Cloudways occupies the middle ground between unmanaged VPS and fully managed WordPress hosting. It layers server management, a caching stack, and a control panel on top of raw cloud infrastructure from DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. You get VPS performance with most of the management handled.
Plans and pricing
Cloudways charges a premium on top of the underlying cloud provider’s cost:
| Provider | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Cloudways Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14/mo |
| DigitalOcean | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB | 2 TB | $28/mo |
| DigitalOcean | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB | 4 TB | $54/mo |
| Vultr | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14/mo |
| Vultr High Freq | 1 GB | 1 | 32 GB | 1 TB | $16/mo |
For comparison, a DigitalOcean $24/mo droplet costs $54/mo on Cloudways. You pay roughly 2.2x the raw cloud cost for management, caching, and support. Whether that premium is worth it depends on how much you value your time.
Performance
Cloudways’ “ThunderStack” includes Varnish in front of Nginx, Redis for object caching, and PHP-FPM. This is a well-tuned stack:
- WordPress TTFB (cached): ~10-20 ms on the $14 plan
- WordPress TTFB (uncached): ~80-120 ms
- Load testing: ~300 concurrent users on the $28 plan without degradation
The caching stack eliminates most of the WordPress performance overhead. Uncached performance is similar to a well-tuned self-managed VPS.
What Cloudways manages (and what it doesn’t)
Managed:
- Server provisioning and OS updates
- PHP, Nginx, MySQL/MariaDB configuration
- Security patches
- Firewall configuration
- Backups (automated, configurable frequency)
- Caching stack setup and tuning
Not managed:
- WordPress core/plugin/theme updates (you handle these)
- Email hosting (need a separate service)
- Custom server software (no root access)
- DNS management (use Cloudflare or your registrar)
- Performance optimisation beyond the caching stack
The “not managed” list is important. Cloudways manages the server, not the application. If a plugin causes performance issues or a theme update breaks your layout, you are on your own — or you pay for their premium support add-on.
The 2024-2026 changes
Since Cloudways was acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022, several changes have affected the service:
- Price increases: The $10/month plan became $14/month. The $22 plan became $28.
- Support tiering: Premium support is now an add-on ($100/month for “Advanced” tier). Standard support response times have lengthened.
- Platform investments: The control panel has improved. Staging environments and team features are better than they were pre-acquisition.
The trend is toward enterprise pricing. For a single site, Cloudways is still reasonable. For agencies managing 50+ sites, the cost has become significant.
Comparison: Cloudways vs self-managed VPS
| Factor | Cloudways | Self-managed VPS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 10 minutes | 2-4 hours (first time) |
| Monthly cost | $14+ | $5-10 (raw VPS) |
| Server security | Handled | Your responsibility |
| Caching config | Pre-configured | You set up |
| Root access | No | Full |
| Custom software | Limited | Anything |
The value proposition is clear: if server management is a distraction from your actual work, Cloudways’ premium is justified. If you enjoy server configuration and want maximum control, go direct.
Verdict
Rating: 3.5/5
Cloudways is a solid choice for WordPress sites that need VPS performance without server administration. The caching stack is genuinely well-configured, the control panel is intuitive, and the infrastructure is reliable.
The price increases and support changes give pause. At $14/month for 1 GB RAM, the value is decent but no longer exceptional. At $54/month for 4 GB, you are approaching managed WordPress hosting territory (Kinsta, WP Engine) or could run multiple sites on a direct VPS.
Buy if: You want a managed VPS with a good caching stack and do not want to configure Nginx and Redis yourself.
Skip if: You are comfortable with server management, need root access, or are price-sensitive. A direct VPS with RunCloud or SpinupWP costs less and gives you more control.