Cloudways wins 2 of the 3 points we can measure. Here's how they compare on price, features, ratings and deals.
| Feature | Cloudways | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.1/10 | 7.2/10 (better) |
| Starts at | $14/month (better) | $28/month |
| Free version | No | No |
| Refund window | – | – |
| Billing | Free + paid plans | Subscription |
| Active installs | – | – |
| Last Black Friday | 50% off (better) | 10% off |
| Category | Other tools | Other tools |
| Vendor | Cloudways | WP Engine |
| Black Friday 2026 | Not announced | Not announced |
Flexible MicroStarts here
$14/month
Unlimited sites
Flexible Small
$28/month
Unlimited sites
Velocity Starter
$20/month
5 apps sites
EssentialStarts here
$28/month
1 site sites
Business
$400/month
3 sites sites
Enterprise
Custom
10 sites sites
Reddit users discuss Cloudways mainly in hosting and agency threads. A 2026 benchmark found its Premium servers outperform Standard ones, and one poster calls it underrated for WordPress developers, while others note that human support is lacking.
Reddit posts about WP Engine are mostly company news, including a BigCommerce partnership, a standalone Smart Search AI plugin and a trademark dispute with the WordPress Foundation. Users offer little opinion of their own, though one open source post pitches a self-hosted alternative.
On our comparison Cloudways comes out ahead on 2 of 3 measurable points. The right pick still depends on what you build.
Cloudways starts at $14/month and WP Engine starts at $28/month.
Both are on our Black Friday tracker. Cloudways was 50% off last year. WP Engine was 10% off last year.
Cloudways offers high-performance managed hosting solutions designed to streamline the management of PHP applications, including WordPress, with an emphasis on speed and reliability.
WP Engine is a premium managed WordPress hosting platform with automatic updates, daily backups, a global CDN and 24/7 support.