Cloudways Pricing: Plans, Billing, Backups & Real Cost Explained

Cloudways pricing works differently from traditional shared hosting because there is no single “renewal price” that applies to every customer.

Instead, Cloudways uses pay-as-you-go billing based on the hosting product, server resources, usage and optional services you choose.

Cloudways currently has two main hosting models:

• Cloudways Flexible: managed cloud servers with configurable resources and infrastructure choices.
• Cloudways Autonomous: managed WordPress hosting with autoscaling and usage-based overages.

That means your real monthly cost may include more than the headline plan price.

A useful cost model is:

Cloudways Monthly Cost
=
Hosting Plan
+
Backup Storage
+
Bandwidth / Overage Charges
+
Optional Add-ons
+
Additional Resources

Last verified: September 14, 2026.

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1. How Cloudways Pricing Works

Cloudways uses a pay-as-you-go billing model.

This means you pay for Cloudways resources based on actual usage rather than buying a traditional three-year hosting contract upfront.

Cloudways currently generates invoices on:

the first day of each month

for usage from the previous month.

This creates an important difference from traditional shared hosting.

With conventional hosting, the flow is often:

Pay for 1–4 Years Upfront
→ Use Hosting
→ Renew at New Rate

Cloudways is closer to:

Launch Resources
→ Use Hosting
→ Usage Is Recorded
→ Receive Monthly Invoice

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2. Does Cloudways Have Renewal Pricing?

Not in the traditional shared-hosting sense.

Cloudways does not normally advertise:

“$3/month today, $15/month when you renew.”

Instead, users pay according to the current rate for the resources and services they consume.

That does not mean Cloudways prices can never change.

It means its billing model is structurally different from introductory-term shared-hosting discounts.

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3. Cloudways Flexible Pricing

Cloudways Flexible is the product most users associate with traditional Cloudways managed cloud hosting.

At our latest verification, an entry Flexible configuration was:

Cloudways pricing changes as you select larger server resources.

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4. What Is Included With Cloudways Flexible?

Cloudways currently includes several managed-platform features with Flexible hosting.

These include:

• Managed hosting layer.
• Free migration.
• Vertical scaling.
• Built-in firewall with IP blocking.
• Redis caching.
• Advanced staging and cloning.
• WordPress vulnerability scanning.
• Let's Encrypt SSL.
• 24/7 support.

Object Cache Pro is also included on qualifying server sizes.

This matters because raw VPS pricing alone does not represent the same service level.

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5. Unlimited Websites on Flexible

Cloudways Flexible currently allows users to run multiple applications/websites on a server, limited primarily by available server resources rather than a traditional fixed website-count rule.

This can improve cost efficiency when:

• You operate several small websites.
• You manage client WordPress sites.
• The combined workload fits comfortably within one server.

However, putting too many websites on one server can also create shared resource pressure.

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6. Flexible Hourly Billing

Some Cloudways infrastructure is billed using hourly calculations with a monthly cap.

This means short-term resources can cost less than keeping the same server running all month.

For example:

Temporary Server
→ Launch
→ Use for Testing
→ Delete
→ Pay for Applicable Usage

Always verify the billing model for the infrastructure provider you select.

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7. Monthly vs Hourly Billing

Cloudways' official billing documentation distinguishes between infrastructure providers.

For example, servers on providers such as DigitalOcean can use a monthly cap while usage is still calculated according to Cloudways' applicable billing rules.

The practical lesson is:

do not assume every Cloudways server calculates cost in exactly the same way.

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8. Deleting a Server and Billing

When you delete an eligible pay-as-you-go server, you stop generating future server charges for that resource.

You are still billed for usage already incurred before deletion.

This is useful for:

• Temporary projects.
• Development.
• Migration testing.
• Short-term campaigns.

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9. Be Careful With Cloned Servers

Cloudways currently treats a running cloned server as another billable server.

If you have:

• 1 production server.
• 1 separate cloned server.

both can generate hosting charges while running.

Delete unnecessary temporary clones after testing.

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10. Cloudways Backup Pricing

Backups are one of the most important additional Cloudways costs to understand.

Cloudways Flexible currently lists offsite backup storage at:

$0.033 per GB per server.

This charge is separate from the headline server price.

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11. Backup Cost Example

Suppose your offsite backup storage uses:

50 GB.

At $0.033/GB, the storage component would be approximately:

$1.65

for that amount of backup storage, subject to Cloudways' current billing rules.

At 100 GB:

approximately $3.30.

This is a simple calculation rather than a fixed invoice guarantee.

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12. Why Backup Storage Can Grow

Backup usage depends on factors including:

• Website size.
• Database size.
• Number of applications.
• Retention policy.
• Frequency.
• File changes.

A small blog and a large WooCommerce store will not have the same backup footprint.

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13. Cloudways Autonomous Pricing

Cloudways Autonomous is different from Flexible.

It is built around managed WordPress with autoscaling.

Current Autonomous plans use baseline capacity combined with hourly billing and usage-based scaling.

Cloudways currently advertises plans including:

• Growth: approximately $99/month.
• Scale: approximately $199/month.
• Plus: approximately $399/month.
• Enterprise: custom pricing.

These rates should be reverified before purchase because Autonomous pricing has changed over time.

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14. What Is Included in Autonomous?

Cloudways Autonomous currently includes features such as:

• Autoscaling.
• Managed WordPress hosting.
• Cloudflare Enterprise CDN.
• Redis caching.
• Object Cache Pro + Relay.
• Managed migration.
• Advanced staging and cloning.
• Malware protection.
• Firewall and DDoS protection.
• 24/7 support.

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15. Autonomous Autoscaling Charges

Autonomous can generate additional autoscaling charges when an application needs resources beyond its baseline capacity.

Cloudways currently publishes hourly autoscaling rates that vary by plan.

This means:

Autonomous Cost
=
Base Plan
+
Extra Autoscaling Usage
+
Bandwidth Overages
+
Disk Overages
+
Optional Add-ons

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16. Autonomous Bandwidth Overage

Current Cloudways Autonomous pricing lists additional bandwidth at:

$0.04 per GB

beyond the applicable included allocation.

This is especially important for:

• Media-heavy websites.
• High-traffic ecommerce.
• Large downloadable files.
• Traffic spikes.

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17. Autonomous Disk Overage

Current Autonomous pricing lists additional disk space at:

$1 per GB.

Large media libraries can therefore increase the monthly bill.

Before selecting Autonomous, estimate:

• WordPress files.
• Uploads.
• Database size.
• Growth rate.

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18. Flexible vs Autonomous Pricing

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19. Which Cloudways Product Is Cheaper?

Flexible has the lower entry cost.

For many small and medium WordPress sites, Flexible will therefore be the more economical Cloudways option.

Autonomous becomes relevant when automated scaling and high availability justify its higher baseline cost.

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20. Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise Pricing

Cloudways offers Cloudflare Enterprise functionality as part of some products and as an optional service in others.

The current Flexible pricing page lists the optional Enterprise Cloudflare CDN from approximately:

$4.99 per domain per month.

Verify the current configuration before purchase because Cloudflare inclusion differs by product.

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21. Cloudways Site Manager Pricing

Cloudways currently advertises its Site Manager from approximately:

$3 per application per month.

This is an optional management product rather than a mandatory hosting charge.

It can become meaningful for agencies managing many WordPress installations.

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22. Malware Protection Pricing

Cloudways currently advertises optional malware protection from approximately:

$4 per application per month.

Again, verify whether security functionality is already included in your chosen product before purchasing an add-on.

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23. Rackspace Email Pricing

Cloudways currently lists Rackspace Email at approximately:

$1.50 per mailbox per month.

For ten mailboxes, that could add approximately:

$15/month.

Email therefore deserves inclusion in total hosting cost calculations.

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24. DNS Made Easy Pricing

Cloudways currently advertises DNS Made Easy at approximately:

$0.50 per domain per month.

This is optional.

You can also use another authoritative DNS provider depending on your needs.

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25. Advanced Support Pricing

Cloudways also sells enhanced support tiers.

Current pricing materials advertise Advanced Support separately from standard support.

This can materially increase monthly cost, so agencies and businesses should evaluate whether standard support is sufficient before adding it.

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26. Standard Support Is Already Included

Every Cloudways hosting plan currently includes standard 24/7 support.

You therefore do not need to purchase premium support simply to access normal Cloudways assistance.

Enhanced support is for users who require a broader or faster support scope.

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27. Free SSL

Cloudways includes free SSL options.

For most normal websites, this means there is no need to add a paid DV SSL certificate to the Cloudways hosting cost.

Read our Best SSL Certificates guide.

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28. Domain Registration Is Separate

Cloudways is primarily a hosting platform rather than a conventional domain registrar.

Your domain registration cost should therefore be calculated separately.

A realistic annual website cost is closer to:

Website Cost
=
Cloudways Hosting
+
Domain Renewal
+
Email
+
Backup Storage
+
Optional CDN / Add-ons

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29. Example: Small WordPress Site

A small WordPress site might use:

• Entry Cloudways Flexible server.
• Free SSL.
• Small backup footprint.
• External or no paid email.

In that case, hosting can remain reasonably close to the base server price plus backup usage.

This is one of the simplest Cloudways cost profiles.

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30. Example: Multiple WordPress Sites

An agency could place several compatible WordPress sites on one adequately sized Flexible server.

The economics may become:

One Larger Server
÷
Several Client Sites
=
Lower Infrastructure Cost Per Site

This works only while the combined workload remains appropriate for the server.

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31. Example: WooCommerce Store

A WooCommerce store may require:

• More RAM.
• More CPU.
• Object caching.
• More frequent backups.
• Additional bandwidth.

Therefore, its realistic cost can be considerably higher than the $11 entry server.

Read our Best Hosting for WooCommerce.

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32. Example: High-Traffic WooCommerce

Autonomous can make more sense when a store experiences highly variable traffic.

Examples include:

• Flash sales.
• Seasonal campaigns.
• Product launches.
• Viral traffic.

The higher baseline price buys a different operating model rather than simply “more hosting.”

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33. Cloudways vs Shared Hosting Pricing

Cloudways often costs more at the entry level than heavily discounted shared hosting.

However, the comparison should include:

• Renewal rates.
• Server resources.
• Staging.
• Caching.
• Backups.
• Scaling.
• Number of websites.

A $2 promotional shared-hosting plan and an $11 managed cloud server are not equivalent products.

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34. Cloudways vs Hostinger Pricing

Hostinger is generally cheaper for users prioritizing low-cost shared or managed WordPress hosting.

Cloudways makes more sense when the user specifically wants managed cloud infrastructure and greater resource control.

Read our Cloudways vs Hostinger.

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35. Cloudways vs Hostinger VPS Pricing

Hostinger VPS may provide more raw RAM/storage per dollar.

Cloudways includes a management layer that Hostinger's self-managed VPS does not.

Therefore compare:

managed service value

rather than only:

RAM per dollar.

Read our Cloudways vs Hostinger VPS.

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36. Cloudways vs Kamatera Pricing

Kamatera provides more granular raw-cloud infrastructure configuration.

Cloudways provides a managed layer for supported web applications.

If you need:

• Root access.
• Custom operating-system control.
• Docker.
• CyberPanel.

Kamatera may be the more appropriate comparison.

Read our Kamatera vs Cloudways.

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37. Is There a Cloudways Free Plan?

No permanent free hosting plan.

Cloudways currently provides a short free trial for eligible users.

The current trial period is:

3 days.

After upgrading, normal pay-as-you-go charges apply.

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38. Do You Need a Credit Card for the Flexible Trial?

Cloudways currently advertises the Flexible trial as available without a credit card in eligible circumstances.

Trial eligibility and verification requirements can vary, so check the current signup flow.

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39. How to Avoid Unexpected Cloudways Charges

• Check month-to-date billing regularly.
• Delete servers you no longer need.
• Delete temporary cloned servers.
• Monitor backup storage.
• Watch Autonomous bandwidth and disk usage.
• Review optional add-ons.
• Scale only when workload requires it.

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40. Cloudways Cost Checklist

Before buying, calculate:

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41. Who Should Choose Cloudways Flexible?

Flexible is usually the better choice when you:

• Run WordPress.
• Run WooCommerce.
• Manage several sites.
• Want managed infrastructure.
• Want a lower Cloudways entry cost.
• Do not need unrestricted root access.

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42. Who Should Choose Autonomous?

Autonomous is more appropriate when:

• Traffic changes dramatically.
• Availability during spikes is important.
• You operate high-traffic WooCommerce.
• You need managed autoscaling.
• You can justify the higher baseline cost.

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43. Who Should Avoid Cloudways?

Cloudways may not be the right option when you:

• Need unrestricted root access.
• Need CyberPanel.
• Need a general Docker server.
• Need the cheapest possible shared hosting.
• Want domain registration bundled into hosting.

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44. Is Cloudways Expensive?

It depends on what you compare it with.

Cloudways is expensive compared with highly discounted shared hosting.

It can be competitively priced compared with other managed cloud or managed WordPress environments when you account for included:

• Server management.
• Caching.
• Staging.
• Security tooling.
• Migration.
• Support.

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45. Is Cloudways Worth the Price?

Cloudways can be worth paying for when your time and operational simplicity matter more than achieving the lowest possible server cost.

A raw VPS may cost less while requiring you to manage:

• Linux.
• Web server.
• PHP.
• Database.
• Security.
• Backups.

Cloudways monetizes the management layer between you and that infrastructure.

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46. Final Recommendation

Use this framework:

Small / Medium WordPress Site
→ Cloudways Flexible

Several WordPress Sites
→ Flexible Server Sized for Combined Workload

WooCommerce
→ Flexible or Autonomous Depending on Traffic

Large Traffic Spikes
→ Consider Autonomous

Need Root / Docker / CyberPanel
→ Use VPS Instead

Need Cheapest Basic Website Hosting
→ Compare Shared Hosting

For most Digital Bhatti readers considering Cloudways, Flexible is the logical starting point. Autonomous is a more specialized option for high-traffic WordPress and WooCommerce workloads where automatic scaling justifies the additional cost.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Cloudways cost?

Cloudways Flexible currently starts at approximately $11 per month for an entry managed cloud server. Larger servers and Autonomous plans cost more.

Does Cloudways have a renewal price?

Cloudways uses pay-as-you-go billing rather than the typical discounted-first-term and higher-renewal structure used by many shared hosts.

Does Cloudways charge monthly?

Cloudways issues invoices monthly for previous usage, while underlying usage may be calculated using monthly or hourly billing depending on the product and infrastructure.

Does Cloudways charge hourly?

Some Cloudways products and infrastructure configurations use hourly billing calculations, subject to their applicable monthly caps and pricing rules.

How much do Cloudways backups cost?

Cloudways Flexible currently lists offsite backup storage at $0.033 per GB per server.

Does Cloudways include free SSL?

Yes. Cloudways supports free Let's Encrypt SSL, and some products include additional Cloudflare-related SSL functionality.

Does Cloudways include email?

Email hosting is not included like a traditional shared-hosting mailbox package. Cloudways currently offers Rackspace Email as a paid add-on.

How much is Cloudways email?

Cloudways currently lists Rackspace Email at approximately $1.50 per mailbox per month.

Does Cloudways include a domain?

No. Domain registration is normally purchased separately from a domain registrar.

What is Cloudways Flexible?

Flexible is Cloudways' managed cloud-server platform for WordPress, WooCommerce and supported PHP applications with configurable server resources and vertical scaling.

What is Cloudways Autonomous?

Autonomous is Cloudways' managed autoscaling WordPress platform designed for workloads where traffic can grow or spike substantially.

Which is cheaper, Flexible or Autonomous?

Flexible currently has the substantially lower entry price. Autonomous targets more demanding autoscaling workloads.

Is Cloudways cheaper than Hostinger?

Hostinger generally has lower-cost shared and managed WordPress options. Cloudways provides a different managed cloud architecture, so price alone is not an equivalent comparison.

Is Cloudways cheaper than a VPS?

A self-managed VPS may provide more raw server resources per dollar, but Cloudways includes a management layer, support and managed platform functionality.

Does Cloudways have a free plan?

No permanent free hosting plan is currently offered. Cloudways provides a short free trial for eligible users.

How long is the Cloudways trial?

Cloudways currently provides a 3-day trial.

Is Cloudways worth the price?

It can be worthwhile for users who value managed infrastructure, staging, caching and reduced server-administration work. Users who need full root access or the lowest possible server cost may prefer a VPS.