Cloudways isn't shared hosting — it's managed cloud, and that's the point. From $11/mo you get a server on DigitalOcean, AWS or Google Cloud infrastructure with the sysadmin work done for you: no renewal hikes, no intro games, just pay-as-you-go pricing and 1-click vertical scaling. The 3-day free trial is short and there's no email hosting — but for growing sites and agencies, it's the most honest pricing on this list.
There is no intro/renewal split at all: $11/mo this month is $11/mo next year. Scale up (more RAM/CPU) in one click and the price moves linearly with resources. Over three years a base server costs $396 — more than shared hosting, less than any premium shared plan at renewal. The 3-day trial lets you test-drive free, no card required.
Buy it if: your site is growing, you're an agency managing client sites, or you want cloud power without learning server admin.
Skip it if: you run a simple blog or portfolio — shared hosting is cheaper and simpler.
Managed cloud without the server admin. Pick your cloud (DigitalOcean, AWS…), scale in one click.
InterServer 9.4/10 — first month $0.01 with code DEVHOST01, then $7/mo locked forever.
No — it's managed cloud hosting. You get dedicated resources on cloud infrastructure (DigitalOcean, AWS, etc.) with a management layer on top, so it behaves like a VPS you never have to administer.
No. That's the product: Cloudways handles setup, security patches and scaling. You manage your site, not the server.
DigitalOcean for price and simplicity, AWS or Google Cloud if you're already in those ecosystems. You can migrate between them later.
Instead of a refund window there's a 3-day free trial with no card required. After that it's pay-as-you-go — stop anytime.