DreamHost vs Cloudways — Which is Better in 2026?
Cloudways is significantly more expensive (325% more). In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed on speed. We compared pricing, support, uptime, and features so you can choose with confidence.
Last verified: June 2026
Our Quick Verdict
Cloudways wins overall with a 4.6/5 rating vs 4.3/5. It is best for Developers, Agency, WordPress. The other option — DreamHost — is a better fit if you need WordPress or Beginners.
Ratings Comparison
| Category | DreamHost | Winner | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | 4.3/5 | Winner | 4.6/5 |
| Speed | 4.2/5 | Winner | 4.7/5 |
| Support | 4.1/5 | Winner | 4.4/5 |
| Uptime | 4.7/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.7/5 |
| Value | 4.5/5 | Tie—Tie | 4.5/5 |
| Features | 4.2/5 | Winner | 4.6/5 |
| Security | 4.3/5 | Winner | 4.5/5 |
| Ease of Use | 4.4/5 | Winner | 4.2/5 |
Features Comparison
| Feature | DreamHost | Cloudways |
|---|---|---|
| Free SSL | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Domain | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free Migration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Money-Back | 97 days | None |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Uptime Guarantee | 100% (VPS/Dedicated) | 99.99% |
| Founded | 1996 | 2012 |
Pros & Cons
DreamHost
Pros
- ✓97-day money-back guarantee — industry best
- ✓Free domain privacy included
- ✓WordPress.org officially recommended
- ✓Month-to-month plans available (no annual lock-in)
- ✓Unlimited email hosting included
- ✓Strong privacy and no data selling
Cons
- ✕No phone support on shared plans
- ✕Custom panel has a learning curve
- ✕Only US-based data centres
- ✕Support response times can be slow
Cloudways
Pros
- ✓Choose your underlying cloud provider
- ✓Pay-as-you-go — no annual lock-in
- ✓Built-in CDN, Redis, and Varnish cache
- ✓Free SSL and automated backups
- ✓One-click staging environments
- ✓PHP-FPM and Nginx Varnish stack
Cons
- ✕No phone support
- ✕No email hosting included
- ✕Pricing scales with cloud server size
- ✕Not ideal for non-technical beginners
Performance Comparison
In our testing, Cloudways consistently outperformed DreamHost on page load speed, scoring 4.2/5 and 4.7/5 respectively. DreamHost uses SSD storage with data centres in USA, while Cloudways relies on SSD storage with locations including USA, EU. DreamHost guarantees 100% (VPS/Dedicated) uptime, and Cloudways offers 99.99% uptime.
Pricing Breakdown
DreamHost starts at $2.59/month, making it more affordable than Cloudways ($11.00/month) — a 325% price difference. Over 12 months, that's $101 in savings by choosing DreamHost. DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee; Cloudways has no standard refund policy.
Support Comparison
DreamHost offers support via live chat, ticket with a support rating of 4.1/5. Cloudways provides live chat, ticket support, rated 4.4/5. Cloudways has the edge on support responsiveness and quality in our evaluation.
Who Should Choose Which?
Choose DreamHost if you need:
- WordPress
- Beginners
- Small Business
Not ideal for:
International sites, High Traffic
Choose Cloudways if you need:
- Developers
- Agency
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
Not ideal for:
Beginners, Email hosting users
Our Verdict
After testing both platforms, we recommend Cloudways for most users. The ratings are close (4.3 vs 4.6), so your decision should come down to your specific use case.
Our Testing Methodology
ArdentSupport evaluates hosting providers across eight weighted criteria: overall value, page load speed, customer support quality, uptime reliability, feature depth, security posture, and ease of use. Ratings reflect real-world performance data, industry reputation, public SLAs, and first-hand support interactions. Prices are verified at time of publication. We update this comparison when provider data changes.