Cloudways vs AWS 2026: Which Cloud Hosting Should You Choose?
Cloudways and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are two leading cloud hosting platforms, but they serve different audiences. Cloudways offers managed hosting on top of cloud infrastructure, while AWS provides raw cloud computing power. We compared both on pricing, performance, ease of use, and support to help you decide. For a detailed look at Cloudways, read our full Cloudways review. If you are new to cloud hosting, our cloud hosting guide covers everything you need to know.
Quick Verdict
Cloudways wins for most users with its managed platform offering 99.99% uptime, free daily backups, built-in CDN, and beginner-friendly interface at nearly 3x lower cost than AWS. AWS is better for large enterprises with complex infrastructure needs and technical teams. For Indian businesses, both offer Mumbai and Hyderabad data centers.
Side by Side Comparison
| Feature | Cloudways | AWS | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | ₹1,002/mo | ₹3,500/mo | Cloudways |
| Renewal Price | ₹1,002/mo | ₹3,500/mo | Cloudways |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.9% | Cloudways |
| Avg Load Time | 280ms | 350ms | Cloudways |
| Data Centers (India) | Mumbai, Hyderabad | Mumbai, Hyderabad | Tie |
| Managed vs Unmanaged | Fully Managed | Unmanaged (partial options) | Cloudways |
| Learning Curve | Easy (Beginner friendly) | Steep (Requires technical knowledge) | Cloudways |
| Scalability | Easy vertical scaling | Complex but powerful | Cloudways |
| Free CDN | Breeze CDN (Free) | CloudFront (Paid) | Cloudways |
| Daily Backups | Automatic (Free) | Paid service | Cloudways |
| SSH/Root Access | Yes (Full access) | Yes (Full access) | Tie |
| Support Quality | 24/7 Live Chat + Ticket | Paid Support Plans | Cloudways |
Pricing Comparison
Cloudways
Cloudways uses a pay-as-you-go model with transparent pricing.
No hidden fees. Price includes management, backups, and CDN.
AWS (EC2)
AWS pricing is complex with pay-per-use components.
+ Data transfer, storage, and support costs extra.
Performance Comparison
Cloudways Performance
- ✓99.99% uptime guarantee (verified)
- ✓Average load time: 280ms from India
- ✓Built-in Breeze CDN for global delivery
- ✓Mumbai data center for Indian audiences
- ✓SSD-based storage for fast I/O
- ✓Varnish cache for improved performance
AWS Performance
- ✓99.9% uptime SLA (EC2)
- ✓Average load time: 350ms from India
- ✓CloudFront CDN available (paid)
- ✓Mumbai region (ap-south-1)
- ✓Multiple instance types for optimization
- ✓Auto-scaling capabilities
Features Comparison
| Feature | Cloudways | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Free CDN | Breeze CDN (Free) | CloudFront (Paid) |
| Daily Backups | Automatic & Free | Paid (EBS Snapshots) |
| SSH/Root Access | Yes (Full) | Yes (Full) |
| SSL Certificates | Free Let's Encrypt | Free (ACM) |
| Staging Environment | One-click staging | Manual setup |
| Team Collaboration | Built-in | IAM required |
| Monitoring | Built-in metrics | CloudWatch |
Support Comparison
Cloudways
- ✓24/7 Live Chat (Instant responses)
- ✓Ticket system with tracking
- ✓Knowledge base and tutorials
- ✓Community forum
- ✓Dedicated account manager (higher plans)
- ✓Free migration assistance
AWS
- ○Community forums and documentation
- ○AWS re:Post (Q&A platform)
- ○Paid support plans (Developer, Business, Enterprise)
- ○Professional services (extra cost)
- ○Partner network for managed services
- ○Self-service troubleshooting
Basic support starts at ₹2,900/month
Scalability Comparison
Cloudways Scalability
Cloudways offers vertical scaling with a simple slider. You can increase RAM, CPU, and storage with a single click. No downtime required. However, scaling is limited to your current cloud provider resources. Best for websites that need predictable scaling without complex infrastructure management.
AWS Scalability
AWS provides virtually unlimited horizontal and vertical scaling through Auto Scaling Groups, Load Balancers, and multi-region deployments. Requires technical expertise to configure properly. You pay only for what you use, but costs can escalate quickly with traffic spikes.
Final Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
Choose Cloudways If
- ✓You want managed hosting without technical complexity
- ✓Budget is a primary concern (3x cheaper than AWS)
- ✓You need quick deployment and easy management
- ✓Free daily backups and CDN are important
- ✓You are migrating from traditional shared/VPS hosting
- ✓Your traffic is predictable and not enterprise-scale
Choose AWS If
- ✓You have a large enterprise with complex infrastructure needs
- ✓You need multi-region deployment and global redundancy
- ✓You have technical staff familiar with cloud architecture
- ✓You require advanced services (Lambda, RDS, S3 integrations)
- ✓You need predictable performance at massive scale
- ✓Cost optimization at scale is achievable with your team
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Cloudways vs AWS FAQ
Is Cloudways cheaper than AWS?
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Yes, Cloudways is significantly cheaper than AWS for most use cases. Cloudways starts at around ₹1,002/month for a basic DigitalOcean server, while AWS t3.micro starts at ₹3,500/month before additional costs for storage, data transfer, and support. Cloudways pricing includes management, backups, and CDN, whereas these are add-on costs with AWS.
Which has better performance, Cloudways or AWS?
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Cloudways offers slightly better raw performance for typical websites, with an average load time of 280ms from India compared to AWS at 350ms. Cloudways also guarantees 99.99% uptime versus AWS 99.9%. However, AWS can provide better performance at massive scale with proper architecture and multiple regions.
Is Cloudways good for enterprise websites?
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Cloudways is best suited for small to medium businesses and agencies rather than large enterprises. While it can handle significant traffic, enterprises with complex requirements, multiple teams, compliance needs, and massive scale might find AWS more appropriate. Cloudways maxes out at around 8GB RAM per server, while AWS offers much larger instance types.
Can I migrate from AWS to Cloudways?
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Yes, Cloudways offers free migration assistance for your websites. Their team can help you move from AWS to Cloudways, though the complexity depends on your current AWS setup. Keep in mind that you will need to export your data, recreate any custom AWS services, and reconfigure your domain settings.
Which is easier to use, Cloudways or AWS?
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Cloudways is significantly easier to use than AWS. It provides a clean, intuitive control panel that lets you deploy servers in minutes without dealing with complex dashboards. AWS has a steep learning curve and requires technical expertise to navigate its hundreds of services. If ease of use is your priority, Cloudways wins by a wide margin.
Shijil S is a digital marketing professional with over 8 years of experience in web hosting, SEO, and online growth strategies. As the founder of Best Hosting India, he personally tests every hosting provider featured on this site from real Indian server locations. His background in technical SEO and performance optimization gives him a unique perspective on evaluating hosting providers for speed, uptime, and reliability. He has helped hundreds of businesses choose the right hosting infrastructure for their online presence.