Kinsta vs Cloudways – Which One Should You Choose?

If you search “fastest WordPress hosting,” there’s a good chance Cloudways and Kinsta are among the top web hosts. But, these web hosts serve different audiences, though there’s overlap. One host is better and offers more value than others in some specific hosting areas, including server speed.

Cloudways is versatile, allows you to choose from five cloud providers, and seems to be cheaper than Kinsta. On the other hand, Kinsta is WordPress-focused and easier to use, making it the ideal choice for truly managed WordPress hosting. 

However, things get complicated when considering ease of use, fully managed hosting, flexibility, and high-performance hosting infrastructure.

Fairly enough, I have used both Kinsta and Cloudways. So, I think it’s best to share my practical experience on which is the best web host. 

So, let’s begin with how easy it is to navigate their platform and your dashboard. 

Check my standalone review of Kinsta, or if you need more details about Cloudways’ review.

Dashboard and Ease of Use

Both web hosts provide a custom dashboard, which means no cPanel. The dashboard has everything you’ll need to manage your account, servers, database, billing, applications, etc. 

From a user standpoint, a first-time customer will navigate the MyKinsta dashboard and hosting features better than with Cloudways. The Kinsta dashboard is more beginner-friendly and easier to use. 

Finding your way around specific hosting features doesn’t require more time to familiarize yourself with the environment. 

Cloudways has done a good job, too, especially in recent years. Revamping its classic interface to the new look. Still, Kinsta is one step ahead in this regard. 

Anyway, both web hosts make it convenient to use their platform. You can easily install WordPress, manage server-side applications, connect to databases, check error logs, monitor hosting performance and resources, invoices, hosting add-ons, etc. 

Performance

I’m interested in discussing Cloudways’ and Kinsta’s performance: the web host that provides a real-world, high-speed, optimal experience. 

I don’t want to go by what both web hosts shared on their websites. You read all the sales pitches and shining hosting features on their landing pages. 

Instead, I set up a demo site and ran basic hosting performance tests. This way, I can show you, with evidence, which web host is the best regarding raw server performance between Kinsta and Cloudways. 

So, I created a test site on the Cloudways DigitalOcean server (1 GB RAM, 1 Core processor). Then, I set up a test site on the Kinsta platform with 6 PHP threads, 8GB RAM, and 12 CPUs, which are the default for a standard Kinsta site, according to their help doc.

I ensured the test site was identical. Here’s what we have: an Astra theme with starter templates (Boocah theme) and a few known WordPress plugins: Rank Math, Spectra, Kadence Block, SureForms, and HelloDolly. 

Here is our demo site for this Kinsta vs Cloudways head-to-head comparison. 

Once the site went live, I tested it with GT Metrix, Pingdom, WebPage Test, and SpeedVitals for Time to First Byte. I wanted to see which web host performs better straight out of the box, without much external script, visits, and a loaded database. 

Here are the results.

Cloudways – Pingdom result.

GT Metrix result

Time to First Byte Result with Speed Vitals testing tool

The time to First Byte test between Cloudways and Kinsta needs a bit more context or explanation. Though Cloudways provides better TTFB, it’s not as straightforward as you see. Both web hosts have their coverage region where they provide better TTFB. 

Here is a breakdown of the result. 

Kinsta TTFB result according to SpeedVitals

Cloudways and Kinsta TTFB score best in the Americas data centers. Cloudway is the better choice if your traffic is mainly from the European Union. 

Both web hosts’ TTFB is poor for users in Asia Pacific and Africa, with Kinsta’s average 1.3 seconds TTFB and Cloudways’s 678 ms TTFB. 

In addition, I tested the server response time to see which web hosts generate and respond to client requests the faster. 

One thing is clear from these tests: Cloudways has an edge over Kinsta in terms of raw server performance. 

However, things could take a different direction when you add more resources to your site, like additional plugins, third-party scripts, page builders, eCommerce features, images, etc.

At that time, your web host-optimized server stacks foundation could significantly help your optimization efforts. 

Hosting Features and Server Options 

Kinsta and Cloudways strive to provide innovative hosting features tailored to help you better manage your business. 

You have the basic and advanced hosting tools you’d expect, such as site management features, server-level tools, performance optimizations, server monitoring, DNS management, automatic updates, regular automatic backup, security features, one-click staging, dev tools, etc.

Because Kinsta is a WordPress platform first, the hosting features work seamlessly with the WordPress ecosystem. Cloudways is more versatile, allowing you to host other applications like Drupal, Magento, Laravel, PHP, custom applications, etc. 

Both web hosts support WordPress multisite, WooCommerce, static sites, and database hosting. 

Unlike Kinsta, which runs entirely on Google’s Cloud Platform, Cloudways works with five providers: 

• DigitalOcean.
• Linode.
• Vultr.
• Amazon Web Service.
• Google Compute Engine. 

Cloudways’s choice of provider could be a significant advantage in choosing a data center closer to your ideal audience. 

For instance, as of writing this line, Kinsta offers 37 data centers spread across the continents—North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. Cloudways has over 65 data centers in more regions. More cloud providers simply means more data centers. 

While Kinsta runs on Google’s compute-optimized C2 and C3D virtual machines and hosts your site in a containerized environment, it uses SSD drives. Compared to Cloudways’ NVMe disc, SSD drives are considered slower, which is another advantage of Cloudways over Kinsta. 

The Kinsta and Cloudways server stacks include NGINX, PHP-FPM, MySQL, and MariaDB. In addition, your Cloudways servers run on this setup: Debian 11 (nicknamed bullseye), Varnish, Apache, Imunify 360, and Memcached. 

Cloudways is more open about its base server setup.

Cloudways also deploys Object Cache Pro (a database and backend cache plugin) freely with your WordPress installation. However, it costs $95 monthly if you purchase it directly from the developer’s website. 

In contrast, Kinsta charges $100 monthly for the Redis add-on, which is less performance-effective than Object Cache Pro. 

One of the advantages of Kinsta over Cloudways is the integrated CDN from Cloudflare, which is free for all Kinsta sites. Cloudways charges an extra $4.99/month for its Cloudways Enterprise solution. There’s a reduced price if you host more than 5 sites. 

Cloudways offers 100GB of bandwidth monthly, while Kinsta’s Single 35k plan (the basic plan) offers 125 GB CDN bandwidth monthly. Higher Kinsta plans offer more bandwidth limits.

However, it is unclear if the Kinsta CDN is actually Cloudflare’s “Enterprise solution” or a fine-tuned package with several key features missing. Cloudways is open about its Cloudflare Enterprise integration features. You can see what’s available on your Cloudflare settings. 

Here’s what the Kinsta CDN setting screen looks like. 

Cloudways CDN setting screen. Note the words Cloudflare Enterprise on the screen.

Another hosting feature worth discussion in this Kinsta vs Cloudways is their backup solutions. 

Kinsta takes things to another level with its various backup options. 

There is daily automatic backup, hourly backup (6-hour interval or every hour), system-generated, manual download, and off-site backup to Amazon S3 and Google Cloud for a small monthly fee of $2. 

Cloudways allows you to back up your entire server, which you can run on demand or schedule. The server-level backup consists of all applications on the server. 

At the application level, Cloudways automatically runs a daily backup, and you can run an on-demand backup. Off-site backup costs $0.033 per GB. 

Kinsta does not allow other backup plugins except UpDraftPlus. I have not heard of any official list of banned plugins in Cloudways. Check the list of plugins not allowed in the Kinsta platform.

Cloudways is more scalable than Kinsta because you can easily add more server resources (Vertically) without contacting support. From your dashboard, locate the server you want to scale and select your RAM and server disk size accordingly.

While Kinsta is also scalable, you need to contact support upfront to discuss increasing your plan’s limits without upgrading to a higher hosting plan. This may not be the best approach for sites that experience sudden traffic spikes or want to take full control of their server resources.

Security

Protecting your site is a priority. This section discusses how Kinsta and Cloudways provide security measures to mitigate attacks and protect your digital assets. 

Since both web hosts utilize Cloudflare CDN, your site is protected by WAF (Web Application Firewall), DDoS protection, WebSockets, a free SSL certificate, comment spam and scraping protection, bruteforce, bots and malicious traffic, etc. 

Kinsta is fully managed; it handles automatic updates of plugins, themes, and WordPress core at no extra cost. Cloudways also has automatic Safe Updates, but you must pay a small fee ($3/month for under 5 sites, $2/month for 6 sites upward) to enable the add-on. 

Malware removal services are free at Kinsta. The support team will clean your site of malware infections at no cost. Cloudways malware add-on scans, protects, and removes infections automatically, but it’s not free like Kinsta. The price starts at $4 monthly; the more sites you activate, the lower the price. 

Cloudways uses other security tools, such as Fail2ban, Imunify 360 (for server-level firewall), regular security patches and base software updates, a vulnerability scanner with PatchStack, IP management, etc. 

Kinsta and Cloudways provide advanced monitoring tools (New Relic) to analyze server and application health efficiently. You can track traffic, cache, resource usage, CDN bandwidth, access error logs, and more. Kinsta has its own free APM (Application Performance Monitoring).

SFTP/SSH, Git, and WP-CLI are all available on Kinsta and Cloudways platforms, allowing developers to manage developments, automate tasks, and deploy changes without hassle. 

You can switch PHP versions at the server level and update to the most current version anytime. You can also upgrade and downgrade to older versions of PHP. This gives you control over which version works best for your specific development. 

Overall, Cloudways and Kinsta have sufficient web security features. They ensure your site is secure from hackers and guarantee 99.9% availability. 

Support

Kinsta provides 24/7 expert-level support for all its users, regardless of account level. The Kinsta support team monitors your site 480 times daily, ensuring your application remains active, secure, and always working as expected. 

Beyond this, Kinsta is available on various support channels, including email ticketing systems, phone calls, live chat, booking appointments, social media, and WhatsApp. Plus, the Kinsta community lets you share ideas, collaborate, and get help from other Kinsta users. 

Cloudways offers standard support 24/7 for all users. You can access Cloudways’ knowledge base articles, submit tickets, and get help via live chat. 

Standard support means Cloudways will resolve any issue affecting your Cloudways platform and its infrastructure. However, if you have issues with your WordPress application, use the knowledge base article and guides. 

If you need Cloudways’ priority support and faster response time for application-level, proactive monitoring and investigation, and customization support, you can choose between the Advanced SLA and Premium SLA support add-ons. 

The advanced SLA support add-on costs $100/monthly (or 10% of your total invoice), and the Premium SLA add-on costs $500 monthly (or 10% of your total invoice), whichever is higher. Learn more about Cloudways’ support limit. 

Kinsta offers more free support than Cloudways.

Pricing

Kinsta operates a tiered plan with capped hosting resources. You pay (upfront) a fixed hosting price based on your subscription. Kinsta hosting plans vary based on traffic limits, storage space, CDN bandwidth, and backup retention availability. 

You select the plan that best fits your expected traffic limits and number of installed WordPress sites. If you exceed the resource limits, you pay for the extra usage. 

One significant turnoff about Kinsta hosting is the excessive addon charges. 

Kinsta has some add-on charges that are outright unnecessary and simply rip off its customers. For example, the Redis and reverse proxy add-ons. I haven’t seen any other host charge extra for such a thing. 

There are other premium Kinsta add-ons you can check on this page. 

Cloudways’ hosting price is more flexible and open. You only pay for server resources you actually use within the month, and invoices are settled in the first week of the following month. 

Unlike Kinsta, Cloudways does not have capped traffic or website limits. Instead, you pay for server space, bandwidth, and the CPU core. This allows you to host as many applications as possible on a single server, provided the resources can accommodate the usage and combined traffic from all applications on the server. 

Hosting plan prices vary based on the cloud server provider, RAM size, bandwidth, and CPU processor. 

For example, the DigitalOcean premium server with 25GB NVme disc, 1GB RAM, 1 Core processor, and 1TB bandwidth costs $14 monthly, while the same specification on the standard DigitalOcean server costs $11 monthly. 

One advantage of Cloudways’ hosting price over Kinsta’s pricing structure is the pay-as-you-go model. With Cloudways, you can subscribe to the pay-as-you-go plan, which can benefit seasonal businesses, short-term campaigns, testing, viral marketing campaigns, etc. 

Let’s say you want to run a two-week ad campaign for a business. Instead of paying a full month’s hosting plan, the PAYGO plan gives you absolute control over billing and saves your budget. 

Cloudways does have its add-on charges, such as Safe Updates, Cloudflare Enterprise, Astra Pro add-on, Elastic email, DNS made easy, malware protection, Rackspace email, and application migration add-on. 

Some of these add-ons, such as Astra Pro, Cloudflare Enterprise, Rackspace, and Elastic email add-ons, are justified. However, Cloudways could be better for SafeUpdates and application migration. 

For context, Kinsta offers unlimited free migration services regardless of site complexity. Your first migration to Cloudways is free; subsequent migrations cost $25 if you request support. However, you can use their migration plugin and won’t need to request assistance from the support team.

Cloudways SafeUpdates extends beyond regular plugin, theme, and WordPress updates. It automates testing updates in a safe Staging hosting environment, detects any security or performance risk, and carefully deploys the updates to your live site if no issues are detected. 

It performs thorough testing, including visual regression, HTML and logs, and performance checks. Before this process, it automatically backs up your site and can roll back to the previous state if the update has issues.  

For small business owners, spending a few extra dollars could be worth it to protect your asset. 

Kinsta vs Cloudways Pros and Cons

Conclusion

Cloudways and Kinsta offer robust security features, advanced hosting tools, and a powerful cloud platform, so whichever option you choose is better.

Regarding pricing, Cloudways is cheaper, more flexible, and offers more hosting resources than Kinsta. Cloudways DigitalOcean’s basic plan (standard server) with 25GB disc space costs $11 monthly, while the Kinsta Single 35K plan with 10GB SSD costs $30 monthly. 

Cloudways is better performance-wise. Kinsta is not bad either; it’s just that Cloudways’ TTFB and server response time are slightly better. 

If support is a priority, Kinsta is the better choice. You can reach out to a Kinsta rep from more sources than Cloudways. In addition, there are no add-on charges for Kinsta support, and every user receives first-class WordPress-led expert assistance. 

If you plan on hosting a CMS other than WordPress, choose Cloudways. The platform supports other content management systems and readily provides support and tools to improve your experience.

Cloudways or Kinsta? You have a choice. I have given you the information you need to make the right decision.