Cloudways Review: Is Pay-As-You-Go Cloud Hosting Actually Worth the Setup?
Every DigitalOcean-based Cloudways server tier includes unlimited websites and unlimited visits. The number you’re actually paying for is server resources, not a site cap.
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that lets you run WordPress, Magento, Laravel, and PHP apps on servers from DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud.
DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in 2022, and Cloudways now operates as a DigitalOcean brand.
Quick Answer
Cloudways is a good fit for developers and agencies who want cloud server resources without managing the server directly.
It’s less of a fit for someone who wants a simple one-price shared hosting plan.
Cloudways’ DigitalOcean-based servers start at $14 a month for its Micro tier, confirmed on Cloudways’ own pricing page, September 8, 2026.
Pricing scales by server resources, not by number of websites: $28 a month for Small, $54 a month for Medium, and $99 a month for Large.
Every DigitalOcean-based tier includes unlimited websites and unlimited visits, so the number you’re choosing between is RAM, vCPU, and storage, not a site-count cap.
This review confirmed that allowance on the DigitalOcean tier specifically, not on Cloudways’ other four cloud-provider options.
What sets Cloudways apart on paper: billing is hourly and pay-as-you-go, with no long-term contract required.
Cloudways’ own pricing page states you pay $0.0208 an hour for Micro, working out to the same $14 monthly figure if you keep the server running all month.
You can also choose Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud instead of DigitalOcean as the underlying server, though this review confirmed exact pricing only for the DigitalOcean tier.
Cloudways carries a 4.6/5 “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot from roughly 3,720 reviews as of this writing. That count is a live counter and moves daily.
Who should look elsewhere: anyone who wants a flat monthly shared hosting price with no server-tier decision to make.
Cloudways requires picking both a cloud provider and a resource tier before checkout.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unlimited websites and unlimited visits on every DigitalOcean-based server tier, so pricing is driven by resources, not a site cap
- Hourly, pay-as-you-go billing with no long-term contract required
- Choice of five underlying cloud providers: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud
- Free Object Cache Pro and free Redis cache included, tools Cloudways’ own page values at $95 and $100 a month respectively if bought separately
- 4.6/5 “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot from roughly 3,720 reviews
Cons
- No flat single price the way shared hosting works; you’re choosing a cloud provider and a resource tier, which adds a decision step some shoppers won’t want (see our breakdown of why hosting renewal pricing jumps like this)
- This review confirmed exact pricing only for the DigitalOcean-based tier; AWS and Google Cloud-based servers are typically priced higher on Cloudways, per the platform’s own multi-cloud model, though exact current figures for those weren’t independently confirmed
- Offsite backup storage is a separate pay-per-use charge, $0.033 per GB per server, not bundled into the base price
- Cloudways Autonomous, its newer fully-managed autoscaling product, doesn’t publish self-serve pricing the way the Flexible tier does
- Since the 2022 DigitalOcean acquisition, Cloudways operates as a DigitalOcean brand rather than an independent company, worth knowing if that ownership structure matters to your decision
Review Summary
| Category | What we found |
| Starting price | $14/mo (Micro, DigitalOcean-based, pay-as-you-go) |
| Billing model | Hourly, pay-as-you-go, no long-term contract required |
| Websites/visits per tier | Unlimited on every tier |
| Cloud providers offered | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud |
| Free trial | 3 days, no credit card required |
| Third-party rating | 4.6/5 “Excellent” on Trustpilot, ~3,720 reviews (live counter, checked September 2026) |
| Best for | Developers and agencies who want cloud server resources without managing the server directly |
About Cloudways
Cloudways was founded in August 2012 by Aaqib Gadit and Pere Hospital in Malta, built to simplify cloud server management with automation and a managed interface.
The company grew to serve small and medium businesses, digital agencies, and e-commerce platforms that wanted cloud infrastructure without direct server administration.
DigitalOcean announced its acquisition of Cloudways in August 2022 for $350 million in cash, with the deal closing the following month.
Cloudways now operates as a DigitalOcean brand, and its pricing page is branded “Cloudways by DigitalOcean.”
The company’s current headquarters is in New York.
Pricing & Plans
Cloudways sells two distinct products: Cloudways Flexible, a customizable pay-as-you-go platform, and Cloudways Autonomous, a newer fully-managed autoscaling product built for high-traffic WordPress, eCommerce, and LMS sites.
This review focuses on Flexible, since Autonomous doesn’t publish self-serve pricing on the page checked for this research.
For how Cloudways compares against other cloud-hosting-style providers, see our best VPS hosting roundup.
Cloudways Flexible, DigitalOcean-based Basic servers
| Tier | Price | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Transfer |
| Micro | $14/mo ($0.0208/hr) | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB NVMe | 1 TB |
| Small | $28/mo ($0.0417/hr) | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB NVMe | 2 TB |
| Medium | $54/mo ($0.0804/hr) | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB NVMe | 4 TB |
| Large | $99/mo ($0.1473/hr) | 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB NVMe | 5 TB |
Cloudways Hosting Detailed Plans and Pricing
DigitalOcean Micro |
DigitalOcean Small |
DigitalOcean Medium |
DigitalOcean Large |
Vultr Micro |
Vultr Small |
Vultr Medium |
Vultr Large |
Linode Micro |
Linode Small |
Linode Medium |
Linode Large |
AWS Micro |
AWS Small |
AWS Medium |
AWS Large |
Google Cloud Small |
Google Cloud Medium |
Google Cloud Large |
Google Cloud XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$11
/mo |
$24
/mo |
$46
/mo |
$88
/mo |
$14
/mo |
$28
/mo |
$54
/mo |
$99
/mo |
$14
/mo |
$28
/mo |
$59
/mo |
$105
/mo |
$20.56
/mo |
$38.56
/mo |
$91.84
/mo |
$183.22
/mo |
$37.33
/mo |
$84
/mo |
$152.02
/mo |
$241.50
/mo |
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Every tier includes unlimited websites, unlimited visits, free migration, vertical scaling, and a built-in firewall with IP blocking.
Also included at every tier: free Object Cache Pro, free Redis cache, free advanced staging, and a free WordPress vulnerability scanner.
Cloudways also offers General Purpose and CPU Optimized server types at different price points, and Premium server options in addition to Standard, none of which this review priced in detail.
Choosing Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud instead of DigitalOcean changes both pricing and available server types; this review confirmed detailed figures only for the DigitalOcean tier.
Offsite backup storage costs $0.033 per GB per server, billed separately from the base server price.
Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card required.
Cloudways’ pricing page didn’t state a specific uptime SLA or a money-back guarantee period for this review. Confirm both directly with Cloudways before buying if either matters to your decision.
Use Cases
A developer managing a single WordPress or Laravel project can start on the Micro tier for $14 a month.
Unlimited visits are included rather than a traffic cap to plan around.
An agency running multiple client sites on one server can use any tier’s unlimited-website allowance, since Cloudways prices by server resources rather than by site count.
A store or app expecting variable traffic can use hourly billing to scale a server up or down without committing to a fixed monthly plan in advance.
A high-traffic eCommerce or LMS site that wants autoscaling without managing server tiers manually can look into Cloudways Autonomous, though pricing for that product isn’t self-serve.
Hosting Types
Cloudways Flexible. Pay-as-you-go managed cloud hosting for WordPress, Magento, Laravel, and PHP apps, with a choice of five underlying cloud providers and multiple server-resource tiers.
For a direct comparison against other cloud-platform hosts, see our Cloudways comparison with Liquid Web.
Cloudways Autonomous. A newer, fully-managed autoscaling product for dynamic high-traffic eCommerce and LMS sites, positioned as a hands-off alternative to Flexible’s manual tier selection. Pricing isn’t published for self-serve.
Detailed Features
| Feature | Cloudways’ offering |
| Billing model | Hourly, pay-as-you-go, no long-term contract |
| Cloud providers | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud |
| Websites/visits per tier | Unlimited on every DigitalOcean-based tier (confirmed for that tier only) |
| Storage type | NVMe SSD across DigitalOcean-based tiers |
| Caching | Free Object Cache Pro and free Redis cache included on every tier |
| Firewall | Built-in firewall with IP blocking included |
| Migration | Free migration included |
| Backup storage | $0.033/GB per server, billed separately from the base price |
| Free trial | 3 days, no credit card required |
| Uptime SLA | Not stated on the pricing page checked for this review |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated on the pricing page checked for this review |
| Third-party rating | 4.6/5 “Excellent” on Trustpilot, ~3,720 reviews (checked September 2026, live counter) |
Cloudways Plans Features in Detail
Sources: cloudways.com/en/pricing.php and trustpilot.com/review/cloudways.com, both viewed live on September 8, 2026.
Infrastructure
Cloudways Flexible runs on infrastructure from whichever cloud provider you select at checkout: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, or Google Cloud.
DigitalOcean-based servers use NVMe SSD storage across the Basic server type, with General Purpose and CPU Optimized server types also available for different workload profiles.
Since the 2022 acquisition, Cloudways operates as a DigitalOcean-branded platform, though it still offers competing cloud providers as underlying infrastructure options.
Support & Usability
Free trial. Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial without requiring a credit card, letting you test the platform before choosing a server tier.
Included tooling. Every server tier bundles free Object Cache Pro and free Redis cache, tools Cloudways’ own pricing page values at $95 and $100 a month, respectively, as standalone purchases.
This review didn’t independently verify that valuation against third-party pricing for those specific tools.
Support channels. Cloudways’ pricing page didn’t specify its support channels (chat, ticket, or phone) or hours in the sections checked for this review.
Confirm current support options directly with Cloudways before buying if that matters to your decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cloudways good for hosting multiple websites?
Yes, based on its documented pricing structure.
Every DigitalOcean-based server tier includes unlimited websites and unlimited visits, so multiple sites don’t add cost the way a per-site shared hosting plan might.
This review confirmed that allowance on the DigitalOcean tier specifically, not on Cloudways’ other four cloud-provider options.
Does Cloudways require a long-term contract?
No. Cloudways bills hourly on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no long-term contract required to get started.
How much does Cloudways cost per month?
DigitalOcean-based servers range from $14 a month (Micro, 1 GB RAM) to $99 a month (Large, 8 GB RAM) on Cloudways’ Basic server type.
Pricing is based on resources rather than site count.
Can I choose which cloud provider hosts my Cloudways server?
Yes. Cloudways offers DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud as underlying providers, though pricing and available server types vary by provider.
Who owns Cloudways?
DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in 2022 for $350 million and now operates it as a DigitalOcean-branded platform.
Does Cloudways offer a free trial?
Yes, a 3-day free trial with no credit card required.
Is backup storage included in Cloudways’ base price?
No. Offsite backup storage is billed separately at $0.033 per GB per server.
Does Cloudways have an uptime guarantee or a money-back guarantee?
Cloudways’ pricing page didn’t state a specific uptime SLA or money-back guarantee period for this review. Confirm both directly with Cloudways before buying if either matters to your decision.
Our Verdict
Cloudways’ strongest documented advantage is its unlimited-websites, unlimited-visits structure on DigitalOcean-based tiers, paired with hourly, no-contract billing.
That combination is a genuinely different pricing model from the flat-tier shared hosting most competitors sell.
The tradeoff is an extra decision step: you’re choosing both a cloud provider and a resource tier rather than picking a single named plan.
The bundled Object Cache Pro and Redis cache are a real, documented value-add on every tier, not just the higher ones.
Buyers who specifically want a simple one-price shared plan with no server-tier decision may find Cloudways’ setup less straightforward than a traditional shared host.
Alternative Reviews
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How We Evaluated Cloudways
This review is built from Cloudways’ own current live pricing page for its DigitalOcean-based server tiers, plus Cloudways’ Trustpilot profile for third-party rating data.
Company history and the DigitalOcean acquisition were cross-checked against public acquisition records rather than either company’s own framing alone.
See our Methodology page for what each of our evaluation methods means and what it entitles a review to claim.
