Hosting & Cloud · Review · Updated 16 October 2026
Cloudways reviewManaged cloud servers for WordPress and PHP apps, billed by the hour
Excellent
Brent score, out of 5
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.
Price
From $11/month (USD), billed hourly
Free option
Free trial
Best for
WordPress and WooCommerce sites that have outgrown shared hosting
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Best for
- WordPress and WooCommerce sites that have outgrown shared hosting
- Freelancers and agencies running many client sites
- Site owners who want cloud speed without server admin
- Teams that want hourly billing and easy scaling
Skip it if
- Beginners with one small blog and a tight budget
- People who need email hosting included in the price
- Developers who want full root access and their own stack
Your WordPress site was fine on cheap shared hosting until it wasn't. Pages now take four seconds to load, the host throttles you during traffic spikes, and every fix means a support ticket. You know a cloud server would solve it, but you don't want to learn Linux, configure Nginx and patch PHP at midnight.
Cloudways sits in that gap. It puts your site on a dedicated cloud server from a provider like DigitalOcean or AWS, then handles the server work for you: caching, SSL, backups, firewall and updates. You manage everything from one dashboard, and you pay by the hour for the server size you choose.
This review covers what you actually get, what it costs once add-ons are included, and when you are better off with a cheaper host or a raw cloud server.
What is Cloudways?
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform owned by DigitalOcean. You pick a cloud provider, a data center and a server size, and Cloudways builds a tuned server for WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Laravel or plain PHP apps. It then manages the stack (Nginx, Varnish, Redis, PHP 7.4 to 8.4), backups, SSL, security and monitoring, while you deploy and manage apps from a web dashboard. Billing is hourly, invoiced monthly, so you can scale up or remove servers at any time. A separate product, Cloudways Autonomous, runs WordPress on autoscaling Kubernetes infrastructure for a fixed monthly fee.
Pros and cons
What we like
- 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
- Server-level security with Imunify360 firewall, bot protection and Patchstack vulnerability scanning
- Pay-as-you-go hourly billing with a 3-day free trial and no card needed
- Team access, projects and server transfer suit agencies
What could be better
- 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
- Noticeably pricier than buying the same server from DigitalOcean directly
- No root access, so some custom server setups are not possible
Overall
Excellent
- Features4.6
- Ease of use4.3
- Value4.1
- Support4.3
Key features of Cloudways
Five cloud providers, 50+ locations
Run your server on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud. You can place it close to your audience and move to a bigger server or another provider later without rebuilding your site by hand.
Performance stack included
Servers ship with Nginx, Varnish, Redis and Memcached caching, HTTP/2 and pre-tuned PHP-FPM. WordPress sites get the free Breeze cache plugin, and Object Cache Pro is included on most plans.
Staging, cloning and backups
Create a staging copy of a live site with one click, test changes, then push them live. Automated and on-demand offsite backups can be restored in one click; backup storage is billed at $0.033/GB.
Server-level security
Every server gets DDoS mitigation, the Imunify360 firewall, Fail2Ban, brute-force protection, bot protection and IP or country blocking. WordPress sites get Patchstack-powered vulnerability scanning and free Let's Encrypt SSL.
Agency and team tools
Invite team members with limited or full access, group sites into projects, use Git auto-deployment, and transfer servers to clients when a project ends.
Cloudways Autonomous
For WordPress sites with unpredictable traffic, Autonomous runs on autoscaling infrastructure with unmetered visits and 100 PHP workers per server. Plans start at $99/month with overage charges for extra servers, disk and bandwidth.
Cloudways pricing
Checked 2026-10. Prices can change; confirm on Cloudways (a DigitalOcean company)’s site.
Flexible (entry server)
From $11/month (USD)
billed hourly, invoiced monthly
- Smallest DigitalOcean server
- Free SSL, backups, staging and caching
- 3-day free trial, no card required
Flexible (larger servers)
Check current pricing
billed hourly, invoiced monthly
- Up to 128 GB RAM and 24 vCPU on DigitalOcean
- Vultr, Linode, AWS and Google Cloud priced per server size
- Scale up or down at any time
Autonomous Growth
$99/month (USD)
monthly
- 1 website, unmetered visits
- 1 baseline server, 150 GB bandwidth, 20 GB disk
- Autoscaling at $0.07/hour per extra server
Autonomous Scale
$199/month (USD)
monthly
- 2 baseline servers
- 250 GB bandwidth, 50 GB disk
- Autoscaling at $0.10/hour per extra server
Autonomous Plus
$399/month (USD)
monthly
- 3 baseline servers
- 1,000 GB bandwidth, 100 GB disk
- Autoscaling at $0.12/hour per extra server
Watch out: The server price is only the start: email ($1 to $1.50 per mailbox/month), Cloudflare Enterprise CDN (from $4.99/domain/month), malware protection ($4/app/month), backup storage and bandwidth overage (DigitalOcean $0.02/GB, AWS $0.12/GB) are billed separately in USD.
See current Cloudways pricing →What people use Cloudways for
Moving a slow WooCommerce store off shared hosting
A store that slows down during sales can move to a DigitalOcean server with Redis and Varnish caching. Staging lets the owner test plugin updates before they hit paying customers.
An agency hosting 20 client sites
An agency can put several client sites on one or two servers, give each client limited access, and transfer a server to the client when the contract ends. Hourly billing makes it easy to spin up servers for short projects.
A content site with traffic spikes
A news or viral content site that gets sudden surges can use Cloudways Autonomous, which adds servers automatically and bills the extra hours instead of crashing.
How to get started with Cloudways
- 1
Start the 3-day free trial; no credit card is required.
- 2
Choose WordPress (or another app), a cloud provider, a server size and a data center near your visitors.
- 3
Migrate your existing site or create a fresh WordPress install.
- 4
Point your domain, enable free SSL and turn on automated backups.
- 5
Add the Cloudflare CDN or other add-ons only if your traffic needs them.
Cloudways alternatives
| Product | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Cloudways 4.4 | WordPress and WooCommerce sites that have outgrown shared hosting |
| SiteGround4.2 | Choose it if you want simpler shared WordPress hosting with email included and a lower first-year price. |
| DigitalOcean4.5 | Choose it if you can manage a Linux server yourself and want the same hardware for less. |
| Kamatera4.3 | Choose it if you want highly configurable raw cloud servers and are comfortable doing the server admin. |
Cloudways: frequently asked questions
Is Cloudways good for beginners?+
Yes, if you are comfortable choosing a server size. The dashboard handles the server setup, and WordPress installs in a few clicks. Absolute beginners with one small site may find shared hosting simpler and cheaper.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?+
No. Email is a paid add-on through Rackspace, priced per mailbox per month. You can also connect a separate email provider for your domain.
How much does Cloudways really cost per month?+
Managed servers start at $11/month (USD). Add the CDN, email, malware protection or backup storage if you need them. Autonomous plans start at $99/month.
Is there a Cloudways free trial?+
Yes. Both Flexible and Autonomous offer a 3-day free trial with no credit card required.
Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: what is the difference?+
DigitalOcean sells the raw server, and you manage everything on it. Cloudways (owned by DigitalOcean) runs on that server and adds the managed stack, backups, security and support, which is why it costs more.
Can I host non-WordPress apps on Cloudways?+
Yes. Cloudways supports WooCommerce, Magento, Laravel and custom PHP apps, and promotes Node.js hosting through Cloudways Velocity.
Final verdict
Is Cloudways worth it?
If your WordPress or WooCommerce site has outgrown shared hosting and you don't want to become a server admin, Cloudways is a sensible next step. Start the free 3-day trial, launch a small DigitalOcean server, and migrate one site to compare load times before you commit.
Start Cloudways trialAffiliate link · we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Reviewed by
Amjid Ali, Founder and editor
Amjid Ali is a Melbourne-based AI and automation lead, author of five books on infrastructure, automation and digital transformation, and a corporate trainer whose courses on n8n, Proxmox, firewalls and ERP have taught thousands of IT professionals.
Last updated 16 October 2026 · How we review
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Cloudways 4.4
From $11/month (USD), billed hourly