Cloudways and Rabbitflare both set up and manage servers for you on cloud providers such as DigitalOcean and Vultr. Cloudways runs a wider range of apps and offers 24/7 support, while Rabbitflare runs only WordPress and includes a CDN and firewall in its starting price.
Hosting is a running cost every website carries, and moving later means a migration. Headline prices can also mislead, because a feature that is free on one service can be a paid extra on the other. This comparison sets out prices, features and support from each company’s own pages, as listed on 8 October 2026.
Prices are in US dollars and can change at any time, so check both pricing pages on the day you buy.
Cloudways vs Rabbitflare at a glance
| Cloudways | Rabbitflare | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | DigitalOcean, since its 2022 purchase | Rabbit Rank LLC, Austin, Texas |
| Starting price | From $14 a month | From $12 a month |
| Billing | Pay as you go, hourly or monthly | Monthly per server, cancel anytime |
| Cloud providers | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud | DigitalOcean, Vultr, Hetzner, AWS |
| Apps | WordPress, Magento, Laravel and other PHP apps | WordPress only |
| CDN | Cloudflare Enterprise, from $4.99 per domain a month | Amazon CloudFront, included on cloud servers |
| Security | Server firewall included; malware protection $4 per app a month | Web application firewall on every site |
| Backups | Automated and on demand | Daily or weekly, depending on the cloud provider |
| Your own server | Not offered on its pricing page | $3.50 a month for unlimited servers |
| Free trial | 3 days, no credit card | None listed |
| Support | 24/7 on all plans | Support tickets, also answered by email |
How much do Cloudways and Rabbitflare cost?
Rabbitflare’s entry plan is $2 a month cheaper. DigitalOcean’s Cloudways page lists Cloudways from $14 a month, and Rabbitflare starts at $12 a month for 1 vCPU, 1 GB of memory and 25 GB of SSD storage on DigitalOcean or Vultr.
Rabbitflare’s larger plans on those two providers cost $26, $52, $96 and $186 a month, rising to 8 vCPU and 16 GB of memory. Cloudways bills by the hour and invoices at the start of the following month, so you can resize or delete a server and pay only for the time you used it.
Which is cheaper once you add a CDN and security?
Rabbitflare, for a single WordPress site that needs both. Its listed price includes an Amazon CloudFront CDN and a web application firewall. On Cloudways’ pricing page, the Cloudflare Enterprise CDN starts at $4.99 per domain a month and malware protection costs $4 per app a month.
Adding both to Cloudways’ $14 starting price comes to about $23 a month for one site. Cloudways does include Object Cache Pro, a caching plugin for WordPress that is normally sold separately, so compare the full feature list for your own site.
Can you host apps other than WordPress?
Only on Cloudways. It runs WordPress, Magento, Laravel and other PHP apps. Rabbitflare describes itself as managed WordPress hosting and sets up its servers for WordPress only.
Can you use a server you already own?
Yes, with Rabbitflare. It charges $3.50 a month to manage servers you already have, with no limit on servers or sites. Cloudways’ pricing page lists only servers it provides through its five cloud partners.
Which has better support?
Cloudways states its support hours and Rabbitflare does not. Cloudways offers 24/7 support on every plan, plus a paid Advanced Support option. Rabbitflare says it handles support tickets and also answers by email, but its site does not say when support is available.
How reliable are Cloudways and Rabbitflare?
We have not run our own speed or uptime tests on either service, and we found no independent tests of Rabbitflare. Cloudways has the longer public track record. DigitalOcean agreed to buy it in August 2022 for $350 million in cash, and described it as serving agencies, online shops, bloggers and developers.
Both services rely on the same kind of cloud servers underneath. Speed will depend heavily on the plan, the data centre you choose and how your site is built.
Which should you choose?
Neither is better for every site. Match the service to what you run and how much help you expect.
- Pick Cloudways if you run Magento, Laravel or other PHP apps, because Rabbitflare supports only WordPress.
- Pick Cloudways if you want support around the clock or a free trial before you pay.
- Pick Rabbitflare if you run only WordPress sites and want a CDN and firewall included in one monthly price.
- Pick Rabbitflare if you already rent servers and only need them set up and managed for WordPress.
What to check before you sign up
- Compare plans with the same memory, CPU and storage, since the starting plans are not identical.
- Add up every extra you need, such as a CDN, malware protection and backup storage.
- Test Cloudways with its 3 day trial, which needs no credit card.
- Ask Rabbitflare about support hours and refunds before you pay, because its site does not list them.
- Check how long backups are kept and where they are stored, as this varies by provider.
- Plan your migration. DigitalOcean says Cloudways moves your first site free.
What to watch next
- Price changes on both pricing pages, especially for the entry plans.
- Independent speed and uptime tests of Rabbitflare as more people use it.
- Changes to which cloud providers and data centres each service supports.