Is Cloudways good for non-technical founders?

It can be, but it's best if you're at least somewhat comfortable with the idea of servers and apps. The panel is friendlier than raw cloud consoles, but still more technical than basic shared hosting dashboards. If you truly want to avoid thinking about servers at all, a fully managed host may feel easier.

How does Cloudways compare to Kinsta or other fully managed WordPress hosts?

Cloudways gives you more control over server size and cloud provider, often at a lower cost for similar resources. Fully managed hosts like Kinsta tend to be more opinionated and hands-off, with stronger guardrails and support specifically for WordPress, but less flexibility and usually higher prices.

How does Cloudways compare to shared hosting?

Shared hosting hides the server entirely and piles many sites onto the same machine, which can lead to slowdowns and resource limits. Cloudways gives you dedicated cloud resources per server, so performance and scalability are much better, at the cost of slightly more complexity and a higher monthly bill.

Can Cloudways handle high-traffic or viral spikes?

Yes, as long as your server is sized appropriately. You can scale up server resources or move to a higher-end cloud provider as traffic grows. It's not automatic magic — you still need to monitor and upgrade — but the path to scaling is much clearer than on shared hosting.

Is Cloudways only for WordPress?

No. Cloudways supports WordPress very well, but also lets you run other PHP applications and frameworks. If you're building custom apps, you can still benefit from the managed stack, scaling, and project features.

Does Cloudways include email hosting?

No. Like many modern hosts, Cloudways focuses on web hosting and expects you to use a separate email service (such as Google Workspace) for your domain's inboxes. This separation is considered good practice for deliverability and reliability, but it does mean one extra service to set up.

How do backups work on Cloudways?

You can schedule automatic backups at regular intervals and configure how many restore points to keep. Restoring a backup or spinning up a clone from a backup is usually a one-click process in the dashboard. It's still smart to keep occasional off-platform backups for your most important sites.

Cloudways handles operating system updates, firewalls, and basic security hardening on the server level, and offers features like SSL, IP whitelisting, and two-factor authentication. You're still responsible for securing your applications, but the underlying server and network are actively managed.

Can agencies use Cloudways effectively?

Yes. Agencies often use Cloudways because it's easy to segregate client projects, assign user roles, and clone setups across multiple sites. You can manage many client sites under one roof without putting them all on a single shared hosting account.

Is Cloudways worth the complexity compared to a simple host?

If your site is small, low-stakes, and unlikely to grow, shared hosting may be enough. Once performance, uptime, or flexibility start to really matter — and you're willing to learn a bit about servers — Cloudways can be a strong middle ground between cheap shared hosting and expensive fully managed platforms.

When does it make sense to switch away from Cloudways?

It might make sense to move if you no longer want to think about servers at all and prefer a fully managed, WordPress-only host, or if you've grown to the point where you need a custom Kubernetes or container setup directly on a cloud provider.

Hosting Updated February 2026

Cloudways Review (2026)

Cloudways is best for founders, agencies, and developers who want genuine cloud performance without managing raw servers. It sits between cheap shared hosting and premium fully managed WordPress hosts — more powerful than the former, more hands‑on than the latter. In this 2026 review, we cover where Cloudways shines, where it lags, and who it’s really best for. Also see our Kinsta review, Hostinger review, and Premium hosting hub.

← Compare all hosts in our Best Web Hosting in 2026 guide

Ease of use

3.8

Feature depth

4.4

Pricing fairness

4.1

Reliability / perf.

4.4

Support & learning

4.0

Scores out of 5 — see full scorecard below for methodology.

4.2 / 5

Overall rating

Ease of use: 3.8/5
Feature depth: 4.4/5
Pricing fairness: 4.1/5
Reliability / performance: 4.4/5
Support & learning resources: 4.0/5

What is Cloudways?

Cloudways

Managed cloud hosting on top of DigitalOcean, AWS, and more

Cloudways is a managed control layer that runs on top of major cloud providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Akamai Connected Cloud (formerly Linode), AWS, and Google Cloud. Instead of renting a basic VPS and configuring everything yourself, you spin up a managed server through Cloudways and use their panel to deploy apps (WordPress, WooCommerce, PHP apps, etc.), handle backups, staging, SSL, caching, and monitoring. You still get the performance and scaling of real cloud servers, but most of the day‑to‑day sysadmin work is handled for you.

Who is Cloudways best for?

Cloudways is best for users who’ve outgrown shared hosting and want faster, more flexible infrastructure, but don’t want to be full‑time DevOps engineers. It suits technical founders, agencies, and power users comfortable with concepts like servers, resources, and scaling, but who still appreciate a managed panel and support.

Ideal users include:

Technical founders and developers who want cloud performance without raw server management.
Agencies managing multiple client sites who need project‑based organisation and user roles.
Power users who have outgrown shared hosting and need more resources and flexibility.
Teams running WooCommerce or high‑traffic WordPress sites that need reliable scaling options.

If you’re completely non‑technical and just want a “set it and forget it” WordPress host, a fully managed provider like Kinsta may feel more approachable.

Key features of Cloudways

Below are the capabilities that define Cloudways’ core offering:

Choice of cloud providers – Deploy on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Akamai Connected Cloud, AWS, or Google Cloud. Choose the provider and data center closest to your audience, and avoid being locked into a single vendor’s hardware or pricing model.
Managed stack and control panel – Cloudways provides its own app‑focused control panel instead of cPanel. Deploy WordPress and PHP apps, manage databases, configure domains, and tweak PHP and caching settings from a clean interface. Under the hood, Cloudways sets up a performance‑oriented stack (Nginx/Apache, PHP‑FPM, and multiple caching layers) so you don’t have to assemble it yourself.
Built‑in caching, Breeze plugin, and CloudwaysCDN – For WordPress users, Cloudways includes the Breeze caching plugin for page caching, minification, and basic optimisations. CloudwaysCDN distributes static assets across a global edge network. Together, these make it easy to get good performance without stitching together multiple third‑party tools.
Vertical scaling and cloning – Scale server resources (RAM, CPU, storage) as your site grows. Some providers allow vertical scaling on the fly, and you can clone servers or applications to spread load or set up new environments quickly.
Application isolation and security – Each app runs in its own environment, reducing the risk of one misconfigured site affecting others. Cloudways handles OS updates, firewalls, and basic security hardening, while giving you SSL, IP whitelisting, and SSH/SFTP access.
Backups, staging, and restores – Configure automatic backups at regular intervals, keep multiple restore points, and restore apps with a few clicks. Staging environments let you test changes before pushing them live.
Team and project features – Group servers and apps into projects, grant access to collaborators, and keep client sites separated. More flexible and safer than a single shared hosting account with everything mixed together.

Pricing for Cloudways

Cloudways uses a pay‑as‑you‑go model based primarily on the underlying cloud provider you choose, the server size (RAM/CPU/storage), and bandwidth plus any add‑ons like CloudwaysCDN or premium support. Instead of flat “one size fits all” plans, you pay for the specific server resources you allocate, billed monthly on a usage basis.

Provider tier	Starting range	Key notes
DigitalOcean / Vultr / Akamai	~$10–$12/mo (1 GB RAM)	Budget‑friendly entry point; good for most small‑to‑medium sites.
Vultr High Frequency	See pricing page	Higher NVMe performance at a moderate price premium.
AWS / Google Cloud	See pricing page	Premium options for larger, compliance‑sensitive, or enterprise projects.
Add‑ons	Variable	CloudwaysCDN, premium support, and extra bandwidth billed separately.

Compared to shared hosting, Cloudways costs more but delivers significantly better performance and flexibility. Compared to premium fully managed WordPress hosts, it’s often cheaper at similar resource levels but expects you to be more hands‑on with server choices and app management. Always verify current prices on the Cloudways pricing page before purchasing.

Pros and cons of Cloudways

Based on hands‑on testing across DigitalOcean and AWS setups, here is our balanced assessment of Cloudways’ strengths and weaknesses.

Pros

Much better performance and flexibility than typical shared hosting at a reasonable price point.
Choice of multiple underlying cloud providers and data centers, reducing vendor lock‑in.
Managed stack and control panel reduce the need for deep sysadmin skills.
Breeze plugin and CloudwaysCDN make performance optimisation more accessible.
Easy vertical scaling and cloning for growing or high‑traffic sites.
Useful project and team features for agencies managing multiple client sites.

Cons

More complex than “click and forget” shared or fully managed hosts; some technical comfort helps.
Pricing can become harder to predict if you run many servers or high‑resource instances.
Support covers the Cloudways layer and basic stack issues, not deep debugging of your custom app code.
No built‑in email hosting — you’ll need a separate email provider (e.g. Google Workspace). This is industry best practice for deliverability, but it does add an extra step and cost.
Not as opinionated or turnkey as top‑tier managed WordPress hosts like Kinsta for completely non‑technical users.

How we tested Cloudways

For this review, we deployed WordPress test sites on Cloudways using a budget‑friendly DigitalOcean server and a higher‑end AWS setup. Our testing covered:

Basic page load times and behaviour under moderate concurrent load.
Common tasks: setting up staging, restoring from backups, and connecting a domain.
The Breeze plugin and CloudwaysCDN in typical blog and marketing‑site scenarios.

FAQ: Cloudways

The most common questions readers ask about Cloudways, answered directly.

Is Cloudways good for non‑technical founders?: It can be, but it’s best if you’re at least somewhat comfortable with the idea of servers and apps. The panel is friendlier than raw cloud consoles, but still more technical than basic shared hosting dashboards. If you truly want to avoid thinking about servers at all, a fully managed host like Kinsta may feel easier.
How does Cloudways compare to Kinsta or other fully managed WordPress hosts?: Cloudways gives you more control over server size and cloud provider, often at a lower cost for similar resources. Fully managed hosts like Kinsta tend to be more opinionated and hands‑off, with stronger guardrails and support specifically for WordPress, but less flexibility and usually higher prices. Cloudways is a better fit if you value choice and tuning; Kinsta is better if you want a polished, WordPress‑only experience.
How does Cloudways compare to shared hosting?: Shared hosting hides the server entirely and piles many sites onto the same machine, which can lead to slowdowns and resource limits. Cloudways gives you dedicated cloud resources per server, so performance and scalability are much better, at the cost of slightly more complexity and a higher monthly bill. For growing or business‑critical sites, that trade‑off is often worth it. Compare options in our Premium hosting hub.
Can Cloudways handle high‑traffic or viral spikes?: Yes, as long as your server is sized appropriately. You can scale up server resources or move to a higher‑end cloud provider as traffic grows. It’s not automatic magic — you still need to monitor and upgrade — but the path to scaling is much clearer than on shared hosting.
Is Cloudways only for WordPress?: No. Cloudways supports WordPress very well, but also lets you run other PHP applications and frameworks. If you’re building custom apps, you can still benefit from the managed stack, scaling, and project features.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?: No. Like many modern hosts, Cloudways focuses on web hosting and expects you to use a separate email service (such as Google Workspace or another email provider) for your domain’s inboxes. This separation is considered good practice for deliverability and reliability, but it does mean one extra service to set up.
How do backups work on Cloudways?: You can schedule automatic backups at regular intervals and configure how many restore points to keep. Restoring a backup or spinning up a clone from a backup is usually a one‑click process in the dashboard. It’s still smart to keep occasional off‑platform backups for your most important sites.
Is Cloudways secure?: Cloudways handles operating system updates, firewalls, and basic security hardening on the server level, and offers features like SSL, IP whitelisting, and two‑factor authentication. You’re still responsible for securing your applications (plugins, themes, custom code), but the underlying server and network are actively managed.
Can agencies use Cloudways effectively?: Yes. Agencies often use Cloudways because it’s easy to segregate client projects, assign user roles, and clone setups across multiple sites. You can manage many client sites under one roof without putting them all on a single shared hosting account, which is better for both performance and risk management.
Is Cloudways worth the complexity compared to a simple host?: If your site is small, low‑stakes, and unlikely to grow, shared hosting may be enough. Once performance, uptime, or flexibility start to really matter — and you’re willing to learn a bit about servers — Cloudways can be a strong middle ground between cheap shared hosting and expensive fully managed platforms.
When does it make sense to switch away from Cloudways?: It might make sense to move if you no longer want to think about servers at all and prefer a fully managed, WordPress‑only host, or if you’ve grown to the point where you need a custom Kubernetes or container setup directly on a cloud provider. In those cases, stepping up to a premium managed host like Kinsta or a more bespoke cloud architecture may be a better fit.

Our verdict on Cloudways

Cloudways is a strong option in 2026 for founders, agencies, and technical users who want more performance and control than shared hosting, without going all‑in on raw cloud infrastructure. Its biggest strengths are flexibility, pay‑as‑you‑go pricing tied to real server resources, and the ability to choose your underlying cloud provider. The Breeze plugin, CloudwaysCDN, and application isolation make it easier to get good performance without becoming a full‑time sysadmin.

Try Cloudways →

Affiliate disclosure: ToolStackChoice.com may earn a commission if you purchase through the link above. This does not affect our editorial independence or scoring.

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Comparing Cloudways with Kinsta? Read our Kinsta vs Cloudways comparison →