When you sign up to Cloudways and start your first server, you need to pick a cloud provider. Cloudways works as a managed layer on top of five infrastructure suppliers: DigitalOcean, Linode (now Akamai), Vultr, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The right choice depends on your budget, where your audience is based, and how much raw power your site needs.
Why Are There Different Hosting Suppliers on Cloudways?
Cloudways doesn’t own the underlying hardware. Instead, it rents server capacity from major cloud infrastructure providers and wraps it with a managed dashboard, one-click app installs, automated backups, and built-in caching. You pay Cloudways for the management layer; Cloudways pays the cloud provider for the actual compute. For a complete breakdown of features and pricing, read our full Cloudways review.
This means you get access to enterprise-grade infrastructure at a much lower price than managing it yourself, without needing to know how to configure Linux, set up firewalls, or install PHP from scratch.
The Five Cloudways Cloud Providers Compared
Here is what each provider offers on Cloudways:
- DigitalOcean: The most popular choice. Starts at $14/month for 1 GB RAM. Good global coverage (NYC, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Singapore, Bangalore, Toronto). Fast deployment, predictable pricing, and strong performance for WordPress. Best for most small-to-medium sites.
- Linode / Akamai: Similar pricing to DigitalOcean. Good US and EU coverage. Linode was acquired by Akamai and benefits from that CDN infrastructure. Best for US/EU audiences on a tight budget who want an alternative to DigitalOcean.
- Vultr: Slightly cheaper on entry plans. Wide location network including some regions DigitalOcean doesn’t cover (Miami, Tokyo, Seoul). Best for sites with audiences in Asia-Pacific or Latin America.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS): The most expensive option on Cloudways, but also the most powerful and globally distributed. Best for high-traffic sites, businesses that need AWS region compliance, or teams already in the AWS ecosystem. For a detailed look at AWS Lightsail pricing, free tier, and how it compares to using Cloudways on AWS, see our Amazon Web Services review.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Premium pricing comparable to AWS. Fast global network and excellent uptime. Best for sites that need top-tier speed across global audiences, or businesses already using Google services.
Entry-Tier Pricing Per Provider
These are the approximate starting monthly costs on Cloudways as of 2025. Prices vary slightly by region and change over time, so check the Cloudways pricing page for current figures.
- DigitalOcean 1 GB: ~$14/month (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB bandwidth)
- Linode 1 GB: ~$14/month (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB bandwidth)
- Vultr 1 GB: ~$11/month (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB bandwidth)
- AWS Lightsail 1 GB: ~$36/month (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM via Cloudways billing)
- GCP 1 GB: ~$37/month (varies by machine type and region)
Note: AWS and GCP on Cloudways bill differently than the other three. Bandwidth overage on DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode is included in the base plan up to the threshold; AWS and GCP charge separately for data transfer out, which can add meaningfully to the bill on high-traffic sites. If you are on a tight budget, stick with DigitalOcean, Vultr, or Linode.
How to Choose Between Hosting Suppliers
There are several factors that make the difference in which hosting supplier you use on Cloudways:
Cost
DigitalOcean and Vultr are the most budget-friendly options, starting around $11-$14/month. For a deeper look at DigitalOcean's standalone pricing and Droplet tiers, see our hosting guide. AWS and GCP are typically 2-3x more expensive for the same specifications. Budget also matters for bandwidth, since AWS and GCP charge extra for high data transfer, which gets added to your monthly bill.
Server Locations
All providers have locations across the world, but in different areas. If you want your website to perform best for audiences in Asia, Vultr covers more Asian cities. If you need strong EU or UK coverage, all five providers have European data centres. See our guide on choosing the best Cloudways server location for the full breakdown of regions.
Choosing the right location matters because better speed directly impacts revenue. Research shows you lose roughly 7% of revenue for every extra second of load time.
Scalability and Resources
Not all providers offer the same resource tiers. AWS and GCP have higher maximum limits, useful for sites that may need to scale to dozens of CPUs or hundreds of GB of RAM. DigitalOcean and Linode have defined scalability tiers that suit most sites but cap out lower than the cloud giants.
Can You Switch Cloud Providers on Cloudways?
Yes, you can switch cloud providers on Cloudways, but not with a simple in-place migration. Cloudways does not offer a one-click button to move a running server from DigitalOcean to AWS. The process involves a few steps:
- Deploy a new server on the target provider inside your Cloudways account.
- Use the Cloudways clone or migrate tool to copy your application across to the new server.
- Test the cloned application on the new server before pointing your domain to it.
- Update your DNS to point to the new server’s IP address.
- Once the site is confirmed live on the new provider, delete the old server to stop paying for it.
Your Cloudways account stays the same throughout. The migration tool handles application files and the database, so the transfer is straightforward for most WordPress sites. The main cost to watch is running both servers at the same time during the transition period, typically a day or two.
This flexibility is one of Cloudways’ genuine advantages over traditional managed WordPress hosts. You can start on a cheaper provider and move to AWS or GCP later without rebuilding from scratch.
Provider Performance on Cloudways: What the Benchmarks Show
All five Cloudways providers use modern NVMe-backed SSD storage and physically similar infrastructure for small servers, so raw benchmark differences between DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode at the entry tier are small. The meaningful performance differences come from network latency (how close the server is to your visitors) rather than CPU or storage speed. Here is what independent testing and real-world monitoring typically shows:
DigitalOcean
Consistent TTFB under 200ms for cached WordPress pages from a server located in the same region as the test. DigitalOcean’s network infrastructure is well-peered and reliable. The NYC, Frankfurt, and Singapore data centres are the most popular on Cloudways, and each performs within a similar TTFB range when the test origin is nearby. For sites where the server region matches most of the audience, DigitalOcean is the most proven performer at the entry tier.
Vultr
Comparable to DigitalOcean on raw performance at the same specification. The advantage is location coverage: Vultr operates data centres in Miami, Seoul, and Osaka that DigitalOcean does not. For sites with audiences in Southeast Asia or Latin America, Vultr can deliver 40 to 80ms lower TTFB than the nearest DigitalOcean option. If your analytics show strong traffic from those regions, the Vultr location advantage is real.
Linode (Akamai)
Performance equivalent to DigitalOcean in shared benchmark tests. The Akamai acquisition has not materially changed Linode’s hosting performance for typical WordPress workloads. A practical reason to choose Linode is if you already have other infrastructure there, or if the specific Linode data centre location (Dallas, Fremont, or Newark) serves your audience better than DigitalOcean’s alternatives.
AWS Lightsail
Raw performance is comparable to the other providers, but the real advantage is network reach. AWS’s global backbone means data leaving your server travels on AWS infrastructure longer before entering the public internet, which tends to reduce packet loss on intercontinental routes. This matters for sites serving audiences on multiple continents. For a single-region site, the performance difference versus DigitalOcean does not justify the 2 to 3x higher cost.
Google Cloud Platform
GCP uses Google’s own fiber network for egress traffic, which delivers low latency for globally distributed audiences. Premium Tier networking (the default on Cloudways) routes traffic over Google’s backbone rather than the public internet. Like AWS, the performance advantage materialises at scale and across regions. For high-traffic sites where every millisecond of TTFB matters globally, GCP is competitive with AWS. For a site serving one primary region, the cost premium does not pay off versus DigitalOcean or Vultr.
The practical takeaway: For the vast majority of sites, all three budget providers (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode) will perform within a few milliseconds of each other when the server is in the right region. The right provider choice is mostly about geography (where your audience is) and price (budget vs scale). Provider performance only becomes a meaningful differentiator when you are running high-traffic sites that need AWS or GCP’s global backbone, or when your audience is in a region only one provider covers well.
Which Provider Should You Pick?
- First WordPress site or small blog: DigitalOcean 1 GB or 2 GB plan
- Agency or ecommerce on a budget: DigitalOcean or Linode 2-4 GB plan
- Asia-Pacific or Latin America audience: Vultr for better region coverage
- High-traffic site or enterprise compliance: AWS or GCP
- Not sure? DigitalOcean is the default choice for good reason: broad regions, stable pricing, and the largest Cloudways user base means the most community support available
Final Word: What Hosting Supplier Should I Choose on Cloudways?
For most users starting on Cloudways, DigitalOcean is the default choice. It offers the best balance of price, performance, and global coverage. For a deeper look at DigitalOcean as a standalone platform, see our full DigitalOcean review. Vultr is worth considering if your main audience is in Asia or Latin America. AWS and GCP are for sites that need serious scale or already use those ecosystems. Sign up to Cloudways now and you can switch providers later if your needs change. The account stays the same regardless of which infrastructure supplier you start on.
