Cloudways vs Plesk
Compare Cloudways and Plesk on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
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
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
Cloudways is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Integrations
Tie
- • Security & admin
Choose Cloudways if: Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
Choose Plesk if: Web agencies and hosts administering sites on VPS/dedicated servers
Plesk
Hosting control panel for web/server administration — Web Admin Edition from $16.99/mo on VPS licensing.
Best for
- • Web agencies and hosts administering sites on VPS/dedicated servers
- • Admins wanting GUI panel versus manual LAMP/stack configuration
- • Resellers needing Web Host multi-customer management
Starting from $16.99/user/mo
No free plan
Cloudways vs Plesk pricing
Cloudways researched starting price from $11/mo. Plesk researched starting price from $16.99/mo. Affiliate economics excluded.
Cloudways
From $11.00/user/mo
Plesk
From $16.99/user/mo
Cloudways
Starting from $11.00/user/mo
Free trial available
- Flexible (DigitalOcean Standard)Popular$11.00/mo
- $11/mo published Flexible floor on DigitalOcean Standard — billed hourly. Free trial without a card per first-party page.
- Autonomous WordPressCustom
- Separate WordPress autoscaling line — not the Flexible $11 DigitalOcean Standard floor. Confirm live packaging on cloudways.com/pricing.php.
Plesk
Starting from $16.99/user/mo
Free trial available
- Web Admin EditionPopular$16.99/mo
- ~$16.99/month VPS licence — admin panel for up to limited domains/sites (edition dependent).
- Web Pro Edition$23.99/mo
- Higher-tier panel for developers/resellers needing more domains and WordPress/docker tooling.
- Web Host Edition$41.99/mo
- Host/reseller edition with multi-customer management — confirm live pricing for server type.
Estimate your team cost
Monthly estimate from verified per-seat list pricing. Confirm on the vendor site before purchasing.
Cloudways
$165.00/mo
Plesk
$254.85/mo
+$89.85/mo — Plesk costs more
Verified monthly unit prices · Aug 18, 2026
Prices in USD
Shown per user / month from verified list pricing.
Plans can change
Confirm live vendor rates before purchasing.
Add-ons may apply
Calling, SMS, or usage fees can add cost.
Independence
Affiliate status never changes pricing outcomes.
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