Cloudways alternatives
xCloud vs Cloudways: Total Cost, Server Control and Features Compared
xCloud gives agencies and site owners root access and a choice of managed or self-owned servers, from $5 a month. Cloudways provides the server for you, from $11, with paid support tiers. For 10 WordPress sites on one 8 GB server, our worked bill comes to $54 a month on xCloud and $91.30 on Cloudways.
- Worked bill for 10 sites: $54.00 against $91.30 a month
- Root access, on managed servers and your own
- Bring any Ubuntu server, or use a managed plan
- Your brand on the panel, through the reseller program
- Move a whole Cloudways Flexible server in one run
Last updated
- Pro-rated or 14-day refunds
- No migration fee
- 4.8 · 428+ reviews on TrustpilotRated by the people already running WordPress on xCloud
Quick verdict
Choose xCloud if…
- You want root access to the server under your sites.
- You already have, or want, your own Vultr, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS or GCP account.
- You want to keep the server if you stop paying for the panel.
- You want a lower server bill for WordPress at the same RAM and storage.
- You want your own brand on the panel your clients log in to, not only on their invoices.
- You want to manage servers and sites from Claude, Cursor or another AI tool through MCP.
- You want to move a whole Cloudways Flexible server in one run, with no migration fee.
- You want one-click hosting for 1000+ open-source apps next to your WordPress sites.
Pro-rated refunds on managed servers. Full refund within 14 days on your own server.
Choose Cloudways if…
- You want to pay for a higher support tier, with a service-level credit behind it.
- You want their team to move your first site for you.
- You want to try the platform on a free trial before paying for a managed server.
- You resell hosting and prefer no separate platform fee on top of the hosting you use.
- You run Node.js apps and want more vCPU and bandwidth at 8 GB and 16 GB for the same price.
Still comparing providers? See the best Cloudways alternatives in 2026
What Does Each One Cost for 10 Client Sites?
A worked bill for an agency with 10 WordPress client sites on one server with 8 GB RAM, 4 vCPU and 160 GB storage. It assumes 100 GB of off-site backups and traffic inside the plan's allowance. The xCloud backup line is an optional whole-server snapshot; site backups to your own storage cost $0 from xCloud, so the two backup lines, and the totals, are not like-for-like. Prices are list prices read on 4 November 2026.
| Monthly bill |  xCloud |  Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| 10 WordPress sites, one 8 GB server | ||
| Server | $45.00. Professional plan, 4 TB bandwidth. | $88.00. Flexible on DigitalOcean, 5 TB bandwidth. |
| Backups | $9.00. Whole-server Server Backup, 20% of the server price. Site backups to storage you connect have no xCloud charge; your storage provider bills you. | $3.30. 100 GB of off-site storage at $0.033/GB. Automated backups are in the plan. |
| Support | $0. 24/7 live chat. There is no paid tier to buy. | $0 for Standard. Advanced support is listed at $100/month or 10% of the invoice. |
| Bandwidth over the allowance | $0 inside 4 TB, then $0.01/GB. | $0 inside 5 TB. No Flexible overage rate on the pages we read. |
| Migration, one time | $0. You run it from the dashboard. | $0. Their team moves the first site, then their plugin moves the rest. |
| Monthly total | $54.00 | $91.30 |
| Yearly total | $648.00 | $1,095.60 |
Three Ways to Buy xCloud, One Way to Get a Cloudways Server
Every Cloudways plan comes with a server it sets up for you. xCloud offers that too, or a panel for your own server, or a white-label reseller program.
1Managed by xCloud
| What the managed plan includes | xCloud$5/moManaged 1 GB, billed monthly | Cloudways$11/moFlexible on DigitalOcean, 1 GB |
|---|---|---|
| Managed plan | ||
| What the price covers | Yes. The panel and the server, one bill. xCloud provisions and manages the infrastructure for you. | Limited. Server and management as one package too. The panel cannot be bought on its own. |
| Hosting type | Cloud servers, provisioned for you. | Cloud servers, provisioned for you. |
| Sites per server | Yes. Unlimited, bounded only by the server size you pick. | Yes. Unlimited, within the plan's resources. |
| Bandwidth | Yes. Included, from 1 TB by plan, then $0.01/GB. | Yes. Included, from 1 TB by plan. No Flexible overage rate on the pages we read. |
| Root access | Yes. Yes. Still yours, even on a plan we manage. | No. Not offered. You get SSH and SFTP through Master Credentials. |
| Migration included | Yes. Bulk site and server migration, at no extra cost. | Yes. First site moved by their team. Unlimited WordPress sites with their plugin. |
| Refunds | Yes. Delete a managed server and claim the unused days back as credit, minus a Stripe fee of up to 10% of what you used. | Limited. Billed by the hour with no contract. No refund terms on the pricing page. |
2Bring your own server
| What the free panel includes | xCloudFree/moPanel only, provider billed separately | CloudwaysN/A/moNo option to connect your own server |
|---|---|---|
| Bring your own server | ||
| What the price covers | Yes. The panel only, free. You keep and pay your own cloud provider directly. | No. Not possible. We found no way to connect a server you already have. |
| Root access | Yes. Full root on every server you connect. | No. Not offered at any tier. |
| Supported providers | Yes. Vultr, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, GCP, or any Ubuntu host over SSH. | No. None. Cloudways sets up each server itself. |
| Server locations | Yes. Every region your chosen provider offers. You pick the datacentre directly. | No. Not applicable. There is no BYOS route. |
| Sites per server | Yes. Unlimited, bounded only by the server you chose. | Yes. Not applicable. |
| Custom NGINX | Yes. Full server-level NGINX access. It is your server. | Not applicable. |
3White-Label Reseller Program
| What the reseller program includes | xCloud$25/moStartup tier, 25 servers, plus a platform fee on servers you bring | CloudwaysHosting only/moNo separate reseller price listed |
|---|---|---|
| Reseller program | ||
| What it is | Yes. A white-label hosting brand. Set your own prices, take payment through your own Stripe account, and bill clients under your own name. | Yes. A reseller offer. Set your own prices and send white-label invoices under your name. |
| Branding | Yes. 100% white-label. Your brand name, logo and domain on the panel. | Limited. Invoices and performance reports carry your brand. Its pages do not say the panel can be rebranded. |
| Billing | Yes. Automated, through your own Stripe account. | Yes. Automated invoices, with payments through Stripe. |
| What it costs | Limited. $25 to $250 a month for 25 to 400 servers, plus a platform fee of 25% to 10% or $3 per sale on servers you bring. | Yes. No separate reseller price is listed. You pay for the hosting you use. |
Pricing
xCloud vs Cloudways: Monthly List Prices
The first table is for WordPress: xCloud Standard against Cloudways Flexible on DigitalOcean. The second is for Node.js: xCloud Premium against Cloudways Velocity.
Velocity matches xCloud Premium on price and gives more vCPU and bandwidth at 8 GB and 16 GB, plus a CDN allowance, DDoS and malware protection. Cloudways sells it as Node.js hosting. List prices read 4 November 2026, without promotions.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| WordPress: RAM | Our specs | Their specs |  xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 1 vCPU, 25 GB, 1 TB | 1 core, 25 GB, 1 TB | $5 | $11 |
| 2 GB | 1 vCPU, 55 GB, 2 TB | 1 core, 50 GB, 2 TB | $12 | $24 |
| 4 GB | 2 vCPU, 80 GB, 3 TB | 2 cores, 80 GB, 4 TB | $24 | $46 |
| 8 GB | 4 vCPU, 160 GB, 4 TB | 4 cores, 160 GB, 5 TB | $45 | $88 |
| 16 GB | 6 vCPU, 320 GB, 5 TB | 8 cores, 320 GB, 6 TB | $88 | $149 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Node.js: RAM | Our specs | Their specs | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 GB | 2 vCPU, 80 GB, 3 TB, unlimited sites | 2 vCPU, 3 TB, 5 apps | $20 | $20 |
| 4 GB | 2 vCPU, 128 GB, 3 TB, unlimited sites | 2 vCPU, 4 TB, 8 apps | $30 | $30 |
| 8 GB | 3 vCPU, 256 GB, 4 TB, unlimited sites | 4 vCPU, 5 TB, 14 apps | $50 | $50 |
| 16 GB | 4 vCPU, 384 GB, 5 TB, unlimited sites | 8 vCPU, 6 TB, 30 apps | $100 | $100 |
What Cloudways Does Not Offer: Root and Your Own Server
Cloudways has no root access and no way to connect a server you already have. xCloud gives you both. Where a row says "not stated", we did not find it on Cloudways' pages, which is different from saying it does not exist.
| Server control | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Control and configuration | ||
| Custom NGINX | Yes. Edit the server's NGINX configuration directly. | Not listed. No root access. |
| Multiple PHP versions in the same server | Yes. Run several PHP versions side by side on one machine. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| External Database | Yes. Point a site at a managed or remote database. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| Add existing database | Yes. Attach a database that already exists. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| Vertical scaling | Yes. Resize at your provider, in their sizes and regions. | Yes. Scale up the plan within the ladder Cloudways exposes. |
| Blueprints | Yes. Save a site setup and stamp it out repeatedly. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| SSH lockdown | Yes. Restrict SSH to trusted IPs and a custom port. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| PHP tuning | Yes. Per-site PHP settings and a PHP extension manager. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| Database and OPcache tuning | Yes. Auto-tuning plus manual OPcache control. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| Docker / Compose hosting | Yes. Run arbitrary containers, not just WordPress. | Not listed. Its plans cover WordPress and PHP apps, Node.js and AI agents. |
| Browser SSH terminal | Yes. A root shell on the server, from the panel. | Limited. An SSH terminal from the dashboard, without root. |
Support, and What It Costs on Top
Both offer 24/7 support at no extra charge. Cloudways also sells Advanced and Premium tiers. xCloud has no paid tier, so there is nothing to add to the bill and no faster tier to buy.
| Support and alerting | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Getting hold of someone | ||
| Support channels | Yes. 24/7 live chat, with no paid tier above it. | Yes. 24/7 Standard support at no charge. Advanced is listed at $100 a month or 10% of the invoice. Premium is a further paid tier. |
| Live chat | Yes. Included. | Yes. Included. |
| Server and site monitoring | Yes. Built in. | Yes. Built in. |
| Server and site logs | Yes. Viewable from the panel. | Yes. Viewable from the panel. |
| File manager | Yes. Browser-based, built in. | Yes. Browser-based, built in. |
| Slack alerts | Yes. Native integration. | Not published. |
| WhatsApp alerts | Yes. Native integration. | Not published. |
| Telegram alerts | Yes. Native integration. | Not published. |
| Per-site analytics | Yes. PHP, MySQL and traffic analytics, per site. | Not published. |
| Core Web Vitals monitoring | Yes. Scheduled, with history. | Not published. |
| Broken-link monitoring | Yes. One-click 301 redirect from the panel. | No. Not published. |
| Native macOS app | Yes. xCloud Pulse, in the menu bar. | Not listed. |
The Stack Underneath: Caching, Redis and the CDN
Both run the same building blocks: NGINX, OpenLiteSpeed, Redis. Neither publishes a benchmark, and this page will not invent one.
| Performance stack | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Stack and caching | ||
| Web server | Yes. NGINX and OpenLiteSpeed. | Yes. NGINX and OpenLiteSpeed. |
| Full-page and Redis cache | Yes. Both, configured for WordPress. | Yes. Both, on the managed stack. |
| PHP 8.3 | Yes. Supported and managed from the panel. | Yes. Supported. |
| WP-CLI | Yes. Available on every server. | Yes. Available. |
| CDN | Yes. Cloudflare integration included. Point any CDN at the server yourself. | Limited. Cloudflare Enterprise available as a paid first-party add-on. |
| Edge cache (global PoPs) | Limited. Not published as a first-party edge network. | Limited. Not published on the captured page. |
| HTTP/3 and Brotli | Yes. One click, per site. | Not published. |
| Auto-healing services | Yes. Restarts MySQL, NGINX, Redis or PHP automatically if one stops. | Not published. |
| Automatic cron | Yes. Set up automatically for WordPress. | Yes. Set up automatically for WordPress. |
| Custom cron jobs | Yes. Add your own, per site. | Yes. Add your own, per site. |
Moving Off Cloudways: A Whole Server in One Run
Migration is where a comparison page usually goes quiet, because the answer is normally "contact sales". Here it is a feature of the panel.
Who runs the migration
xCloud- Yes. A dashboard tool, with nothing to schedule and no ticket to wait on
- Yes. Moves every WordPress site on a Cloudways Flexible server in one run
- Limited. You run it yourself, including the DNS cutover
Cloudways- Yes. Their team moves your first site
- Yes. Their WordPress plugin moves the rest
What it costs
xCloud- Yes. No migration fee on either route
- Yes. No per-site charge
Cloudways- Yes. Free for WordPress, with unlimited sites through the plugin
What you need to leave Cloudways
xCloud- Yes. Your Cloudways Master Credentials. You do not need root
- Yes. A destination server with at least 1 GB more free space than your sites use
- Limited. On Cloudways Autonomous or for one site, use the plugin-based guide instead
Cloudways- Limited. The old host stays untouched until you switch DNS, so test before you cut over
Firewalls, Backups and What You Can Restore
Both cover the baseline: free SSL, firewall management and vulnerability scanning. The worked bill above shows what backups add on each side.
| Security and backups | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Protection and recovery | ||
| Built-in firewall | Yes. A built-in firewall for Nginx and OpenLiteSpeed, managed from the panel. | Not published. |
| Firewall management | Yes. Managed from the panel. | Yes. Managed from the panel. |
| Fail2Ban | Yes. Integrated. | Yes. Integrated. |
| Vulnerability scanning | Yes. Built in. | Yes. Built in. |
| Free SSL | Yes. Automatic Let's Encrypt. | Yes. Automatic Let's Encrypt. |
| Custom SSL/TLS | Yes. Bring your own certificate. | Yes. Bring your own certificate. |
| Virtual patching | Add-on, $2/site. | Not published. |
| Core integrity monitor | Yes. Verifies WordPress core files against checksums. | Not published. |
| Custom security headers | Yes. HSTS and CSP, set from the panel. | Not published. |
| HTTP auth and IP allow/deny | Yes. Per-site, from the panel. | Not published. |
| Full site backup | Yes. Automated, with restore. | Yes. Automated, with restore. |
| Incremental site backup | Yes. Yes. Restore granularity without a full copy each time. | Not stated on the pages we read. |
| Downloadable backups | Yes. Download any backup for offsite storage. | Yes. Supported. |
WordPress Tooling, Staging and Agency Features
Both ship WordPress staging and team roles, and both now host AI agents. The gap is 1038 one-click apps, MCP for your servers and sites, and your own brand on the panel.
| Panel and tooling | xCloud | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Day-to-day WordPress work | ||
| WordPress-first panel | Yes. Purpose-built for WordPress from the ground up. | No. Also built for Magento, Laravel, PHP, Node.js and AI agents. |
| Theme / plugin / core updates | Yes. Managed from the panel across every site. | Not listed as built in. Site Manager and SafeUpdates are listed as add-ons. |
| WordPress Multisite | Yes. Sub-domain and sub-folder, supported. | Yes. Sub-domain and sub-folder, supported. |
| Staging | Yes. One click, on the same server or another. | Yes. One click. |
| Staging push / pull | Yes. Promote a tested change rather than redoing it by hand. | Yes. Supported. |
| Clone a site | Yes. To the same server or a different one. | Yes. Supported. |
| Deploy from Git | Yes. Clone and deploy straight from a Git repository. | Yes. Supported. |
| One-click Git deployment | Yes. Push a repository and xCloud detects the stack and deploys it, no manual clone step. | Limited. Git-based deployments on its Node.js plans (Velocity). |
| 1-click magic login | Yes. Into any site's admin. | Not listed. |
| Disable magic login | Yes. Turn it off per site. | Not listed. |
| Team accounts and roles | Yes. Included, not a separate tier. | Yes. Team members with role-based permissions. |
| White-label | Yes. Your brand on the panel, through the reseller program. | Yes. White-label invoices and reports. |
| MCP server (AI agent control) | Yes. Drive servers and sites from Claude, Cursor or any MCP-capable agent. | Limited. An "MCP Integration" is listed on AI agent plans only. We found none for servers and sites. |
| Managed AI agent hosting | Yes. One-click hosting for OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Paperclip, Buzz and more, each on a managed server with backups and monitoring included. | Yes. Plans from $9.99 to $79.99 a month for OpenClaw and Hermes. |
| One-click app library | 1038 open-source apps, deployed in one click. | Not listed. |
Refunds, Add-Ons and What Costs Extra
Both sides charge for things outside the plan. Here is each list, with prices.
Refunds and cancellation
xCloud- Yes. Managed servers: claim the unused days back as credit, minus a Stripe fee of up to 10% of what you used
- Yes. Your own server: full refund within 14 days. Reseller panel subscription: refund within 14 days
- Limited. Add-ons are not refundable once activated
Cloudways- Yes. Billed by the hour, with no long-term contract
- Limited. No refund terms on its pricing page. Read its terms before you buy
What costs extra
xCloud- Limited. Whole-server backup: 20% of the server price, on servers we bill
- Limited. Bandwidth past your plan: $0.01/GB
- Limited. Add-ons: Site Security PRO $2 per site, Cloudflare Enterprise $5 per domain
- Limited. On your own server, your provider's bill
Cloudways- Limited. Off-site backup storage: $0.033/GB
- Limited. Support: paid Advanced and Premium tiers
- Limited. Add-ons such as Cloudflare, Malware Protection and Site Manager cost extra
The full table
Every xCloud and Cloudways Feature, Side by Side
Every feature we compare, side by side. 49 of 84 rows differ. A dash means it was not stated on the Cloudways pages we read on 4 November 2026, not that it is missing.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| xCloud | Cloudways | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting type | Cloud servers | Cloud servers |
| Lowest plan | Starts at $5/month | Starts at $11/month |
| Web Server – NGINX & OLS | Yes | Yes |
| Integrate Your Own Provider(Vultr, DigitalOcean, GCP, Hetzner, AWS or any Ubuntu) | Yes | No |
| Root access to server | Yes | No |
| Vertical Scaling | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited websites creation | Yes | Yes |
| External Database | Yes | — |
| WordPress Multisite ( support for sub-domain and sub-folder ) | Yes | Yes |
| Site Disable | Yes | Yes |
| Blueprints | Yes | — |
| Custom NGINX | Yes | — |
| Full page & Redis cache | Yes | Yes |
| Transactional email service | Yes | Yes |
| Easy integration with Mailgun, SendGrid, ElasticEmail, or any SMTP provider | Yes | Yes |
| Fully WordPress focused | Yes | No |
| WordPress theme, plugin, & core update | Yes | — |
| Automatic security updates | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in firewall (Nginx / OpenLiteSpeed) | Yes | — |
| Fail2Ban Integration | Yes | Yes |
| Firewall Management | Yes | Yes |
| Vulnerability Scanner | Yes | Yes |
| Accounts & roles management for team | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic FREE Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates | Yes | Yes |
| Custom SSL/TLS certificates | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic Cron job | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Cron Jobs | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple PHP versions in the same server | Yes | — |
| Compatibility & easy management for PHP 8.3 | Yes | Yes |
| WP-CLI | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk site & server migration | Yes | — |
| cPanel Site Migration | Yes | — |
| Multisite with Subdomain Support | Yes | Yes |
| Full Site Backup | Yes | Yes |
| Incremental Site Backup | Yes | — |
| Site Backup download option for remote backups | Yes | Yes |
| Full Server Backup Management | Yes | Yes |
| File Manager | Yes | Yes |
| Reset File & Folder Permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Server & Site monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Slack Integration | Yes | — |
| WhatsApp Integration | Yes | — |
| Server and Site Log | Yes | Yes |
| Add existing database | Yes | — |
| Clone site to same & another server | Yes | Yes |
| 1-click staging | Yes | Yes |
| Staging With Pull Push | Yes | Yes |
| 1-click magic login | Yes | — |
| Magic Login Disable | Yes | — |
| Live chat support | Yes | Yes |
| Clone & Deploy from GIT | Yes | Yes |
| Whitelabel | Yes | Yes |
| Moneyback guarantee | Managed: unused days claimable as credit. Your own server: full refund within 14 days. Reseller panel subscription: refund within 14 days | — |
| AI and agent control | ||
| MCP server — drive servers and sites from Claude, Cursor or any AI agent | Yes | AI agent plans only |
| Installable AI agent skills (servers, sites, WordPress, SSL, account) | Yes | — |
| AI bot blocker — block AI crawlers and scrapers at the server | Yes | — |
| Public REST API with scoped tokens | Yes | Yes |
| Security and WordPress integrity | ||
| Virtual patching for known vulnerabilities (Site Security PRO) | Add-on, $2/site | — |
| WordPress integrity monitor — verifies core files against checksums | Yes | — |
| Custom security headers (HSTS, CSP) from the panel | Yes | — |
| HTTP basic auth and per-site IP allow/deny | Yes | — |
| SSH lockdown — restrict SSH to trusted IPs, custom port | Yes | — |
| Performance and caching | ||
| Edge full-page cache on a global PoP network | Yes | — |
| Cloudflare Enterprise (330+ PoPs, Enterprise WAF) | Add-on, $5/domain | Paid add-on |
| HTTP/3 (QUIC) and Brotli compression, one click | Yes | — |
| Per-site PHP tuning and PHP extension manager | Yes | — |
| Auto-healing — restarts MySQL, NGINX, Redis or PHP if it stops | Yes | — |
| MySQL/MariaDB auto-tuning and OPcache control | Yes | — |
| Monitoring and observability | ||
| Broken link monitoring with one-click 301 redirect | Yes | No |
| Site Insights — PHP, MySQL and traffic analytics per site | Yes | — |
| Scheduled PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals monitoring with history | Yes | — |
| Telegram alerts for site, server and team events | Yes | — |
| Native macOS menu-bar app (xCloud Pulse) | Yes | — |
| Developer and deployment | ||
| Browser SSH terminal and command runner | Yes | SSH, without root |
| One-click deploy from Git with stack auto-detection | Yes | Git deploys on Node.js plans |
| Docker and Docker Compose application hosting | Yes | — |
| Node.js, Laravel and Next.js hosting with background tasks | Yes | Node.js and Laravel; background tasks not stated |
| One-click app library | 1038 apps | — |
| Supervisor process management and site snapshots | Yes | — |
| Backups, migration and agency tooling | ||
| Off-site backups to your own S3, R2, Backblaze, Wasabi, Google Drive or pCloud | Yes | — |
| Full server clone and server-to-server migration | Yes | — |
| Branded client maintenance reports (PDF) | Yes | — |
| White-label reseller programme with Stripe billing and your own plans | Yes | Invoices and reports only |
| Business mailboxes on your own domain | Add-on, $1/mo | — |
Where Cloudways wins, and what xCloud does about it
Four fair reasons to pick Cloudways, answered straight.
Paid support tiers
Cloudways sells Advanced and Premium support, and its support SLA gives invoice credits when it misses its service levels.
xCloud has 24/7 live chat with no paid tier, so nothing to pay for, and no faster tier to buy if you want one.
Someone moves your first site
Cloudways' team moves your first website for free.
xCloud's migration is a dashboard tool you run yourself, at no charge, and it can move a whole Flexible server in one run.
A free trial of the managed product
Cloudways offers a 5-day Flexible trial. xCloud managed servers are paid from the moment you create them.
Delete an xCloud managed server and you can claim the unused days back as credit, minus a Stripe fee of up to 10% of what you used. The Free Trial on /pricing/ covers only a server you bring.
Reselling with no platform fee listed
Cloudways' reseller page lists no separate fee: you pay for the hosting you use. xCloud's reseller plans cost $25 to $250 a month, plus a platform fee on servers you bring.
That fee pays for your own brand on the panel your clients log in to. Cloudways' pages mention branded invoices and reports only.
People who moved from Cloudways
In their own words, unedited.
I had 150 sites on cloudways and am in the process of moving them to xcloud. Much faster and better priced.
Dan SpinozaI came from Cloudways and won't go back. Highly impressed with xCloud. Glad I gave them a chance.
Jared McDowellI went from Cloudways to xCloud. No intention on switching in the foreseeable future.
Blaine MooreKeep comparing
Still Weighing Up Other Options?
Every comparison runs the same format: the topic tables, the full feature matrix, the published prices.
Managed hosting
Someone else owns the servers and rents them to you with the stack on top.
See the comparisonxCloud vs WP Engine
Fully managed WordPress hosting, sold by monthly visitor count.
See the comparisonxCloud vs Kinsta
Premium managed WordPress hosting on Google Cloud, metered three ways.
See the comparisonxCloud vs Rocket.net
Managed WordPress hosting with Cloudflare Enterprise on every plan.
Ready to leave Cloudways?
Ready To Try xCloud Instead?
Connect your own server for free, or choose a managed server, and move when you are ready. No migration fee, root access either way.
- Worked bill: $54.00 against $91.30 a month
- Root access, on managed servers and your own
- Any Ubuntu host, or a managed plan
- Whole-server migration from Cloudways Flexible
- 24/7 live chat, no paid tier
- Your brand on the panel for resellers
xCloud vs Cloudways: Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people ask before moving between xCloud and Cloudways.
What is the difference between xCloud and Cloudways?
The main difference is control of the server: xCloud gives you root access and lets you bring your own server, and Cloudways does neither.
Cloudways sets up the server on a provider you pick and bills it with the management as one plan. xCloud offers the same kind of managed plan, and it also works as a control panel for a server you already rent.
Is xCloud cheaper than Cloudways?
At list price for WordPress, yes: 8 GB is $45 a month on xCloud and $88 on Cloudways.
On our worked bill for 10 sites, with backups added, the totals are $54.00 and $91.30 a month. Cloudways gives 1 TB more bandwidth at that size. Its promotions can lower the first months, so check its pricing page on the day you buy.
Are Cloudways' $20, $30, $50 and $100 plans the same as xCloud's?
The prices match, but those Cloudways plans are Velocity, which it sells as managed Node.js hosting.
For WordPress, compare Cloudways Flexible instead. If you run Node.js, Velocity gives more vCPU and bandwidth at 8 GB and 16 GB and includes a CDN allowance, while xCloud gives unlimited sites and root access.
What costs extra on Cloudways?
Off-site backup storage, higher support tiers and add-ons cost extra on Cloudways.
Off-site storage is $0.033/GB. Advanced support is listed at $100 a month or 10% of the invoice, and Premium support is a further paid tier. Add-ons such as Cloudflare, Malware Protection and Site Manager are billed on top; check the pricing page for current rates.
What costs extra on xCloud?
Whole-server backup, add-ons and extra bandwidth cost extra on xCloud.
Server Backup adds 20% of the server price on servers xCloud bills. Bandwidth past your plan is $0.01/GB. Add-ons include Site Security PRO at $2 per site and Cloudflare Enterprise at $5 per domain. If you bring your own server, your provider bills you for it.
Which platform is better for agencies?
xCloud if you want your own brand on the panel and root access; Cloudways if you resell and want no separate platform fee, or want paid support tiers.
Both charge per server rather than per site, and both have team roles. Cloudways has a free partner program, white-label invoices and branded reports. xCloud's reseller plans are $25 to $250 a month, plus a platform fee on servers you bring, and they put your brand on the panel your clients use.
Does Cloudways give root access?
No. Cloudways does not offer root access to its servers.
Cloudways' help centre says root access is not available. You get SSH and SFTP through Master Credentials instead. On xCloud you can work as root from the browser terminal, a sudo user or an SSH key, on managed servers and your own.
Can I use my own VPS with xCloud or Cloudways?
With xCloud, yes. With Cloudways, we found no way to connect a server you already have.
xCloud connects Vultr, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, GCP or any Ubuntu server, and the first server is free with up to 10 sites. Your provider bills you for the machine. Cloudways sets up each server itself.
Does Cloudways have a reseller or white-label plan?
Yes. Cloudways lets you set your own prices and send white-label invoices under your name.
Payments run through Stripe and you can share branded reports. Its pages do not say the control panel can be rebranded. xCloud's reseller program puts your brand name, logo and domain on the panel too.
Does Cloudways have an MCP server?
Cloudways lists an "MCP Integration" on its AI agent plans; we found no MCP for managing servers and sites.
The pages we read do not say what that integration covers. xCloud's MCP server lets Claude, Cursor and other AI tools work with your servers and sites.
Can I migrate from Cloudways to xCloud?
Yes. xCloud can move every WordPress site on a Cloudways Flexible server in one run, at no charge.
The full server migration uses your Cloudways Master Credentials, so you don't need root. The usual approach is to migrate as demo copies, test while DNS still points at Cloudways, then cut over. For Cloudways Autonomous or a single site, use the plugin-based guide. You run the migration yourself from the dashboard.
Do both platforms include backups?
Both include backups, and both charge for parts of them.
Cloudways includes automated backups and charges $0.033/GB for off-site storage. xCloud has site backups, including incremental ones, to storage you connect, which your storage provider bills you for. Whole-server backup adds 20% of the server price on servers xCloud bills.
Do xCloud and Cloudways refund you if you leave?
xCloud publishes a refund policy; Cloudways bills by the hour with no contract and shows no refund terms on its pricing page.
Delete an xCloud managed server and you can claim the unused days back as credit from Billing → Bills & Payment → Claim Refund Credit, minus a Stripe fee of up to 10% of what you used. Your own server: full refund within 14 days. Reseller panel subscription: refund within 14 days. Add-ons are not refundable once activated.
What refund do xCloud reseller plans get?
Your own server: full refund within 14 days. Reseller panel subscription: refund within 14 days.
Managed servers you sell through the reseller panel are refunded pro-rated, after usage and Stripe fees are taken off. You set the refund terms for your own clients.