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How the two are set up
The two hosts sell different things. Cloudways sells you a server. Its Flexible plans have you pick a size, and the company's own wording is "You configure, we manage everything else." Kinsta sells managed WordPress hosting by the number of WordPress installs, with monthly visits and bandwidth limits attached. Its homepage describes it as hosting "for WordPress."
That difference drives most of the comparison. On Cloudways you choose a cloud provider and a server size, and you can change the plan later. On Kinsta you choose a plan sized to your sites and traffic.
Pricing
Cloudways Flexible plans are listed at $14 a month (Micro: 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB storage, 1 TB bandwidth), $28 (Small: 2 GB RAM, 50 GB storage, 2 TB bandwidth) and $54 (Medium: 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 80 GB storage, 4 TB bandwidth). Billing is usage-based and tracked hourly, and the page says you can upgrade or downgrade at any time with no lock-in. Cloudways also lists extra charges, such as bandwidth overage that varies by provider and offsite backups at $0.033 per GB. The page shows other provider options, including AWS and Google Cloud, with higher overage rates. For how many sites fit on one server, check the vendor's site.
Kinsta's list prices start at $35 a month for one WordPress install (Launch: 15 GB server bandwidth, 75,000 estimated visits, 15 GB storage). Two installs cost $70, five cost $115 and ten cost $225 a month. Kinsta's agency tier is listed from $170 a month for 20 installs for the first three months; its pages give different figures for the price after that, so ask Kinsta. A promotion was running when we checked, and it is for new customers only and ends December 1, 2026, so check the current price before you decide.
| Item | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A server (Flexible plans) | WordPress installs with visit and bandwidth limits |
| Entry price | $14 a month (Micro) | $35 a month (Launch, one install) |
| Billing | Hourly usage, invoiced monthly | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 5 days, no card (Flexible) | First month free on select plans; 30-day money-back guarantee after any free period |
| Migrations | Unlimited free for WordPress and WooCommerce | Unlimited free on all plans |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and tickets | 24/7 human support in 8 languages |
| Backups | Automated backups and restore | Daily automatic, 14 days retention (Business) |
| Staging | Included (Developers plan page) | One-click staging |
| Platforms | WordPress and other apps | WordPress |
Features and support
Both hosts say they offer 24/7 support, free migrations for WordPress sites, automatic backups and staging. Cloudways lists free SSL and a built-in CDN with caching. Kinsta lists free malware removal, 30 data centers and an uptime SLA of up to 99.99%. Its Business table says 99.9% uptime is guaranteed. We did not test either host, so we cannot say how fast or reliable they are in practice.
Cloudways also lists team collaboration, which matters if you work with a contractor or want a client to see their own server. Kinsta's Agency plan advertises up to $10,000 in hosting credits for eligible agencies, which is worth asking about if you are moving many sites.
What reviewers say
On Trustpilot, Cloudways is rated 4.6 out of 5 from more than 3,700 reviews, and Kinsta 4.7 out of 5 from more than 1,100 reviews (checked November 2026). The scores are close. Cloudways has more reviews behind it. Read the low-star reviews on both pages before you commit.
Drawbacks of Cloudways
- You are responsible for choosing and sizing the server. If you pick too small, your client sites slow down, and moving up is a plan change you have to make.
- Billing is usage-based, so the monthly total can move. Bandwidth beyond the plan, extra storage and offsite backups are billed separately.
- Refund terms were not on the pricing page, which covers cancellation and a final invoice only. Confirm them before you pay.
- If a payment fails, the dashboard is restricted by day 7 and servers are stopped by day 10, with deletion starting at day 13. That is a risk if a card expires while you host client sites.
- Faster support response times are paid add-ons. The Advanced Support add-on is listed at $100 a month.
Drawbacks of Kinsta
- It costs more. The entry plan is $35 a month for one install, so a handful of small client sites adds up quickly.
- Plans are limited by monthly visits and bandwidth, so a client site that grows can push you into a larger plan.
- It is built around WordPress. Its homepage points other application types to a separate product, Sevalla.
- Free staging is limited to one environment, with paid upgrades.
Which suits client work
For a freelancer with a few small brochure sites, Cloudways' lower entry price and hourly billing are easier to fit into a retainer, provided you are happy to manage the server side. For an agency that sells ongoing care of WordPress sites, Kinsta's managed approach means less to look after, and its per-site pricing makes it simple to pass cost on to a client. Work out the monthly cost per client site on both before deciding, and test your own heaviest site during any trial.
Sources
- Cloudways pricing
- Cloudways homepage
- Kinsta pricing
- Kinsta homepage
- Cloudways on Trustpilot
- Kinsta on Trustpilot
Prices and ratings checked November 2026. They change; confirm on the vendor's site.