Divio vs Cloudways
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Divio and Cloudways.
Quick Verdict
3.5/5
Divio
0 reviews
3.9/5
Cloudways
0 reviews
Cloudways is rated higher (3.9 vs 3.5). Divio is a Swiss cloud PaaS focused on Python and Django applications. Wagtail CMS hosting specialists. Strong in European enterprise Django deployments with multi-cloud options. Managed hosting layer that sits on top of DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, Vultr, or Linode. You get managed control with one-click staging, Breeze caching, and 24/7 support.
Divio Cloud PaaS for Django, Wagtail, and Python | Cloudways Managed cloud hosting on your choice of provider | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.5 (0 reviews) | 3.9 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | From $10/mo✓ | From $11/mo |
| Best for | Digital agencies and European enterprises running multiple Django or Wagtail estates who want managed multi-environment hosting with EU data residency and cloud-vendor flexibility. | Agencies, freelancers and SMBs running WordPress/WooCommerce/Magento/Laravel who want managed cloud hosting with provider choice and no ops staff |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Storage | — | 25 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | 1 TB/mo |
| SLA uptime | 99.5% | 99.99%✓ |
| Data-center count | — | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | — | €11.00 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €11.00 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | United StatesUnited KingdomGermanyNetherlandsSingaporeAustralia+1 |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optioneu datacenterus datacenter | managed optionddos protectionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit Divio → | Visit Cloudways → | |
Divio
Pros
- + Two decades of Django expertise — created django CMS, tooling designed around agency workflows
- + Multi-cloud on AWS, Exoscale, or Azure with one-click region/vendor migration (CloudShift)
- + Third-party IaaS passed through at cost with no markup — unusual pricing transparency
- + EU data residency (Switzerland, Germany), ISO 27001 certified, GDPR compliant
- + Managed databases, environments, backups, and workers in one project model
- + Named support channels (Swiss and US phone lines) with defined response-time tiers
Cons
- - Three stacked pricing layers (hosting + features + support) make the real bill much larger than the headline
- - No permanent free plan; the Lite plan (256 MB RAM, 250 MB database) is not production-grade
- - Soft uptime story: 99.50% expected infrastructure uptime, no credited SLA outside enterprise
- - Python/Django-centric despite added stack support; small integration ecosystem (11 documented integrations)
- - Abstraction layer between you and the underlying cloud provider limits access to native services
- - Parent company is Swedish-listed (Stockholm) despite the Swiss-origin branding
Cloudways
Pros
- + Choose the underlying cloud (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, GCP) and region per server
- + Entry pricing from $11/month on DigitalOcean with hourly billing and no contract
- + Managed stack with free migration, staging/cloning, automated backups, caching and 24/7 human support
- + Unlimited sites and visits per server on Flexible plans
- + Autonomous line adds real autoscaling, Cloudflare Enterprise CDN and a no-credit-card 3-day trial
Cons
- - Management markup of roughly $5-$35/month over buying the same server direct
- - No formal uptime SLA on the Flexible line
- - AWS/GCP plans include only 1-2 GB transfer; overage at $0.12/GB (AWS) adds up fast
- - Root-level control is limited — no custom kernels, bare metal, GPUs or own object storage
- - Owned by DigitalOcean since 2022 while reselling competing clouds — a roadmap consideration
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