My top 3 Cloudways alternatives
By Edouard Rosenblum, Co-founder @Secret
DigitalOcean
If I am looking for a way to have hosting of the type provided by Cloudways but without using their "managed layer," then I will choose Digital Ocean to create my own opinionated stack. One concrete example of how this could be set up is as follows: I would deploy a Laravel API application on App Platform; use App Platform’s feature of being able to attach an existing database (in my case a managed PostgreSQL database); and store media and backups in Spaces (an S3 compatible storage system.) Because App Platform has the ability to support small deployments initially and scaling larger later without having to provision all over again, it allows me to get started with very low overhead. In addition to deploying applications, when working with larger groups/teams, I like that Digital Ocean offers Droplets, Firewalls and Managed Databases, which means that I do not need to deal with multiple vendors.
Render
Render clicks for me when the workflow is “push to Git, get a running service.” I can run a web service plus a background worker (for queues) and keep static marketing pages on their free static hosting. I also like that one-off jobs and workflows have explicit instance types (Starter/Standard/Pro) with hourly rates and per-second prorating, which makes batch tasks feel predictable instead of “mystery cloud bill.”
WP Engine
WP Engine is where I land when the requirement is specifically “WordPress, but with guardrails.” I get 1-click staging/dev environments and a security/performance bundle that explicitly calls out a managed WAF, DDoS mitigation, Cloudflare CDN, and SSL. That’s a different trade-off than Cloudways: fewer server knobs, but a hosting product built around WordPress lifecycle work (updates, staging flows, incident response) instead of general-purpose app hosting.
List of Alternatives to Cloudways
Here are some of Cloudways's top competitors in the Cloud Storage category: DigitalOcean, Render, WP Engine or Scalingo.
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Kubernetes
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Load Balancers
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Object Storage
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Flexible Droplets
Droplets (Virtual Machine)
Starts at $4/month (Basic), $63/month (General Purpose), $42/month (CPU-Optimized), $84/month (Memory-Optimized)App Platform (PaaS)
Free for static sites, starts at $5/month for dynamic appsManaged Databases
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Startup-Friendly Speed, Visibility, and Easy Cloning
For a startup environment, DigitalOcean has been a practical choice because it lets us launch quickly and keep costs visible, and the Joinsecret credit gave us a nice cushion early on, but the real value has been the clean interface, dependable Droplets, and how easy it is to clone environments with snapshots
May 26, 2026
Why is DigitalOcean a good alternative to Cloudways?
DigitalOcean is a good Cloudways alternative for developers or small ops teams who want to standardize on one cloud vendor and are willing to own the runbook. I like it when I’m building a product that might outgrow a managed hosting abstraction: I can start on App Platform for a Git-based deploy flow (smallest container listed at $5/month) and later move hot paths to Droplets or Kubernetes without changing providers. It’s also a clean fit if I need managed building blocks Cloudways often “wraps,” like managed databases and object storage, but I want direct access to native networking and security constructs. The flip side (and why it’s not for everyone) is that Cloudways’ convenience features, like one-click staging, offsite backups, and platform cache controls, become my responsibility to recreate with tooling and process.
What's the difference between DigitalOcean and Cloudways?
See the full comparison between Cloudways & DigitalOcean
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Why is Render a good alternative to Cloudways?
Render is a good alternative for product teams that ship frequently and prefer “services” over “servers.” I like it most for a classic SaaS layout: web service + background worker + scheduled jobs + managed datastore, all wired to GitHub/GitLab. The killer detail for me is that workers and one-off jobs aren’t hacks, they’re explicit service types, and the docs enumerate instance type IDs and specs (e.g., Starter/Standard/Pro, and Pro Plus up to 8 GB RAM for cron jobs). For batch/automation, workflows also publish per-hour pricing by instance type (and per-second billing), which is handy when I’m trying to keep CI-like compute from quietly ballooning. If I’m hosting WordPress with Cloudways mainly because I don’t want to run servers, Render often matches that motivation better, assuming the app fits a PaaS model.
What are the differences between Render and Cloudways?
Render differs from Cloudways mainly in deployment model and the unit of infrastructure. Cloudways looks like “pick a cloud vendor + server size, then install WordPress/Laravel/etc. and manage via the console,” with platform features like staging and offsite backups. Render looks like “define a service (web/private/worker), connect a repo, and let the platform build and run it,” plus first-class background workers and one-off jobs. For pricing mechanics, Render’s docs explicitly price workflow compute by instance type (e.g., Standard at $0.20/hour) and prorate by the second, which is a different mental model than Cloudways’ monthly server pricing. If I need root-level tuning, multi-provider choice (AWS/GCP/DO), or the Cloudways-style server-centric view, Render is simply a different product category.
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Why is WP Engine a good alternative to Cloudways?
WP Engine is a strong alternative for WordPress agencies, content teams, and ecommerce operators who care more about “no surprises during updates” than about picking a specific cloud VM. I reach for it when stakeholders ask for concrete security posture and operational features rather than infrastructure flexibility. Their plans explicitly call out managed WAF + DDoS mitigation alongside Cloudflare CDN and SSL, and I like having those words in black and white when I’m doing vendor reviews. The dev/stage/prod workflow is also built into the offering (1-click staging and dev environments), which maps to how WordPress work actually happens: plugin testing, theme changes, and pre-release QA. Compared with Cloudways, the niche win is focus: fewer “host anything” paths, more WordPress-specific operational defaults.
What's the difference between WP Engine and Cloudways?
See the full comparison between Cloudways & WP Engine
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We started on Scalingo with that Joinsecret perk that covered roughly €1,000 over 6 months, which lowered the risk of testing it for a client project. What stayed with us was the reliability of PostgreSQL management, especially backups and restore options, plus the fact that the support replies were useful instead of generic
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What's the difference between Hostinger and Cloudways?
See the full comparison between Cloudways & Hostinger
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