A2 Hosting vs Cloudways
A fast shared host with an aggressive promo against a flat cloud price. The first year says one thing and the second says the opposite.
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A2 Hosting
Speed-obsessed shared hosting with Turbo servers.
Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting with no limit on sites.
Prices last checked on
| Feature | A2 Hosting | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 4.1 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Price | From $2.99/mo | From $11/mo |
| Renews at | $12.99/mo | n/a |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Best for | Fast WordPress on a budget | Multiple sites |
| Category | Managed WordPress | Managed WordPress |
| Provider | A2 Hosting Inc. | Cloudways (DigitalOcean) |
| Visit A2 Hosting | Visit Cloudways |
Our verdict
A2 Hosting wins the first year and Cloudways wins every year after it. A2 Startup runs $2.99 a month on promo, $35.88 for year one, then renews at $12.99 a month, $155.88 a year. Cloudways DO Starter is $11 a month, $132 a year, and never moves.
From year two onward A2 costs $23.88 a year more than Cloudways, for one site against as many as your server can carry.
Over three years that is $347.64 at A2 against $396 at Cloudways, so A2 stays ahead on a single site until roughly the fourth year, when the flat price catches up for good. A2 earns its reputation on speed for shared hosting, with NVMe storage and a genuinely fast stack for the money.
Cloudways is a different product: a managed DigitalOcean server, more control, more responsibility. The honest downside of A2 is the renewal at 4.3 times the promo price, which is one of the steeper jumps in this market.
The honest downside of Cloudways is that $132 in year one against $35.88 feels expensive when you are starting out, and the panel expects a little more from you. One site and you actually will move on before the fourth year: A2. More than one site, or you know you will still be here: Cloudways.
“The Turbo servers genuinely are faster than typical shared hosting, and the anytime money-back guarantee shows confidence. Renewals jump, but the speed per dollar holds up.”Editorial team, on A2 Hosting
“Host unlimited sites and pay per server size: with multiple sites this is far cheaper than the competition. Slightly more technical, but the strongest price-to-performance you will find in managed hosting.”Editorial team, on Cloudways
Frequently asked questions
What does A2 Hosting cost after the promo?
Startup renews at $12.99 a month, $155.88 a year, against $2.99 a month on the promo. That is roughly 4.3 times the introductory price and one of the steeper renewal jumps we track. Cloudways has no promo and no jump: $11 a month, $132 a year, permanently.
Which is cheaper over three years?
A2 Hosting, narrowly: $35.88 plus two years at $155.88 comes to $347.64, against $396 at Cloudways. That holds for one website. Put a second site on the Cloudways server and the comparison flips immediately, because the server price does not change.
Is Cloudways harder to use than A2 Hosting?
Yes, modestly. Cloudways manages a server for you but still expects you to think in servers, applications and staging. A2 gives you a traditional control panel where a website is the unit. If nobody on your side wants to learn a new panel this month, that difference matters more than the price.