Cloudways or SiteGround - Which Host Is Best For You?

Learn the differences and similarities between two of the most popular hosting providers in the world: Cloudways and SiteGround.

When choosing a web hosting company, the most important thing is to select a reliable one that offers top performance and provides good value for your money. There are countless web hosting companies, so which one to choose?

In today’s battle between hosting companies, we have two of the most popular hosting companies in the world- Cloudways and SiteGround. Both companies are excellent and provide top-notch performance and speed, but which option is better for you and your business?

I’ve certainly read more than one Cloudways review. I’ve also gone through dozens of SiteGround reviews to discover which of these two hosting giants will be the ultimate solution for you. We will compare SiteGround and Cloudways in many categories to help you better distinguish the differences between them. Learning the differences and the advantages of both hosting companies will help you choose the most suitable one for you.

Cloudways - The Managed Hosting Provider That Emphasizes Simplicity and Performance

Cloudways is a web hosting company that started working in 2011. The company is based in Malta, and its primary goal is to offer incredible user features, website performance, and excellent support. The unique thing about this web hosting company is that they provide different cloud hosting providers such as Vultr, Linode, Google Cloyd, AWS, and DigitaOCean. Cloudways support many applications that have many account tiers, and its plans are pay-as-you-go.

SiteGround - The Hosting Company That’s Been Crafted For Easy Website Management

SiteGround is a web hosting company based in Bulgaria that has been on the market since 2004. The company offers five different hosting plans: WordPress hosting, Web Hosting, WooCommerce hosting, Reseller hosting, and cloud hosting. This web hosting company is famous because it has the highest happiness rate of 99.7%.

Cloudways vs. SiteGround – Side-By-Side Comparison

Now, let’s compare the two hosting companies in several categories to determine which one is a better option.

User Friendly: Both Have an Easy Use Control Panel, but SiteGround is More Beginner Friendly

Since Cloudways is a cloud hosting provider, it requires more technical knowledge. Cloudways in-house panel is a gateway to a bare virtual server that you can customize to fit your needs perfectly. Depending on your monthly needs, you can quickly scale up or down your hosting plan directly from your panel. If you’re a beginner, it will take you some time to learn everything, but if you need any help, you can use the Cloudways knowledge base that contains all the vital information.

SiteGround is easier to use than Cloudways, and it’s more accessible for beginners. The reality is that most shared hosting services are easier to use than cloud hosting services, so navigating through the platform would be super easy. SiteGround has a regular cPanel, with a dashboard containing all your services information, such as disk usage and IP and name servers.

Performance: Both Have Excellent Performance, But Cloudways is Slightly Better

Cloudways has PHP8, pre-configured PHP-FPM that boosts loading time, HTTP/2 that gives faster communication between the client and the server, and countless optimizing techniques. All these excellent features make Cloudways stand out from the crowd. Cloudways has a guaranteed uptime of 99.9% and a website speed of 769.66ms, which is extraordinary.

SiteGround servers employ SSD drives and are optimized for speed. They also have a free CDN to make your website load faster. SiteGround has a guaranteed uptime of 99.9% and above average loading speed. Since SiteGround uses a cPanel, its performance is slower than Cloudways.

Security: Top Notch Security, But SiteGround is One of the Safest Hosting Providers

Both Cloudways and SiteGround have top-notch security tools, such as anti-bot systems, SSL certificates, firewalls, automated backups, two-factor authentication, and real-time monitoring systems. Cloudways also offers IP whitelisting and auto-healing for free. On the other hand, SiteGround has many restore options, spam protection, and an anti-hack system, and the backups are kept in different remote locations. Cloudways enables you to buy CDN for additional money, while SiteGroung offers domain privacy.

Customer Support: Both Web Hosting Companies Offer a Variety of Customer Support Options

Cloudways has 24/7 live chat support and ticketing support. Also, if you purchase an advanced support add-on, you can get access to phone support and 24/7 support via Slack.

SiteGround also offers 24/7 live chat support and phone and ticketing support. However, to get the phone support, SiteGround doesn’t require you to buy a premium plan; you’ll get phone support with even the cheapest plan. Both hosting companies have excellent knowledge bases that contain helpful information.

Pricing: SiteGround is The More Affordable Option

When it comes to pricing, SiteGround is the more affordable option. Since Cloudways is a cloud provider, its lowest rates are much higher than SiteGround’s. This comparison isn’t fair because we’re not comparing the same services. For example, if you purchase a cloud hosting from SiteGround, it can cost you hundreds of dollars, a prize much higher than the one offered by Cloudways.

Another difference is that Cloudways doesn’t increase renewal rates, and you won’t have any long-term commitment, so you’ll be able to pay as you go. On the other hand, SiteGround has renewal rates, which are slightly higher than the purchasing rates.

Lastly, Cloudways offers a 14-days free trial, where you can test their services without giving out any credit card information. SiteGround has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Conclusion

Deciding between Cloudways and SiteGround is quite difficult because both hosting providers are excellent. SiteGround is more affordable, but Cloudways offers more advanced hosting. However, if you’re a beginner on a tight budget, SiteGround is the best choice for you.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)