CloudWays Review : The Fastest Managed WordPress Hosting

$8.8 $11 START FREE TRIAL
RIAN20

Hands down! After Rocket.net, Cloudways is the only host that has blown me away with its speed. If you leave Rocket.net aside, Cloudways is the fastest host I have tested recently.

As a blogger focusing intensely on website speed optimization, I always look for web hosts offering excellent speed.

I had been with Rocket.net for the last couple of years and sought an alternative. Cloudways was right on the spot.

No, Rocket.net was not bad. It is still the best and fastest web host, but I was looking for cheaper alternatives.

After moving to Cloudways, RiansTech passed all web core vitals, and traffic also increased. We have TTFB now in the range of 100-130ms.

Thanks to Cloudways+ Perfmatters+ Super Page Cache for the Cloudflare plugin. We don’t use any cache plugin, but we still get excellent speed.

I was amazed by the speed at which I moved all my blogs to Cloudways. If you try their service once, you will have the same impression—guaranteed!

Yeah, there is a bit of a learning curve as the Cloudwways interface is new. However, it’s just a matter of time before we get used to it.

So, here you go! The most detailed and unbiased Cloudways Review that will cover almost every aspect of Cloudways.

Don’t worry. I won’t spare Cloudways for things that could have been better.

CloudWays Hosting 20% Off For THE first month

5 IaaS Providers To Choose From
Incredibly Fast
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$8.80$11 GET 20% OFF
RIAN20
Expired

Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting company—we all know that. But what the heck is Managed WordPress hosting? Let’s learn about that first.

Table of Contents

What Is Managed WordPress Hosting?

Many of us, including me, do not know much about how a web hosting process works. We don’t know how to get the most out of a web hosting service, and the result is that we start blaming our web host.

That’s not fair at all. To overcome these kinds of issues, most web hosts nowadays offer a Managed Hosting Service.

What does that mean, exactly?

Some experts from the web host company will maintain everything related to your web hosting service.

managed hosting
Managed Hosting

They will decide how to optimize the server, key variables, and best settings for your hosting environment.

In a nutshell, they will give you the best possible setup for optimum performance.

Now, when discussing Managed WordPress Hosting, your web host goes one step further and optimizes your hosting environment to suit WordPress’s requirements. As a result, you get the best speed and experience from your WordPress blog.

Cloudways Hosting Overview

Cloudways was founded back in 2012 by Aaqib Gadit and Pere Hospital. It has its headquarters in Malta.

As of 2024, Cloudways powers 570K+ websites across 20 countries and has nearly 300+ employees. Its offices are in Malta and Karachi.

Digital Ocean acquired Cloudways. As a customer, you won’t see any difference; you will get the same service.

Cloudways is a managed hosting company. You can choose servers from Digital Ocean, Google Cloud, Vultr, AWS, and Linode.

cloudways logo

You can choose the RAM, CPU cores, and bandwidth you need.

The best thing about Cloudways is that they charge you monthly—there is no commitment at all, unlike other hosts, who charge you per year.

You can upgrade resources anytime if the current setup cannot handle the traffic. You don’t have to switch to other hosts just because you experienced a spike in traffic.

Cloudways is partnered with Cloudflare, Object Cache Pro, and Malcare (in addition to five cloud server vendors) to offer customized services. All these services will improve your website’s speed.

The below image shows the key components of a typical stack in Cloudways.

Cloudways Review
Cloudways Features

Cloudways Hosting Key Features

Here are some of Cloudways Hosting’s key features that make it one of the best and fastest hosting services available today.

Renowned IaaS Providers

With Cloudways, you can host your website with renowned IaaS ( Infrastructure As A Service) providers like Google Cloud, Vultr, Lionode, Digital Ocean, and AWS.

They are all very popular for cloud hosting. If you want to host your website directly with those IaaS providers, it’s a little difficult. But with Cloudways, you are just a click away from hosting with them.

Dedicated Environment

Unlike shared hosting, Cloudways offers a dedicated environment for all accounts. This means your resources will be yours alone and not be shared with other accounts.

Dedicated accounts drastically improve the website loading speed. From a safety point of view, a dedicated environment is the best.

Although there is a limitation on the CPU seconds per hour, it is not as bad as Siteground. The INODE limit is also massive.

Cloudflare Enterprise CDN [ Paid Add-On]

This is Cloudways Hosting’s real trump card. With Cloudways Enterprise CDN, you can enable Full-Page Caching, drastically reducing the TTFB ( Time To First Byte).

Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN

In addition to caching, Cloudflare Enterprise CDN offers prioritized DDoS protection, an advanced firewall, Brotli compression, PCI DSS compliance, and many other features.

Cloudflare Enterprise CDN is a paid add-on service that costs $4.99/ Month for up to 5 websites and $1.99 for up to 25 websites.

To activate Cloudways Enterprise CDN, you can follow this guide

If you don’t want to use Cloudflare Enterprise CDN, you can use “Super Page Cache For Cloudflare,” a free plugin to activate ” Full Page Caching”. You will get the speed, but you will miss the safety features.

Below is a snippet of Cloudflare Enterprise CDN’s features tailored to suit the Cloudways environment.

  • 100 GB bandwidth [ CDN Overage: $0.2 / 10G]
  • Priority DDoS protection
  • Intelligent firewall (WAF)
  • Image optimization with Polish
  • Brotli compression
  • Mobile optimization with Mirage
  • Wildcard SSL support
  • PCI DSS compliance
  • HTTP/3 support
  • Reserved for Cloudways IPs & prioritized routing
  • Full page caching
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN

It is a point to note that Cloudways does not offer the full-fledged version of Cloudflare Enterprise CDN. Instead, it’s a trimmed version with limited features.

But think about the pricing. Cloudways only charges $4.99, whereas the full-fledged version costs $200 monthly.

Here are the top three hosting companies that offer Cloudflare Enterprise CDN. The tables below show the feature comparisons.

CloudwaysRocket.NetKinsta
POP270270270
Full Page Caching
Prioritized Routing
HTTP/3
Load Balancing
WAF
Argo Smart Routing
Image Optimization
Automatic Configuration
Priority DDoS protection
PCI DSS compliance
Price$4.99/Domain

Redis Cache Support

Cloudways supports Redis and Memcached for object caching. By caching database queries, object caching can drastically improve website loading speed. It can also enhance the speed of the WordPress admin area.

Redis Object Cache
Redis Object Cache

Typically, Redis is far more advanced and faster than Memcached. Please read this article to learn about the difference between Redis and Memcached.

With all 2 GB plans and higher, Cloudways offers the Redis Object Cache pro plugin for free, typically costing $95 if you want to buy it directly.

If you have the 1 GB plan, you can also use Redis cache. However, you need to install Redis on the server and then use the Redis Object Cache free plugin to activate Redis in WordPress.

To enable Redis Cache on the server, please go to Server->Settings And Packages-> Install Redis.

Install Redis Cache On Cloudways Server
Install Redis Cache On Cloudways Server

After you install Redis on the server, you can stop or start the Redis server by going to Server-> Manage Services.

Cloudways Manage Services
Cloudways Managed Services

Install the Redis Object Cache plugin and activate it on WordPress. If you are with a 2GB plan or higher, the Object Cache Pro plugin will be installed automatically when you activate the service at the server level.

Redis Object cache
Redis Object Cache

Caching Comparison Chart

Caching Comparison Chart
Credit: Object Cache Pro

Free WordPress Cache Plugin [ Breeze ]

Breeze is a free WordPress cache plugin offered to all Cloudways customers. It has all the features of other mainstream cache plugins like WP Rocket.

In addition, it directly integrates with the Varnish cache, which is the server-level cache offered by Cloudways.

Breeze Cache Plugin
Breeze Cache Plugin

If you use Breeze with Cloudways, you will save the money you would spend on other cache plugins.

However, Breeze has a lot of room for improvement. In certain setups, it may not work properly. We will discuss more of that later in this article.

SafeUpdate For WordPress

When hosted with Cloudways, all your servers come with an Auto Healing feature. In case of a server crash, most issues are resolved with Auto Healing server restart.

Cloudways has a SafeUpdate feature that automatically detects, tests, deploys, and rolls back WordPress updates. Visual regression testing ensures that plugin updates don’t break your site.

safe update cloudways

Using SafeUpdates, you can convert hours of work into minutes. Just schedule updates and move on with your day.

Cloudways Safe Update
Cloudways Safe Update

Vertical Scaling

What would you do when there is a spike in traffic?

Change the host for better resources?

Well, with Cloudways, it’s not the case. You can upgrade your server resources anytime you want without affecting any customization you might have done with your server.

vertical scaling
Vertical Scaling

You can buy more RAM, CPU cores, and bandwidth or upgrade or change your server.

But how about a downgrade? Is it possible?

If you are with Digital Ocean, the downgrade is not possible. However, you can upgrade and downgrade AWS and Google at any time.

You need to note that if you are with Digital Ocean, you can upgrade only the package and not the individual resources.

For example, if you have a DO 1 GB plan and want to upgrade to 2 CPU cores, you need to upgrade to a 4 GB plan only, as the 2 GB plan still offers 1 CPU core.

However, with Google Cloud and AWS, you can scale resources individually.

If you were with shared hosting, you might know they trap you for at least a year ( sometimes 3-4 years). In between, if you want to upgrade, you need to buy a higher plan. With Cloudways, it’s a different story.

Enterprise Grade Security

One of the reasons I moved out of Siteground is that my site was hacked about two times in three years.

With Cloudways, all my sites are safe to date.

The reason is very simple. Cloudways offers a dedicated environment with several security measures installed at the server level.

Recently, Cloudways has collaborated with Malware Security. Now, all Cloudways customers will get the Malcare security plugin for free ( Known as Bot Protection)

Apart from that, Cloudways offers the following security features.

  • The dedicated firewall at the server level
  • SSL Certificate
  • Regular security patching
  • Two Factor Authentication
  • Advanced DDoS protection [ When you use the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN]
  • Web Application Firewall [ When you use the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN]
  • Safeupdate for WordPress

Application And Server Cloning

Your server or application can crash at any time. This could be due to a wrong setting, a bad plugin, or a theme. There are thousands of reasons why your server or application may crash.

But with Cloudways, you don’t have to worry!

You can do one-click server or application cloning. You can perform all your testing with the cloned server, and when you are ready, deploy it to the production server.

Unlimited Applications

With Cloudways, you can install unlimited applications and create unlimited databases as long as storage is available.

But my suggestion is to watch out for CPU and RAM usage and, based on that, decide how many applications you should install.

The more applications you install, the more load on the CPU, and the slower your applications will be.

Just because Cloudways allows unlimited applications, don’t install too many applications. It will slow down all your sites.

No Long Term Contract

Cloudways pricing is hourly or monthly. There is no commitment, not even for a month. You can leave Cloudways anytime you want. There is no need to pay upfront for the whole year.

If you feel you need more resources due to a sudden spike in traffic, you can always upscale your resources. I have never encountered a web host that is so flexible.

Excellent Support

Cloudways support used to be bad, but I have never encountered this issue. Whenever I contacted Cloudways support, I got a prompt response.

They have often solved problems that may not come under their support converge. But they have done that on goodwill.

The only issue I noticed was that the Cloudways support team is in Karachi. So, if you try to chat with them from a different time zone, it may take some time to connect, but it won’t be more than 2-3 minutes.

Here are the Cloudways support features in a nutshell.

  • 24X7X365 live chat support
  • Ticket based support
  • Server configuration and customization
  • Phone-based support (Only for premium support plan customers)
  • Fixing application-level issues
  • Server-level Cron job creation
  • Application monitoring

Basic support is free ( More than enough) and available 24/7. But if you run a big company and need premium support, Cloudways also offers that option.

I found Cloudways’ support to be very good. The team is very knowledgeable and eager to help their customers.

The best mode of support is the live chat, which is available 24/7.

Cloudways Live Chat Support
Cloudways Live Chat Support

Easy Migration

Cloudways partners with BlogVault and, as a team, has developed a plugin called CloudWays Migrator that can automatically transfer your website from other hosts to Cloudways.

The migrator tool is very solid. It never failed to transfer. The UI is very smooth, and all options are well laid out.

If you don’t want to use the Migrator tools, you can use the WPVivid plugin, which can easily transfer your website.

We will talk about the migration process later in this article.

Customized Control

Cloudways is Cloud hosting, so you can control everything you want on your server. You can change the PHP configuration, install modules you want (if that supports them), or do anything that can be done on a web server.

You can also change the application web root, access files using SFTP, do an automated backup, or create server-level cron jobs.

If you are comfortable with server customization, the Cloudways support team is always there to help you.

Excellent Pricing

I see many people have concerns about Cloudways pricing. But trust me, Cloudways plans are not that costly.

Cloudways is a Cloud Hosting Provider, not a typical shared hosting provider. So, the pricing comparison should be between Apple and Apple, right?

Cloudway’s basic pricing starts at $11. Can you find better-managed WordPress hosting for $11? Maybe not. I would pay a little extra for hosting for better speed and security.

Cloudways can be costly only when you choose Google Cloud or AWS. Other than that, the pricing of different servers is good enough to host.

Cloudways Promo Code

Cloudwaysoffersg up to 20% off the First Invoice for RiansTech audiences. To take advantage of this, click the link below and use the promo code RIAN20.

[Please note that if you don’t use the promo code and do not click on the above link, you won’t get the 20% Off.]

Here is the summary of Cloudways Promo Codes

Promo CodeDescriptionAction
RIAN2020% Off For 1 MonthGet 20% Off
$25 Hosting CreditGet A $25 Credit
Free Trial For 3 DaysStart Free Trial

Cloudways Pricing And Cloudways Hosting Plans

Cloudways Hosting

$8.8 $11

Cloudways charges on an hourly or monthly basis. There is no long-term commitment and no hidden fees. You pay what you see when buying the plan.

For example, if you use their hosting for 10 days, you must pay for 10 days only, not for the whole month. There is nothing called a renewal fee in Cloudways.

You may wonder why we can’t host directly with cloud service providers like Digital Ocean or Vultr.

Of course, you can do that. The pricing is almost 50% less than what you pay to Cloudways for a similar set of resources.

But there is a catch.

If you directly host with Cloud server providers, you will miss the benefit of Managed hosting. You will need to manage everything yourself, which is not easy. The image below shows what you will miss if you directly host with a Cloud service provider.

Cloudways Vs Traditional Hosts
Cloudways Vs. Traditional Hosts

Cloudways has five IaaS providers: Google Cloud, AWS, Digital Ocean, Vultr, and Linode. Here are the different Cloudways plans based on different cloud servers.

We have shown the pricing for Digital Ocean servers because it is the most popular IaaS provider among the five listed above.

Cloudways Digital Ocean Server Plans

Digital Ocean has standard and premium servers. The pricing varies based on the type of server you choose.

Digital Ocean Standard Server Plans

Spec
price/ Month
offer price/ Month
discount
 
1GB Plan
Spec
1 Core
1 GB RAM
25 GB SSD
1 TB Bandwidth
price/ Month
$11
offer price/ Month
$8.8
discount
20%
RECOMMENDED
2 GB Plan
Spec
1 Core
2 GB RAM
50 GB SSD
2 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$24
offer price/ Month
$19.2
discount
20%
4 GB Plan
Spec
2 Cores
4 GB RAM
80 GB SSD
4 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$46
offer price/ Month
$36.8
discount
20%
8 GB Plan
Spec
4 Cores
8 GB RAM
160 GB SSD
5 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$88
offer price/ Month
$70.4
discount
20%

Digital Ocean Premium Server Plans

Spec
price/ Month
offer price/ Month
discount
 
1 GB Plan
Spec
1 Core
1 GB RAM
25 GB SSD
1 TB Bandwidth
price/ Month
$14
offer price/ Month
$11.2
discount
20%
RECOMMENDED
2 GB Plan
Spec
1 Core
2 GB RAM
50 GB SSD
2 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$28
offer price/ Month
$22.4
discount
20%
4 GB Plan
Spec
2 Cores
4 GB RAM
80 GB SSD
4 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$54
offer price/ Month
$43.2
discount
20%
8 GB Plan
Spec
4 Cores
8 GB RAM
160 GB SSD
5 TB Bandwidth
Object Cache Pro
price/ Month
$99
offer price/ Month
$79.2
discount
20%

Cloudways Data Centers

Cloudways data center location depends on the cloud server you choose. If you are targeting the USA and Europe region, almost all cloud service providers have a data center.

However, if your targeted audience is in India, you may choose Digital Ocean. The below image shows the list of data centers across different regions.

Cloudways Performance And Test Results

We never review any hosting provider without using it and running rigorous speed testing. Unlike other bloggers who never show the URL used for testing, we test actual sites.

We proudly show the URL used for testing because we believe in transparency and unbiased review.

For Cloudways, we took our live site ( RiansTech), and below are the results. We did not use any cache plugin for this test, as cache plugins always manipulate the server’s speed.

We have only used Perfmatters and Cloudflare CDN.

Here is how our site performs across different regions. Did you notice we are getting almost the same speed across various locations? That is the power of Cloudways and Cloudflare.

Cloudways Speed Test Report
Cloudways Speed Test Report

Speed Test Report

The images below show the speed test reports of RiansTech that we tested using different tools.

GT Metrix Speed Test

GTMetrix shows a perfect 100 score with a fully loaded time of 0.2 seconds, which is great. Just look at the total blocking time and CLS, which are 0. It’s all because of Perfmatters.

GT Metrix Speed Test Report
GT Metrix Speed Test Report

Web Core Vitals Test Report

Yes, We passed the web core vitals. It was possible only due to Cloudways. We scored an almost perfect 100 score in both the mobile and desktop versions.

RiansTech Web Core Vitals-Desktop
RiansTech Web Core Vitals-Desktop
Google Speed Insights Mobile
RiansTech Web Core Vitals-Mobile

Speed Vitals Test Report

We have also scored a perfect 100 here. Just look at the TTFB. It’s only 36 ms. Can you believe that?

Speed Vitals Test Report
Speed Vitals Test Report

TTFB Test ( Time To First Byte)

Here is RiansTech’s TTFB report for different regions. We are getting almost the same TTFB across all areas.

Please note that TTFB is the main factor in your website’s speed. TTFB is the time that the server takes to render the first byte.

rianstech TTFB
Cloudways TTFB
RiansTech TTFB Map On Cloudways
RiansTech TTFB Map
Cloudways TTFB-America
Cloudways TTFB-America
Cloudways TTFB-Europe
Cloudways TTFB-Europe
Cloudways TTFB-Asia
Cloudways TTFB-Asia

How To Host With Cloudways

You might have heard that Hosting a website on Cloudways is tough, especially if you are moving from the C panel.

Yeah, the Cloudways interface may be confusing for many, but once you get around it, you will find every option well laid out.

We are here to help you host your first website on Cloudways. If you follow the steps below, you will be done in 10 minutes.

Sounds interesting? Let’s go!

1. Sign Up For Cloudways

First, you need to buy a hosting plan. You can consider clicking this link, which will take you to the Cloudways home page.

There, click on the “Pricing” option on the menu bar. That will show you the Cloudways plans and pricing.

How To Host A Blog On Cloudways
How To Host A Blog On Cloudways- Pricing

Choose a plan based on your requirements. Once done, click ” START FREE,” which will take you to the signup page.

Cloudways Hourly Pricing
Cloudways Hourly Pricing For DO Server

There you can enter the promo code ” RIAN20” to get 20% off for the first month.

Cloudways Sign Up Page
Cloudways Sign-Up Page

2. Deploy Your Server

The next step is to choose a server. Enter the application information, server name, project name, etc. Then, select the server and the RAM size.

Choose the data center close to your targeted audience. That will affect your server TTFB. The data center location varies based on the server you choose.

Deploy Server
Deploy Server

At the end, click “Launch Now.

Deploying a server may take a couple of minutes (5-10 minutes). Please don’t refresh or close the page during the server deployment.

3. Launch Application

To add Applications, go to ” Applications” and click on “Add Applications.” Then, select the server for your application.

Launch Application
Launch Application

Select the server and click on ” Add Application.

Then, select the type of application (for example, WordPress) and the name of your application, and finally, click “Add Application.”

It may take some time (2-3 minutes) for the application to get installed.

4. Install SSL Certificate

Once you have installed the application and clicked on the installed application, you will get the following window.

Cloudways Application Settings
Cloudways Application Settings

Here, you can see the temporary URL, temporary admin URL, Admin user name/ password, and the database details.

If you want to access the hosting files, you need to create application credentials (4), as shown on the right.

To install the SSL certificate, please click the “SSL Certificate” option on the left.

Install SSL Certificate
Install SSL Certificate

Enter the email ID and domain name on which you want to install the SSL certificate. Please check the ” Apply Wildcard ” option, as it will also install the SSL certificate for all subdomains (if added to Cloudways).

Finally, please add the CNAME records to your DNS registrar. After some time, click ” Varify DNS” to ensure the CNAME records are added.

Record Type: CNAME
Host Name:_acme-challenge
Value/Alias: wordpress-851545-3099472.cloudwaysapps.com [ This will vary based on your application]

After that, please click on “ Install Certificate

5. Connet Your Domain

The final thing that you have to do is to connect your domain. When you installed the application, you got a temporary URL. Once you connect your domain, the temporary domain will be replaced by the actual domain.

To connect your domain, click on the ” Domain Management ” option.

Connet Domain
Connect Domain

Enter your domain name and save the changes. As shown on the right, you can add additional domains.

Finally, add the A Record and the CNAME record (4) to your domain registrar.

First Record

Record Type: A
Host Name:@ [ If you use Cloudflare, enter @, otherwise follow your domain registrar]
Value/Alias: Your Cloudways IP [ You will get that IP on your application details page]

Second Record

Record Type: CNAME
Host Name: WWW
Value/Alias: Your Cloudways IP [ You will get that IP on your application details page]

Once these DNS entries are live, you can access your website with the actual domain address.

That’s it. You are now hosted on Cloudways.

6. Request For Migration (In Case You Need it)

If you are moving away from another hosting provider to Cloudways, you can request free migration.

Please note that only the first website migration is free. Additional migrations will be charged at the rate below.

Cloudways Migration Charges
Cloudways Migration Charges

To raise a migration request, please go to ” Add Ons ” and submit it.

How To Migrate To Cloudways
How To Migrate To Cloudways
How To Migrate To Cloudways
How To Migrate To Cloudways

Did you know that Cloudways also has a migration plugin? You can transfer your website with that tool very easily without any support.

You can download the migration plugin by following the below instructions.

Cloudways Migration Tool
Cloudways Migration Tool

Getting Used To Cloudways Control Panel

The Cloudways interface is slightly different from the traditional C panel interface. So, let’s explore the interface and learn what we can do to manage our hosting.

Cloudways Backups

Cloudways has three backup options. Please note that Cloudways backup is not free.Theyy charge $.50 for each GB of data backup.

  • Scheduled Server Backup
  • On-Demand Server Backup
  • Application Backup

Scheduled Server Backup

Cloudways does a server backup automatically with a frequency of one day. However, you are free to change the frequency. The scheduled backup option is available for the whole server.

Cloudways Schedule Backup
Cloudways Schedule Backup

On-Demand Server Backup

You can also perform an on-demand backup of your server that can be downloaded to your local drive.

For the on-demand backup, you need to turn on the local backup option for the on-demand backup.

Application Backup

Like On-Demand Server Backup, you can also easily back up an on-demand application and restore it when needed.

Cloudways Application Backup
Cloudways On-Demand Application Backup

Cloudways Cron Job Management

You should turn off WordPress cron to improve the loading time of your website. However, many functions, like WordPress backup, depend on cron jobs. If you turn off the cron job, the backup won’t work.

In that case, you can use the server-side cron job, which won’t affect your website speed. To create a corn job yourself, please refer to this guide or raise a support ticket.

You can see the list of server-side cron jobs in the corn job management tab.

Cloudways Cron Job-Management
Cloudways Cron Job-Management

Cloudways Bot Protection

Cloudways Bot Protection is an excellent security tool that blocks unwanted traffic to your website. It is the Malcare security plugin tailored to the Cloudways environment.

Once you enable Bot Protection in the Cloudways dashboard, the plugin will automatically be installed in your WordPress application.

Cloudways Bot Protection
Cloudways Bot Protection

Application Monitoring

Cloudways has a detailed application monitoring system that gives you various data, as shown below. This data is very useful for finding the root cause of any issues your application might face.

Cloudways Application Monitoring
Cloudways Application Monitoring

Cloudways Vs Competitors

The best thing about Cloudways is that they have plans from $11 to $285 per month. Whether you are a beginner or have a high-traffic blog, Cloudways has a plan for you.

Due to this wide price range, Cloudways competes with many web hosts like, Rocket. Net, Kinsta, and WP Engine come close to (or better) Cloudways in terms of speed and features.

We have considered the basic plan for all web hosts. for all the comparisons below, Bandwidth is calculated assuming a page size of 500 KB.
FeaturesCloudwaysRocketKinstaWP Engine
ServerApacheApache+NGNIXNGNIXApache+NGNIX
CPU Cores13212Unknown
RAM( GB )1 GB128 GB8 GBUnknown
Storage (GB)25 GB10 GB10 GB10 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMeNVMeNVMe
Object CacheRedisRedisRedis($100/M)Unknown
Bandwidth1 TB50 GB100 GB50 GB
CDNCloudflare EnterpriseCloudflare EnterpriseCloudflare EnterpriseCloudflare Enterprise
Full Page Caching
HTTP/3
Image Optimization
WAF
Load Balancing
Cache PluginBreeze
Email Hosting
Free Migration
Free Backup
SupportGoodExcellentExcellentGood
Base Price$10$30$35$20
PlansLearn MoreLearn MoreLearn MoreLearn More

Cloudways Positives And Negatives

Positives

  • Multiple Cache mechanisms are in place ( Redis, Varnish, Memcached)
  • Excellent speed ( Even without any cache plugin)
  • Choice of 5 different cloud service providers.
  • It’s cloud hosting which is better than shared hosting
  • Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
  • Multiple security mechanisms are in place
  • Latest PHP version
  • Allows modifying PHP variables
  • MariaDB is better than MySQL
  • Dedicated hosting environment
  • No more CPU over-usage issues ( Except the 1 GB plan)
  • Free Breeze cache plugin
  • Easy migration using a migrator tool
  • Bot protection for free
  • Rackspace email Add-on
  • No long-term commitment. Pay as you go.
  • 3-day free trial. No credit card is required.
  • Excellent support team
  • Relatively better pricing than the competition.
  • Object cache using Redis/ Memcached

Negatives

  • Still uses Apache
  • The 1 GB plan suffers from CPU over-usage issues
  • No email hosting
  • No file manager
  • The Breeze plugin has a lot of bugs
  • No domain registration

Things That Could Have Been Better

No hosting is perfect, and Cloudways’ service also has its share of flaws. Although the positives of Cloudways outperform the negatives, we must let you know about its drawbacks so that you can make an informed purchase decision.

Breeze Plugin Needs A Lot Of Improvement

You might be tempted to use Breeze, a free cache plugin Cloudways offers. But trust me, this plugin has a bunch of issues.

The support team does not know how to fix these issues, and the developer does not intend to improve it.

When I used Breeze with CloudFlare CDN, my site broke multiple times, although the support team proactively restored it.

I suggest you use WP Rocket or FlyingPress along with Perfmatters to cache your websites.

Use Apache And Not LiteSpeed Server

Although the competition has moved away from Apache, Cloudways still uses It. The response time of the Lite Speed server is 2-3 times better than Apache’s.

Although the NGNIX reverse proxy has reduced the effect of using Apache, Cloudways still has much to do with their selection of web servers.

CPU Outage Issue In 1 GB Plans

I faced this issue a couple of times. However, the support team was prompt enough to suggest a solution.

A CPU outage occurs in 1 GB plans due to the use of an Apache Web server and the low CPU seconds per hour limit. It is better to go with the 2 GB plan or higher.

You can resolve the CPU outage issue by changing the following settings.

  • Disable WP heartbeat
  • Disable Auto Save
  • Disable Cron [Ask Cloudways support to create server-side Cron]
  • Use MariaDB 10.4
  • Use PHO 8.0
  • Increase PHP Memory limit
  • Increase PHP maximum execution time

No Email Hosting

For me, it’s not a negative, but for many, it could be. Cloudways does not offer email hosting. But you can buy the Rackspace add-on for $1/ Month/ Mailbox.

Rackspace can be integrated into the Cloudways dashboard. A detailed guide is available here.

If you don’t like RackSpace, you can use Google Workspace or Zoho (a cheaper option). I use Zoho, and I am very happy with it.

No File Manager

Unfortunately, Cloudways does not offer a file manager. You must depend on tools like Filezilla to access hosting files.

Should You Use Cloudways

Yes! Cloudways offers the most value-for-money hosting plans. Cloudway speed complements the pricing. You won’t get a fast hosting service like Cloudways in the price range that Cloudways deals.

The only other hosting that can beat Cloudways is Rocket.Net. Our testing shows that Rocket.net beats Cloudways in speed and security.

But Rocket.net pricing starts at $30, whereas for Cloudways, it’s $11. You need to consider that as well.

So, if you are a blogger, small business owner, or own a small e-commerce store, Cloudways would be a great choice for web hosting.

Conclusion: Cloudways Hosting Review

Cloudways is way better than shared hosting. The speed is excellent even without a cache plugin, and the WordPress admin area runs very smoothly.

Since Coudways does not use a C panel, there is a learning curve to getting used to the interface. However, Cloudways has extensive knowledge base articles that will help you learn things better.

Do you recommend Cloudways?

Yes! Of course. Even RiansTech is hosted on Cloudways.

Cloudways is undoubtedly the fastest-managed web host available in the market today, right behind Rocket.net.

Yeah, compared to Rocket.net, Cloudways is not that fast, but if you compare the pricing of Rocket.net and Cloudways, Cloudways is the most value-for-money host.

Once Cloudways offers full-page caching, it can easily catch Rocket.net in terms of speed. I hope Cloudways offers this service soon.

So, I would say, if you are serious about your website speed, move to Cloudways. You will get better speed, safety, and customer support, as well as a better hosting experience overall.

Guaranteed!

FAQ | Cloudways Review

What Is Cloudways?

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting service provider that offers the option of using Cloud Servers from Digital Ocean, Vultr, Linode, Google Cloud, or AWS.

Although you will get the cloud servers from the IaaS providers, Cloudways will give you the managed hosting service for your servers.

What Is The Difference Between Digital Ocean And Cloudways?

Digital Ocean is a cloud service provider, whereas Cloudways tests, deploys, and manages cloud servers for you.

Cloudways does not have any servers. Its servers depend on providers like Digital Ocean, Google Cloud, and AWS.

If you have the technical skills, you can host directly with Digital Ocean, but I suggest you go through Cloudways to reduce the burden of managing servers.

Which Is The Cheapest Cloudways Hosting Plan?

The cheapest plan is the Digital Ocean Standard server 1 GB plan. This plan comes with 1 GB RAM, 1 CPU Core, 25 GB SSD, and 1 TB bandwidth.

The plan costs $11/month, but if you use the promo code RIAN20, you will get 20% off the first month’s invoice.

Which Cloud Hosting Providers Does Cloudways Offer?

Cloudways offers the following service provider options.

Google Cloud
Digital Ocean
AWS
Vultr
Linode

Does Cloudways Offer Free Website Transfers?

Only the first website is free for migration. However, Cloudways has a migrator tool that can automatically transfer your website from other hosts to Cloudways.

You can also use the WPVivid plugin to transfer your websites.

Does Cloudways Offer Free Website Backups?

No, Website backup is not free in Cloudways. You will be charged $0.033 per GB for backups.

Is Cloudways Good Hosting?

Yes, of course. They are way better than other so-called premium-managed web hosts. Cloudways offers a secure, dedicated hosting environment, too.

Is Cloudways Worth It?

It depends. If you have just started your journey in this online space and do not make money from it, Cloudways will be a costly option for you.

But if you are serious about your business, you should consider moving to Cloudways, which offers some of the fastest web hosting available in the market today.

Cloudways Review
Cloudways hosting review

Cloudways is one of the fastest and secured web hosting. By using the promo code RIAN20, you can get up to 20% discount on the first month invoice. Grab the deal now!

Price: $11

Price Currency: USD

Operating System: Linux

Application Category: Web Hosting

Editor's Rating:
5
CloudWays Review : The Fastest Managed WordPress Hosting
CloudWays Review : The Fastest Managed WordPress Hosting
$8.8 $11
Rajib
Rajib

Rajib Is The Founder Of RiansTech. A Seasonal Blogger And A Full-Time Product Designer For Over Two Decades. A Technology Freak And Loves To Write About It. RiansTech Is A Online Home For Him Where He Documents His Experiences And Learnings So That Others Can Get Benefited From It.

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