Cloudways Alternative

Rapyd Cloud vs Cloudways

Cloudways gives you flexible VPS access, but Enterprise Cloudflare CDN, malware protection, and automated patching are all paid add-ons. Rapyd Cloud delivers faster performance out of the box with LiteSpeed, KeyDB & Redis, Enterprise Cloudflare CDN with WAF, and isolated containers, all included on every plan.

Trusted by professionals. 180+ five-star reviews on Trustpilot & G2.

Performance Benchmarks

Independent stress test results

Rapyd Cloud Cloudways
WP Benchmark Score 9.3 7.1
WP Queries/sec 2,958 888
Req/sec Under Load 353 43
GTMetrix Score 95% 82%
24/7 Expert Chat
14-Day Money Back
3-Day Free Trial
Free Migration

Why Customers Switch to Rapyd Cloud

Performance, security, and support that Cloudways can't match.

Edge Security on Every Plan

Rapyd Cloud includes Cloudflare's Enterprise-grade CDN with edge WAF on every plan. Cloudways includes a server-level WAF (Imunify360), but Cloudflare's edge WAF and DDoS protection is a paid add-on at $4.99 per domain per month.

Isolated Containers

Every Rapyd Cloud environment runs in its own isolated container. On Cloudways Flexible, multiple applications share the same VPS resources, so one app's traffic spike can affect the rest. Their Autonomous tier ($100+/mo) uses Kubernetes for isolation.

Auto-Scaling, No Manual Work

Rapyd Cloud scales PHP workers and memory automatically on every plan. Cloudways Flexible requires manual server resizing. Their Autonomous tier ($100+/mo) adds auto-scaling, but is WordPress-only and starts at nearly 10x the price of Flexible.

Rapyd Cloud vs Cloudways: Feature by Feature

See how the two platforms compare across key features.

Feature Rapyd Cloud Cloudways
LiteSpeed Server
Built-in page caching + HTTP/3 Apache + Nginx or Nginx-only (two stack options)
KeyDB & Redis Object Cache
Business plans and above Redis + Object Cache Pro (enable from dashboard)
Isolated Cloud Containers
Fully isolated per environment Shared VPS (Autonomous tier uses Kubernetes)
Enterprise Cloudflare CDN
300+ edge locations, WAF + DDoS included Cloudflare Enterprise add-on ($4.99/domain/mo; included on Autonomous tier)
Auto-Scaling PHP Workers
Scales automatically with traffic Manual server scaling (Autonomous tier has auto-scaling at $100+/mo)
Automated Daily Backups
Automated daily + on-demand Automated daily backups
Staging Environment
One-click staging environment Staging available
Web Application Firewall
Cloudflare WAF + DDoS protection Imunify360 server-level WAF (Cloudflare WAF is $4.99/domain/mo add-on)
Malware Scanning & Removal
Real-time scanning + auto-removal Imunify360 server-level scanning (free); automated cleanup is paid add-on ($4/app/mo)
Automated Vulnerability Patching
Via Advanced SiteShield ($4/mo per site) Vulnerability scanning only (Patchstack-powered) — no virtual patching
Free Trial
3-day free trial 3-day free trial
Money-Back Guarantee
14-day money-back guarantee No money-back guarantee
Free Site Migrations
Free migrations by our team Free migrations included

Trusted by WordPress Professionals

180+ five-star reviews on Trustpilot and G2.

I have been developing Wordpress sites for almost 20 years now. I recently discovered Rapyd hosting - I was dumbfounded how fast the website was loading with ZERO effort on my end. I've migrated all of my clients to Rapyd away from Cloudways.

Carlos Franco
trustpilot

We previously used Siteground, Cloudways, and AWS to host our social learning communities. Thankfully Rapyd Cloud solved all our needs. It's a superior server package with outstanding customer support. Our products now run at lightning speed.

Nate W.
g2

I switched servers from Cloudways to Rapyd because they are the creators of Buddyboss and I use that on my wordpress site. Now that they have optimized things, Buddyboss works much more quickly. The migration process was quite smooth. One of the support staff, Ruby, has really impressed me with her sincerity and ability to find solutions so quickly.

Marie Frenette
trustpilot

As the team behind Duplicator, we work with every major WordPress hosting environment all the time. When we switched Duplicator.com to Rapyd Cloud, the performance gains were immediately obvious. Our site is significantly faster, and we're seeing the benefits across the board.

John Turner
duplicator

For Easy Digital Downloads, the move to Rapyd Cloud wasn't just a hosting change. It was removing a ceiling on what we could do and how fast we could move. Our time to first byte was cut in half, if not more, right out of the gate. That told us the underlying infrastructure was genuinely performant.

Chris Klosowski
easy-digital-downloads

After 20 years in web development, I have tried most of the well-known hosting companies. RAPYD is the perfect solution for dynamic WordPress sites. The performance is incomparable to other hosting services. The support has been amazing. They respond to chats quickly at all hours of the day.

Soren Jensen
trustpilot

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rapyd Cloud really faster than Cloudways?
In independent benchmarks, Rapyd Cloud scored 9.3 vs Cloudways' 7.1 and handled 2,958 WP queries/sec compared to Cloudways' 888. The performance gap is significant.
How hard is it to migrate from Cloudways to Rapyd Cloud?
Our team handles the full migration for free. We move your files, database, DNS, and SSL with zero downtime. Most migrations complete in under 24 hours.
Do I still need to manage servers on Rapyd Cloud?
No. Rapyd Cloud is fully managed. Server updates, security patches, caching, CDN configuration, and backups are all handled for you. No terminal access required.
Does Rapyd Cloud include a CDN and WAF?
Yes. Every plan includes Cloudflare's Enterprise-grade CDN with WAF and DDoS protection. Cloudways offers Cloudflare Enterprise as a paid add-on starting at $4.99 per domain per month.
Does Rapyd Cloud offer a free trial?
Yes. Rapyd Cloud includes a 3-day free trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Can I try Rapyd Cloud without canceling Cloudways first?
Absolutely. Start a free trial, test your site on Rapyd Cloud, and only switch DNS when you're satisfied.
Fleet, the Rapyd Cloud mascot

Ready to Switch from Cloudways?

Start your free trial and see the difference. When you're ready, our team handles the full migration for free.