Quick Score Card
Best For / Skip If
Best for: Developers and technical users who want cloud infrastructure flexibility - the ability to choose between DigitalOcean, AWS, and GCP in Sydney - without managing a raw VPS. Good for agencies building client sites who want scalable resources and more control than shared hosting allows.
Skip if: You're not technical. Cloudways has more setup complexity than Kinsta or WP Engine. If you want something that just works, look at SiteGround or VentraIP.
Who Owns Cloudways
Cloudways was founded in 2012 in Malta and acquired by DigitalOcean (NYSE: DOCN) in 2022. It operates as a semi-independent brand within DigitalOcean's portfolio. Cloudways is not Australian-owned and has no Australian corporate entity.
The model is a managed cloud marketplace: Cloudways provisions servers on your chosen cloud provider (DigitalOcean, AWS, or Google Cloud - Vultr and Linode are no longer offered to new customers following the DigitalOcean acquisition), adds their management layer on top, and bills you a flat monthly fee. All three providers have Sydney-region availability. The DigitalOcean Sydney 2GB droplet is the most popular entry-level configuration for WordPress sites.
Pricing (AUD, inc. GST - Approximate)
Cloudways prices in USD. The figures below are approximate AUD. Pricing varies significantly by cloud provider - AWS and GCP are substantially more expensive than DigitalOcean for equivalent resources.
| Provider | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Approx AUD/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | ~$14 |
| DigitalOcean | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | ~$28 |
| DigitalOcean | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | ~$55 |
| AWS (Sydney) | 2 GB | 20 GB SSD | n/a | ~$65 |
| GCP (Sydney) | 1.7 GB | 20 GB SSD | n/a | ~$55 |
There are no long-term contracts - Cloudways bills monthly. This makes it easy to scale up or switch server sizes without penalty.
Important: The 1GB DigitalOcean droplet is not suitable for WordPress in production. The 2GB droplet at ~$28/month is the practical entry point for a reliable WordPress site.
Speed
Our controlled TTFB benchmark for Cloudways (DigitalOcean Sydney 2GB droplet) from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth is in progress, and the verified figures are published here once it completes (see how we test). We publish measured numbers, not estimates.
Structurally: with a DigitalOcean Sydney droplet, your origin sits local to Australian visitors. The one architectural caveat is caching - Cloudways uses Breeze, a caching plugin, rather than the purpose-built server-level caching stacks of Kinsta or WP Engine. Breeze performs well but plugin-level caching doesn't match infrastructure-level caching under heavy load. Choosing AWS Sydney or GCP Sydney brings stronger infrastructure at roughly double the cost of DigitalOcean.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure tested | DigitalOcean Sydney (australia-southeast region) |
| Caching | Breeze (plugin-level), included, requires setup |
| CDN | Cloudflare (add-on $4.99/mo), not included by default |
Uptime
Cloudways' uptime depends on the underlying cloud provider's uptime. DigitalOcean publishes a 99.99% uptime SLA for its infrastructure. Cloudways publishes a status page at status.cloudways.com. Our own continuous monitoring on the DO Sydney configuration is in progress.
Support
Cloudways offers 24/7 live chat on all plans. Phone support is not available. Support quality is technically adequate for platform questions - server setup, application configuration, deployment issues.
For AEST-specific support, Cloudways does not have an Australian team. If local-hours support is critical, VentraIP and Conetix are the better-served options.
- Sydney-region servers on all three available cloud providers (DO, AWS, GCP)
- Most flexible cloud hosting option reviewed
- No long-term contracts - month-to-month billing
- Horizontal scaling: add servers, clone apps, manage teams from one dashboard
- Breeze cache plugin included
- Staging environments on all plans
- Team access management built in
- SSH/SFTP access on all plans
- More setup complexity than Kinsta or WP Engine
- No server-level caching - Breeze plugin only
- CDN costs extra ($4.99/mo for Cloudflare add-on)
- No phone support
- No Australian ownership
- Performance varies significantly by cloud choice - confusing for non-technical buyers
- No email hosting included
Verdict
7.5/10 - Best value managed cloud hosting for Australian developers
Cloudways occupies a unique niche: it's cheaper than Kinsta or WP Engine at the entry level, offers more control than shared hosting, and gives you the flexibility to upgrade infrastructure provider without rebuilding. The trade-off is setup complexity - you need to understand server sizing, choose the right provider, and configure caching correctly. For technical users and agencies, that trade-off is worthwhile. For small business owners who want hosting that just works, go with VentraIP or SiteGround instead.
Cloudways vs VentraIP - Side by Side
| Factor | Cloudways (DO Sydney) | VentraIP |
|---|---|---|
| AU origin | Sydney (DigitalOcean) | Sydney (own DC) |
| Infrastructure | DigitalOcean Sydney | Own Sydney DC |
| Australian-owned | No (DigitalOcean / US) | Yes |
| Entry price/mo | ~$28 AUD (2GB DO) | $3.85 AUD |
| Long-term contracts | None (month-to-month) | Annual (best price) |
| Managed WordPress | Partial (Breeze plugin) | No |
| Staging | Yes | No |
| SSH/SFTP | Yes | Yes (cPanel) |
| Email hosting | No | Yes |
| cPanel | No (custom Cloudways console) | Yes |
| AEST phone support | No | Yes |
Performance differs by cloud choice (DigitalOcean, AWS, or GCP Sydney). Pricing approximate in AUD based on current exchange rates. Measured speed and uptime figures are published with our live benchmark.