Flywheel vs Cloudways — Which is Better in 2026?
Flywheel is significantly more expensive (36% more). In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed on speed. We compared pricing, support, uptime, and features so you can choose with confidence.
Last verified: June 2026
Our Quick Verdict
Cloudways wins overall with a 4.6/5 rating vs 4.4/5. It is best for Developers, Agency, WordPress. The other option — Flywheel — is a better fit if you need Agency or WordPress.
Ratings Comparison
| Category | Flywheel | Winner | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | 4.4/5 | Winner | 4.6/5 |
| Speed | 4.4/5 | Winner | 4.7/5 |
| Support | 4.4/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.4/5 |
| Uptime | 4.7/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.7/5 |
| Value | 4.1/5 | Winner | 4.5/5 |
| Features | 4.5/5 | Winner | 4.6/5 |
| Security | 4.5/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.5/5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.7/5 | Winner | 4.2/5 |
Features Comparison
| Feature | Flywheel | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Free SSL | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Domain | ✕ | ✕ |
| Free Migration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Money-Back | 30 days | None |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD |
| Bandwidth | 50GB | Unmetered |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.99% |
| Founded | 2012 | 2012 |
Pros & Cons
Flywheel
Pros
- ✓Local by Flywheel — best local WP dev tool
- ✓Blueprint site templates for agency efficiency
- ✓Client billing transfer feature
- ✓Collaborator access for team workflows
- ✓Beautiful, intuitive dashboard
- ✓Nightly backups and one-click restore
Cons
- ✕WordPress-only platform
- ✕Visitor limits can trigger plan upgrades
- ✕Not the cheapest managed option
- ✕No email hosting
Cloudways
Pros
- ✓Choose your underlying cloud provider
- ✓Pay-as-you-go — no annual lock-in
- ✓Built-in CDN, Redis, and Varnish cache
- ✓Free SSL and automated backups
- ✓One-click staging environments
- ✓PHP-FPM and Nginx Varnish stack
Cons
- ✕No phone support
- ✕No email hosting included
- ✕Pricing scales with cloud server size
- ✕Not ideal for non-technical beginners
Performance Comparison
In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed Flywheel on page load speed, scoring 4.4/5 and 4.7/5 respectively. Flywheel uses SSD storage with data centres in USA, UK, while Cloudways relies on SSD storage with locations including USA, EU. Flywheel guarantees 99.9% uptime, and Cloudways offers 99.99% uptime.
Pricing Breakdown
Cloudways starts at $11.00/month, making it more affordable than Flywheel ($15.00/month) — a 36% price difference. Over 12 months, that's $48 in savings by choosing Cloudways. Flywheel offers a 30-day money-back guarantee; Cloudways has no standard refund policy.
Support Comparison
Flywheel offers support via live chat, ticket with a support rating of 4.4/5. Cloudways provides live chat, ticket support, rated 4.4/5. Both providers offer comparable support quality.
Who Should Choose Which?
Choose Flywheel if you need:
- Agency
- WordPress
- Developers
Not ideal for:
High Traffic, Non-WordPress developers
Choose Cloudways if you need:
- Developers
- Agency
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
Not ideal for:
Beginners, Email hosting users
Our Verdict
After testing both platforms, we recommend Cloudways for most users. The ratings are close (4.4 vs 4.6), so your decision should come down to your specific use case.
Our Testing Methodology
ArdentSupport evaluates hosting providers across eight weighted criteria: overall value, page load speed, customer support quality, uptime reliability, feature depth, security posture, and ease of use. Ratings reflect real-world performance data, industry reputation, public SLAs, and first-hand support interactions. Prices are verified at time of publication. We update this comparison when provider data changes.