Hostinger vs Cloudways for Cloud Hosting: 2026 Comparison
Hostinger vs Cloudways compared on price, performance, and uptime. Hostinger from $2.99/mo, Cloudways managed cloud from $11/mo. Real friction points.
HostGrade™ Score
How we scoreComposite score based on performance, pricing, features, and reported friction severity.
Quick Specs
Hostinger
Cloudways
Price Calculator
Compare total cost over time. Adjust the billing period to see cumulative savings.
Hostinger
$35.88/12mo
Cloudways
$132.00/12mo
Hostinger saves you $96.12 over 12 months
Prices based on published starting rates. Actual cost may vary with add-ons, renewals, and promotional pricing.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Hostinger | Cloudways | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $2.99/mo (48-mo term) | $11/mo (pay-as-you-go) | Hostinger |
| Server Management | Shared (hPanel) | Managed Cloud (5 providers) | Cloudways |
| Scalability | Upgrade plan only | Vertical + horizontal scaling | Cloudways |
| Free SSL | Yes (Lifetime) | Yes (Let's Encrypt) | |
| Free CDN | Yes (Cloudflare) | Yes (Cloudflare Enterprise add-on $4.99) | Hostinger |
| Staging Environment | WordPress only | All applications | Cloudways |
| SSH Access | Business plan and above | All plans | Cloudways |
| Automated Backups | Daily (Business+) | On-demand + scheduled | Cloudways |
| Email Hosting | Included (1 account free) | Not included | Hostinger |
| Server Location Choice | 7 data centers | 65+ data centers (5 providers) | Cloudways |
Real Friction Points
Manually researched issues reported by actual users. Not AI-generated.
Hostinger
Renewal pricing jumps 2-3x after the initial discount period ends. Users report the $2.99/mo introductory rate renewing at $16.99/mo with no warning email before auto-renewal charges hit.
Cloudways
No email hosting included — you need a third-party email service like Google Workspace or Zoho, adding $6-12/mo per mailbox. Multiple users report confusion when their domain has no email after migration.
The Verdict
Cloudways is the better choice for developers and growing businesses that need true cloud infrastructure with scalable resources and staging environments. Hostinger wins on value for budget-conscious users running simple sites — its all-in-one pricing with email and CDN included makes it the easier starting point. If you expect traffic spikes or run multiple client sites, Cloudways justifies the premium.
Affiliate disclosure: Links below may earn us a commission. This does not affect our HostGrade scores or friction points. Full policy.