Cloudways Review: Is It the Best Managed Cloud Hosting?
Cloudways lets you run WordPress on DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode without managing servers. We tested Cloudways for speed, scalability, pricing, and support to see if pay-as-you-go cloud beats shared hosting.
Best for: Agencies, growing sites, developers who want cloud flexibility
Table of Contents
Quick Overview
5 Clouds, One Dashboard — Pay-as-you-go
Choose DigitalOcean, AWS, or Google Cloud. Scale resources in 1-click, free SSL, free migration, 24/7 expert support.
Pros and Cons
✓ Pros
- 5 cloud providers — DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, Linode
- Pay-as-you-go — no contract, scale anytime
- Free migration + free SSL + free CDN
- Built-in caching — Redis, Varnish, Memcached
- 24/7 expert support — chat + tickets, fast response
- Staging + cloning + team collaboration
✕ Cons
- No free domain — must buy separately
- No cPanel — custom dashboard (easy but different)
- No email hosting — need paid add-on or external
- Pricing higher than shared hosting for small sites
Performance Test
| Metric | Result | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Average Load Time | 0.68s | ★★★★★ Exceptional |
| TTFB | 220ms | ★★★★★ Exceptional |
| Uptime | 99.99% over test period | ★★★★★ Exceptional |
| WooCommerce LCP | 1.0s | ★★★★★ Exceptional |
Cloudways is fastest in our tests because you get dedicated cloud resources, not shared. With CloudwaysCDN, Redis, and Breeze caching, WooCommerce stores load in 1.0s vs 1.9s on HostGator.
Features Review
Cloud Flexibility
- Choose from 5 clouds in 60+ data centers
- 1-click vertical scaling — no migration needed
- Free SSL, free migration, automated backups
- Staging environment + 1-click cloning
- Team collaboration — add clients and developers
- Advanced caching — Breeze, Varnish, Redis, Memcached
Pricing Review
| Provider on Cloudways | Starting Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean — Most popular | $11/mo | Best value, great performance |
| Vultr | $11/mo | High frequency servers, fast |
| Linode | $12/mo | Balanced performance |
| AWS | $33.33/mo | Enterprise, global scaling |
| Google Cloud | $33.30/mo | Premium network, fastest |
Speed vs Competitors
| Host | Type | Speed | Scaling | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | Managed Cloud | ★★★★★ 0.68s | 1-click scale | ★★★★★ |
| Hostinger | Shared/Cloud | ★★★★★ 0.82s | Upgrade plan | ★★★★★ |
| SiteGround | Google Cloud | ★★★★★ 0.95s | Upgrade plan | ★★★★☆ |
| HostGator | Shared | ★★★☆☆ 1.68s | Upgrade plan | ★★★☆☆ |
Final Verdict: Is Cloudways Worth It?
If you need cloud speed, pay-as-you-go pricing, and choice of 5 providers, Cloudways is the best. More expensive than shared hosting, but fastest and most scalable for growing sites.
Start With Cloudways Today
Pay-as-you-go cloud, free migration, free SSL, 24/7 support. Choose your cloud provider.
FAQ
We may earn commissions including Cloudways https://cloudways.pxf.io/55z0Ao. This never affects our rankings — we test every host independently.