SiteGround vs Cloudways (2026): Plans Compared
SiteGround sells fixed plans with a low first-term price. Cloudways sells servers by size and lists one monthly price. The biggest difference is how each one's price is built and what happens after the first term.
[Draft: the data for both hosts has not been verified by a human. SiteGround prices are in euros excluding VAT because the US page was not available; replace them with US dollar figures before publishing so the two hosts can be compared like for like.]
Short answer by store type
SiteGround GrowBig lists 50 GB for unlimited sites at €5.49/month, rising to €27.99/month after the 12-month prepaid term. Cloudways Basic Small lists 50 GB on a 2GB server at $28/month, with no renewal jump listed. The prices are in different currencies, so we do not rank them.
This comparison is based on both hosts' public plan pages, checked 2026-10-21. It is not based on hands-on testing. SiteGround prices are in euros excluding VAT and Cloudways prices are in US dollars. We do not convert between them. Read our Cloudways review for the full plan list.
SiteGround vs Cloudways side by side
We compare plans with the same disk storage: SiteGround GrowBig and Cloudways Basic Small both list 50 GB.
| Feature | SiteGround GrowBig | Cloudways Basic Small |
|---|---|---|
| What you choose | unlimited websites | server: 2GB RAM, 1 vCPU |
| Introductory price | €5.49/month | not recorded yet |
| Listed or renewal price | €27.99/month | $28/month |
| How it is billed | 12 months prepaid | monthly figure; hourly billing in arrears per the pricing page |
| Currency | euros, excluding VAT | US dollars |
| Storage | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Backups | Free SSL, CDN, Backups; on-demand backups | On-demand or automated backups; offsite backup storage billed at $0.033/GB per server |
| Staging | Staging | Free staging environment, push live with one click |
| SSL | Free SSL | Free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates |
| Object cache | not stated by host | Object Cache Pro free on a 4GB server or above |
| PHP workers | not stated by host | not stated by host |
Source: SiteGround pricing page, checked .
Source: Cloudways pricing page, checked .
[Human check: "not recorded yet" means the figure is not in our data files. Cloudways advertises a limited-time discount that we have not recorded.]
What each costs over three years
We use the same method on every pair: listed prices, unchanged, with no tax and no promotions. SiteGround is 12 months at the introductory price and 24 at the renewal price. Cloudways is 36 months at its listed price. Each total is in its own host's currency.
| Plan | How it is worked out | Three-year total |
|---|---|---|
| SiteGround GrowBig | 12 months at €5.49, 24 at €27.99 | €737.64 |
| Cloudways Basic Small | 36 months at $28 | $1,008 |
| SiteGround StartUp | 12 months at €2.99, 24 at €15.99 | €419.64 |
| Cloudways Basic Micro | 36 months at $14 | $504 |
Cloudways charges extra for offsite backup storage and lists paid add-ons, so a real bill can be higher. The entry plans differ in storage: StartUp lists 10 GB and Basic Micro lists 25 GB.
Source: SiteGround pricing page, checked .
Source: Cloudways pricing page, checked .
Differences that matter for a store
How the price is built
SiteGround's price depends on the plan tier: GrowBig lists unlimited sites and 50 GB. Cloudways' price depends on the server you pick, and each server has set RAM, processor cores and disk. We recorded Basic Small as 2GB RAM, 1 vCPU.
What happens after the first term
SiteGround GrowBig goes from €5.49/month to €27.99/month after 12 months, about 5.1 times the introductory price. Cloudways lists one monthly price per server and, in our data, no higher price after the first period. It does advertise a limited-time discount that we have not recorded.
Object caching
Cloudways lists Object Cache Pro as free on servers with 4GB of RAM or more, from $54/month in our data. Basic Small has 2GB, so it is below that. SiteGround's pricing page does not state object caching for its plans.
Extras that are billed separately
Cloudways lists offsite backup storage at $0.033 per GB per server. SiteGround lists free backups on all three plans and on-demand backups on GrowBig.
Choose SiteGround if... choose Cloudways if...
- Choose SiteGround if you want a fixed plan with staging and unlimited sites listed, and can accept a renewal price about 5.1 times the introductory one.
- Choose Cloudways if you want to pick a server size, or want Object Cache Pro, which needs a 4GB server or larger.
- Look at another host if you want a stated refund period for every plan. See the Kinsta vs WP Engine comparison and the guide to the best ecommerce hosting.
Common questions
Is SiteGround or Cloudways cheaper?
We cannot say, because SiteGround lists euros excluding VAT and Cloudways lists dollars, and we do not convert them. SiteGround's low price is a 12-month introductory offer that rises at renewal. Cloudways lists one monthly price per server size, and its bill depends on the size you choose.
Does Cloudways include Object Cache Pro?
Cloudways lists Object Cache Pro as free on a server with 4GB of RAM or more, which starts at the Basic Medium plan, $54/month in our data. Its 2GB Basic Small plan is below that. SiteGround's pricing page does not state object caching for its plans, so we show it as not stated by host.
How do SiteGround and Cloudways charge?
SiteGround lists a monthly price on a prepaid 12-month term, then a higher renewal price. Cloudways prices by server size and lists a monthly figure, and its pricing page says it bills hourly in arrears. Cloudways also lists offsite backup storage as an extra cost, at $0.033 per GB per server.
[FAQ questions are provisional until People Also Ask questions are pulled for this keyword.]
Sources and update log
- SiteGround pricing page, checked 2026-10-21.
- Cloudways pricing page, checked 2026-10-21.
Update log. 2026-10-21: first draft written from the recorded host data. Not yet fact-checked by a person.
More comparisons: Hostinger vs SiteGround and Kinsta vs WP Engine.