Cloudways vs WP Engine
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
Managed WordPress aimed at agencies and larger sites
Quick verdict
Neither wins outright: 1 categories each, with 6 undecided on the data we have verified. Which is right for you depends entirely on which categories you care about.
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 | TieNeither is meaningfully easier to start with than the other. | Neither is meaningfully easier to start with than the other. |
| Support | WP EngineWP Engine offers more ways to reach a human. | WP Engine offers more ways to reach a human. |
| 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 | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Control paneldiffers | Cloudways Platform (custom) | User Portal (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
WP Engine in short
A dependable managed WordPress platform for agencies managing many client sites, with tooling built around that workflow.
- + Mature staging and deployment workflow
- + Strong tooling for agencies running many sites
- + UK region available
- − No email hosting included
- − Plugin restrictions rule out some caching and backup tools
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