Choosing the right web hosting can be challenging, especially with the numerous options available.
Today, let’s examine Cloudways and Flywheel, two popular hosting options. Both promise great performance and support, but they have different strengths.
Cloudways is known for flexibility and power. It’s ideal for tech-savvy users who want to have complete control over every aspect of their site. With Cloudways, you can choose from multiple cloud providers, offering you more options to suit your specific needs.
Flywheel, on the other hand, is all about simplicity and ease of use. It’s designed for creatives and small businesses who want a hassle-free experience. Flywheel handles the technical stuff so you can focus on your website content.
Whether you need Cloudways customizable power or Flywheel’s user-friendly comfort, this comparison will help you decide which is the best fit for your website.
Cloudways vs Flywheel: Overview
Cloudways Overview
It enables you to manage the best web hosting. It provides you with the best opportunity to build a career as a web developer, featuring some amazing benefits and high-end support.
Paying with Cloudways is at hourly rates. You can create as many web applications as you wish, despite any restrictions. Additionally, you don’t need to worry about the technical aspects.
Cloudways provides all of its web hosting under one roof, so you do not need to sign up for every different web provider.
You can launch your web applications in just a few minutes, as the management should be very calm and helpful.
Gaining insights into every part of your applications is the best thing to have! Cloudways achieves this by designing and grading the interface in minimal ways.
Cloudways offers several options to safeguard your server.
Deployment, a free SSL certificate, and a user-friendly interface are some of the key features offered to help your website achieve high-end performance.
Flywheel Overview
A web hosting provider is necessary to establish a platform for developers and designers to work on.
Their primary focus is on meeting customers’ needs by offering them the best options to choose from and tailoring plans to their requirements.
Flywheel offers integration with WordPress platforms and installation of unique tools. Accessing a free SSL certificate is the cherry on top.
The top thing to note is getting good customer support. With its help, you can work in a flexible environment and have a secure and stable platform.
According to your wishes and requirements, your website gets optimized.
Automatic updates, clearing dashboards, amazing customer support staff to have live chats, and solving queries at any time, even if you are sitting on the other side of the globe.
Isn’t this amazing? Completing all your tasks quickly and easily, connecting with the world, and growing your website.
Therefore, Flywheel comes with numerous benefits and features, making it one of the great providers.
Cloudways vs Flywheel: Features
Flywheel Features
Managed WordPress Hosting
Flywheel specializes in managed WordPress hosting, meaning they take care of all the technical aspects such as server setup, security, and performance optimization, so users can focus solely on building and managing their websites without worrying about infrastructure.
User-Friendly Dashboard
Flywheel offers a clean and intuitive dashboard that simplifies site management. From this centralized interface, users can easily create new sites, manage backups, handle billing, and monitor site performance without needing deep technical knowledge.
Automatic Backups
Flywheel automatically performs nightly backups of your websites, ensuring your data is safe and can be restored quickly if needed. This eliminates the risk of losing important content and simplifies disaster recovery.
Built-in Caching and Performance Optimization
Flywheel incorporates server-level caching and other performance enhancements to ensure fast page load speeds. This helps improve user experience and search engine rankings without requiring manual configuration.
Free SSL Certificates
Every Flywheel site comes with free SSL certificates provided by Let’s Encrypt, enabling secure HTTPS connections to protect user data and enhance site trustworthiness.
Staging Environments
Flywheel offers a staging environment for every website, enabling users to test changes or new features before deploying them live. This reduces the chance of errors affecting the live site.
Collaboration Tools
Flywheel supports team collaboration by allowing site owners to add multiple users with different permission levels. This feature is ideal for agencies and teams working together on client projects.
Managed Security
Flywheel takes care of security by handling server hardening, malware scanning, and proactive threat detection. They also provide automatic WordPress core updates, ensuring your site is protected against vulnerabilities.
Free Site Migrations
Flywheel offers free, hassle-free website migration from other hosts. Their team helps transfer your WordPress site without downtime or data loss.
Developer-Friendly Features
Flywheel supports features like SSH access, Git integration, and WP-CLI, enabling developers to work more efficiently and customize sites using familiar tools.
Global CDN Integration
Flywheel integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to deliver site content faster to users worldwide, enhancing site speed and reducing latency.
Cloudways Features
User-Friendly Platform
Cloudways offers a sleek and intuitive dashboard designed to simplify server and application management. Even users without deep technical knowledge can quickly deploy, manage, and scale their hosting environment, making it ideal for both developers and small businesses.
Multiple Cloud Provider Options
Cloudways integrates with leading cloud infrastructure providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. This flexibility enables users to choose the cloud provider that best suits their performance needs and budget, without being locked into a single vendor.
Managed Hosting Service
Unlike basic cloud providers, Cloudways handles server maintenance tasks, including security patching, updates, and monitoring. This managed service alleviates the operational burden on users, enabling them to focus on developing their applications rather than managing infrastructure.
One-Click Application Deployment
Deploying popular web applications such as WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento is simplified with one-click installation. This accelerates website and app setup, enabling faster time-to-market for projects.
Automated Backups and Easy Restores
Cloudways offers automated daily backups, ensuring data safety. Users can easily restore their websites to a previous state, which is crucial for disaster recovery and managing accidental changes.
Scalable Infrastructure
The platform enables seamless scaling of server resources, including CPU, RAM, and storage. Users can adjust their resources on demand to accommodate traffic spikes or project growth without downtime.
Advanced Security Features
Cloudways comes equipped with robust security measures, including dedicated firewalls, regular patching, bot protection, and DDoS mitigation, which help safeguard websites against attacks and vulnerabilities.
Staging Environment
Users have access to staging environments where they can test changes and updates safely before deploying them to live sites. This minimizes the risk of downtime or bugs affecting production.
24/7 Expert Support
Cloudways provides 24/7 customer support through live chat and ticketing systems. Their team of cloud hosting specialists helps troubleshoot issues and optimize server performance whenever needed.
Performance: Cloudways vs Flywheel
| Feature |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Servers | Google Cloud only | Choose from DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud |
| Cache | Uses single FlyCache system | Uses a single FlyCache system |
| Vertical Scaling | Flexibility to grow as your business does | |
| Supported PHP Apps | WordPress only | Drupal, Magento, Laravel, Joomla, and WordPress |
| Data Centers | Undisclosed | 65+ Data Centers |
Pros & Cons: Cloudways vs Flywheel
Cloudways Pros & Cons
Pros
- Scalable infrastructure to adjust resources on demand
- Advanced security features including firewalls and DDoS protection
- Staging environments for safe testing before going live
- 24/7 expert customer support via live chat and tickets
- Wide range of global data centers for faster site performance
Cons
- No free domain registration included
- No traditional money-back guarantee, only a 3-day free trial
- No shared hosting plans, only cloud hosting available
Flywheel Pros & Cons
Pros
- User-friendly dashboard tailored for WordPress sites
- Managed WordPress hosting with automatic updates and security
- Excellent site speed and performance optimized for WordPress
- Free nightly backups with easy one-click restore
- Built-in caching and CDN integration for faster load times
- Staging environments to safely test changes before going live
Cons
- Pricier than many basic hosting providers, focused on premium market
- Limited to WordPress hosting only, no support for other platforms
- No email hosting included; requires third-party services
Pricing Plans: Cloudways vs Flywheel
Cloudways Pricing
| Cloud Provider | Server Type | RAM | vCPU | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Price | Hourly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Standard | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB SSD | 1 TB | $11 | $0.015 |
| 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB SSD | 2 TB | $24 | $0.033 | ||
| 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB SSD | 4 TB | $46 | $0.064 | ||
| 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB SSD | 5 TB | $88 | $0.122 | ||
| 16 GB | 6 | 320 GB SSD | 6 TB | $149 | $0.206 | ||
| 32 GB | 8 | 640 GB SSD | 7 TB | $240 | $0.333 | ||
| AWS | Standard | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB SSD | 2 TB | $38.56 | $0.053 |
| 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB SSD | 4 TB | $91.84 | $0.127 | ||
| 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB SSD | 5 TB | $164.50 | $0.229 | ||
| 16 GB | 6 | 320 GB SSD | 6 TB | $262.75 | $0.364 | ||
| Linode | Standard | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB SSD | 1 TB | $14 | $0.019 |
| 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB SSD | 2 TB | $28 | $0.039 | ||
| 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB SSD | 4 TB | $59 | $0.082 | ||
| 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB SSD | 5 TB | $105 | $0.146 | ||
| Vultr | Standard | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB SSD | 1 TB | $14 | $0.019 |
| 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB SSD | 2 TB | $28 | $0.039 | ||
| 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB SSD | 4 TB | $54 | $0.075 | ||
| 8 GB | 4 | 160 GB SSD | 5 TB | $99 | $0.137 |
Flywheel Pricing
| Plan | Annual Price | Monthly Price | Sites | Monthly Visits | Storage | Bandwidth | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny | $13 | $15 | 1 | 5,000 | 5GB | 20GB | Small, simple installs |
| Starter | $25 | $30 | 1 | 25,000 | 10GB | 50GB | Single site, personal use |
| Freelance | $96 | $1,15 | Up to 10 | 100,000 | 20GB | 200GB | Growing client list |
| Agency | $242 | $2,90 | Up to 30 | 400,000 | 50GB | 500GB | Larger businesses, agencies |
| Custom | Custom Pricing | Custom | 30+ | Millions+ | Custom | Custom | Enterprise-level requirements |
FAQs:
Which of these two is the right option?
This process is dependent upon the reason for which you want to use these services. This is a design that can only be made when you have a good background upon your business and a clear understanding of your requirements. Only with those two factors clearly stated can you think clearly and come to the right decision about which of these platforms is the right choice.
Will I be able to receive a free domain?
It is indeed well known that a lot of hosting service providers do give you a free domain. But that is not the case with either CloudWays or ServerPilot. But to most a free domain is not always essential and the other features often outweigh this one drawback.
Which of these lets me understand cPanel easily?
CPanel is very important to most users. Especially those without a coding background. But if you want customization you will need to know more in detail. With this regard, CloudWays offers a very basic and easily understandable cPanel interface. While on the other hand, Silverpilot bloggers an easily navigatable cPanel but would be able to help more only with some basic coding skills and knowledge.
Quick Links:
- WP Engine vs BlueHost
- WP Engine vs SiteGround
- Host4Geeks Review
- Cloudways Managed WordPress Hosting Review
- UpCloud vs Cloudways
- WP Engine vs Flywheel
Conclusion: Cloudways vs Flywheel 2025
I understand the critical importance of appointing a reputable and trustworthy managed cloud hosting provider to handle the technical aspects for me.
In the realm of managed cloud hosting, both Cloudways and Flywheel stand out as quality providers, particularly for WordPress websites.
Considering my priority is cost, and I am comfortable with DigitalOcean, Cloudways becomes an enticing option for me.
It is widely regarded as one of the best-managed cloud hosting platforms and offers its services at a modest price.
Ultimately, my decision should be based on my business goals and personal preferences.
By carefully assessing factors such as pricing, performance, support, and the specific features that align with my needs, I can confidently make a choice that best suits me.
