Cloudways has emerged as a trailblazer in the hosting world with its flexible pricing structure and unparalleled performance.
This article is a detailed analysis of Cloudways pricing. We’ll look at Cloudways hosting plan prices, as well as any additional or hidden costs, for that matter. If costs are a big deciding factor for you, this review will help you make the right choice.
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What are The Available Cloudways Pricing Plans?
Cloudways isn’t like most hosting providers. Cloudways prices are sort of a combination of flat-rate and pay-as-you-go. There are set rates for plans and resources, but you only pay for what you use throughout the month.
Furthermore, the prices are dependent on the cloud provider you choose. However, this pay-as-you-go model applies to all the plans for all the providers.
If you really want to find out if Cloudways is worth your money, you could also try their free trial. They offer a three-day free trial for the starter plans for DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr.
Here’s a snapshot of what their plans cost by each cloud provider:
DigitalOcean
- The cheapest plan with DigitalOcean cloud infrastructure costs $10 per month ($0.0139 per hour) and includes 1 GB RAM, 1 Core, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
- With DigitalOcean, the most expensive plan costs $1,035 per month ($1.4735 per hour) and gives you 192 GB RAM, 32 cores, 3840 GB storage, and 12 TB bandwidth.
- The best value plan with DigitalOcean costs $42 per month ($0.0583 per hour) and includes 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 80 GB storage, and 4 TB bandwidth.
Linode
- The cheapest plan with Linode costs $12 per month ($0.0167 per hour) and includes 1 GB RAM, 1 Core, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
- On Linode servers, the most expensive plan costs $1,205 per month ($1.6736 per hour) and gives you 192 GB RAM, 32 cores, 3840 GB storage, and 20 TB bandwidth.
- The best value plan with Linode costs $50 per month ($0.0694 per hour) and includes 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 80 GB storage, and 4 TB bandwidth.
Vultr
- The cheapest plan with Vultr cloud infrastructure costs $11 per month ($0.0153 per hour) and includes 1 GB RAM, 1 Core, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
- The most expensive plan costs $385 per month ($0.5347 per hour) and gives you 64 GB RAM, 16 cores, 1280 GB storage, and 10 TB bandwidth.
- On Vultr servers, the best value plan with DigitalOcean costs $44 per month ($0.0611 per hour) and includes 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 80 GB storage, and 3 TB bandwidth.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- The cheapest plan is AWS Small, costing $36.51 per month ($0.0507 per hour) and includes 2 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
- The most expensive plan is AWS 24XL, which costs $3,569.98 per month ($4.9583 per hour) and gives you 384 GB RAM, 96 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
- On AWS, the best value plan is AWS Medium, priced at $86.77 per month ($0.1205 per hour) and includes 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
Google Cloud (GCE)
- The GCE Small is the cheapest at $33.18 per month ($0.0461 per hour) and gives you 1.70 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
- GCE n1-std-32 is the most expensive plan costing $1,290.30 per month ($1.7921 per hour) and includes 120 GB RAM, 32 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
- The best value plan on GCE is the GCE n1-std-1 that costs $73.50 per month ($0.1021 per hour) and gives you 3.75 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 GB storage, and 2 GB bandwidth.
What impressed us the most at Cloudways is their pricing model. With pay-as-you-go, there’s a lot of flexibility in pricing. You can find the details here.
You don’t need to buy a large plan just for higher bandwidth or more storage. You get charged for what you use in terms of resources at the end of the month.
How Much Does Cloudways Cost Per Month?
Cloudways monthly costs will depend on the following things:
- Cloud provider you choose
- The base plan you choose
- Any add-ons you add to your account
If you just stick to the Cloudways hosting package and use only the resources provided, here’s what your monthly or hourly costs will look like:
DigitalOcean
Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Costs (USD) | Hourly Costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DO1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25 GB | 1 TB | $10 | $0.0139 |
DO2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 60 GB | 2 TB | $22 | $0.0306 |
DO3GB | 3 GB | 2 Cores | 80 GB | 4 TB | $42 | $0.0583 |
DO4GB | 4 GB | 4 Cores | 120 GB | 5 TB | $80 | $0.1111 |
Linode
Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Costs (USD) | Hourly Costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Linode1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25 GB | 1 TB | $12 | $0.0167 |
Linode2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 50 GB | 2 TB | $24 | $0.0333 |
Linode4GB | 4 GB | 2 Cores | 80 GB | 4 TB | $50 | $0.0694 |
Linode8GB | 8 GB | 4 Cores | 160 GB | 5 TB | $90 | $0.1250 |
Vultr
Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Costs (USD) | Hourly Costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VULTR1GB | 1 GB | 1 Core | 25 GB | 1 TB | $11 | $0.0153 |
VULTR2GB | 2 GB | 1 Core | 55 GB | 2 TB | $23 | $0.0319 |
VULTR4GB | 4 GB | 2 Cores | 80 GB | 3 TB | $44 | $0.0611 |
VULTR8GB | 8 GB | 4 Cores | 160 GB | 4 TB | $84 | $0.1167 |
AWS
Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Costs (USD) | Hourly Costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AWS Small | 1.75 GB | 1 Core | 20 GB | 2 GB | $36.51 | $0.0507 |
AWS Medium | 3.75 GB | 1 Core | 20 GB | 2 GB | $86.77 | $0.1205 |
AWS CO Large | 4 GB | 2 Cores | 20 GB | 2 GB | $158.26 | $0.2198 |
AWS Large | 8 GB | 2 Cores | 20 GB | 2 GB | $176.26 | $0.2448 |
GCE
Plan | RAM | CPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Costs (USD) | Hourly Costs (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GCE Small | 1.7 GB | 1 Core | 20 GB | 2 GB | $33.18 | $0.0461 |
GCE n1-std-1 | 3.75 GB | 1 Core | 20 GB | 2 GB | $73.50 | $0.1021 |
GCE n1-std-2 | 7.5 GB | 2 Cores | 20 GB | 2 GB | $139.52 | $0.1924 |
GCE H4 | 15 GB | 4 Cores | 20 GB | 2 GB | $225.93 | $0.3138 |
These monthly costs include the standard features included in all plans and the resources included in the plan. Anything extra will be charged separately every month and may not necessarily include a discount if you have a yearly subscription.
Which Cloudways Plan Should You Go for?
With five cloud providers on the table, it may get confusing for you as to which is the right plan for your particular business.
Provider | Best For | Not For | Cheapest Price/Month |
|---|---|---|---|
DigitalOcean | ●Small startups with a limited budget ● Not so tech-savvy ● Easy scaling High-traffic ● High-traffic websites | Not for businesses or enterprises looking for very fast servers | $10 |
Linode | ● Website developers ● Cheap bandwidth requirement | Not ideal for fast scaling websites as scaling process takes times | $12 |
Vultr | ● Any blog or e-commerce looking for cheaper hosting than AWS or Google Cloud ● Ideal for those looking for 100% SSD servers at affordable pricing | ● Not ideal for very dynamic sites with lots of daily data backups ● The scaling up process is slow | $11 |
AWS | ● Critical applications with high-reliability needs ● Global traffic ● Environment-friendly companies looking to reduce emissions ● Developers looking for a wide range of language support | Too expensive for a fast-growing business | $36.51 |
GCE | ● GCE plans are best for managed WordPress hosting ●Global websites with varying traffic needs ● Eco-friendly businesses Non-profit organizations | With the most expensive bandwidth, it’s not for businesses on a restricted budget or unpredictable peaks in traffic. | $33.18 |
Cloudways Migration Pricing
Cloudways offer one free migration with all its plans. You can have their experts migrate one application over to Cloudways at no cost to you. However, any additional managed migrations will be at additional cost.
The expert migration prices are dependent on the application you’re migrating. You can purchase it as an add-on. Here is Cloudways migration pricing for each application:
Application | Price per Application |
|---|---|
WordPress and WooCommerce
| $25 |
Magento, Drupal, and Prestashop | $125 |
Joomla, Opencart | $99 |
PHP | $199 |
Cloudways Renewal Price
Cloudways billing is based on a pay-as-you-go model, in which there aren’t any terms. So you don’t necessarily need to renew your subscription. Your plan is renewed every month at no additional cost.
Cloudways, unlike, small hosting retailers, doesn’t jack up prices at renewal. The prices are very reasonable, and you’re free to drop out whenever you like. They never lock you in any kind of contract.
Cloudways Costs for Optional Add-ons
In addition to its stellar hosting plans, Cloudways offers a range of add-on services and features. The Cloudways fees for add-ons vary by the nature of the add-on. Some services that are otherwise available for free with many hosting providers are only offered as an add-on on Cloudways.
Here’s what they offer:
- Customer Support Add-ons: Costing $100 and $500 per month, the Advanced and Premium Support add-ons improve response time on tickets. The Premium support also includes phone support.
- Gmail SMTP: While Cloudways doesn’t have email hosting, it does offer a free Gmail SMTP to send out emails. You can use it for sending out auto-emails on forms and queries.
- CloudwaysCDN: The CloudwaysCDN, Cloudways very own CDN with a global network, is available only as an add-on at $1/25GB.
- Rackspace Email Hosting: For email hosting on Cloudways, Rackspace add-on is a good option with prices starting at just $1 per month.
- Automatic Upgrades: For automatic WordPress or Magento updates carried out by experts, you can buy this add-on for $50 per month.
- DNS Made Easy: With fast DNS, this add-on will cost you $2.5 per month.
Cloudways Money-Back Guarantee and Refunds
Cloudways doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee. However, it does offer a three-day free trial for its services. You can try out their hosting for DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode servers. AWS and Google Cloud are not available for a free trial.
As for Cloudways refund, it uses a pay-as-you-go model, so you don’t really have to pay in advance. As a result, even when you decide to cancel Cloudways account, chances are there won’t be a need for a refund.
However, if you have unused resources or an add-on you’ve paid for in advance, you can request a refund through customer support.
You stop hosting at Cloudways by simply deleting the server. Make sure to backup your website before you delete the server. Once you do, you won’t be charged anymore and will be billed till the exact time of server deletion.
If you also want to cancel the whole account, go to Account in the header bar. Scroll down and you’ll see the option to cancel your account.
Does Cloudways Have Any Hidden Costs?
Cloudways is very transparent about its pricing. There are things that your application would require that are an additional cost. However, Cloudways makes it very clear before the start of hosting as to what is included in the price of hosting and what will cost you extra.
Therefore, there aren’t any hidden costs as such. Also, the prices don’t go up all of a sudden. They do inform in advance and also clarify if there’s a raise in Cloudways costs.
Off-site Backup
Cloudways charges $0.033 per GB for off-site backups. This service is free from some cloud hosts and even traditional hosting providers, but Cloudways charges a fee. You can store the backup anywhere you like.
CloudwaysCDN
Cloudways makes it clear that their CDN is available as an additional service at a cost. Most managed hosting providers are including CDN in the hosting plans, but Cloudways doesn’t.
CloudwaysCDN’s pricing is very affordable, starting at just $1 per 25 GB.
Cloudways Bandwidth Charges and Fees for Limit Exceeds
This Cloudways overage prices for extra bandwidth varies by the cloud provider. It does provide ample bandwidth for DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr, starting at 1 TB. However, the bandwidth for AWS and GCE is limited, so you may need to pay more when you exceed it.
Here are the additional charges for bandwidth:
- Digital Ocean: $0.02 per GB
- Linode: $0.02 per GB
- Vultr: $0.01 to $0.05 per GB (depending on location)
- AWS: $0.12 per GB
- GCE: $0.14 per GB
Cloudways Pricing Structure for Non-Profit Organizations
Cloudways offers a special discount of 20 percent off on the first year of hosting (includes all plans) for eligible non-profit organizations. Only official non-profits that are non-commercial, non-political, and have no religious affiliation are eligible for these discounted rates of hosting on Cloudways.
Verdict on Cloudways Pricing and Costs
Cloudways offers the power in your hand. You choose the cloud provider, you decide the resources you need, and then you only pay for what you use. That’s an ideal scenario for any growing business looking for cost-effective hosting.
Cloudways monthly costs are dependent on your plan, resource usage, and add-ons. It’s easier to get your costs in control on this platform, as compared with others that charge a flat-rate.
It’s definitely a viable option and recommended for both startups and enterprises. They offer nearly 10 plans with each cloud provider (except Vultr), so you can easily scale up as your business grows.
Although you have to pay extra for some things like CDN, email, and off-site backups, Cloudways pricing is perhaps its biggest strength. They have increased their prices over time but that was to bolster the infrastructure and services even more.
As compared with other competitors like Kinsta or WPEngine, at least as far as WP is concerned, Cloudways prices are relatively affordable.
Interested in the full details of how Cloudways fare? Read our Cloudways review here.
Here are some of the pricing for other hosting providers that you might wish to compare against:
Other head-to-head comparison:
What is the cheapest Cloudways pricing plan?
The cheapest plan on Cloudways is the DigitalOcean DO1GB plan for $10 per month ($0.0139 per hour) and includes 1 GB RAM, 1 Core, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
How does the pay-as-you-go system work?
While you choose the plan you want to go with, you’re only charged for the resources you use. You’re not charged a flat rate regardless of your resource usage. The billing occurs on an hourly basis, measuring the use of resources like memory, storage, CPU cores, and bandwidth every hour.
What are the payment methods that Cloudways accept?
Cloudways payment options/methods include credit/debit cards and PayPal.
What happens when I exceed the plan’s limit?
Cloudways will charge you for the extra resources. In some cases, your account may be temporarily stopped if the spike is too high. You may be asked to pay in advance for the extra resources.
For bandwidth exceeds, you’re just billed as per the rate for the provider at the end of the month.
How do I cancel my Cloudways account?
You can cancel your account by going into Account on the top right corner on the header, scrolling to Cancel Account.
Does Cloudways offer refunds or money-back guarantee?
Cloudways does not offer a money-back guarantee. It does offer a refund for any prepaid unused resources.
Does Cloudways offer refunds or money-back guarantee?
Cloudways does not offer a money-back guarantee. It does offer a refund for any prepaid unused resources.
Does Cloudways have any hidden fees?
No, Cloudways is very transparent about prices and fees, so there are no hidden costs
Is there any alternative to Cloudways?
There are a couple of Cloudways alternatives and competitors that you might be interested in.