Cloudways vs Kinsta
Two ways to host managed. Pay per site at Kinsta or per server at Cloudways.
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Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting with no limit on sites.
Kinsta
The premium standard for managed WordPress.
Prices last checked on
| Feature | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 4.2 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Price | From $11/mo | From $30/mo |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Best for | Multiple sites | Managed WordPress |
| Category | Managed WordPress | Managed WordPress |
| Provider | Cloudways (DigitalOcean) | Kinsta Inc. |
| Visit Cloudways | Visit Kinsta |
Our verdict
Kinsta wins for one important WordPress site, Cloudways wins on price: $11 against $30 a month, and $396 against $1,080 over three years. The billing model is the real difference.
Kinsta charges per site and arranges everything to the last detail on Google Cloud with Cloudflare in front, daily backups, and support staffed by WordPress experts.
Cloudways charges per server at a flat $11 and lets you run as many sites on it as the machine can carry, in exchange for a slightly more technical panel. For one site that earns money, take Kinsta.
For more than one project, or a tight budget with some technical confidence, Cloudways is the better deal and it never plays promo games.
“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
“The nicest dashboard on the market and support from real WordPress experts. For sites that earn money, the peace of mind is worth every dollar.”Editorial team, on Kinsta
Frequently asked questions
Cloudways or Kinsta: which should I choose?
Kinsta for one WordPress site that earns money, Cloudways for anything else. Kinsta arranges everything down to the detail on Google Cloud, with daily backups and WordPress experts on support, scoring 4.6 against 4.2. Cloudways charges per server instead of per site, so a second project costs nothing extra, in exchange for a more technical panel.
Which is cheaper, Cloudways or Kinsta?
Cloudways, and not by a little: $11 a month against $30, or $396 against $1,080 over three years. Prices checked August 2026. Neither host runs promos, so those numbers still hold in year three. The difference is what the $11 buys, namely one server you put sites on, rather than one site arranged for you.
Can I run more than one website on these plans?
On Cloudways yes, on Kinsta no. Cloudways bills per server and hosts as many sites as the machine can carry for the same $11. Kinsta Single covers one WordPress site with 35,000 visits a month, so a second site means a second plan. That is the whole reason the three-year totals sit so far apart.
Is Cloudways difficult to use?
A step more technical than Kinsta, not difficult. You pick a cloud server, at DigitalOcean for instance, and Cloudways manages it for you, so you never touch a terminal. The panel does assume you know what a server is. Kinsta's dashboard is the nicest on the market and assumes nothing. Cloudways has a 3-day free trial to judge for yourself.