The Best Cloudways Alternatives in 2026
Cloudways gives you powerful infrastructure — but it expects you to manage it. No email hosting, no domain registration, complex billing, and still $11–28/month, every month. Here's what to use instead.
TL;DR — Quick Summary
- • Cloudways: $11–28/mo, pay-as-you-go, requires technical management
- • Best escape option: ZeroPress — one-time €299, then €0/month, zero management
- • Break-even: Under 12 months vs Cloudways cheapest plan
- • Best if you need managed WordPress: Kinsta ($35/mo, fully managed, no server knowledge needed)
Why People Look for Cloudways Alternatives
Cloudways is a developer's tool. Not everyone wants to be a sysadmin.
Technical Overhead
Server configuration, permissions, SSL setup, scaling decisions — Cloudways simplifies cloud hosting, but you still need to understand what you're doing. Not suitable for non-technical users.
No Email Hosting
Cloudways doesn't include email. You'll need a separate provider — Google Workspace, Zoho, or similar — adding cost and complexity on top of your monthly hosting bill.
Billing Complexity
Pay-as-you-go sounds flexible until you get an unexpected bill from add-ons, bandwidth overages, or provisioned resources. Invoices can be hard to predict and explain.
Post-Acquisition Drift
Since the DigitalOcean acquisition, users report price increases and a decline in support quality. The Cloudways that users praised in reviews may not be the Cloudways of today.
What Cloudways Actually Costs Over 3 Years
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DO 1GB (entry) | $132 | $132 | $132 | $396 |
| DO 2GB (popular) | $336 | $336 | $336 | $1,008 |
| DO 2GB + Premium Support | $1,536 | $1,536 | $1,536 | $4,608 |
| ZeroPress (static) | €299 | €0 | €0 | €299 total |
Cloudways prices in USD. ZeroPress in EUR. Email provider not included in Cloudways totals.
The 5 Best Cloudways Alternatives
Ranked by how well they solve Cloudways' core frustrations: technical complexity, missing email, and ongoing cost.
1. ZeroPress
One-time migration to static hosting — no server to manage, €0/month forever
ZeroPress migrates your WordPress site to Jekyll and deploys it on Cloudflare Pages or GitHub Pages. Both are globally distributed, permanently free, and require zero server management. No configuration. No scaling decisions. No monthly bill.
The migration costs €299 once. If you're on Cloudways at $11/month, ZeroPress pays for itself in under 28 months. At $28/month, under 11 months.
What you get
- ✓ All posts, pages, media migrated
- ✓ SEO preserved (same URLs)
- ✓ Loads in <0.5s
- ✓ Zero server management
- ✓ No billing surprises
- ✓ Sveltia CMS (visual editor)
Honest limitations
- — No e-commerce (static only)
- — No membership areas
- — No staging environment
- — Separate email needed
💰 Cost: €299 once, then €0/month
2. Kinsta
Fully managed WordPress — no server knowledge needed
If you want managed WordPress without the Cloudways learning curve, Kinsta is the natural step up. Everything is handled for you — updates, security, performance. Built on Google Cloud Platform. The trade-off: it costs more and charges for add-ons like Redis.
Strengths vs Cloudways
- ✓ Fully managed — no sysadmin needed
- ✓ Expert support included
- ✓ Predictable invoices
Limitations
- — More expensive ($35+/mo)
- — Add-ons cost extra (Redis: $100/mo)
- — WordPress only
💰 Cost: $35–70/month, ongoing
3. WP Engine
Enterprise managed WordPress — strong dev tools, no server management
WP Engine is another fully managed option that removes the Cloudways complexity. Excellent staging environments and developer workflow. More expensive, and with plugin restrictions — but zero server configuration required.
Strengths
- ✓ Fully managed
- ✓ Dev/Stage/Prod environments
- ✓ Strong security stack
Limitations
- — Plugin restrictions
- — Visitor cap overages
- — No email hosting either
💰 Cost: $25–49/month, ongoing
4. SiteGround
Simpler shared hosting — no server management, email included
SiteGround is simpler than Cloudways, includes email, and is cheaper in year one. Good for non-technical users who found Cloudways overwhelming. Just be prepared for the 5x renewal price jump after year one.
Strengths vs Cloudways
- ✓ No server management
- ✓ Email hosting included
- ✓ Simpler for beginners
Limitations
- — 5x renewal price jump
- — Lower performance ceiling
- — Resource limits on growth
💰 Cost: $4.99–7.99/mo (year 1), $24.99–44.99/mo (renewal)
5. Bluehost
Budget shared hosting — simplest to start, lowest performance ceiling
Bluehost is the simplest option on this list — one-click WordPress, free domain, no server knowledge needed. Good starting point, but shared hosting limits mean you'll hit performance ceilings that Cloudways was specifically designed to avoid.
Strengths
- ✓ No technical knowledge needed
- ✓ Cheapest entry price
- ✓ Free domain first year
Limitations
- — CPU throttling, 504 errors
- — Aggressive renewal pricing
- — Data loss incidents reported
💰 Cost: $1.99–9.99/mo (year 1), $9.99–83.99/mo (renewal)
Is ZeroPress Right for Your Site?
✓ ZeroPress is a great fit if...
- ✓ You run a blog, portfolio, or business site
- ✓ You want hosting that manages itself — completely
- ✓ You never want to think about server configuration again
- ✓ You want predictable costs — one invoice, then nothing
- ✓ You want a site that loads in under half a second
— ZeroPress is not the right fit if...
- — You enjoy having full infrastructure control
- — You run an e-commerce store with cart and checkout
- — You have a membership site with gated content
- — You need to host multiple dynamic applications
For these cases, Kinsta ($35/mo) is our honest recommendation.
How to Switch from Cloudways
No server access needed. No SSH. No configuration.
Want to test before committing? Start with our free 4-post migration — no credit card required.
The server that manages itself is no server at all.
Test the free migration before your next Cloudways charge. If you like what you see, go Pro for €299 — and never configure a server again.
No plugins. No server. No monthly fees.