Cloudways vs Kinsta
Both cover similar ground, so the useful question is which is better for your specific situation. Here is how they differ on the things that change the answer.
Managed cloud hosting layered over DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS and GCP
Premium managed WordPress on Google Cloud
Quick verdict
Cloudways takes 2 of the 8 categories we can currently judge. 6 could not be decided on verified data. That is a scoreline, not a recommendation — read the categories that matter to you.
Category by category
Who wins what
A category shows “not enough data” when either side has a gap. We would rather leave it blank than invent a winner.
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Price | CloudwaysCloudways has the lower verified entry price. | Cloudways has the lower verified entry price. |
| Performance | TieComparable performance tooling on both, on the data we have verified. | Comparable performance tooling on both, on the data we have verified. |
| Beginners | TieNeither is meaningfully easier to start with than the other. | Neither is meaningfully easier to start with than the other. |
| Support | TieSimilar support coverage on both sides. | Similar support coverage on both sides. |
| WordPress | TieBoth handle WordPress to a similar standard. | Both handle WordPress to a similar standard. |
| Ecommerce | CloudwaysCloudways is the stronger option for selling online. | Cloudways is the stronger option for selling online. |
| Developers | TieComparable developer access on both. | Comparable developer access on both. |
| UK visitors | TieBoth offer UK-region hosting, or neither does. | Both offer UK-region hosting, or neither does. |
Specifications
Feature by feature
| Feature | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Control paneldiffers | Cloudways Platform (custom) | MyKinsta (custom) |
| UK data centre | Yes | Yes |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes |
| Email hosting | No | No |
| Staging | Yes | Yes |
| CDN included | Yes | Yes |
| Free migration | Yes | Yes |
| SSH access | Yes | Yes |
| Git | Yes | Yes |
| WP-CLI | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce | Yes | Yes |
Cloudways in short
A strong middle ground if you want cloud performance and control without administering the server yourself.
- + Choose the underlying cloud and region, including London
- + Vertical scaling without rebuilding the server
- + Full SSH and staging on every plan
- − Email hosting is a paid add-on, not included
- − Billing is usage-based, so costs are less predictable
Kinsta in short
Excellent if WordPress performance is a business requirement and the budget exists. Overkill for a brochure site.
- + Google Cloud premium tier network with a London region
- + Staging, WP-CLI and SSH are standard, not upsells
- + Support is WordPress specialists rather than general first-line
- − No email hosting at all — you will need a separate mail provider
- − Priced well above shared hosting
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