When choosing a web hosting service for your website, there are many options available. However, the wrong choice can leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.
Over the years, my web hosting experience has been extensive, using many different web host providers for my website. In my experience, Bluehost and Cloudways are two of the most popular hosting services in the industry, but which one is right for you?
In this year’s Bluehost vs. Cloudways comparison (2023), the Tweak Your Biz team and I looked at each provider’s services and features to help you decide which best suits your needs.
How Did We Test Bluehost & Cloudways Hosting?
At Tweak Your Biz, we conducted an intensive evaluation of Bluehost and Cloudways hosting to determine the best choice. All tests were conducted over four weeks to ensure result accuracy and provide users with meaningful data that reflects what they should expect from their hosting provider.
We put together two testing sites on Bluehost and Cloudways to measure the results based on certain criteria:
- Hosting Types & Features
- Performance & Speed
- Ease of Use
- Pricing & Value
- Website Security
- Help & Support
- WordPress Features
- Extras
Bluehost vs. Cloudways Winner:
After carefully evaluating and testing Bluehost and Cloudways, we have concluded that both Bluehost and Cloudways offer reliable and secure web hosting services that provide useful features for businesses of all sizes.
Cloudways is the clear choice for those looking for a more powerful hosting experience. It offers a fully managed, cloud-based platform with various features ideal for web developers and digital agencies.
However, Bluehost is the perfect choice for new webmasters and small businesses looking for an affordable web hosting solution. It also has an excellent customer support and provides different services.
Ultimately, it all comes down to your specific website needs and budget. If you’re stuck between Bluehost and Cloudways, continue reading to discover which one performed best during our testing.
What Is Bluehost Web Hosting?
Bluehost is one of the world’s leading web hosting providers, offering reliable and affordable hosting solutions for individuals and businesses. Founded in 1996, Bluehost now serves over 2 million websites globally, making it a trusted choice for new and experienced website owners.
It is best known for its WordPress hosting services, but it also offers the following:
- VPS Hosting
- Shared Hosting
- Managed Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
- WooCommerce Hosting
Bluehost also provides SSL certificates to guarantee secure data transfers with a content delivery network (CDN), to speed up page loading times worldwide, and an intuitive control panel allowing users to easily manage their websites without technical knowledge.
To learn more about all of their services, features, and pricing, read our in-depth Bluehost review here!
Who Uses Bluehost?
Bluehost is easy-to-use for beginner websites and small businesses due to its intuitive user interface and simplified hosting management tools. Its app store has hundreds of applications available to help website owners quickly install software on their sites without coding knowledge.
Additionally, Bluehost offers high-performance servers with unlimited resources and 24/7 support. These features make it easier for users to start and manage a website without technical difficulty. Bluehost is also one of the best web hosting providers for WordPress users, providing robust features designed explicitly for this popular CMS.
This means that Bluehost can improve the performance of already existing WordPress websites. Moreover, Bluehost is also an excellent option for those looking to start a new website by offering easy setup and installation of WordPress.
What are the Benefits of Bluehost?
Bluehost offers many benefits to its users. Its customer support team provides 24/7 assistance by phone and live chat. Bluehost also has an extensive knowledge base with tutorials and FAQs that can help you with any technical issues you might encounter while managing your site.
The service also has excellent uptime, making it an ideal choice for businesses that need maximum reliability and performance from their websites. Additionally, users can create unlimited email accounts and manage their domains easily through the user-friendly control panel.
With its competitive pricing, robust security infrastructure, and helpful customer support, Bluehost is an excellent choice for website owners seeking a reliable web hosting provider.
Where Does Bluehost Fall Short?
Bluehost falls short regarding more complex requirements, such as managing multiple websites simultaneously. It also lacks vital features such as server scalability, auto-scaling, and integrated caching tools, which can be crucial for robust websites with higher traffic volumes.
Additionally, Bluehost has limited control over server configurations, and a lack of advanced security measures, making it difficult to protect sensitive data. It also does not offer “one-click” installations, making it a less attractive choice for those unfamiliar with coding.
Ultimately, compared to its competitors, such as Cloudways, Bluehost falls short on features that could help customers elevate their website by taking it to the next level.
What Is Cloudways Hosting?
Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that provides users with an easy and cost-effective way to host their websites. It allows users to select from various plans based on their needs, with features such as automated backups, dedicated firewalls, and advanced caching, to name a few.
Cloudways also offers the flexibility of using multiple clouds and providing hosting for applications, such as:
- Vultr
- Linode
- WordPress
- DigitalOcean
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
This allows users to scale up or down depending on their needs without long-term commitments or contracts. With its fully-managed service offerings, Cloudways relieves customers of the burden of managing their servers on their own by taking care of server optimizations, software patching, security hardening, and other maintenance tasks.
If you are thinking about choosing Cloudways as your website’s hosting provider, consider reading our detailed Cloudways review before deciding.
Who Uses Cloudways?
Cloudways is a cloud hosting platform that has become increasingly popular among experienced web developers and IT professionals because of its intuitive features. It offers users quick access to servers and applications and scalability and flexibility at an affordable price.
This web host also provides developers with powerful features, such as managed firewalls, dedicated IPs, on-demand snapshots, and website cloning capabilities. Developers can also use Cloudways’ built-in developer tools to create and deploy professional websites and applications quickly.
With over 100 data centers worldwide, Cloudways ensures optimal site performance for every website hosted on its platform, no matter where you or your users are.
What are the Benefits of Cloudways?
The benefits of Cloudways are numerous. Their cloud hosting platform is built to be secure, reliable, and fast. With their expertise in hosting applications, you can rest assured that your website will run optimally and securely.
With Cloudways, users can quickly scale their web presence to meet the demands of their growing business and add additional resources, such as databases and more storage space, according to their needs.
Additionally, Cloudways boasts an impressive array of customer service options, including 24/7 live chat support, email response times under 30 minutes, and a ticket system with a guaranteed resolution time of 1 hour.
Where Does Cloudways Fall Short?
Cloudways falls short in some areas compared to other web hosting services, like Bluehost. While it provides a more sophisticated platform for developers, the main drawback is cost.
Compared to Bluehost, Cloudways’ hosting plans are more expensive and require more technical knowledge to set up. Additionally, it does not provide free domain transfers or domain registration services.
These limitations can be dealbreakers for businesses seeking a reliable and cost-effective hosting solution. While Cloudways may be suitable for certain companies and users looking for a more flexible cloud hosting solution, it falls short regarding customization and affordability.
Cloudways vs. Bluehost: The Details
Both Bluehost and Cloudways are reliable hosting services. Bluehost is somewhat limited in features compared to Cloudways but offers competitive pricing, domain registration, and free domain transfers.
On the other hand, Cloudways provides more advanced options for developers and experienced users at a higher price point. However, it is a relatively new provider specializing in cloud-based web hosting solutions.
Let’s take a closer look at how these two services stacked up against each other during our extensive testing!
What Types of Hosting Does Bluehost Have?
Bluehost is a web hosting provider that offers an extensive range of hosting plans and services. Users can access unlimited domains with unlimited disk space and bandwidth and a free domain name with their shared plans.
For those looking for more power, the VPS and dedicated servers give users complete control over their server environment with the flexibility to customize their accounts according to their needs.
Additionally, its WordPress hosting provides optimized settings for running WordPress websites, so it runs faster and more securely than on a typical web server. However, WooCommerce hosting offers additional features, such as automatic updates, to help keep your online store running efficiently.
Regardless of which type of hosting service you require, all plans include unlimited domains, storage space, data transfer, and email accounts. This makes Bluehost a great choice for those looking for a reliable, cost-effective hosting service.
What Types of Hosting Does Cloudways Have?
Cloudways is a managed hosting platform that offers several different types of web hosting services. However, it is well known for its cloud-based hosting, which is ideal for those needing the highest performance and scalability available.
By leveraging the power of leading cloud providers such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean, and Vultr, businesses can deploy their applications quickly and securely.
Some of the hosting options available on Cloudways include shared, dedicated, and auto-scaling hosting plans. All plans come with enterprise-grade performance and scalability, which is perfect for businesses looking to maximize their digital presence.
Winner: Bluehost
After extensive testing, Bluehost came out on top as the winner in our Bluehost vs. Cloudways comparison. Bluehost offers an extensive range of hosting plans and services at competitive prices, making it the ideal choice for businesses seeking a reliable and cost-effective web hosting solution.
Does Bluehost Have Uptime Issues?
Bluehost is generally known for its reliable uptime. They boast an impressive 99.9% uptime record, with average server response times rarely exceeding 500ms.
This web host also has built-in tools that provide detailed reports of downtime events, helping customers quickly and efficiently identify and fix performance issues.
Overall, Bluehost provides dependable uptime with minimal issues and excellent customer service to ensure satisfaction with the hosting experience.
Does Cloudways Have Uptime Issues?
Cloudways is also known for providing reliable uptime and performance. They guarantee 99.9% server uptime and offer a dedicated team that monitors the uptime of their servers around the clock, ensuring that any downtime issues are detected and resolved quickly.
In addition, it includes advanced scalability features that allow the service to automatically add server resources when needed, reducing the risk of your website suffering from prolonged downtimes due to overloads or spikes in high traffic.
Cloudways also takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies, such as SDD hard drives, which help optimize website performance and keep it running during periods of high traffic.
Winner: Cloudways
Cloudways is the winner when it comes to uptime and performance. They offer reliable service with dedicated teams monitoring their servers around the clock and advanced scalability features for website optimization.
How Fast Is Bluehost?
Bluehost offers incredibly fast page loading speeds thanks to its multiple data centers, advanced caching capabilities, and powerful server infrastructure.
Its servers are built using top-of-the-line hardware emphasizing speed and performance. In addition, Bluehost utilizes advanced CDNs that allow sites hosted on their servers to be delivered quickly without sacrificing quality or reliability.
How Fast Is Cloudways?
Cloudways is renowned for its unbeatable speed, reliability, and performance. It utilizes the latest cloud technologies and advanced optimization techniques to ensure fast server loading times.
Additionally, it employs an intelligent caching system that helps load website content quickly. This system can also easily handle spike loads by proactively scaling resources accordingly.
As a result, all websites hosted on Cloudways run blazingly fast, ensuring a smooth user experience for visitors worldwide regardless of where they are accessing your site from.
Winner: Cloudways
Cloudways is the clear winner when it comes to website loading speeds. Its advanced caching systems and cutting-edge technologies allow for fast page loading times without downtimes.
Bluehost Stress Test
Bluehost performed exceptionally well during our stress test, surpassing expectations. During the test, Bluehost handled unusually large amounts of traffic and requests easily, and even when their servers were pushed to their limits, they still managed to hold up with minimal downtime.
Additionally, its uptime was consistent throughout the test, indicating that customers can always expect reliable service.
Cloudways Stress Test
Cloudways handled our stress test remarkably well. It consistently maintained high uptime rates, even under heavy loads of traffic. Cloudways’ stability and scalability are unmatched in the industry, with minimal downtime and consistent performance during peak hours.
Its robust infrastructure is designed to handle sudden spikes in web traffic with ease, so you never have to worry about the availability of your website or application.
Winner: Tie
Both Bluehost and Cloudways performed exceptionally well during our stress test. As such, it’s a tie between Bluehost and Cloudways regarding performance during a stress test.
How Easy Is Bluehost to Use?
Bluehost is renowned for being one of the most user-friendly web hosting services. With an intuitive and streamlined platform, Bluehost makes setting up a website easy, even for those without technical experience.
Its convenient control panel and dashboard make managing your website straightforward. Additionally, automatic WordPress installation, free domains, website design tools, and a drag-and-drop interface for website customization are included.
How Easy Are Cloudways to Use?
Cloudways is an incredibly user-friendly hosting provider. The platform enables users to easily manage their server and application configurations, deploy applications with a few clicks, and quickly scale their servers as needed.
The easy-to-use interface makes it straightforward for anyone, even those new to web hosting and cloud computing. In addition, Cloudways also offers an intuitive dashboard that helps users monitor performance metrics and manage domains.
Winner: Tie
Both Bluehost and Cloudways offer user-friendly control panels, making it easy for anyone to manage their websites. As a result, Bluehost and Cloudways are neck and neck regarding ease of use.
Bluehost Pricing & Value
Bluehost offers some of the most competitive pricing for web hosting compared to competitors. Plan prices vary based on the type of hosting services and features businesses require.
These are the annual shared hosting plans Bluehost offers users:
- Basic: $2.95/month
- Plus: $5.45/month
- Choice Plus: $5.54/month
- Pro: $13.95/month
Not only is the pricing very reasonable, but Bluehost also provides excellent value with plenty of features in each package. With these features and reasonable pricing, Bluehost offers excellent value to customers looking to get the most out of their hosting experience.
All in all, Bluehost offers a great value for the product that can help make setting up and managing a website much easier and more convenient than ever before.
Cloudways Pricing & Value
Cloudways is one of the pricier options when it comes to web hosting, but there are several factors that make up for the higher cost. However, pricing varies depending on the type of plan and cloud-based application you choose.
These are the monthly Premium DigitalOcean pricing plans Cloudways provides:
- Option 1: $12/month
- Option 2: $26/month
- Option 3: $50/month
- Option 4: $96/month
All plans have a free SSL certificate, a managed hosting environment with automated backups and updates, unlimited websites, and data transfer.
With Cloudways, small businesses get flexible scalability and performance monitoring to adjust their plans according to your website’s growth easily.
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost is the clear winner when it comes to pricing and value. It offers more affordable pricing than Cloudways and still provides excellent value with plenty of features in each package.
How Secure Is Bluehost?
Bluehost is renowned for its secure hosting services. The company uses state-of-the-art security technology, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, to ensure customers’ data is always kept safe and secure.
Additionally, Bluehost has an advanced firewall system that provides an additional layer of protection against malicious online threats. It also offers various security measures to enhance its infrastructure, such as server hardening and malware scanning.
How Secure Is Cloudways?
Cloudways is an incredibly secure hosting provider. With state-of-the-art data centers worldwide, Cloudways offers advanced server monitoring and protection against malicious attacks.
The platform also features a firewall, SSL encryption, regular backups, and 24/7 security monitoring by a team of experts to ensure your data remains safe. Additionally, its advanced caching system ensures your website loads quickly and reliably for improved user experience.
Winner: Cloudways
When it comes to security, Cloudways is the clear winner. With advanced security measures and 24/7 monitoring, Cloudways ensures your data is always protected from malicious attacks.
Can We Trust Bluehost?
Yes, Bluehost can be trusted to handle your website hosting needs. Bluehost is a reliable and secure platform that provides top-notch services, including fast page-loading speeds, great customer service, and stability.
Bluehost also provides users with an integrated cPanel, allowing them to manage their websites easily and effectively. The company also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try Bluehost with no risk.
Can We Trust Cloudways?
Yes, Cloudways is a reliable and secure hosting provider that customers can trust to handle their website hosting needs. The company regularly updates its security measures and features to protect its users from malicious attacks.
The platform also offers users a 3-day free trial and 24/7 customer service to help with any inquiries or technical problems they may have.
Winner: Tie
Bluehost and Cloudways both can be trusted to provide secure and reliable hosting services.
Is Bluehost Customer Support Good?
Bluehost offers great customer support for those who need assistance setting up their website. It provides 24/7 live chat and phone support and an extensive help center with plenty of resources to help with any technical issues.
Additionally, they offer user-friendly and step-by-step tutorials to help users get started easily on their platform. All in all, Bluehost has top-notch customer support that can help people get up and running on the web quickly and easily.
Is Cloudways Customer Support Good?
Cloudways is known for its exceptional customer service. A team of experienced professionals is on hand 24/7 to help you with your website hosting needs. Its customer service representatives quickly respond to inquiries and can troubleshoot any issue efficiently and professionally.
The company also offers a variety of support options, including live chat, email, phone, and ticketing systems. Additionally, customers also have access to a comprehensive knowledge base for solutions to common issues.
Winner: Cloudways
When it comes to customer support, Cloudways is the clear winner. The company offers a wide range of support options and highly experienced professionals that can assist you with any issue quickly and effectively.
Does Bluehost Offer WordPress Hosting?
Yes, Bluehost does offer WordPress hosting. It is one of the most popular hosting providers for WordPress websites and offers a variety of plans to suit different needs.
The company also provides users with an integrated WordPress dashboard which allows them to manage their website easily and quickly. Bluehost also offers users a free domain name and 25 email accounts when they sign up for their WordPress hosting plans.
Does Cloudways Offer WordPress Hosting?
Yes, Cloudways does offer WordPress hosting. Its managed WordPress hosting service has been designed specifically to meet the needs of those who use WordPress.
It operates on a cloud-based platform, providing users with improved performance, increased security, and enhanced scalability. Additionally, Cloudways offers an intuitive dashboard, which allows users to manage all their WordPress websites in one place.
Winner: Bluehost
When it comes to WordPress hosting, Bluehost is the clear winner because its WordPress capabilities are renowned.
Will Bluehost Help With Website Migration?
Yes, Bluehost can help you with website migration. The company provides a free website transfer service that helps users move their existing websites to Bluehost without any hassle.
This service is available for all Bluehost hosting plans and includes data migration, content replication, and DNS transfer assistance. Moreover, Bluehost also offers an automated process for domain transfer, which makes the whole process faster and easier.
Will Cloudways Help With Website Migration?
Cloudways is a great choice for website migration because it supports multiple cloud infrastructures. It offers automated migrations that allow users to painlessly move their sites between servers.
The process is done in just a few clicks without development or technical support. In addition, Cloudways provides various features to help users manage their migrated websites.
Winner: Tie
Both Bluehost and Cloudways offer great website migration services.
Does Bluehost Offer Email Hosting?
Yes, Bluehost does offer email hosting. The company provides a secure and reliable email hosting service included in all its hosting plans.
Bluehost also provides users an easy-to-use webmail interface, allowing them to manage their emails from anywhere. The company offers many features, such as spam filtering and virus scanning, to protect user data and prevent attacks.
Does Cloudways Offer Email Hosting?
Cloudways provides email hosting services as an add-on through Rackspace. However, it does not offer any similar services through its platform.
Although Cloudways does not provide email hosting as part of its services, it does allow users to integrate their external email accounts with their websites.
Winner: Bluehost
When it comes to email hosting, Bluehost is the clear winner due to its comprehensive services. The company provides users with a secure and reliable email hosting service that can be easily managed anywhere.
Does Bluehost Have a Website Builder?
Bluehost offers a website builder for its customers. This service provides an easy way to create and manage a website without writing code.
The website builder comes with pre-built templates designed to be user-friendly, allowing users to quickly customize the look and feel of their websites. It also includes features like drag-and-drop capabilities, which make it easier for even novice webmasters to create beautiful, functional websites.
Does Cloudways Have a Website Builder?
Cloudways does not have its website builder, but it does offer a range of integration options for popular website-building platforms. For example, Cloudways integrates with popular content management systems like WordPress, Drupal, and Magento.
Additionally, Cloudways supports website builders such as Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. With these integrations, users can access the powerful infrastructure of Cloudways while taking advantage of the ease of use and design flexibility that these popular website builders provide.
Winner: Bluehost
When it comes to website builders, Bluehost is the clear winner because its website builder provides an easy-to-use interface and pre-built templates that make creating a website a breeze.
Bluehost Alternatives
For users seeking an alternative to Bluehost, a wide range of web hosting providers are available.
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a top-rated web hosting provider that offers fast and reliable hosting solutions. The company provides various services, including shared, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting solutions.
It is known for its extremely fast speeds, using SSD servers that enable websites to load up to 20x faster than other hosts. The company also provides 24/7 customer support with live chat, phone, and email support.
DreamHost
DreamHost is a popular choice for those looking for an alternative to Bluehost. It offers reliable hosting services, excellent customer support, and a range of price points that make it accessible to users on any budget.
With over 700,000 customers, DreamHost is one of the oldest web hosting companies. It provides shared hosting plans with unlimited storage and bandwidth, plus WordPress-optimized hosting and dedicated server options.
Cloudways Alternatives
There are a variety of alternatives to Cloudways, depending on the specific needs and requirements of small businesses.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is an international web hosting company offering a range of website services, including domain registration, website hosting, online marketing, and security.
The company also operates an open platform for developers and designers, providing them the tools to create their applications and websites. GoDaddy’s primary focus is helping people build a successful online presence through its wide range of products and services.
HostGator
HostGator is a reliable and feature-rich web host that offers powerful shared hosting, cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, and VPS services. HostGator’s user-friendly plans are designed to be easy to set up and use, even for novice website owners.
With unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts linking the plans with a wide selection of add-ons, HostGator can scale with businesses of any size.
Now You Decide
Bluehost and Cloudways offer powerful web hosting solutions, but Bluehost is the clear winner for website builders. It provides a comprehensive package of features for easy-to-use custom templates, drag-and-drop capabilities, and more.
However, Cloudways is perfect for any business that requires powerful hosting with a range of integrations. However, choosing the right web hosting provider depends on what type of service you need for your business.
Luckily, plenty of Bluehost and Cloudways alternatives are available if neither seems to be the ideal fit. Remember to do your research to compare each platform’s services, features, and pricing before deciding.
Are you new to web hosting, or are you an experienced webmaster? Do you have a favorite web host? Do you have any questions about our Bluehost vs. Cloudways comparison? Let us know in the comments below!
