboxes come standard.
- The custom dashboard has a steeper learning curve than cPanel and no traditional control panel, so beginners and agencies with cPanel-trained staff face an adjustment period.
- Support quality is a recurring complaint, with users reporting slower first responses and more escalation friction for complex issues, a concern that grew louder after the DigitalOcean acquisition.
- It is PHP-centric; if you run Node.js, Python, Ruby, or other stacks natively, Cloudways is not designed for you, and total cost can creep once you stack on add-ons like premium CDN, extra backups, and support tiers.
Cloudways review: a closer look
Setup and day-to-day management
Launching a server is genuinely quick: you choose a cloud provider, server size, region, and application (say WordPress), and Cloudways provisions and configures the whole stack in a few minutes. Day-to-day management happens in a proprietary dashboard rather than cPanel, which trades familiarity for a cleaner separation of concerns, servers, applications, backups, and team access each get their own area. The learning curve is real for anyone coming from shared hosting, but once you understand the server-versus-application model, routine tasks like cloning to staging, adding an SSL, or restarting services are straightforward.
Performance and the caching stack
Performance is Cloudways' strongest selling point. The platform ships a tuned stack with Varnish, Redis, and Memcached alongside a hybrid Nginx/Apache configuration, and its Breeze plugin plus optional Cloudflare edge caching handle most WordPress speed needs without third-party tuning. In practice this means well-built sites load fast under normal traffic, though users running heavy WooCommerce stores or high-concurrency sites report that you still need to size the server appropriately, caching helps, but it does not erase the CPU limits of a small instance under real load.
Multi-cloud choice and scaling
The multi-cloud model is what sets Cloudways apart from single-stack managed WordPress hosts. You can run on DigitalOcean or Vultr for value, or on AWS and Google Cloud when a client demands a specific enterprise cloud or region, all from the same interface and workflow. Vertical scaling is a highlight: upgrading RAM and CPU is a near-instant, low-downtime operation. True horizontal autoscaling exists but lives in a separate, more advanced offering, so for most users growth means resizing the server rather than automatically spreading across many.
Developer workflow and ecosystem
For developers and agencies, Cloudways covers the essentials: SSH and SFTP access, Git deployment, one-click staging with push-to-live, selectable PHP versions, WP-CLI, and cron control. Team collaboration with role-based access is a real asset for agencies managing many client sites, letting you delegate without handing over the keys. The ecosystem is narrower than a big cloud's, however, one-click app support centers on PHP frameworks like WordPress, Magento, Laravel, and Drupal, and integrations lean on partners such as Cloudflare and New Relic rather than a sprawling native marketplace.
Reliability, backups, and value
Automated daily backups with one-click restore, on-demand backups, server monitoring, and a security baseline (firewalls, IP whitelisting, free SSL, two-factor auth) come as part of the managed service, which is where the premium over a bare VPS earns its keep. The honest value question is whether that convenience is worth paying meaningfully more than the raw provider price plus, potentially, add-ons for extra backup storage, premium CDN, and email. For teams that would otherwise hire or become a sysadmin, it usually is; for a hobbyist comfortable configuring a server themselves, the math is closer.
Who should use Cloudways?
A good fit
Cloudways is a strong fit for freelancers, agencies, and small-to-mid-sized businesses running WordPress, WooCommerce, or other PHP applications who want managed cloud hosting without becoming server administrators. It shines for agencies juggling multiple client sites that benefit from staging, Git deployment, team roles, and the ability to place each client on the most appropriate cloud and region. It also suits growing stores and content sites that expect traffic spikes and value fast vertical scaling and a performance-tuned caching stack over rock-bottom price.
Look elsewhere if…
If you want the absolute cheapest way to run a specific DigitalOcean or Vultr server and you are comfortable with the command line, skip the management premium and pair a raw VPS with a control panel like RunCloud or GridPane instead. If you run Node.js, Python, or Ruby rather than PHP, Cloudways is not built for you. And if you want white-glove, WordPress-only managed hosting with premium support and included email-adjacent tooling, weigh Kinsta or WP Engine, they cost more but offer a more polished, hand-held experience and support reputation that some teams will find worth the price.
The verdict
Cloudways occupies a smart middle ground: more power and control than shared hosting, far less maintenance than a raw VPS, and the flexibility to run on the cloud provider of your choice, all wrapped in a genuinely fast, well-cached stack. The trade-off is equally clear. You pay a management markup over the underlying server, email and some conveniences are paid add-ons, the dashboard asks you to unlearn cPanel, and support has drawn more criticism since the DigitalOcean acquisition. If you value convenience and multi-cloud flexibility over squeezing out the last dollar, and you live primarily in the PHP and WordPress world, Cloudways is one of the best-value managed cloud hosts available. Budget-conscious tinkerers and non-PHP developers, and teams that prioritize premium support above all, should map the full cost and consider the alternatives before committing.
Top Cloudways alternatives
Popular Web Hosting tools teams evaluate alongside Cloudways.
Rocket.netBlazing-fast managed WordPress hosting on Cloudflare's Enterprise network.
KinstaPremium managed WordPress hosting built on Google Cloud's fastest tier.
ScalaHostingManaged cloud VPS with the SPanel control panel as a cPanel alternative.
HostingerUltra-affordable hosting with a slick control panel and AI website builder.
DreamHostIndependent, privacy-friendly hosting with a generous money-back guarantee.