Head to head
Cloudways vs Kinsta
Three-year true cost on identical terms.
Pay-as-you-go managed cloud against a managed WordPress plan with fixed allowances. The three-year cost is close; what you get for it is not.
Cloudways
DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB, 1-month term
3-year total
$396.00
An average of $11.00 a month
Promo price
$11.00/mo
Renewal price, from month 2
$11.00/mo
Checked Oct 9, 2026UnverifiedVisit Cloudwaysaffiliate link
Kinsta
Starter, 1-year term
3-year total
$1,050.12
An average of $29.17 a month
Promo price
$29.17/mo
Renewal price, from month 13
$29.17/mo
Checked Oct 9, 2026UnverifiedVisit Kinstaaffiliate link
Verdict on cost
Over three years, Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB costs $396.00 against Kinsta Starter at $1,050.12: $654.12 less (62%). Each bought on its 1-month term and kept for three years, hosting only.
Entry plans, three years
Each host’s cheapest plan over 36 months. Promo and renewal are shown at the same size on purpose.
| Plan | Term bought | Promo / mo | Renewal / mo | First invoice | 3-year true cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | Monthly | $11.00 | $11.00 from month 2 | $11.00 | $396.00 $11.00/mo effective Cheapest over 3 years |
| Kinsta Starter Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | 1 year | $29.17 | $29.17 from month 13 | $350.04 | $1,050.12 $29.17/mo effective |
| Keep it for | Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB | Kinsta Starter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $132.00 | $350.04 |
| 2 years | $264.00 | $700.08 |
| 3 years | $396.00 | $1,050.12 |
What the entry plans include
| Feature | Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB | Kinsta Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Websites | Unlimited | 1 |
| Storage | 25 GB | 10 GB |
| Bandwidth / visits | 1 TB/month | 100 GB CDN/month |
| Free domain | Not included | Not included |
| Email hosting | Not included | Not included |
| Backups | Included | Included |
| CDN | Not included | Included |
| Staging | Included | Included |
| SSL | Included | Included |
Every plan, three years
All current plans from both hosts, cheapest first.
| Plan | Term bought | Promo / mo | Renewal / mo | First invoice | 3-year true cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 1 GB Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | Monthly | $11.00 | $11.00 from month 2 | $11.00 | $396.00 $11.00/mo effective Cheapest over 3 years |
| Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 2 GB Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | Monthly | $24.00 | $24.00 from month 2 | $24.00 | $864.00 $24.00/mo effective |
| Kinsta Starter Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | 1 year | $29.17 | $29.17 from month 13 | $350.04 | $1,050.12 $29.17/mo effective |
| Cloudways DigitalOcean Standard 4 GB Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | Monthly | $50.00 | $50.00 from month 2 | $50.00 | $1,800.00 $50.00/mo effective |
| Kinsta Pro Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | 1 year | $58.33 | $58.33 from month 13 | $699.96 | $2,099.88 $58.33/mo effective |
| Kinsta Business 1 Checked Oct 9, 2026Unverified | 1 year | $95.83 | $95.83 from month 13 | $1,149.96 | $3,449.88 $95.83/mo effective |
Canonical URL: cloudways-vs-kinsta. Totals are accrual-based over the horizon. Links marked “affiliate link” may earn a commission; it does not affect the arithmetic. Methodology.