Cloudways vs Linode (Akamai Cloud): Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Cloudways and Linode (Akamai Cloud) to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Cloudways
7/10
Managed cloud hosting platform that runs WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Laravel and PHP apps on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud servers.
Linode (Akamai Cloud)
7/10
Developer-focused cloud platform, now run by Akamai, offering VPS compute, managed Kubernetes, managed databases and object storage at flat, predictable prices.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $14/mo Flexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/mo Nanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $14/mo Flexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/mo Nanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| Free SSL Certificates | Not listed | |
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Object Storage | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
Cloudways vs Linode (Akamai Cloud) cost by team size
Linode (Akamai Cloud) costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Cloudways | Linode (Akamai Cloud) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/moNanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| 5 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/moNanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| 10 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/moNanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| 25 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/moNanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
| 50 users | $14/moFlexible Micro (DigitalOcean) | $5/moNanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Cloudways
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Reliability score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for small business (7/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: $5/mo vs $14/mo
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for developers (9/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Cloudways
Pros
- You can choose from five cloud providers and more than 50 locations from one control panel.
- Hourly pay-as-you-go billing, with a 5-day trial that needs no credit card.
- Every server includes free SSL, Layer 3 and 4 DDoS mitigation, a firewall and offsite backups.
- Agencies get one-click staging, cloning and Git auto-deployment for many client sites.
- Ratings are strong, at about 4.7 on G2 and 4.6 on Trustpilot.
Cons
- Email hosting and domain registration are not included.
- Billing gets hard to track once add-ons and bandwidth overages are added, and some reviewers report charges after cancelling.
- Some reviewers say support quality has dropped since the DigitalOcean acquisition.
- Power users report limited low-level control.
- Phone support requires a paid premium support add-on.
Linode (Akamai Cloud)
Pros
- Flat published prices, starting at 5 dollars a month for a 1 GB Nanode, with hourly billing
- The standard Kubernetes control plane in LKE is free
- Egress overage costs only 0.005 dollars per GB, and most shared plans include 1 to 5 TB of transfer
- Its documentation, API, CLI and Terraform support are strong, which suits developers who automate their infrastructure
- DDoS protection is included, and inbound bandwidth is 40 Gbps on all plans
Cons
- Some 2025 reviews report new accounts flagged as fraud or suspended, with tickets taking 24 to 48 hours
- No live chat support is offered, and standard support has no published response-time SLA
- Reviewers say managed services and advanced enterprise features are fewer than on the hyperscalers
- Managed databases cost more than on budget providers, with HA starting around 246 dollars a month according to one third-party guide
- The Akamai rebrand has confused some customers and, by their account, hurt trust
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Cloudways and Linode (Akamai Cloud) both score 7/10 on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria. The largest gap is in Analytics: 7/10 for Cloudways and 5/10 for Linode (Akamai Cloud).
Linode (Akamai Cloud) costs less for 10 users: about $5/mo on its Nanode 1 GB (Shared CPU) plan, against about $14/mo on its Flexible Micro (DigitalOcean) plan for Cloudways, billed monthly.
No, neither Cloudways nor Linode (Akamai Cloud) lists a free plan.
Linode (Akamai Cloud) is the better fit for developers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for Cloudways.
