SiteGround vs Cloudways: Complete 2026 Comparison
In-depth comparison of these two hosting providers across pricing, performance, features, and support.
Result
It's a Tie!
- Both hosts are evenly matched
- Choose based on your specific needs
Category Winners
Best Price
SiteGround
$2.99/mo vs $Infinity/mo
Best Value
Cloudways
Lower renewal markup (0% vs 502%)
Best Performance
Cloudways
99.99% uptime, 4.2/5 rating
Best Support
SiteGround
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Cloudways
SSH, Git, Staging, Node.js
Best for Beginners
SiteGround
Higher ease of use score (8.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Shared Hosting | VPS Hosting |
| Monthly Price | $2.99/mo | — |
| Renewal Price | $17.99 | — |
| Renewal Markup | 502% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 4.1/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.8/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 26,149 | 3,600 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $35.88 | $168.00 |
| Second Year Cost | $215.88 | $168.00 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days | 0 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | — | |
| Minimum Contract | — | — |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 10 GB | 25 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD (GOOGLE CLOUD) | SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered GB | 1000 GB |
| Max Websites | 1 | Unlimited |
| Max Databases | — | Unlimited |
| PHP Versions | 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | ||
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | — | |
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | — | |
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | Advanced (AI anti-bot, WAF, IDS/IPS) | Bot Protection and Firewall via Cloudflare |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Daily | Hourly to Daily (configurable: 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, daily) |
| Backup Retention | 30 days | 14 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Phone, Live Chat, Ticket, Knowledge Base, AI Assistant | Live Chat, Ticket, Knowledge Base, Phone (Premium add-on), Slack (Premium add-on) |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7 | 24/7/365 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7 | Premium Support add-on only |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English, Spanish, Italian | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | 2 min |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | — | — |
| Mailbox Size | 10 GB | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Cloudflare CDN (170+ edge locations via Google Cloud) | Cloudflare Enterprise CDN |
| Server Locations | Ashburn, VA (US), Council Bluffs, IA (US), Dallas, TX (US), Los Angeles, CA (US), Eemshaven (Netherlands), London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Paris (France), Singapore, Sydney (Australia) | US (Multiple), Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Singapore, Australia, Japan, India, Brazil |
| Server Location Count | 10 | 65 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | — | |
| Brotli Compression | — | |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | Site Tools | Cloudways Platform |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | SiteGround Website Builder | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 1 | 1 |
| Migration Turnaround | 5 days | 2 days |
| Paid Migration Cost | $35.00 | — |
| Migration Quality | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | Google Cloud certified | SOC 2, ISO 27001 |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 5.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 4.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Features Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 5.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Developers | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 4.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unmetered; no overage charges | Pay-as-you-go; bandwidth included varies by plan (1TB base); overage charged at provider rates |
| Storage Overage | Must upgrade plan; inode limits enforced strictly | Pay-as-you-go; can upgrade server size or add block storage |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | — | |
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | — | |
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2004 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Bulgaria | Malta |
| Parent Company | SiteGround Capital (Cyprus-registered holding) | DigitalOcean (acquired September 2022 for $350M) |
| Green Hosting | — | — |
| Instant Activation | — | |
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, Australia, Singapore, Spain, Italy | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Australia |
| Local Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, AUD | USD, EUR, GBP |
| Support Languages | English, Spanish, Italian | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR, SOC 2 |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 | 4.7/5 |
| BBB Rating | Not Accredited | N/A (Malta-based, no US BBB listing) |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | 200,000 | — |
| Max DB Size | 1 GB | — |
| Max Upload Size | 24 MB | — |
| Database Type | — | MySQL/MariaDB |
| Elasticsearch | — | |
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | Unlimited |
| FTP Accounts | — | Unlimited |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | Monthly subscriptions excluded; Cloud hosting only 14 days; Domains non-refundable (may be charged if waived initially); Third-party services non-refundable; SSL certificates non-refundable; Reseller hosting non-refundable; SiteGround Wallet balance non-refundable; TOS violators not eligible | No money-back guarantee; pay-as-you-go model means you only pay for resources used; unused prepaid funds can be refunded within 3 months of adding funds |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | — |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (Wildcard SSL when using SiteGround DNS) | Let's Encrypt |
| Dedicated IP Cost | $4.5/mo | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Italy | United States |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | — | |
| Object Cache Type | Memcached (SuperCacher) | Redis/Memcached |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Flat rate (tiered) | Recurring |
| Commission Amount | $50-$100 per sale (1-5 sales: $50, 6-10: $75, 11-20: $100, 21+: custom); 60-day cookie; weekly PayPal payout; no minimum threshold; free to join | Up to $125 per referral or lifetime 7% recurring; 90-day cookie |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | $0.00 | — |
| Account Suspension Policy | Exceeding inode limits causes suspension; TOS violations lead to termination; abuse investigated promptly | Account suspended for TOS violations; servers still billed until deleted; fraud prevention enforcement active |
| Malware Removal Cost | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | WordPress users needing premium managed hosting; Users prioritizing excellent 24/7 support (phone/chat/ticket); Performance-focused sites (Google Cloud infrastructure); Developers needing staging/Git/SSH; International users (10 data center locations); Users wanting 30-day backup retention; Security-conscious users (AI anti-bot, WAF) | Developers and agencies needing managed cloud hosting; WordPress/WooCommerce sites needing scalable performance; Users wanting flexibility across AWS, GCP, DO, Vultr, Linode; Teams needing staging environments and Git deployment; Growing businesses that need to scale quickly; Users who want cloud power without server management |
| Avoid If | Budget-conscious at renewal (6x markup); Need free domain included; Want traditional VPS hosting; Prefer cPanel over proprietary panels; Need cheap entry-level hosting; Sensitive to strict inode limits | Need email hosting included; Want traditional shared hosting pricing; Prefer cPanel; Need domain registration; Budget-conscious with predictable monthly costs; New to web hosting (steeper learning curve) |
| Known Issues | Renewal prices 6x higher than promo ($2.99 → $17.99); No free domain included (most competitors include one); Strict inode limits can suspend accounts; Cloud hosting only 14-day refund; Monthly plans excluded from money-back guarantee; No traditional VPS offering; On-demand backups require GrowBig+; $35 fee for additional migrations; Entry-level StartUp plan limited (no staging, no on-demand backups) | Email hosting not included (requires third-party add-on at extra cost); No domain registration; Backup storage charged separately at $0.033/GB; DNS hosting is paid add-on; Premium Support with phone/Slack costs extra; Pay-as-you-go billing can be confusing; Charged in arrears for previous month; Some users report billing issues and being charged after cancellation; No cPanel (proprietary panel); Post-DigitalOcean acquisition some users report declining support quality |
| Unique Selling Point | Premium WordPress hosting on Google Cloud with industry-leading 24/7 support | Managed cloud hosting across 5 providers (AWS, GCP, DO, Vultr, Linode) with pay-as-you-go flexibility |
| Ideal Customer | WordPress site owner who prioritizes performance and support over price | Developer or agency wanting managed cloud power without server administration complexity |
| Best Alternative To | Bluehost | WP Engine |
| Primary Competitors | Bluehost, Hostinger, Cloudways | Kinsta, WP Engine, Flywheel |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose SiteGround if you...
- Require 24/7 live chat support
- Are new to web hosting
Choose Cloudways if you...
- Prefer more predictable renewal pricing
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.2/5)
- Want to run Node.js applications
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want more server locations (65 available)