Cloudways vs Kinsta Pricing (2026)

Which one is cheaper?

Cloudways starts lower at $14/mo, compared to $30/mo for Kinsta.

Can I use either one for free?

Kinsta has a free plan. Cloudways doesn't — though they do offer a free trial.

How do they charge?

Both use a hybrid model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. Cloudways: Cloudways sits in the middle of the managed hosting pack — cheaper than fully managed premium players like WP Engine or Kinsta, but pricier than raw cloud hosting since you're paying for the management layer on top of DigitalOcean/AWS/Vultr costs. They're clearly courting developers and agencies who want cloud flexibility without babysitting servers, not enterprises who'd go straight to AWS. Kinsta: Kinsta sits firmly in premium managed-hosting territory, priced well above budget shared hosts and even above mid-market managed WP options — this is a play for teams and agencies who'll pay for performance and support, not price-sensitive hobbyists. They're competing with the likes of WP Engine for the 'my client sites can't go down' crowd, not the $5/mo hosting crowd.

Still deciding? See the best Cloudways alternatives or the best Kinsta alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.