Are you looking for a comparison between Cloudways and Kinsta to host your website? You’re in the right place. Cloudways is known for its affordability and ease of use, while Kinsta is favored by experts for its high-end features and top-notch customer support.
But which provider offers the best overall value for your needs? We compared their features, pricing plans, support, ease of use, and performance – and Cloudways came out on top. Read on to see why.
Overall Comparison Cloudways vs Kinsta
| Cloudways | Kinsta | |
| Features | WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, PHP, Laravel, E-commerce, and Reseller Hosting options Partners with GCP, AWS, Digital Ocean Fast server speeds and free SSL certificates | WordPress, Application, Database, Agency, WooCommerce, Single Site Hosting, Enterprise Hosting The infrastructure is built on GCP Free SSL |
| Pricing | Hosting on Digital Ocean starts at $6/month 3-day trial without credit card | Managed WordPress hosting starts at $35/month You can opt to pay for what you use at $0.027/hour 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Performance | 99% uptime guarantee | 99.9% uptime guarantee |
| Support | 24/7 support, Phone Support, Email Support, Forum Support, Video guides, Knowledgebase, ticket support, live chat | 24/7 support, Phone Support, Email Support, Forum Support, Video guides, Knowledgebase, ticket support, live chat |
| Ease of use | Cloudways Application Management UI; 1-click settings (no command line, no cPanel) | MyKinsta Dashboard (custom-built dashboards) |
| Security | Let’s Encrypt SSL, automatic backups, SSL integration, DDoS attack detection, malware scanning, and hack-fix guarantee. | Uptime checks, automatic backups, SSL integration, DDoS attack detection, malware scanning, and hack-fix guarantee. |
| Server location | U.SA; Europe; Australia; Asia | USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and more |
Winner: Cloudways
Cloudways wins the overall comparison since it has more to offer than just WordPress hosting. Plus, it’s not limited to just one cloud provider and has over 65 data centers. However, Kinsta is still a tough Cloudways competitor between security and support, and it may be slightly easier for non-techies to use.
About Cloudways and Kinsta
 | Headquartered in Europe, Cloudways was launched in 2009. It’s a top-rated hosting platform designed to help businesses and developers easily manage their online presence. With powerful tools like server-level caching, automatic scaling, monitoring tools, and more, this platform makes it easy to create and deliver high-performing websites. Their founders had worked with agencies and Ecommerce developers prior to starting Cloudways, and found that these groups were their ideal target market. |
 | Established in 2013, Kinsta is a hosting platform developed to improve the hosting industry as a whole and create the best hosting services. Their services have evolved over time and they offer state-of-the-art tools for modern developers, focusing on performance and ease of use. Their journey started with Managed WordPress Hosting then quickly led to Application Hosting and Database Hosting. |
Round 1: Hosting features – Key Hosting Features and Services
| Hosting Feature | Cloudways | Kinsta |
| Disk space and bandwidth | Digital Ocean Storage – starts from 25GB up to 160 GB Bandwidth – starts from 1TB up to 5 TB VULTR Storage – starts from 32GB up to 256 GB Bandwidth – starts from 1TB up to 4TB Linode Storage – starts from 25GB up to 160 GB Bandwidth – starts from 1TB up to 5 TB AWS & Google Cloud Storage – 20 GB Bandwidth – 2 GB | Managed WordPress Hosting Storage – starts from 10 GB up to 250 GB SSD Bandwidth – unmetered (limit on number of visitors) Application Hosting Storage – flexible Bandwidth – flexible at $0.14 per GB Database Hosting Storage – starting from 1 GB up to 250 GB storage space Bandwidth – flexible |
| high-performance SSD storage | Yes; Up to 256 GB SSD storage | Yes; Up to 250 GB SSD storage |
| Free daily backups and restore | Automated Backups on all plans Managed Backups Backups are created at an off-site location and can be restored with 1-Click | Automatic daily and system-generated backups are available on all plans.
These backups are also available as restore points in your site management dashboard If you need backups more frequently (like every hour), you will have to pay additional fees |
| Free WordPress installation | Yes | Yes |
| Free site migration | Yes | Yes |
| Free website builder | WP Page Builder | Dev Kinsta Website Builder |
| Free SSL | Yes, free SSL is included | Yes, free SSL is included |
Key Cloudways Features
Cloudways features a variety of cloud hosting services, all designed to help businesses create and deliver high-performing websites. Some key features include server-level caching, automatic scaling, monitoring tools, and more. Plus, with support for over 65 data centers worldwide, Cloudways makes it easy to host your site from anywhere.
Key Kinsta Features
Kinsta features state-of-the-art tools for modern developers, including high-performance SSD storage and unmetered bandwidth. Plus, with automatic daily backups and a 1-click restore feature, Kinsta makes it easy to keep your site safe and secure. They also offer 24/7 support from expert WordPress developers, so you can rest assured knowing that your site is in good hands.
And the winner is… Cloudways
The option to choose between different cloud providers is quite tempting – and Cloudways has it. You can also enjoy enterprise-level performance and features, all backed by a team of expert developers.
Round 2: Prices & Plans
| Cloudways | Kinsta | |
| Entry Level plans | Digital Ocean Standard – $6 / month Premium – $7.20 / month VULTR Linode AWS Google Cloud | Managed WordPress Starter – $35 / month Application Hosting Standard – $20 / month Database Hosting |
| Basic plan | Digital Ocean Standard – $13.2 / month Premium – $15.60 / month VULTR Linode AWS Google Cloud | Managed WordPress Pro – $70 / month Application Hosting Standard – $40 / month Database Hosting Database 4 – $145 / month |
| Middle plan | Digital Ocean Standard – $25.2 / month Premium – $30 / month VULTR Linode AWS Google Cloud | Managed WordPress Business I – $115 / month Application Hosting Standard – $80 – $160 / month Database Hosting Database 6 – $800 / month |
| Highest plan | Digital Ocean Standard – $48 / month Premium – $57.6 / month VULTR Linode AWS Google Cloud | Managed WordPress Enterprise I – $675 / month Application Hosting Standard – $320 / month Database Hosting Database 8 – $1850 / month |
Cloudways and Kinsta pricing can be divided into four different tiers. Both the cloud hosting platforms offer several pricing options in each tier, making it affordable for anyone.
Cloudways Pricing Plans
Every pricing tier on Cloudways gives you the option to choose from 5 different cloud hosting providers (Digital Ocean, VULTR, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud):
- Entry Plan: Best for new websites with a few pages (personal portfolio or small business)
- Basic Plan: Best for small business websites (E-commerce and news websites)
- Middle Plan: Best for agencies and medium-sized businesses (E-commerce)
- Highest Plan: Best for large corporations (IT companies, portals)
Kinsta Pricing Plans
Kinsta’s pricing plans are based on the level of performance and support you need. Whether you’re looking for powerful hosting features or ease of use, Kinsta has it all!
- Entry Plan: Best for no-code users (personal portfolio or small business)
- Basic Plan: Best for small business websites (E-commerce and news websites)
- Middle Plan: Best for agencies and medium-sized businesses (E-commerce)
- Highest Plan: Best for large corporations (IT companies, portals)
In addition to the above options, Kinsta also offers separate plans for Application Hosting and Database Hosting in each tier at a reasonable price.
And the Winner Is…Kinsta
Kinsta is the winner here as it provides versatile pricing options for all kinds of users and separate application and database hosting.
Round 3: Website performance (Uptime & Speed)
Uptime is the measure of time that a server is operational and available. All hosting providers strive for 100% uptime, but in reality, this isn’t always possible.
Website speed is important because a slow website can frustrate visitors and cause them to leave before they’ve had a chance to explore what you have to offer. That’s why uptime and server speed are crucial factors to consider.
| Test | Cloudways | Kinsta |
| GT Metrix | 0.709 s | 0.95 s |
| PageSpeed Insights | 1.2 s | 0.8 s |
Cloudways Uptime & Speed
We used GTMetrix and Google PageSpeed Insights to test the server speeds.
Cloudways’ average server speed (TTFB) on GTMetrix was 709 ms and had an overall performance of 53%:
Kinsta Uptime & Speed
Kinsta’s average server speed (TTFB) on GTMetrix was 95 ms and had an overall performance of 80%:
On Google Page Speed Insights, it had a score of 83% which is pretty decent.
And the Winner Is…Kinsta
Cloudways manages multiple cloud infrastructures, so you’ll have to check with each provider’s uptime guarantee. However, Cloudways partners are all high-profile hosts. For example, Digital Ocean provides a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
On the other hand, Kinsta offers the standard 99.9%uptime guarantee; however, we know from experience that Google Cloud’s massive network is almost always operational.
Round 4: Customer Support – Who Has the Best Support System?
| Type of Support | Cloudways | Kinsta |
| 24/7 support | Yes | Yes |
| Phone Support | Yes | Yes |
| Live chat | Yes | Yes |
| Email Support | Yes | Yes |
| Ticket support | Yes | Yes |
| Forum Support | Yes | Yes |
| Video guides | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledgebase | Yes | Yes |
Cloudways Customer Support
When I contacted live chat support, I only had three options. It was a chatbot that turned out to be quite helpful but to ask a personalized query (on choosing the technical help option), they prompted me to log in.
All-in-all I was impressed by the efficiency of the bot. It answered most of the queries I had about the hosting.
Besides live chat, Cloudways also offers several other hosting options like phone support, ticketing, knowledgebase, blog, and email support.
Kinsta Customer Support
I contacted the chat support option on Kinsta and within 5 seconds, a very helpful agent was there at my service. The replies were almost instant. I had a few queries that the agent resolved one by one. He made sure everything was answered thoroughly and asked relevant questions.
And the Winner Is…Kinsta
Kinsta is a clear winner here for how they have trained their support staff. I was truly amazed at the prompt responses and professionalism.
Round 5: Ease of use – Which Platform Is Easier to Use?
| Cloudways | Kinsta | |
| Account management dashboard | Easy | Easy |
| Control panel | Easy | Easy |
| Setup process (Install OS) | Easy | Easy |
| Transfer an existing website | Easy | Easy |
| Easy creation of backups | Easy | Easy |
| Emails | Easy | Easy |
| Enable CloudFlare | Easy | Easy |
Cloudways Ease of use
Cloudways uses an incredible theme and color combinations on their website. It’s easy to use and you can find everything on their homepage easily.
The functions are quite similar to the ones used on cPanel, but you have more control over which services are enabled and you get master access to your server. Monitoring is included too; you can create backups, request migrations, and enable GIT.
For someone who isn’t tech-savvy, it might be a little difficult to dig through all of the different sections and tools on the dashboard – however, the support comes to the rescue whenever required!
Kinsta Ease of use
Kinsta has a subtle website that’s functional and easy to use. Nothing extra-ordinary or attractive about the UI but it’s absolutely loved by people who prefer simplicity. I find it a bit dull but as long as I’m getting the work done, I’d give it a 9.5 rating.
The Dashboard UI is incredible, and the tools included are extremely useful. It’s very well-designed and easy to use, plus it gets updated regularly with new features ( recently, performance monitoring was added to identify issues).
And the Winner Is…Kinsta
The intuitive and well-designed dashboard UI on Kinsta beats the average cPanel alternative used by Cloudways.
Round 6: Security – Which Platform is More Secure?
| Cloudways | Kinsta | |
| Free SSL certificate | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| CloudFlare | Yes | Yes |
| Daily backups | Yes | Yes |
| Malware scans | Yes | Yes |
| WAF (Web Application Firewall) | Yes | Yes |
| Security Features | Firewalls Bot protection SSL certificates DDoS attack detection malware scanning | daily uptime checks automatic backups SSL integration DDoS attack detection malware scanning hack-fix guarantee. |
Cloudways Security
Cloudways offers several layers of security for your server, including firewalls, DDoS attack detection, bot protection, daily uptime checks, and more. DDoS attack detection, bot protection, and malware scanning keep your site safe.
Kinsta Security
Kinsta has almost the same security features but you’re also protected by Kinsta’s Hack Fix Guarantee. If one of your websites is ever compromised, Kinsta’s team of experts will work to clean it up immediately.
And the Winner Is…Kinsta
Because Cloudways and Kinsta both provide SSL certificates as a standard, and all the essential security features required by a website. But Kinsta’s additional hack-fix guarantee makes Kinsta a winner.
Round 7: Server Locations
The more widespread your host’s servers are and how close they are to the users, the faster your website will load. And your site speed directly affects your SEO rankings, bounce rate, and other factors impacting your business growth.
Cloudways Server Location
Cloudways has 65+ data centers spread across the world, including locations in America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Kinsta Server location
Kinsta has 35 data centers located around the world. Data centers are located in Asia, Europe and the USA as well as other locations including Israel, Brazil, Chile , Australia and Canada.
And the Winner Is…Cloudways
With more physical servers in 65+ locations around the world, Cloudways is able to provide faster loading speeds for websites than Kinsta.
Cloudways vs Kinsta: Final Recommendations
When to Choose Cloudways?
Cloudways is a great option if you want more control over your WordPress hosting but don’t have the technical skills to manage it yourself.
You should choose Cloudways if:
- You want a platform that’s easy to use and offers a range of features, from server-level caching to automatic scaling.
- If you want to host unlimited WordPress websites
- If you want to choose between different cloud providers
- You want solid uptime guarantees as Cloudways has 65+ server locations
Go for Kinsta if you:
If you’re looking for a high-performance WordPress hosting provider that offers top-notch customer support and plenty of additional tools, Kinsta is the right choice.
Go for Kinsta if:
- You’re not tech savvy and want an easy-to-use dashboard
- You’re okay with Google Cloud Platform being your only option
- You want prompt customer support
With an easy-to-use dashboard, 24/7 support, and a wide range of server locations around the globe, Kinsta is the perfect hosting provider for businesses that need speed and reliability.
Kinsta also offers a number of additional tools and features, including automated website backups and malware scans.
The Bottom Line
Both Cloudways and Kinsta offer diverse hosting plans, excellent customer support, and fast setup times. Ultimately, the choice between these two platforms depends on your specific needs and preferences. But both are great options for businesses looking to improve their online performance and reach.
Our winner is Cloudways since Kinsta focuses only on WordPress applications and websites hosted solely on Google Cloud. If you’re looking for diversity in your hosting options, Kinsta may not be the best choice, as you’re limited to those two factors. However, if you’re interested specifically in WordPress and Google Cloud Hosting, then Kinsta delivers great performance and control.
FAQs
1. Is Cloudways better than Kinsta?
Both Cloudways and Kinsta’s flexible cloud hosting plans, fast setup times, web-based customer support, and excellent uptime. You can count on both hosting services to keep your site up and running at all times. However, based on the features we specified above, Cloudways is slightly better than Kinsta.
2. Can you transfer your domain from Cloudways to Kinsta?
Yes, you can! If you’re not tech-savvy, you can contact Kinsta support to make the process smooth.
3. Which hosting services are best for business websites?
Cloudways and Kinsta offer powerful tools and features that can help improve your online presence.
Kinsta is known for its lightning-fast speeds and 99.9% uptime guarantee. Cloudways is a top-rated hosting platform designed to help businesses and developers easily manage their online presence.
With powerful tools like server-level caching, automatic scaling, monitoring tools, and more, this platform makes it easy to create and deliver high-performing websites.
4. What are some of the best Kinsta and Cloudways alternatives?
Depending on your needs, you can choose between BlueHost, WP Engine, Pagely, and GoDaddy as they are the best Cloudways and Kinsta alternatives.