Cloudways vs Bluehost 2026: A Detailed Comparison

Cloudways vs Bluehost: Getting Started

This article compares Cloudways vs Bluehost, two popular managed WordPress hosting providers.

In general, Cloudways and Bluehost offer similar features. However, the results differ when you look at the technical details and real-world performance.

So if you want to choose one, you might find this article helpful.

I analyzed both services across several parameters, including performance, uptime reliability, security, pricing, and technical support.

The verdict at the end of each section will help you determine which service provider is best for your business blog or website.

However, before we compare Cloudways vs. Bluehost, let’s first understand the top reasons to buy a managed WordPress hosting service.

The Benefits of Managed WordPress Hosting Services

A managed WordPress hosting service is a specialized solution that only a few companies offer.

You can set up your website on shared hosting, VPS hosting, or a dedicated server.

However, managed WordPress hosting provides exceptional performance, reliable security, and absolute peace of mind.

Because a managed WordPress hosting provider handles full server management, it saves you the hassle of technical tasks. 

Instead of stressing over minutiae, you can focus on creating and maintaining the best WordPress site possible.

Cloudways vs Bluehost: A Brief Introduction

When you think about WordPress hosting, two names come to mind: Bluehost and Cloudways.

Both companies offer excellent hosting packages suitable for bloggers, internet entrepreneurs, web developers, and small businesses.

Each of them excels at making WordPress hosting accessible to everyone.

In general, both companies operate similarly.

Despite sharing the same operating style, Cloudways and Bluehost differ in significant ways, which we cover in this article.

So after reviewing Cloudways vs Bluehost features, performance, pricing, and other key factors, you can decide which one is right for you.

1. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Speed Performance

Cloudways Performance

Cloudways offers SSD-based cloud hosting with managed servers that automatically resume when problems arise. 

With Cloudways Thunderstack, a PHP stack installed on world-class cloud providers paired with the world’s best server software, you can expect noticeably faster websites right out of the box.

Cloudways’ priority CDN, tiered caching, and advanced image & mobile optimization help deliver content as fast as possible, reducing latency, load times, and bandwidth usage.

Cloudways performs well on speed tests, so you can be confident your website runs at its best. 

Bluehost Performance 

With solid-state drives (SSDs) and a lower server density on Bluehost WP Pro plans, WordPress websites load faster, resulting in improved load times compared with traditional hosting services.

Moreover, Bluehost ensures all users on a managed WordPress hosting server have quick access to their resources. 

Although Bluehost’s hosting service isn’t faster than Cloudways, it is undoubtedly one of the most affordable and has various useful features.

Verdict

Considering the website speed performance, Cloudways is a clear winner.

2. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Uptime Reliability

Looking at a provider’s uptime statistics is the quickest and most straightforward way to gauge reliability in web hosting. 

It measures how often servers operate without errors.

Every hosting company strives for 100% uptime and takes preventive actions to minimize server downtime. 

Nevertheless, even minor problems make it almost impossible to achieve. With that in mind, service providers can put technologies in place to proactively prevent problems. 

They may also have established procedures to cover all bases in case of a failure. Both Cloudways and Bluehost excel at it.

Still, you might want to see which performs better.

Cloudways Uptime Reliability

Cloudways includes some cutting-edge technology to guard against accidents. For example, all of the servers have auto-healing capabilities. As a result, if a performance issue arises, the server will restart itself. Most problems are fixed by the restart, which takes only a few minutes to complete.

The company guarantees a 99.999% uptime, which is impressive.

Bluehost Uptime Reliability

Bluehost also works to address issues quickly. According to the company’s Server Uptime Agreement, most problems get fixed in 15 minutes or less. If not, Bluehost might offer account credit to offset any expenses you incur due to the outage. Right now, Bluehost’s uptime rating is around 99.9%.

Verdict

While Bluehost’s 99.9% uptime is respectable, Cloudways comes out slightly ahead. 

3. Cloudways vs Bluehost Resource Limits and Scalability

Cloudways Resource Limits and Scalability

With Cloudways, you can select the number of CPU cores and the amount of RAM you need when creating your account.

You can also add extra server resources without purchasing a new plan. 

Easy vertical scaling is one reason many people move their sites to Cloudways.

This feature lets you scale your plan or server size with a click.

Moreover, Cloudways handles resource-intensive plugins/tasks better than Bluehost, such as WooCommerce, page builders, and other heavy WordPress plugins.

As a result, WooCommerce stores and other popular websites switch to Cloudways to get the best possible performance.

Bluehost Resource Limits and Scalability

Purchasing a Bluehost plan might be a good idea, but what if your traffic increases or you need to add several more plugins? 

You may experience CPU overages if your current hosting package doesn’t provide enough server resources. 

In that case, you’d need to purchase a new plan on Bluehost (and you never know whether they’ll honor the discounted introductory rate). 

Be aware of Bluehost’s CPU limits and 503 errors. The CPU throttling may slow down your website and the admin panel. 

In addition to CPU limits, Bluehost imposes strict limits on the number of inodes per account, which can be troublesome if you publish large amounts of content regularly or want to host email there.

Verdict

After reviewing both hosting services’ resource limits and server scalability, Cloudways wins hands down. 

4. Cloudways vs Bluehost: User Interface

A user interface (UI) should be clean and easy to navigate, letting users manage everything under one roof. 

Let’s compare Bluehost and Cloudways user interfaces to see which is more user-friendly.

Cloudways User Interface

With Cloudways, you’ll have access to a custom dashboard.

Although it appears simple, the Cloudways dashboard provides plenty of useful tools to manage your server and websites.

The Servers and Applications tab contains most of the information, such as backups & restores, SSLs, staging, migration tools, CDN, and more.

This UI has unmistakably precise settings and is easy to navigate.

As a result, you can effortlessly launch & manage your apps, add server resources, and perform backups.

Here is a screenshot of the Cloudways dashboard.

Request a demo if you want to learn more about Cloudways before purchasing.

The product specialists will try to answer all of your questions.

Bluehost User Interface

Bluehost’s backend is simple and uses a customized control panel.

However, I dislike unnecessary paid tool options and marketing tactics spoiling the user experience. 

A new style and more user-friendly settings could significantly improve the Bluehost user interface.

Verdict

User interface choice is subjective. While I enjoy Cloudways’ UI, it may not be for everyone. So both services receive equal points here.

5. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Security Features

Websites are susceptible to malware, hacking attempts, privacy invasions, DDoS assaults, and other threats.

Because of this, you must implement strong security measures to protect your website and visitors from malicious attacks.

Fortunately, both Bluehost and Cloudways offer built-in security features.

Let’s take a closer look. 

Cloudways Security Features

Installing SSL certificates is no longer optional. 

Since SSL certificates encrypt communication between the client device and the server, visitors check whether a website uses one.

Cloudways provides a free SSL certificate with auto-renewal.

Besides that, you get the following features by hosting your website or app on Cloudways servers:

• Automatic/on-demand backups & restores
• Web Application Firewalls (WAF) analyze millions of sites and 32 million requests per second to identify and block attackers and emerging threats!
• Cloudways mitigates DDoS attacks in under 3 seconds using dedicated IP ranges.
• Login security and suspicious device login control paired with two-factor authentication (2FA) enhance platform security and prevent unauthorized access.
• Cloudways implements solid operating system security and database security.
• Use Malcare’s technology solutions to protect your WordPress websites from malicious bots, brute force login attacks, and Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks.
• Users can run multiple applications on the same server, but each is isolated from the others, preventing server-wide issues.
• GDPR compliance demonstrates the company’s customer data security commitment

Bluehost Security Features

Bluehost customers receive free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates.

With increasingly sophisticated hacking techniques for stealing user data, an SSL certificate tells your visitors that your website is secure and trustworthy. 

Backups can save you if something goes wrong with your website.

Unfortunately, Bluehost does not offer scheduled backups across all hosting plans by default. Instead, only select Bluehost plans get an automatic backup feature.

The company has started developing more security features, such as SSO, two-factor authentication (2FA), and token-based account validation.

Future updates will include additional security features.

Verdict

Bluehost and Cloudways offer their customers free SSL certificates and other basic security features. However, Cloudways has the edge regarding advanced security features and privacy protection.

6. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Data Centers and Networks

A hosting provider’s data centers heavily influence performance and reliability. Your website’s data is stored there. 

So the data center location, the tech stack, and connection speed have a massive impact on the user experience of visitors accessing your site.

Cloudways Data Centers and Networks

Compared with traditional hosting companies, Cloudways takes a slightly different approach. 

It doesn’t own any data centers, unlike Bluehost. 

The company has partnered with the world’s top five cloud providers for server resources, including:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Google Compute Engine (GCE)
• Vultr
• Digital Ocean
• Linode

Currently, Cloudways has 65+ data centers across five continents.  

Moreover, using networks from these providers has a few advantages. 

First, you don’t have to worry about performance issues. 

These networks are well established and have substantial financial backing. 

Some of the biggest websites use these networks, so you’re in good company.

Second, downtime can’t exceed certain limits. 

Third, Cloudways spreads data across several cloud servers instead of storing it on a single server.

Visitors will connect to the closest cloud server to load content, which speeds up connections. 

Bluehost Data Centers and Networks

Some sources claim that the company has data centers in the US, Europe, and Asia. However, Bluehost does not specify the locations.  

That’s because the company prioritizes safeguarding and securing its data centers. 

All facilities are connected to redundant power sources and various emergency mechanisms to ensure uninterrupted website access. 

Select the server location closest to your target audience when subscribing to a managed WordPress service to achieve the best speed performance.

Verdict

Despite Bluehost’s strong efforts to build a global data center network for high availability, it still falls behind Cloudways.

Bluehost’s speed performance and uptime data indicate this.

In contrast, with Cloudways’ extensive network options and reliable data centers, visitors are less likely to encounter these problems while browsing your site.

Therefore, you should choose Cloudways over Bluehost whenever possible.

7. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Website Migrations

Essentially, migration is the process of transferring all of your website data from one server to another. 

A site migration service ensures a smooth data transfer when you switch providers.

Cloudways Site Migrations

If you already have a WordPress site and want to move it to Cloudways, you can use the Cloudways migrator plugin.

It facilitates the site transfer by providing step-by-step instructions to securely move your data from your existing server to Cloudways servers.

Cloudways also offers Managed Application Migration, where cloud experts handle the heavy lifting and ensure a smooth migration.

Bluehost Site Migrations

Bluehost has recently released a free guided website migration service. 

With Bluehost Site Migrator, your WordPress site is backed up and securely transferred to Bluehost. 

You can review your site at a temporary URL once it’s been transferred. 

After you confirm, the Bluehost technical team will make the final adjustments to complete the migration.

As an alternative to free migration, the company offers a paid migration service for a more customized experience.

Verdict

While both companies offer guided website migrations using their WordPress plugins, Cloudways offers one free managed migration.

With Bluehost, you have to pay for managed migrations. So once again, Cloudways wins.

8. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Customer Support 

Often, users ignore customer support services when choosing a hosting provider. 

Encountering an issue that you cannot resolve can be quite frustrating.

So, before comparing Bluehost vs Cloudways, review customer support options.

Cloudways Customer Support

Cloudways customers receive 24/7/365 live chat and ticketing support, with improved SLAs.

This includes infrastructure, platform, and application support, plus proactive monitoring, across three support tiers.

The Advanced Support add-on gives you priority in the support queue and offers customization support.

The Premium support add-on includes all Advanced support features, plus a 24/7/365 Private Slack channel and phone support to connect your team directly with Cloudways senior support engineers.

However, Advanced and Premium support add-ons cost $100/month and $500/month, respectively, with a six-month commitment.

Previously, customer support was one of Cloudways’ weak points; however, it has been improving rapidly.

Cloudways also offers a comprehensive knowledge base for self-help.

Bluehost Customer Support

Bluehost customers have 24/7 access to technical support through live chat, email, or the online ticketing system. 

You can also reach support engineers by phone at 888-401-4678. Please note that international calling fees may apply.

A comprehensive knowledge base is also available. It includes troubleshooting manuals, step-by-step instructions, and more. 

Verdict

Response times are generally excellent for both providers. Cloudways deserves special recognition for its superb customer service.

The company employs highly qualified professionals who can do more than answer questions.

However, if you’re a complete novice, you won’t notice much difference in support quality between the two providers.

9. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Pricing Plans

Next, let’s compare the prices of each provider’s plans. 

Managed WordPress hosting services typically cost a little more than standard shared hosting packages. 

So, you should expect to pay more for the fully managed service and personalized support.

Cloudways Pricing Plans

Unlike most other hosting providers, Cloudways has a pay-as-you-go pricing model. So, the Cloudways hosting prices vary considerably based on your cloud provider, server resources, and add-on features.

Below is a complete breakdown of Cloudways pricing.

1. Cloudways DigitalOcean Plans

The Cloudways DigitalOcean packages include up to 160 GB of SSD storage, 8 GB of RAM, 4 CPU cores, and 5 TB of bandwidth.

The DigitalOcean Standard plans start at $10/month and go up to $80/month, while the DigitalOcean Premium plans start at $12/month and go up to $96/month.

2. Cloudways Vultr Plans

Cloudways Vultr packages offer up to 4 CPU cores, 256 GB of SSD storage, 8 GB of RAM, and 4 TB of bandwidth.

The Vultr Standard plans range from $11/month to $84/month, while the Vultr High-Frequency plans range from $13/month to $100/month.

3. Cloudways Linode Plans

Cloudways Linode plans include up to 4 CPU cores, 8 GB of RAM, 160 GB of SSD storage, and 5 TB of bandwidth.

Currently, Linode plans cost between $12 and $90 per month, depending on your server configuration.

4. Cloudways AWS Plans

The Cloudways AWS plans include up to 4 CPU cores and 16 GB of RAM.

With AWS plans, you can choose your disk size and pay for bandwidth as you go.

AWS packages with a standard server configuration range from $36.51 to $274.33 per month.

5. Cloudways Google Cloud (GCE) Plans

The Cloudways Google Cloud (GCE) plans include up to 4 CPU cores and 15 GB of RAM.

Like AWS plans, you can configure the disk size and pay for bandwidth as you go with your GCE servers.

Cloudways’ Google Cloud plans with a standard server configuration range from $33.18 to $225.93 per month. Additional charges may apply based on your disk size and bandwidth usage.

Bluehost Plans

Bluehost’s hosting services use a more conventional pricing plan; for example, no subscription has storage or web traffic caps.

For the Bluehost vs Cloudways comparison, we will focus on the managed WordPress plans.

1. Bluehost Build Plan

With Bluehost’s Build Plan, you get site analytics, daily scheduled backups, malware protection, and domain privacy.

The plan costs $29.99 per month. However, with Bluehost’s promotional offer, you can grab it for only $19.95 per month.

2. Bluehost Grow Plan

The Grow Plan includes all the features of the Build Plan, plus Bluehost SEO tools, business review tools, Jetpack ads integration, 10 GB video compression, and 24/7 hands-on assistance with design, functionality, and more from real WordPress experts at no additional cost.

The plan costs $39.99 per month. However, with Bluehost’s introductory offer, you can grab it for only $29.95 per month.

3. Bluehost Scale Plan

Bluehost’s Scale Plan offers advanced e-commerce features for WordPress websites. 

It includes everything in the Build plan, plus unlimited backups & restores, PayPal integration, unlimited video compression, and Elasticsearch integration.

The Scale plan costs $59.99 per month, but you can get it for only $49.95 per month for the initial billing term with Bluehost’s promotional offer.

10. Cloudways vs Bluehost: Discounts

Everyone likes discounts, no matter what hosting service they use.

The good news is that both Cloudways and Bluehost offer their new customers introductory offers and big discounts.

Cloudways Discounts

Cloudways offers a risk-free 3-day trial (no credit card required). This is a great opportunity to test Cloudways’ managed hosting solutions before you buy.

If you like the hosting performance and want to upgrade to a paid plan, use the exclusive Cloudways promo code BFCM802.

The coupon code offers 80% off for two months and is only valid for a limited time.

You can visit Cloudways’ official deals page any time for the latest discounts.

Bluehost Discounts

Bluehost offers numerous discounts across its web hosting services.

You can get up to 73% discounts by purchasing annual plans. However, the savings only apply to the first billing cycle.

Bluehost WP Pro packages don’t receive deep price cuts, even with coupon codes and special offers.

Any WP Pro plan gets you only $10 off, regardless of hosting tenure.

Verdict

Bluehost and Cloudways offer attractive discounts to attract new customers.

While Bluehost offers up to 73% off, the deal applies only to starter hosting packages. Heavy users rarely get discounts this steep. In contrast, Cloudways features a flat 30% discount regardless of the plan you choose.

If you decide to buy managed WordPress hosting, Cloudways is a much better option than Bluehost.

Cloudways vs Bluehost: Conclusion

Bluehost and Cloudways are great managed web hosting options for starting a small business site or a blog. However, if you need more resources and advanced features, Cloudways is a superior choice.

As you can see in the Cloudways vs Bluehost comparison article, Cloudways has emerged as the winner because it aims to provide clients with fast, reliable hosting.

Despite being a strong competitor, Bluehost needs to improve in many areas, including speed, security, and customer support. 

So, grab your Cloudways account today, and don’t forget to use the Cloudways coupon code to get an exclusive 80% discount.

Also read: Cloudways vs Kinsta: A Detailed Comparison