Comparison

Cloudways vs WordPress.com

On the evidence we track, Cloudways leads this comparison with a composite score of 67/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Cloudways67
WordPress.com62
Score
vioscaleAI score
Cloudways67 / 100medium · 72%
WordPress.com62 / 100medium · 50%
Pricing
Free tier
Cloudways✗
WordPress.com✓
Model
Cloudwayscommercial
WordPress.comfreemium
Price level
Cloudwayslow
WordPress.comlow
Starting price
Cloudways$11
WordPress.com$4
Transparent
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Integrations
Count
Cloudways13
WordPress.com16
Security
Certifications
WordPress.com–
Gdpr
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com–
Iso27001
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com–
Pci
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com–
Soc2
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com–
Trust center
Reliability
Sla pct
Cloudways99.99
WordPress.com99.999
Market
Content
Faq
Cloudways6 items
WordPress.com6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for wordpress hosting. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capabilities
Staging environments
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Built in CDN
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Free migrations
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Git wp CLI access
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Daily backups one click restore
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Woocommerce optimized
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
Multisite support
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com-
Uptime SLA published
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Cloudways

Leader

A managed cloud hosting platform that connects to multiple cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean) to simplify server management, offering automated backups, staging environments, built-in SSL, and AI-powered diagnostics for WordPress, WooCommerce, and other web applications.

Independently observed

WordPress.com

A managed WordPress platform that handles hosting, security, backups, and updates automatically. Users can start with a free plan or upgrade to paid tiers to access custom domains, plugins, advanced features, and ecommerce capabilities.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Cloudways

Leader
from $11/moSubscription3-day trial

From $11/month. 3-day free trial.

  • FlexibleFrom $11/month
  • Autonomous-
as of verify ↗

WordPress.com

from $4/moHybridFree tier

From $4/month billed annually or $2.75/month billed every 3 years. Free tier available with no expiration.

  • FreeFree
    • WordPress.com subdomain
    • Unlimited pages and posts
    • Basic stats
    • No custom domain
    • No plugin installation
    • +1 more
  • Personal$4/month billed annually or $2.75/month billed every 3 years
    • Custom domain (first year free)
    • Plugin installation (60,000+ plugins)
    • Ad-free browsing
    • Unlimited pages and users
    • Malware protection
    • +5 more
  • Premium-
  • Business-
    • Free staging site
    • Real-time backups
    • One-click restores
    • Uptime monitor
    • SSH and WP-CLI access
    • +9 more
  • Commerce-
    • Fully integrated WooCommerce
    • Unlimited products
    • Abandoned cart emails
    • Dynamic upsells
    • Bulk discounts
    • +6 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓
CLI
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Cloudways✓
WordPress.com✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • WooCommerce

Cloudways

Leader
15 total - 14 not shared
  • Cloudflare
  • WordPress
  • Object Cache Pro
  • Cloudflare CDN
  • Cloudways Site Manager
  • Imunify360
  • DNS Made Easy
  • Rackspace Email
  • Magento
  • Laravel
  • Slack
  • Git
  • Let's Encrypt
  • Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker
Independently observed

WordPress.com

16 total - 15 not shared
  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • Akismet
  • Jetpack
  • Google Analytics
  • Google AdSense
  • Yoast
  • Rank Math
  • Titan
  • MailPoet
  • GitHub
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • VideoPress
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Cloudways or WordPress.com: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.