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The verdict: Hostinger for most people
For most people reading this, Hostinger: about $121 for four years with a free domain, free mailboxes and unlimited websites, versus at least $672 for a Cloudways server over the same four years with no domain or email. Cloudways is the better tool once a site really needs its own server (heavy WooCommerce, high traffic, an agency with many client sites), because you get dedicated resources, no contract, no renewal jump and easy scaling.
HostingerCloudways
Support
Not tested yet, so not scored (
why)
Scores are my own editorial ratings from testing both carts and dashboards, out of 10. They are not customer reviews. Our overall rating is calculated from four assessed categories: price, renewal pricing, ease of use and features. We have not independently tested customer support response times or resolution quality, so support is excluded from the score.
The overall score is the plain average of the four tested ratings.
💡 Hostinger saves you about $551 over 4 years.
Hosting only, before tax. Hostinger: $2.51/mo with coupon LEARN2EARN (48 months). Cloudways: the $14/mo DigitalOcean Micro we checked on Oct 22, 2026 × 48 months, with no domain or email. On Nov 3 Cloudways had changed its pricing page during a Black Friday sale: Micro showed 2 GB RAM billed at $0.0357 an hour (about $26 for a full month), so the real 4-year cost may be higher. Check the price at signup.
From our own US carts (USD, before tax). "Pre-checked" items were already ticked at checkout and are counted; optional items are not. Unknown renewal prices are never guessed. How we test.
✓ green = the better option for that row.
Different kinds of hosting
Hostinger Unlimited is shared hosting: your sites share a powerful server with other customers, and Hostinger manages everything for you in hPanel. Cloudways gives you your own cloud server (DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud and others) and manages it: security, backups, caching, updates. You pay for the server, not per website.
Price: Hostinger is far cheaper to start
Hostinger Unlimited was $2.79 a month on 48 months during Black Friday, about $2.51 with code LEARN2EARN: about $121 for four years, including a free domain for the first year and free mailboxes for a year. The cheapest Cloudways DigitalOcean server we checked was $14 a month (Oct 22, 2026), about $672 over four years with no domain or email. On Nov 3 the Cloudways pricing page was in the middle of a Black Friday sale (coupon BFCM802) and had reorganized its plans, so always check the final price at signup.
Where Cloudways is better
No contract and no renewal jump: you pay the same price every month and can stop any time. Server resources are yours, you can scale up in a few clicks, and you get staging, a server firewall, Redis and Object Cache Pro (on 4 GB+ servers) included. That matters for busy WooCommerce stores, membership sites and agencies hosting many client sites.
Where Hostinger is better
Total cost, the free domain and email, and ease of use. hPanel and the AI website builder are made for beginners, and one Unlimited plan hosts unlimited websites. For a first website or a local business site, Cloudways is more power (and money) than you need.
Who should NOT buy each
Skip Hostinger if your site already needs dedicated server resources or you hate long upfront plans. Skip Cloudways if you are a beginner on a budget, need a free domain or email, or want cPanel.
Is Cloudways better than Hostinger?
For a growing site that needs its own server, yes. For a first website or a small business site, Hostinger is far cheaper (about $121 vs $672+ over four years) and includes a free domain and email.
Is Cloudways more expensive than Hostinger?
Yes. The cheapest Cloudways DigitalOcean server we checked was $14 a month with no domain or email. Hostinger Unlimited is about $2.51 a month on 48 months with LEARN2EARN.
Does Cloudways include a free domain or email?
No. You buy the domain elsewhere, and email is a paid add-on (Rackspace at $1.50 per mailbox a month). Hostinger includes both for the first year.
Can I move from Hostinger to Cloudways later?
Yes. Cloudways migrates your first website for free, so you can start on Hostinger and move when the site outgrows shared hosting.
Does Cloudways have a free trial?
Yes. On Nov 3, 2026 the Flexible plans had a 5-day free trial with no credit card (not on AWS or Google Cloud).
Ready to pick?
Open the cart, choose your country and check the final price before you pay.
Disclosure: these are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices change by country and over time.
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