Apify vs Cloudways
Compare Apify and Cloudways on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
Apify
Actor platform for web scraping — Free $0 ($5 usage); Starter $29/mo ($26 annual); Scale $199; Business $999.
Best for
- • Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
- • Developers who need compute + storage + proxy in one platform
- • Projects that benefit from Apify Store scrapers
Starting from $29.00/user/mo
Free plan available
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
Apify is better for
- ✓ Free plan
Cloudways is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
Tie
- • Integrations
- • Security & admin
Choose Apify if: Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
Choose Cloudways if: Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting — Flexible from $11/mo DigitalOcean Standard; Autonomous WordPress autoscaling separate line.
Best for
- • Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
- • Agencies running WordPress plus other apps on one Cloudways account
- • Buyers who will actually use hourly Flexible billing and the $11 DigitalOcean Standard floor
Starting from $11.00/user/mo
No free plan
Apify vs Cloudways at a glance
Criterion-level leaders from verified research.
Scorecard preview
Criterion leaders based on verified research — open the Scorecard tab for evidence detail.
- Starting pricingCloudways
Apify
Cloudways
- Free planApify
Apify
Cloudways
- User / licence minimumDepends
Apify
Cloudways
- IntegrationsTie
Apify
Cloudways
- Security & adminTie
Apify
Cloudways
Which It Development is better for you?
Quick picks based on fit — not a universal ranking.
- → Apify
Best for free plan
Apify researches a free plan; Cloudways does not research a free plan.
- → Cloudways
Best for starting pricing
Cloudways publishes a lower researched starting floor ($11/mo vs $29/mo for Apify). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
The biggest differences
Where the products diverge most clearly on verified criteria.
Starting pricing
Cloudways winsApify
Trails Cloudways on this criterion
Cloudways
Cloudways publishes a lower researched starting floor ($11/mo vs $29/mo for Apify). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
Free plan
Apify winsApify
Apify researches a free plan; Cloudways does not research a free plan.
Cloudways
Trails Apify on this criterion
Which should you choose?
Choose Apify if
- Teams that want ready-made or custom Actors rather than raw proxy ops
- Developers who need compute + storage + proxy in one platform
- Projects that benefit from Apify Store scrapers
Choose Cloudways if
- Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
- Agencies running WordPress plus other apps on one Cloudways account
- Buyers who will actually use hourly Flexible billing and the $11 DigitalOcean Standard floor
Related comparisons
Alternatives to consider
Bright Data
Web data / proxy platform — pay-as-you-go from ~$4/GB residential; starter commitments from ~$499/mo.
Oxylabs
Enterprise proxy + Web Scraper API — Residential Starter 5GB $30/mo ($6/GB); Web Scraper API from $49/mo; ISO 27001.
ScraperAPI
Managed scraping API — Free 1,000 credits; Hobby $49/mo ($44.10 annual); 7-day trial with 5,000 credits.
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting — Essential Startup from $30/mo annual first-year; Core from $400/mo; Enterprise custom.
How we compare
A short look at the comparison process. Full methodology
1
Collect
Collect official product information, pricing, and product evidence.
2
Normalize
Map evidence to the same category evaluation criteria for both products.
3
Compare
Evaluate both products against identical criteria — ties and depends are allowed.
4
Explain
Show why each product wins, loses, or ties, with evidence behind the outcome.
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- Independent criterion outcomes
- No invented scores or prices
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