ServerPilot vs Cloudways
A detailed comparison to help you choose between ServerPilot and Cloudways.
Quick Verdict
3.8/5
ServerPilot
0 reviews
3.9/5
Cloudways
0 reviews
Cloudways is rated higher (3.9 vs 3.8). ServerPilot is a cloud control panel for managing PHP applications on DigitalOcean, Linode, and other VPS providers. Automated security updates, multiple PHP versions, and app deployment. 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.
ServerPilot Control panel for PHP and WordPress apps on any VPS (no free tier since pricing rework) | Cloudways Managed cloud hosting on your choice of provider | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.8 (0 reviews) | 3.9 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | From $5/mo✓ | From $11/mo |
| Best for | Developers and small agencies running PHP/WordPress sites on their own VPS who want managed security and SSL without giving up provider choice or data ownership | 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 | — | 99.99% |
| 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 option | managed optionddos protectionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit ServerPilot → | Visit Cloudways → | |
ServerPilot
Pros
- + Published, decoupled usage pricing: $5/server + $0.50/app entry, billed hourly
- + Security baseline on every tier: firewall default, no exposed management ports, app isolation, automated updates
- + Works on any major cloud provider — you keep root access and data ownership
- + One-click WordPress, AutoSSL via Let's Encrypt, multiple PHP versions per server
- + Migration tooling to move sites and databases between your servers
Cons
- - No free tier (the $0 freemium model is gone); card required at $5/server
- - PHP/WordPress only — no Node, Python, Docker, or Kubernetes workloads
- - Per-app fees compound on servers with many sites
- - No published control-plane uptime SLA; deep metrics gated behind higher tiers
- - Economy-tier support is deprioritized ticket-based help
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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