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Should I Use Cloudways?

cloudways.com·Analyzed 1 day ago··Based on 11 sources

Managed cloud hosting platform, a DigitalOcean company

Worth it

Worth it

Buy if you run multiple WordPress/PHP sites and want managed cloud without hiring a sysadmin.

Solid managed cloud hosting (4.7/5 G2) from $11/mo — great for multi-site agencies; marked-up overkill for DIY devs and single-site users.

Confidence: High

4.7/5

G2 rating

1,124+ reviews

$11/mo

Starting price

Pay-as-you-go; AWS from $38.5/mo

102,000+

Customers

Company-claimed

2012

Founded

Owned by DigitalOcean

Value for money4

Cheap entry; reviewers call it very good value

Ease of use3

User friendly, but steeper curve than shared hosts

Feature depth4

1-click tasks, vulnerability scanner, high-availability option

Support quality4

G2 users praise top-notch technical support

Security posture3

Breeze CVE found; malware scanning costs extra

Pros

  • 4.7/5 on G2 across 1,124+ reviews²
  • Entry plans from $11/month, pay-as-you-go⁷
  • Reviewers call it very good value for money⁴
  • Users praise top-notch technical support on G2
  • One-click features bundle common hosting tasks

Cons

  • Higher learning curve than typical shared hosting⁵
  • Premium malware protection is a paid add-on⁸
  • Critics say Cloudways marks up raw DigitalOcean heavily10
  • AWS-based plans jump to $38.5/month
  • Some reviewers report performance and support falling short⁶

Gotchas

  • mediumMalware scanning costs extra; some users call its upsell tactics a 'scare tactic'
  • mediumBreeze cache plugin had CVE-2025-69364, an authorization bypass vulnerability⁹
  • mediumYou pay Cloudways' markup on DO/Vultr/AWS; self-managed raw cloud is cheaper10
  • lowSupport and performance get mixed marks in some independent reviews⁶

Best for

  • Agencies hosting many client WordPress sites
  • Freelancers wanting managed cloud without sysadmin work
  • Small businesses needing scalable WP/e-commerce hosting
  • Teams wanting cloud provider choice (DO, AWS, Vultr)

Not for

  • Single low-traffic hobby sites — shared hosting is far cheaper
  • Devs comfortable managing raw DigitalOcean directly
  • Anyone needing root-level server control or custom stacks
  • Budget hunters unwilling to pay markup over raw cloud prices

Companies that use it

  • iSynergy
  • Bigfork
  • WP AOS

Pricing

Flexible (standard)

From $11/mo

  • Managed WordPress/PHP cloud hosting
  • Pay-as-you-go
  • Choice of cloud providers

AWS-based plans

From $38.5/mo

  • Same platform on AWS infrastructure

Autonomous

Not disclosed

  • High-availability managed hosting

Security

One CVE found in Cloudways' Breeze plugin (authorization bypass); malware scanning sold as a paid add-on.

  • CVE-2025-69364: Cloudways Breeze Auth Bypass VulnerabilityAuthorization bypass vulnerability in Cloudways' Breeze caching plugin.⁹

What users say

Users mostly rate it highly (4.7/5 G2) for support and value, with a minority complaining about learning curve and add-on costs.

“NEVER had a problem with Cloudways.”
— Trustpilot reviewer
“Very good value for money.”
— Cats Who Code review
“IMO, Cloudways fails in almost everything.”
— Online Media Masters review

Alternatives

Compare Cloudways with each alternative.

Raw DigitalOcean

Cheaper same-infra option if you'll manage the server yourself.

Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources: G2, Trustpilot, Reddit, vendor pages, and one CVE advisory.

Sources

  1. Cloudways Reviews, Details, Pricing & Features (G2)g2.com
    review
  2. Companies Using Cloudways in 2026technologychecker.io
    review
  3. Cloudways customer reviews on Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  4. Cloudways Review 2026: Managed Cloud Hosting Testedcatswhocode.com
    review
  5. Cloudways Review: Features, Pricing and More (Forbes)forbes.com
    review
  6. Cloudways Review 2026: Caveats You Should Be Aware Ofonlinemediamasters.com
    review
  7. Cloudways Pricing & Planscloudways.com
    official
  8. Ultimate Malware Security Add-oncloudways.com
    official
  9. CVE-2025-69364: Cloudways Breeze Auth Bypass Vulnerabilitysentinelone.com
    security
  10. Cloudways Alternative — ServerAvatarserveravatar.com
    review
  11. Cloudways — Crunchbase Company Profilecrunchbase.com
    news

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