Looking for a Cloudways alternative ?

If you want a managed platform where you still configure server sizing and caching yourself, Cloudways is a capable choice with real strengths: staging, Git deploys, and cloud provider choice on every plan. If you want that work done for you, with security monitoring included instead of sold as an add-on, ZenoCloud is built for that. We migrate you free, with zero downtime, usually within 24-48 hours.

We can't speak to Cloudways' internals, but per public reviews, the two recurring reasons are support that users say slipped since the 2022 DigitalOcean acquisition, and a malware-scanner add-on that some users describe flagging clean sites before gating the fix behind a paid Imunify360 upgrade. Agencies managing client sites want predictable support and security they don't have to second-guess, and that's what pushes some to switch.

We haven't audited Cloudways' scanner ourselves, so we can't confirm it as fact. But it's a recurring theme in user reviews and forum threads: sites flagged as infected, third-party scanners coming back clean, and the fix gated behind a paid add-on. Whether or not it's intentional, it's worth knowing before you rely on it. ZenoCloud includes security monitoring and remediation in every plan, with no separate purchase to see or fix an issue.

DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways in September 2022. Multiple reviews from 2023-2025 describe slower response times and support that users say slipped after the acquisition. We can't speak to their internal operations, but the pattern shows up consistently in public reviews. ZenoCloud is independently owned: same 35-person engineering team, no acquirer setting the roadmap.

At entry price, yes. Cloudways starts at $14/mo versus ZenoCloud's ₹12,000 ($145). That gap is real, and for a personal blog or side project, Cloudways is a fine choice. But several users describe pricing creeping up as they scale, while performance plateaus. ZenoCloud's $145 includes security, tuning, and a team running it, not just a management panel over rented capacity.

Cloudways supports basic Magento installs but has no dedicated Magento engineering team. Hyvä themes, headless Adobe Commerce, Varnish cache rules, and Elasticsearch tuning are outside their support scope. ZenoCloud has 17 years of infrastructure ops and a dedicated Magento team. For any store beyond a basic install, the difference shows up fast.

Yes, and it's free. Our team handles the export, transfer, configuration on our infrastructure, and zero-downtime cutover. Most Cloudways migrations complete within 24-48 hours. We support WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce, Laravel, and custom PHP applications.

No, and this is a real Cloudways strength we don't match. Cloudways lets you pick DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, Vultr, or Linode underneath their panel. ZenoCloud runs on our own infrastructure, which is how we include security and tuning in the price instead of billing separately for the cloud layer. If you specifically need us to manage an existing AWS or GCP account, our Cloud Ops pillar does that.

Yes. Our agency hosting plan includes multi-client management, white-label options, a dedicated partner support channel, batch migrations, and wholesale pricing for agencies managing 10+ sites, plus Magento and WooCommerce expertise Cloudways doesn't have. See our agency hosting page for details.