Managed WordPress hosting platforms Cloudways and Kinsta are two of the most popular options for launching and growing WordPress sites. They both offer robust hosting plans tailored specifically for WordPress users.
But with somewhat similar offerings, many find it difficult to choose one over the other. This comprehensive guide will break down their key similarities and differences to help you determine the best managed WP host for your needs.
Brief Overview of Cloudways and Kinsta
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting provider founded in 2012. It hosts applications on top cloud infrastructure services like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Google Cloud and AWS. Some key things to know:
- Offers managed hosting for WordPress along with PHP apps, Magento, Drupal etc
- Has data centers in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and Germany
- Known for flexible scaling, high-performance infrastructure and expert support
- Used by over 150000 customers globally
Kinsta specializes in managed WordPress hosting exclusively. Launched in 2013, they are now one of the leading enterprise-grade WP hosting providers.
- Uses Google Cloud infrastructure to host WordPress sites
- Has a global footprint of data centers across 20+ regions
- Boasts of fast load times, high uptime and top-notch security
- Caters to agencies, media publishers and ecommerce stores
Now let‘s analyze their differences across some key criteria:
Pricing and Plans
Both Cloudways and Kinsta have transparent pricing without any hidden fees. Cost varies based on compute resources, storage allocated and sites hosted.
Cloudways Pricing
Cloudways has hourly billing – you pay only for the hours you use the server resources. Plans start from $10/month with a minimum of 2GB RAM.
You can customize server size, choose different cloud providers and scale seamlessly as traffic grows. Their pricing estimator lets you preview the costs based on your preferences.
The more sites you host and the larger your infrastructure, higher are the costs. Enterprise-grade offerings like on-call technical support and private Slack channels cost extra.
Kinsta Pricing
Kinsta has monthly and annual billing cycles. The Starter plan costs $35/month while the Pro Plan is $135/month.
The plans include features like staging sites, Git integration, premium DNS and a bundled CDN. You cannot customize infra like with Cloudways but get extra WP-focused tools.
Kinsta pricing stays fairly consistent irrespective of sites hosted. But beyond monthly visits or pageviews thresholds, overage charges apply.
Winner: Cloudways, for the greater flexibility and hourly billing model
Performance Benchmarks
Speed and uptime are critical for any hosting platform. Let‘s see how Kinsta and Cloudways compare on key performance metrics.
Page Load Times
Independent third-party tests reveal that Kinsta delivers faster load times consistently across global locations. The difference can be anywhere between 20% to 50%+ vis-a-vis Cloudways.
Kinsta‘s custom-built infrastructure and LXD container technology enable segmenting WordPress sites for better resource distribution. Cloudways still posts decent speeds but falls slightly short.
Uptime and Reliability
Both Kinsta and Cloudways promise high reliability with multiple data center locations and failover measures.
Kinsta guarantees 99.9% uptime backed by an SLA. Cloudways does not provide a formal uptime guarantee but users report consistent 95%+ uptimes.
Downtimes are fairly rare with both platforms. Kinsta edges ahead courtesy the SLA-backed pledge.
Winner: Kinsta, for measurably faster load times and uptime SLA
Security Features
Your site‘s security is paramount no matter the size. From malware detection to hack mitigation – a robust security framework is vital.
Core Security Protection
Kinsta and Cloudways check all the right boxes when it comes to security best practices like auto updates, SSL encryption, firewall protection, VPN access and more.
But Kinsta goes a few steps further by isolating sites using LXD containers. This adds an extra layer of attack prevention.
Regular scans, patches and hardening also make Kinsta ultra secure. Cloudways still offers robust protection but gaps exist.
Hack Response
Cloudways does not provide any direct resolution support in case your site gets hacked. You have to investigate and fix it yourself.
Kinsta offers strong hack guarantees. If your site faces a breach, their team will get it back online free of charge in a matter of hours.
Winner: Kinsta, for the hack safety net and added isolation
Support and Customer Service
The quality of support can make or break your hosting experience. Slow response times or unknowledgeable agents can have dire consequences.
Let‘s evaluate how Kinsta and Cloudways fare on assistance options.
Availability of Support Channels
Cloudways provides email, live chat and support ticket channels during business hours. For advanced assistance, paid offerings like priority tickets and phone support are available.
In comparison, Kinsta offers 24/7 live chat and email ticketing to all customers by default. Their support team has deep WordPress expertise to troubleshoot effectively.
Response Times
While both maintain quick response times, Kinsta edges ahead when it comes to support quality. As per user reviews, their support staff resolves queries faster and offer more holistic solutions.
Being solely focused on managed WordPress hosting gives them an advantage here. With Cloudways, delays are more likely as it caters to a diverse customer base.
Winner: Kinsta, for round-the-clock premium support.
Ease of Use
An intuitive dashboard simplifies site management and operations. How easy is it for beginners to get started with Kinsta and Cloudways?
Onboarding Experience
Cloudways has a small learning curve for onboarding. You select the server location, cloud provider, resources and finally launch the WordPress site.
Their dashboard takes some time grasping with the broad range of options. Kinsta scores higher here with their dedicated WordPress platform having everything already pre-configured.
Less technical users find Kinsta easier to setup as optimized defaults are in place. Cloudways lacks hand-holding for initial configs.
Ongoing Management
Cloudways control panel has a developer focus while Kinsta Dashboard is purpose-built for WordPress users.
Kinsta allows easier admin of sites, staging environments, backups, updates etc from one centralized interface.
Tracking metrics or configuring CDNs, object cache requires jumping through multiple Cloudways sections.
Winner: Kinsta, for faster onboarding and easier site management.
Specialized Features and Integrations
The range of value-adds and third-party integrations also impact the hosting experience.
WP-Specific Functionality
Since Kinsta solely focuses on managed WordPress hosting, they offer a wider array of associated tools like:
- Integrated site staging
- WordPress core and plugin updates
- Built-in CDN and image optimizer
- Git version control
- WordPress CLI and WP-CLI access
With Cloudways, you have to rely on plugins for most functions like caching, CDNs, backups etc.
Third-Party Integrations
Cloudways allows connecting to external services like Redis for caching, CloudFlare for CDN needs and LetsEncrypt for free SSL.
You can also link monitoring tools like New Relic APM for tracking performance. Database admins and Docker customization further extend capabilities.
Kinsta offers only limited third-party integrations restricted to Bitbucket pipelines, Slack and Zendesk.
Winner: Tie, based on use case. Kinsta better for WordPress-specific needs while Cloudways has more flexibility.
Platforms and Frameworks Supported
If you ever plan to use other frameworks besides WordPress, the options get limited with Kinsta.
Sites and Apps Hosted
Kinsta focuses exclusively on managed WordPress hosting – from personal blogs to enterprise sites. Hosting any other platform will require combining with a separate hosting provider.
Cloudways has multi-framework support. You can host:
- Content management systems like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Magento
- JavaScript frameworks like React, Vuejs, Angular and Nodejs
- Code repositories and databases
- Mobile and gaming backends
- APIs and microservices
- Cloud-native apps
You can run different stacks together on Cloudways. Kinsta only supports WordPress installations.
Winner: Cloudways, for broader language and framework support beyond just WordPress
Core Differences at a Glance
| Factor | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Choice of DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, Google Cloud, AWS | Only Google Cloud |
| Control Panel | Multi-framework control panel | Tailor-made for WordPress |
| Platforms Supported | WordPress, PHP, NodeJS, Docker, databases etc | Only managed WordPress hosting |
| Plans and Pricing | Pay-as-you-go hourly billing | Monthly and annual plans |
| Performance | Fast load times and reliable uptime | Even faster speeds and SLA-guaranteed uptime |
| Security | Robust security capabilities | Added security via LXD containers and hack restoration |
| Support | Good support with paid premium options | Superior 24/7 support |
| Ease of use | Steeper learning curve | Simpler onboarding focused on WordPress users |
| Specialized WP Features | Available via plugins | Built-in native integrations |
| Extra Features | More third-party integrations | Streamlined WordPress toolkit |
When Should You Choose Cloudways Over Kinsta?
– Cost Savings: With the ability to select cheaper infrastructure services like DigitalOcean or Vultr, Cloudways allows saving 30-40% over Kinsta for the same plan. Hourly billing allows closely aligning costs to traffic patterns.
– Flexible Scaling: Cloudways makes it easy to customize server sizes, switch cloud providers and scale up or down seamlessly. With Kinsta, you are limited to preset configurations bounds by visits and storage quotas.
– Multiple Sites and Frameworks: For running different stacks like Docker, NodeJS, databases, CMSs etc along with WordPress, Cloudways is a better fit over Kinsta‘s single platform focus.
– Developing Custom Apps: If building cloud-native apps, React frontends, serverless functions etc, Cloudways has the edge over Kinsta when it comes to development capabilities and integrations.
– Large Enterprise Workloads: Once you move to dozens of WordPress sites demanding high resources, Cloudways can work out cheaper by leveraging spot instances and bulk discounts.
When Should You Choose Kinsta Over Cloudways?
– WordPress Focus: For managed WordPress hosting specially tuned for optimal WP performance, Kinsta is afantastic choice. Their tailored infrastructure and purpose-built platform is tough to beat.
– Hassle-free Management: Kinsta simplifies WordPress site management with intuitive controls, one-click updates, staging environments etc. Cloudways makes you rely on plugins replicating native features.
– Speed and Reliability: If lightning-fast loads times and rock-solid reliability are key, Kinsta delivers that by virtue of the underlying architecture engineered for WP. Their SLA-backed uptime guarantee provides that extra peace of mind.
– Top-notch Support: Kinsta‘s stellar 24/7 support coverage from WordPress experts helps troubleshoot configuration issues, security threats, performance problems etc better than Cloudways.
– All-inclusive Pricing: Kinsta‘s pricing stays fairly predictable with clear thresholds for visits, storage etc. Cloudways can get complicated to estimate with multiple variables at play.
Final Thoughts
Cloudways shines with developer-friendly features, broader stack support and cost efficiency via the hourly billing model.
Kinsta outperforms when it comes to WordPress-specific user needs – be it management, updates, security or expert assistance.
Evaluate your hosting priorities between the wider feature set or the WordPress focus to pick the right solution. Big cost savings potential and flexibility make Cloudways great for smaller workloads.
Kinsta‘s premium optimizations make it stellar for business-critical sites seeing high traffic and revenue. For most typical mid-sized WordPress sites, you cannot go wrong with either option.
I hope this detailed Cloudways vs Kinsta comparison has helped you gain clarity regarding your managed WordPress hosting decision. Feel free to reach out in comments below if you need any more suggestions.
