ScalaHosting and Cloudways both sell managed servers for people who do not want to run Linux themselves. ScalaHosting offers managed cloud VPS plans with a free panel (SPanel), automatic backups and an intro price that rises at renewal. Cloudways runs your sites on cloud providers and shows one price per server size.
This comparison puts the prices next to each other, shows what each includes and states what is missing from each page. For the wider market, see our comparison of nine VPS providers, or read the full ScalaHosting review and Cloudways review.
Our short answer: Cloudways has the simpler, more predictable pricing and a 3-day trial, while ScalaHosting includes more in the price (automatic offsite backups, a dedicated IP, free no-downtime migration and an "unconditional" money-back guarantee) but its price rises 1.8 to 2.6 times at renewal and its page does not show the CPU and RAM of each plan. In WPBeginner's July 2026 test ScalaHosting held up well under load.
🏆 Quick comparison: ScalaHosting vs Cloudways
| What matters | ScalaHosting | Cloudways | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $29.95/mo (Build #1, intro) | $14/mo (Basic, 1GB) | Cloudways |
| Price after the intro | $54.95/mo (Build #1 renewal) | No intro price; the plan price stays | Cloudways |
| Top plan shown | $94.95/mo intro, $244.95 renewal (Build #4) | $99/mo (Large, 8GB) | Cloudways |
| Plan specs on the page | CPU, RAM and disk not in the text we read | RAM, CPU, storage and bandwidth listed | Cloudways |
| Control panel | SPanel (free) | Cloudways platform | Depends on taste |
| Backups | Automatic offsite backups included | Offsite backup add-on, $0.033 per GB per server | ScalaHosting |
| Trial or refund | "Anytime unconditional" money-back guarantee | 3-day free trial, no card | ScalaHosting, on paper |
| WPBeginner July 2026 | LCP 980 ms, P95 29 ms, 100% uptime | Not in the test we read | ScalaHosting, on evidence |
Intro prices change, so check the live pages
☑️ See ScalaHosting plans ☑️ See Cloudways plans
💰 Plans and prices
ScalaHosting: the price that rises
| Plan | Intro price | Renews at | Renewal multiple | Renewal year cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build #1 | $29.95/mo | $54.95/mo | 1.8 | $659.40 |
| Build #2 | $44.95/mo | $96.95/mo | 2.2 | $1,163.40 |
| Build #3 | $69.95/mo | $170.95/mo | 2.4 | $2,051.40 |
| Build #4 | $94.95/mo | $244.95/mo | 2.6 | $2,939.40 |
ScalaHosting lists terms of 1, 12 and 36 months but does not say which term each intro price needs, and it does not show CPU, RAM or disk per build in the page text we read. Confirm both before you buy.
Cloudways: one price per server size
| Plan | Price | RAM and CPU | Storage | Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $14/mo | 1GB, 1 vCPU | 25GB NVMe | 1TB |
| Small | $28/mo | 2GB, 1 vCPU | 50GB NVMe | 2TB |
| Medium | $54/mo | 4GB, 2 vCPU | 80GB NVMe | 4TB |
| Large | $99/mo | 8GB, 4 vCPU | 160GB NVMe | 5TB |
These Cloudways prices are for DigitalOcean servers; other providers have other price lists, and the page shows an hourly rate next to each monthly price.
🧮 The real cost
Matching by price is the fairest comparison we can give, because ScalaHosting does not show its specs in the text we read. ScalaHosting at renewal sits close to Cloudways at the same price tier.
| Price tier | ScalaHosting, renewal per year | Cloudways, per year |
|---|---|---|
| About $54 a month | Build #1: $659.40 | Medium (4GB): $648 |
| About $97 to $99 a month | Build #2: $1,163.40 | Large (8GB): $1,188 |
| Higher | Build #3 $2,051.40; Build #4 $2,939.40 | Larger sizes not verified |
- If the intro price covered 12 months (it is not stated), year one on ScalaHosting would cost $359.40, $539.40, $839.40 and $1,139.40.
- From the second year, ScalaHosting costs about the same as Cloudways at the same price, but includes backups, a dedicated IP and the panel.
- Cloudways extras: a CDN (from $4.99 per domain a month), email ($1.50 per mailbox) and advanced support ($100 a month) cost more.
⚙️ Features and support
| Feature | ScalaHosting | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Panel | SPanel, free (saves a cPanel license) | Cloudways dashboard |
| Caching | OpenLiteSpeed, LiteSpeed cache and object cache | Free Redis; Object Cache Pro on 4GB and above |
| Security | SShield, server-side firewall, brute-force protection, free SSL | Imunify360 firewall, WordPress vulnerability scanner, free SSL; malware protection $4 per app |
| Migration | Free, with no downtime | First website free |
| Scaling | Vertical and horizontal | Vertical scaling |
| Support | 24/7 chat, email and tickets (vendor figures: 15-second average response, 98.9% satisfaction) | 24x7 support; Advanced Support $100 a month |
| Network | 10 Gbps, CPU up to 4.1 GHz (vendor claims) | Not stated in the text we read |
| Data centers | Not stated in the text we read | 50+ claimed, by provider |
↩️ Refunds, trials and uptime
| ScalaHosting | Cloudways | |
|---|---|---|
| Money-back or trial | "Anytime unconditional money-back guarantee" (page); exact terms not read | 3-day free trial without a credit card |
| Uptime promise | Not stated in the text we read | 99.99% SLA with high-availability environments (homepage) |
An uptime promise is a promise of credits, not a measurement. We did not check the credit terms for either host.
⚡ Speed and uptime: what independent testing shows
We ran no tests of our own. WPBeginner's July 2026 test of 12 hosts named ScalaHosting its best VPS hosting pick and measured an LCP of 980 ms, a 29 ms P95 with 50 virtual users, a 526 ms average global response and 100% uptime over 30 days. The tested plan is one WPBeginner lists from $14.95 a month, so it may not match the managed cloud plans priced above. WPBeginner called it strong under load and noted that it is pricier than shared hosting and more than a simple site needs. Cloudways was not among the 12 hosts in the test we read.
📊 Pros and cons of each host
ScalaHosting
✅ Pros
- Free SPanel instead of a paid cPanel license
- Automatic offsite backups and a dedicated IP included
- Free no-downtime migration
- Strong load result and 100% uptime in WPBeginner's test
- Vertical and horizontal scaling
❌ Cons
- Renewal is 1.8 to 2.6 times the intro price
- The term behind each intro price is not stated
- CPU, RAM and disk per build not in the page text we read
- Pricier than shared hosting
- Page load (LCP) was slower than Hostinger's in the same test
Cloudways
✅ Pros
- One clear price per server size
- Starts at $14 a month
- 3-day trial with no card
- Free staging, cloning and Redis
- Choice of five cloud providers
❌ Cons
- Backups, CDN, email and malware protection cost extra
- Advanced Support is $100 a month
- Refund terms beyond the trial not checked
- Migration is free for the first site only
- No independent test in the data we read
Confirm the term, the specs and the renewal before you pay
☑️ Check ScalaHosting ☑️ Check Cloudways
🎯 Which one should you choose?
Choose ScalaHosting if
- You want backups, a dedicated IP and a panel included
- You value an unconditional money-back guarantee
- You have confirmed the specs and the renewal price
- You want to scale both vertically and horizontally
Choose Cloudways if
- You want clear, predictable pricing from $14 a month
- You want to try a server for 3 days with no card
- You are happy to add the extras you need
- You want to choose the cloud provider and region
Other options
If neither fits, read the Kinsta vs Cloudways comparison, the Cloudways vs Contabo comparison or our VPS hosting comparison.
🏆 Final verdict: ScalaHosting or Cloudways?
Cloudways is easier to price, ScalaHosting includes more. At renewal the two cost about the same for the same price tier, but ScalaHosting bundles backups, a dedicated IP, a free panel and a money-back guarantee, while Cloudways adds them as paid extras. ScalaHosting's intro price, unstated term and missing specs are the weak points. If clarity matters most choose Cloudways, and if inclusions matter most choose ScalaHosting after confirming the specs.
❓ ScalaHosting vs Cloudways FAQ
❓ Which is cheaper: ScalaHosting or Cloudways?
❓ How much does ScalaHosting cost to renew?
❓ Is Cloudways cheaper after renewal?
❓ What is the difference between SPanel and the Cloudways platform?
❓ Can I get my money back?
❓ Which has better support?
❓ Do I need technical knowledge?
❓ Can I host several sites on one server?
❓ Do they promise uptime?
❓ Is migration free?
Which one are you using? Put your plan in the comments for the next reader.
Related Articles
⚖️ Kinsta vs Cloudways
Managed WordPress against managed cloud. Read it
⚖️ Cloudways vs Contabo
Managed against unmanaged. Read it
⭐ ScalaHosting review
Managed cloud plans and the renewal jump. Read the review
⭐ Cloudways review
Plans, add-ons and what is not included. Read the review
🖥️ Best VPS hosting compared
Nine VPS providers compared. See the comparison
