Cloudways vs KeyCDN (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Cloudways is our pick, scoring 7/10 against 6.4/10 for KeyCDN on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Security score (8/10 vs 5/10). Neither Cloudways nor KeyCDN lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Cloudways
7/10
Managed cloud hosting platform that runs WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Laravel and PHP apps on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud servers.
KeyCDN
6.4/10
Swiss pay-as-you-go content delivery network that serves websites, images and large files from 60+ data centers, aimed at developers and small to mid-sized businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7/10 | 6.4/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $14/mo Flexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $14/mo Flexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Free SSL Certificates | ||
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| Cloud Compute | Not listed | |
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
Cloudways vs KeyCDN cost by team size
| Team size | Cloudways | KeyCDN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who Cloudways and KeyCDN suit
Cloudways fits agencies better; KeyCDN fits developers better.
| Audience | Cloudways | KeyCDN |
|---|---|---|
| Agencies | 9/10Reviewers praise managing many client sites from one account, and the panel includes cloning and staging. | 6/10CMS integrations for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal and per-zone setup work for client sites, though zones beyond three cost extra. |
| Developers | 6/10Git deployment, an API and WP-CLI are available, but some reviewers say low-level control is limited. | 8/10REST API, Push and Pull Zones, rsync and FTP uploads and framework guides such as Laravel suit technical users, though reviewers say setup needs technical knowledge. |
| E-commerce | 8/10The stack is tuned for WooCommerce and Magento, with Object Cache Pro included on larger servers. | 7/10Image processing, a Magento and PrestaShop integration and low per-GB rates suit stores, and a 2025 e-commerce review calls it a strong budget option. |
| Small Business | 7/10Plans start at 14 dollars a month and include managed security, though some beginners find the server concepts confusing. | 7/10Pay-as-you-go billing with a $4 monthly minimum and no contract keeps costs low for small sites. |
| Enterprise | Not rated | 4/10There is no SLA with service credits, no listed compliance certifications and only business-hours standard support, all of which large buyers usually expect. |
| Freelancers | 7/10Low entry pricing and multi-site management suit freelancers who host client sites. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Cloudways
- Higher Security score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for agencies (9/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose KeyCDN
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for developers (8/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Cloudways
Pros
- You can choose from five cloud providers and more than 50 locations from one control panel.
- Hourly pay-as-you-go billing, with a 5-day trial that needs no credit card.
- Every server includes free SSL, Layer 3 and 4 DDoS mitigation, a firewall and offsite backups.
- Agencies get one-click staging, cloning and Git auto-deployment for many client sites.
- Ratings are strong, at about 4.7 on G2 and 4.6 on Trustpilot.
Cons
- Email hosting and domain registration are not included.
- Billing gets hard to track once add-ons and bandwidth overages are added, and some reviewers report charges after cancelling.
- Some reviewers say support quality has dropped since the DigitalOcean acquisition.
- Power users report limited low-level control.
- Phone support requires a paid premium support add-on.
KeyCDN
Pros
- Low per-GB rates: $0.04 per GB in North America and Europe, falling to $0.01 per GB above 100 TB, with no request fees.
- No contract and a low entry point: a $4 monthly minimum, and customers can terminate at any time.
- Instant purge, Origin Shield, HTTP/2, TLS 1.3, Brotli, Secure Token and free Let's Encrypt certificates are included at no extra cost.
- The vendor runs its own non-federated network rather than reselling another CDN.
- Ready-made integration guides for WordPress (CDN Enabler), Magento, Drupal, Joomla, PrestaShop, TYPO3 and Laravel.
- A documented REST API covers zones, purges and detailed reports, including cache hit and status-code statistics.
Cons
- The terms set a 99.99% availability target but give no service credits when it is missed.
- Standard support runs during business hours only, with 24x7 coverage limited to critical requests.
- Reviewers describe the DDoS protection as basic and say there is no WAF, so extra security layers are needed.
- Costs add up from extra Zones, Push storage, $1 per day log forwarding and image operations, and Asia, Africa and Latin America traffic costs two to four times more.
- Prepaid credits are nonrefundable, and reviewers note setup needs some technical knowledge.
- Push Zones lack a full-cache purge, and files over 100 MB require Push Zones.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Cloudways scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7/10 against 6.4/10 for KeyCDN. The largest gap is in Cost: 6/10 for Cloudways and 9/10 for KeyCDN.
No, neither Cloudways nor KeyCDN lists a free plan.
Cloudways is the better fit for agencies: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for KeyCDN.
