SiteGround and Cloudways both target WordPress users who do not want to administer raw Linux. The difference is that SiteGround is polished shared hosting, while Cloudways is managed cloud hosting on top of providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud.
Pricing: the multi-year picture
SiteGround pricing
| Plan | Intro price (first term) | Renewal price | Sites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StartUp | $2.99/mo | $17.99/mo | 1 | 10 GB |
| GrowBig | $4.99/mo | $29.99/mo | Unlimited | 20 GB |
| GoGeek | $7.99/mo | $44.99/mo | Unlimited | 40 GB |
The intro-to-renewal gap is dramatic. Over three years, a StartUp plan costs approximately $460 (first year at intro pricing, two years at renewal).
Cloudways pricing (DigitalOcean, standard droplets)
| Plan | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Price/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DO 1 GB | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14 |
| DO 2 GB | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | $28 |
| DO 4 GB | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | $54 |
Cloudways pricing is transparent month-to-month. Over three years, the DO 2 GB plan costs $1,008 — comparable to SiteGround GrowBig at renewal pricing, but with dedicated resources.
Cost comparison: 3 years, 1 site
| Option | 3-year total | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| SiteGround StartUp | ~$460 | Shared resources, email included, 1 site |
| SiteGround GrowBig | ~$700 | Shared resources, email included, unlimited sites (shared limits apply) |
| Cloudways DO 1 GB | ~$504 | Dedicated 1 GB RAM, 1 core, 25 GB, no email |
| Cloudways DO 2 GB | ~$1,008 | Dedicated 2 GB RAM, 1 core, 50 GB, no email |
Performance
Resource model
- SiteGround: Shared hosting. You share CPU, RAM, and I/O with other accounts. Resource limits are not publicly specified but are enforced. Heavy WooCommerce, large imports, or traffic spikes can hit these limits.
- Cloudways: Dedicated cloud server. The resources you pay for are yours alone. You can vertically scale by upgrading the server size.
Caching
- SiteGround: SG Optimizer plugin provides server-level caching. Good for basic sites. Redis is not available on shared plans.
- Cloudways: Breeze plugin + Varnish + Redis (available on all plans). The caching stack is more complete and handles WooCommerce better.
Real-world difference
For a simple brochure site with 5,000 monthly visits, both perform well. The difference becomes visible with:
- WooCommerce (10+ products, checkout traffic)
- Membership sites (logged-in users bypass most caching)
- Page builders (Elementor/Divi generate heavy admin queries)
- Staging/cloning (Cloudways makes this one-click; SiteGround limits it to higher plans)
Email hosting
This is SiteGround’s strongest differentiator:
- SiteGround: Email hosting is included on all plans. Inboxes, forwarders, and webmail work out of the box. No separate email provider needed.
- Cloudways: No email hosting. You need Google Workspace ($7/user/month), Microsoft 365, or an add-on like Rackspace Email ($3/user/month).
For a small business with 5 mailboxes, SiteGround saves $35/month in email costs.
Staging and development workflows
| Feature | SiteGround | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Staging | Higher plans only (GoGeek) | All plans, one-click |
| Cloning | Manual or plugin-based | One-click clone |
| Git integration | GoGeek plan | Via SSH or deployment tools |
| PHP version switching | Limited control | Full control, per-application |
| SSH access | All plans | All plans |
| WP-CLI | All plans | All plans |
Cloudways wins for development workflows. The one-click staging and cloning on every plan is genuinely useful for agencies and developers who test updates before pushing live.
Support
- SiteGround: Chat and ticket support. Better than most shared hosts. Good for WordPress basics, plugin conflicts, and site issues. Response times are reasonable.
- Cloudways: Chat and ticket support. Knowledgeable about their platform. Less hand-holding for WordPress-specific issues. Expects you to understand basic server concepts.
Neither should be confused with a dedicated sysadmin or a premium managed WordPress support team.
Security
| Feature | SiteGround | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| SSL | Free Let’s Encrypt | Free Let’s Encrypt |
| WAF | Server-level (details limited) | Cloudways firewall + optional add-ons |
| Backups | Daily, 30-day retention (higher plans) | Configurable frequency, off-server |
| Malware scanning | Not included on base plans | Available via add-ons |
| 2FA | Yes | Yes |
Verdict by use case
| Use case | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Simple brochure site, non-technical owner | SiteGround | Bundled email, easier onboarding |
| Small business with email needs | SiteGround | Email included saves $30+/month |
| Growing WordPress site | Cloudways | Dedicated resources, easy scaling |
| WooCommerce store | Cloudways | Redis, Varnish, better resource isolation |
| Agency managing client sites | Cloudways | One server, multiple sites, staging, cloning |
| Developer/technical user | Cloudways | Full control, Git, SSH, PHP versions |
| Budget-conscious, 3-year view | Depends | SiteGround intro is cheaper; Cloudways is cheaper after renewals kick in |
Practical recommendation
Choose SiteGround if you want one provider for website, email, SSL, and basic WordPress tooling. The convenience is real, and for a simple site, the performance is perfectly acceptable.
Choose Cloudways if performance, staging, and cloud resources matter more than bundled email. The value gap widens over time as SiteGround renewals increase and Cloudways pricing stays flat.
For agencies and developers who know what they are doing — Cloudways. For non-technical site owners who want one login and one support contact — SiteGround.