Best Cloudways Alternatives (2026): 5 Hosts Worth Switching To

The Best Cloudways Alternatives at a Glance

Cloudways is a capable managed cloud platform. It runs the server stack for you on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud, bills by the hour, and lets you host as many sites on a server as that server can handle. For developers and agencies it is a strong fit, and it ranks #5 overall on Hosting Almanac and #1 for Magento hosting and PHP app hosting.

Still, it is not the right shape for everyone. If you want someone else to handle WordPress end to end, need email in the same bill, or run Windows applications, a different host may suit you better. Here is the short version:

• Kinsta is the best alternative for fully managed WordPress, with free malware removal, free unlimited migrations and a Cloudflare-powered CDN included.
• Bluehost is the best budget alternative, with up to 10 sites on Starter and a free first-year domain.
• WPX is the best value managed WordPress host, with five sites for $29.99 a month.
• ScalaHosting is the best alternative if you still want a managed VPS but with a free control panel (SPanel).
• AccuWebHosting is the best alternative for Windows servers and low-cost Linux VPS.

For full detail on the platform itself, read our Cloudways review and Cloudways pricing breakdown.

Why People Look Beyond Cloudways

Most people who search for Cloudways alternatives are not unhappy with its servers. They are looking for a different hosting model. These are the most common reasons:

• They want hands-off WordPress. On Cloudways you choose a cloud provider, a server size and which add-ons to enable. A managed WordPress host makes those calls for you.
• They want email included. Cloudways does not include email by default. Its Rackspace Email add-on costs $1.50 per mailbox a month.
• They want a free domain. Cloudways does not include one, while several budget and shared hosts do for the first year.
• They want malware removal included. Cloudways includes an Imunify360 firewall and malware scanning, but automated malware removal is a paid add-on from $4 per app a month.
• They want predictable bills. Cloudways bills hourly, and costs grow with server size and add-ons such as Cloudflare Enterprise (from $4.99 per domain a month). Some people prefer a fixed plan price.
• They need Windows. Cloudways focuses on Linux stacks for WordPress, Magento, Laravel and PHP. Windows Server, IIS and ASP.NET need a different host.

Cloudways Alternatives Compared

As listed by each provider in October 2026. Cloudways prices vary by cloud provider and server type.

1. Kinsta: Best Fully Managed WordPress Alternative

Kinsta is our #1 overall host and the closest thing to a fully hands-off upgrade from Cloudways for WordPress sites. Instead of renting a server and filling it with apps, you buy a plan sized to your site, and Kinsta runs everything underneath. Each site sits in its own isolated container on Google Cloud, across 30 data centers.

Several things that are add-ons on Cloudways are included at Kinsta. The Kinsta CDN, powered by Cloudflare with 300+ locations, comes with every plan, along with edge caching and server-level full-page caching. Malware removal is free under Kinsta's Malware Security Pledge, and Kinsta's migration team moves your sites for free with no limit on the number. Daily automatic backups are kept at least 14 days.

Support is 24/7 from WordPress engineers in a single tier, with live chat in eight languages. Kinsta states an average first response under two minutes. The MyKinsta dashboard adds one-click staging, built-in APM at no extra cost, Git, SSH, WP-CLI and unlimited users with granular permissions.

The Single 35k plan costs $35 a month, or $30 a month billed annually, and its first month is free for new customers. The trade-off is that plans are priced per site with visit or bandwidth limits, so several sites cost more than they would on one Cloudways server. Kinsta does not include email hosting either. See Kinsta pricing, our Kinsta review and the full Cloudways vs Kinsta comparison.

Our #1 Hosting Pick

2. Bluehost: Best Budget Cloudways Alternative

If Cloudways feels like more server than you need, Bluehost is the simplest and cheapest switch. Its WordPress Starter plan costs $3.99 a month on a 36-month intro term and renews at $9.99, with room for up to 10 sites and 10 GB of NVMe storage. Plans include a free domain for the first year on 12- or 36-month terms, free SSL, a free CDN, managed WordPress updates and staging.

The Business plan ($6.99 intro, $13.99 renewal) raises the limit to 50 sites and adds phone support and AI-powered malware detection. Bluehost has been recommended on WordPress.org since 2005. The trade-off is a shared environment rather than dedicated cloud resources, and weekly backups listed on WordPress plans rather than the daily server backups you may be used to. Read our Bluehost review.

View Bluehost Plans

3. WPX: Best Value Managed WordPress Alternative

WPX gives you a fully managed WordPress experience at a lower price per site than most premium hosts. Starter costs $17.99 a month for one site, Business $29.99 for five, and Professional $59.99 for 15. Those are monthly list prices, so there is no intro-to-renewal jump to plan around.

WPX includes its own XDN CDN, daily backups kept 28 days, free malware removal and unlimited free migrations handled by its staff. Business email is included from the Business plan up, which addresses one of the most common reasons people leave Cloudways. WPX quotes an average chat response of about 30 seconds. The trade-offs are that WPX hosts WordPress only, has no phone support and does not include a free domain. Read our WPX review.

View WPX Plans

4. ScalaHosting: Best Managed VPS With a Free Panel

If you like having your own server but want a traditional control panel, email and security bundled in, ScalaHosting's managed cloud VPS is the closest like-for-like alternative. Build #1 costs $29.95 a month intro ($54.95 renewal) for 2 CPU cores, 4 GB of RAM and 50 GB of NVMe storage. ScalaHosting is a strong managed VPS option.

Every VPS includes SPanel, ScalaHosting's own control panel, with no license fee. SShield adds real-time security, the WordPress Manager includes WP Lock, and daily offsite backups and free migrations are included. Refunds follow an "anytime" money-back policy for unused time. Compared with Cloudways, you get a fixed plan rather than a choice of five cloud providers, and the intro price applies to a prepaid term. Read our ScalaHosting review.

View Scala Cloud VPS

5. AccuWebHosting: Best for Windows and Budget VPS

AccuWebHosting fills two gaps Cloudways does not target: Windows servers and very low-cost unmanaged VPS. Its Linux VPS Edge plan costs $4.95 a month on a 24-month intro term ($9.99 renewal) for 4 GB of RAM, 1 vCPU and 50 GB of storage, with full root access, AMD EPYC CPUs and guaranteed vCPUs. VPS plans are available in 17 data center locations.

For Windows workloads, AccuWeb's Windows VPS includes the Windows Server license, full RDP and administrator access, IIS, ASP.NET and .NET Core. The VPS Opal plan starts at $6.33 a month on a 12-month term. Support is 24/7 by chat, ticket and phone. The trade-off is that VPS plans are self-managed by default, with managed services and daily backups available as paid options. Read our AccuWebHosting review or see Windows VPS hosting.

View AccuWeb VPS Plans

Other Cloudways Alternatives You'll See

Other names come up often in Cloudways comparisons. Each takes a different approach:

• WP Engine: a well-established managed WordPress platform for businesses and agencies. Its Essential plan starts from $28 a month billed annually, according to WP Engine's plans page.
• SiteGround: managed shared and cloud hosting with its own Site Tools dashboard, often chosen by people who want simplicity over server control.
• Rocket.net: a managed WordPress host built around an edge network, aimed at site owners who want speed without tuning servers themselves.
• Server control panels (RunCloud, GridPane, SpinupWP and similar): these keep the Cloudways idea of renting your own cloud server but separate the panel from the server bill. You pay the cloud provider directly and take on more of the server management yourself.
• DigitalOcean direct: Cloudways is a DigitalOcean company, and you can rent DigitalOcean servers directly. That removes the managed layer, so you handle the stack, security and backups.

For a broader list of server-based options, see our best VPS hosting guide.

When Staying With Cloudways Is the Better Choice

Switching is not always the right move. Cloudways is often the better fit if:

• You run many sites. Flexible plans allow unlimited websites per server, so ten small sites can share one server. Cloudways' Medium server costs $54 a month as shown by default on its pricing page.
• You run more than WordPress. Cloudways supports Magento, Laravel and a long list of PHP frameworks and CMSs.
• You want to choose your cloud. You can pick DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud and switch later.
• You want flexible billing. Pay-as-you-go hourly billing with no long-term commitment suits projects that change often.
• You value the included performance tools. Flexible plans include the Lightning Stack, free Redis, free advanced staging and cloning, and Object Cache Pro on 4 GB servers or larger.

Cloudways also offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card required, so you can test a server size before committing.

View Cloudways Plans

How to Migrate Away From Cloudways

Moving from Cloudways is usually straightforward because your sites are standard applications on a standard stack. A typical process looks like this:

1. Take a fresh backup of each application from the Cloudways console, and keep a copy you control.
2. Request a managed migration where available. Kinsta and WPX migrate sites for free with their own teams, and ScalaHosting includes free migrations.
3. Review add-on services. If you used Rackspace Email, Cloudflare Enterprise or DNS Made Easy through Cloudways, plan where each service will live after the move.
4. Test on a temporary URL before switching DNS, then update your domain's records.
5. Keep the Cloudways server running for a few days until DNS has fully propagated, then delete it to stop hourly billing.

For a full walkthrough, see how to migrate a WordPress site.

Which Cloudways Alternative Fits You?

Cloudways Alternatives FAQs