Cloudways vs WP Engine
Cloudways
Flexible managed cloud hosting where you pick the provider and control the cost.
Publishers using it: 2 · incl. Spotlight Media
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting that balances performance, support and price for growing publishers.
Publishers using it: 1
Last verified Oct 19, 2026
At a glance
- Cloudways scores 3.2/5 and WP Engine scores 4.1/5 in Benchmark Grid's independent hosting benchmark, both assessed on the same 6 criteria.
- The widest gaps are security & compliance (Cloudways 3.2, WP Engine 4.3) and uptime sla & remedies (Cloudways 3.0, WP Engine 3.8); they are within 0.3 on 2 of 6 criteria.
- Cloudways is built for small and mid-market publishers; WP Engine for small, mid-market and enterprise.
- On total cost of ownership Cloudways scores 3.8 and WP Engine 2.8 (higher means better value, not a lower price).
- In our tracking 2 publishers use Cloudways and 1 use WP Engine.
- Scores last verified 19 Oct 2026. Vendors cannot pay for a score or a position.
Where they differ
WP Engine is stronger on security & compliance (4.3 vs 3.2), uptime SLA & remedies (3.8 vs 3.0), scale & traffic-spike resilience (4.2 vs 3.8) and support & migration (3.7 vs 3.3).
Which one fits
Choose Cloudways if…
- You publish at small and mid-market scale.
Choose WP Engine if…
- You publish at small, mid-market and enterprise scale.
- You weight security & compliance, uptime SLA & remedies and scale & traffic-spike resilience heavily — WP Engine leads on those in this benchmark.
Also weighing these
The nearest-scored tools to Cloudways and WP Engine in this benchmark, listed A to Z.
- 3.5Amazon Web ServicesGlobal hyper-scale infrastructure for bespoke digital publishing stacks.Read review
- 3.8Google Cloud PlatformEnterprise-scale raw infrastructure for data-driven media ecosystems.Read review
- 3.9PagelyManaged WordPress for enterprise and media on dedicated AWS hardware with high availability.Read review
- 3.6PantheonWebOps platform for WordPress, Drupal and Next.js portfolios that need governance at scale.Read review
All 12 scored tools are in Best Hosting for Media Publishers.
Who uses them
Publishers we have detected running each tool, from ads.txt, site code and published case studies. Agencies, brands and vendors are excluded.
Cloudways · 2
WP Engine · 1
Head to head
| Criterion | Cloudways | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Performance & delivery22% of capability | 4.2 | 4.4 |
| Scale & traffic-spike resilience20% of capability | 3.8 | 4.2 |
| Platform & developer workflow17% of capability | 3.9 | 4.1 |
| Security & compliance17% of capability | 3.2 | 4.3 |
| Uptime SLA & remedies14% of capability | 3.0 | 3.8 |
| Support & migration10% of capability | 3.3 | 3.7 |
| Capability45% of composite | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Publisher fit40% of composite | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| Total cost of ownership15% of composite | 3.8 | 2.8 |
Cost of ownership
| Sub-score | Cloudways | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 4.0 | 2.5 |
| Entry cost | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Implementation cost | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| Hidden-fee risk | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| Ongoing cost | 4.5 | 3.0 |
Cloudways pricing
Plans from ~$14/mo; pricing tracks chosen cloud provider.
WP Engine pricing
Plans from ~$28/mo billed annually; enterprise and agency tiers custom.
What users say
Cloudways
17 positive · 18 neutral · 32 negative
WP Engine
7 positive · 23 neutral · 14 negative
Mentions we could not tie to a real user, and those flagged as promotional, are excluded. Sentiment is opinion, and is independent of the verified publisher adoptions above.
Cloudways scores 3.2 and WP Engine scores 4.1 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Hosting for Media Publishers benchmark (benchmarkgrid.com/vs/cloudways/wp-engine, verified Oct 19, 2026)
Common questions
How do Cloudways and WP Engine differ?
WP Engine is stronger on security & compliance (4.3 vs 3.2), uptime SLA & remedies (3.8 vs 3.0), scale & traffic-spike resilience (4.2 vs 3.8) and support & migration (3.7 vs 3.3). Neither is better in the abstract — which one suits you depends on which of those dimensions carries the most weight in your operation.
Which is cheaper, Cloudways or WP Engine?
On total cost of ownership — pricing transparency, entry cost, implementation, hidden-fee risk and ongoing cost — Cloudways scores 3.8/5 and WP Engine scores 2.8/5. A higher score means better value, not a lower sticker price.
How are these scores calculated?
Each tool is assessed against its category's published criteria (6 in this benchmark), which make up Capability (45% of the composite), Publisher fit (40%) and Total cost of ownership (15%). Assessment is carried out by SODP's editorial team against a published methodology. Vendors cannot pay for inclusion, scores or positions.
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Both tools are scored in Best Hosting for Media Publishers. See alternatives to Cloudways or alternatives to WP Engine.
Weighing a third option? Add a tool to this comparison.
Where to next
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