Guides · 2026-08-28
Kinsta vs Cloudways: the real numbers
Kinsta and Cloudways sit next to each other on every “best managed WordPress” list, which hides the fact that they sell fundamentally different things. Kinsta sells a finished service metered by traffic. Cloudways sells managed server resources you size yourself. Which one is cheaper depends almost entirely on which of those models fits your site — so here are the actual numbers, side by side.
The two pricing models
Kinstahosts your site on Google Cloud’s premium tier and prices by plan: number of WordPress sites and CDN bandwidth (it meters bandwidth, not raw visits). Everything is included and pre-tuned — enterprise CDN, edge caching, daily backups, staging, malware removal, and support staffed by WordPress engineers. You never see a server.
Cloudwaysputs a managed WordPress stack on a cloud server you choose (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS…) and prices by that server’s size: $11/mo buys a 1GB machine, $24/mo a 2GB one, $46/mo 4GB. Visits and sites are unlimited — the server’s capacity is the only ceiling. You get caching, backups, staging and SSL managed for you, but you pick (and can outgrow) the box.
Cost at four traffic levels
Cheapest fitting plan for a WordPress site, list prices as of 2026-08-28:
| Traffic | Kinsta | Cloudways | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby / side project (~5,000/mo) | $35 · Single 20GB | $11 · Micro | Cloudways |
| Startup / small business (~50,000/mo) | $35 · Single 20GB | $11 · Micro | Cloudways |
| E-commerce (~200,000/mo) | $70 · WP 2 (may not fit) | $11 · Micro | Cloudways |
| High traffic (~1,000,000/mo) | $70 · WP 2 (may not fit) | $24 · Small | Cloudways |
The pattern is consistent: Cloudways wins on price at every traffic level, by roughly 2–6× depending on tier. That is not a knock on Kinsta — it’s what the models predict. Kinsta bundles labour (real WordPress engineers, proactive monitoring, malware cleanup) into every plan; Cloudways bundles less labour and passes the raw-infrastructure price through. The question is never “which is cheaper” — Cloudways is — but whether the gap buys things you’d otherwise pay for in time or incidents.
What the Kinsta premium actually buys
- Support depth. Kinsta support will debug a slow query or a broken plugin with you. Cloudways support keeps the platform and server healthy — your application is your problem.
- Zero server decisions. On Cloudways you choose the cloud, the size, and when to resize. Kinsta scales the infrastructure invisibly; you only watch the bandwidth meter.
- Included enterprise CDN and image optimization. On Cloudways, a comparable CDN/optimization layer is an add-on or a Cloudflare setup you own.
- Malware guarantee.Kinsta removes infections for free. On Cloudways that’s the bot-protection add-on plus your own hands.
Traps on each side
Kinsta’s meter: plans are per-site with CDN-bandwidth caps — a traffic spike or an image-heavy site can push you into overages or the next tier fast. Check your current bandwidth before assuming the $35 plan fits. Cloudways’ ceiling:unlimited visits meets 1GB of RAM eventually. WooCommerce with a fat plugin stack on the $11 box will crawl; realistically you’re a $24–46/mo customer, which narrows (but doesn’t close) the gap to Kinsta.
Bottom line
- Freelancer/agency running several client sites, comfortable near a server: Cloudways — unlimited sites on one resizable box is the whole business case. See Cloudways pricing.
- Business-critical single site, no ops appetite, downtime costs money: Kinsta — the premium is an insurance policy with an engineering team attached. See Kinsta plans.
- Budget-first small site: honestly, neither — start at the cheapest managed WordPress tier and upgrade when it hurts.
Dig deeper
Head-to-head table: Kinsta vs Cloudways. Plan-by-plan: WordPress on Kinsta · WordPress on Cloudways. Or rank every host for your traffic in the calculator.
Methodology: prices are official list prices as of 2026-08-28, refreshed weekly. Both hosts pay affiliate commissions (disclosed in the footer); commissions never change the math — the table above says Cloudways is cheaper at every level, and we’d earn more if you picked Kinsta.