EXPLORE CLOUDWAYS
Experience lightning-fast loading times and seamless platform
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With WPEngine, you’re paying for traffic you’re not utilising.
When you excede your plan limits, WPEngine charges you overages and you risk a crash.
High Performance. Effortlessly Delivered.
Looking for a WP Engine Alternative? Try Cloudways
Cloudways vs WPEngine isn’t just a showdown – it’s a clear win. Choose Cloudways for:
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Half the Price
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More Features
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Flexible Control
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5X Coverage
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Auto Scaling
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Actual Support
WP Engine VS Cloudways
Why Choose Cloudways as the WP Engine Alternative
Cloudways is more than a WP Engine alternative. It’s faster, more flexible, and built to help your site grow without limits.
Get More, Pay Less
Choose Cloudways for all the features you need while keeping your wallet happy. Who says you can’t have it all?.
Explore5X More Data Centers
Cloudway boasts 5 times the number of data centers as WP Engine, distributed across 3 times as many locations.
ExploreFlexible Control
Cloudways offers total freedom without plugin restrictions or hidden controls, unlike WP Engine’s rigid, limited setup.
ExploreG2’s Top Rated
While WP Engine doesn’t even make it to the top 5, G2 has recognized Cloudways as the #1 hosting outshining WP Engine and all other alternatives to WP Engine.
ExploreHandle Traffic Spikes
With Cloudways Autonomous™, your website can handle traffic spikes with seamless autoscaling and pay-as-you-go flexibility.
ExploreReal 24/7 Support
People claim WPEngine’s support is like a ghost – there, but not really. At Cloudways, we’re hauntingly reliable.
ExplorePeople Love Us
Our customers value our service almost just as much as we value them. Cloudways is the people’s choice of quality hosting.
ExploreThe WPEngine alternative that is
Faster. Limitless. Affordable. Cloudways is the Better Choice
Cloudways offers more power, speed, and no traffic limits – at a price that WP Engine can’t match. Check out the comparison table below and make the smart move .
| Price | ||
| Price per month | Starting From $11 | Starting From $25 |
| Free Trial | 3-day trial without credit card | |
| Features | ||
| No. of websites | Unmetered on all plans | Starting from 1 |
| Monthly Visits | Unlimited on all plans | Starting from 25,000 |
| Bandwidth | Starting from 1 TB | Starting from 50 GB |
| Disk Storage | Starting from 25 GB SSD | Starting from 10 GB |
| Scaling | Instant • 1-Click | Overages at $2/1000 visitors |
| Support | ||
| 24/7 support | ||
| Slack Channel (Paid add-ons) | ||
| Customization Support (Paid add-ons) | ||
| Performance | ||
| Global Data Center Coverage | 55 Unique Locations, 116 Data Centers | 18 Unique Locations, 26 Data Centers |
| Infrastructure | GCP, AWS, DO, Vultr, Linode | GCP, AWS (Premium), Azure (Premium) |
| Security | ||
| Malware Scanning | Proactive | Not proactive |
| Free SSL | ||
| DDoS Protection (Paid Cloudflare Enterprise) | ||
| Backups & 1-Click Restore | ||
| WAF (Anti-Hack System) Add-on | ||
| Add-ons | ||
| Add-ons |
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Cloudways is the WPEngine alternative that gives you
5X More Data Centers
Cloudways, with 5X the data centers in 3X as many locations compared to WP Engine, means faster load times & lower latency. With WP Engine’s handful of data centers, let’s just say their idea of ‘global’ is a bit more regional.
Cloudways
116 Data Centers55 Unique LocationsWP Engine
26 Data Centers18 Unique Locations
Cloudways is G2’s #1 Cloud Web Hosting Provider
While WP Engine doesn’t even make it to the top 5, Cloudways sets the standard above WP Engine and WP Engine alternatives as the top-rated cloud web hosting provider. Consider the bar officially raised.
Plugin
Freedom
True Server
Control
No Force
Updates
Full Developer
Access
Flexible Control with Cloudways
Cloudways puts you in the driver’s seat with flexible plugin control and no hidden limitations. While WP Engine imposes plugin bans and shields you from real server control, Cloudways hands you the reins.
Sign Up Now 3-Day Trial Without Credit CardHandle Traffic Spikes with Cloudways Autonomous
While WP Engine users may be worried about traffic limits, Cloudways Autonomous scales your site automatically, charging only for what you use without compromising performance. We’ll handle all the heavy lifting – you just keep growing.
Try Now With Cloudways’ Pay-as-you-go model, you pay only for what you use – no under
utilisation, no crash risks!
Cloudways Support is Your Extended Team
Cloudways support acts like a true partner. You get fast, expert help any time. Unlike WP Engine, support here feels responsive and involved.
Priority Support
24/7/365 priority Live Chat and ticketing support from our Senior Engineers, with improved SLAs.
Plugin/Theme Troubleshooting
Our Support Engineers will help you troubleshoot errors and conflicts with plugins and themes.
Performance/DB Optimization
On-demand optimization tweaks to ensure your application is performing well.
Handle Traffic Spikes
With Cloudways Autonomous™, your website can handle traffic spikes with seamless autoscaling and pay-as-you-go flexibility.
Server Error Investigation
We’ll collaborate with your team for deeper investigation of common server errors (500, 502, 503, etc).
Proactive Monitoring
If your server or stack is down, we will go beyond sending you alert and proactively start investigating.
Customization
Customization of your stack/server, e.g. deploying additional packages, specific configurations etc.
Dedicated Account Manager
Your primary contact at Cloudways is here to help and guide you, whatever you want to achieve.
Private Slack Channel (Premium support)
24/7/365 private Slack channel connects your team directly with our Senior Support Engineers. We partner with your team to help you grow.
Phone Support (Premium support)
Call our Senior Support Engineers any time for in-person support.
The Verdict Is In.
Cloudways is the Best WP Engine Alternative.
Cloudways stands out with faster speed, better support, and full control. It’s the smarter choice for users looking to move beyond WP Engine.
Alin-Lonel Banut
Verified Trust Pilot User
I’ve been a loyal Cloudways customer for over 6 years, and my experience has been nothing short of exceptional. What truly sets Cloudways apart is their outstanding customer support. The live chat team is incredibly professional, always quick to respond, and goes above and beyond to resolve any issues. Their dedication to customer care is truly impressive. If you’re looking for a hosting provider that combines top-notch performance with excellent support, I highly recommend Cloudways!
Shane Boring
@shaneboring
@wpengine has to have some of the WORST customer service on earth. WHY? HQ in Austin, TX, where BARE MINIMUM effort is challenged daily by sloths occupying human bodies. ….thanks for continuing to bill an account that I have ZERO access to, and that has been inactive for 12 mo+++.
Paul D
Creative Director & OwnerYou pay for what you get. Instead of paying a low introductory fee and then getting high prices a year or two later, you just pay for what you need now. It’s easy to scale up and down. Cloudways makes cloud hosting easy to start. The process of setting up your websites and server is simple and quick. The UI/UX design is great too. Very intuitive and simple. It’s also fast and reliable which is something you don’t want to mess with for websites. Also their support team has been great. They’ve been quick to respond to any issues I’ve experienced.
it-guy
@johnffrenemy@wpengine makes millions and try to gaslight when it could of just help the community is it time to boycott overpriced hosting. #boycottwpengine
Ant Ekşiler
@anteksilerPhpMyAdmin access at @wpengine is always awfully slow. I can’t even list the tables.
Emil Andersen
@EmilAndersenUnfortunately we’ve experienced a very slow server even though we are paying around 700 USD per month. I wouldn’t recommend WP Engine to anyone that are looking for a quick server. Furthermore it’s almost impossible to get to know you server details. Even the most basic information like RAM they wont tell you. Probably because they are putting your site on a shared hosting.
Jonathan Bailey
@PlagirismtodayI want to give a quick shoutout to @Cloudways, the host of my site.With the events taking place this week, I’ve received nearly a month’s worth of traffic in three days. Their server is going strong, never slowed down and remains fast despite the pressure.Thank you!
Diana Urban
@DianaUrbanGah I wish @wpengine didn’t have traffic caps for their web hosting plans. Anyone have great web hosting with 99.9% uptime and fast support?
Frequently Asked Questions
Which web hosting company gives the most value for money for long term plans?
The best long term web hosting value depends on balancing performance, scalability, and predictable pricing. While many hosts attract users with cheap introductory rates that increase sharply upon renewal, Cloudways offers transparent pay-as-you-go pricing that eliminates renewal surprises altogether.With managed cloud servers starting at $11/month, Cloudways delivers enterprise grade performance, 24/7 expert support, and full scalability across top cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean. For small to medium businesses planning long term growth, this model often proves more cost effective and sustainable than traditional multi year shared hosting contracts.
Tip: When evaluating long term hosting value, compare the true renewal cost, resource scalability, and support quality, not just the first term discount. Cloudways flexible billing ensures you only pay for what you use, with no hidden renewal hikes.
Tip: When evaluating long term hosting value, compare the true renewal cost, resource scalability, and support quality, not just the first term discount. Cloudways flexible billing ensures you only pay for what you use, with no hidden renewal hikes.
What are the best web hosting deals and promo codes for 2025?
Web hosting deals in 2025 offer discounts up to 90% off across shared, VPS, and managed hosting plans. Prices typically start as low as $1 to $3/month for shared hosting, while managed cloud options provide better scalability and performance at higher value. Cloudways BFCM 2025 deal (Promo: BFCM5050) offers 50% off for 3 months plus 50 free migrations, along with 50% off for 3 months on all app level add-ons including Malware, Cloudflare, Rackspace, Elastic, DNS Made Easy, and Advanced Support. Valid from November 11 till December 4.
What is the ideal web hosting pricing for small businesses?
Web hosting for small and medium size businesses generally vary from $2 to $10/month (shared), $10 to $100/month (VPS/cloud) and up to $500/month (dedicated), WordPress specific plans often vary around $3 to $25/month. Consider intro vs renewal, plan length, included features (SSL, domain, backups) and extra costs. Cloudways comes as a managed cloud hosting provider starting from $11/month, offering pay-as-you-go billing, managed services, and predictable costs which is helpful for growing SMBs avoiding renewal surprises.
How to migrate from WP Engine to Cloudways?
Cloudways offers free migration for your first site. Just sign up and request a migration through the dashboard. Our engineers handle the full process without downtime or data loss. You can also use our free WordPress Migrator plugin if you prefer to move it yourself.
What is managed hosting for WordPress?
Managed hosting for WordPress is a form of web-hosting that makes installing and managing your WordPress site easier, where most technical and server-side issues are managed by the company you hire. Managed hosting means freeing up your time from having to handle security risks, backups, monitoring your sites’ uptime, and scaling your infrastructure when your site grows.
Cloudways provides managed WordPress services, but doesn’t stop at WordPress. You can also host other applications, such as Joomla, Magento, Drupal, and other PHP-based apps.
How does WP Engine pricing compare to Cloudways?
The main difference between WP Engine and Cloudways is that WP Engine offers plans based on core feature limitations and number of sites you can host.
With Cloudways, you can launch unlimited websites on any plan, ensuring you get full access to all features regardless of the plan you choose. This flexible approach makes Cloudways one of the best alternatives to WP Engine, especially for growing businesses that need scalability.
WP Engine’s lowest plan starts at $30/month for just one site, while Cloudways allows you to start for as low as $11/month with unlimited sites, offering a much more cost-effective solution.
What kind of support do I get with Cloudways?
At Cloudways, we believe no one should stress about their website being down or not working. We put a lot of effort and resources into making that a reality, with the help of our support team.
Standard Support: It’s free and includes 24/7/365 access to Live Chat assistance with trained Support Team members.
Advanced Support add-on: Speeds up Live Chat response times and includes deeper application troubleshooting, customization support, and proactive monitoring.
Premium Support add-on: For businesses running mission-critical sites where every minute matters. Advanced service with even quicker response times, a dedicated Account Manager, a private Slack channel, and direct phone support.
Can I see speed tests comparing Cloudways vs WP Engine?
Yes! You can read our in-depth articles comparing Cloudways vs WP Engine, including overall performance and speed tests, or read this 3rd party review of Cloudways vs. WP Engine (with speed tests)
How does Cloudways caching compare to WP Engine?
Cloudways offers an out-of-the-box caching stack which includes Memcached, Varnish, Nginx, and Redis to deliver fast responses. WP Engine forces you to install an Advanced Caching plugin to match this level of performance.
WP Engine also disallows plugins like WP Super Cache, WP File Cache, and W3 Total Cache, preventing you to apply further optimizations that can’t be done server-side.
Is CDN available with Cloudways?
Yes — it’s included on any plan you choose. You can easily set up CDN from your dashboard, even if you’ve never done this kind of integration before. Cloudflare Enterprise delivers extremely fast experiences for your user, starting as low as $5/app/month.
How can I be sure my business site is safe?
Security is a top priority at Cloudways. We take a proactive approach to keeping your servers safe and secure from malicious traffic, malware and attacks.
These measures are available on any plan you choose:
- Dedicated Firewalls
- 1-Click Free SSL Certificate
- IP Whitelisting
- Regular Security Patching
- Two-Factor Authentication
- Bot Protection
1. All information regarding WP Engine has been sourced from their official website and is accurate as of 2026.
2. The information in this section has been procured from G2 as of 2026 and may be subject to change.