Laravel Cloud vs. Cloudways by DigitalOcean
Laravel Cloud handles the servers, the scaling, and the stack. Run your apps on the same infrastructure trusted by thousands of production applications worldwide.
Laravel Cloud
Laravel Cloud delivers deployments in under a minute without configuration hassles. Everything from infrastructure to scaling and security runs automatically, purpose-built for Laravel.
- Fully managed infrastructure platform supporting Laravel and Symfony applications. Bring your repo and we handle the rest.
- Creating a Laravel Cloud account prevents the need for creating a separate server account.
- Autoscaling, auto-hibernation, zero-downtime deployment, and security are included out of the box.
Cloudways by DigitalOcean
Cloudways is a managed hosting layer that sits on top of providers like DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. However, you're still manually configuring queue workers, database backups and recovery, and scaling.
- Managed hosting across top cloud providers including DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, and Linode.
- Manual configuration still required for scaling, queue workers, and Laravel optimization.
- Git deployment requires manual webhook configuration and SSH key setup, lacking a streamlined push-to-deploy workflow.
Teams like these don't manage infrastructure.
“We've built countless projects with Laravel, and we're accustomed to the seamless productivity it offers during development. What Laravel Cloud brought to the table was that same level of efficiency, but now for deployments and infrastructure, allowing us to scale instantly without worrying about downtime.”
Nika Jorjoliani
Head of Engineering at Redberry
Why Laravel Cloud is better
Launch in under a minute from Git to live with fully managed infrastructure.
Build and ship faster with native Laravel integration across your stack.
Scale and save costs automatically with built-in auto-hibernation.
Laravel Cloud compared to Cloudways
Laravel Cloud outperforms Cloudways with faster deployments, autoscaling, and zero server management.
Laravel Cloud is a fully managed platform built by the Laravel team, with one-click autoscaling, databases, caching, storage, and security.
Cloudways by DigitalOcean offers managed hosting across multiple providers that lacks Laravel-specific optimization and demands more manual setup, delaying deployment.
Laravel Cloud is a fully managed platform built by the Laravel team, with one-click autoscaling, databases, caching, storage, and security.
Built and maintained by the Laravel team.
General PHP hosting requiring manual Laravel configuration.
Built and maintained by the Laravel team.
Laravel and Symfony
WordPress, Magento, Laravel, Joomla, Drupal, custom PHP apps
Laravel and Symfony
Zero configuration required
Manual PHP versions, caching, and server settings
Zero configuration required
Auto-configured Redis and queue workers.
Requires manual setup and management.
Auto-configured Redis and queue workers.
Limited (fully managed)
Greater control over server configuration
Limited (fully managed)
Delivers high concurrency and rapid response under load with automatic scaling that adjusts instantly to traffic. It handles variable workloads seamlessly and deploys in under a minute.
Depends on the performance of its chosen provider and server size. It supports caching tools like Redis and Varnish, but scaling often means manual resizing or tuning, which is fine for steady traffic, less so for dynamic demand.
Delivers high concurrency and rapid response under load with automatic scaling that adjusts instantly to traffic. It handles variable workloads seamlessly and deploys in under a minute.
Under 60 seconds from Git
Requires server provisioning + app setup (5+ minutes)
Under 60 seconds from Git
Autoscaling with zero downtime
Manual vertical scaling via control panel
Autoscaling with zero downtime
AWS only
DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, Linode
AWS only
Go from Git to live in one step, with automatic builds and zero-downtime deployment.
Supports Git and webhook deployments, but vertical scaling is done through server resizing, which often requires waiting for provider operations and includes downtime.
Go from Git to live in one step, with automatic builds and zero-downtime deployment.
Seamless, zero-config deployment.
Available but requires initial server setup.
Seamless, zero-config deployment.
Offers detailed traffic analytics, real-time logs, metrics, and error tracking. Optional Nightwatch integration for Laravel-specific insights is also available with minimal configuration.
Provides real-time server and app monitoring with optional New Relic integration, adding setup complexity.
Offers detailed traffic analytics, real-time logs, metrics, and error tracking. Optional Nightwatch integration for Laravel-specific insights is also available with minimal configuration.
Real-time infrastructure monitoring. HTTP analytics, logs, and app metrics (CPU & memory charts, plus database metrics)
Real-time server monitoring (CPU, RAM, bandwidth, PHP performance)
Real-time infrastructure monitoring. HTTP analytics, logs, and app metrics (CPU & memory charts, plus database metrics)
Included
SSL via Let's Encrypt; CDN requires add-ons for extra security
Included
Daily automated database backups with point-in-time recovery to any second within 1-30 day retention.
Restores to new cluster for zero-risk recovery.
On-demand backups available.
Server-level backups (files + database) with configurable 1hr-7-day frequency and 1-4 week retention.
Backup-point selection only (no true PITR).
Daily automated database backups with point-in-time recovery to any second within 1-30 day retention.
Restores to new cluster for zero-risk recovery.
On-demand backups available.
Starter tier with no monthly base fee and a pay-for-what-you-use model. Includes automatic deployments, custom domains, and unlimited applications.
Calculate your usage and pricing
Starts around $14/month for 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB storage, and 1 TB bandwidth, with hourly or monthly billing tied to your chosen server size.
Starter tier with no monthly base fee and a pay-for-what-you-use model. Includes automatic deployments, custom domains, and unlimited applications.
Calculate your usage and pricing
Pay-per-use with zero-cost hibernation
Fixed monthly per server (starts at $14/month on DigitalOcean)
Pay-per-use with zero-cost hibernation
Start for free with $5 in usage credit
3-day free trial available
Start for free with $5 in usage credit
Who should choose Laravel Cloud vs. Cloudways?
Laravel Cloud outperforms Cloudways with faster deployments, autoscaling, and zero server management.
Pick Laravel Cloud
Choose Laravel Cloud if you want a fully managed platform for Laravel or Symfony that removes server management entirely.
Pick Cloudways
Choose Cloudways if you prefer direct control over your server environment or need to host PHP applications that Cloud does not yet support.
Deploy now with Cloud
Start in Cloud with $5 in free usage credit.
- Launch in under a minute from Git to live with fully managed infrastructure.
- Build and ship faster with native Laravel integration across your stack.
- Scale and save costs automatically with built-in scale-to-zero.
See what thousands of developers have to say
“I have never seen a website accomplishing something so complicated, so fast, so simple, so beautifully.”
“Cloud is amazing value if you just need a small server and a PostgreSQL DB. I only use $2 a month running my badge project. We've never had it this good.”
“For my small project I needed all: DB, cache, storage, and WebSockets — and everything worked on the first try with single clicks.”
“Setting up resources on Laravel Cloud is like playing Lego blocks, you can just connect things. We used to install Nginx and MySQL manually on a server and get permission denied.”
“Cloud is absolutely goated. Smoothest infra DX I've ever experienced — everything I needed was right where it was supposed to be.”
“I was stuck on a pretty complex problem, and the Laravel Cloud support team went out of their way to deep dive into it with me. The bug was my own doing, but their tips helped me find it.”
“Charging me $5 for my 0 user PHP apps? Yes, please, thank you very much. ‘Unlimited applications’ is a goated move from Laravel.”
“Loving the new managed queues on Laravel Cloud. Offloading the workload from the app server and allowing it to sleep is genius.”
“The preview environments in Laravel Cloud have been amazing to work with. They work flawlessly, and with the fast hibernation, we barely pay for it even though we have over 15 preview environments.”
“Just deployed an app using Laravel Cloud and OMG, the deployment experience was incredibly fast and painless.”
“Laravel Cloud is the closest thing to magic I've experienced in a hosting provider. It's really the Laravel of Cloud.”
“Just shipped a huge update to my Laravel learning platform, running smoothly on Laravel Cloud. Deploys, SSL, env vars — everything just works. No DevOps headaches.”
“Any AI agent + Laravel. You can deploy this on Laravel Cloud in a few clicks.”
“Showed my friend Laravel and Laravel Cloud, and he was already deploying his first app in less than a month. He was shocked by how easy it is and how tight the ecosystem is.”
“Laravel Boost + Laravel Cloud CLI + Stripe CLI. You can pretty much build a full product without seeing a line of code.”
“I've switched all personal projects from DigitalOcean and love Laravel Cloud!”
“Laravel Cloud just keeps getting better. Having web analytics directly in the dashboard is a really nice addition. Requests, visits, views, top pages, status codes — all in one place. No extra analytics setup needed.”
Frequently asked questions
Laravel Cloud is a fully managed platform built by the Laravel team for PHP applications, including Laravel and Symfony. It automates deployment, scaling, caching, and monitoring with no manual setup. Cloudways, owned by DigitalOcean, offers managed hosting for multiple PHP frameworks but still requires server configuration, scaling, and maintenance.
Yes. Laravel Cloud deploys apps in under 60 seconds and automatically scales based on traffic. Cloudways performance depends on your chosen provider and server size, and scaling usually requires manual intervention.
Completely. Laravel Cloud handles all server setup, updates, scaling, and monitoring automatically. Cloudways simplifies server management but still expects you to handle configurations, PHP tuning, and queue or cache setup.
No. Cloudways allows you to scale vertically, meaning you must resize your server manually through the control panel. You can also scale horizontally, but that means you'll need to spin up multiple servers and a load balancer yourself.
Laravel Cloud offers a pay-for-what-you-use model with auto-hibernation, making it cheaper for apps with variable or idle traffic. Cloudways has fixed monthly pricing (starting at $14/month) even when your app isn't serving requests.
Laravel Cloud is purpose-built and maintained by the Laravel team, offering seamless Git deployments for Laravel and Symfony applications, and zero manual setup. Cloudways supports Laravel, but it is built for a general PHP stack, so you'll spend more time configuring servers and integrations.
Yes. Laravel Cloud includes managed databases (MySQL, Serverless Postgres), Redis caching, and queue workers that are auto-configured for your app. On Cloudways, these services must be installed and managed manually.
Laravel Cloud supports instant Git-based deployment with zero configuration. Cloudways allows Git deployment too, but you must first set up the server and app manually.
Yes. Every new organization gets $5 in free usage credits, and your first month on the Starter plan is free. Credits top up automatically each month, and you only ever pay for usage beyond them. Your apps and databases scale to zero when idle, so you're never charged for compute time while they're not in use. View detailed pricing here.
