Pressable fits site owners who want the fewest decisions, while Cloudways fits agencies and developers who want more sites per dollar and can size a server.
Pressable Signature 1 costs $250 a year billed yearly for one site, with a CDN included.
A Cloudways 2 GB server costs $288 a year, and 10 small sites can share a $552-a-year server.
Pressable, owned by Automattic, is managed WordPress hosting: you pick a plan by sites and visits, and it runs everything below WordPress.
Cloudways runs the server software, but you choose the cloud provider and server size.
The Pressable review and the Cloudways review cover each host in full. This page focuses on who does which job.
Pressable vs Cloudways: the short verdict
Pressable wins on hands-off management and included extras, while Cloudways wins on cost once you host several sites without a paid CDN.
Pressable: for site owners who want WordPress hosting with as few decisions as possible, plus Jetpack Security and a CDN included.
Cloudways: for agencies and developers who want more sites per dollar and are happy to size and resize a server.
Both leave plugin updates to you unless you pay for their automation add-on. That surprises a lot of buyers.
Pressable vs Cloudways at a glance
| Decision point | Pressable | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $250 a year billed yearly, or $25 a month (Signature 1) | $11 a month (1 GB DigitalOcean server) |
| What you pay for | Sites and monthly visits | Server size, unlimited sites |
| Traffic overage | $1.20 per 1,000 extra visits | No visit counting |
| CDN | Included | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on from $4.99 per domain |
| Titan, free for 90 days, then $3.50 per inbox | Rackspace add-on from $1.50 per mailbox | |
| Backups | Hourly database, daily files, kept at least 30 days | Automated; offsite storage $0.033 per GB |
| Refunds and trial | 30-day money-back guarantee | 3-day free trial, no money-back guarantee listed |
| Support | 24/7, about 4-minute average first response | 24/7 live chat and tickets |
| Current plans and prices | See Pressable plans | See Cloudways plans |
Who handles what at Pressable and Cloudways
Pressable handles server sizing and WordPress core updates for you, while on Cloudways you size the server and handle core updates unless you buy SafeUpdates.
Where the table says You, the job is yours unless you pay extra.
| Task | Pressable | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing server size | Pressable | You |
| Server software and OS patching | Pressable | Cloudways |
| WordPress core updates | Pressable | You, or SafeUpdates add-on |
| Plugin and theme updates | You, or update scheduler add-on | You, or SafeUpdates add-on |
| Backups | Pressable, hourly database and daily files | Cloudways, automated |
| Security plugin | Jetpack Security included | Not bundled |
| CDN | Included | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on |
| Titan add-on after a 90-day free trial | Rackspace add-on | |
| Staging | Included | Included |
| Handling traffic spikes | Plan limit, then overage fees | Server capacity, then resize |
The rest of this page explains each row that affects your cost or workload.
WordPress updates on Pressable and Cloudways
Pressable updates WordPress core at no extra cost, while Cloudways charges $3 per app a month (for 1 to 5 apps) for SafeUpdates, which covers core, plugins, and themes.
Pressable manages WordPress core and keeps Akismet, Jetpack, and Jetpack Protect current, according to its updates article. Site owners handle other plugins and themes.
For automation, Pressable sells a plugin update scheduler at $3 per site a month, or $30 a year.
It backs up the site, tests updates on a staging copy, and runs Lighthouse checks before and after.
Cloudways sells SafeUpdates, which detects, tests, and deploys core, theme, and plugin updates.
It costs $3 per app a month for 1 to 5 apps, and $2 each from 6 apps up. It includes visual regression testing and automatic rollbacks.
For a single site, this means automated plugin updates cost $3 a month at both hosts. The difference is WordPress core: Pressable handles it for free.
Plugin updates are the most common cause of broken sites. How a host deals with plugin conflicts matters more than most spec sheets.
Pressable and Cloudways prices for 1 and 10 sites
Pressable costs $250 a year for one site against $288 on Cloudways, but for 10 sites Cloudways costs $552 a year against Pressable’s $900.
| Setup | Pressable per year (billed yearly) | Cloudways per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 site | $250 (Signature 1, 30,000 visits) | $288 (DO2GB server) |
| 1 site with a CDN | $250, CDN included | $347.88 (plus Cloudflare Enterprise at $4.99 a month) |
| 10 sites | $900 (Signature 4, 150,000 visits) | $552 (DO4GB server) |
| 10 sites with a CDN | $900, CDN included | $1,150.80 (plus $4.99 a month per domain) |
Pressable’s prices come from its pricing page. Cloudways lists its servers and the Cloudflare Enterprise add-on in its pricing table.
Prices confirmed on September 25, 2026.
Prices change often, so check Pressable’s current prices and Cloudways’ current prices before you buy.
Pressable’s yearly prices equal 10 months of its monthly rate. Billed monthly, Signature 1 is $25 a month, or $300 a year, per Pressable’s pricing explainer.
Pressable shows no separate intro or renewal rates. Cloudways figures are 12 months of pay-as-you-go billing with no contract.
The Cloudways server sizes are our assumption for small, low-traffic sites. A busy store may need a larger server.
For your budget, this means Cloudways wins on raw hosting cost for many sites, but adding a CDN to each domain can flip the result.
Pressable and Cloudways traffic limits in a spike
Pressable charges $1.20 per 1,000 visits over your plan’s allowance, while Cloudways doesn’t count visits and lets a spike use up server capacity instead.
Pressable plans start at 30,000 monthly visits on Signature 1. Extra storage costs $1.00 per GB.
Each Cloudways server has a fixed amount of RAM, CPU, and bandwidth.
For your site, a viral day on Pressable costs money but keeps the site up.
On Cloudways, the same day costs nothing extra but may slow the site until you resize.
Winner: depends on your risk. Pressable if uptime matters most during spikes. Cloudways if predictable bills matter more.
Pressable and Cloudways backups, security, and email
Pressable includes Jetpack Security and keeps backups for at least 30 days, while Cloudways sells email for less per mailbox ($1.50 vs $3.50 a month).
Backups: Pressable runs hourly database and daily file backups, and keeps them for at least 30 days, per its backups page.
Cloudways includes automated backups and charges $0.033 per GB for offsite storage.
Security: Pressable includes Jetpack Security, which it values at $239 a year.
Cloudways manages server firewalls and OS patching, per its DigitalOcean hosting page, but doesn’t bundle a WordPress security plugin.
Email: Pressable offers Titan Professional Email free for 90 days, then $3.50 per inbox a month.
Cloudways sells Rackspace email from $1.50 per mailbox a month.
Winner: Pressable for backups and security. Cloudways for cheaper long-term email.
Pressable vs Cloudways uptime, support, and refunds
Pressable offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 4-minute average first response, while Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial and lists no refund policy.
Support: Pressable offers 24/7 support and lists an average first response of about four minutes. Cloudways offers 24/7 live chat and tickets, with Advanced Support as a paid upgrade.
Uptime: Pressable’s pricing page lists its 100% uptime SLA only under Premium Site plans, from $350 a month. Its SLA covers qualifying plans and contracts without naming them.
We found no uptime SLA percentage on Cloudways’ pricing or terms pages.
Refunds: Pressable’s pricing page lists a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card, except on AWS and Google Cloud, per its pricing page, but we found no money-back guarantee.
Winner: Pressable, for a refund window and fast stated response times.
Pressable and Cloudways comparison pages, checked
Pressable and Cloudways each publish a page about the other, and each contains at least one claim that the official pages don’t support.
| Claim | Made by | What the official pages show now |
|---|---|---|
| Pressable includes automatic core and plugin updates | Pressable | Pressable’s own knowledge base says other plugins and themes are the owner’s job |
| Pressable offers a 100% uptime guarantee | Pressable | Its pricing page lists that SLA only under Premium Site plans |
| Pressable keeps daily backups for up to 14 days | Cloudways | Wrong: Pressable says it keeps backups for at least 30 days |
| Pressable starts from 30,000 visits | Cloudways | Matches Pressable’s pricing page |
Read the Pressable page and the Cloudways page as sales pages. Each leaves out its own add-on costs.
Pressable vs Cloudways winners by category
Pressable wins six of 11 categories, mostly on convenience and included features, while Cloudways wins on multi-site cost, traffic billing, server choice, and email price.
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fewest decisions | Pressable | No server sizing |
| WordPress core updates | Pressable | Handled at no extra cost |
| Automated plugin updates | Tie | $3 per site a month at both for one site |
| Cost for 1 site with a CDN | Pressable | $250 vs about $348 a year |
| Cost for 10 sites without a CDN | Cloudways | $552 vs $900 a year |
| Included extras | Pressable | Jetpack Security and CDN |
| Backup retention | Pressable | At least 30 days stated |
| Email cost | Cloudways | $1.50 vs $3.50 per mailbox after Pressable’s trial |
| Traffic billing | Cloudways | No visit counting |
| Server choice | Cloudways | Five cloud providers |
| Refunds | Pressable | 30-day money-back guarantee |
Our pick: Pressable for business owners who want WordPress handled with little effort. Cloudways for agencies and developers who want more sites per dollar.
Should you choose Pressable or Cloudways?
Choose Pressable for one or a few business sites you want fully handled, and Cloudways for many small sites on one server.
If you run one business site and don’t want to think about servers, Pressable Signature 1 costs $250 a year with a CDN and Jetpack Security included.
An agency hosting ten small brochure sites will usually pay less on a Cloudways DO4GB server, especially if the sites don’t need a paid CDN.
Worried about plugin updates breaking things? Budget about $3 per site a month for automated, tested updates at either host.
Running a site with unpredictable traffic? Choose Pressable if staying online matters most, or Cloudways if you’d rather avoid overage fees.
Pressable also faces another managed host in WP Engine vs Pressable.
What managed WordPress hosting actually manages is worth reading before you compare any two hosts, and wider questions sit in the managed WordPress section.
Ready to check prices? Visit Pressable or visit Cloudways to see today’s plans before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pressable better than Cloudways?
For hands-off WordPress hosting, yes. Pressable runs the servers and WordPress core updates, while Cloudways costs less once you host many sites.
Does Pressable or Cloudways update WordPress core for free?
Pressable does. On Cloudways, core updates are yours unless you add SafeUpdates, from $3 per app a month.
Is Pressable or Cloudways cheaper?
Pressable is cheaper for one site with a CDN ($250 vs about $348 a year). Cloudways is cheaper for ten small sites without a CDN ($552 vs $900).
Does Pressable or Cloudways include email?
Neither includes it long term. Pressable’s Titan email is free for 90 days, then $3.50 per inbox a month, and Cloudways charges from $1.50 per mailbox.
Does Pressable or Cloudways charge for extra traffic?
Pressable charges $1.20 per 1,000 visits above your plan. Cloudways doesn’t bill for visits, so a spike only uses up server capacity.
Does Pressable or Cloudways offer a money-back guarantee?
Pressable offers 30 days. Cloudways has a 3-day free trial but lists no money-back guarantee.
How we compared Pressable and Cloudways
This comparison is built from official sources only.
For Pressable, we used its pricing page and pricing explainer, updates article, update scheduler, backups, and email pages, SLA, and Cloudways comparison page.
For Cloudways, we used its pricing page and pricing table, DigitalOcean hosting page, SafeUpdates page, email add-on page, and Pressable comparison page. All details were checked on September 25, 2026.
Our Methodology and Editorial Guidelines explain how we research hosts and correct errors.
