Hostinger vs Cloudways: Features, Pricing and Verdict
Hostinger starts at $2.99 a month on a 48-month term; Cloudways starts at $11 a month with no renewal jump. We compare pricing, features and fit.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-12T07:27:06+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-12T07:27:06+00:00
Hostinger vs Cloudways: Features, Pricing and Verdict
Hostinger and Cloudways solve the same problem in different ways. Hostinger sells low-cost shared hosting with a fixed monthly price. Cloudways sells managed cloud hosting where you pay for the server size you choose. The cheapest Hostinger plan starts at $2.99 a month on a 48-month term. The cheapest Cloudways server starts at $11 a month. The gap is real, and so is the difference in what you get. This comparison breaks down pricing, features, and who each host fits.
Hostinger vs Cloudways at a glance
| Feature | Hostinger | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting type | Shared and cloud hosting | Managed cloud hosting |
| Starting price | $2.99 a month (48-month term) | $11 a month |
| Renewal price | $10.99 a month (Premium) | Same price, no renewal increase |
| Websites | 3 on Premium, unlimited above | Unlimited per server |
| Visit caps | None stated on plan cards | None |
| Free domain | Free for 1 year | Not included |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | Free trial, no credit card required |
| Control panel | hPanel (own panel) | Cloudways dashboard |
Hostinger vs Cloudways pricing
Hostinger prices depend on the billing term. The headline rate needs a 48-month prepayment. The renewal rate is much higher, and it is printed under each plan card.
| Hostinger plan | 48-month intro | Paid upfront | Renews at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | $2.99 a month | $143.52 | $10.99 a month |
| Unlimited | $3.99 a month | $191.52 | $16.99 a month |
| Cloud Startup | $7.99 a month | $383.52 | $25.99 a month |
Shorter terms cost more per month. On a 12-month term, Premium is $3.99 a month, Unlimited is $4.99, and Cloud Startup is $9.99. Month-to-month billing is $11.99, $19.99, and $27.99. The renewal price stays the same whatever term you first bought. A Black Friday promotion was running in late 2026 with lower intro rates, so check the live page before you buy.
Cloudways prices by server size, not by plan tier. You pick a cloud provider and a server size. The bill stays the same month after month. There is no intro rate and no renewal jump.
| Cloudways server (DigitalOcean) | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $11 a month |
| 2 GB | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | $24 a month |
| 4 GB | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | $46 a month |
| 8 GB | 8 GB | 160 GB | 5 TB | $88 a month |
The $11 server is the entry point. Premium droplets cost more than standard ones for the same size. The same ladder exists on Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud, with different prices per provider. Cloudways also sells Autonomous, a Kubernetes autoscaling product for WordPress. Its plans are Growth at $99 a month, Scale at $199, and Plus at $399.
Shared hosting vs managed cloud hosting
Hostinger shared hosting puts your site on a server shared with other sites. Resources are split between accounts. That keeps the price low. It also means a busy neighbour can affect your site. Hostinger manages the server for you. You work in hPanel, Hostinger's own control panel.
Cloudways gives you a dedicated cloud server. No other customer shares it. You choose the provider and the data center. Cloudways manages the server, the stack, and the security patches. You never log in to the underlying server unless you want to. This is the core difference. Hostinger sells cheap space on a shared server. Cloudways sells a managed slice of a big cloud.
For a small blog or a new business site, shared hosting is enough. For a store with steady traffic, or an agency hosting client sites, a dedicated cloud server gives more headroom. The right choice depends on traffic and on how much control you want.
Features compared
Hostinger Premium covers up to 3 websites with 20 GB of SSD storage and weekly backups. Unlimited covers unlimited websites with 50 GB of NVMe storage and daily backups. Cloud Startup covers unlimited websites with 100 GB of NVMe storage, daily and on-demand backups, and a dedicated IP address. All three include a free domain for the first year, free SSL, a CDN, and email free for the first year.
Cloudways includes unlimited websites on every server. There are no visit caps and no traffic overages. Bandwidth starts at 1 TB on the smallest server. Every plan includes free SSL, automated backups, staging, and 24/7 expert support. The Cloudflare Enterprise add-on costs $4.99 a month per domain. Object Cache Pro is free on servers with 4 GB of RAM or more.
Support differs in scope. Hostinger offers 24/7 support for hosting issues. Cloudways offers 24/7 expert support for infrastructure. Neither covers fixing your WordPress theme or plugin code. That is standard for managed hosting. Check the support terms before you buy if you need application-level help.
Backups differ too. Hostinger Premium backs up weekly. Unlimited and Cloud Startup back up daily. Cloudways backs up automatically, and you can take on-demand backups. Off-site backup storage carries a small per-GB charge on Cloudways.
Who should choose Hostinger
Choose Hostinger if you want the lowest possible monthly cost. It fits a personal blog, a portfolio, or a small business site with modest traffic. The 48-month prepayment is the trade-off. You pay $143.52 upfront for Premium. After four years, the price rises to $10.99 a month.
Hostinger also fits beginners. The plans bundle a domain, SSL, email, and a website builder in one place. You manage everything from hPanel. There is one bill and one login.
Who should choose Cloudways
Choose Cloudways if your site has outgrown shared hosting. It fits WooCommerce stores, membership sites, and agencies. You get a dedicated server, no visit caps, and room to scale by moving a slider. The bill is predictable. The price you sign up at is the price you keep paying.
Cloudways also fits teams that host several sites. One server can hold unlimited sites. The cost per site drops as you add more. Developers get staging, cloning, SSH, and Git tools without managing a raw server.
Bottom line
Hostinger wins on price. Cloudways wins on power and predictability. Pick Hostinger for a small site where cost matters most, and watch the renewal price. Pick Cloudways when traffic, growth, or client work needs a dedicated server. If you are unsure, start with Hostinger and move when traffic or revenue justifies the higher monthly bill.