Cloudways vs DigitalOcean(2026)
Cloudways is better for teams that need freedom to pick underlying cloud provider. DigitalOcean is the stronger choice if developer-friendly pricing. Cloudways is paid (from $14/month) and DigitalOcean is paid (from $4/month).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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Cloudways
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that runs on top of AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr — abstracting server management while giving you cloud flexibility.
Starting at $14/month
Visit CloudwaysDigitalOcean
DigitalOcean provides cloud infrastructure for developers — VPS Droplets, managed Kubernetes, App Platform PaaS, managed databases, and object storage.
Starting at $4/month
Visit DigitalOceanHow Do Cloudways and DigitalOcean Compare on Features?
| Feature | Cloudways | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | $14/month | $4/month |
| Multi-cloud (AWS, GCE, DO, Linode, Vultr) | ✓ | — |
| One-click app installs | ✓ | — |
| Managed security and patching | ✓ | — |
| PHP/Node/Laravel/WordPress support | ✓ | — |
| Team collaboration | ✓ | — |
| Performance monitoring | ✓ | — |
| Droplets (VPS) | — | ✓ |
| App Platform (PaaS) | — | ✓ |
| Managed Kubernetes (DOKS) | — | ✓ |
| Managed databases | — | ✓ |
| Spaces (object storage) | — | ✓ |
| Load balancers | — | ✓ |
| GPU Droplets | — | ✓ |
Cloudways Pros and Cons vs DigitalOcean
Cloudways
DigitalOcean
Should You Use Cloudways or DigitalOcean?
Choose Cloudways if…
- •Freedom to pick underlying cloud provider
- •Significantly cheaper than managed alternatives
- •No server management headaches
Choose DigitalOcean if…
- •Developer-friendly pricing
- •Predictable billing
- •Strong community and tutorials