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Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team

Alibaba Cloud vs Cloudways

Compare Alibaba Cloud and Cloudways using recorded catalog facts and pricing.

Where Alibaba Cloud and Cloudways differ

Alibaba Cloud vs Cloudways
FactAlibaba CloudCloudways
Entry price$4Lower$11
Entry plan2 vCPU, 0.5 GiB RAM, 20 GiB ESSD system disk1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB storage
Bandwidth allowance200 Mbit/s maximum bandwidth2 TB transfer bandwidth
Billing modelsMonthly, ReservedHourly, Monthly
Locations31150Higher
RegionsSG, TH, MY, ID, PH, JP, KR, US, MX, DE, GB, AE, SA, HK, FR, BR, CNUS, NL, IN, DE, GB, SG, AU, CA
Free creditsUp to 12 months of Elastic Compute Service usage across 80+ products4 free AI Copilot credits
Compliance certificationsTrusted Partner Network (TPN) certificationSOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS
Server typesVPS, Bare metalCovers moreVPS
SLA uptimeNot confirmed99.99%
Use casesGame serverNot confirmed
Operating systemsLinux, WindowsNot confirmed

Same on both: DDoS protection (Yes).

Key differences

  • Alibaba Cloud scores higher overall: 9.50 vs 9.20.
  • Entry price is lower at Alibaba Cloud: $4 vs $11.
  • Locations is higher at Cloudways: 150 vs 31.
  • Regions: only Alibaba Cloud offers TH, MY, ID.
  • Regions: only Cloudways offers NL, IN, AU.
  • Compliance certifications: only Alibaba Cloud offers Trusted Partner Network (TPN) certification.
  • Compliance certifications: only Cloudways offers SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR.
  • Founded is lower at Alibaba Cloud: 2009 vs 2012.
  • Billing models: only Alibaba Cloud offers Reserved.
  • Billing models: only Cloudways offers Hourly.

Score breakdown

Alibaba Cloud vs Cloudways
AreaAlibaba CloudCloudways
Cost9.60HigherEntry server at $4 against a site median of €5.83, with object storage at $0.016 to $0.017 per GB per month.8.70
Offer9.80HigherFree tier, free credits, 2 vCPU, 0.5 GiB RAM, 20 GiB ESSD system disk and 31 locations, plus a free control plane.9.70
Trust8.709.10Higher

Winner by area

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cost9.6
  • Offer9.8
  • Trust8.7

Cloudways

  • Cost8.7
  • Offer9.7
  • Trust9.1
  • Alibaba Cloud leads on cost by 0.9 points (9.6 vs 8.7).
  • No winner on offer: both score 9.8.
  • On trust the two are close: Cloudways 9.1, Alibaba Cloud 8.7.

Pick Alibaba Cloud if, pick Cloudways if

Pick Alibaba Cloud if cost, entry price, and server types matter most.

Pick Cloudways if trust and locations matter most.

Every fact side by side

Alibaba Cloud vs Cloudways
FactAlibaba CloudCloudways
Pricing modelFree tierHourly
Legal entityAlibaba Cloud (Singapore) Private LimitedCloudways, LLC
HeadquartersNot confirmedUnited States
Founded2009Lower2012
Support channelsEmail, Chat, Help centre, CommunityEmail, Chat, Help centre, Community

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