Cloudways vs DigitalOcean
- ✦ Managed Hosting
- ✦ 1-Click Install
- ✦ Free SSL
- ✦ Droplets (VPS)
- ✦ Kubernetes
- ✦ App Platform
Cloudways and DigitalOcean are both Cloud Hosting tools. Cloudways starts at $11/mo, DigitalOcean at $4/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Cloudways vs DigitalOcean
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Cloudways' 1-Click Install provisions WordPress with Free SSL pre-enabled and a Staging Environment ready for review - all in under 2 minutes.
Cloudways' Automated Backups run daily, letting hosting resellers roll back corrupted updates in under 5 minutes with a single restore action.
Load Balancers distribute requests while App Platform autoscales on CPU thresholds. Hourly pricing ensures actual usage gets billed - not idle over-provisioned capacity.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified May 30, 2026
Cloudways Plans
Paid plans only
DigitalOcean Standard 1GB
$11/moBest for: This entry-level plan is ideal for small websites or testing environments, offering a cost-effective start on DigitalOcean.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
Vultr Standard 1GB
$14/moBest for: An affordable Vultr option for basic hosting needs, offering a balance of performance and cost for smaller projects.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
Linode 1GB
$14/moBest for: A solid choice for those preferring Linode, providing reliable hosting for small to medium-sized websites at a competitive price.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
Vultr High-Frequency 1GB
$16/moBest for: Recommended for users prioritizing CPU performance, this Vultr plan offers better speed for slightly higher cost than standard.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
AWS Small
$21/moBest for: This plan offers entry into AWS managed hosting, suitable for users who need the AWS ecosystem for their smaller applications.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Enterprise-grade infrastructure
- ✓Higher reliability and uptime
- ✓Advanced security features
- ✓Amazon's global infrastructure network
DigitalOcean Premium 2GB
$22/moBest for: A good mid-range option for growing websites needing more resources and improved performance compared to the standard tier.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
Google Cloud Small
$37/moBest for: Ideal for users seeking Google Cloud's robust infrastructure and global network for their applications, even at a smaller scale.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Enterprise-grade infrastructure
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
DigitalOcean Premium 4GB
$50/moBest for: Suitable for demanding applications or high-traffic sites, providing substantial resources for robust performance on DigitalOcean.
- ✓Managed cloud platform
- ✓Choice of 5 cloud providers
- ✓Built-in caching tools
- ✓Free SSL certificates
- ✓Staging environment
DigitalOcean Plans
Free tier available
App Platform (Free Tier)
FreeBest for: Ideal for testing and small projects, offering a cost-effective entry into app deployment.
- ✓Build static sites
- ✓Deploy apps
- ✓No infrastructure management
- ✓1GiB allowance per app
Droplets
$4/moBest for: Perfect for virtual private servers, offering flexible compute resources for various workloads.
- ✓Deploy cloud VMs in seconds
- ✓Run any workload
- ✓High-performance SSDs
- ✓Free inbound data transfer
- ✓Per-second billing (effective Jan 2026)
App Platform
$5/moBest for: Suitable for deploying and scaling web applications, APIs, and static sites with managed infrastructure.
- ✓Build, deploy, and scale apps
- ✓Fully managed solution
- ✓Automatic HTTPS
- ✓Custom domains
- ✓Container pricing
Spaces Standard Storage
$5/moBest for: Object storage solution for static assets, backups, and large files, with S3 compatible API.
- ✓S3-Compatible Object Storage
- ✓Built-in CDN
- ✓Multiple buckets
- ✓250 GiB storage included
- ✓1,024 GiB outbound transfer included
Volumes
$10/moBest for: Block storage for Droplets, providing persistent and scalable storage for demanding applications.
- ✓Block Storage
- ✓High Availability
- ✓Resize
- ✓100 GiB storage
Kubernetes
$12/moBest for: container orchestration, managing complex applications with high availability and scalability.
- ✓Free Control Plane
- ✓Managed Kubernetes
- ✓Automate and optimize performance
- ✓Pooled bandwidth
Databases
$15/moBest for: Managed database services for popular engines, ensuring reliability and easy scaling for data storage.
- ✓Automated Failovers
- ✓Daily Backups
- ✓Setup and Maintenance
- ✓Supports multiple engines (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB)
- ✓Fully managed
Capability Breakdown
7 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •Managed Hosting
- •1-Click Install
- •Free SSL
- •Free Migration
- •Staging Environment
- •CDN
- •Automated Backups
- •Server Monitoring
- •PHP Apps Support
- •WordPress Optimization
- •Team Collaboration
- •SFTP/SSH Access
- •24/7 Support
- •Git Deployment
- •CloudwaysBot
- •Droplets (VPS)
- •Kubernetes
- •App Platform
- •Managed Databases
- •Spaces (Object Storage)
- •CDN
- •Load Balancers
- •VPC
- •Monitoring
- •Firewalls
- •Backups
- •Snapshots
- •API
- •CLI Tools
- •Functions (Serverless)
- •Floating IPs
- •Project Management
- •Team Collaboration
- •Access Controls
- •Billing Alerts
- •Usage Metrics
- •Network Analytics
- •Bandwidth Graphs
- •Uptime Guarantees
- •SSL Certificates
- •Domain Management
- •DNS Management
- •IPv6 Support
- •Geo Redundancy
- •Disaster Recovery
- •Automated Scaling
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Choice of 3 top IaaS providers (DO, AWS, GCE)
- +Pay-as-you-go pricing with no long-term contracts
- +Built-in advanced caching (Varnish, Memcached, Redis)
- +Free SSL, migrations, and staging for all applications
- +Vertical scaling allows resizing servers with one click
- −No root access, limiting advanced server configurations
- −Email hosting is not included; requires a separate add-on
- −No domain registration service; must use a third-party registrar
- −Support can be slow unless you purchase a premium support plan
- −No cPanel; uses a proprietary, less familiar control panel
- +Simple, predictable pricing with no complex billing surprises.
- +Developer-friendly UI and API simplifies infrastructure management.
- +Extensive library of high-quality tutorials and community support.
- +Fast SSD-based Droplets (VPS) with one-click app installations.
- +Managed databases, Kubernetes, and App Platform for easy scaling.
- −Fewer global data center regions compared to AWS, Azure, or GCP.
- −Limited advanced enterprise features (e.g., complex IAM, compliance).
- −Basic monitoring and security tools; requires third-party solutions for depth.
- −Support can be slow on lower-tier plans without a paid support package.
- −No perpetual free tier, only a limited-time new user credit.
At a Glance
Recent Price History
Cloudways added a new "DigitalOcean Premium 4GB" plan at $50/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
Cloudways lowered "Google Cloud Small" from $37.45/mo to $37.33/mo (0%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Cloudways lowered "AWS Small" from $38.56/mo to $20.56/mo (-47%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Cloudways removed the "DigitalOcean 4GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Cloudways removed the "DigitalOcean 1GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
DigitalOcean added a new "App Platform" plan at $5/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
DigitalOcean added a new "Databases" plan at $15/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
DigitalOcean added a new "Kubernetes" plan at $12/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
DigitalOcean removed the "Regular Droplet" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
DigitalOcean removed the "General Purpose Droplet" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Data Trail · DigitalOcean
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-05-30)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.5/5 · 745 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.7/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
- 6.PeerSpot·PeerSpot enterprise peer reviews
- 7.StackShare·StackShare developer community