Cloudways vs Kinsta: Which Should You Choose?
Compare Cloudways and Kinsta for managed WordPress hosting. See pricing, performance, features, and which fits your needs.
Short Answer
Compares Cloudways and Kinsta for managed WordPress hosting, drawing on That My's Jan-Mar 2026 tests. VERSIONS TESTED: Cloudways 2026 · Kinsta 2026 plans
Our Recommendation
Faster, no visit limits, big multi-site price advantage, root SSH.
Best dashboard, built-in APM, free hack fixes, premium experience.
NOT A STRICT EITHER/OR — THE TWO CAN BE COMBINED
Comparison at a Glance
| Dimension | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| TTFB (tested) | 72ms | ~120ms |
| Load degradation (100 concurrent) | +32% | +63% |
| 10-site pricing | $50/mo | $340/mo |
| Visit limits | None | 25k/mo, then $1/1k |
| Dashboard | Functional | MyKinsta (best-in-class) |
| Built-in APM | No | Yes |
| Cloud providers | 5 (Vultr, DO, AWS, GCE, Linode) | Google Cloud only |
TESTED JAN-MAR 2026 (THATMY.COM).
Why Each One Wins
Performance
- Cloudways: 72ms TTFB (Vultr); degrades +32% at 100 concurrent vs Kinsta's +63%. Faster and more stable under load.
- Kinsta: ~120ms TTFB (Google C2); degrades +63% at 100 concurrent. Slower under load.
Pricing & Value
- Cloudways: $50/mo for 10 sites; no visit limits; pay monthly; scales without surprise bills.
- Kinsta: From ~$35/mo for one site; $340/mo for 10 sites; visit limits can trigger upgrade.
Ease of Use & Features
- Cloudways: Functional dashboard; manual WordPress updates; needs Cloudflare for CDN; root SSH and Git.
- Kinsta: Best-in-class MyKinsta dashboard; auto updates, built-in APM, free hack fixes, Cloudflare Enterprise CDN.
Scalability & Limits
- Cloudways: No visit limits; PHP workers unlimited at server level; 5 cloud providers to choose from.
- Kinsta: Visit limits (25k/mo base); counts every PHP request (including AJAX/cron) as a visit — can trigger surprise upgrades.
Trade-offs
Choose Cloudways, you give up…
- Polished managed dashboard and built-in APM
- Free hack-fix guarantee
- Pre-configured Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
Choose Kinsta, you give up…
- Faster tested performance (TTFB 72ms vs ~120ms)
- No visit limits (Kinsta counts PHP requests)
- Dramatic multi-site cost savings (~$50 vs ~$340/mo)
Supporting Evidence
MAR 2026
MAR 2026
MAR 2026
Limitations & Known Caveats
- TTFB and performance figures come from a single third-party test (That My, Jan-Mar 2026), not an official benchmark.
- Pricing (10 sites ~$50 vs ~$340/mo) and visit-count policies change frequently; verify on cloudways.com and kinsta.com.
- Performance varies by location, plan, and workload.
Alternatives
Kinsta · Cloudways · ScalaHosting · WP Engine
Bottom Line
Which should you choose?
- You manage multiple sites and want the best value.
- You want fast performance without visit-limit surprises.
- You're a developer/agency needing root SSH and flexibility.
- You run a single high-value site under ~25k visits/mo.
- You want a zero-maintenance, premium managed experience.
- You value the best-in-class dashboard and built-in APM.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is faster?
In thatmy.com's 2026 tests, Cloudways was faster (72ms vs ~120ms TTFB) and degraded less under concurrent load.
Why is Kinsta more expensive?
Kinsta is a premium managed host with a polished dashboard, built-in APM, and free hack fixes. It costs ~5-7x more, especially for multiple sites.
Does Kinsta have visit limits?
Yes — Kinsta counts every PHP request (including AJAX and cron) as a visit and charges for overage. Cloudways has no visit limits.
How Airdix Makes Decisions
Independence guarantee: recommendations are based only on criteria and evidence. A product can pay for visibility, but never for a recommendation. Every claim is traced to a source and marked with a verification date. Recommendation ≠ Paid Placement
Compares Cloudways and Kinsta for managed WordPress hosting, drawing on That My's Jan-Mar 2026 tests.
TTFB, concurrency, pricing, and visit-count data from That My (Jan-Mar 2026); cross-checked against official pricing.
Current 2026 Cloudways and Kinsta managed-hosting plans, same-region tests.
Deploy the same WP site on both, run a TTFB and load test, and compare your projected multi-site bill.
Performance figures are single-source; pricing/visit policies change fast.
AUG 2026 (content quality review)