Cloudways vs Liquid Web
The Liquid Web Alternative That Gets You More for Less
More cloud providers. More data centers. More control over how you scale and what you pay. Switch to managed cloud hosting that works around your needs, not the other way around.
4.7/5 (1,100+ verified reviews) on
Rated #1 Managed Cloud Host
Cloudways Empowers 102,000+ Businesses & Counting
More Than Just a New Host. This is Managed Hosting Done Right.
Because good hosting should adapt to your business, not the other way around.
Choose from 55+ locations worldwide so your sites stay fast, wherever your visitors are.
Resize manually in one click or let Autonomous handle traffic spikes automatically on Kubernetes.
Live chat and ticketing around the clock, with a median first response under 90 seconds.
SSH access, PHP version switching, free staging, and zero plugin restrictions.
See How Cloudways Compares to Liquid Web
An honest, side-by-side look at what you get with each host across the things that matter most.
|
|
|---|
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| G2 Rating | 4.2/5 from 104 reviews | 4.7/5 from 1,124 reviews |
| Price | ||
| Starting Price (Managed) | $33/mo (Managed VPS) | $11/mo (Flexible) |
| Billing Model | Fixed monthly tiers | Pay-as-you-go hourly |
| Annual Contract | Required for best pricing | Never required |
| Free Trial | 30-day money-back guarantee | 3 days, no credit card |
| Free Migration | Yes, 1 free migration included | Free for all WordPress and WooCommerce sites, via plugin or expert team |
| Performance and Scaling | ||
| Infrastructure | Proprietary, 7 owned data centers | 5 providers, 100+ data centers |
| Locations | 7 locations | 55+ locations worldwide |
| Scaling | Manual server resize | 1-click resize or Kubernetes autoscaling (Autonomous) |
| Uptime SLA | 100% network (VPS and Dedicated) | 99.99% |
| CDN | Cloudflare integration | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on ($4.99/mo) |
| Features and Flexibility | ||
| Sites Per Plan | Limited by plan tier | Unlimited per server |
| Staging Environment | Available | Free, unlimited |
| SSH Access | Yes | Full SSH and SFTP |
| PHP Version Control | Limited | Multiple versions, switchable |
| App Support | WordPress, WooCommerce, Dedicated | WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Laravel, PHP |
| Dedicated or Bare Metal Servers | Yes, starting at $55.50/mo | Not available |
| HIPAA and PCI Compliance | Yes | Not available |
| Email Hosting | Not included ($1/inbox/mo add-on) | Rackspace add-on ($1/mailbox/mo) |
| cPanel | Available (add-on) | Not included (custom dashboard) |
| Support and Security | ||
| 24/7 Support | Chat and ticket | Live chat and ticket, all plans |
| Phone Support | Available on higher plans | Premium add-on |
| Avg Response Time | Not publicly documented | Under 90 seconds median |
| Confidence in Product Future (G2) | 7.5/10 | 9.2/10 |
| Automated Backups | Acronis, paid add-on | Scheduled and on-demand |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes |
| Malware Protection | Firewall and DDoS included | Available as add-on |
| Firewall | Managed WAF | Imunify360 and OS level |
Global Infrastructure Liquid Web Can’t Match
Liquid Web runs on 7 proprietary data centers. Cloudways lets you deploy on the cloud provider and region closest to your audience — across 150+ data centers and 55+ locations worldwide, on 5 leading clouds.
150+
Data Centers
50+
Locations
5
Cloud Providers
Is Cloudways the Right Move for You?
It depends on what you need. Here is an honest breakdown. It is a great fit if you are…
An Agency That Wants Control
Full SSH and SFTP access, Git deployment, and the freedom to switch between PHP 7.4 through 8.4 whenever your projects need it.
A Store With Unpredictable Traffic
Your server automatically adjusts CPU, RAM, and PHP workers the moment traffic spikes, then scales back down once it settles.
Running More Than One Kind of Project
WordPress, Magento, Laravel, or a custom PHP build, all of it runs on the same server without needing separate hosting accounts.
Comfortable Making Server Decisions
You configure caching, PHP settings, and resource allocation directly, exactly the way your project actually needs it.
Looking for Predictable Server Costs
One flat fee covers every site and app on that server. If you need more power later, you scale the server, not your bill per visitor.
Wanting a Fully Managed Setup Instead
Scaling and WordPress updates run automatically in the background, with nothing for you to configure or monitor.
Real Success Stories. Powered By Cloudways.
Read real-life case studies of companies that used our managed cloud server hosting to take their online businesses to the next level!
Improved site speed by 40% and increased course bookings across AU.
Mo Soltany
Business Development Manager
Cut hosting cost 80% while serving 17M+ users across 160+ countries.
Bryan Feinberg
Founder and CEO
Saw 600% growth, and our homepage achieved a perfect 100% score.
Stephan Eijer
Owner
Managed over $1M in sales and a 200% traffic spike seamlessly.
Sol Lee
Co-founder
Doubled site speed, 20% traffic growth & 50% faster load times.
Great Opomu
Chief WordPress Officer
Scaled to 140+ client sites & hit $1M ARR as performance soared.
Andrew Jackson
Founder & CEO
Streamlined operations for 60+ businesses with reliable performance.
Michelle Coe
President and Senior Creative Director
Saved 25–30% on hosting costs with 40% faster server response time.
Roberto M. Filho
Founder and CEO
30% faster, 280+ sites scaled, $10M+ revenue growth, this year.
Tristan Gatellier
CEO
Achieved 99 PageSpeed score, zero downtime and scalable growth.
Joost Rust
Director
Reduced server costs by 50% and homepage load time dropped to 1.2s.
Florence Luo
Owner and CEO
Grew monthly readership 3x from 3M to 9M after moving to Cloudways.
Simon Treulle
CEO
Improved store speed by 30%, which led to a 22% increase in conversions.
Yogita Khasturi
Co-Founder
Managed over $1M in sales and a 200% traffic spike seamlessly.
Sol Lee
Co-founder
Posted 2.6M views and earned $600K in commissions so rewarding.
Adam Connell
Founder
Handled 20x traffic spikes on 18-year-old site with 5,484 articles.
Jonathan Bailey
Founder
Resulted in a perfect 100% PageSpeed score and 600K page views.
Michael Donovan
Co-founder
Boosted monthly pageviews to 200K, leading to a 6-figure valuation.
Daniel Shuttleworth
Founder
Experienced a 3x increase in traffic and revenue, with 100% speed.
Keith Mint
Founder
Have Questions? Consult an Expert For Free.
Get the answers you need, or hop on a demo with an expert to figure out how Cloudways can help you, all without any commitments.
Contact Our Experts Watch Demo
The Hardest Part of Switching is Already Handled.
Free migrations for all WordPress and WooCommerce sites. Our engineers do the heavy lifting so you do not have to touch a single file.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to migrate from Liquid Web to Cloudways?
Not hard at all. WordPress and WooCommerce migrations are completely free and handled by Cloudways support engineers. You do not need to touch a single file. For other PHP applications, a self-service migration tool is available.
Do I need to give up cPanel?
Yes. Cloudways uses its own dashboard instead of cPanel. Most users find it significantly easier to navigate, but if cPanel is a hard dependency for your workflow, that is worth factoring into your decision.
Can I host multiple sites on one plan?
Yes. You can host unlimited WordPress and WooCommerce applications on a single server. No per-site fees, ever.
Will my price go up after I sign up?
No. Cloudways does not have renewal price hikes. What you pay today is what you pay next year. You are billed hourly based on the server resources you use, with no annual contracts required.
What kind of support will I get?
24/7 live chat and ticketing on every plan, with a median first response under 90 seconds. Phone support is available as a premium add-on.
Does Cloudways offer dedicated servers like Liquid Web?
No. Cloudways provides managed cloud VPS on premium infrastructure including AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode. For true bare metal or dedicated hardware, Liquid Web remains the stronger option.
What about email hosting?
Cloudways does not include email hosting in its base plans. Rackspace email is available as a paid add-on at $1 per mailbox per month. Alternatively Google Workspace and Zoho are popular choices among Cloudways users.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. A 3-day free trial is available with no credit card required. All platform features are fully accessible during the trial so you can test performance on your actual workload before committing.