Nayan Dhumal
Cloudways sits between cheap shared hosting and running your own server. It gives you a cloud server from a provider such as DigitalOcean or AWS, and manages it for you. This review explains how it works, what is included, what costs extra and when a blog is ready for it.
Most blogs start on shared hosting, and that is the right place to start. Then traffic grows. Pages slow down at busy times, the host starts suggesting an upgrade, and you begin to wonder what the next step is.
Cloudways is one of the most common answers. You get your own cloud server with dedicated resources, without having to learn how to set up and secure a server yourself. It is a different way of buying hosting, with a different pricing model and a few gaps that surprise people coming from shared hosting.
I have not run my own performance tests on Cloudways, so this review does not contain benchmark scores. The details below come from Cloudways’ own website, checked on 7 October 2026. Its pricing page is interactive and the price of each server size depends on the provider you choose, so I quote only the figures I could confirm and point you to the page for the rest.
Disclosure
This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what I recommend.
Key takeaways
- Cloudways is managed cloud hosting. You choose a cloud provider and a server size, and Cloudways handles the technical side.
- Billing is pay as you go, charged by the hour and invoiced monthly. There is no long contract.
- You can host as many websites as your server can handle.
- Email and a domain name are not included. Email is a paid add-on.
- There is a 3-day free trial with no credit card required.
- It suits growing blogs and people running several sites. A brand-new blog does not need it yet.
Cloudways at a glance
| Detail | Cloudways in October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Type | Managed cloud hosting |
| Owned by | DigitalOcean |
| Cloud providers offered | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS and Google Cloud |
| Billing | Pay as you go, charged hourly and invoiced monthly |
| Free trial | 3 days, no credit card required |
| Websites per server | Unlimited |
| Email hosting | Not included. Paid add-on |
| Domain name | Not included with hosting |
| Standard support | 24/7 live chat and tickets |
What is Cloudways?
Cloudways does not own the servers your site runs on. It rents them from large cloud companies and adds a management layer on top: a dashboard, a tuned software stack, security, backups and support.
That is what “managed cloud hosting” means. On your own, renting a server from a cloud provider leaves you with a blank machine and a command line. Cloudways turns that into something you can run from a dashboard, including one-click WordPress installs.
Cloudways has been part of DigitalOcean since 2022, and its site now carries the “Cloudways by DO” name.
The two main products
Cloudways currently sells its WordPress hosting in two forms.
Cloudways Flexible
This is the classic Cloudways product and the one most bloggers will look at. You choose a provider and a server size, and you can host as many sites on that server as it can handle. You can move up to a bigger server when you need more power.
According to the pricing page, Flexible plans include:
- Unlimited websites on your server.
- Free SSL certificates.
- Free staging sites and cloning.
- Redis caching and Object Cache Pro.
- Automated backups.
- A server-level firewall and a WordPress vulnerability scanner.
- Free website migration.
- 24/7 support.
Cloudways Autonomous
Autonomous is a fully managed WordPress product that scales automatically when traffic rises. It is priced by plan, not by server. When I checked, the Growth plan was listed at $99 per month, Scale at $199 and Plus at $399, each with set limits on storage and bandwidth.
Autonomous is aimed at busy business sites and stores. For a blog, Flexible is the sensible place to look.
Cloudways pricing
Cloudways’ pricing works differently from shared hosting, and it helps to understand the model before you look at numbers.
How billing works
Cloudways states that it charges by the hour, so that you pay only for what you use. You are billed in arrears: the invoice for one month arrives at the start of the next. There is no multi-year contract and no large payment upfront.
This has two practical effects. You can start and stop servers freely, which is useful for testing. And your price does not suddenly jump at renewal, because there is no introductory term.
What it costs
The price depends on the provider and server size you pick. DigitalOcean servers are the cheapest option. When I checked, the pricing page showed Flexible plans starting at $11 per month for the smallest DigitalOcean server, and a banner offering 30 percent off for three months on all plans.
I am not going to list the price of each server size, because the pricing page is interactive and I could not confirm every figure reliably. Open the page, select DigitalOcean and move through the sizes to see the current price for each.
Watch out
The server price is not the whole bill. Off-site backup storage is charged separately, at $0.033 per GB per server according to the pricing page. Email, the Cloudflare Enterprise add-on and premium support tiers are all extra. Add up what you actually need before comparing Cloudways with a shared hosting plan that includes those things.
Add-ons to know about
| Add-on | Listed price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Off-site backup storage | $0.033 per GB per server | Storage for your automated backups |
| Rackspace email | $1.50 per mailbox per month | Email at your own domain |
| Cloudflare Enterprise | From $4.99 per domain per month | CDN, firewall and performance features |
| Advanced support | $100 per month list price | Faster responses and application-level help |
What is not included
This section matters most if you are coming from shared hosting, where these things are usually part of the package.
- Email. Cloudways does not include mailboxes. You add its Rackspace email service for a fee per mailbox, or use a separate email provider.
- A domain name. A domain is not included with the hosting, so you register it separately and point it to your server.
- A familiar control panel. There is no cPanel. Cloudways has its own dashboard, which is clear but different.
- Hands-on help with your site. Standard support covers the platform and the server. Help with problems inside your WordPress site is part of the paid support tiers.
None of these is unusual for managed cloud hosting. They are simply costs and tasks to plan for.
Performance and features
Cloudways builds its hosting around a tuned software stack, with caching included at server level. Redis and Object Cache Pro are listed as included on Flexible plans, and its site states a 99.99 percent uptime commitment and a choice of more than 50 data centre locations.
The more important difference from shared hosting is structural. On a shared plan, your site competes for resources with many other customers. On Cloudways, the server’s resources are yours. That tends to give steadier performance at busy times.
Your own setup still matters. A heavy theme, large images and too many plugins will slow a site on any server. My guide to speeding up WordPress covers what to fix first.
Staging, cloning and backups
Staging sites let you test changes on a copy before they go live. Cloning copies a whole site or server. Both are included, and both are useful if you manage more than one site. Automated backups are included too, with the storage charged separately as noted above.
Support
Standard support is included with every plan. According to the support page, it covers 24/7 live chat, tickets and the knowledge base, and deals with the platform and the server.
There are two paid tiers above that. Advanced support adds faster responses and application-level troubleshooting. Premium support adds phone support and a private channel, at a much higher price. Most bloggers will be fine on Standard, provided they are comfortable solving WordPress problems themselves or have someone who can.
Cloudways pros and cons
Pros
- Your own cloud server with dedicated resources
- Pay as you go, with no long contract or renewal jump
- Unlimited websites per server
- Staging, cloning, free SSL and free migration included
- Choice of five cloud providers
- 3-day free trial without a credit card
Cons
- Costs more than entry-level shared hosting
- No email included
- No domain included
- Backup storage and several useful features are paid add-ons
- Application-level support costs extra
- More to learn than a beginner host
Who should use Cloudways?
Cloudways is a good fit if:
- Your blog has outgrown shared hosting and slows down at busy times.
- You run several sites and want them on one server you control.
- You prefer monthly billing with no long commitment.
- You are comfortable managing WordPress yourself.
It is not the right choice yet if:
- You are starting your first blog. Shared hosting is cheaper and includes email and a domain. See my guide to the best hosting for a new blog.
- You want everything, including email, in one bill.
- You want someone else to fix problems inside your site as part of the basic price.
Pro tip
Use the free trial to move a copy of your blog to Cloudways and test it there. Compare the loading time of the same pages on your current host and on the trial server before you decide. It costs nothing, and it replaces guesswork with your own numbers.
How to move a blog to Cloudways
- Start the free trial. No card is needed.
- Launch a server. Choose DigitalOcean and the smallest size that suits your traffic. Pick the data centre closest to your readers.
- Migrate your site. Use the free migration option, or the migration plugin Cloudways provides.
- Test on the temporary address. Check your pages, forms and logins before you change anything public.
- Sort out email. Set up the email add-on or a separate email service before you switch.
- Point your domain. Update your DNS records to the new server and install the free SSL certificate.
- Keep the old hosting for a few days. Cancel it once you are sure everything works.
Verdict: is Cloudways worth it in 2026?
For the right site, yes. Cloudways is one of the simplest ways to move from shared hosting to a server of your own, and the pay-as-you-go model is refreshingly free of renewal surprises.
It is not a first host. You pay more than you would for shared hosting, and you have to arrange email and a domain yourself. But if your blog is earning, growing and feeling cramped, Cloudways is a logical next step, and the free trial lets you test that with your own site.
Test Cloudways with your own site
Start the 3-day trial, migrate a copy of your blog and compare it with your current host before you commit.
Sources I checked
All checked on 7 October 2026:
- Cloudways pricing page for billing, plans, the trial and add-on prices.
- Cloudways support page for the support tiers.
- Cloudways homepage for the product lines and platform features.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cloudways good for beginners?
It is easier than managing a server yourself, but it expects more from you than a beginner shared host. Email and domains are not included, and help with problems inside your site costs extra. A first blog is usually better on shared hosting.
How much does Cloudways cost?
It depends on the cloud provider and server size. When I checked on 7 October 2026, the pricing page showed Flexible plans starting at $11 per month on DigitalOcean. Billing is hourly and invoiced monthly. Check the pricing page for the current price of each size.
Does Cloudways include email?
No. Email is a paid add-on, listed at $1.50 per mailbox per month through Rackspace, or you can use a separate email provider.
Does Cloudways have a free trial?
Yes. Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial that does not require a credit card.
How many websites can I host on Cloudways?
On Flexible plans there is no fixed limit. You can host as many sites as your server’s resources can handle.
Who owns Cloudways?
Cloudways is part of DigitalOcean, which acquired it in 2022.