Cloudways vs ScalaHosting
Our pick: Cloudways
Cloudways is faster to scale, bills hourly and lets you choose your cloud provider. ScalaHosting includes stronger security and backups and has a familiar all-in-one control panel.
Updated October 2026.
Side by side
| Cloudways Visit site | ScalaHosting Visit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.3/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Speed and uptime | 9.0 | 8.4 |
| Support | 7.8 | 8.2 |
| Value | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Features and security | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Ease of use | 7.3 | 7.4 |
| Starting price | $14/mo | $29.95/mo |
| Renewal | Same price at renewal | Renews at $54.95/mo |
| Entry plan | DigitalOcean 1 GB · Unlimited sites (server-limited), No visit cap, 25 GB storage | Managed Cloud Build #1 · Unlimited sites, 50 GB storage, 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM |
| Money-back | None (3-day free trial) | 30 days, then pro-rated |
| Support | 24/7 chat, Tickets, Paid premium support add-on | 24/7 chat, 24/7 tickets |
| Best for | Developers, agencies and growing stores that want cloud power without running servers | Growing sites and agencies ready to move from shared hosting to a managed cloud server |
| Key features |
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Highlighted cells show the higher score in each row.
Winner by category
| Speed and uptime | Cloudways |
|---|---|
| Support | ScalaHosting |
| Price in year one | Cloudways |
| Price over three years | Cloudways |
| Features and security | Tie |
| Ease of use | ScalaHosting |
Which one should you choose?
Why pick Cloudways
Best for: Developers, agencies and growing stores that want cloud power without running servers
- True cloud performance with easy scaling
- Pay hourly, no long contracts
- Unlimited sites on one server
Why pick ScalaHosting
Best for: Growing sites and agencies ready to move from shared hosting to a managed cloud server
- Managed cloud server at a fair price
- Dedicated resources that scale
- Strong built-in security and daily backups
Questions people ask
Is Cloudways or ScalaHosting better?
Cloudways is the better pick for most people. Cloudways is faster to scale, bills hourly and lets you choose your cloud provider. ScalaHosting includes stronger security and backups and has a familiar all-in-one control panel.
Which is cheaper, Cloudways or ScalaHosting?
Cloudways starts lower, at $14/mo versus $29.95/mo for ScalaHosting. At renewal, Cloudways is cheaper. Prices checked October 2026.
Which is faster?
Cloudways scores higher for speed and uptime (9.0 vs 8.4).
Which has better support?
ScalaHosting scores higher for support (8.2 vs 7.8). ScalaHosting offers 24/7 chat and tickets, with a 15-minute first-response target. There's no phone line.