Cloudways Review 2023: The Good, Bad, And Alternatives After Being Acquired By DigitalOcean (Did Performance Degrade?)

Cloudways review

Ever since Cloudways was acquired by DigitalOcean, I’ve seen quite a few complaints about price increases, removing Vultr (but you can still get it here), and people looking for alternatives.

Cloudways also scored poorly in Kevin Ohashi’s 2023 WordPress Hosting Benchmarks which explains why I’ve seen also complaints about degraded performance. Which is interesting… because Cloudways is supposed to be fast with cloud hosting, NVMe SSDs, Redis Object Cache Pro, and Cloudflare Enterprise which now supports full page caching (and Argo Smart Routing).

Needless to say, if you’re looking for alternatives, I moved to Rocket.net which costs more but averages a 100ms global TTFB with better support/TrustPilot ratings (and more hands-off). If you’re on a budget, look at ChemiCloud’s WordPress Turbo plan (which uses LiteSpeed, NVMe SSDs, and Redis). Or ServerAvatar which is similar to Cloudways but cheaper and has LiteSpeed.

If you still want to go with Cloudways, I still think they’re better than SiteGround, Kinsta, and most mainstream hosts. I’ll cover some things I’ve learned throughout the years including speed tweaks and why an ideal Cloudways setup would like something like this: Cloudways Vultr High Frequency + Cloudflare Enterprise + FlyingPress (not Breeze) + Google Workspace.

Cloudways does 3-day trials along with a free migration, and here’s a coupon for 30% off 3 months. Feel free to comment with any questions or reach out to their community manager.

Cloudways vultr high frequency pricing
Get 30% off 3 months with promo code OMM30

 

1. Cloudways Acquired By DigitalOcean

Since Cloudways was acquired by DigitalOcean, they’ve

  • Increased prices.
  • Removed Vultr and other non-DO providers.
  • Added full page caching to Cloudflare Enterprise.
  • Had several complaints about support and billing issues.

Getting bought out usually isn’t a good thing, and it also wasn’t with Cloudways.

 

2. Little Awards In Kevin Ohashi’s 2023 Benchmarks

Even with faster technology, Cloudways didn’t perform well in Kevin Ohashi’s WordPress Hosting Benchmarks. In fact, they received hardly any rewards for tests they competed in.

Rocket.net did! But I don’t recommend SiteGround, WPX, or GreenGeeks for various reasons (mainly because of limited resources and poor ethics). You can read my other hosting reviews.

Rocket. Net 2023 wordpress hosting benchmarks

 

3. Cloudways vs. Shared Hosts

While I try to keep this as accurate as possible, hosting companies change things often and I can’t guarantee 100% accuracy. Drop me a comment if something needs updating (thank you).

Notes

SiteGround GrowBig Hostinger Business WP WPX Business Plan ChemiCloud WordPress Turbo Cloudways Vultr HF (2GB)
Type Shared Shared Shared Shared Cloud
Cores/RAM Not listed 2 cores/1.5GB 1 core/1GB 3 cores/3GB – scalable to 6/6 1 core/2GB
Server Apache + Nginx LiteSpeed LiteSpeed LiteSpeed Apache + Nginx
Storage 20GB SATA 200GB SATA 15GB SATA 40GB NVMe – 10/11 locations 64G NVMe
CDN Google Cloud QUIC.cloud QUIC.cloud QUIC.cloud Cloudflare Enterprise
DNS Internal (blocked for 4 days) Internal Internal Internal DNS Made Easy ($5/mo)
Cache plugin SG Optimizer LSC LSC or W3TC LSC Breeze
Object cache Memcached Memcached x Redis Redis Pro
PHP processor FastCGI LiteSpeed LiteSpeed LiteSpeed FPM
Database MySQL MariaDB MariaDB MariaDB MariaDB
Bandwidth or monthly visits 100k visits/mo (estimated) At discretion 200GB Unlimited* 2TB
CPU limits Common Low resources 3 PHP workers Efficient w/ LiteSpeed Average (use at least 1 core/RAM)
Email hosting 1GB storage Low limits x
Major incidents TTFB/DNS/CPU issues, unethical Fake reviews, scam reports, 2019 breach Global outage blamed on dead CEO None None
Migrations $30/site Unlimited 5-35 sites 200 cPanel + 10 non-cPanel 1 free + $25/site
TrustPilot rating 4.8/5 4.7/5 (fake) 4.9/5 5/5 4.6/5
Intro price $3.99/mo $3.99/mo $20.83/mo when paying yearly $5.99/mo $26/mo
Renewal price $24.99/mo $14.99/mo $20.83/mo $19.95/mo $26/mo
3 year price $659.64 $299.40 $749.88 $215.64 $936

 
 

4. Cloudways vs. Other Cloud Hosts

As I mentioned earlier, Rocket.net is faster (you get faster PHP processing with LiteSpeed and way more cores/RAM) but it usually costs more than Cloudways due to less bandwidth/storage. You can also host multiple sites on the same Cloudways server while Rocket.net limits # of sites.

SiteGround Cloud Jump Start Plan WP Engine StartUp Plan Kinsta Starter Plan Cloudways Vultr HF (2GB) Rocket.net Starter Plan
Type Cloud Cloud Cloud Cloud Private cloud
Cores/RAM 4 cores/8GB Not listed 12 cores/8GB 1 core/2GB 32 cores/128GB
Server Apache + Nginx Apache + Nginx Apache + Nginx Apache + Nginx Apache + Nginx
Storage 40GB SATA 10GB SATA 10GB SATA 64GB NVMe 10GB NVMe
Cache plugin SG Optimizer x x Breeze x
CDN Google Cloud Cloudflare free + Polish Cloudflare free $5/mo Cloudflare Enterprise Free Cloudflare Enterprise
DNS Internal (blocked by Google) Internal Amazon Route 53 DNS Made Easy ($5/mo) Cloudflare
Object cache Memcached Memcached Redis ($100/mo) Redis Pro Redis
PHP processor FastCGI HHVM FastCGI FPM LiteSpeed
PHP workers Not listed (but common issue) Not listed (but common issue) 2 PHP workers No limit No limit
Memory limit Adjustable 512MB 256MB Adjustable 1GB
Database MySQL Not listed Not listed MariaDB MariaDB
Nginx reverse proxy Manual configuration $50/mo
Bandwidth or monthly visits 5TB 50GB + 25k visits/mo 25k visits/mo 2TB 50GB + 250k visits/mo
Email hosting x x x x
Malware removal Scanner only x Removal pledge x Imunify360
Major incidents TTFB/DNS/CPU issues, unethical 2015 breach None None None
Migrations $30/site Paid (quoted) Free (most hosts) 1 free + $25/site Unlimited free
TrustPilot rating 4.8/5 4.7/5 4.2/5 4.6/5 4.9/5
Price $100/mo $25/mo when paying yearly $29/mo when paying yearly $26/mo $25/mo when paying yearly

 
 

5. My Results

What happened when I moved from SiteGround to Cloudways (this was in 2019):

Siteground to cloudways shoutout

 

6. No More CPU Issues

If you’re worried about high CPU usage from traffic, plugins, etc. Look into getting a LiteSpeed server on ChemiCloud since LiteSpeed is much more efficient than Apache.

For example, SiteGround’s CPU limits can be a nightmare especially on their cloud hosting. I had to upgrade from GoGeek to a $120/month cloud hosting plan just to get rid of them, and $180/month to have acceptable load times. While this is a common theme with shared hosting because they use limited resources, SiteGround’s is by far the worst I’ve seen. I wrote a popular guide on reducing CPU usage in WordPress and couldn’t fix it. It’s from their low resource limits.

Once I ditched SiteGround for Cloudways, CPU usage averaged under 10%. So I scaled down CPU cores/RAM and was able to save about $100/mo. SiteGround’s cloud hosting was a ripoff.

I’m not saying Cloudways will fix everyone’s CPU limits and you have to take into account they use Apache servers (instead of LiteSpeed which can handle 2x the capacity of Apache). I’m more saying: think twice about upgrading because of CPU limits especially if it’s on SiteGround.

Cpu ram usage

Siteground cloud hosting sales receipt
Paying SiteGround too much to avoid CPU limits
Cloudways invoices
Scaling down and saving $100/mo

Siteground cpu limits joke

Siteground cpu limits to cloudways

Siteground cpu dance

 

7. Monthly Pricing, Scaling Gets Expensive

Cloudways is monthly pricing (no renewals).

However, it gets expensive as you scale which is probably the biggest complaint. You’re paying about 2x the price on the Vultr HF website for everything else built-in to Cloudways. That’s why many higher traffic websites use RunCloud or CyberPanel instead which are a little more hands-on (launching servers on Cloudways can be done in a few clicks instead of provisioning servers).

Cloudways makes it easy to add CPU/RAM, but shared hosts usually trap you into 1-3 year contracts with a fixed amount of server resources. This can be an issue if your traffic grows or you add plugins/features that need more resources (which is why so many people get screwed).

Cloudways vertical scaling

 

8. Sign Up

These next few steps walk you through setting up your site on Cloudways.

You get 30% off 3 months when you sign up though the page they created for me, and yes, I’ll get an affiliate commission. I appreciate it if you do, otherwise no worries. Gotta be transparent.

Cloudways vultr high frequency pricing

 

9. Launch A Server

The next step is to launch a server. Select an application (WordPress or WooCommerce) and name your app/server. Select a cloud host (I recommend Vultr HF), and the server size. 1GB is fine for small sites, 2GB+ for larger/WooCommerce sites. Select the data center closest to your visitors. Cloudways has 19 data centers for Vultr HF while most shared hosts only use around 4-6, so assuming you’re able to use a closer data center, this should already help improve TTFB.

Then click Launch Now.

Cloudways launch vultr high frequency server

Vultr HF is the most popular with faster NVMe storage, higher CPU clock speeds, and 3GHz+ CPUs. You also have DigitalOcean (and DigitalOcean Premium), Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud.

I don’t recommend Google Cloud since Cloudways uses the lower tier N1 machine family. SiteGround originally used N1 when they moved to Google Cloud but now uses N2. Both are for balanced workloads instead of optimized workloads. If you’re doing Google Cloud, you want C2.

Preferred cloudways server

Vultr high frequency compute
Vultr HF uses 3GHz+ CPUs with higher clock speeds
Nvme vs sata
NVMe storage is faster (source: PCWorld)

 

10. Connect Your Domain

After your server is done launching, you’ll connect your domain. Cloudways doesn’t offer domain names so if you don’t have one, I recommend using Google Domains or NameCheap.

Step 1: Add your domain name under Applications → Domain Management. Add the www version as an additional domain if you want to redirect all www links to the non-www version.

Cloudways domain management

Step 2: Update DNS records. In NameCheap, go to Dashboard → Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS → Add New Record.  The A Record value is the Public IP found in Access Details in Cloudways. The CNAME is your domain name. Use the same formatting as below. Here are GoDaddy’s instructions (or Google instructions for the domain registrar you’re using).

Add cloudways records to namecheap

Step 3: Add free Let’s Encrypt SSL (Applications → SSL Certificate) and enable auto renewal.

Cloudways ssl management

Cloudways also has a video on this.

 

11. Request A Free Migration

Request a free migration (9 squares → Add-ons → Application Migration). The first migration is free then it’s $25/site which is cheaper than most hosts. I had them move my site with no issues.

Cloudways free migration 1

Or DIY with the Cloudways WordPress Migrator plugin.

 

12. Cloudflare Enterprise

Cloudways has a Cloudflare Enterprise add-on for $5/mo, so here are my thoughts.

They copied Rocket.net’s Cloudflare Enterprise which is why Cloudways didn’t have full page caching (they do now) and annoying challenge pages. Several hosts have been doing “partial integrations” of Cloudflare Enterprise but leave out key features. It boils down to this… Ben Gabler (Rocket.net CEO) was the first to add this and his previous experience as StackPath’s Chief Product Officer makes me trust Rocket.net more than other hosts integrating their CDN.

Rocket. Net true cloudflare enterprise

Rocket.net’s Cloudflare Enterprise is free, setup automatically, and has always had full page caching (without annoying challenge pages). But out of other “mainstream hosts” I would say Cloudways has the 2nd fastest CDN above SiteGround, WPX, Kinsta, WP Engine, and the others.

Cloudflare Free Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise Rocket.net Cloudflare Enterprise
APO $5/mo
Argo Smart Routing Paid feature
Priority routing x
Load balancing Paid feature
Mirage/Polish Requires CF Pro
Enterprise DDoS protection x
Bandwidth Unlimited 100GB Determined by hosting plan
Challenge pages Not often Too often Not often
Price Free $5/mo Free w/ hosting

Key differences between third-party Cloudflare Enterprise services (and Cloudflare free)

Features

  • Enterprise CDN – prioritized routing with CDN cache and unique IPs up to 100GBs.
  • Managed WAF – includes PCI compliance with advanced bot management & mitigation.
  • DDos Protection – prioritized for layers 3, 4, 7 with prioritized IP ranges and 100% SLA.
  • Image Optimization – Mirage + Polish compress images, resizes them for mobile, serves them in WebP, strips EXIF data, etc. I definitely prefer this over image optimization plugins.
  • Full Page Caching – Cloudways finally supports this which should significantly improve your TTFB in multiple worldwide locations when testing your site in tools like SpeedVitals.
  • Argo + Tiered Cache – routes your traffic through the fastest Cloudflare network paths.
  • Global load balancing – creates a failover so traffic is re-routed from unhealthy origin servers to healthier origins. This can reduce things like latency, TLS, and general errors.
  • HTTP/3 access – you still get HTTP/3 when using the CF Enterprise add-on on Cloudways.

Setup Instructions

Cloudways has a guide on this.

Cloudways cloudflare enterprise
Step 1: Enable Cloudflare Enterprise on your domain
Verify domain ownership for cloudflare enterprise on cloudways
Step 2: Copy TXT records from Cloudways
Cloudways txt records cloudflare dns
Step 3: Add TXT records to your DNS
Cloudflare enterprise on cloudways
What it looks like after it’s set up
Keycdn ttfb no cloudflare enterprise
TTFB (no Cloudflare Enterprise) measured in KeyCDN
Keycdn ttfb with cloudflare enterprise
TTFB (with Cloudflare Enterprise) measured in KeyCDN

 

13. Redis Object Cache Pro

Redis Object Cache Pro is especially good for speeding up WooCommerce/dynamic websites (Redis is more powerful than Memcached especially with Redis Pro’s relay integration). This is free on Cloudways and can be enabled under Servers → Settings & Packages → Packages → Install Redis. Cloudways will install Redis as a drop-in plugin in your WordPress plugins menu.

Cloudways redis

This table is found on objectcache.pro.

W3 Total Cache LiteSpeed Cache WP Redis Redis Object Cache Object Cache Pro
Performance
Batch Prefetching x x x x
Data compression x x x x
Cache priming x x x x
Asynchronous flushing x x x
Features
Cache Analytics x x x
Secure connections x x x
Highly customizable x x x x
Logging support x x x x
Cluster support x x x
Replication support x x x
Reliability
Mitigates race conditions x x x x
Extensively unit tested x x x x
Integrations
WooCommerce optimized x x x x
Query Monitor integration x x x Basic Advanced
WP CLI integration Basic x Basic Basic Advanced
Site Health checks x x x x
Batcache compatible x x x
Relay integration x x x x

 
 

14. Use FlyingPress, Not Breeze

Cloudways made improvements to Breeze, but I still recommend FlyingPress.

It just does a better job addressing core web vitals. Compared to WP Rocket, FlyingPress has more features and it also optimizes for real-world browsing better. For example, Perfmatters agrees that when removing unused CSS, loading the used CSS in a separate file is faster for real visitors while inline is better for “scores.” Things that may seem small can make a big difference.

Breeze WP Rocket FlyingPress
Remove unused CSS x Inline Separate file
Critical CSS x
Bloat removal x x
Host fonts locally x x
Preload images x x
Lazy load background images x Inline HTML lazy-bg class
Exclude images from lazy load x By number By number
YouTube iframe preview image x
Self-host YouTube placeholder x x
Add missing image dimensions x
Lazy render HTML elements x x
Scheduled database cleanups x
Frequent new features x x
Documentation Needs more detail Detailed Needs more detail
Price Free $59/year $60/year
Renewal price Free $59/year $42/year
Facebook group Cloudways Users WP Rocket Users FlyingPress

 
 

15. More Cloudways Optimizations

Here are a few other optimizations you can make on Cloudways. These can depend on whether your site is WooCommerce or low/high traffic. Cloudways also has quite a bit of documentation.

  • Use PHP 8.0+.
  • Use MariaDB 10.4.
  • Use a 512MB memory limit or higher.
  • Activate Redis add-on (see previous step).
  • Use FlyingPress instead of Breeze (see previous step).
  • Configure Varnish rules to exclude URLs/cookies if needed.
  • Activate Varnish add-on (specifically good for eCommerce sites).
  • Increase PHP-FPM memory limit from 32M (mine was set to 1024M).
  • Schedule backups during non-peak hours if you’re using Cloudways for backups.
  • Use Cloudflare’s DNS (see dnsperf.com). Not related to Cloudways, but important.
  • Replace wp-cron with a real cron job (use code below or see Cloudways instructions).
  • Use error logs to find bad bots, URL requests, status code errors, slow pages/queries.
  • max_execution_time: 30-60s, max_input_time: 60s, max_input_vars: 1000 (what I used).
Cloudways settings packages
Use PHP 8.0+, MariaDB 10.4, install Redis
Cloudways-manage-services
Activate multiple caching layers
Cloudways php fpm settings
Increase PHP FPM memory limit

This is the code for adding a cron job (remember to disable wp-cron beforehand). This can specifically help reduce CPU usage by preventing wp-cron from loading on every pageview.

*/5 * * * * wget -q -O - 'https://wordpress-413270-1299955.cloudwaysapps.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

 

16. Support Isn’t Great

Support is definitely what I see the most complaints about.

This can range from billing confusions to flat out poor support. I can honestly say Cloudways support has been fine for me, but it’s not like what you’d get with Rocket.net and ChemiCloud.

One thing I suggest (especially if you’re new) is to reach out to their community manager Muhammed Moeez if you have pre-sales questions. Before I moved, I reached out to them on Facebook so I could have peace of mind more than anything. They also have a Facebook group.

Cloudways community manager

Cloudways vs siteground support

 

17. No Email Hosting

Keeping web/email hosting separate is a good thing (besides price) since emails take up inodes/files. You also want resources to only be dedicated to hosting your website and not email. Plus, if you decide to switch hosts, you don’t have to switch emails which can be a pain.

Cloudways only offers Rackspace for $1/email per month but I use Google Workspace (Cloudflare also started offering free email addresses). I’ve never used Rackspace so I can’t comment on whether it’s good vs. bad or setting it up. I’ve always preferred Google Workspace.

 

18. You’ll Want A Separate Backup Plugin

I also recommend a third-party backup plugins service like UpdraftPlus or ManageWP.

Cloudways also charges $.033/GB for local backups which can be downloaded via SSH/SFTP, but they only provide 1 copy of the latest backup. And while I’ve never had a problem, I have heard a few horror stories of backups getting deleted, etc. Regardless of your host, it’s always a good idea to have off-site backups by a third-party service so your eggs aren’t all in one basket.

Cloudways backups
Cloudways backup setting

Updraftplus

 

19. File Manager Workaround

Cloudways doesn’t have a file manager, but they do have SFTP.

Also, thanks to Roger for pointing out a workaround in the comments for people coming from cPanel. Since Cloudways doesn’t have a file manager, you can download and upload Tiny File Manager via SFTP which gives you access to functions like Zip, Unzip, Create, Delete, Modify, View, Quick Preview, Download, Copy, and Move files (see more features on the GitHub page).

Tiny file manager

 

20. Navigating The Dashboard

Sign up for a Cloudways demo if you want to check out the dashboard.

The Server tab is where you can change settings for Redis, Varnish, PHP version, MariaDB, memory limit, backups, scale your server, configure SMTP, and monitor CPU/RAM/DISK usage.

Cloudways server settings

The Application tab has your WordPress login details and lets you create staging sites, monitor traffic + errors logs, add domains, configure SSL, manage cron jobs, restore backups or take one on-demand, and tweak Application settings (Varnish, WebP, XML-RPC, PHP-FPM, Varnish, etc).

Cloudways application settings

 

21. Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Cloud hosting is generally faster than shared.
  • Vultr HF has high clock speeds + NVMe SSDs.
  • Cloudflare Enterprise is arguably the fastest CDN.
  • Multiple caching layers (Redis, Memcached, Varnish, etc).
  • They use MariaDB which is comparatively faster than MySQL.
  • PHP-FPM tends to use memory more efficiently than FastCGI.
  • Stays updated on PHP versions (currently supports PHP 8.2).
  • Monthly pricing without yearly contracts or high renewal prices.
  • Many reports of Cloudways fixing CPU issues on shared hosting.
  • More control of specific server settings (see WP Johnny’s guide).
  • 44 data centers to choose from between all their cloud providers.
  • Choice of 5 cloud providers: DO, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud, Linode.
  • Launching a server and using their migrator plugin is straightforward.

Cons

  • Apache servers.
  • Support isn’t great.
  • Breeze plugin isn’t great (use FlyingPress).
  • No email hosting (use Google Workspace).
  • High CPU usage on smaller servers (i.e. 1GB).
  • No file manager (use SFTP or Tiny File Manager).
  • Scaling CPU/RAM for larger websites gets expensive.
  • Previously lacking features with Cloudflare Enterprise.
  • Several complaints after being acquired by DigitalOcean.
  • Offsite backup storage is $.033/GB per server (use a third-party service).

 

22. More Migration Results

Other people who moved to Cloudways and posted results:

Siteground vs cloudways vultr
Source: Oxygen User Group
Cloudways-woocommerce-on-vultr-high-frequency
Source: WooCommerce Help & Share Group
Cloudways switch hosting
Source: Twitter
Siteground to cloudways move
Source: Twitter
Dreamhost-to-cloudways-vultr
Source: WordPress Hosting Group
Change hosting to cloudways
Source: Twitter
Digitalocean to vultr hf
Source: WP Speed Matters
Cloudways vs bluehost
Source: Post Removed
Vultr vs siteground
Source: WordPress Hosting
Cloudways-vultr-high-frequency-speed
Source: WP Rocket Users

 

23. Alternatives: Rocket.net, ChemiCloud, ServerAvatar

Rocket.net – beats Cloudways in performance, support, and ease of use (but can also cost more). Feel free to test my global TTFB in KeyCDN or SpeedVitals. The “correct” way is to run about 3 tests to ensure resources are cached and served from your CDN’s closest data center.

Average ttfb speedvitals

Rocket. Net vs cloudways

Rocket. Net vs cloudways cpu usage

Rocket. Net faster than cloudways

Siteground to cloudways to rocket. Net 2

ChemiCloud – the best shared host out there IMO without the pesky CPU limits you get with SiteGround and other hosts. Great for small-medium sites, but they also have good VPS options.

ServerAvatar – similar to Cloudways where you use a control panel to connect and manage servers, but lacks several features you get with other hosts (Cloudflare Enterprise for example).

Do you think Cloudways is still worth it? Need help choosing a host? Lmk in the comments.

Cheers,
Tom

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98 Comments...

  1. Hi Tom

    I just received a phone call from Cloudways and they wanted me to migrate to Digital Ocean. An actual phone call! Below is email they sent me.
    ——————————————————————————————————
    Dear Rodney
    Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. As mentioned on our call, in September 2022 Cloudways became part of DigitalOcean and we are continuing our mission to save customers time and money by offering simple to use, high performance, great value managed cloud hosting.

    We’re looking to offer select customers the opportunity to move their websites across to DigitalOcean data centers where we will bring you best in class reliability with 99.99% uptime and Cloudways will take care of all aspects of migrating your websites:

    * We’ll initiate your migration within 1-2 working days. This will fall in off-business hours to ensure there is no disruption to your business.
    * Our support team is available 24X7 to assist you via Live Chat & Ticket.
    * Our migration team will ensure that your previous settings are intact and all the server/application settings (eg: SSL, Cronjobs, SFTP, SMTP, etc.) are working as intended.
    * As an additional precaution, it is suggested to keep your old server active for 7 days after the migration is completed.
    * We’ll assess your websites before the start of migration and get in touch if necessary.
    * It is advised that you don’t cancel your old server until you update your DNS or are advised by us.
    * During the off-business hours, please do not upload any file via SFTP on the old server(s).
    * Once the migration is complete and your website is live and working well from the new server, please safely delete your old server to avoid incurring its cost.

    For a limited time, we’re also offering a 30% discount for 2 months on all migrated workloads!

    You are currently using High Frequency 1GB Vultr that costs about $16 a month, while the Digital Ocean 1GB Premium server costs $14 a month. So, by transitioning to Digital Ocean, you will save $2 per month, resulting in an annual savings of $24. Also, as this is our initiative, we are pleased to offer a 30% discount for the first two months of service. This means that you will be saving $8.4 during this period.

    After migration, only your server will be switched from Vultr to DigitalOcean and you’ll be using the same account, dashboard and tools on the Cloudways platform.

    Please let me know if you’re interested in moving forward or if you have any additional questions.

    Regards,
    ———————————————————————————————————–
    Dont know what to make of this don’t know how digital ocean compares to Vutr HF?

    Does that mean they are trying to close down Vutr HF, I notice you can still signup for under you special offer page.

    Do you have any thoughts on this?

    Regards
    Rodney

    Reply
    • They’ve been trying to close down Vultr. I had to write a not so friendly letter to them to get Vultr back on my signup page when they removed it a while ago. I’ve always told people to use Vultr HF and that’s still what I recommend out of the Cloudways options.

      I’m given 0 heads up with these decisions, so who knows what they’ll do in the future. I dunno, Cloudways still has decent performance/resource limits but has become unpredictable – and I don’t feel like spending time learning all these new/unwanted changes.

      Reply
  2. I have been trying out cloudways for a couple of weeks now. The performance is very good, I use wp rocket for the optimisation and keep their breeze plugin just to flush the cloudflare enterprise cache. It works for now. I get 100 in pagespeed score which I did not at all at for example Flywheel.

    But the support is not super helpful. I get different level of advice on different times of the day.
    I have a hard time figuring out what security I need to secure the server since I am not a server technician.
    The sales page say they have extremely good security but when I start to ask on the details it seems they mean that their listed firewall or at least waf is only present when I purchase their cloudflare add-on. And that would be on the dns level, not on the server level. Apparently there is no WAF layer for sites that do not use Cloudflare. Sure they have the bot protection integration but that seems to be mostly for limiting login attempts on the wordpress login page.

    Checking here:
    https://www.cloudways.com/en/managed-security.php
    It seems they have a few features but nothing regarding monitoring for malware, again, Waf is only when using CF.

    I would think I would need more layers globally to secure the server where all the sites I plan to move in will be. Their current security layers seems to be a bit passive and not something that would inform me if their is any security breach on the server.
    When I look at Chemicloud and Scala I see 24/7 malware protection and removal, advanced firewalls, imunify360 automatic scanning, web application firewall, Proactive Server Monitoring etc… etc…

    Seems like the offering from cloudways is much more barebone than chemi/scala for people like me who dont want to spend my day looking at server logs to figure out if my server is hacked or not right?

    Sure I can install ClamAV (which they require me to upgrade for 6 months with their 100usd/month support plan just to configure it for me) or use Wordfence or some other custom add-on/plugin etc. but I would ideally want the server to have more security before I start to tinker trying to add my own external security improvements on top of this since as I mentioned I am not a server/security guru.

    Any experience?

    Reply

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