Hostinger vs Cloudways for WordPress: term pricing or pay-as-you-go
Hostinger sells WordPress plans by term, Cloudways sells servers by the hour. What each costs, what is and is not published, and which situations suit which.
The short answer
Hostinger and Cloudways are priced on opposite principles. Hostinger sells a WordPress plan for a term you pay up front: Premium is $3.99 a month on a 12-month term and $2.49 on 48 months, and renews at $10.99 a month for the same term. Cloudways sells a server by the hour with a monthly cap and no term: its entry server is $14 a month. A fixed term wins when you will stay for years, because the first-term price is low. Pay-as-you-go wins when you may stop in a few months or want to size the server yourself.
The plans are not equivalent, so the arithmetic below compares list prices, not what you get. For the same kind of comparison against other hosts see Hostinger vs SiteGround and Cloudways vs Kinsta.
Hostinger: price by term
| Term | Premium per month | Unlimited per month | Renews at (per month, same term) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $12.19 | $18.99 | $12.19 / $18.99 |
| 12 months | $3.99 (pay $47.88) | $4.99 (pay $59.88) | $10.99 / $16.99 |
| 24 months | $3.49 (pay $83.76) | $4.49 (pay $107.76) | $10.99 / $16.99 |
| 48 months | $2.49 (pay $119.52) | $3.49 (pay $167.52) | $10.99 / $16.99 |
Sources: [1]
Premium lists 3 websites, 20 GB SSD storage and weekly backups; Unlimited lists unlimited websites, 50 GB NVMe storage and daily backups. The page shows a free domain and free mailboxes for the first year, a 30-day money-back guarantee and a Black Friday campaign on 2 November 2026, so the first-term prices can change. Hostinger's page does not state whether the prices include tax. Our dated rows are on the Hostinger page.
Sources: [1]
Cloudways: a server billed by the hour
| Server | Monthly price | RAM | vCPU | NVMe storage | Transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | $14 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB |
| Small | $28 | 2 GB | 1 | 50 GB | 2 TB |
| Medium | $54 | 4 GB | 2 | 80 GB | 4 TB |
These are the entry configurations shown by default (DigitalOcean, Basic, Premium); other providers and sizes exist and are priced differently. Billing is hourly with a monthly cap, with no term: the Micro server is listed at $0.0208 an hour and $14 a month. The pages we read give no visit capacity for any server and do not confirm the free-trial length (3 or 5 days). Our dated rows are on the Cloudways page.
Three situations, on list prices
| Situation | Hostinger Premium | Cloudways Micro |
|---|---|---|
| A campaign site for 3 months | $36.57 on 1-month terms (3 × $12.19) | up to $42 (3 × $14 cap) |
| One small site for the first 12 months | $47.88 on a 12-month term | up to $168 (12 × $14) |
| The same site for four years | $119.52 on one 48-month term, or $443.52 on 12-month terms | up to $672 (48 × $14) |
Side by side: catalogue rates
| Characteristic | Hostinger WordPress Hosting | Cloudways Flexible |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | from $10.99/mo (billed yearly)Source changed · (past the re-check window) — verified; opens the source in a new tab | from $14/mo— verified; opens the source in a new tab |
| Official site | Visit site of Hostinger WordPress Hosting(official site, opens in a new tab) | Visit site of Cloudways Flexible(partner link, opens in a new tab)Partner link — We may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It does not change how we describe the product. |
Catalogue entry prices: the lowest non-promotional rates
- from $10.99/mo (billed yearly)Source changed · (past the re-check window) — verified; opens the source in a new tab
- from $14/mo— verified; opens the source in a new tabVisit site of Cloudways Flexible(partner link, opens in a new tab)Partner link — We may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It does not change how we describe the product.
Choose by how long you will stay and how much you want to manage
Choose Hostinger if you will commit to a term of one to four years, want the lowest first-term price and a plan that lists websites, backups and a first-year domain, and can accept a renewal near three to four times the first price. Choose Cloudways if you want no term, hourly billing up to a monthly cap and control over the server size, and you are comfortable judging how much server your site needs, since the pages give no visit figure. This is an editorial summary of published list prices, not a ranking and not based on testing either host.
Editorial opinion
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
- Is Hostinger cheaper than Cloudways?
On list prices Hostinger Premium ($3.99 a month on a 12-month term, $2.49 on 48 months) is lower than the Cloudways entry server ($14 a month). They are not equivalent: Hostinger's plan lists websites, backups and a first-year domain, while the Cloudways row lists server resources only.
- Does Cloudways have a contract term?
No term is shown: billing is hourly up to a monthly cap. Check Cloudways' help page on monthly versus hourly billing for the rules on invoicing.
- What does Hostinger renew at?
The pricing page we read on 2 November 2026 shows Premium renewing at $10.99 a month and Unlimited at $16.99 a month for the same term, whether you bought 12, 24 or 48 months.
- Can I try Cloudways before paying?
Cloudways offers a free trial. The pages we read give its length as 3 or 5 days, so confirm the current length with Cloudways.
- Is there a money-back period?
Hostinger's page lists a 30-day money-back guarantee. For refund rules across hosts see our WordPress hosting guide.
Sources and checks
Sources
Nikita Latyshev is the founder of LATYNEX Labs, an independent publication about business software and infrastructure. LATYNEX Labs is published by Latynex Trade OÜ, Estonia. How the site checks facts, handles sponsorship and earns money is described on its methodology, editorial policy and affiliate disclosure pages.