If you’re thinking about using a cloud hosting provider, you might be wondering if Cloudways or DigitalOcean is better!

After comparing DigitalOcean and Cloudways’ key features, pricing, customer service, security, and ease of use – I found that Cloudways has better features overall… However, depending on the type of website you have, DigitalOcean still may be a good option.

Keep reading so you can make an informed decision for yourself.

Overall Comparison Cloudways vs DigitalOcean

Winner:  Cloudways

Cloudways is not restricted to one cloud provider and has over 65 data centers, which makes it stand out from most other cloud hosting providers. DigitalOcean still remains a tough Cloudways competitor though – especially when it comes to performance and pricing.

About Cloudways and DigitalOcean

Cloudways was founded in 2012 and is a managed cloud hosting platform. It provides users with an easy-to-use platform to launch, manage, and scale applications on top of the world’s leading cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, and Kyup. It’s the perfect solution for anyone looking to quickly launch applications with minimal effort and little technical knowledge required.

DigitalOcean is a cloud computing platform that provides developers and businesses with a wide range of cloud services. DigitalOcean specializes in Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which allows customers to create and manage virtual machines on the web in minutes, making it easy for them to deploy and scale applications quickly. The company’s cloud servers are designed for maximum uptime and scalability, and they offer a wide range of storage solutions, including block storage, object storage, and distributed file systems.

Round 1: Hosting features – Key Hosting Features and Services

Key Cloudways Features

Cloudways features a variety of cloud hosting services, all designed to help businesses create and deliver high-performing websites. Some key features include server-level caching, automatic scaling, monitoring tools, and more. Plus, with support for over 65 data centers worldwide, Cloudways makes it easy to host your site from anywhere.

Key DigitalOcean Features

DigitalOcean is the perfect choice for the novice to experienced professional, offering friendly features for all levels of users. It provides an optimized cloud platform with a wide range of options that allow conscious control over resources handled by its services.

DigitalOcean provides automation tools, along with friendly documentation and support, allowing users to build and launch stunning applications in no time.

And the winner is… Cloudways

As a business, you’re always striving to improve performance and find ways to work smarter (not harder). Luckily, Cloudways provides the option to select from various cloud providers. And if you ever have any questions or run into problems? The team of expert developers is always ready and willing to help out.

Round 2: Prices & Plans

Cloudways Pricing Plans

Every pricing tier on Cloudways gives you the option to choose from 5 different cloud hosting providers (DigitalOcean, VULTR, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud):

• Entry Plan is best for new websites with a few pages (personal portfolio or small business).
• Basic Plan is best for small business websites (E-commerce and news websites).
• Middle Plan is best for agencies and medium-sized businesses (E-commerce, service based businesses).
• Highest Plan is best for large corporations (IT companies, portals).

DigitalOcean Pricing Plans

Every pricing tier on DigitalOcean gives you three or more options to choose from: Droplets, Kubernetes, and Databases.

• Entry Plan is best for new websites with a few pages (personal portfolio or small business).
• Basic Plan is best for small business websites (E-commerce and news websites).
• Middle Plan is best for agencies and medium-sized businesses (E-commerce, service-based businesses).
• Highest Plan is best for large corporations (IT companies, portals).

And the Winner Is…Cloudways

Although DigitalOcean’s starting price is less than Cloudways, the distribution of the plans and the options provided by Cloudways is much better than DigitalOcean’s. Also, all the technical terms on DigitalOcean’s pricing page may confuse a beginner.

Round 3: Website performance (Uptime & Speed)

Uptime is the measurement of a website or server’s availability. It is expressed as a percentage, with 100% meaning the site was up and running all the time. If a website has an uptime of 99%, it means that it was down 1% of the time.

The speed and load time of your website directly affects how quickly visitors can access your content, and thus has an impact on their overall experience.

Cloudways Uptime & Speed

Cloudways took a TTFB of 256 ms on GMetrix which is decent and an overall performance of 70%.

On PageSpeed Insights, the host had a fair 72% performance and a satisfactory TTFB of 1.2s.

DigitalOcean Uptime & Speed

DigitalOcean’s TTFB on GMetrix was 112 ms, an excellent figure, plus a superb overall performance of 92%.

However, on PageSpeed Insights the score wasn’t so impressive but it was still better than Cloudways.

And the Winner Is…DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean wins this round as it performed much better on our speed and performance tests.

Round 4: Customer Support – Who Has the Best Support System?

Cloudways customer Support

The live chat support option is only limited to a chatbot. Even though I didn’t end up speaking to a real person, the bot was helpful in answering my questions. If I wanted to ask a more personalized query, they prompted me to log into my account.

Overall, I was pleased with how smoothly the chatbot ran.

In addition to the live chat, Cloudways provides several other support channels like email, knowledgebase, and blogs.

DigitalOcean customer Support

If you don’t purchase DigitalOcean’s Premier Support, which is the only support that includes live chat, you’ll be left with limited options.

As a free user, your support options will be limited to email and tickets. Their video guides and knowledgebase can also be helpful for your queries.

And the Winner Is…Cloudways

I think live chat and other support options must be available for all users. That’s why Cloudways is a clear winner in this round.

Round 5: Ease of use – Which Platform Is Easier to Use?

Cloudways Ease of use

Cloudways’ website is designed incredibly well and it’s easy to find whatever you need on their homepage. Their theme and color combinations are top-notch!

Cloudways doesn’t use a traditional cPanel but the functions are similar. You can create backups, request migrations, and enable GIT with one tap.

For those of us who aren’t experienced, it can be tough to determine which sections and tools on the dashboard are important. However, the support team is there to guide you!

DigitalOcean Ease of use

DigitalOcean’s simplistic, yet aesthetically pleasing design makes navigating its pages easy, allowing users to access all the features and settings they need with minimal effort.

The UI of their cPanel is simple yet powerful, making it easy to deploy a website quickly and manage its resources with ease.

And the Winner Is…DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean wins this round, hands down. Their user-friendly website and control panel makes it the top choice for businesses seeking a user-friendly cloud hosting option.

Round 6: Security – Which Platform is More Secure?

Cloudways Security

Each server on Cloudways has an OS-level firewall enabled, and all connections are encrypted. Cloudways also provides a Web Application Firewall (WAF), which effectively blocks attackers who try to gain unauthorized access to your website.

SSL certificates secure traffic between servers and client browsers. To combat DDoS attacks, their platform is equipped with powerful detection tools to identify any unusual activities and protect your website from attack.

DigitalOcean Security

DigitalOcean includes Network-based Firewalls, SSH keys for direct data transfer, Backup and Recovery to make sure all your important information is stored in a secure location, as well as Let’s Encrypt Certificate which provides an encryption layer when accessing your website or application.

And the Winner Is…Cloudways

DigitalOcean provides excellent security features but features offered by Cloudways are unbeatable!

Round 7: Server locations

Server location is a critical factor to consider based on your business needs. For instance, if many of your visitors come from a specific geographical area, then having a server located closer to that region would help minimize latency and loading problems for them. It affects your ability to generate leads and make sales and your search engine ranking.

Cloudways Server location

Cloudways has 65+ data centers spread across the world, including locations in America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

• In America, Cloudways has data centers in Canada (Montreal, Toronto), Brazil (Sao Paulo), and the USA (San Francisco, New York City, Newark, Fremont, Iowa, South Carolina, North Virginia, Las Vegas, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Mexico City, Northern Virginia, California, Ohio, Oregon.
• In Europe Cloudways has data centers in the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany (Frankfurt), Sweden(Stockholm), Italy(Milan), Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Ireland.
• In Asia Cloudways data centers are present in Japan (Tokyo), South Korea, India (Bangalore, Mumbai), and China (Taiwan, Hong Kong).
• Australia (Sydney)

DigitalOcean Server location

DigitalOcean has 12 data centers in different locations of the world.

• The US – New York City (NYC1, NYC2, NYC3) and San Francisco (SFO1, SFO2)
• Canada – Toronto (TOR1)
• United Kingdom – London (LON1)
• Germany – Frankfurt (FRA1)
• Netherlands – Amsterdam (AMS2, AMS3)
• Singapore – SGP1
• India – Bangalore (BLR1)

And the Winner Is…Cloudways

Cloudways has more than 65 data centers all over the world while DIgital Ocean has only 12. So, Cloudways is a clear winner in this round!

Cloudways  vs DigitalOcean: final recommendations

When to Choose Cloudways?

Cloudways is the better option for enterprise-grade cloud hosting. It’s best to choose Cloudways when:

• You want an intuitive user interface, highly optimized servers, and 24/7 friendly customer support
• Your website requires top-notch security features
• You want a hosting platform that provides exceptional scalability as Cloudways does with its AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, and Vultr managed cloud infrastructures
• You prefer a platform with widespread data centers all over the world
• You want a built-in caching system and fast deployment options.

When it comes to lightning-fast performance on reliable cloud infrastructure without the complexities of managing it yourself, choose Cloudways for all your web hosting needs.

Go for DigitalOcean  if you:

DigitalOcean is an excellent cloud hosting platform but novices may have trouble getting the hang of it. You should go for this option if:

• You want flexible pricing on managed VMs (virtual machines)
• If you’re familiar with cloud platforms and how they work
• If you’re a developer with advanced skills and know-how to scale up

The Bottom Line

Both Cloudways and DigitalOcean offer reliable cloud-hosting solutions, but Cloudways has some distinct advantages. Most notably, it offers robust panel control for easy use and scalability features for enterprise-level performance. It also includes comprehensive support options such as live chat, email, knowledgebase, blog resources, and video guides. Moreover, its quick response time from the chat ensures great customer service.

Finally, with over 65 data centers available worldwide, Cloudways makes it easier for businesses to find their perfect hosting solution. Ultimately, these features make Cloudways an excellent choice for web hosting needs.

FAQs

1. Is Cloudways better than DigitalOcean?

Cloudways is better than DigitalOcean when it comes to hosting features, server locations, security, and customer support. However, DigitalOcean suits people who are new to cloud hosting.

2. Is DigitalOcean cheaper than Cloudways?

Yes, DigitalOcean’s most basic plan starts at $4/month which is cheaper than Cloudways starting plan at $6/month.

3. What are the best Cloudways and DigitalOcean alternatives?

The best Cloudways and DigitalOcean alternatives are Kamatera, A2Hosting, InMotion, Hostwinds, and Dream host.