Cloudways is a systems integrator specializing in deploying solutions across various cloud platforms including Digital Ocean, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud. Their business model is unique, functioning as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) provider rather than a traditional web server host.
Good for: eCommerce, Enterprise, Managed WordPress, or Developers-friendly Hosting
Website: https://www.cloudways.com/en/
What We Think About Cloudways Hosting
Cloudways Pros
- Topnotch server uptime and speed performance
- Good abstration over complex cloud server setups with integrated dashboard
- Outstanding customer support
- High scalability
- Easy server cloning, site staging, and website transfer
- Host unlimited applications in one account
- 25% discount for first two months with coupon “HOSTSCORE”
Cloudways Cons
- Getting expensive – Prices increased steadily for the past few years
- Limited trial period
Cloudways – Our Experiences & Findings
| Performance | Cloudways comes with full-fledged server speed features including a built-in cache, free CDN, NVMe SSD storage, and pre-optimized WordPress environment. Their new Cloudflare Enterprise Add-on further expands performance features like Edge Page Caching, automatic image & mobile optimization, Brotli compression, PCI DSS Compliance, Argo Smart Routing. All these make Cloudways-hosted websites quicker and more efficient.
The company publishes their server and network service status publicly, click here to visit. |
| Security | Cloudways excels in security, offering top-notch measures to safeguard your website. Their platform boasts features like advanced web application firewall (WAF), free SSL, daily backup, to ensure your data remains secure and your site impervious to common cyber threats. |
| Supports | Cloudways offers customer support that is highly praised for its technical expertise and rapid response times, assisting users effectively with complex hosting issues. Help is avaliable via live chat and email. |
| Value for Money? | Cloudways is not cheap but reasonably priced when weighed against its feature offerings and long-term cost. The company is uniquely positioned as a premium, managed cloud hosting solution, offering more than basic infrastructure providers in terms of management and support, and more than traditional hosting in terms of performance and scalability. The premium you pay to Cloudways are for the value-added services and better performance you can’t get with other providers. |
| What Other Users Think? | Cloudways is considered by many the best hosting solution in the market.
Based on our collected data and market feedback, customers often highlight Cloudways for its excellent hosting performance, outstanding customer support, and impressive built-in features. Cloudways Support Team is highly regarded for their patience, quick response, and knowledge in resolving technical issues. Readers who need frequent technical help in hosting their websites should take note of this. |
| Suitable for Newbies? | We do not recommend Cloudways to smaller blogs or newbies. The platform does offer an easy-to-use integrated dashboard, managed security, and impressive performance – which all are great for those new to web hosting. However, it’s 100% – 150% more expensive than traditional shared hosting, which might be a consideration for those just starting out​ |
| Suitable for Small Business? | Cloudways is ideal for businesses requiring more than just an informational website, such as SaaS providers, startups, and online stores​. The service provides access to multiple cloud platforms, offers extreme scalability, and easy management via an integrated dashboard. These features are beneficial for small businesses that need reliable performance and the ability to scale as they grow. |
| Suitable for Web Developers? | Cloudways stands out as an excellent choice for web developers. It provides flexible cloud hosting and simplifies team collaboration; and you’ll benefit from managed security and white-label hosting options. Also, its scalability and quick response times are big pluses for larger projects and web development agencies. However, the pricing is slightly higher compared to unmanaged accounts from infrastructure providers; and the standard hosting plans does not support email hosting, which might be a limitation for some developers |
| Onboarding | The onboarding process for Cloudways is straightforward and user-friendly. The process begins with a selection from a variety of cloud providers (Digital Ocean, AWS, and Google Cloud), allowing users to customize their server resources according to their needs. This flexibility includes scaling server resources up or down as required, optimizing operational costs. Once you are in, everything from application installation to server launch and asking for technical supports is managed through a sleek user dashboard. |
Learn more, visit Cloudways online.
Cloudways Plans & Pricing
Cloudways works as a managed cloud hosting platform by offering a choice of top cloud infrastructure providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. Their service excels in boosting website performance and providing easy scalability – which is ideal for a range of users, from solo developers to large businesses. The combination of managed security, support, and user-friendly platform integration makes Cloudways a comprehensive and adaptable hosting solution.
When evaluating your options, it’s crucial to remember that many hosting companies offer substantial discounts during the initial signup period, but the pricing often increases significantly upon renewal. You should thoroughly research and compare the renewal prices, not just the introductory rates, to understand the true cost of hosting over an extended period.
To help you make a more informed decision, we have prepared two tables below which compare the initial signup and subsequent renewal costs of Cloudways services with several other providers that we actively monitor.
Review Cloudways Signup Price
| Web Host | Shared | VPS | Dedicated | Cloud | WordPress | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $11.00 – 1056.00/mo | $14.00 – 487.00/mo | $ – /mo |
| BlueHost | $2.95 – 13.95/mo | $29.99 – 69.99/mo | $89.98 – 139.99/mo | $ – /mo | $2.95 – 13.95/mo | $ – /mo |
| Hostens | $1.00 – 4.00/mo | $5.25 – 21.00/mo | $49.99 – 89.99/mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $13.13 – 52.50/mo |
| Hostinger | $2.49 – 8.99/mo | $5.99 – 17.99/mo | $ – /mo | $8.99 – 29.99/mo | $2.49 – 8.99/mo | $ – /mo |
| Hostgator | $3.75 – 6.25/mo | $34.99 – 93.99/mo | $89.98 – 139.99/mo | $4.50 – 13.95/mo | $4.50 – 13.95/mo | $4.76 – 14.36/mo |
| Vice Temple | $3.75 – 44.00/mo | $28.00 – 418.00/mo | $165.00 – 2420.00/mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo |
Review Cloudways Renewal Price
| Web Host | Shared | VPS | Dedicated | Cloud | WordPress | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $11.00 – 1056.00/mo | $14.00 – 487.00/mo | $ – /mo |
| BlueHost | $11.99 – 28.99/mo | $79.99 – 142.99/mo | $179.99 – 259.99/mo | $ – /mo | $11.99 – 28.99/mo | $ – /mo |
| Hostens | $4.00 – 16.00/mo | $7.50 – 30.00/mo | $49.99 – 89.99/mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $18.75 – 75.00/mo |
| Hostinger | $11.99 – 24.99/mo | $13.99 – 49.99/mo | $ – /mo | $24.99 – 64.99/mo | $11.99 – 24.99/mo | $ – /mo |
| Hostgator | $9.99 – 19.99/mo | $79.95 – 149.95/mo | $179.99 – 279.00/mo | $8.95 – 17.95/mo | $8.95 – 17.95/mo | $12.99 – 21.99/mo |
| Vice Temple | $3.75 – 44.00/mo | $28.00 – 418.00/mo | $165.00 – 2420.00/mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo | $ – /mo |
Bottomline: Is Cloudways Right for You?
As a managed cloud hosting platform, Cloudways is recognized for its exceptional hosting performance and customer support. The support team is 24/7 ready to spoon-feed users with comprehensive solutions to almost any problems they might have. And the scalability in terms of both server power and data transfer is invaluable for elastic sites that demand agility. Despite its higher pricing, we think the value provided through performance, support, and scalability justifies the cost. Cloudways is particularly recommended for those needing high performance hosting services​​.
