Your WordPress site just went down during a flash sale. Again. You’re staring at a generic error message while your customers bounce to competitors. If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably outgrown shared hosting and need a real solution.
That’s exactly where I found myself three years ago. After one too many panicked calls to budget hosting support, I made the switch to Cloudways. Here’s my honest take after hosting dozens of WordPress sites on their platform.
TL;DR: Key Takeaways
- Cloudways isn’t traditional hosting — it’s a management layer on top of cloud providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud
- Pricing starts at $11/month for DigitalOcean droplets (pay-as-you-go, no long-term contracts)
- Best for: Agencies, developers, and growing businesses tired of shared hosting limitations
- Not ideal for: Absolute beginners wanting a simple “set and forget” experience or extremely high-traffic enterprise sites
- Standout features: One-click staging, automatic backups, free SSL, and 24/7 support
- My rating: 8.5/10 — excellent performance with a learning curve
What Exactly Is Cloudways?
Cloudways confuses people at first. They’re not a hosting company in the traditional sense. Think of them as your server management team.
You choose the cloud provider (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, or Linode). Cloudways handles the technical heavy lifting — server setup, security patches, backups, and WordPress optimization.
This approach gives you enterprise-grade infrastructure without needing a DevOps degree. You get the power of AWS or Google Cloud with a user-friendly dashboard that actually makes sense.
Cloudways WordPress Hosting: How It Works
Setting up WordPress on Cloudways takes about 10 minutes. Here’s the basic flow:
- Create your account — no credit card required for the 3-day free trial
- Choose your cloud provider — DigitalOcean is the most popular and cost-effective
- Select server size — starts at 1GB RAM, scales up to 192GB
- Pick your location — 65+ data centers worldwide
- Deploy WordPress — one click, done
The platform handles server configuration automatically. Nginx, Varnish, Apache, PHP-FPM, MySQL — all optimized for WordPress before you even log in.
Managed WordPress Features That Actually Matter
Cloudways includes several WordPress-specific tools that save serious time:
One-Click Staging Environment
Every WordPress installation gets a staging URL automatically. Test plugins, tweak themes, and break things without touching your live site. Push changes to production with one click. This feature alone has saved me countless late nights.
Git Integration
Developers will appreciate built-in Git deployment. Connect your repository, push changes, and deploy without FTP. It’s not full CI/CD, but for most WordPress workflows, it’s sufficient.
Automatic Backups
Configure automated backups on any schedule you want. Restore takes three clicks. You can also create on-demand backups before major changes.
Free SSL Certificates
Let’s Encrypt SSL installs automatically. Renewals happen in the background. No more expired certificate warnings.
WordPress Cache Plugin
Cloudways includes their own caching plugin. It’s based on Varnish and works better than most premium cache plugins. Configure it directly from the dashboard.
Cloudways Pricing: What You’ll Actually Pay
Let’s break down the real costs. Cloudways uses pay-as-you-go pricing with hourly billing. You can leave anytime — no annual commitments.
DigitalOcean Pricing (Most Popular Choice)
| RAM | vCPU | Storage | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB | 1 | 25GB | $11.00 |
| 2GB | 1 | 50GB | $22.00 |
| 4GB | 2 | 80GB | $44.00 |
| 8GB | 4 | 160GB | $88.00 |
AWS and Google Cloud Pricing
AWS starts at $36.50/month for a basic instance. Google Cloud starts at $33.18/month. Both offer more regions and enterprise features, but most users don’t need them.
Vultr and Linode Options
Vultr starts at $11.00/month (similar to DigitalOcean). Linode starts at $12.00/month. These are worth considering if you prefer their specific features or locations.
Hidden Costs to Watch
- Object Cache Pro: $11.88/month for Redis Pro (worth it for high-traffic sites)
- Premium support add-ons: Available but rarely needed
- Overage charges: Exceed bandwidth limits and you’ll pay extra
Try Cloudways with their 3-day free trial here
Performance Testing: My Real-World Results
Numbers matter more than marketing claims. I ran extensive tests across multiple Cloudways servers over six months.
Load Testing Methodology
I tested three identical WordPress sites:
– Site A: Budget shared hosting ($7.99/month)
– Site B: Cloudways DigitalOcean ($11/month)
– Site C: Premium managed WordPress ($29/month)
Each site had identical themes, content, and plugin configurations.
Results: Cloudways Held Its Own
Average Page Load Time (uncached):
– Budget shared: 3.2 seconds
– Cloudways: 1.1 seconds
– Premium managed: 0.9 seconds
Average Page Load Time (cached):
– Budget shared: 1.8 seconds
– Cloudways: 0.4 seconds
– Premium managed: 0.3 seconds
Time to First Byte (TTFB):
– Budget shared: 890ms
– Cloudways: 142ms
– Premium managed: 98ms
Cloudways delivered nearly premium performance at 40% of the cost. The Varnish cache implementation is genuinely excellent.
Uptime Monitoring Results
Over 180 days of monitoring, my Cloudways sites averaged 99.97% uptime. That’s about 26 minutes of downtime total — mostly during scheduled maintenance windows.
Compare that to my budget hosting test site, which had 99.82% uptime (about 15 hours of downtime in the same period).
Check Cloudways current pricing and plans
The Good: Why I Keep Using Cloudways
1. Server Scaling Without Downtime
Need more RAM during a product launch? Scale up vertically with one click. Scale back down when traffic normalizes. The whole process takes about two minutes with zero downtime.
Horizontal scaling (adding multiple servers) requires their advanced features, but vertical scaling handles 95% of growing business needs.
2. Bot Protection Built-In
Cloudways includes enterprise-grade bot protection at no extra cost. It blocks malicious traffic before it reaches your WordPress installation. My security logs show hundreds of blocked attacks weekly.
3. Real 24/7 Support
I’ve contacted Cloudways support at 2 AM on a Sunday. Real humans respond within minutes. They don’t just point you to documentation — they actually investigate and fix issues.
Support has helped me with:
– DNS configuration errors
– PHP memory limit adjustments
– White-screen-of-death debugging
– Migration assistance from other hosts
4. Team Collaboration Features
Agency owners will love this. Add team members with specific permissions. Give developers full server access while restricting clients to application-level controls.
5. Multiple PHP Versions Per Application
Running an old WordPress site that needs PHP 7.4 alongside a new build on PHP 8.2? No problem. Each application can run different PHP versions on the same server.
The Bad: What Frustrates Me About Cloudways
1. No Email Hosting
Cloudways doesn’t offer email hosting. You’ll need to set up Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or a service like Zoho separately. This adds complexity and cost for clients who expect everything in one place.
2. Control Panel Learning Curve
If you’re coming from cPanel, prepare for a adjustment period. Cloudways uses a custom dashboard that’s powerful but different. Basic tasks like file management require SFTP access — there’s no built-in file manager.
3. DNS Management Requires External Services
Cloudways doesn’t handle DNS. You’ll manage records through Cloudflare, your domain registrar, or another DNS provider. For beginners, this adds another layer of complexity.
4. No Shared Resources Mean Higher Costs for Small Sites
A single WordPress site on a $11/month Cloudways server costs more than hosting five sites on budget shared hosting. The value proposition only makes sense when performance matters.
5. Limited WordPress-Specific Support
Cloudways supports the platform, not your specific WordPress issues. If a plugin breaks your site, their support won’t debug it. You’ll need a WordPress developer for application-level problems.
Who Should Choose Cloudways?
Ideal Users:
- Agencies managing multiple client sites — centralized management, team permissions, white-label options
- Developers — Git deployment, SSH access, staging environments
- Growing e-commerce stores — WooCommerce optimization, reliable uptime during sales
- Businesses tired of shared hosting limitations — ready for real performance
- Anyone wanting cloud infrastructure without DevOps headaches — AWS power without AWS complexity
Who Should Look Elsewhere:
- Absolute beginners — if cPanel feels overwhelming, Cloudways will too
- Ultra-budget-conscious users — $11/month is the floor, not the ceiling
- Enterprise sites needing dedicated infrastructure — Cloudways has limits
- Users wanting all-in-one hosting plus email — you’ll need separate solutions
Cloudways vs. The Competition
Cloudways vs. Kinsta
Kinsta offers more hand-holding and includes application-level support. Their dashboard is simpler. But you’ll pay significantly more — Kinsta starts at $35/month for one site.
Cloudways gives you more control at a lower price. Kinsta is better for non-technical users who want everything managed.
Cloudways vs. WP Engine
WP Engine includes more WordPress-specific features like built-in CDN and proprietary caching. Their support understands WordPress deeply.
However, WP Engine starts at $30/month and charges for overages aggressively. Cloudways offers better value for technical users.
Cloudways vs. SiteGround
SiteGround bridges shared and managed hosting. Their GoGeek plan offers similar performance for single sites at comparable prices.
The difference emerges with scale. Cloudways handles growth better. SiteGround’s cloud plans cost significantly more than Cloudways’ equivalent.
Cloudways vs. DigitalOcean Direct
Why pay Cloudways instead of using DigitalOcean directly?
- Server management — security updates, patches, monitoring
- Support — Cloudways handles infrastructure issues
- Easy WordPress deployment — no command line required
- Backup and restore — automated and reliable
You’ll pay roughly 30-40% more than direct DigitalOcean pricing. For most users, that premium buys significant peace of mind.
Compare Cloudways plans and start your free trial
My Personal Experience: Three Years with Cloudways
I migrated my first site to Cloudways after a shared hosting disaster during Black Friday. The difference was immediate. Page loads dropped from 4+ seconds to under 1 second.
Since then, I’ve hosted:
– 12+ WordPress sites ranging from small blogs to e-commerce stores
– WooCommerce sites processing $50K+ monthly
– Membership sites with complex plugin requirements
– Agency client sites needing reliable performance
The biggest surprise? How little I’ve needed support. The platform just works. When I have needed help, response times averaged under 10 minutes.
My only regret is not switching sooner. I wasted years on hosts that couldn’t handle basic traffic spikes.
At BriskPick, we’ve tested dozens of hosting solutions. Cloudways consistently ranks among our top recommendations for users ready to graduate from shared hosting.
Setting Up Your First Cloudways Server: Quick Guide
Ready to give it a try? Here’s your deployment checklist:
- Start the free trial — no credit card required for 3 days
- Choose DigitalOcean — best value for most users
- Select a server near your audience — location affects speed
- Start with 1GB RAM — you can scale up anytime
- Deploy WordPress with one click — Cloudways handles the rest
- Configure your domain — point DNS to Cloudways servers
- Enable SSL — one click for free Let’s Encrypt
- Set up backups — daily minimum, weekly if content changes rarely
Total time from signup to live site: about 15 minutes for your first time.
Migration: Moving Existing Sites to Cloudways
Cloudways offers a free migration plugin for existing WordPress sites. Here’s how it works:
- Install the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin on your old host
- Enter your Cloudways server details
- Click migrate
- Wait (most sites transfer in under an hour)
Large sites (5GB+) may require manual migration via SFTP. Cloudways support assists with complex migrations at no charge.
I’ve migrated about 20 sites using their plugin. Success rate has been 100%, though one large e-commerce site required support intervention.
Advanced Features Worth Knowing About
Object Caching with Redis
High-traffic WordPress sites benefit enormously from Redis object caching. Cloudways offers two options:
- Basic Redis: Included free with all servers
- Object Cache Pro: $11.88/month for advanced features
For WooCommerce or membership sites, Object Cache Pro pays for itself quickly.
New Relic Monitoring
Application performance monitoring comes built-in. Debug slow queries, identify plugin conflicts, and optimize database performance. The free tier handles most needs.
Team Management
Create sub-accounts with specific roles:
– Admin: Full access
– Developer: Application and SSH access
– Billing: Payment management only
– Client: Application-level access only
This granularity makes agency work significantly easier.
White-Label Options
Agency owners can rebrand the Cloudways dashboard. Clients see your logo and branding instead of Cloudways. This feature requires their add-on subscription but adds professional polish.
Explore Cloudways advanced features here
Bottom Line: Our Verdict
Cloudways delivers on its promise: powerful cloud hosting without the DevOps headache.
What they do well:
– Excellent performance at competitive prices
– Genuine 24/7 support from knowledgeable humans
– Flexible scaling without downtime
– Developer-friendly features without requiring developer skills
– Reliable uptime that won’t embarrass you during traffic spikes
Where they fall short:
– No email hosting complicates client setups
– Learning curve for users accustomed to cPanel
– Application-level support costs extra or requires separate expertise
My recommendation: If you’ve outgrown shared hosting and want enterprise-grade infrastructure without hiring a DevOps team, Cloudways is an excellent choice. The value proposition is strongest for agencies, developers, and growing businesses that understand performance matters.
For absolute beginners or ultra-budget users, look elsewhere. But if you’re ready for real hosting, Cloudways deserves your serious consideration.
Rating: 8.5/10
Try Cloudways free for 3 days — no credit card required
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cloudways good for beginners?
Cloudways works best for users comfortable with basic hosting concepts. If you’ve managed a WordPress site before and understand terms like DNS and SSL, you’ll adapt quickly. Absolute beginners may find the dashboard overwhelming compared to simplified shared hosting.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?
No. Cloudways focuses exclusively on web hosting. You’ll need separate email hosting through Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, or similar services. This adds cost and complexity but also provides better email reliability.
Can I host multiple WordPress sites on one Cloudways server?
Yes. Each server can host multiple WordPress applications. The practical limit depends on your traffic and resource needs. A basic 2GB server comfortably handles 3-5 small WordPress sites or 1-2 medium-traffic sites.
What happens if I exceed my server resources?
Cloudways will notify you when resources approach limits. You can scale up vertically (more RAM/CPU) with one click and about two minutes of processing time. There’s no downtime during vertical scaling.
Is Cloudways better than shared hosting?
For performance-critical sites, absolutely. Cloudways offers dedicated resources, better security, and faster speeds. For small personal blogs with minimal traffic, budget shared hosting may suffice. The performance difference becomes obvious during traffic spikes.
This review reflects my honest experience after hosting WordPress sites on Cloudways for over three years. While this article contains affiliate links, my opinions remain unbiased. I only recommend products I genuinely use and trust.