--- title: "Flashcloud vs Cloudways: which is better in 2026?" url: "https://hostidea.com/compare/cloudways-vs-flashcloud" canonical: "https://hostidea.com/compare/cloudways-vs-flashcloud" author: "Jennifer T." generated: "2026-10-15" note: "Markdown twin generated at build time from the same content as the HTML page. The HTML page is canonical." --- # Flashcloud vs Cloudways Flashcloud and Cloudways compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. Flashcloud scores higher overall. By [Jennifer T.](https://hostidea.com/authors/jennifer-t) ยท Updated Oct 14, 2026 We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. Rankings come from the published methodology and sourced data, not from commissions. [Disclosure](https://hostidea.com/disclosure). ## Verdict [8.7 out of 10](https://hostidea.com/methodology#scoring) [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud)Wins overall Shared and WordPress hosting with a free domain for life, 30-day backups and an anytime prorated refund [7.8 out of 10](https://hostidea.com/methodology#scoring) [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) DigitalOcean's managed cloud layer: servers from $11 a month on five clouds, billed hourly, staging and caching included Flashcloud wins 6 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (8.7 vs 7.8). ## How do the scores compare? Flashcloud leads on 6 sub-scores, Cloudways on 0. Higher is better. | | [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud) | [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) | | --- | --- | --- | | Performance | 8.5 | 8.0 | | Uptime | 9.0 | 8.5 | | Support | 8.5 | 7.5 | | Features | 9.2 | 8.0 | | Value | 9.0 | 7.0 | | Ease of use | 8.0 | 7.0 | ## Which one is faster and more reliable? | | [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud) | [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) | | --- | --- | --- | | Overall score | 8.7 | 7.8 | | Uptime (published)HostScore 30 d vs Kripesh Adwani 365 d; methods differ | 100.00% | 99.99% | | Response time (published)HostScore vs HostingStep; methods differ | 142 ms | 442 ms | ## Which one costs less? On renewal, Flashcloud is cheaper ($9.99/mo vs $14.00/mo). Intro prices need the listed term. Prices verified Oct 13, 2026 (Flashcloud) and Oct 14, 2026 (Cloudways). USD. | | [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud) | [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) | | --- | --- | --- | | Cheapest plan | Start | DigitalOcean Premium Micro | | Intro price | $2.79/mo | $14.00/mo | | Renewal price | $9.99/mo | $14.00/mo | | Required term | 12 months | 1 months | | Websites | 1 | unlimited | | Storage | 25 GB | 25 GB | | Money back | 30 days, then prorated at any time | 0 days | ## What does each include? | | [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud) | [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) | | --- | --- | --- | | Free domain | For life: registered free and renewed free while the plan is active, eligible extensions only | No | | Free domain privacy | Yes | Not stated | | Free SSL | Issued and renewed automatically | Let's Encrypt certificates on every application | | Daily backups | 30-day retention, stored on separate infrastructure, restore files, a database, email or everything from the portal | Not stated | | Free migration | Done by staff, usually within 24 hours; up to 6 unused months at the old host credited on annual and 3-year plans | Free migration of existing sites | | Free handcrafted website | Up to five pages with navigation, one free revision, usually ready in one to two working days | Not stated | | Staging | Included with WordPress hosting | Advanced staging and cloning on every plan | | Email hosting | Unlimited mailboxes, webmail, forwarding, autoresponders | Not stated | | SSH and WP-CLI | Yes | Not stated | | FTP, SFTP and shell users | Unlimited | Not stated | | Cloudflare CDN and DNS | Yes | Not stated | | Server caching | LiteSpeed with LSCache and Redis object cache | Not stated | | Malware scanning and removal | Daily, ImunifyAV | Not stated | | Web application firewall | ModSecurity rules on every request | Not stated | | Choice of data center | US East, US West, Frankfurt or Singapore at order time | Not stated | | Uptime guarantee | 99.9% per calendar month, service credits start at 10% below that | No | | Phone support | No | No | | Windows hosting | No | No | | Backups | Not stated | On-demand and scheduled server backups with one-click restore; offsite storage billed at $0.033 per GB per server | | Free CDN | Not stated | No | | Caching | Not stated | Lightning Stack (NGINX), Object Cache Pro and Redis included on every plan | | Email | Not stated | No | | Resource limits | Not stated | A whole server per customer: 1 to 8 GB RAM and 1 to 4 vCPU on the listed sizes, larger sizes and other providers available | | Data center choice | Not stated | The provider's regions, chosen per server: DigitalOcean 9, Vultr 30, Linode 25, AWS 28, Google Cloud 28 | | Security | Not stated | Built-in firewall with IP blocking, WordPress vulnerability scanner, bot protection and dedicated firewalls per the pricing page | | Free trial | Not stated | 3 days without a credit card | ## Company facts | | [Flashcloud](https://hostidea.com/reviews/flashcloud) | [Cloudways](https://hostidea.com/reviews/cloudways) | | --- | --- | --- | | Control panel | cPanel, plus the Flashcloud portal for backups, staging, cron and support | Cloudways platform (its own console); no cPanel | | Data centers | 4 | 1 | | Support channels | chat, ticket, email, knowledge-base | chat, ticket, knowledge-base | | Founded | 2026 | 2011 | Visit Flashcloud (affiliate link: /go/flashcloud)Visit Cloudways (affiliate link: /go/cloudways)