Comparison Research
Cloudways vs Kinsta 2026: Price, Performance and Which to Choose
Anna · Designer & web developerUpdated 2026-11-06 · How we testCloudways vs Kinsta compared on monthly costs, sites per plan, backups, CDN, email and support. Which managed WordPress host fits a freelancer or a business.
Cloudways is the better choice if you run several WordPress sites and want the lowest cost per site. You rent a cloud server from $14 a month and put as many sites on it as it can handle. Kinsta is the better choice if you have one or a few important sites and want a fully managed service where you never think about servers. It starts at $35 a month, or $30 a month billed yearly, for one site.
Both are premium managed hosts with no cheap intro prices and no big renewal jumps. The price you see is the price you keep. The real difference is the model: Cloudways sells server capacity, Kinsta sells per-site plans with limits on visits, storage and bandwidth.
I'm Anna, a web designer and developer. I haven't hosted client sites on Cloudways or Kinsta, so this is a research comparison based on both companies' pricing pages, docs and independent tests. Figures are as of November 2026, so check the checkout before you pay. Some links here are affiliate links.
Quick comparison
| Cloudways | Kinsta | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Managed cloud server, you pick the size | Managed WordPress plans per site |
| Entry price | $14/mo (1 GB RAM, Flexible) | $35/mo, or $30/mo billed yearly |
| Sites on entry plan | Unlimited (limited by server resources) | 1 |
| Billing | Hourly, invoiced monthly | Monthly or yearly |
| Infrastructure | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud | Google Cloud |
| CDN | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on, from $4.99/domain/mo | Included, 125 GB/mo on entry plans |
| Backups | Automatic, offsite storage billed per GB | Included, 14 days on entry plans |
| Rackspace add-on, $1.50/mailbox/mo | Not included | |
| Trial or refund | 5-day free trial, no card | 30-day money-back (not on first-month-free offers) |
| Support | 24/7 chat and tickets; Advance Support $100/mo | 24/7 human support in 8 languages |
Prices from cloudways.com and kinsta.com, November 2026.
Pricing in detail
Cloudways Flexible
Cloudways is owned by DigitalOcean. On the Flexible plans you choose a cloud provider and a server size. You pay hourly, capped at the monthly price.
| Server | Price/mo | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | $14 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB NVMe | 1 TB |
| Small | $28 | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB NVMe | 2 TB |
| Small+ | $37 | 2 GB | 2 | 60 GB NVMe | 3 TB |
| Medium | $54 | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB NVMe | 4 TB |
| Large | $99 | 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB NVMe | 5 TB |
These are the DigitalOcean-based prices shown on the pricing page. AWS and Google Cloud servers cost more. Bandwidth over the limit costs $0.01 to $0.02 per GB on DigitalOcean, Vultr and Linode, and $0.12 per GB on AWS.
Billing detail that catches people: stopping a server does not stop billing. You need to delete it.
Cloudways Autonomous
Autonomous is a newer WordPress plan that scales the server for you. It starts at $99 a month with 150 GB of bandwidth and 20 GB of disk, and bills overages for extra disk, bandwidth and autoscaling hours. It has a 3-day trial.
Cloudways add-ons
The base price doesn't include everything:
- Email: Rackspace at $1.50 per mailbox per month.
- Cloudflare Enterprise CDN: from $4.99 per domain per month.
- Offsite backup storage: about $0.033 per GB.
- Malware protection: from $4 per app per month.
- Advance Support: $100 per month for faster, deeper help.
Kinsta
Kinsta's managed WordPress plans are priced per site, with limits on visits, storage and CDN bandwidth. Paying yearly saves about two months.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Sites | Visits/mo | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single: Launch | $35 | $30 | 1 | 75,000 | 15 GB |
| Single: larger tiers | $35 to $375 | $30 to $313 | 1 | 35,000 to 750,000 | Varies |
| Multiple sites (WP 2 to WP 40) | $70 to $450 | $59 to $375 | 2 to 40 | Varies | 20 to 60 GB |
| Agency | From $340 | From $284 | Portfolio | Custom | Custom |
| Enterprise | From $500 | From $500 | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Extra sites cost $30 a month each, and extra disk space $20 a month per 20 GB. Business plans include unlimited free migrations. Kinsta lists 30 data centers and a CDN with more than 300 edge locations.
Agency extras: Kinsta offers up to $10,000 in hosting credits for eligible agencies, free hosting for the agency's own site and an unbranded WordPress admin.
What 10 small client sites cost
This is the most common question from freelancers, so here is the rough math using list prices.
- Cloudways: a Small or Medium server ($28 to $54 a month) can usually hold 10 small brochure sites. Add Cloudflare Enterprise only where a client needs it, and email per mailbox. Total: about $30 to $70 a month before add-ons.
- Kinsta: a multisite plan for 10 sites falls inside the $70 to $450 a month range, depending on visits and storage. Check Kinsta's plan picker for the exact tier.
The gap is large. With Kinsta, the extra money buys you freedom from capacity planning and server load, plus a polished dashboard with staging, logs and analytics for every site.
Performance
Both hosts are fast when the site is built well. Independent tests in 2025 and 2026 usually rank both well above budget shared hosting.
- Kinsta runs every site in an isolated container on Google Cloud, with server-level caching, a built-in CDN and edge caching. Speed is consistent because each plan has a fixed allocation.
- Cloudways speed depends on the server you choose and how many sites share it. A well-sized server with Cloudflare Enterprise performs very well. An overloaded Micro server does not.
If your site is a landing page made with an AI tool, neither host is necessary. A static site or a budget plan is enough. See how to host a website.
Ease of use
Kinsta's MyKinsta dashboard is built for WordPress only. Staging, backups, domains, SSL, redirects, PHP versions and analytics all sit in one place. Non-technical clients can find their way around it.
Cloudways has two layers: servers and applications. You launch a server, then add WordPress apps to it. It's still far easier than running your own VPS, but it assumes you understand server resources. Staging, cloning and SSL are one click.
Support
Kinsta offers 24/7 support from humans in eight languages on Business plans, with account management on Agency and Enterprise. Reviews rate it highly and consistently.
Cloudways has 24/7 chat and tickets on every plan. Reviews are mostly positive, with complaints that complex issues sometimes need escalation. The $100-a-month Advance Support add-on gives faster, more hands-on help.
Email and domains
Neither host bundles free email. Kinsta doesn't host email at all, and Cloudways sells Rackspace mailboxes. Use a separate email provider either way. Our guide to professional email on your own domain compares the options, and where to buy a domain covers registrars.
Which one to pick
- Freelancer or small agency with many small sites: Cloudways.
- One business site that earns money and must stay fast: Kinsta.
- WooCommerce store with traffic spikes: Kinsta, or Cloudways Autonomous if you prefer autoscaling on Cloudways.
- Agency that wants white-label and hosting credits: compare Kinsta Agency with Cloudways' agency options.
- Tight budget, one small site: neither. A shared host costs a fraction. See best web hosting for small business and our hosting section.
FAQ
Is Cloudways cheaper than Kinsta?
Usually yes, especially for several sites. As of November 2026, Cloudways Flexible starts at $14 a month for a 1 GB server that can host multiple sites. Kinsta starts at $35 a month, or $30 a month billed yearly, for one site. Cloudways charges extra for email, Cloudflare Enterprise and offsite backup storage.
Does Kinsta include email hosting?
No. Kinsta does not host email on its WordPress plans, so you need a separate provider for mailboxes on your domain. Cloudways doesn't include free email either; it sells Rackspace mailboxes at $1.50 per mailbox per month as of November 2026. Many site owners use Google Workspace, Zoho or a host's email plan instead.
Can I try Cloudways or Kinsta for free?
Cloudways offers a 5-day free trial on Flexible plans with no credit card, excluding AWS and Google Cloud, and a 3-day trial on Autonomous. Kinsta offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, except on first-month-free offers, and some plans show a first month free. Figures are as of November 2026.
How many sites can I host on Cloudways?
Cloudways doesn't cap the number of sites on a server. The limit is the server's resources. A 1 GB Micro server at $14 a month suits a few light sites, while 2 GB to 4 GB servers at $28 to $54 a month are a more realistic home for around ten small brochure sites. Watch CPU and memory as you add sites.
What does Kinsta charge for extra sites and storage?
As of November 2026, Kinsta charges $30 a month for each additional site and $20 a month for each extra 20 GB of disk space. Multi-site plans cover 2 to 40 sites for $70 to $450 a month. Business plans include unlimited free migrations and 24/7 human support in eight languages.
Who owns Cloudways?
Cloudways is owned by DigitalOcean, which announced the acquisition in 2022. Cloudways still lets you choose servers from DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud. Prices on its pricing page are for DigitalOcean-based servers, starting at $14 a month for 1 GB of RAM as of November 2026. AWS and Google Cloud cost more.
Bottom line
Cloudways gives you the most hosting per dollar if you are comfortable choosing a server size and adding sites yourself. Kinsta costs more per site and gives you a calmer experience, steady performance and top-rated support. Pick by the number of sites and how much server management you want to do.