🌍 Trusted by 150k+ users worldwide ✨ Updated daily — Latest deals & reviews
100% Independent Reviews
Monthly Pick: Hostinger
Side-by-Side Comparison

Cloudways vs InterServer — Detailed Comparison

VS

A hands-on look at Cloudways and InterServer across the things that actually matter: price, speed, support, and features.

Mohamed Abdelaal By Mohamed Abdelaal, Founder & Lead Hosting Analyst Our pick: Cloudways 100% independent Updated July 2026
Top Pick
4.8
From $11.00 /mo
Visit Site Read full review
4.4
From $2.50 /mo
Visit Site Read full review

Quick Verdict: Cloudways wins

Cloudways wins overall for managed cloud hosting with superior uptime (99.99% vs 99.9%), a global footprint (60+ data centers vs 3 US-only), and higher ratings (4.8 vs 4.4). InterServer wins for budget-conscious users needing shared hosting, phone support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but operates at lower performance specs and in a narrower geographic range.

Mohamed Abdelaal Reviewed by Mohamed Abdelaal Founder & Lead Hosting Analyst

At a Glance

Cloudways and InterServer target different segments: Cloudways is managed cloud hosting for developers and growing sites, while InterServer is traditional shared and VPS hosting for cost-conscious users.

Winner Visit Cloudways
Visit InterServer
Overall Rating
4.8
4.4
Starting Price
$11.00/mo
$2.50/mo
Money-Back
N/A
30 days
Uptime
99.99%
99.9%
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
Yes (Standard Web)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Yes (LSCache + QUIC)
Free SSL
Free Migration
Yes (1st migration free)
Yes (Free + Cleanup)
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
DirectAdmin
24/7 Support

Provider Profiles

2011 Malta

Cloudways, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Malta, is a managed cloud hosting platform built on DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud infrastructure. It suits developers, agencies, and growing WordPress/web apps seeking automated scaling and managed server administration without cost of dedicated infrastructure.

User Friendly 4.8
Support 4.8
Features 4.8
Reliability 4.8
Pricing 4.8
  • 3-Day Free Trial — No Credit Card Required
  • 3 Cloud Providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud
  • Lightning Stack (Nginx + Varnish + Redis + PHP-FPM)
  • Object Cache Pro Included Free (4GB+ servers, $95/mo value)
  • Cloudways Autonomous (auto-scaling)
1999 USA (New Jersey, Dallas, Los Angeles)

InterServer, operating since 1999 from US locations (New Jersey, Dallas, Los Angeles), offers traditional shared, VPS, reseller, and dedicated hosting with price-lock guarantees and owned data centers. It suits budget-first users, small businesses, and those requiring phone support and long-term price stability.

User Friendly 4.4
Support 4.4
Features 4.4
Reliability 4.4
Pricing 4.4
  • Price Lock Guarantee — Same Price Forever
  • Inter-Insurance — Free Hacked Site Cleanup
  • Unlimited Storage, Bandwidth & Email
  • DirectAdmin Control Panel (no extra cost)
  • LSCache + QUIC + Cloudflare CDN

1 Features

Cloudways emphasizes managed cloud automation and performance tools, while InterServer offers traditional hosting features with broader hosting type coverage and email guarantees.

Winner
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
Yes (Standard Web)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Yes (LSCache + QUIC)
Free SSL
Free Domain
Free CDN
Free Migration
Yes (1st migration free)
Yes (Free + Cleanup)
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
DirectAdmin

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways includes Object Cache Pro (free on 4GB+ plans, $95/mo value), free first migration, free SSL and CDN, vertical scaling, and Lightning Stack optimization. Email hosting requires paid Rackspace add-on ($1/mailbox/mo) and backups cost $0.033/GB extra.

InterServer

InterServer offers unlimited storage and bandwidth on Standard plans, guaranteed email delivery, free DirectAdmin control panel, LSCache with QUIC, free first migration with cleanup, and InterShield security. Shared plans are capped at 400,000 inodes and 20% CPU, with excess storage charged at $0.15/GB.

And the features winner is Cloudways Cloudways' managed feature set (auto-scaling, Object Cache Pro, Lightning Stack, 3-cloud choice) is more advanced for performance-focused users than InterServer's traditional hosting features.
Visit Cloudways

2 Pricing & Plans

InterServer undercuts Cloudways significantly on entry price, but Cloudways' structure suits different use cases: InterServer for shared hosting budgets, Cloudways for scalable cloud-based projects.

Winner
Starting Price
$11.00/mo
$2.50/mo
Number of Plans
Money-Back
N/A
30 days

Cloudways

Cloudways' cheapest plan starts at $11/mo with 12 total plans. No money-back guarantee; instead, a 3-day free trial requires no credit card. Pay-as-you-go billing and vertical scaling mean costs grow with your site's needs.

InterServer Round winner

InterServer's cheapest plan is $2.50/mo (shared hosting), with 14 total plans across shared, VPS, reseller, and dedicated. Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee and Price Lock Guarantee ensuring renewal rates match initial pricing forever.

And the pricing & plans winner is InterServer InterServer offers the cheapest starting price at $2.50/mo and a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it the clear winner for price-conscious buyers, though Cloudways' managed model justifies its higher entry cost for different needs.
Visit InterServer

3 Performance

Cloudways delivers higher uptime and more geographic diversity; InterServer offers respectable uptime with a more limited geographic reach.

Winner
Uptime Guarantee
99.99%
99.9%
Data Centers
60
3
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
Yes (Standard Web)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Yes (LSCache + QUIC)
Uptime score
99.99%
99.9%

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways guarantees 99.99% uptime across 60+ global data centers spanning DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. Lightning Stack (Nginx, Varnish, Redis, PHP-FPM) and NVMe storage on Premium plans optimize speed and caching.

InterServer

InterServer guarantees 99.9% uptime from 3 US-only data centers. Includes NVMe on Standard plans and LSCache with QUIC for performance, but lacks global redundancy and has lower uptime assurance than Cloudways.

And the performance winner is Cloudways Cloudways' 99.99% uptime is higher than InterServer's 99.9%, and 60+ global data centers outmatch InterServer's 3 US-only facilities for redundancy and latency optimization.
Visit Cloudways

4 Customer Support

Both offer 24/7 support, but through different channels suited to their hosting models.

Winner
24/7 Support
Phone Support
Yes 24/7
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
DirectAdmin
Email Send Limit
N/A — Rackspace required ($1/mailbox)
Guaranteed Delivery (no hard limit)

Cloudways

Cloudways provides 24/7 live chat support and manages server administration for you, removing the need for server troubleshooting. Phone support is unavailable; escalations are handled through paid premium support tiers.

InterServer Round winner

InterServer offers 24/7 phone, chat, and ticket support, giving users direct voice access for account or server issues. This is valuable for users managing their own servers or needing immediate phone resolution.

And the customer support winner is InterServer InterServer's 24/7 phone support directly outweighs Cloudways' chat-only model for users who need immediate human voice support.
Visit InterServer

5 Ease of Use

Cloudways abstracts server complexity for ease of use; InterServer requires more hands-on server management via DirectAdmin.

Winner
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
DirectAdmin

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways' managed platform eliminates server admin tasks; users deploy, scale, and monitor via an intuitive dashboard. No need to manage Apache, Nginx, PHP versions, or security patches—Cloudways handles it.

InterServer

InterServer uses DirectAdmin control panel instead of cPanel, which works well but requires a modest learning curve. Users must manage their own server, backups, and security updates, putting more responsibility on the account holder.

And the ease of use winner is Cloudways Cloudways' managed platform removes server administration burden, making it significantly easier for non-sysadmin users compared to InterServer's self-managed DirectAdmin interface.
Visit Cloudways

6 Privacy & Security

Both include SSL and CDN; Cloudways emphasizes automation, while InterServer offers additional data-center ownership and cleanup insurance.

Winner
Free SSL
Free CDN
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
Yes (Standard Web)

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways includes free SSL and free Cloudflare CDN, with backups available at $0.033/GB. The managed platform auto-updates security patches and software versions. Object Cache Pro and Lightning Stack reduce attack surface.

InterServer

InterServer includes free SSL, Cloudflare CDN, and InterShield security suite. Inter-Insurance provides free cleanup of hacked sites. Self-owned data centers reduce third-party dependency. No automatic patch management—users are responsible for updates.

And the privacy & security winner is Cloudways Cloudways' fully managed platform automates security patching and updates, whereas InterServer requires users to manage their own server security, placing more responsibility on the account holder.
Visit Cloudways

7 Server Locations

Cloudways provides global reach; InterServer offers US-only infrastructure.

Winner
Data Centers
60
3
Headquarters
Malta
USA (New Jersey, Dallas, Los Angeles)

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways operates 60+ data centers across three providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud, spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions. Users choose their preferred provider and region at deployment.

InterServer

InterServer owns and operates 3 US data centers: New Jersey, Dallas, and Los Angeles. No international options; all infrastructure is US-based.

And the server locations winner is Cloudways Cloudways' 60+ global data centers far exceed InterServer's 3 US-only locations, delivering better latency for international audiences and geographic redundancy.
Visit Cloudways

Final Verdict: Cloudways vs InterServer

And the overall winner is Cloudways
Visit Cloudways

Why choose Cloudways

  • Choose Cloudways for managed cloud hosting if you want automatic scaling, free migrations, and zero server administration.
  • Pick Cloudways if you need global data center presence (60+ locations) and 99.99% uptime for international audiences.
  • Select Cloudways if Object Cache Pro and Lightning Stack optimization ($95/mo value included) align with your performance needs.
  • Go with Cloudways if you prefer pay-as-you-go billing and vertical one-click RAM/CPU scaling without fixed plans.
Visit Cloudways

When to consider InterServer

  • Consider InterServer when launching a tight-budget site or portfolio that doesn't require global redundancy.
  • Use InterServer if you have server administration experience or prefer DirectAdmin and want to manage your own infrastructure.
  • Switch to InterServer if you need phone support immediately and want a flat, price-locked cost for long-term budgeting.
Visit InterServer

Alternatives to Consider

5.0

30-Day Money-back Guarantee

Visit Review
4.8

45-Day Money Back Guarantee (Shared) / 7-Day (VPS)

Visit Review
4.7

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Visit Review
4.7

60-Day Money Back Guarantee (Industry-Leading)

Visit Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Does either provider include email hosting?

Cloudways requires a paid Rackspace add-on at $1/mailbox/mo for email. InterServer includes unlimited email on shared plans and guarantees email delivery (avoiding spam folders) at no extra cost. If email is essential and budget is tight, InterServer is the better choice.

What is the money-back guarantee and trial?

Cloudways offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card required, but no money-back guarantee after purchase. InterServer offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee after you sign up, giving you more time to test the service risk-free.

Which is better for international websites?

Cloudways is significantly better for international sites: it offers 60+ data centers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions, plus 99.99% uptime. InterServer has only 3 US data centers, making it slower for non-US audiences.

Can I scale resources easily, and how much does it cost?

Cloudways offers one-click vertical scaling (RAM, CPU) with pay-as-you-go billing reflecting your resource increase. InterServer's VPS uses slice-based scaling (1–10 slices per plan), which is fixed to each plan tier, so you must upgrade to the next plan to scale up.

Copy this code and paste at
Redeem at
Did the code work?

Offer Details: