Cloudways pros and cons: the 7 things to know in one table
Cloudways is excellent value for anyone running several websites or outgrowing shared hosting, but its headline price is not the whole bill and it asks more decisions of you than a fully bundled host. Four genuine strengths and three real drawbacks cover almost everything that matters before you sign up.
| # | Point | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One server can host many websites, so cost per site drops as you add sites | Pro |
| 2 | Pay-as-you-go billing with no introductory-to-renewal price jump | Pro |
| 3 | Choice of five cloud providers and server sizes you can scale | Pro |
| 4 | A three-day trial with no credit card, plus a free first migration | Pro |
| 5 | Backups, CDN, email and higher support tiers all cost extra | Con |
| 6 | No email hosting, no domain registration, no root access | Con |
| 7 | More decisions and less hand-holding than bundled managed hosts | Con |
Every figure in this article comes from Cloudways' own pages, checked in October 2026 and linked in the sources section. We have not run our own Cloudways server long-term, so this article makes no speed, uptime or support-timing claims. Affiliate disclosure: GoodHosters may earn a commission through the Cloudways link on this page. Read our disclosure and the main Cloudways review.
The 4 genuine strengths of Cloudways
1. One server, many websites: the cost-per-site advantage
Cloudways Flexible bills per server, not per website. A DigitalOcean Premium Small server was listed at $28/month in our pricing research, and it can run several small WordPress sites that share its resources. Managed WordPress hosts that bill per install cannot match that for portfolios, agencies and multi-site owners. The caution: sites sharing a server share its RAM and CPU, so size the server for the combined workload.
2. Pay-as-you-go billing with no renewal shock
Cloudways bills hourly and monthly with no fixed-term contract, so there is no teaser rate that multiplies on renewal, a real advantage over budget shared hosts whose renewals can triple. You can also stop a server and stop the meter. Provider prices and add-on rates can still change over time, so no figure is permanently locked, but you will never be surprised by a renewal invoice for a term you forgot you signed.
3. Real choice of infrastructure
Cloudways lets you pick between DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS and Google Cloud, choose a data-center region close to your audience, and scale the server size as traffic grows. Our provider comparison explains the trade-offs, including how bandwidth overage rates differ by provider and region. Few managed hosts offer this range of infrastructure choice under one control panel.
4. A genuine try-before-you-pay path
The three-day Flexible trial needs no credit card, and Cloudways' first managed migration is free, so you can move a copy of a real site and test it before spending anything. Three days is short, so plan the trial: migrate a staging copy on day one, test on day two, decide on day three. Our WordPress guide includes a realistic trial checklist.
The 3 real drawbacks of Cloudways
5. The headline price is not the whole bill
The server price is the starting point. Off-site backup storage was listed at $0.033/GB per server, the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN add-on from $4.99/domain/month, and Rackspace email at $1.50/mailbox/month in our October 2026 research. A $14 server with backups, CDN and one mailbox lands near $21/month before any bandwidth overage. That is still fair value, but compare complete setups, not headline numbers, our pricing guide shows worked monthly budgets.
6. No email, no domains, no root access
Cloudways does not include email mailboxes, does not sell domain names, and does not give root access to its managed servers. None of these is hidden, but each surprises buyers coming from shared hosting where email and a domain come bundled. You will need a separate email provider (or the Rackspace add-on), a separate domain registrar, and acceptance that the managed stack cannot run arbitrary server-level software.
7. More decisions, less hand-holding
Cloudways asks you to choose a provider, a server size, a region and a set of extras, and its standard support covers the platform by 24/7 live chat and tickets rather than your application code. We could not confirm phone support on the standard tier, and the higher-touch Advanced and Premium support add-ons are listed from $100/month. Buyers who want one bundled plan where every decision is made for them will be happier with a guided managed WordPress host, our Cloudways vs Kinsta and Cloudways vs SiteGround comparisons show the difference.
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Who Cloudways suits, and who should skip it
| Buyer | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Owner of several small sites | Strong fit | Per-server billing makes the cost per site fall as you add sites |
| Growing WooCommerce store | Good fit with planning | Size the server for peak demand and test checkout before migrating; see our WooCommerce guide |
| Developer or agency | Strong fit | Provider choice, staging, scaling and pay-as-you-go billing suit client work |
| First-time owner of one small blog | Consider alternatives | A guided shared or managed WordPress plan is simpler and may be cheaper for one site |
| Buyer who needs bundled email and a domain | Poor fit | Neither is included; both cost extra or require separate providers |
| Buyer who needs root access or custom server software | Poor fit | Cloudways is a managed stack without root access |
If you are unsure which camp you fall into, our Hosting Finder asks about your sites, budget and experience and recommends a provider type from your answers.
How to avoid the downsides before they cost you
- Price the complete setup, not the server. Add backup storage, any CDN add-on and email to the server price before comparing with bundled hosts. The worked examples in our pricing guide show how.
- Use the trial properly. Migrate a copy of your real site on day one of the three-day trial, test your actual plugins and theme, and decide before the trial ends.
- Sort email and domain first. Choose an email provider and a domain registrar before migrating, so you are not improvising during the move.
- Size for the combined workload. If you plan to run several sites on one server, pick the server for their combined peak, not the cheapest tier.
- Know the support boundary. Standard support covers the platform. If you will need application-level help, budget for a higher support tier or a developer.
If those trade-offs work for you, the next step is the full Cloudways review or the provider's site directly.
No credit card needed for the trial. GoodHosters may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Cloudways pros and cons: frequently asked questions
What is the biggest advantage of Cloudways?
Value per website. One Cloudways server can run several websites that share its resources, so the cost per site drops as you add sites. Most managed WordPress hosts bill per site instead. The trade-off is that you choose the provider, server size and paid extras yourself.
What is the biggest disadvantage of Cloudways?
The extras are not bundled. Off-site backup storage, the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN, email mailboxes and higher support tiers are billed separately, so the real monthly bill is higher than the headline server price. Our pricing guide shows a worked example.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?
No. Cloudways does not include email mailboxes with its servers. It offers a Rackspace email add-on billed per mailbox (listed at $1.50/mailbox/month in our October 2026 research), or you can use a separate email provider. Budget shared hosts often include email, so factor this in when comparing.
Is there a Cloudways free trial or money-back guarantee?
Cloudways offers a three-day Flexible trial without a credit card. We could not confirm a 30-day money-back guarantee of the kind shared hosts advertise on Cloudways' official pages; billing is pay-as-you-go, so you mainly risk the days you have used. Confirm the current trial and refund terms on Cloudways' site before signing up.
Is Cloudways good for beginners?
It is manageable for a careful beginner, but it is not the most guided product. You must pick a cloud provider, a server size and separate extras, and there is no phone support on the standard tier. Buyers who want everything bundled and decided for them may prefer a guided managed WordPress host or quality shared hosting.
Can Cloudways handle a busy WooCommerce store?
It can, if you size the server for peak demand and configure caching so carts and checkout stay dynamic. No host guarantees checkout capacity, so test personalised carts, payment webhooks and background tasks on the exact plan before moving a live store. Our WooCommerce guide covers the setup checks.
Does Cloudways raise prices on renewal?
Cloudways Flexible bills pay-as-you-go, so there is no introductory term that later jumps to a higher renewal rate, which is a genuine advantage over budget shared hosting. However, provider prices and add-on rates have changed before and can change again, so no price is permanently locked.
Sources and the limits of this article
Facts in this article were checked against these pages in October 2026. Prices and terms change; confirm them on the provider's site before buying.
- Cloudways pricing page, server prices, providers and add-on rates.
- Cloudways off-site backup charges, the $0.033/GB backup storage rate.
- Cloudways Flexible trial guide, the three-day trial terms.
- Cloudways managed migration guide, the free first migration.
- Cloudways Rackspace email add-on, per-mailbox email pricing.
- Cloudways support page, standard support scope and paid support add-ons.
- Cloudways root access policy, why managed servers have no root access.
Limitations: GoodHosters has not run a long-term Cloudways server, so this article deliberately contains no speed benchmarks, uptime figures or support-response timings. Where a fact could not be verified from an official page, the article says so rather than guessing. Related reading: Cloudways promo codes, Cloudways for WooCommerce, and the migration guide.