Cloudways and Kinsta both sell managed hosting for WordPress sites. This page treats them as managed WordPress and as managed cloud beside shared hosting. What separates them is True 3-Year Cost in year two and year three.
hosting-comparison-2026.json lists a flat renewal for both. Cloudways is $11 a month to start and $11 a month to renew. Kinsta is $35 a month to start and $35 a month to renew. True 3-Year Cost is twelve months at the entry rate plus twenty-four months at renewal, the same formula as the renewal guide. That is $396 for Cloudways and $1,260 for Kinsta. Kinsta's higher total is a higher flat managed-WordPress price.
Kinsta scores 89 and Cloudways 88. Kinsta is managed WordPress: performance 96, support 96, ease of use 88, a 99.9% uptime SLA, and a 30-day money-back window. Cloudways is managed cloud, the step up from a shared plan: price and value 82, performance 90, ease of use 80, a 99.99% uptime SLA, and a 3-day trial. Cloudways asks more than a one-click shared panel. Kinsta asks less, and our record limits it to WordPress. The higher bill does not raise the score.
Scores follow the published methodology. Paid placement is not accepted. The Visit buttons on this page are affiliate links.
Every figure below is copied from hosting-comparison-2026.json. This page does not add a lab benchmark.
| Published field | Cloudways | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Managed cloud | Managed WordPress |
| Editorial score | 88 | 89 |
| Entry price | $11/mo | $35/mo |
| Renewal price | $11/mo | $35/mo |
| True 3-Year Cost | $396 | $1,260 |
| Performance | 90 | 96 |
| Price / value | 82 | 68 |
| Support | 88 | 96 |
| Ease of use | 80 | 88 |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% | 99.9% |
| Trial or refund | 3-day trial | 30 days |
We are rebuilding how we source performance data, so rankings that depend on the performance score are provisional until the re-sourced data is published.
Shared plans on this site often win the first invoice and lose on renewal. Cloudways and Kinsta do the opposite: the monthly rate in the dataset does not step up, and the decision is which flat managed price fits the WordPress site. If the budget is still a shared-hosting budget, start with cheapest hosting and best WordPress hosting, then come back when the renewal on a shared plan rivals these flat rates. Small-business sites that want that middle step are covered in hosting for small business.
Unranked cloud and VPS alternatives.
Kamatera — fully customisable cloud, 21 global regions, unmanaged. Visit Kamatera
Hostwinds — fully managed VPS with hourly billing, semi-managed. Visit Hostwinds
UpCloud — 100% uptime SLA, MaxIOPS storage, unmanaged. Visit UpCloud
Affiliate link — we earn a commission if you buy. Scores and rankings are editorial and unchanged by this relationship. Ethics
In hosting-comparison-2026.json, neither does. Cloudways stays at $11 a month. Kinsta stays at $35 a month. The wider renewal pattern is on the renewal price comparison.
Twelve months at the entry rate plus twenty-four months at renewal: $396 for Cloudways and $1,260 for Kinsta.
The file categories Cloudways as managed cloud and Kinsta as managed WordPress. Ease of use is 80 versus 88. That is the shared-panel gap. Kinsta's record limits that plan to WordPress. Read the weights on the methodology page.
Kinsta leads support (96 against 88). Cloudways leads price and value (82 against 68). The hosting weights land Kinsta at 89 and Cloudways at 88. Affiliate status does not move either score. The policy is on ethics.
When the site is WordPress and support 96, ease 88, and 30 days to change your mind are worth $1,260 over three years. Cloudways is the lower flat bill, with a 3-day trial rather than that refund window.