# Cloudways vs WordPress.com

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Cloudways

| Attribute | Cloudways | WordPress.com |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.9 (72% (medium)) | 61.7 (50% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A managed cloud hosting platform offering configurable resources across AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean datacenters, with automated scaling, included premium tools like Cloudflare CDN and backup/staging capabilities, and 24/7 expert support. It is indexed under Wordpress Hosting.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"What is Cloudways?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Cloudways is a paid product; published pricing starts at $11 per month. There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"How much does Cloudways cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Cloudways. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"What platforms does Cloudways support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Cloudways, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"Can Cloudways be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 3 integrations for Cloudways, including Cloudflare, WordPress and Object Cache Pro. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"What does Cloudways integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR for Cloudways. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Cloudways not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","question":"What security certifications does Cloudways have?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"A fully hosted WordPress service that automatically handles hosting, security, backups, and updates. Offers plans from free to enterprise with optional WooCommerce integration for ecommerce, developer access via Git and WP-CLI, and built-in AI assistance. It is indexed under Wordpress Hosting.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"What is WordPress.com?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"WordPress.com offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $4 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"Is WordPress.com free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to WordPress.com. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"What platforms does WordPress.com support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for WordPress.com, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"Can WordPress.com be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 16 integrations for WordPress.com, including WooCommerce, PayPal, Stripe, Akismet, Jetpack, Google Analytics, Google AdSense and Yoast, plus 8 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"What does WordPress.com integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"WordPress.com is available in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its primary markets are the United States and the United Kingdom.","source":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","question":"Where is WordPress.com available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"built_in_cdn":true,"free_migrations":true,"git_wp_cli_access":true,"multisite_support":true,"staging_environments":true,"uptime_sla_published":true,"woocommerce_optimized":true,"daily_backups_one_click_restore":true}` | `{"built_in_cdn":true,"free_migrations":true,"git_wp_cli_access":true,"staging_environments":true,"uptime_sla_published":true,"woocommerce_optimized":true,"daily_backups_one_click_restore":true}` |
| integrations.count | 13 | 16 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Cloudflare"},{"name":"WordPress"},{"name":"Object Cache Pro"},{"name":"Cloudflare CDN","native":true,"category":"cdn","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Cloudways Site Manager","native":true},{"name":"Imunify360","native":true,"category":"security"},{"name":"DNS Made Easy","native":true,"category":"dns"},{"name":"Rackspace Email","native":true,"category":"email"},{"name":"WooCommerce","native":true,"category":"ecommerce"},{"name":"Magento","native":true,"category":"ecommerce"},{"name":"Laravel","native":true},{"name":"Slack","native":true,"category":"communication","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Git","native":true,"category":"version_control"},{"name":"Let's Encrypt","native":true,"category":"ssl"},{"name":"Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker","native":true,"category":"accessibility"}]` | `[{"name":"WooCommerce"},{"name":"PayPal"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"Akismet"},{"name":"Jetpack"},{"name":"Google Analytics"},{"name":"Google AdSense"},{"name":"Yoast"},{"name":"Rank Math"},{"name":"Titan"},{"name":"MailPoet"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Tumblr"},{"name":"LinkedIn"},{"name":"VideoPress"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Flexible","summary":"From $11/month","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":11,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Autonomous","description":"Fully managed autoscalable WordPress built on Kubernetes","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Cloudways Site Manager","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":3,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Cloudflare CDN","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":4.99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Imunify360","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":4,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"DNS Made Easy","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0.5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Email Hosting","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1.5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Advanced Support","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Premium Support","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Advanced Staging & Cloning","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Managed Migration","components":[{"kind":"one_time","amount":99,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $11/month. 3-day free trial.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://www.cloudways.com/pricing.php?ref_id=web_home_hero","retrievedAt":"2026-10-07T15:28:36.877Z","freeTrialDays":3,"startingPrice":{"amount":11,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free, forever","features":["WordPress.com subdomain","Unlimited pages and posts","Basic stats","No custom domain","No plugin installation","No ad-free browsing"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"WordPress.com subdomain with 1GB storage","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"1 GB","stats_history":"7 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Personal","summary":"$4/month billed annually or $2.75/month billed every 3 years","features":["Custom domain (first year free)","Plugin installation (60,000+ plugins)","Ad-free browsing","Unlimited pages and users","Malware protection","Global CDN","SSL certificate","DDoS protection","Brute-force attack protection","Free support"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":4,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Custom domain and plugin access","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Premium","description":"Enhanced features and priority support","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Business","features":["Free staging site","Real-time backups","One-click restores","Uptime monitor","SSH and WP-CLI access","GitHub deployments","DDoS attack mitigation","Advanced email marketing","POS integrations","Shipping integrations","Built-in newsletters and RSS","SEO tools","Subscription tools","Priority 24/7 expert support"],"description":"Developer tools and advanced features","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"50 GB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Commerce","features":["Fully integrated WooCommerce","Unlimited products","Abandoned cart emails","Dynamic upsells","Bulk discounts","Inventory management","Real-time backups","One-click restores","SSH and WP-CLI access","GitHub deployments","Priority 24/7 expert support"],"description":"Full ecommerce with WooCommerce integration","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"products":"unlimited","countries":"60+"}}],"summary":"From $4/month billed annually or $2.75/month billed every 3 years. Free tier available with no expiration.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://wordpress.com/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-24T12:12:54.531Z","startingPrice":{"amount":4,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":11,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":4,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | 99.999 |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2"},{"name":"ISO 27001"},{"name":"PCI DSS"}]` | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | - | https://wordpress.com/hosting/security/ |

## Capabilities (Wordpress Hosting)

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

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T18:30:51.353Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*