Cloudways
Cloudways is managed cloud hosting for WordPress (and other apps) on DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, Vultr, and Linode infrastructure.
What Cloudways actually is
Cloudways was founded in 2009 in Malta by Aaqib Gadit and Pere Hospital. The company was acquired by DigitalOcean in October 2022 for $350M. Cloudways operates as a managed-services layer on top of major cloud providers (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, Linode) — giving customers the performance benefits of cloud infrastructure with the operational simplicity of managed hosting.
Cloudways' value proposition: cloud-provider performance at managed-hosting prices, with no DevOps required. You pick a cloud provider, pick a server size, and Cloudways handles the WordPress installation, security, backups, and scaling. The model is similar to WP Engine and Kinsta but with multi-cloud choice and per-server (rather than per-site) pricing.
How it fits in the broader stack
The platform sits in the mid-to-premium tier of WordPress hosting — typically priced between SiteGround and Kinsta/WP Engine on a per-site basis but with more flexibility (one server can host many sites at no extra per-site cost).
The DigitalOcean acquisition changed Cloudways' strategic direction toward closer integration with DigitalOcean infrastructure. The other cloud-provider options remain available but the DigitalOcean offering is now the primary push.
Key features and capabilities
Core features: managed WordPress on DigitalOcean/AWS/GCP/Vultr/Linode, dedicated server per customer (vs shared infrastructure on traditional managed WordPress), Cloudways Bot for performance monitoring, automatic backups, staging environments, free SSL, server-level caching (Varnish, Memcached, Redis), Cloudflare integration, free migrations, 24/7 support, custom server-level configuration via SSH access.
Recent additions: tighter DigitalOcean integration, enhanced AI-powered support, automated scaling features, expanded data center options, improved control panel UX.
Pricing and tier comparison
Pricing: DigitalOcean Standard starts at $14/month for 1GB RAM / 25GB SSD / 1TB bandwidth. AWS and GCP start higher ($36+ and $33+ respectively). Premium DigitalOcean tiers run $42-$200+/month. Vultr and Linode options offer competitive pricing. All plans include unlimited sites on the server (subject to server resources).
Trade-offs vs Kinsta/WP Engine: Cloudways requires more technical comfort — you're managing a server (with help) rather than getting a fully-managed site. Performance can match or exceed Kinsta if configured well; performance can be worse if not. Multi-site hosting on one server is a cost advantage for agencies managing many sites.
RGM Experts Say
RGM Experts Say: Cloudways is great for agencies. We've recommended it to many agency clients managing 10-50 sites — the cost per site drops dramatically vs Kinsta/WP Engine on shared servers. For single-brand sites at scale, we still default to Kinsta or WP Engine because the operational overhead of Cloudways' more-hands-on model isn't worth the cost savings for a single site.
When we recommend it (and when we don't)
We recommend Cloudways for: agencies hosting many client sites where one shared server is more economical than per-site pricing, technically comfortable teams who want performance flexibility, brands wanting AWS or GCP infrastructure without managing it directly. We recommend Kinsta or WP Engine for: teams that want the most-managed experience, brands where the engineering team's time is better spent elsewhere.
RGM Experts Say: Cloudways is great for agencies. We've recommended it to many agency clients managing 10-50 sites — the cost per site drops dramatically vs Kinsta/WP Engine on shared servers. For single-brand sites at scale, we still default to Kinsta or WP Engine because the operational overhead of Cloudways' more-hands-on model isn't worth the cost savings for a single site.
How we work with this technology
We use the tools that fit the job. If our approach feels aligned with your business, apply for an engagement.