# Cloudways vs DigitalOcean vs Vultr for WordPress (2026): Managed or Do It Yourself?

Source: https://srvscripts.com/guides/cloudways-vs-digitalocean-vs-vultr/
Updated: 2026-10-15
Publisher: srvScripts (https://srvscripts.com/)

**Short answer:** the Cloudways vs DigitalOcean question is managed versus do-it-yourself. [Cloudways](/cloudways/) runs your WordPress sites on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud and manages the server for you: $14 a month for 1 GB on DigitalOcean Premium, $28 for 2 GB, with backups, caching, a firewall and 24/7 support included. A plain [DigitalOcean](/digitalocean/) or [Vultr](/vultr/) server with the same RAM costs $5–12, but you install and look after the stack yourself. Pay for Cloudways if your time costs more than about the difference; go unmanaged if you are comfortable with Linux and want root access or a control panel.

This page contains partner links. See our [affiliate disclosure](/affiliate-disclosure/).

Prices come from the providers’ own pages, checked on 7 October 2026 in a browser, excluding tax.

## Price for the same server

| RAM / vCPU | Cloudways on DigitalOcean PremiumCheck price (opens in a new tab) → | DigitalOcean Basic (unmanaged)Check price (opens in a new tab) → | Vultr (unmanaged)Check price (opens in a new tab) → |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 GB / 1 vCPU | $14 / month (25 GB NVMe, 1 TB) | $6 (25 GiB, 1,000 GiB) | $5 Regular / $6 High Frequency |
| 2 GB / 1 vCPU | $28 / month (50 GB NVMe, 2 TB) | $12 (50 GiB, 2,000 GiB) | n/a at this size in our check |
| 4 GB / 2 vCPU | $54 / month (80 GB NVMe, 4 TB) | $24 (80 GiB, 4,000 GiB) | $20 Regular Performance (80 GB, 3 TB) |
| 8 GB / 4 vCPU | $99 / month (160 GB NVMe, 5 TB) | $48 (160 GiB, 5,000 GiB) | $48 High Performance (180 GB, 6 TB) |

Prices last checked: 7 October 2026. Cloudways prices are for DigitalOcean Premium servers; other clouds on Cloudways cost more. Cloudways bills hourly ($0.0208 an hour for the 1 GB plan); DigitalOcean bills per second; Vultr bills hourly.

## What the Cloudways price includes

- 24/7 support, free migration of the first site, staging, unlimited sites on the server.

- Server-level firewall (Imunify360), free SSL, Redis, and Object Cache Pro on 4 GB servers and above.

- Managed backups (off-site backup storage is $0.033 per GB), monitoring and vertical scaling.

- A 3-day free trial without a credit card.

What you give up: Cloudways does not give root access, so you cannot install cPanel, DirectAdmin or other system software. Paid extras include Cloudflare Enterprise (from $4.99 per domain), malware removal (from $4 per app) and Advanced Support ($100 a month).

[Try Cloudways free for 3 days](/cloudways/) Partner link

## What unmanaged costs you (besides money)

- Installing and tuning the web server, PHP-FPM, database and cache (see [OpenLiteSpeed and WordPress on AlmaLinux 10](/guides/openlitespeed-wordpress-almalinux-10/)).

- Security updates, firewall, malware scanning and backups you have tested.

- Your own monitoring and someone to call at 2 a.m.

- Backups cost extra: 20% of the server price on both DigitalOcean (weekly) and Vultr.

[See DigitalOcean](/digitalocean/) [See Vultr](/vultr/) Partner link

## DigitalOcean or Vultr?

|  | DigitalOceanCheck price (opens in a new tab) → | VultrCheck price (opens in a new tab) → |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Datacentres | 16 | 33 regions |
| Billing | Per second (60 s minimum) | Hourly |
| cPanel | One-click image; licence after a 15-day trial | One-click app; licence billed on the instance from $31.99 |
| Paid support tiers | $24 / $99 / $999 a month | Ticket support |
| Best for | Documentation, predictable small servers | More locations, High Frequency CPUs |

## Our recommendation

- **One business site, no Linux admin:** Cloudways 1–2 GB. The support and backups are worth the extra $8–16 a month.

- **Several client sites, an agency:** Cloudways 4 GB, or a DigitalOcean server with a panel if you need email hosting too (Cloudways does not host mailboxes; it sells Rackspace mail at $1.50 per mailbox).

- **You are a sysadmin:** DigitalOcean or Vultr with OpenLiteSpeed or a panel. Read [the real cost of running cPanel](/guides/cheap-cpanel-vps/) first.

**Related:** [LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress](/guides/litespeed-cache-wordpress-cpanel-setup/) · [Clean a hacked WordPress site](/guides/clean-hacked-wordpress-cpanel/) · [Cheapest way to run cPanel](/guides/cheap-cpanel-vps/) · [Recommended server providers](/recommended-server-providers/)

## Cloudways vs DigitalOcean at a glance

In short: Cloudways managed hosting vs a plain DigitalOcean or Vultr server for WordPress: same-size prices side by side, what the Cloudways premium buys, and who should go unmanaged. Prices checked October 2026.

Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: what this guide covers.

Cloudways vs DigitalOcean: the questions this guide answers.

**Already on DigitalOcean?** See [common DigitalOcean Droplet problems](/guides/digitalocean-droplet-common-problems/) and how to [send email when DigitalOcean blocks SMTP](/guides/digitalocean-smtp-blocked-send-email/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cloudways cheaper than DigitalOcean?

No. Cloudways runs on DigitalOcean and other clouds and adds management, so the same 1 GB server costs $14 on Cloudways and $6 directly on DigitalOcean. You pay the difference for support, backups, caching and security.

### Can I use cPanel on Cloudways?

No. Cloudways does not give root access, so third-party control panels cannot be installed. Use a DigitalOcean or Vultr server if you need cPanel or DirectAdmin.

### Does Cloudways host email?

Not on the server. It offers Rackspace mailboxes as an add-on at $1.50 per mailbox per month, or you can use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

### Is there a free trial?

Cloudways offers 3 days free without a credit card. DigitalOcean and Vultr are billed by the second or hour, so a short test costs cents.

### Which cloud should I choose inside Cloudways?

DigitalOcean Premium is the cheapest on Cloudways. AWS and Google Cloud cost several times more and mainly make sense if your other systems already run there.