Best Cloudways alternatives I would pick in 2026
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Cloudways is a well-known cloud hosting solution from DigitalOceans, geared towards SMBs, eCommerce businesses, agencies, and publishers. However, there are many reasons why someone would be looking for an alternative. For example, Cloudways doesn’t include domain registration, and its cheapest plan resources are less than what other providers offer for a similar price.
In this article, I take a look at my best recommendations for Cloudways alternatives – in terms of price, performance, ease of use, and suitability for diverse purposes. I’ll tell you exactly why I think these cloud hosts are good Cloudways alternatives, and why you should consider them.
5 best Cloudways alternatives
- Contabo – best overall Cloudways alternative
- Hostinger – best beginner-friendly Cloudways alternative
- SiteGround – best Cloudways alternative for performance
- Kinsta – best Cloudways alternative for WordPress
- Kamatera – cheapest Cloudways alternative
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Reasons to pick Cloudways alternatives
Cloudways is not a bad cloud hosting provider, but there people are still looking for better options. Here are some of the main reasons why you might want to consider switching from Cloudways as well:
- Limited resources. Cloudways cloud hosting plans are not the most generous when it comes to resources, with the cheapest plan including only 1GB RAM, 1 CPU core, 25GB SSD storage, and no dedicated IP or domain registration options.
- Performance. While Cloudways’ performance is not the worst of them all, there are hosting providers that perform better, especially in terms of server response time.
- Price. While it is not the most expensive cloud hosting solution, Cloudways’ pricing changes a lot depending on the infrastructure you choose. Plus, other hosting providers offer better resources for similar or lower pricing.
- Security features. Cloudways’ security offerings are pretty basic, and advanced protection costs additionally. Other cloud hosts include advanced security with all of their plans by default.
Best Cloudways alternatives 2026 - practical review
The 5 providers below are great Cloudways alternatives – and I will tell you exactly why. In case you are looking for a solution that is cheaper, offers better overall value, or delivers better performance, the cloud hosting providers below have it all and more.
1. Contabo – best overall Cloudways alternative
| Rating: | |
| Starting price: | From $5.28/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 14 days |
| Hosting types: | VPS, Cloud, Windows |
| Best deal: | Get Contabo for just $5.28/month! |
Contabo is my number 1 recommendation as a Cloudways alternative for users who want more server resources and direct control at a lower cost. While Cloudways is a managed cloud platform built around simplicity, Contabo offers unmanaged Cloud VPS hosting with full root access, making it a better choice for developers, self-hosters, and experienced users comfortable configuring and maintaining their own servers.
Why is Contabo a great alternative to Cloudways?
- Better value for server resources. Contabo’s Cloud VPS 4 plan starts at $5.28/month on a 24-month term and includes 4 vCPUs, 8GB of RAM, 100GB of SSD storage, a 200Mbit/s port, one snapshot, and unlimited traffic, subject to its fair-use policy. Meanwhile, at $6.60/month, Cloudways offers only 1GB RAM, 1 CPU core, and 25GB SSD storage.
- Full server control. Unlike Cloudways’ managed environment, Contabo provides root access and lets you choose your operating system, install your preferred stack, configure server software, and make system-level changes. This is useful for Docker containers, custom web stacks, development tools, databases, and self-hosted applications.
- Automation for technical users. Contabo supports Cloud-Init on standard images, allowing you to automate initial server setup. Its API can also manage instances, snapshots, and custom images – useful if you are deploying or maintaining several projects.
- More flexible infrastructure. Contabo supports custom images and server snapshots, giving experienced users more control over deployment and recovery than a traditional managed hosting platform does.
- Global server locations. Contabo offers 11 data-center locations across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, so you can place your server closer to your audience.
Contabo compared to Cloudways
| Provider | Contabo | Cloudways |
| Rating | ||
| Pricing | Starts at $5.28/month | Starts at $6.60/month |
| Uptime | 100% | 100% |
| Server locations | 11 | 67 |
For more details, read the full Contabo review.
2. Hostinger – best overall alternative to Cloudways
| Rating: | |
| Starting price: | From 7.19 |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30 days |
| Hosting types: | Shared, WordPress, VPS, Cloud |
| Best deal: | Get up to 82% OFF Hostinger + 3 free months |
A well-known provider in the hosting world, Hostinger is one of my top recommendations for a Cloudways alternative, as it offers more resources and better value with its entry-level cloud hosting plans.
Why is Hostinger a great alternative to Cloudways?
- Better value for money. Hostinger’s cloud hosting price starts at $7.19/month, and the cheapest plan includes 4GB RAM, 100GB NVMe storage, 4 CPU cores, a dedicated IP, and domain registration. At the same time, Cloudways offers no domains or dedicated IP with its entry plan.
- Better performance. In our in-house tests, Hostinger showed better response times than Cloudways: 246.19ms vs 514.78ms.
- Access to advanced AI tools. Hostinger’s cloud hosting plans include optimizations for AI SEO.
- More user-friendly dashboard. A user-friendly interface and dashboard for performance metrics make it easy to monitor your site.
Hostinger compared to Cloudways
| Provider | Hostinger | Cloudways |
| Rating | ||
| Pricing | Starts at $7.19/month | Starts at $6.60/month |
| Uptime | 100% | 100% |
| Response time | 246.19ms | 514.78ms |
| Server locations | 13 | 67 |
For a more detailed review of both providers, take a look at the Hostinger vs Cloudways comparison.
3. SiteGround – best Cloudways alternative for enterprises
| Rating: | |
| Starting price: | From $100.00/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30 days |
| Hosting types: | Shared, WordPress, VPS, cloud |
| Best deal: | Special deal! Get up to 83% OFF SiteGround + FREE TRANSFER |
Known for excellent performance (but relatively high pricing), SiteGround is a good Cloudways alternative for enterprise-level businesses. With better performance and cutting-edge Google Cloud infrastructure, SiteGround remains one of my top recommendations for businesses looking to switch from Cloudways.
Why is SiteGround a great alternative to Cloudways?
- Better performance. In our in-house tests, SiteGround showed much better performance than Cloudways, especially regarding server response times, with 96.57ms vs 514.78ms.
- More resources. SiteGround’s entry plan, although much more expensive, offers better resources with 4 CPU cores, 8GB RAM, and 40GB SSD storage.
- Better suited for enterprises. Unlike Cloudways, SiteGround includes features essential for businesses: dedicated IP, white label access, ways to build your own plans, a private DNS, and collaborator access.
SiteGround compared to Cloudways
| Provider | SiteGround | Cloudways |
| Rating | ||
| Pricing | Starts at $100.00/month | Starts at $6.60/month |
| Uptime | 100% | 100% |
| Response time | 96.57ms | 514.78ms |
| Server locations | 11 | 67 |
If you want to see a more detailed side-by-side review, check out our SiteGround vs Cloudways comparison.
4. Kinsta – best Cloudways alternative for WordPress and security
| Rating: | |
| Starting price: | From $35.00/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30 days |
| Hosting types: | Managed WordPress, VPS, cloud |
| Best deal: | Get Kinsta, now up to 17% OFF! |
Known for its managed WordPress hosting services, Kinsta is a cloud hosting alternative to Cloudways due to its better offers in terms of security and performance. Plus, all of Kinsta’s cloud hosting plans are tailored for WordPress – including unlimited free migrations.
Why is Kinsta a great alternative to Cloudways?
- Better performance. Kinsta showed the best performance out of all providers on this list, outperforming Cloudways. In our tests, the server response time for Kinsta was just 5.36ms vs Cloudways’ 514.78ms.
- Better price for Google Cloud servers. Built on Google Cloud and Cloudflare infrastructure, Kinsta offers its services for half the price: Cloudways Google Cloud servers cost $63.09/month, while Kinsta’s entry plans start at $35.00/month.
- Better security features. Kinsta includes a fully managed web application firewall, enterprise-level DDoS protection, and free malware removal services.
Kinsta compared to Cloudways
| Provider | Kinsta | Cloudways |
| Rating | ||
| Pricing | Starts at $35.00/month | Starts at $$6.60/month |
| Uptime | 100% | 100% |
| Response time | 5.36ms | 514.78ms |
| Server locations | 27 | 67 |
5. Kamatera – cheapest Cloudways alternative
| Rating: | |
| Starting price: | From $4.00/month |
| Money-back guarantee: | 30-day free trial |
| Hosting types: | VPS, cloud |
| Best deal: | Get Kamatera now, starting at only $4.00/month |
Highly customizable and affordable provider, Kamatera offers unmanaged and managed cloud VPS servers. While not fully cloud hosting, Kamatera’s customizable resources and usage-based pricing options make it a much more flexible solution than Cloudways.
Why is Kamatera a great alternative to Cloudways?
- Cheaper than Cloudways. The cheapest provider on this list, Kamatera, offers a simple cloud hosting plan that starts at just $4.00/month, versus Cloudways’ $6.60/month. Even the most expensive Kamatera configurations are still cheaper than Cloudways.
- Better customization options. You can choose a preconfigured Kamatera plan, or select your own resources and servers based on what you actually need.
Kamatera compared to Cloudways
| Provider | Kamatera | Cloudways |
| Rating | ||
| Pricing | Starts at $4.00/month | Starts at $6.60/month |
| Uptime | 100% | 100% |
| Response time | 736ms | 514.78ms |
| Server locations | 20 | 67 |
Wrapping up
Cloudways, while a well- known hosting provider, is not the best cloud hosting option out there. If you’re looking for alternatives, there are plenty of options that offer better pricing, resources, and performance.
My top Cloudways alternative is Contabo. Not only is it cheaper with a starting price of $5.28/month, but it also provides better value. It offers more resources with an entry plan. Unlike Cloudways, Contabo also provides full root access, giving experienced users greater flexibility to configure their servers, deploy custom software, and run resource-intensive projects.
That said, any provider on my list is a viable option to choose instead of going with Cloudways. It all really depends on what you need.
FAQ
Which Cloudways alternative offers the best value for money?
Contabo offers the best value for money compared to Cloudways. Its entry-level Cloud VPS plan includes 4 vCPUs, 8GB of RAM, and 100GB of SSD storage for $5.28/month on a 24-month term, while Cloudways’ $6.60/month plan includes 1 vCPU, 1GB of RAM, and 25GB of storage. Contabo is best for experienced users who are comfortable managing their own server.
Is Cloudways only for cloud hosting?
Yes, Cloudways is primarily a cloud hosting provider. It offers several cloud hosting infrastructure options to choose from. If you’re looking for a VPS or a shared hosting solution, other providers like Hostinger have better and cheaper plan options.
