Cloudways vs Hetzner
- ✦ Managed Hosting
- ✦ 1-Click Install
- ✦ Free SSL
- ✦ Cloud Servers
- ✦ Dedicated Servers
- ✦ Block Storage
Cloudways and Hetzner are both Cloud Hosting tools. Cloudways starts at $11/mo, Hetzner at $0.0143/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Cloudways vs Hetzner
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.
Hetzner's Cloud Servers in Frankfurt keep customer data within EU borders, satisfying GDPR and MiFID II on Private Networks without cross-border audit overhead.
Assign a Floating IP to an upgraded database, flip traffic in seconds, and keep apps running with zero rewrites. The old instance stays live for rollback.
Product photos on Hetzner Object Storage, proxied through Floating IPs, hit 85% cache rates across EU traffic at a fraction of typical CDN costs.
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
Hetzner Plans
Paid plans only
Snapshots
$0.01/GB/moBest for: Snapshots offer point-in-time backups for cloud servers, crucial for data recovery and testing
- ✓On-demand full disk images
- ✓Backups
Block Storage
$0.06/GB/moBest for: This service provides scalable, persistent storage that can be attached to cloud servers, ideal for databases or applications needing flexible storage
- ✓Additional storage
Traffic Overage
$1/TBBest for: This charge applies if your server exceeds its included traffic quota, providing flexibility for unexpected spikes in usage
- ✓Additional data transfer
CX23
$4.49/moBest for: This entry-level cloud server is ideal for small projects, testing environments, or low-traffic websites
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓40 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CAX11
$4.99/moBest for: This ARM-based cloud server is a cost-effective option for specific workloads optimized for ARM architecture
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓40 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CX33
$6.99/moBest for: A step up from CX23, this plan provides more resources suitable for growing applications or medium-sized websites
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CPX22
$7.99/moBest for: Part of the premium CPU line, CPX22 offers better single-core performance for applications that benefit from faster processing
- ✓2 vCPU
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓AMD EPYC CPU
CAX21
$8.49/moBest for: A mid-tier ARM server, CAX21 provides more resources for ARM-native applications or services
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CX43
$12/moBest for: Offering enhanced CPU and RAM, the CX43 is good for more demanding web applications, databases, or development servers
- ✓16 GB RAM
- ✓160 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CAX31
$16/moBest for: The CAX31 offers significant ARM processing power, suitable for larger ARM-optimized applications or microservices
- ✓16 GB RAM
- ✓160 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CCX13
$16/moBest for: A high-performance cloud server, CCX13 is suitable for applications requiring strong CPU and memory
- ✓Dedicated vCPUs
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB Storage
- ✓20 TB Traffic
CX53
$23/moBest for: This plan is designed for resource-intensive applications, larger databases, or high-traffic websites
- ✓32 GB RAM
- ✓320 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
Capability Breakdown
10 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
- •Cloud Servers
- •Dedicated Servers
- •Block Storage
- •Object Storage
- •Load Balancers
- •Firewalls
- •Floating IPs
- •Private Networks
- •Snapshots
- •Backups
- •API
- •CLI
- •Terraform Provider
- •DNS Management
- •Data Centers in EU/US
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
- +Industry-leading price-to-performance ratio for compute
- +Generous free egress traffic (20TB/month included)
- +Affordable dedicated root servers with high-end CPUs
- +No-frills, developer-focused interface without vendor lock-in
- +Strong European data sovereignty with German/Finnish locations
- −Limited managed services (e.g., no managed databases or Kubernetes)
- −Support is ticket-based and can be slower than premium providers
- −Fewer global data center locations outside of Europe and the US
- −Strict account verification process can be slow for new users
- −Network performance can be less consistent than AWS/GCP
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
Hetzner removed the "Dedicated Server (AX42)" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX42" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX32" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX22" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner added a new "Load Balancer" plan at $39/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Data Trail · Hetzner
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