Cloudways vs Vultr
This is not a like-for-like contest. Vultr sells raw compute and hands you the operating system; Cloudways sells a managed service and charges for the work you no longer do. Compare them only if you genuinely have not decided whether to run the server yourself.
Cloudways
$14.00/mo entry
Freelancers and small agencies hosting several client sites on one managed server.
Vultr
$5.00/mo entry
Latency-sensitive projects that need a specific city, and price-driven builders comfortable alone.
Specification differences
Entry-tier plans compared line by line. Rows marked with a dash are preferences rather than measurable wins, so we do not pick a side on them.
| Attribute | Cloudways | Vultr | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan price / month | $14.00 | $5.00 | Vultr |
| Entry plan vCPU | 1 | 1 | |
| Entry plan RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | |
| Entry plan storage | 25 GB | 25 GB | |
| Included transfer | 1 TB | 1 TB | |
| Listed regions | 25 | 32 | Vultr |
| Management model | Managed | Unmanaged (you run the OS) | |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and tickets; premium support tiers cost extra. | Ticket support; documentation is sparse relative to competitors. | |
| Billing | Hourly metering billed monthly, pay-as-you-go. | Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price. | |
| Free tier | Free trial available for new accounts; no permanent free tier. | No free tier. |
Every plan from both providers
Sorted by monthly price so you can see where the two ladders overlap.
Vultr
Regular 1GB
$5.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 25 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 1 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $5
- Cost per GB RAM
- $5
- Annual
- $60
AffiliatePricing pageVultr
High Frequency 1GB
$6.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 32 GB NVMe
- Included transfer
- 1 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $6
- Cost per GB RAM
- $6
- Annual
- $72
AffiliatePricing pageVultr
Regular 2GB
$10.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 55 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $10
- Cost per GB RAM
- $5
- Annual
- $120
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 1GB (managed)
$14.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 25 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 1 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $14
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $168
AffiliatePricing pageVultr
Regular 4GB
$20.00
per month
- Specification
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 80 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 3 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $10
- Cost per GB RAM
- $5
- Annual
- $240
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 2GB (managed)
$28.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 50 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $28
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $336
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
Vultr HF 2GB (managed)
$30.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 64 GB NVMe
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $30
- Cost per GB RAM
- $15
- Annual
- $360
AffiliatePricing pageVultr
Regular 8GB
$40.00
per month
- Specification
- 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM
- Storage
- 160 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 4 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $10
- Cost per GB RAM
- $5
- Annual
- $480
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 4GB (managed)
$54.00
per month
- Specification
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 80 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 4 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $27
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $648
AffiliatePricing page
| Provider & plan | Monthly | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Transfer | / vCPU | / GB RAM | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vultr Regular 1GBAffiliate | $5.00 | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $5 | $5 | Open |
Vultr High Frequency 1GBAffiliate | $6.00 | 1 | 1 GB | 32 GB | 1 TB | $6 | $6 | Open |
Vultr Regular 2GBAffiliate | $10.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 55 GB | 2 TB | $10 | $5 | Open |
Cloudways DO 1GB (managed)Affiliate | $14.00 | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14 | $14 | Open |
Vultr Regular 4GBAffiliate | $20.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 3 TB | $10 | $5 | Open |
Cloudways DO 2GB (managed)Affiliate | $28.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | $28 | $14 | Open |
Cloudways Vultr HF 2GB (managed)Affiliate | $30.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 64 GB | 2 TB | $30 | $15 | Open |
Vultr Regular 8GBAffiliate | $40.00 | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB | 4 TB | $10 | $5 | Open |
Cloudways DO 4GB (managed)Affiliate | $54.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | $27 | $14 | Open |
All figures are the providers' own published list prices in USD, on-demand monthly, recorded on 2026-08-30. Nothing here is live or negotiated pricing. Hetzner publishes in euros, so its dollar figure moves with the exchange rate. Check the provider's pricing page before you commit.
Related comparisons
Some links on this page are affiliate links, marked Affiliate, and we may earn a commission if you sign up through them. Hetzner and Akamai Cloud pay us nothing and are included anyway, because a comparison that hides the cheapest option is worthless. Commission never affects the ordering: every table on this site is sorted by the figures you choose.