Does Cloudways have a free tier?

No — Cloudways has no free tier.

Cloudways

A managed hosting layer that runs your apps on DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS or GCP servers with a control panel, staging, backups and 24/7 support — cloud performance without managing the server.

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Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform, owned by DigitalOcean since its 2022 acquisition, that provisions and operates application servers on top of third-party IaaS providers — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud — while handling server setup, security hardening, patching, caching, and backups. Its core "Flexible" product centers on PHP-based workloads such as WordPress, Magento, and Laravel behind a single control panel with unified billing regardless of the underlying provider. A newer "Autonomous" line offers fully managed, autoscaling WordPress hosting on Google Kubernetes Engine for higher-traffic sites.

Key features

Managed server provisioning across five IaaS providers — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud — under one control panel and single invoice
Pre-configured performance stack (Nginx with Apache, Varnish, Redis/Memcached, PHP-FPM)
One-click staging environments and application cloning
Automated backups, free Let's Encrypt SSL, and dedicated server-level firewalls
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN integration (paid add-on)
Free site migration and vertical server scaling (resize)
Autonomous option: fully managed, horizontally autoscaling WordPress on Google Kubernetes Engine

Specs

Category	Managed PaaS
Pricing model	tiered
Free tier	No
Managed database	Yes
Regions	DO/Linode/Vultr/AWS/GCP regions
Self-hostable	No
Docker-native	No
Git deploy	Yes
Open source	No

Last reviewed 2026-07-16 — see our methodology. Specs, pricing and free tiers change often, so confirm current details on the provider before deciding.

Pros & cons

Our editorial assessment — not vendor-stated facts.

Pros

Abstracts server administration — setup, security patching, and monitoring — so no dedicated sysadmin expertise is required
Choice of five underlying IaaS providers under one control panel and single invoice
Flexible plans use hourly pay-as-you-go billing with no long-term contract and easy vertical scaling
Caching-focused stack tuned for PHP and WordPress performance

Cons

Adds a management markup over the raw cost of the underlying provider, so self-managing the same server directly is typically cheaper if you have the DevOps skills
No cPanel and no full root/OS-level access; you work within Cloudways' managed environment
Several capabilities are paid extras — backup storage is billed per GB, and the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN and other add-ons cost more
AWS and Google Cloud plans cost more and come with more restrictive bandwidth allowances

Pricing

Flexible plans use pay-as-you-go hourly metering, invoiced monthly in arrears with no long-term contract; the newer Autonomous managed-WordPress line is sold in fixed monthly tiers. A short (3-day) free trial is available with no credit card required, but there is no permanent free tier — and add-ons plus higher-tier providers (AWS and Google Cloud) cost extra.

Who should use Cloudways?

Developers, agencies, and businesses running PHP, WordPress, Magento, or Laravel sites who want managed cloud hosting without handling server administration. It suits teams that value flexibility across multiple IaaS providers under one panel and do not need root-level access or a traditional cPanel workflow; the Autonomous tier fits WordPress sites that prioritize hands-off autoscaling over server-level control.

Frequently asked questions

Does Cloudways have a free tier?: No — Cloudways has no free tier.
How much does Cloudways cost?: Flexible plans use pay-as-you-go hourly metering, invoiced monthly in arrears with no long-term contract; the newer Autonomous managed-WordPress line is sold in fixed monthly tiers. A short (3-day) free trial is available with no credit card required, but there is no permanent free tier — and add-ons plus higher-tier providers (AWS and Google Cloud) cost extra.
Who should use Cloudways?: Developers, agencies, and businesses running PHP, WordPress, Magento, or Laravel sites who want managed cloud hosting without handling server administration. It suits teams that value flexibility across multiple IaaS providers under one panel and do not need root-level access or a traditional cPanel workflow; the Autonomous tier fits WordPress sites that prioritize hands-off autoscaling over server-level control.