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Cloudways is a solid managed cloud host — but it's not right for everyone. No email hosting, a price step up from shared hosting, and limited WooCommerce-specific support drive users to evaluate alternatives. This page ranks the best options by benchmark data, not marketing copy.
Quick Comparison Table
#1 ScalaHosting — Best Overall Cloudways Alternative
Why We Like It
- 28ms TTFB — 61% faster than Cloudways (72ms) on better hardware
- $29.95/mo for 2c/4GB — $20/mo cheaper than Cloudways Year 1
- Email hosting included — saves $72+/yr vs Cloudways
- Fully managed — same convenience as Cloudways
- AMD EPYC 9474F (#31 PassMark) — newest CPU generation tested
- 33ms @ 100 users (+18% degradation) — best load stability
Drawbacks
- Renewal ~$82/mo — factor into long-term cost
- No cloud provider choice
- No Git deployment workflow
Performance Specs
- Port Speed: 1Gbps (Dedicated)
- Throughput: High (Stable)
- Traffic: Unmetered
$29.95/mo
Anytime Money Back Guarantee
ScalaHosting wins on every benchmark that matters for WordPress: 28ms TTFB (vs Cloudways 72ms), 33ms at 100 concurrent users (vs 98ms), 38ms at 250 users (vs 125ms). This isn't marginal — it's 3x faster under concurrent load on newer AMD EPYC 9474F hardware.
Why ScalaHosting beats Cloudways:
- 61% faster TTFB — AMD EPYC 9474F #31 PassMark vs Vultr HF EPYC 7003 ~#40
- DDR5 RAM + PCIe 5.0 NVMe (2,457 MB/s) vs Cloudways' DDR4 + PCIe 3.0/4.0
- Email hosting included — saves $72+/yr
- $29.95/mo for 2c/4GB vs $50/mo — $240/yr cheaper in Year 1
- 99.997% uptime vs Cloudways' 99.981%
- SPanel free — saves $180/yr vs cPanel licensing
Where Cloudways beats ScalaHosting:
- No renewal shock — ScalaHosting jumps to ~$82/mo at renewal; Cloudways stays flat
- 5 cloud providers vs ScalaHosting's single infrastructure
- Git deployment and 65+ datacenter locations
- Over 2 years, Cloudways is slightly cheaper at comparable specs
#2 Kinsta — Best for Single Premium Sites
Kinsta Pros
- MyKinsta dashboard — best managed WordPress UI
- Built-in APM and hack-fix guarantee
- Google Cloud C2 infrastructure
- Automatic WordPress updates — truly hands-off
Kinsta Cons
- Per-site pricing — 10 sites = $340/mo vs Cloudways' $50/mo
- 25k visit/mo limit on Starter — overages at $1/1,000
- ~120ms TTFB — slower than both Cloudways and ScalaHosting
Benchmark Data
- Speed: Excellent
- Uptime: 99.99%
- Scaling: Expensive
$35.00/mo
30-Day Money-Back
Kinsta is the right Cloudways alternative for a specific user: one high-value WordPress site where fully managed convenience justifies a premium price. The MyKinsta dashboard is the best managed WordPress UI available. Built-in APM tells you which queries are slow. Hack-fix guarantee. Automatic WordPress core and plugin updates.
Why it's #2 and not #1: per-site pricing makes it prohibitively expensive at scale. At 10 sites, Kinsta costs $340/mo vs Cloudways' $50/mo or ScalaHosting's $29.95/mo. Visit limits (25k/mo on Starter) mean WooCommerce stores burn through allocation fast. And at ~120ms TTFB, Kinsta is slower than both Cloudways and ScalaHosting.
#3 WP Engine — Best for Agency Genesis/Theme Work
- Genesis Framework + premium themes included
- Global edge network (CDN built in)
- Advanced staging + Git deployment
- Automated daily backups, 1-click restore
- ~115ms TTFB — similar to Kinsta, slower than Cloudways
- Per-site pricing — 10 sites = $290/mo
- Visit limits — 25k/mo on Startup, overages expensive
- PHP workers limited on lower plans
WP Engine makes sense for agencies deeply invested in the Genesis Framework ecosystem — they own StudioPress and include premium Genesis themes. The Global Edge CDN is built in (no separate Cloudflare setup). Advanced staging and Git deployment are included at all plan tiers.
Downsides: per-site pricing ($96/mo for 10 sites on Growth) and visit limits make it expensive for high-traffic or multi-site operations. TTFB (~115ms) is slower than both Cloudways and ScalaHosting. For users not specifically needing Genesis themes or the WP Engine staging/Git workflow, there's limited justification over ScalaHosting's superior hardware at lower cost.
#4 SiteGround Cloud — Best for Support-Focused Users
- Google Cloud infrastructure
- SuperCacher — effective server-side caching
- Strong customer support reputation
- Automated backups, staging included
- $100/mo entry for cloud plans — more expensive than Cloudways
- Renewal increases — 200%+ price jump common
- No cloud provider choice (Google Cloud only)
- ~110ms TTFB — slower than Cloudways
SiteGround has a strong support reputation and a solid platform on Google Cloud infrastructure. Their SuperCacher delivers effective server-side caching. Automated daily backups, staging, and CDN are included.
The problem: SiteGround Cloud entry starts at $100/mo — more expensive than Cloudways on comparable specs. And SiteGround is notorious for renewal price jumps of 200%+ on their shared plans (less dramatic on cloud, but present). For users who prioritize support quality above all else and don't need multi-cloud flexibility, SiteGround Cloud is worth evaluating. For most others, Cloudways or ScalaHosting delivers better value.
#5 Raw DigitalOcean — Best for Developers Ditching Cloudways
Digitalocean Pros
- $6/mo for 1c/1GB — less than half of Cloudways $14/mo
- Full root access — install any stack
- Kubernetes, managed databases, object storage
- $200 free credit for new accounts
- Industry-best documentation
Digitalocean Cons
- No WordPress management — you configure Nginx, PHP, Redis manually
- 2-4 hours setup time for production WordPress
- ~75ms TTFB on stock 1-click WP — no managed optimization
- Security patching is your responsibility
Specs
- CPU: Standard
- Network: 1Gbps
- Support: None
$4.00/mo
Developer Standard
DigitalOcean is the underlying infrastructure that Cloudways runs on. Going raw means eliminating the management markup — $6-24/mo instead of $14-50/mo for comparable specs. You get full root access, Kubernetes, managed databases, object storage, and the best developer documentation in cloud hosting.
The trade-off is complete: no WordPress management layer, no pre-configured Nginx stack, no staging, no monitoring dashboard. A raw DigitalOcean droplet with a stock WordPress install delivers ~75ms TTFB — but only after 2-4 hours of manual Nginx/PHP-FPM/Redis configuration. For developers who do this routinely, the cost savings are real. For everyone else, this isn't an "alternative" — it's a different product category.
Why People Switch from Cloudways
The most common reasons we see users evaluating Cloudways alternatives:
- Performance gap — ScalaHosting's 28ms vs Cloudways' 72ms is visible in Google Core Web Vitals scores and real user experience. For competitive SEO niches, 44ms TTFB difference matters.
- Email costs add up — $72+/yr for Google Workspace on every client account is a real overhead for agencies managing 10+ sites. ScalaHosting and SiteGround include email.
- 4c/8GB price shock — Cloudways charges $118/mo for 4c/8GB Vultr HF. ScalaHosting charges $35.95/mo for the same specs with faster hardware. The 3x price gap at higher tiers drives research.
- Post-acquisition uncertainty — DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in 2022. Some users prefer independently-owned hosts (ScalaHosting, Vultr) for vendor risk reasons.
- WooCommerce-specific features — Nexcess and Liquid Web offer WooCommerce-specific managed hosting with better plugin support guarantees than Cloudways' general-purpose managed cloud.
None of these are dealbreakers on their own. Cloudways remains a strong product — especially for multi-cloud flexibility, price predictability, and developer tooling. But for raw WordPress/WooCommerce performance at the lowest managed cost, apply a Cloudways promo code and benchmark against ScalaHosting before deciding.
Cloudways Alternatives FAQ
What is the best alternative to Cloudways?
ScalaHosting is the best Cloudways alternative for most WordPress users. It delivers 28ms TTFB vs Cloudways' 72ms — 61% faster. At $29.95/mo for 2c/4GB, it's $20/mo cheaper than Cloudways in Year 1. Email hosting is included. Fully managed with no sysadmin work required. The watch-out: renewal jumps to ~$82/mo after the intro term, making Cloudways cheaper over a 2-year horizon on comparable specs.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Cloudways?
Yes — several. ScalaHosting at $29.95/mo (2c/4GB) is $20/mo cheaper than Cloudways in Year 1 with better performance. Raw DigitalOcean or Vultr HF ($6-24/mo) is significantly cheaper but requires Linux sysadmin skills to set up and manage. For shared hosting users, Hostinger at $2.99/mo is cheaper but cannot handle real traffic (timeouts at 100 concurrent users). The cheapest option that matches Cloudways' managed convenience is ScalaHosting Year 1.
Why would someone switch from Cloudways?
Common reasons: (1) Performance — ScalaHosting at 28ms vs Cloudways' 72ms is a meaningful difference for high-traffic sites; (2) Email — Cloudways doesn't include email hosting, adding $72+/yr in Google Workspace costs; (3) Cost at scale — Cloudways' 4c/8GB plan is $118/mo; ScalaHosting's equivalent is $35.95/mo; (4) Post-acquisition concerns — DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in 2022, and some users prefer independently-owned hosts. None of these are disqualifying on their own — but the combination drives evaluations.
Does ScalaHosting have the same features as Cloudways?
Most features overlap. Both offer: managed stack, Redis caching, staging environments, SSH root access, auto SSL, and team access management. Key differences: Cloudways has Git deployment, 5 cloud provider choices, and 65+ datacenter locations. ScalaHosting has faster hardware (AMD EPYC 9474F), email hosting, SPanel (free vs cPanel's $15/mo), and SShield security. For pure WordPress management, ScalaHosting covers everything most users need. For multi-cloud deployment or Git-based workflows, Cloudways wins.
Is Kinsta a good alternative to Cloudways?
For a single high-value WordPress site: yes. Kinsta's MyKinsta dashboard, built-in APM, hack-fix guarantee, and Cloudflare Enterprise CDN justify the premium for single sites. For multi-site operators: no — Kinsta charges $35/mo per site with visit limits. At 10 sites, Kinsta costs $340/mo vs Cloudways' $50/mo (all sites on one server). Performance: Kinsta's Google Cloud C2 delivers ~120ms TTFB vs Cloudways' 72ms. Kinsta is a premium product for a specific use case — it's not the right 'cheaper alternative.'
What is better than Cloudways for agencies?
It depends on what the agency needs. For raw performance across multiple client sites: ScalaHosting (28ms, unlimited sites per server, no renewal shock on a 2-year view). For multi-cloud deployment across global regions: Cloudways itself wins — no alternative matches its 5-provider, 65+ location flexibility. For fully managed WooCommerce with dedicated support: Nexcess or Liquid Web. For the best combined performance + price for a typical WordPress agency: ScalaHosting with the caveat of managing renewal pricing.
Try ScalaHosting — #1 Cloudways Alternative ➦
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