Cloudways vs DigitalOcean — Which is Better in 2026?
Cloudways is significantly more expensive (83% more). In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed on speed. We compared pricing, support, uptime, and features so you can choose with confidence.
Last verified: June 2026
Our Quick Verdict
Cloudways wins overall with a 4.6/5 rating vs 4.5/5. It is best for Developers, Agency, WordPress. The other option — DigitalOcean — is a better fit if you need Developers or Cloud Apps.
Ratings Comparison
| Category | Cloudways | Winner | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | 4.6/5 | Winner | 4.5/5 |
| Speed | 4.7/5 | Winner | 4.5/5 |
| Support | 4.4/5 | Winner | 4.2/5 |
| Uptime | 4.7/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.7/5 |
| Value | 4.5/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.5/5 |
| Features | 4.6/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.6/5 |
| Security | 4.5/5 | Winner | 4.4/5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.2/5 | Winner | 4.4/5 |
Features Comparison
| Feature | Cloudways | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Free SSL | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free Domain | ✕ | ✕ |
| Free Migration | ✓ | ✕ |
| Money-Back | None | None |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | 1TB |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Founded | 2012 | 2011 |
Pros & Cons
Cloudways
Pros
- ✓Choose your underlying cloud provider
- ✓Pay-as-you-go — no annual lock-in
- ✓Built-in CDN, Redis, and Varnish cache
- ✓Free SSL and automated backups
- ✓One-click staging environments
- ✓PHP-FPM and Nginx Varnish stack
Cons
- ✕No phone support
- ✕No email hosting included
- ✕Pricing scales with cloud server size
- ✕Not ideal for non-technical beginners
DigitalOcean
Pros
- ✓Best developer documentation and tutorials in industry
- ✓Managed Kubernetes and databases
- ✓App Platform (PaaS) for container deployments
- ✓Simple, clean control panel
- ✓Spaces object storage (S3-compatible)
- ✓Active community and predictable pricing
Cons
- ✕Unmanaged — requires Linux knowledge
- ✕Ticket-only support
- ✕Not beginner-friendly without DevOps experience
- ✕No email hosting
Performance Comparison
In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed DigitalOcean on page load speed, scoring 4.7/5 and 4.5/5 respectively. Cloudways uses SSD storage with data centres in USA, EU, while DigitalOcean relies on SSD storage with locations including USA, UK. Cloudways guarantees 99.99% uptime, and DigitalOcean offers 99.99% uptime.
Pricing Breakdown
DigitalOcean starts at $6.00/month, making it more affordable than Cloudways ($11.00/month) — a 83% price difference. Over 12 months, that's $60 in savings by choosing DigitalOcean.0
Support Comparison
Cloudways offers support via live chat, ticket with a support rating of 4.4/5. DigitalOcean provides ticket support, rated 4.2/5. Cloudways has the edge on support responsiveness and quality in our evaluation.
Who Should Choose Which?
Choose Cloudways if you need:
- Developers
- Agency
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
Not ideal for:
Beginners, Email hosting users
Choose DigitalOcean if you need:
- Developers
- Cloud Apps
- High Traffic
Not ideal for:
Beginners, Non-technical WordPress users
Our Verdict
After testing both platforms, we recommend Cloudways for most users. The ratings are close (4.6 vs 4.5), so your decision should come down to your specific use case.
Our Testing Methodology
ArdentSupport evaluates hosting providers across eight weighted criteria: overall value, page load speed, customer support quality, uptime reliability, feature depth, security posture, and ease of use. Ratings reflect real-world performance data, industry reputation, public SLAs, and first-hand support interactions. Prices are verified at time of publication. We update this comparison when provider data changes.