CloudSonic vs Cloudways
Cloudways gives you a fixed stack. CloudSonic lets you install anything, configured any way you want.
Cloudways is the closest thing CloudSonic has to a direct competitor: both exist to take raw cloud infrastructure and turn it into something you don’t have to hand-configure yourself. But Cloudways locks you into their preset server stack and configuration options. CloudSonic doesn’t.
| CloudSonic | Cloudways | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $14/mo | From $14/mo |
| Storage type | NVMe standard on every plan | SSD |
| Hourly billing option | Yes, listed on every plan | ✗ |
| Managed database engines | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis/Valkey | MySQL/MariaDB only |
| Database replication | 3-node (1 primary, 2 replicas) included | ✗ |
| Object storage providers | Choice of 4: DigitalOcean Spaces, AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2 | ✗ |
| Custom software/stack installs | Install anything, any configuration | Fixed stack options |
| Max server size | Up to 32 vCPU / 192GB RAM / 3.84TB NVMe | Limited by plan tier |
| Data center locations | 8+ global locations | Varies by provider |
| Hidden fees | None — listed price is the price | Markup bundled into server cost |
Why site owners pick CloudSonic over Cloudways
We built CloudSonic because we got tired of platforms telling us what we were allowed to install. Cloudways runs a fixed stack with a limited menu of supported apps, so the moment your project needs something outside that list, you’re stuck waiting on their roadmap or hacking around it. That’s not how we do things. On CloudSonic you can install anything you want, configured exactly how your project needs it. No permission slip required.
The database story is where this really shows. Cloudways gives you MySQL and MariaDB and calls it a day. We run fully managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis or Valkey, every single one on a 3-node replicated setup from the moment you spin it up. That’s not an upsell we bolted on later, it’s how we think databases should work by default.
Storage is the same story. Cloudways has no separate object storage, so your media and files sit right there on your server, quietly eating the same disk and resources your app needs to run fast. We give you a choice of four object storage providers, DigitalOcean Spaces, AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Backblaze B2, and we keep it completely off your server so it never drags your performance down. And since we’re already talking speed, our whole stack is newer than what Cloudways is running, with real tuning work put into making WordPress and general web apps fly.
Then there’s the bill. Cloudways bakes their management fee into your server cost, so the bigger you scale, the more that markup quietly grows with you. We don’t play that game. The price you see on CloudSonic is the price you pay. No bolt-on fees, no surprise line item waiting for you at the end of the month.
What Cloudways does better (to be fair)
We’re not going to pretend they don’t have a place. If all you want is the absolute simplest setup, one dashboard, one bill, and zero desire to ever think about server configuration or which database engine you’re running, Cloudways does that well. Their provider picker and flat single-tier pricing are genuinely easy if you just want to check a box and forget it exists. If that’s really all you need, our flexibility probably won’t matter much to you.