WP Engine
$35at 1 site
$21 a month dearer$65 at 3 sites
A business that wants its WordPress site run for it, with a path from one site to thirty on the same platform.
- Also lists custom code
Home › Website software › Cloudways › Alternatives
Cloudways alternatives
The 5 closest of 5, each with its real monthly cost at 1 site and what it does that Cloudways does not. See all 17.
Every platform here that costs less than Cloudways gives up something we verified. There is no cheaper like-for-like, so the question is which feature you are willing to trade, and the cards below name it for each one. That is a point in its favour, not a dodge.
Why people look for an alternative
It builds nothing: there are no templates or design tools, no free domain, email is a paid add-on, and a single small site still pays for a whole server.
It runs $14 a month at 1 site with the add-ons it forces on you included. Nothing else we list in website builders and WordPress hosts costs less than that.
The closest thing to Cloudways
Ranked by how much of what we record for Cloudways each platform also does. WP Engine is the nearest, and it is $21 a month dearer at 1 site. On every feature this site records, the two are level.
The rest, in order of how close they are
Prices are the real monthly cost at 1 site with the add-ons each platform forces on you included, from the same engine the shortlist quiz uses.
Elementor Hosting
$15at 1 site
$1 a month dearer$35 at 3 sites
Agencies and freelancers who build in Elementor and want Google Cloud hosting, staging, backups and one support desk for several WordPress sites.
- Also lists selling products online and a free domain for the first year
SiteGround
$17.99at 1 site
$3.99 a month dearer$29.99 at 3 sites
A small business that wants one WordPress site hosted cheaply for the first year with a free domain and email, and does not mind the price stepping up at renewal.
- Also lists custom code and a free domain for the first year
Kinsta
$35at 1 site
$21 a month dearer$99 at 3 sites
A WordPress site whose owner wants speed, security and support handled, from one site up to twenty on one account.
- Also lists custom code, selling products online and a members area
Bluehost
$15.99at 1 site
$1.99 a month dearer$15.99 at 3 sites
A first WordPress site on a small budget, with the domain, SEO plugin and AI setup bundled, as long as you will prepay three years.
- Also lists building the site with AI, custom code, selling products online, a free domain for the first year, a members area and SEO tools
What Cloudways is still the best answer for
Someone who already has, or will build, a WordPress site and wants it on a managed cloud server they size themselves, paying by the hour for the server rather than per site.
On this site it is the pick for managed WordPress hosting, running WordPress and owning a site you can take elsewhere. Which is why nothing cheaper here matches it.
Cloudways against one other, side by side
The pairs people actually search for, each one priced at the same four sizes off both vendors' own pages.
Cloudways vs BluehostBoth priced at four sizes Cloudways vs GoDaddy Website BuilderBoth priced at four sizes Cloudways vs Hostinger Website BuilderBoth priced at four sizes Cloudways vs KinstaBoth priced at four sizes Cloudways vs SiteGroundBoth priced at four sizes Cloudways vs WP EngineBoth priced at four sizes
Questions people ask about Cloudways alternatives
Is there a cheaper alternative to Cloudways?
Every cheaper option we price gives something up against Cloudways, which is a point in its favour.
How much does Cloudways cost?
Cloudways is $14 a month at every size we price, from 1 to 10 sites, read off their own pricing page and re-checked every week.
Why do people look for alternatives to Cloudways?
It builds nothing: there are no templates or design tools, no free domain, email is a paid add-on, and a single small site still pays for a whole server.
How many alternatives to Cloudways are there?
We compare 5 of them here, every one priced at the same size off its own pricing page, and the whole list of 17 is on the website software page.
Should yours be on this list? If you make website builders and WordPress hosts and it is not compared here, ask to be shortlisted. Listings are free and cannot be bought.
How to read the feature lines
Two features were checked against each vendor's own pricing page: a free plan and running WordPress. Those are the ones written above as does and does not. The other twelve are read out of each vendor's own pricing page, so an absence there means we did not find it listed, not that the product lacks it, and those lines say lists and does not list instead. How all of this gets checked.
Or let it pick for you
This page compares everything to Cloudways. The shortlist asks 7 questions about the site you need and how hands-on you want to be, and gives you four picks priced at your own numbers, which is a better question than “what is like the one I already have”.
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