Cloudways vs Shopify
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
Hosted ecommerce platform, not traditional hosting
Quick verdict
Shopify takes 2 of the 8 categories we can currently judge. 5 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 | Not enough dataPrices are published in different currencies (USD and GBP), so a direct comparison would be misleading. | Prices are published in different currencies (USD and GBP), so a direct comparison would be misleading. |
| Performance | TieComparable performance tooling on both, on the data we have verified. | Comparable performance tooling on both, on the data we have verified. |
| Beginners | ShopifyShopify is the gentler starting point. | Shopify is the gentler starting point. |
| Support | ShopifyShopify offers more ways to reach a human. | Shopify offers more ways to reach a human. |
| WordPress | Not enough dataBoth 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 | Not enough dataComparable developer access on both. | Comparable developer access on both. |
| UK visitors | Not enough dataBoth offer UK-region hosting, or neither does. | Both offer UK-region hosting, or neither does. |
Specifications
Feature by feature
| Feature | Cloudways | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Control paneldiffers | Cloudways Platform (custom) | Shopify Admin |
| UK data centre | Yes | Unknown |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes |
| Email hosting | No | No |
| Staging | Yes | Unknown |
| CDN included | Yes | Yes |
| Free migration | Yes | Unknown |
| SSH access | Yes | Unknown |
| Git | Yes | Unknown |
| WP-CLI | Yes | Unknown |
| WooCommerce | Yes | Unknown |
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
Shopify in short
The straightforward answer for a serious shop where you would rather sell than administer servers.
- + Nothing to patch, scale or secure yourself
- + Handles payment compliance and checkout
- + Very large app and theme ecosystem
- − Monthly platform fee plus transaction fees unless using Shopify Payments
- − Limited control over the underlying stack
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