Cloudways vs Netfirms

Cloudways is a leading managed cloud hosting provider acquired by DigitalOcean in 2022. Originally founded in 2011 and headquartered in St. Julian’s, Malta, they aim to simplify cloud hosting by integrating with top providers like AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr, offering businesses access to robust infrastructure without requiring technical expertise. Designed for digital agencies, e-commerce businesses, developers, and SMBs, Cloudways emphasizes performance, scalability, and ease of use. Key features include autoscaling for zero downtime during traffic spikes, pay-as-you-go pricing, SSD hosting, free SSL certificates, and advanced security tools like Imunify360. The platform also provides one-click app installations, automated backups, real-time monitoring, and developer-friendly tools like SSH access and Git integration. While praised for their flexibility, performance, and 24/7 support, Cloudways has a learning curve for beginners and lacks built-in email hosting or a free CDN. This review explores their pros, cons, and unique features to help you decide if Cloudways is the right hosting solution for your business.

Netfirms was founded in 1998 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts. They’re a long-running hosting provider known for simple, budget-friendly plans aimed at individuals, entrepreneurs, and small to medium-sized businesses. Their shared hosting services come with unlimited storage and scalable bandwidth, a free domain name for the first year, and free SSL through Let's Encrypt. They also provide URL forwarding, DNS management, and unlimited email accounts tied to your domain, making it easy to manage both hosting and domains from a single dashboard. Pricing starts at $3.95 per month for the entry-level plan, which covers one website, while higher tiers support unlimited websites and additional resources. Their pricing structure is straightforward, with clear renewal rates and minimal hidden fees. Customer feedback, however, shows mixed experiences. Some long-time users appreciate the simplicity and ease of setup, while many recent reviews report slow performance, limited scalability, and frustrating support experiences. With no VPS or cloud hosting options, Netfirms is best suited for smaller projects rather than large, high-traffic sites.