Cloudways vs HostGator
- ✦ Managed Hosting
- ✦ Staging Environment
- ✦ CDN
- ✦ Shared Hosting
- ✦ WordPress Hosting
- ✦ VPS Hosting
Cloudways and HostGator are both Cloud Hosting tools. Cloudways starts at $11/mo, HostGator at $2.99/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Cloudways vs HostGator
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.
1-Click Install spins up a full WordPress environment without server configuration, and cPanel's file manager handles theme uploads without requiring SSH access.
Cloudways' Automated Backups run daily, letting hosting resellers roll back corrupted updates in under 5 minutes with a single restore action.
Shared Hosting isolates each domain in its own environment, Free SSL keeps certificate costs at zero, and cPanel runs nightly backups without manual scheduling.
VPS Hosting dedicates CPU to handle seasonal peaks - product launches, flash sales - without rewriting application logic or migrating databases during live events.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified Jun 2, 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
HostGator Plans
Paid plans only
Professional Email
$2.99/mo- ✓Professional email service
cPanel/WHM
$12/mo- ✓Manage VPS hosting
- ✓WHMCS functionality
Hatchling
$18/moBest for: 1 website, Free SSL, Unmetered bandwidth
- ✓1 website
- ✓10 GB SSD storage
- ✓Unmetered bandwidth
- ✓Free SSL certificate
- ✓Free domain for 1st year (on 12+ month terms)
Baby
$19/moBest for: Unlimited sites, Free domain
- ✓20 websites
- ✓20 GB SSD storage
- ✓Unmetered bandwidth
- ✓Free SSL certificate
- ✓Free domain for 1st year (on 12+ month terms)
Business
$24/moBest for: Free dedicated IP, Free SEO tools
- ✓50 websites
- ✓50 GB SSD storage
- ✓Unmetered bandwidth
- ✓Free SSL certificate
- ✓Free domain for 1st year (on 12+ month terms)
Snappy 2000 NVMe 4
$55/mo- ✓2 vCPU
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓100 GB NVMe storage
- ✓Full root access
- ✓Increased reliability
Snappy 4000 NVMe 8
$86/mo- ✓4 vCPU
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓200 GB NVMe storage
- ✓Full root access
- ✓Increased reliability
Value – NVMe 32
$192/mo- ✓8-core CPU
- ✓32 GB RAM
- ✓1 TB NVMe storage
- ✓Full root access
- ✓Increased reliability
WordPress Baby Plan
$4.5/mo- ✓Optimized for WordPress
- ✓WordPress pre-installed
- ✓Multiple virtual CPUs for faster performance
- ✓Manage WordPress updates
- ✓Manage themes and plugins
WordPress Pro Plan
$14/mo- ✓Optimized for WordPress
- ✓WordPress pre-installed
- ✓Multiple virtual CPUs for faster performance
- ✓Manage WordPress updates
- ✓Manage themes and plugins
Dedicated Hosting
$119/mo- ✓Exclusive server resources
- ✓DDOS protection
- ✓RAID-1 configuration
- ✓Unlimited databases
- ✓24/7/365 server monitoring and technical support
CodeGuard Basic
$3.99/mo- ✓Daily Automatic Backups
Capability Breakdown
9 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
- •Shared Hosting
- •WordPress Hosting
- •VPS Hosting
- •Dedicated Servers
- •Free SSL
- •Free Domain
- •cPanel
- •1-Click Install
- •Email Hosting
- •Website Builder
- •Unmetered Bandwidth
- •99.9% Uptime
- •24/7 Support
- •Free Migration
- •Marketing Credits
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
- +Generous 45-day money-back guarantee, longer than industry standard
- +Unmetered bandwidth and disk space on all shared hosting plans
- +Free domain name and SSL certificate included for the first year
- +User-friendly cPanel control panel simplifies site management
- +Free website and cPanel-to-cPanel migration service included
- −Aggressive upselling and pre-checked add-ons during checkout
- −Renewal prices are significantly higher than introductory rates
- −Performance can be inconsistent on lower-tier shared hosting plans
- −Automated daily backups are not guaranteed and are a paid add-on
- −Customer support response times can be slow during peak hours
At a Glance
Recent Price History
HostGator added a new "SSL Certificate" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · Jun 2, 2026
HostGator added a new "Professional Email" plan at $2.99/mo
Plan added · Jun 2, 2026
HostGator added a new "Domain Expiration Protection" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · Jun 2, 2026
HostGator added a new "cPanel/WHM" plan at $12/mo
Plan added · Jun 2, 2026
HostGator added a new "CodeGuard Enterprise" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · Jun 2, 2026
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
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Data Trail · HostGator
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