Cloudways occupies a specific niche in the hosting market. It is managed hosting on top of cloud infrastructure (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, Vultr) that you select and pay for through Cloudways. The company adds the management layer (server provisioning, security patches, application installation, backups, monitoring) and charges a markup on top of the underlying cloud provider’s pricing.
For users who want managed hosting without committing to a single provider’s ecosystem, Cloudways is a defensible answer. The product has grown significantly since its 2009 founding and was acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022, which has implications worth understanding.
What Cloudways is
Cloudways was founded in 2009 in Malta and was acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022 for approximately $350 million. Post-acquisition, Cloudways continues to operate as a distinct product and brand within DigitalOcean’s portfolio, with similar service quality and pricing as before.
The product is a managed hosting layer that sits on top of underlying cloud infrastructure. You sign up at Cloudways, choose your underlying cloud provider (DigitalOcean is the default and cheapest, but AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, and Vultr are also options), select the server size, and Cloudways handles the rest.
The Cloudways management layer includes:
- Server provisioning and configuration
- LAMP/LEMP stack deployment (Apache, MySQL, PHP, Nginx pre-configured)
- Application installation (WordPress, Magento, Laravel, custom PHP apps)
- SSL via Let’s Encrypt
- Server-level caching (Varnish, Redis, Memcached pre-configured)
- Daily backups
- 24/7 monitoring with alerts
- Security patches applied automatically
- Free WordPress migration via plugin
- Cloudflare Enterprise integration available
You can deploy WordPress, Magento, Joomla, Drupal, Laravel, or custom PHP applications. The interface lets you manage multiple sites on a single server, switch between server providers, scale up vertically, and clone environments.
What Cloudways does well
The hosting-as-managed-service approach genuinely saves time. Server provisioning, SSL setup, caching configuration, security hardening, and similar tasks that would take a few hours to do well are handled in 10 minutes via the Cloudways interface.
The choice of underlying cloud provider is meaningful. If you have specific reasons to prefer DigitalOcean (familiarity, ecosystem) or AWS (compliance, integration with other AWS services) or Vultr (geographic coverage), Cloudways gives you that choice while handling the management.
The performance is competitive with other managed WordPress hosts. Cloudways’ built-in caching stack (Varnish + Redis + their custom configurations) typically produces faster page loads than baseline LAMP installations.
The pricing is more predictable than the WordPress-managed competitors (WP Engine, Kinsta) for similar performance levels. Cloudways’ DigitalOcean-based plans start around $14 per month for a 1 GB instance, scaling up by server size.
The free SSL via Let’s Encrypt is automatic. The free trial (3 days, no credit card) lets you try the service before committing.
The customer support is 24/7 chat with knowledgeable agents (often more competent than the typical Bluehost-tier support).
What Cloudways does less well
The pricing markup on top of underlying providers is real. A DigitalOcean Premium AMD 1 GB droplet costs $7 per month direct from DO; Cloudways charges $14 per month for the same server size with their management layer. The markup is the value-add for the management.
For users who could competently manage their own server, the markup is wasteful. For users who could not, the markup is well spent.
The interface is functional but dated. The Cloudways dashboard shows its age compared to newer hosting providers’ interfaces.
The “managed” experience has limits. Cloudways manages the server stack, but they do not manage your WordPress install. Plugin updates, theme updates, content management, security plugins, and similar are still your responsibility. This is “managed hosting” in the sense of “we manage the server” not “we manage your site.”
The support, while good, has limits. Cloudways support helps with server-level and Cloudways-specific issues. They do not debug your application code, your custom WordPress plugins, or your specific business logic.
The acquisition by DigitalOcean has implications. Some users worry that long-term, Cloudways will be merged into DigitalOcean’s mainline products, eliminating the multi-provider choice. So far this has not happened, but the strategic possibility is real.
How Cloudways compares to alternatives
Versus self-managed VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean direct, etc.): Cloudways is more expensive but saves time. For users who would otherwise spend weekends configuring servers, the markup is worth it. For users who already know how to do this, save the markup and self-manage.
Versus managed WordPress hosting (WP Engine, Kinsta): Cloudways is cheaper for similar performance. WP Engine and Kinsta are more WordPress-specialized, with better WordPress-specific features. For pure WordPress focus and willingness to pay more, those competitors win. For multi-application hosting at lower cost, Cloudways wins.
Versus shared hosting (Bluehost, SiteGround basic plans): Cloudways is more expensive but performance is significantly better. For sites that have outgrown shared hosting (more than 10,000 monthly visitors), Cloudways is the natural step up.
Versus Heroku, Render, Railway (PaaS for developers): Cloudways is more focused on PHP-stack apps (especially WordPress and Magento). The PaaS competitors are better for modern application stacks (Node, Ruby, Python, Go).
Pricing for common configurations
| Configuration | Cloudways monthly | Direct cloud monthly |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean 1 GB | $14 | $7 |
| DigitalOcean 2 GB | $28 | $18 |
| DigitalOcean 4 GB | $50 | $24 |
| AWS 2 GB | $86 | (varies, around $40-60) |
| Vultr 2 GB | $26 | $12 |
The Cloudways markup is roughly 50 to 100 percent over direct cloud pricing, which is consistent with managed hosting markups across the industry.
For comparison: WP Engine starts at $25/month for similar specs but with WordPress-specific tooling. Kinsta starts at $35/month with similar specs and stronger WordPress focus.
Who should use Cloudways
You want managed WordPress hosting at lower cost than WP Engine or Kinsta, with performance better than Bluehost.
You want choice of underlying cloud provider but do not want to manage the server yourself.
You are running multiple WordPress sites on one server (Cloudways’ multi-site management is well-designed).
You are running Magento or another PHP-stack application that benefits from server-level caching pre-configured.
You will scale vertically as the site grows (Cloudways’ upgrade path is straightforward).
Who should pick something else
You can manage your own server. Cloudways’ markup is unnecessary.
You want WordPress-specific features (built-in caching plugins, automatic core updates, deep WordPress optimization). WP Engine or Kinsta are better focused.
You want the cheapest possible WordPress hosting and you are willing to accept lower performance. Bluehost or shared SiteGround are cheaper.
You are not using PHP-stack applications. Cloudways’ value-add is heavily PHP-focused.
A specific recommendation
For users who want managed WordPress hosting at the $20-30/month tier: Cloudways with DigitalOcean as underlying provider.
For users who want premium managed WordPress: Kinsta or WP Engine, accepting higher cost for better WordPress-specific features.
For users with technical capability who want to save the management markup: DigitalOcean direct (or Hetzner for the cheapest), self-managed.
Related: DigitalOcean for self-hosters, twelve months in, Bluehost in 2026, Hetzner price advantage explained