Cloudways vs Knownhost: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Cloudways vs. KnownHost, both offer strong hosting options catering to different user needs, but each has its unique strengths and limitations.

• 
  KnownHost (Overall grade: 8.6)
  
  
  excels in uptime and customer support, making it ideal for users seeking reliability and robust technical assistance. KnownHost features a broad range of hosting types including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting, catering to high-traffic and multimedia websites with superior scalability. Their inclusion of LiteSpeed and NVMe storage ensures fast load times, while their free migration service and automated daily backups provide added convenience. Notably, KnownHost offers built-in email hosting, which is a plus for users wanting an integrated solution. However, some users have reported slower server speeds and find the interface less intuitive compared to competitors.
  
• 
  Cloudways (Overall grade: 8.5)
  
  
  provides impressive performance with features like SSD-based hosting, advanced caching, and vertical scaling options, making it well-suited for agencies and ecommerce websites. The platform’s user-friendly interface supports seamless team collaboration with staging URLs and 1-click actions for easy management. Cloudways stands out in website speed, leveraging Cloudflare Enterprise and auto-healing servers to ensure minimal downtime. However, Cloudways lacks domain registration and email hosting, requiring users to source these services separately, which can be an inconvenience for some. Despite these minor drawbacks, Cloudways is highly appreciated for its flexibility, optimized performance, and excellent support options.
  

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

SECTION 1:

🏆 Winner KnownHost: KnownHost excels in uptime and superior customer support, making it the top contender.

SECTION 2:

Cloudways offers an impressive 99.99% uptime guarantee, supported by consistent performance metrics. Their average server response time is 229ms, and they boast excellent performance optimization features. However, they don’t provide domain registration or email hosting, which may require additional services from third parties.

SECTION 3:

KnownHost shines with a 99.996% historical uptime and ongoing efforts to ensure minimal downtime. Their performance metrics are backed by features like automated backups, free SSL certificates, and plans that include DDoS protection. This commitment to reliability and customer satisfaction gives KnownHost a slight edge over Cloudways.

🏆 Winner
Cloudways: Top-notch speed with advanced caching and scalability features.

When it comes to general performance, Cloudways stands out for its SSD hosting which is significantly faster compared to HDDs. It integrates various advanced caches like Varnish, Nginx, and Redis directly into its platform to reduce page load times, and offers Cloudflare Enterprise for enhanced CDN and security features. Cloudways utilizes an optimized stack consisting of NGINX, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP-FPM to handle high traffic efficiently. In contrast, KnownHost uses AMD EPYC hardware combined with NVMe storage for high performance, and LiteSpeed with LSCache to ensure faster request processing and page loading. Both providers offer global data centers but Cloudways’ auto-healing servers add an extra layer of reliability.

Website Speed

Cloudways excels in website speed thanks to its integrated advanced caches and fully SSD-based hosting. The inclusion of Cloudflare Enterprise further accelerates content delivery while safeguarding against malicious traffic. The auto-healing servers keep the downtime to a minimum, ensuring optimal performance at all times. KnownHost’s utilization of LiteSpeed and NVMe storage also guarantees swift page loads and efficient processing, maintaining its competitive edge in providing reliable speed. However, Cloudways offers more built-in solutions for enhanced web performance, making it the preferred choice for speed-oriented hosting.

Scalability

Scalability is straightforward and cost-effective with Cloudways due to its vertical scaling options, allowing users to increase resources like RAM, CPU, and storage without the need for significant plan upgrades. This elasticity ensures high availability and performance while keeping costs minimal. KnownHost also provides scalable solutions, though specific details on automatic scaling and dedicated server costs are not elaborated. Cloudways offers one-click actions for quick scalability adjustments, further simplifying the process for users needing to handle traffic surges seamlessly.

🏆 Winner
KnownHost: A hosting provider with more robust overall security measures and functionality.

Both Cloudways and KnownHost, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Cloudways and KnownHost both offer a range of technical security features. Cloudways provides free 1-Click SSL certificates, dedicated server-level firewalls, Fail2ban for blocking suspicious activities, and two-factor authentication. KnownHost includes free SSL certificates with each hosting account, Imunify360 for automated real-time website protection, and firewall setup for common services. KnownHost also includes LiteSpeed and LSCache for enhanced performance and security, which Cloudways does not explicitly offer. Both providers support multiple PHP versions, although Cloudways supports slightly older versions starting from PHP 5.6, whereas KnownHost starts from PHP 7.2.

Operational security measures:

Cloudways stands out with automated bot protection, regular security patches, and server OS updates, along with auto-healing servers to maintain smooth operations. KnownHost’s operational security involves fully automated backups stored off-server, ensuring data integrity and quick recovery. Cloudways heavy reliance on automated protection mechanisms like Fail2ban and bot protection is countered by KnownHost’s robust DDoS protection of up to 500 Gbps at no extra cost, which blocks 99.9% of attacks. Cloudways also provides server and platform-level firewalls, while KnownHost includes reverse DNS setup to enhance overall security.

Compliance and certifications:

Cloudways utilizes PCI-DSS compliant hardware from its cloud infrastructure providers but is not PCI-DSS compliant itself. Its GDPR compliance is not explicitly stated but implied through its focus on data protection. KnownHost secures websites with SSL certificates to meet PCI requirements but does not specify its stance on GDPR compliance. HIPAA compliance details are not mentioned for either hosting provider.

🏆 Winner: KnownHost: Providing superior performance and dependable support for hosting needs.

Both Cloudways and KnownHost offer robust hosting features that cater to a variety of user requirements. Cloudways excels in flexibility and ease of use, providing seamless vertical scaling, a rich set of caching options, and a comprehensive stack optimized for PHP applications. It also provides a versatile team collaboration environment with SSH and SFTP access, making it ideal for development teams. KnownHost, on the other hand, focuses strongly on user convenience and security, featuring LiteSpeed and LSCache for optimized performance, NVMe storage, and advanced security measures like DDoS protection. It includes cPanel for easier management and automated daily backups for reliable data safety. KnownHost provides a thorough migration service with minimal disruption, which could be a crucial factor for those looking to switch hosts smoothly.

When considering advanced customization, Cloudways provides a more developer-centric environment with features like Git integration and application isolation that can be crucial for more complex projects. Cloudways also includes a staging environment and 1-click website/server cloning, which streamline testing and deployment processes. On the side of KnownHost, users benefit from a cPanel interface and Softaculous for easy one-click installations of over 400 apps, simplifying the setup for beginners. KnownHost also includes multiple backup snapshots, offering reliable data restoration options and free domain privacy for life, which is an attractive selling point. Both providers offer free SSL certificates, but knowing Cloudways’ pay-as-you-go model and upward scalability is significant for those unsure of their resource requirements down the line.

Email services:

Cloudways offers add-on services for email hosting through Rackspace and Elastic Email, which provide solutions for transactional email needs but require additional setup. KnownHost includes built-in email hosting with the hosting plans and supports email campaigns directly. Additionally, KnownHost offers reselling options for services like Google Workspace and Outlook, giving users multiple choices for managing their business communications seamlessly.

🏆 Winner KnownHost: KnownHost delivers exceptional hosting solutions with competitive pricing and comprehensive features.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

When comparing Cloudways and KnownHost, it’s evident that Cloudways offers a wide range of hosting types, including WordPress, Ecommerce, AWS, GCE, Vultr, and Linode hosting, with varied specifications and pricing tiers. KnownHost, on the other hand, provides fully managed WordPress hosting, shared web hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, and semi-dedicated hosting plans that emphasize ease of management, ample storage, and robust support. KnownHost’s pricing for entry-level plans is notably lower than Cloudways’ corresponding offerings, adding considerable value for budget-conscious users seeking managed solutions.

Enterprise plans

For enterprises, KnownHost’s managed VPS Hosting offers extensive resources at competitive prices, such as the Premium VPS Server at $103.25/month with 8 cores, 12 GB RAM, and 6 TB bandwidth. Cloudways provides high-end options, including the AWS CO 24XL at $3,189.82/month with 192 GB RAM and 96 cores, making it suitable for far larger infrastructures. KnownHost’s inclusion of managed services, migrations, and backups adds significant value for enterprises seeking simplified management.

🏆 Winner
KnownHost: Offers top-notch customer service and quick response times.

Cloudways utilizes a custom, intuitive control panel designed to simplify server and application management. With features like 1-click actions and pre-installed Git, this user-friendly interface suits both technical and non-technical users. The staging URLs and vertical scaling options enhance flexibility and ease of use. KnownHost uses the industry-standard cPanel, which is widely recognized for its simple and accessible design. Paired with Softaculous, it enables users to perform one-click installations of various applications, even without technical know-how. Both platforms offer control panels that are straightforward and efficient, but KnownHost’s reliance on the familiar cPanel makes it more accessible to a broader audience.

Cloudways on the other hand, offers a custom, intuitive control panel designed to simplify server and application management. With features like 1-click actions and pre-installed Git, this user-friendly interface suits both technical and non-technical users. The platform includes staging URLs and vertical scaling options to enhance flexibility and ease of use.

Both Cloudways and KnownHost offer free migration services for the first website from any web host. Cloudways further simplifies the process with 1-click server and website cloning, along with SSH and SFTP access for secure file transfers. KnownHost, on the other hand, provides a manual migration often without downtime, handled expertly by their support staff. Both platforms excel in migration, but KnownHost’s zero-downtime promise is a significant plus.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Cloudways offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 expert support, with additional premium support add-ons. KnownHost also boasts a thorough Knowledge Base and 24/7/365 support, noted for its rapid response times and effectiveness, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner Cloudways: User-friendly and highly flexible user management capabilities.

Cloudways and KnownHost both offer user management functionalities, but they cater to different needs. Cloudways allows managing user roles directly via the WordPress Admin Panel, offering a detailed and highly customizable approach. Users can be assigned various roles like Super Admin, Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber, each with distinct permissions. KnownHost, on the other hand, integrates user management within its My KnownHost Panel and provides guides for managing users and organization on accounts. While both platforms are effective, Cloudways provides more flexibility and clarity in defining and managing user roles.

Cloudways provides a streamlined interface accessible through the WordPress Admin Panel, while KnownHost uses the My KnownHost Panel for managing users. Cloudways makes it easy to add, edit, and delete users, and update user roles through clear instructions. KnownHost’s interface is more centralized, focusing on domain management and organizational settings but relies heavily on guides for detailed user management tasks.

The access control measures on Cloudways are straightforward, providing clear user roles that help in efficient delegation and collaboration. KnownHost provides robust support and managed services to ensure uptime and stability. However, Cloudways seems more adept at managing a growing number of users with its diverse role definitions and easy-to-use interface. Cloudways’ ability for team collaboration and role assignment ensures scalability and effective user management.

Cloudways user roles table:

🏆 Winner
Cloudways: Offering multiple support channels including email, live chat, and phone support for premium users along with proactive monitoring and customization support.

Cloudways and KnownHost both offer 24/7 technical support with multiple contact methods, but Cloudways has a slight edge with its premium support options that include phone support and a private Slack channel. This adds more flexibility for users needing immediate assistance. Additionally, Cloudways provides proactive monitoring, ensuring that potential problems are addressed swiftly without users needing to lodge a complaint.

KnownHost is applauded for its high uptime guarantee and all-inclusive managed hosting services, which encompass free SSL certificates and automated updates. Customer feedback highlights their fast response times and friendly support team, which is beneficial for those who prioritize customer service. However, Cloudways’ additional features like dedicated account managers and advanced support customization set it apart as the winner.

User feedback

Cloudways consistently receives high praise for its ease of use, robust performance, and excellent customer support. Many reviewers highlight the platform’s intuitive interface, effective server management features, and the ability to choose from top-tier cloud providers like AWS and DigitalOcean. Users appreciate the scalable hosting options and reliable customer service, which often includes quick response times and helpful assistance. However, some customers note areas for improvement, such as the absence of email hosting, limitations on server vendor choices, and discrepancies in pricing transparency. Overall, Cloudways is deemed a solid hosting provider, especially valued for its managed hosting features and performance enhancement capabilities.

KnownHost receives mixed feedback from its users. Many users praise its responsive and professional customer support, high uptime, and excellent technical infrastructure, particularly for managed WordPress and VPS hosting. However, there are significant complaints about slow server speeds, unhelpful support, and confusing user interfaces. Additionally, some users believe that the service is overpriced given the performance issues they have encountered. Overall, while KnownHost has loyal customers who appreciate its offerings, potential users should be aware of the varied experiences and evaluate if it meets their specific needs.

FAQ