Cloudways Review 2026: Is It Still Worth It for Managed Cloud Hosting?

Here's a bold claim: Cloudways is probably the most misunderstood hosting platform on the market right now. People either think it's too technical to bother with, or they assume it's just another overpriced managed host. It's neither — and in 2026, it's still one of the most compelling options for developers and agencies who've outgrown shared hosting but don't want to pay Kinsta prices. That said, it's not perfect, and the pricing can absolutely sneak up on you. Here's the full breakdown.

Quick Overview: Cloudways at a Glance

What Is Cloudways, Actually?

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform founded in 2012 and headquartered in Malta. DigitalOcean acquired it in 2022, which raised some eyebrows at the time — but honestly, day-to-day operations haven't changed dramatically for most users. The platform acts as a management layer on top of major cloud infrastructure providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode/Akamai.

The core pitch is simple: you get cloud-grade infrastructure without needing to SSH into servers and configure NGINX from scratch. Cloudways handles server provisioning, security patches, caching, and backups. You focus on your sites.

It's not a budget shared host. It's not a fully hands-off managed WordPress host either. It lives right in the middle — which is exactly where a lot of growing businesses need to be. Honestly, I think that middle ground is underrated, and Cloudways owns it better than almost anyone else right now.

Key Features of Cloudways

Flexible Cloud Provider Choice

This is Cloudways' biggest differentiator, and it's not even close. Most managed hosts lock you into their own infrastructure with zero flexibility. Cloudways lets you pick from five providers — DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Vultr, and Linode. That matters if you have specific latency requirements, budget constraints, or compliance needs. DigitalOcean is the most popular (and cheapest) entry point. AWS and GCP cost more but bring enterprise-grade reliability to the table.

Managed Stack Out of the Box

Every server comes pre-configured with Apache or NGINX, PHP (multiple versions), MySQL, Redis, Varnish, and Memcached. You don't touch any of that manually. PHP version switching takes about 30 seconds in the dashboard — fun fact, this alone has saved me from more than a few panicked client calls when a plugin update demands a specific PHP version. For developers managing multiple client sites, this feature saves hours per week.

ThunderStack Performance Architecture

Cloudways uses what they call ThunderStack — a combination of NGINX, Apache, MySQL, PHP-FPM, Varnish cache, Memcached, and Redis all working together. In real-world performance tests, WordPress sites on Cloudways consistently load under 1 second on the DigitalOcean tier when properly configured. The Breeze caching plugin (free, built by Cloudways) integrates natively with the stack and is, in my opinion, underrated compared to heavier alternatives like WP Rocket.

CloudwaysBot & Automated Backups

The platform includes automated daily backups with flexible retention options. CloudwaysBot sends real-world server alerts — disk usage, RAM spikes, downtime — directly to Slack or email. Look, it's not the most sophisticated monitoring tool out there (New Relic it definitely isn't), but it catches the stuff that actually matters before it becomes a crisis.

Staging Environments

One-click staging is included on all plans, and you can push staging to production with a single click. It's not perfect — large database syncing can get flakey on oversized sites — but for 90% of use cases it works cleanly. Good enough that you'll actually use it, which is more than I can say for some competitors.

Team Collaboration and Multi-Site Management

Cloudways has a proper team feature that lets you add team members with granular permissions. You can manage dozens of applications from a single dashboard and assign specific apps to team members without handing over full server access. Agencies running 20+ client sites will find this genuinely useful — it's one of those features that sounds boring until you desperately need it at 11pm.

Cloudflare Enterprise Integration

Here's the deal — Cloudways bundles Cloudflare Enterprise CDN into its higher-tier plans (Cloudways Elastic Hosting) and offers it as an add-on for standard plans. Getting Cloudflare Enterprise at the price point Cloudways offers it is legitimately one of the better deals in managed hosting right now. Most businesses would pay significantly more for that tier of Cloudflare access on their own.

Free SSL and Easy Domain Management

Let's Encrypt SSL certificates are free and auto-renewing. DNS management is handled directly in the platform. Nothing fancy here — it just works, which is honestly all you want from SSL management.

Cloudways Pricing in 2026

Cloudways pricing is usage-based, tied to the underlying cloud server you pick. There's no flat monthly "plan" like you'd see at Bluehost. You pay for the server, and Cloudways' management layer is baked into that cost.

DigitalOcean Plans (most popular):

AWS Plans (higher reliability, higher cost):

Key pricing notes:

• Bandwidth overages are billed separately
• Add-ons like extra backups, off-server storage, and Cloudflare CDN cost extra
• The 3-day free trial requires no credit card — genuinely useful for testing
• No annual discount (this is a real downside vs. competitors, and honestly one of my biggest gripes with the platform)

Try it free here: Try Cloudways

Here's the thing — the $14/month DigitalOcean entry point is attractive, but a serious WordPress site with daily backups and a Cloudflare add-on will realistically run $35–50/month before you've scaled much. That's not a dealbreaker, but budget accordingly and don't get sticker-shocked later.

Pros of Cloudways

• Infrastructure flexibility — choosing your cloud provider is a genuine advantage, especially for clients in specific regions or with compliance requirements
• Performance is strong — ThunderStack delivers real-world speed improvements over shared hosting, consistently hitting sub-1-second load times when configured properly
• Developer-friendly — SSH access, Git integration, WP-CLI, multiple PHP versions, staging environments, all included
• Transparent pricing — you know exactly what server you're paying for, no mystery tiers
• Scales cleanly — vertical scaling (upgrading server size) takes minutes, not hours or support tickets
• Cloudflare Enterprise access — you're simply not getting this pricing elsewhere at this tier
• 3-day free trial with no credit card — low-friction way to evaluate before committing

Cons of Cloudways

• No annual discount — you're paying monthly, always, which adds up fast compared to hosts offering 30–40% annual savings
• Email hosting not included — you'll need a separate service like Google Workspace, Mailgun, or Zoho every single time
• Support quality is inconsistent — live chat is available 24/7 but response depth varies significantly; complex issues often get escalated and things slow down considerably
• Costs compound quickly — once you add backups, CDN, and a bigger server, you're spending real money
• Not ideal for complete beginners — the dashboard is clean, but there's still a learning curve compared to cPanel-based hosts
• Bandwidth overages — hitting your limit generates unexpected charges if you're not actively monitoring usage

Who Is Cloudways Best For?

Freelance developers and agencies — managing multiple client sites from one dashboard, with clean team permissions and staging environments, is where Cloudways genuinely shines. If you're billing clients for hosting and marking it up, the economics work out very nicely.

Growing WooCommerce stores — the DigitalOcean 4GB or 8GB tier with Redis object caching handles WooCommerce traffic well. Shared hosting simply cannot scale with a real ecommerce catalog once you hit meaningful traffic volume.

Developers who want control without full DevOps — you get SSH access, Git, WP-CLI, and you don't have to manually configure NGINX from scratch. That's a comfortable middle ground for most developers who want power without the 3am server fires.

Businesses migrating off shared hosting — if your site is outgrowing SiteGround or Bluehost and you're not ready to pay Kinsta prices, Cloudways is the natural next step. It's almost exactly the bridge it advertises itself as.

Who Should Look Elsewhere?

Absolute beginners — if you've never dealt with server concepts and just need a blog up fast, go with a managed WordPress host that handles everything for you. The Cloudways learning curve is real and can be frustrating if you're not technically inclined.

Budget-first users — at $14/month base with no email hosting and add-on costs piling up, Cloudways isn't the cheapest option by a long shot. Shared hosting at $3–5/month from Hostinger or SiteGround will serve light-traffic sites just fine.

Enterprise businesses needing formal SLAs — Cloudways doesn't offer them on standard plans. Large enterprises should look at WP Engine or dedicated Managed AWS services instead.

High-volume email senders — no native email hosting means extra cost and setup complexity every time you onboard a new site or client.

Cloudways vs. The Competition

Cloudways vs. Kinsta

Kinsta is the premium play, full stop. Better support, better WordPress-specific tooling, a more polished dashboard — and a meaningfully higher price to match. If you're running a high-traffic WordPress site and support quality matters more than infrastructure choice, Kinsta wins. If you want flexibility and lower entry costs, Cloudways wins. Honestly, I think Kinsta is slightly overrated for smaller agencies — you're paying a premium for polish that most clients will never notice.

Cloudways vs. WP Engine

WP Engine is the enterprise-leaning option with strong support and a long history in managed WordPress. It's pricier at scale and doesn't give you the cloud provider flexibility Cloudways does. WP Engine's Genesis framework ecosystem is a genuine plus for WordPress developers specifically. For agencies managing diverse workloads across different site types, Cloudways is simply more versatile.

Cloudways vs. SiteGround

This isn't really a fair fight — SiteGround is shared hosting, Cloudways is managed cloud. If you're comparing these two, you're probably at the inflection point where you're outgrowing shared hosting. Just make the jump.

Verdict: Is Cloudways Worth It in 2026?

Rating: 4.1 / 5

Look, Cloudways isn't flawless. The lack of an annual discount genuinely stings, support can feel like a lottery depending on who picks up your chat, and costs compound once you add everything you actually need to run a serious site. Those are real frustrations.

But the core product — managed cloud hosting with real infrastructure flexibility, strong performance, and developer-friendly tooling — still delivers genuine value in 2026. For agencies and developers managing multiple sites, it's probably the best bang-for-buck option in its tier. For growing businesses that have outgrown shared hosting but can't justify Kinsta pricing, it's the obvious next step.

Recommended if: You're a developer, agency, or growing business comfortable with mild technical concepts and want cloud performance without full DevOps overhead.

Skip if: You're a complete beginner, need email hosting bundled in, or are working with a very tight budget.

👉 Start your free 3-day trial (no credit card required): Try Cloudways

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cloudways good for WordPress in 2026?

Yes, genuinely. The ThunderStack caching setup, Breeze plugin integration, and one-click staging make it a solid WordPress host. It's not as WordPress-specialized as Kinsta or WP Engine, but it performs well for the vast majority of use cases — including WooCommerce.

Does Cloudways offer a free plan?

No free plan exists, but there's a 3-day free trial that doesn't require a credit card. That's honestly enough time to spin up a test server, migrate a site, and see how it performs before you commit a dollar.

Can I host multiple websites on Cloudways?

Yes — and this is one of the platform's real strengths. You can host multiple applications on a single server, run multiple servers from one account, and manage everything from a single dashboard. If you're an agency juggling 15–30 client sites, this setup is a genuine time-saver compared to logging into individual hosting accounts.

Is Cloudways suitable for beginners?

Honestly, only if you're a motivated beginner who's willing to do a bit of reading. The dashboard is cleaner than cPanel, but you'll still encounter concepts like server sizing, PHP configuration, and DNS management. Absolute beginners who just want something live fast are probably better off with Wix, Squarespace, or a managed WordPress host that abstracts all of that away.

What happens if my traffic spikes on Cloudways?

Vertical scaling — upgrading to a bigger server — takes a few minutes and can be done directly from the dashboard. It's not instant auto-scaling like some enterprise cloud platforms, but it's fast enough for most real-world traffic spikes as long as you're keeping an eye on your server metrics.

Does Cloudways include email hosting?

No, and this is a recurring complaint for good reason. You'll need to set up email separately through Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, or configure transactional email through Mailgun or SendGrid. Budget an extra $6–12/month if you need professional email — it's an annoying extra step every single time you set up a new site.