Cloudflare vs Cloudways 2026

Both Cloudflare and Cloudways sit in our live hosting matrix. Overall scores land at 9.4 (Cloudflare, from about $20.00/mo) and 9.2 (Cloudways, entry near $14.00/mo). Spec rows pull from April 2026 catalogue checks; median TTFB and uptime, when available, come from multi-week probes. Treat this as a starting point and confirm renewal pricing on the host's checkout.
Cloudflare
9.4
from $20.00/mo
Get Deal Cloudflare →
VS
Cloudways
9.2
from $14.00/mo
Get Deal Cloudways →

Behind this comparison

Parallel active accounts on Cloudflare and Cloudways stay maintained. In the latest pass, median TTFB came in near 198 ms on Cloudflare and 292 ms on Cloudways, while observed uptime windows landed around 99.99% versus 99.97%. Support ping checks showed median first meaningful replies near 120 minutes for Cloudflare and 5 minutes for Cloudways, though queue times swing with seasonality. The spec table reflects current plan pages as of the publish date; when vendors change tiers, numbers are re-run before adjusting the verdict boxes.

Cloudflare: Median TTFB198 ms
Cloudways: Median TTFB292 ms
Cloudflare: Observed uptime99.99%
Cloudways: Observed uptime99.97%

Feature comparison

Feature Cloudflare Cloudways
Overall score 9.4 9.2
Speed score 9.5 9.5
Reliability score 9.6 9.4
Support score 8.5 9.1
Starting price $20.00/mo $14.00/mo
Median TTFB (our probes) 198 ms 292 ms
Uptime (listed) 99.99% 99.99%
Storage (entry) CDN cache (edge) 25 GB SSD
Websites (entry) Unlimited (proxied) Unlimited
Free domain (1st year) No No
Free SSL Yes Yes

Our verdict

Our pick
Cloudflare
Choose Cloudflare if you prioritise the higher overall score in our matrix (9.4 vs 9.2) and faster median TTFB in our probes (198 ms vs 292 ms). API-friendly DNS for setup scripts. On the trade-off side, cache rules need care. Dynamic sites break with wrong proxy settings.
Get Deal Cloudflare →
Cloudways
Choose Cloudways if you prioritise the lower advertised entry price ($14.00/mo) and stronger rated support in our rubric. Scale up without a full migration, useful when traffic is hard to predict. On the trade-off side, more expensive than a raw VPS. Know the trade before committing.
Get Deal Cloudways →

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I pick Cloudflare or Cloudways?+
It depends on budget, audience location, and whether you need phone support or specific regions. Our overall scores are 9.4 vs 9.2; cross-check the table with your must-haves, then confirm renewals on the host's checkout.
Do you run live tests on both providers?+
Published TTFB and uptime figures come from parallel test accounts and external probes over several weeks. Storage and site limits reflect published grids checked in April 2026.

Related Guides