Cloudways vs Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- ✦ Managed Hosting
- ✦ 1-Click Install
- ✦ Free SSL
- ✦ Compute Instances
- ✦ Kubernetes
- ✦ Managed Databases
Cloudways and Linode (Akamai Cloud) are both Cloud Hosting tools. Cloudways starts at $11/mo, Linode (Akamai Cloud) at $0.1/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Cloudways vs Linode (Akamai Cloud)
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.
Raw footage in Object Storage triggers a Kubernetes job across four Compute Instances, converting a 2-hour video to three formats in just 18 minutes.
Cloudways' Automated Backups run daily, letting hosting resellers roll back corrupted updates in under 5 minutes with a single restore action.
NodeBalancers reroute traffic away from degraded Managed Database primaries in under 30 seconds, with regional read replicas absorbing queries during recovery.
Linode Kubernetes scales pods at 70% CPU and sheds them 5 minutes after traffic drops, with Firewalls auto-restricting database access to the current pod set.
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
Linode (Akamai Cloud) Plans
Paid plans only
Cloud Firewalls
Free- ✓Robust cloud-based firewall solution
- ✓Create, configure, and add stateful network-based firewalls
- ✓Compatible with Linodes, Linode Interfaces, and NodeBalancers
Block Storage
$0.1/GB/mo- ✓NVMe SSD storage
- ✓Volumes from 10 GB to 16 TB
- ✓8,000 sustained IOPS
- ✓350 MB/s sustained throughput
- ✓Scalable storage independent of compute
Backups (for 1 GB Shared CPU instance)
$2/mo- ✓File-based backup solution for compute instances
- ✓Supports ext3 and ext4 file systems
- ✓Automated daily, weekly, or biweekly snapshots
Nanode 1 GB
$5/mo- ✓1 GB RAM
- ✓1 vCPU
- ✓25 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓1 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
Object Storage
$5/mo- ✓250 GB storage included
- ✓Additional storage $0.02/GB
- ✓1 TB outbound transfer included
- ✓Additional outbound transfer $0.005/GB
- ✓Class A & B requests with free quotas
NodeBalancer
$10/mo- ✓Fully managed load balancing
- ✓Automated failover
- ✓DDoS protection
- ✓SSL/TLS support
- ✓TCP, HTTP, and HTTPS load balancing
Linode 2 GB
$12/mo- ✓2 GB RAM
- ✓1 vCPU
- ✓50 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓2 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
Linode 4 GB
$24/mo- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓2 vCPUs
- ✓80 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓4 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
Linode 8 GB
$48/mo- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓4 vCPUs
- ✓160 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓8 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
Linode 24 GB (High Memory)
$60/mo- ✓24 GB RAM
- ✓2 Dedicated vCPUs
- ✓20 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓5 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
LKE Control Plane (HA)
$60/mo- ✓High-availability control plane for Kubernetes clusters
- ✓Managed Kubernetes Engine
Linode 48 GB (High Memory)
$120/mo- ✓48 GB RAM
- ✓2 Dedicated vCPUs
- ✓20 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- ✓5 TB Network Transfer
- ✓40 Gbps Inbound Network
Capability Breakdown
8 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
- •Compute Instances
- •Kubernetes
- •Managed Databases
- •Object Storage
- •Block Storage
- •NodeBalancers
- •Firewalls
- •DNS Manager
- •Backups
- •StackScripts
- •API
- •CLI
- •Marketplace Apps
- •VPC
- •11 Global Regions
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
- +Predictable, flat-rate pricing with no egress fees.
- +Simple, intuitive UI focused on core compute features.
- +Free bundled support included with all service levels.
- +Excellent price-to-performance ratio on CPU and RAM.
- +Now integrated with Akamai's massive edge network.
- −Fewer managed PaaS offerings (e.g., managed databases) than AWS/GCP.
- −Limited global data center footprint compared to hyperscalers.
- −Advanced networking features like VPCs are less mature.
- −No perpetual free tier for micro-services, only a limited-time credit.
- −Marketplace has fewer one-click app deployments than competitors.
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
Linode (Akamai Cloud) removed the "Linode 8GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Linode (Akamai Cloud) removed the "Linode 4GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Linode (Akamai Cloud) removed the "Linode 2GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Linode (Akamai Cloud) removed the "Nanode 1GB" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Linode (Akamai Cloud) added a new "Bare Metal (Contact Sales)" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 30, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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