When I first started looking for web hosting options, I wanted something that was fast, reliable, and flexible but without the hassle of complicated setups. That’s when I found Cloudways, a managed cloud hosting platform that makes things simple while using powerful cloud services from companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean.
Cloudways caught my attention because it combines strong performance with easy-to-use management tools. What I liked the most was its pay-as-you-go pricing. This means I can adjust the resources I use whenever I need to, without being stuck in long-term contracts or surprised by hidden fees. It’s perfect for someone like me who needs to be flexible and keep costs under control.
In this review, I’ll talk about my experience with Cloudways, including its features, performance, and customer support, to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your website hosting.
What is Cloudways?
Cloudways is a managed hosting service that lets you host websites and web applications with leading cloud hosting providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and DigitalOcean.
Cloudways isn't a traditional hosting provider like AWS or even Nexcess. They don't host your website on their servers. Instead, they give you a software solution to host your website with other hosting providers.
When you sign up for a Cloudways hosting plan, you can access a user-friendly control panel to spin up servers with DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud.
You don't need a separate account with those providers and are only billed for the resources you use at the end of the month.
That means if you spin up a server, use it for a day, and then delete it, Cloudways will only charge you for the time you use it. Not the entire month.
Cloudways features review
Cloudways offers a ton of features to help you manage your websites. And even though it doesn't provide free email hosting or mailboxes, Cloudways gives you affordable access to those through paid add-ons.
Based on my analysis of everything they offer, I rate Cloudways‘ features and offerings 4.5 out of 5. There's a lot on offer, but there's some room for improvement.
Here's a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know about what Cloudways offers.
VPS hosting with leading providers
Cloudways gives you easy access to three of the biggest cloud providers in the world: DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, and AWS. They did support two other providers, Linode and Vultr, but discontinued them in May 2023.
Customers who created an account with Cloudways before May 2023 still have the option to host with Linode and Vultr. But if you're signing up to Cloudways for the first time, you won't see Linode and Vultr in your account.
Here's a comparison image showing the difference in hosting options between my old hosting account and a new account I created for this review.
Fewer hosting options aren't a bad thing. Between DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, and AWS, Cloudways covers a ton of ground. According to Cloudways, you can host your site on more than 65 data center locations globally.
That's more data center locations than you would have access to, with 90% of hosting providers.
Optimized software stack
Cloudways core offering isn't hosting. It's their software. Cloudways does a great job at not only providing you with a code-free way to set up and manage your hosting but also with its default optimizations offered as part of its hosting stack.
Cloudways uses Thunderstack, as they call it, to squeeze every last bit of performance out of your hosting. Thunderstruck is a PHP software stack consisting of popular server software like PHP 8, MySQL, Redis, Memcached, PHP-FPM, Apache, Varnish, and Nginx.
Cloudways also offers discounted access to Cloudflare Enterprise, which helps you get the best performance at the edge of the cloud. The end result is performance-optimized applications that load instantly across the globe.
Features
With different hosting plans, Cloudways has many unique features to look after and they are listed below.
1. First Free Migration
Cloudways offers the first free migration for users who want to transfer their site hosted in another hosting. Depending upon the size of the website, the migration can take more time than expected.
Luckily, I got five free migrations while signing up during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale.
Basically, for more than one migration, you need to pay a migration fee. You can ask the support for migration. Login to your Cloudways account and Click on Grid Icon (▦) > Select Add-ons > Application Migration.
2. High-Speed Servers
All the servers are highly configured and combined with the latest technology, so the speed of the hosting is super fast. Cloud providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode are perfect for running your website including blogs, and e-commerce sites.
3. SSD Based Hosting
All cloud providers use SSD-based drives rather than HDD. SSD drives make dynamic hosting 3x faster to speed up page loading times.
4. 24/7/365 Live chat support
You can use 24×7 Live chat support to solve all your queries. 24/7 live support is one of the best cloudways features. Also, you can send an email or call the team for instant support.
5. Free SSL Certificates
Cloudways allows you to install Let’s Encrypt free SSL encryption so that you can make your site even more secure.
6. Secured Firewalls
Get rid of hackers and spam traffic with dedicated firewalls. The OS Level protection by Cloudways.
7. Two-Factor Authentication
Enable additional layer security by enabling 2FA which helps to protect your website from intruders.
8. Vertical Scaling
Another great feature of Cloudways is Vertical Scaling. Increase the hosting plan (RAM, CPU, and storage) with just a few clicks. Mostly helpful when you have high traffic.
9. No Contract Boundry
Cloudways follows the Pay As You Go model so you can leave the hosting anytime. It doesn’t have any contract or fixed-amount payment model.
10. 1-Click Installation
Launch 10+ apps with one click that helps to save your time. 1-Click Installation mostly worked with WordPress and Magento sites.
11. Fully Support PHP
Cloudways fully support PHP-based applications, CMS, and Frameworks like WordPress, Magento, Drupal, Laravel, etc.
12. MySQL & MariaDB
Fully support the latest version of MySQL and MariaDB. Supports switching between MySQL and MariaDB.
13. Easy Git Integration
You can easily integrate Git with Cloudways as you update the code in the remote repo, the code gets updated on live servers.
14. Application & Server Cloning
Another great feature of Cloudways is that there is a 1-click setup to clone your site in the new staging environment.
Plans & Pricing
Cloudways gets its infrastructure from 5 cloud companies and the pricing differs from one provider to another. The 5 cloud providers are DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. Depending upon your requirements, you can choose any plan as Cloudways is a Pay As You Go Service.
DigitalOcean: Digital Ocean is a very popular cloud provider and the cheapest among all. I am using the basic plan of DO on Cloudways. The pricing starts from $10/month. DigitalOcean has 59+ data centers in the countries like the UK, USA, Germany, India, etc.
Now, Cloudways offers DigitalOcean Premium Droplets With Faster CPUs & NVMe SSDs starting from the basic price of $12/month. By using these DO droplets, you can expect much better and faster performance.
Linode: Linode has around 11+ data centers around the world with the minimum plan that starts at $12/month.
Vultr: Vultr is another popular provider in Cloudways that has two plans, one is Standard and High Frequency. The standard plan starts at $11/month and high frequency starts at $13/month. Also, it has 32+ data centers right now.
AWS: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is costly as compared to other providers. AWS is suitable for developers, agencies, and eCommerce businesses.
Google Cloud: Google Cloud suits the best eCommerce, developers, and digital agencies. The price is expensive as compared to DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr.
Support and Documentation
Support and Documentation are a crucial part of every hosting company and here Cloudways provides super impressive support as well as documentation. Cloudways has 24/7 support via Live Chat, Email, Call, etc.
For a Live Chat, you need to log in to Cloudways Platform and Click on Need a Hand? button and click on Live Chat.
Here, CloudwaysBot helps to quickly solve our problem by linking articles to related queries from Knowledge Base, and Cloudways TechBot also assigns the chat with the Support Agent to solve your query.
The customer support department is very active and ready to solve all the queries issued by the client. I am impressed with the support for their eagerness to solve all my problems.
Moreover, we can see a well-managed documentation (Knowledge Base) section where they almost cover all the solutions for every query.
The knowledge base section is mainly divided into three parts: Getting Started, Server Management, and Application Management.
Furthermore, the knowledge base is subdivided into small categorical sections where you can find popular solutions regarding Account, Billing, DNS, Email Services, Databases, Platform Questions, Add-ons, WordPress, WordPress CLI, Magento, Custom PHP/Laravel, Drupal, Prestashop, Backup and Restore, Scaling Your Server, Server Customization, CloudwaysCDN, Caching and Performance, SSH and SFTP, SSL, Staging Environments, Git Deployment, PHP settings, Cron Job Management, Security, Monitoring, Collaboration, CloudwaysBot, Troubleshooting, Cloudways API, Affiliate Program, Best Platform Practices, etc.
Competitors
We all know Hosting is a huge business where a single company generates millions of revenue. Cloudways has an estimated Annual Revenue of $4M – $6M. With all this, they do have huge competitors in the market.
You can find a popular hosting company like Kinsta, WP Engine, Liquid Web, etc as the main Cloudways competitor with many other small contenders.
Cloudways Discount Coupon Code
When it comes to discount coupon codes, you can always find the one to sign up with Cloudways. Use WPOffers Cloudways Coupon Code to get a 25% discount for the 1 months while signing up. This coupon code is exclusive and only for Wp-Blogging users.
How to Claim Cloudways Discount?
You can get a Cloudways Discount by using the Promo Code WPOffers while signing into the Cloudways Platform.
Click on Got a Promo Code? and use our coupon code. You can follow the screenshot to claim the 25% discount for the One months.
Cloudways Pros & Cons
| Cloudways Pros | Cloudways Cons |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure from 5 Popular Cloud Providers (DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud) | No Email Hosting (Only Paid Third-Party) |
| Fully Managed Cloud Hosting | No File Manager |
| Free SSL Certificates (Lets Encrypt) | No Root Access |
| 24/7 Support with Live Chat Services | No Domain Registration facility |
| Fastest Cloud Services with Superfast Servers | Only 1 Free Website Migration |
| Highly Scalable Servers | |
| Staging Environments | |
| Pay As You Go Services |
Why use a Managed Cloud Hosting Platform?
Mostly we face problems with shared hosting. Before I used to run my website on one of the hosting owned by Endurance International Group (EIG Company). The problem with me was the budget and the problem with the hosting was speed.
If you don’t want to compromise the speed and other things then you have to switch to a Cloud Platform.
Moreover, if you are thinking of owning an Unmanaged hosting platform like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, etc. then you need to be more of a technical person. You have to be a wizard on the command line to configure and reconfigure the servers.
In Unmanaged Hosting, you get a server and must install everything, including the base software, such as PHP, Apache, etc. There is no pre-installed CMS like WordPress, Drupal, etc.
Though unmanaged Hosting is cheaper than managed Hosting, the main problem is that you are the boss.
You have to control everything using the command line, such as installing security patches, upgrading servers and software, controlling your database, SSL, etc.
You can use the Cloudways Managed Hosting Platform to avoid all the above issues.
Cloudways hosting alternatives
Cloudways is an excellent hosting provider for small and medium websites. But there are other options out there.
Here's a table comparing Cloudways and Cloudways alternatives to show you where each hosting provider excels and who each is best for.
| Cloudways DigitalOcean (1GB) | SiteGround GoGeek | WPEngine Startup | Nexcess Spark | |
| Type | VPS | Shared | Shared | Shared |
| Hosting resources | RAM: 1GB. Processor: 1 core. Storage: 25GB | RAM: 768MB per process. Processor: Unclear. Storage: 40GB. | RAM: N/A. Processor: N/A. Storage: 25GB. | RAM: N/A. Processor: N/A. Storage: 15GB. |
| Caching plugin | Breeze | SiteGround Optimizer | N/A | KeyCDN Cache Enabler based plugin. |
| CDN | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on is available for $4.99 per month. | Free SiteGround CDN | Free Cloudflare-powered. | Free Cloudflare-powered. |
| Caching options | Redis, Varnish, Memcached. | Nginx, Dynamic Cache, Memcached. | Varnish, Redis. | Redis. |
| PHP workers | Unlimited. | 40 processes per second. | Unknown. | 10 + 20 autoscaled. |
| Memory limit | Based on plan resources. | 768MB per server process. | Unknown. | Unknown. |
| Database | MariaDB and MySQL. | MySQL and PostgreSQL. | MySQL. | MariaDB and MySQL. |
| Monthly bandwidth | 1TB. | Unlimited. | 50GB. | 2TB. |
| Email hosting | No. | Unlimited free email accounts. | Transactional only. | Unlimited free email accounts. |
| Security features | Two-factor authentication. Automated login alerts. Free SSL. Bot protection. Server monitoring. Dedicated firewall. Blocklist/Whitelist IP. SSH/SFTP access control. Off-site backups. | Two-factor authentication. Login alerts. Free SSLs. Siteground security plugin. Power redundancy. Hardware redundancy. LXC-based stability. Unique account isolation. Server monitoring. Web application firewall. Proactive updates and patches. Spam Protection by SolarWinds. Automated daily backups. | Free SSL certificates. Security patching. Plugin risk scans. | Free SSL certificates. iThemes Security Pro. |
| Website migration | 1st site free. Paid migrations start from $25 per site. | DIY using a plugin. No managed migrations. | DIY using a plugin. No managed migrations. | Fully managed migrations. |
| TrustPilot rating | 4.6/5 | 4.8/5 | 4.7/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Price | Starts from $11 per month. | Starts from $10.69 per month, renews at $44.99 per month. | Starts from $21 per month. | |
| Number of sites | Unlimited. | Unlimited. | 1 | 1 |
| Support channels | 24/7/365 live chat and tickets. Paid upgrades available. | 24/7/365 phone, chat, and ticket support. | 24/7 Chat only. | 24/7/365 phone, chat, and ticket support. |
| SSH SFTP access | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Team and collaboration | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Staging | Free. | Free. | Free. | Free. |
Conclusion:
After using Cloudways for my website hosting needs, I can say it’s a solid choice for anyone looking for reliable, fast, and flexible hosting.
Cloudways makes it easy to manage cloud servers from top providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean without needing to be a tech expert. The platform’s user-friendly dashboard lets you handle everything from server settings to backups and scaling resources with just a few clicks.
One of the best things about Cloudways is its pay-as-you-go pricing. This allows you to control costs and only pay for the resources you actually use. Whether your website traffic goes up or down, you can easily adjust your plan without being tied down to long-term contracts. This flexibility is perfect for growing businesses and anyone who wants to keep their options open.
Cloudways also offers strong customer support, available 24/7, which can be really helpful if you run into any issues. Their team is knowledgeable and responsive, providing peace of mind that help is always available when you need it.
Overall, Cloudways combines the power of cloud hosting with ease of use and flexibility, making it a great choice for small business owners, developers, and anyone looking for hassle-free hosting.