Cloudways Review 2027: Pricing, Features, Pros and Cons for WooCommerce

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform: it rents servers from cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS and Google Cloud, sets them up for WordPress and WooCommerce, and gives you a simple dashboard to manage them. It is a good fit for store owners who have outgrown shared hosting and want cloud performance without managing a server themselves. It is less suited to people who want the lowest possible price or email hosting bundled in.

We first wrote about Cloudways in 2020. Prices, features and the company itself have changed since then (DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in 2022), so this review is a full update. Prices and features below were checked on the official Cloudways pricing page on 12 November 2026; always check the current page before buying.

Cloudways at a glance

How Cloudways works

Instead of buying a hosting “plan” with fixed limits, you launch a server: pick the cloud provider, the data center location and the server size. Cloudways installs and maintains the software stack, and you add one or more WordPress applications to that server. You can scale the server up later from the dashboard when traffic grows.

Two dashboards matter day to day:

• Server management: size, location, backups, monitoring, PHP settings and server-level caching.
• Application management: domains, SSL, staging copies, cloning, access details and app-level cache settings.

Cloudways also maintains Breeze, a free WordPress cache plugin (300,000+ active installations on WordPress.org) that works with its server caching.

Pros

• Cloud performance without server admin. You get dedicated cloud resources rather than a crowded shared server, and Cloudways handles the setup and maintenance.
• Choice of provider and location. Put your server close to your customers.
• Pay as you go. Hourly billing makes it cheap to test a server for a few days.
• Useful extras included. Free SSL, backups, staging and cloning, and Redis object caching. According to the pricing page, Object Cache Pro is also included free on servers with 4 GB of RAM or more.
• Easy staging. Test theme and plugin updates on a copy before touching the live store. (XStore, for example, treats *.cloudwaysapps.com addresses as staging domains, so a staging copy doesn’t use up your live license.)

Cons

• Not the cheapest option. Entry-level shared hosting costs less. Cloudways makes sense once performance and reliability matter more than the lowest price.
• You still choose the server size. Too small a server slows your store; too big wastes money. Expect to monitor usage and adjust.
• Billing details to watch. Stopping a server does not stop billing, and off-site backup storage is charged per GB.
• Email isn’t included in the server price. Plan for a separate email service for your domain or a paid add-on.
• CDN is an add-on. Cloudflare Enterprise costs extra per domain, although you can also connect a free CDN yourself.

Is Cloudways good for WooCommerce?

Yes, for most small and mid-size stores. WooCommerce stores have pages that can’t be fully cached (cart, checkout, My Account), so server resources and object caching matter more than for a simple blog. Cloudways gives you both. A few practical tips:

• Start one size above the minimum for a store with real traffic, watch CPU and memory in the dashboard for a couple of weeks, then adjust.
• Turn on Redis (object caching) for faster cart, checkout and admin pages.
• Use one page cache. If you already use another caching plugin, don’t stack it with Breeze. Make sure cart, checkout and My Account are excluded from page caching.
• Pick the data center closest to most customers.
• Test before and after migrating. Measure your key pages with the free FlashMax speed test so you know what changed.

Hosting is only one part of speed. Our WooCommerce speed optimization guide covers images, scripts and the database, and a fast theme helps too; see how to choose a fast WooCommerce theme.

How to get started with Cloudways

1. Start the free trial on a DigitalOcean, Vultr or Linode server (no card needed for the 5-day trial).
2. Launch a server with WordPress (or WooCommerce) as the application, and choose the location nearest your customers.
3. Migrate your site with Cloudways’ migration plugin or a backup tool, or start fresh.
4. Point your domain to the new server and install the free SSL from the application dashboard.
5. Turn on backups and Redis, set up your cache, then test checkout with a real order before switching traffic.

Cloudways alternatives

• Managed WordPress hosts such as Kinsta or SiteGround offer a more “all-in-one” experience with fixed plans and their own support for WordPress issues.
• Shared hosting is cheaper for small sites with little traffic, at the cost of performance under load.
• Done-for-you speed and hosting. If you’d rather not manage hosting and optimization at all, the FlashMax team offers a speed fix from $399, or a package with migration to FlashMax hosting ($599 plus $29/month), done within 7 days with a before/after Lighthouse report.

Verdict

Cloudways is a solid choice for WordPress and WooCommerce sites that need more power than shared hosting and an owner who is happy to pick a server size and keep an eye on usage. Try it with the free trial, run your store on a staging copy, and compare page speed before you move for good.

FAQ

How much does Cloudways cost?

On 12 November 2026, the Flexible plan started at $14/month for a DigitalOcean server with 1 GB RAM and 25 GB NVMe storage. Billing is hourly and invoiced monthly. Larger servers and other providers cost more.

Does Cloudways have a free trial?

Yes: 5 days without a credit card on DigitalOcean, Vultr and Linode servers. If you don’t add a payment method, the trial server is deleted when the trial ends.

Who owns Cloudways?

Cloudways has been part of DigitalOcean since 2022.

Is Cloudways good for beginners?

It is beginner-friendly compared with running your own cloud server, but you still choose and scale the server. Complete beginners with a small site may find fixed-plan managed WordPress hosting simpler.

Does Cloudways include email hosting?

Email isn’t included in the server price. Use a separate email provider for your domain or a paid add-on.