Cloudways Pricing 2026: All Plans Compared
Every plan across 5 cloud providers — plus add-on costs, hidden fees, and the real monthly total. Starting at $11/month with hourly billing and no contracts.
Verified April 2026 · Live pricing on cloudways.com
🎯 Quick Price Summary
| Cloud provider | Cheapest plan | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean Standard 🏆 | $11/mo (1GB) | Small sites, blogs, budget |
| DigitalOcean Premium | $14/mo (1GB NVMe) | Better performance per $ |
| Vultr Standard | $14/mo (1GB) | DO alternative |
| Vultr High Frequency ⭐ | $16/mo (1GB) | Fastest TTFB, 72ms |
| Linode / Akamai | $14/mo (1GB) | Reliable Akamai backbone |
| AWS | $38.56/mo (2GB) | Enterprise-grade |
| Google Cloud Platform | $37.45/mo (1.75GB) | Enterprise-grade |
- Most popular pick: DigitalOcean Standard 2GB at $26/month — sweet spot for most WordPress sites.
- Best value for performance: Vultr High Frequency 2GB at $30/month — elite TTFB at mid-tier price.
💰 Full Pricing Tables by Cloud Provider
All prices are monthly USD with pay-as-you-go hourly billing. Annual billing saves 25% (effectively 3 months free).
DigitalOcean Standard — Best Entry Value
| Plan | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly | Annual (–25%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DO 1GB 🏆 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | $11.00 | $8.25/mo |
| DO 2GB | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB | 2 TB | $26.00 | $19.50/mo |
| DO 4GB | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB | 4 TB | $50.00 | $37.50/mo |
| DO 8GB | 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB | 5 TB | $97.00 | $72.75/mo |
| DO 16GB | 16 GB | 6 | 320 GB | 6 TB | $187.00 | $140.25/mo |
DigitalOcean Premium (NVMe SSD, AMD) — Better Per Dollar
| Plan | RAM | vCPU | NVMe | Bandwidth | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium 1GB | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14.00 |
| Premium 2GB | 2 GB | 2 | 60 GB | 2 TB | $32.00 |
| Premium 4GB | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB | 4 TB | $58.00 |
Vultr High Frequency — Best TTFB Performance
| Plan | RAM | vCPU | NVMe | Bandwidth | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vultr HF 1GB ⭐ | 1 GB | 1 | 32 GB | 1 TB | $16.00 |
| Vultr HF 2GB | 2 GB | 1 | 64 GB | 2 TB | $30.00 |
| Vultr HF 4GB | 4 GB | 2 | 128 GB | 3 TB | $58.00 |
Vultr HF clocks 72ms TTFB in independent 90-day testing — among the fastest managed hosting performance ever measured. See our Cloudways review for the benchmarks.
Vultr Standard, Linode, AWS, GCP
| Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Vultr Standard 1GB | $14.00 |
| Linode 1GB | $14.00 |
| AWS (2GB, 2 vCPU) | $38.56 |
| Google Cloud (1.75GB, 1 vCPU) | $37.45 |
AWS and GCP cost 3–4x DigitalOcean for comparable compute. Pick them only if you need AWS/GCP-specific services (RDS, enterprise SLAs, regional compliance).
Start with DigitalOcean 1GB Plan →
🧮 What You Actually Pay: Hidden Costs & Add-ons
The $11/month headline price is honest — but most real-world Cloudways setups add paid services that Kinsta and WP Engine include free. Here's the transparent math.
Add-on price list (verified April 2026)
| Add-on | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| CloudwaysCDN (Cloudflare Enterprise) | $4.99 / domain / mo | Edge Page Caching, Argo routing |
| Off-site backup storage | $0.033 / GB / mo | Daily off-server backup retention |
| Application migration | 1st free, then $25 / site | Cloudways expert handles migration |
| Malware Protection | $4 / app / mo | Auto malware scan and remove |
| SafeUpdates | $3 / app / mo | Auto-test + deploy WP updates |
| Rackspace Email | $1 / mailbox / mo | 25 GB business email per mailbox |
| Premium Support | $100–$500 / mo | Application-level WordPress help |
| DNS Made Easy | $0.04 / 1K queries | Premium DNS routing |
Bandwidth and storage overages
If you exceed included bandwidth or storage:
- Bandwidth: $0.02–$0.10 / GB (varies by region)
- Storage: $0.10 / GB / month
For most WordPress sites under 100K monthly visits, overages are minimal or zero.
📊 Realistic Total-Cost Scenarios
Scenario A — Small blog / personal site
| Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
| DigitalOcean 1GB Standard | $11.00 |
| CloudwaysCDN (1 domain) | $4.99 |
| Off-site backup (3 GB) | $0.10 |
| Total | $16.09 |
Scenario B — Business site with 3 mailboxes
| Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
| DigitalOcean 2GB Standard | $26.00 |
| CloudwaysCDN (1 domain) | $4.99 |
| Off-site backup (10 GB) | $0.33 |
| Rackspace email (3 mailboxes) | $3.00 |
| Total | $34.32 |
Scenario C — Agency hosting 5 client sites
| Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
| DigitalOcean Premium 4GB | $58.00 |
| CloudwaysCDN (3 domains) | $14.97 |
| Off-site backup (30 GB) | $1.00 |
| SafeUpdates (5 apps) | $15.00 |
| Malware Protection (5 apps) | $20.00 |
| Total | $108.97 |
Scenario D — WooCommerce store with automated everything
| Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Vultr High Frequency 2GB | $30.00 |
| CloudwaysCDN | $4.99 |
| Off-site backup (25 GB) | $0.83 |
| SafeUpdates | $3.00 |
| Malware Protection | $4.00 |
| Premium Support (lightest tier) | $100.00 |
| Total | $142.82 |
💡 Best Value Recommendations
If you're new to managed cloud hosting
Start: DigitalOcean 1GB Standard ($11/mo) + CloudwaysCDN ($4.99/mo) = $15.99 total.
Scale up to 2GB when you hit 30K monthly visits.
If you care about raw performance
Start: Vultr High Frequency 1GB ($16/mo) + CloudwaysCDN ($4.99/mo) = $20.99 total.
Elite TTFB (72ms) for under $21/month is the best performance-per-dollar in managed hosting.
If you're running WooCommerce or heavy plugins
Start: DigitalOcean Premium 2GB ($32/mo) + CloudwaysCDN ($4.99/mo) = $36.99 total.
NVMe storage + extra RAM handles database load cleanly.
If you need AWS/GCP compliance
Cloudways' AWS and GCP plans cost 3–4x DigitalOcean. Only make sense if you explicitly need AWS or Google Cloud infrastructure for reasons beyond hosting WordPress.
🆚 Cloudways Pricing vs Competitors
Head-to-head at comparable tiers:
| Host | Entry price | Mid-tier | Enterprise entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways 🏆 | $11/mo | $26–32/mo | $97–187/mo |
| Kinsta | $35/mo | $50–90/mo | $170–375/mo |
| WP Engine | $20/mo (Lite), $30 (Startup) | $55–109/mo | $276+/mo |
| SiteGround | $4/mo Y1, $17/mo renewal | $7 Y1 / $30 renewal | $11 Y1 / $43 renewal |
Cloudways is the cheapest managed cloud hosting at comparable infrastructure quality. SiteGround looks cheaper on Year 1 pricing, but its renewal rates (4x higher) and lower performance make it not a true peer.
For full head-to-head: Cloudways vs Kinsta · Cloudways vs WP Engine
🎁 Current Cloudways Promotions
Cloudways runs occasional promotions. As of April 2026, their standard offer is:
- 3-day free trial (no credit card required)
- Annual billing saves 25% (effectively 3 months free)
- Occasional seasonal promotions at 20–30% off first 2–5 months
We don't publish "discount codes" because most promo code landing pages are fake. The safest discount is annual billing.
💳 Payment, Billing, Cancellation
Accepted payment methods
- Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express)
- PayPal
- No cryptocurrency, no wire transfers on standard plans
Billing cycle
- Hourly billing — you pay only for the hours your server is active
- Monthly invoice on the date you signed up
- Prorated charges for mid-cycle changes
Money-back guarantee
3 days — the shortest in the industry. Use the 3-day free trial first. See our full review for how to evaluate Cloudways risk-free.
Cancellation
- Cancel anytime via dashboard
- Hourly billing means partial months are not charged in full
- No cancellation fees; keep confirmation emails like you would for any subscription
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Cloudways really cost per month?
The $11/month DigitalOcean Standard plan covers server + basic management + free SSL + staging. Realistic additions: CloudwaysCDN ($4.99/domain), off-site backup storage (~$1–3/month for small sites), and Rackspace email ($1/mailbox). A typical small business setup runs $18–25/month.
Does Cloudways offer a free trial?
Yes, a 3-day free trial with no credit card required. You can spin up a server on any of the 5 cloud providers, install WordPress, test performance, and evaluate support.
Does Cloudways have setup fees?
No. Pay-as-you-go, no setup fees, no cancellation fees. Hourly billing means you only pay for what you use.
Can I switch Cloudways plans anytime?
Yes. Vertical scaling takes approximately 2 minutes and hourly billing adjusts automatically. You can also migrate between cloud providers — Cloudways' first migration is free, additional migrations are $25 each.
What payment methods does Cloudways accept?
Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and PayPal. No cryptocurrency or wire transfers on standard plans.
🎯 Ready to Start?
Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card required. Spin up a server, install WordPress, test real performance before you commit a dollar.
See our full Cloudways review or compare vs Kinsta / WP Engine.