Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team
Amazon Web Services vs Cloudways
What sets them apart
| Fact | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $3.50Lower | $11 |
| Entry plan | 512 MB RAM, 2 vCPU, 20 GB SSD | 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB storage |
| Bandwidth allowance | 1 TB | 2 TB transfer bandwidth |
| Billing models | Hourly, Per second, Monthly, ReservedCovers more | Hourly, Monthly |
| Locations | 39 | 150Higher |
| Free credits | $100 in credits on signup, up to $100 more, up to $200 total over 6 months | 4 free AI Copilot credits |
| SLA uptime | 99.5% to 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Compliance certifications | PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140 3, NIST 800 171 | SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS |
| Server types | VPS, Bare metalCovers more | VPS |
| Regions | Not confirmed | US, NL, IN, DE, GB, SG, AU, CA |
| Operating systems | Linux, Windows | Not confirmed |
Same on both: DDoS protection (Yes).
Key differences
- Amazon Web Services scores higher overall: 9.50 vs 9.20.
- Entry price is lower at Amazon Web Services: $3.50 vs $11.
- Locations is higher at Cloudways: 150 vs 39.
- Support channels: only Amazon Web Services offers Phone.
- Support channels: only Cloudways offers Email.
- Compliance certifications: only Amazon Web Services offers PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP.
- Compliance certifications: only Cloudways offers SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS.
- Founded is lower at Amazon Web Services: 1994 vs 2012.
- Billing models: only Amazon Web Services offers Per second, Reserved.
- Server types: only Amazon Web Services offers Bare metal.
Score breakdown
| Area | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 9.60HigherPer GB-second at $0.000000017 ranks 1 of 27, and request pricing at $0.20 ranks 5 of 36. | 8.70 |
| Offer | 9.20Breadth is the trade-off: 39 regions, NVIDIA A10G, NVIDIA T4 and NVIDIA H100 and a wide model catalogue, with a paid control plane at $0.10. | 9.70Higher |
| Trust | 10.00Higher | 9.10 |
Cost in a real example
A year on the entry plan
Amazon Web Services
$42
12 × $3.50
Cloudways
$132
12 × $11
Amazon Web Services costs $90 less.
Worked out from the stated prices and rates; your own total depends on how you use it.
The numbers side by side
| Fact | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $3.50 | $11 |
| Locations | 39 | 150 |
| SLA uptime | 99.5% to 99.99% | 99.99% |
Where each is licensed and available
| Country | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
Side by side, item by item
| Billing models | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Yes | Yes |
| Per second | Yes | No |
| Monthly | Yes | Yes |
| Reserved | Yes | No |
| Server types | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| VPS | Yes | Yes |
| Bare metal | Yes | No |
Every fact side by side
| Fact | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hourly | Hourly |
| Legal entity | Amazon.com, Inc. | Cloudways, LLC |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Founded | 1994Lower | 2012 |
| Support channels | Phone, Chat, Help centre, Community | Email, Chat, Help centre, Community |
Country by country
| Country | Amazon Web Services | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Yes | No |
| Belgium | Yes | No |
| Brazil | Yes | No |
| Canada | Yes | No |
| Egypt | Yes | No |
| France | Yes | No |
| Germany | Yes | No |
| India | Yes | No |
8 of 22 countries where either is available.
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