Cloudways is ideal for growing businesses. It was designed with scalability and ease of management in mind. Monthly plans start as low as $7, making it affordable for small businesses. For larger businesses that have greater demands, Cloudways offers more expensive plans that can meet those needs. Different from most web hosts, Cloudways allows you to opt for an hourly plan. Our Cloudways review goes into further detail about the pros and cons of Cloudways and rates the web host on prices, security and risk, usability, and customer support.
Cloudways Service Overview
Cloudways is a cloud web hosting platform that was founded in 2011. They strive to provide easy ways to manage high-performance applications on major cloud infrastructure. If you purchase web hosting at Cloudways, you get to choose your provider. Examples of providers include Amazon, DigitalOcean, Google, Vultr, and Kyup. You will also get to choose your core app from multifarious eCommerce builders, CMS, and 10+ PHP-based frameworks.
Cloudways offers many great features, such as integrated tools, SSL certificates, backups, and team collaboration. The web host has 24/7 support available via live chat and support ticket as well. Cloudways also features a one-click cloning option that can duplicate copies of your apps and servers to replicate success.
Pricing Information
At Cloudways, you can choose to pay either monthly or hourly. Their monthly plans run at $7-$715, and their hourly plans are $0.01-$0.99. Not many web hosts offer a pay as you go payment plan like Cloudways does. Some website owners find that it’s cheaper to only pay for the resources that they use rather than a monthly plan in which they may receive more than they need.
The first website you migrate to Cloudways is free to migrate. Some web host service providers charge users for migrations. Cloudways allows its customers to host unlimited applications as well without extra charges. When it comes to bandwidth, fees charged for going over your bandwidth vary depending on which provider you choose. DigitalOcean, for example, charges $0.02 per GB of excess bandwidth used.
| Package Name | Dedicated To | Price | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Websites | Hosting Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managed Cloud Hosting | eCommerce sites, digital agencies, developers, bloggers, designers, and startups | $7-$715 per month depending on monthly plan
$0.01-$0.99 per hour depending on hourly plan |
20-640 GB depending on plan | 1-9 TB depending on plan | N/a | N/a |
Security & Risk
In terms of security and risk, our Cloudways review has found the host to be good. The web host uses security hardening techniques to protect servers from hackers. Cloudways also uses sophisticated firewalls to help keep hosted websites safe. Their automatic backups store copies of your website that you can use to recover any lost data in the event malware or hackers bypass Cloudways’ security. You can choose how frequently a backup is saved.
Usability & User Friendliness
Our Cloudways review ranks the web host well in terms of usability and user-friendliness. Their control panel is easy to use and has helpful features like scaling tools and server monitoring. It’s easy to manage your server with this web host. You can configure settings of your server from the control panel. The interface is clean and intuitive as well.
Customer Support & Additional Info
Cloudways has professionals available 24/7 to assist clients with any website problems. You can contact support via live chat or support ticket. The web host has a knowledge base that you can search for answers to your questions. This can save you time in contacting their support team. Cloudways provides answers to common sales, billing, and technical queries in their knowledgebase, which is accessible on their support page. Our Cloudways review gives them a high rating in the customer support category.
Cloudways Service Overall Rating
What we like:
- Good customer support
- Live chat available as a contact option for support
- A choice in providers
- A wide range of core applications to choose from
- User friendly
- Good for scaling
- Excellent security features
What we don’t like:
- Only one type of hosting available
- They don’t have a phone number you can call when you need help. You must request a call and wait for them to call you if you prefer assistance via phone.
Rating
Web Hosting Plans & Prices: 3/5
Security & Risk: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Customer Support: 4/5
Cloudways Top Alternatives
Some of the top alternatives to Cloudways are Atlantic.net, LeaseWeb, and A2 Hosting. Atlantic.net offers cloud web hosting and 24/7 support like Cloudways does. But they offer other types of hosting, such as dedicated hosting, colocation, HIPAA hosting, mobile application hosting, and eCommerce hosting. Atlantic.net also has a phone number you can call to get in touch, unlike Cloudways.
LeaseWeb is another option in cloud web hosting. Aside from cloud web hosting, they offer dedicated hosting. You can contact customer support via email, phone, or live chat. LeaseWeb offers excellent security features, but you must pay extra for some of them, such as DDoS protection. On the plus side, their web hosting comes with antivirus, a spam filter, and a firewall.
A2Hosting offers cloud hosting, VPS hosting, shared hosting, reseller hosting, and dedicated hosting. You have a good range of types of hosting to choose from in case you decide cloud hosting isn’t for you. Their VPS hosting starts at $5 per month, which is cheaper than the industry average.
Our Verdict
The fact that Cloudways focuses on managed cloud web hosting is a good thing for those who know for sure they want cloud hosting. However, if you’re unsure of which type of web hosting you want, this is a downside to Cloudways. Overall, we would recommend Cloudways for those who are seeking a cloud web host. Our Cloudways review has found the web host to have great customer service and features. Have you tried this web host before? Share your Cloudways reviews in the comments.
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