Head to head · 2026
Cloudways vs DigitalOcean
Quick answer
Cloudways is the better fit for WordPress and WooCommerce sites that have outgrown shared hosting. DigitalOcean is the better fit for developers and startups deploying apps and APIs. On our scores DigitalOcean comes out ahead overall (4.5 out of 5).
Cloudways
Cloudways is the easy step up from shared hosting: you get your own cloud server with caching, backups, staging and security already set up, without touching a terminal. It costs more than running the same server yourself, and add-ons like email and the Cloudflare CDN are extra, but for busy WordPress and WooCommerce sites the time saved is usually worth it.
- ✓Choice of five clouds: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS and Google Cloud, in 50+ locations
- ✓Caching stack included: Nginx, Varnish, Redis, Memcached and the free Breeze plugin
- ✓One-click staging, cloning and automated offsite backups
- –Email is not included; Rackspace mailboxes cost extra per mailbox
- –Cloudflare Enterprise CDN ($4.99/domain/month), malware protection and faster support tiers are paid add-ons
DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is the cloud for developers and small teams who want servers, databases and Kubernetes without the maze of AWS. Prices are low and predictable, starting at $4/month for a Droplet, and billing is per second. You manage your own servers on Droplets, so non-technical site owners are better served by a managed host.
- ✓Low entry price: Basic Droplets from $4/month with 500 GiB transfer
- ✓Per-second billing with a 60-second minimum
- ✓Free App Platform tier for up to 3 static sites
- –Droplets are unmanaged: you handle updates, security and backups yourself
- –Backups cost extra (20% of the Droplet price weekly, 30% daily)
Side by side
| Cloudways | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Brent score | 4.4 | 4.5 |
| Features | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Ease of use | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| Value | 4.1 | 4.7 |
| Support | 4.3 | 3.9 |
| Price | From $11/month (USD), billed hourly | Droplets from $4/month (USD); free static sites |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
| Best for | WordPress and WooCommerce sites that have outgrown shared hosting | Developers and startups deploying apps and APIs |
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Compared on Brent Technologies using the same scoring method for both products.