WP Engine vs Cloudways comes down to pricing model: WP Engine sells managed plans starting at $28.00 a month billed annually, while Cloudways sells servers from $14 a month with unlimited websites on every size. On the vendor pages read 2026-11-02 (USD), WP Engine Business starts at $400.00 a month and is the tier that lists isolated resources and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Cloudways Large is $99 a month with 8GB RAM. For an agency the question is whether you pay per managed plan or per server you manage yourself.
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Quick comparison
| Criterion | WP Engine | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Tiered plans: Essential, Business, Enterprise (custom) | Per server: Micro, Small, Medium, Large |
| Entry price | Essential from $28.00/mo, billed annually ($336.00 today) | Micro $14/mo |
| Top public price | Business from $400.00/mo, billed annually | Large $99/mo |
| Site count | Plan-based; sites per plan not printed in the text read | Unlimited websites on every server size |
| Environment | Shared on Essential; isolated on Business and Enterprise | Your own server; you choose which sites share it |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% on Business and Enterprise; not included on Essential | Not printed on the pricing page read |
| Staging | 1-click staging and dev environments on all plans | Free staging listed, free advanced staging and cloning |
| Support | 24/7 chat on Essential; chat and phone on Business | 24/7/365 support on all plans; Advance Support Addon $100/month |
| Migration | Managed site migrations on Business | Free migration listed |
| Free trial | None listed on the plans page | 5-day trial, no credit card |
See the plans: WP Engine and Cloudways.
WP Engine: managed plans
Essential is $28.00 a month billed annually ($336.00 today) and lists daily automated backups, 24/7 chat support and free SSL and SSH. The feature table puts Essential on a shared environment with 25,000 to 400,000 visits a month, 10 to 50 GB of storage and 75 GB of bandwidth. Business starts at $400.00 a month billed annually, adds isolated resources, chat and phone support, managed site migrations and the 99.99% SLA, and is the tier that lists Git-based CI/CD workflows. The page footnote says first-year pricing applies to new customers on Essential only and that renewal pricing is subject to change, so budget for a different second-year price.
Cloudways: server-based pricing
Micro is $14 a month (1GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25GB NVMe), Small is $28 (2GB RAM, 50GB NVMe), Medium is $54 (4GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 80GB NVMe) and Large is $99 (8GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 160GB NVMe). Every size lists unlimited websites and unlimited visits, so cost is set by the server, not the site count. Free staging, free migration and a 5-day trial without a credit card are listed. Offsite backup storage is charged at $0.033 per GB per server. The pricing page read shows only this default view; HostingDive states no per-provider Cloudways price here.
Head-to-head pricing: per plan or per server
Entry and top public monthly price (USD)
Source: the two pricing pages, read 2026-11-02. Plans are matched by position on each ladder, not by identical resources.
A Cloudways Large server at $99 a month is below WP Engine Business at $400.00 a month, but the plans are not equal: Business includes isolation, phone support and managed migrations as part of the plan, while on Cloudways you manage the server and add support through the $100 a month Advance Support Addon if you want plugin and theme troubleshooting. Price the support you would buy, not just the hosting.
Head-to-head: agency tooling and partner programs
WP Engine's agency page lists four partner tiers: Member (no minimum referrals), Preferred (3 referral submissions), Advanced ($1,200 of referred MRR) and Strategic ($5,000 of referred MRR). Recurring commissions run for 12 months at 8% per plan for Member and Preferred, 10% for Advanced and 12% for Strategic, with tier status assessed on a rolling 12-month basis. The program also lists priority technical support and a free agency account. No Cloudways agency-program terms were in the pages read, so none are stated here.
| Partner tier | Qualification | Commission, 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Member | No minimum referrals | 8% per plan |
| Preferred | 3 referral submissions | 8% per plan |
| Advanced | $1,200 of referred MRR | 10% per plan |
| Strategic | $5,000 of referred MRR | 12% per plan |
Head-to-head: support and migration
WP Engine lists 24/7 chat support on Essential and chat plus phone on Business, with managed site migrations on Business and hands-on migration and onboarding on Enterprise. Cloudways lists 24/7/365 support on all plans and a free migration. Cloudways lists the Advance Support Addon at $100 a month for plugin and theme troubleshooting and performance help.
When to choose WP Engine
- You want managed WordPress with an SLA: Business lists 99.99% and isolated resources.
- You plan to refer clients and earn the partner commissions listed above.
- You want Git-based CI/CD workflows, listed on Business.
When to choose Cloudways
- You run many small sites and want a flat server price: Micro at $14 a month lists unlimited websites.
- You want to scale vertically from $14 to $99 a month without per-site fees.
- You are comfortable managing a server and sizing it to your sites.
Verdict
Choose Cloudways when the number of sites is high and each is modest, because the server price does not change as you add sites. Choose WP Engine when you need the isolation and 99.99% SLA that Business lists and can carry its price. For the single-vendor reads see the wp engine review and the Cloudways review, and for the Kinsta alternative see wp engine vs kinsta. Agencies should also read best wordpress hosting for agencies. HostingDive states no measured uptime or speed for either host on this page; see the Speed Index.
Compare current plans: WP Engine or Cloudways.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, WP Engine or Cloudways?
On the pages read 2026-11-02, Cloudways starts at $14 a month for a server and WP Engine Essential at $28.00 a month billed annually. At the top public tier Cloudways Large is $99 a month and WP Engine Business is $400.00 a month.
Does Cloudways limit the number of websites?
The pricing page lists unlimited websites on every server size, so the limit is what the server's RAM and CPU can carry.
Does WP Engine have an uptime SLA?
The plans page lists a 99.99% SLA on Business and Enterprise and marks it as not included on Essential.
Does WP Engine pay agencies for referrals?
Its agency partner page lists four tiers paying 8%, 8%, 10% and 12% recurring commissions for 12 months.
Do both offer a trial?
Cloudways lists a 5-day trial without a credit card. The WP Engine plans page read lists no trial.