Cloudways alternative for PHP hosting
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fortrabbit vs Cloudways.
fortrabbit is a Cloudways alternative for PHP teams who want a focused, EU-based PaaS without the DigitalOcean-acquisition uncertainty.
Cloudways alternative for PHP at a glance
fortrabbit is a managed PHP PaaS built by a small, independent team in Berlin. Cloudways pioneered managed hosting on top of IaaS providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr, and AWS. After DigitalOcean acquired Cloudways, roadmap priorities shifted toward funnel integration with DO's own platform — and many PHP teams are re-evaluating.
If you're moving off Cloudways for PHP, Laravel, Magento, Statamic, or WordPress workloads, fortrabbit gives you a single integrated platform — no underlying IaaS choice required — with native git-push deployments, atomic releases, managed MySQL components, EU data residency, and direct support from the engineers who run the platform. Pricing is per-app and predictable. Plans start at €2.50 per month, and you can try the platform without a credit card.
Cloudways vs fortrabbit — feature comparison
| Feature | Cloudways | fortrabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Multi-language | PHP only |
| Underlying infra | DO / Vultr / AWS / GCP | Integrated |
| Deployment | Git, SFTP, app installer | git push, atomic |
| MySQL | MariaDB on droplet | Native, isolated |
| SSH access | Yes | Full SFTP + SSH |
| Region | Via underlying IaaS | EU (Germany) |
| Pricing model | Per-droplet, hourly | Per-app, monthly |
| Free trial | 3 days, no card | 30 days, no card |
| Support | Tiered, paid for fast | Human chat, all plans |
| Company | DigitalOcean subsidiary | Independent, bootstrapped |
Pricing comparison
| Use case | Cloudways (DO 2GB + add-ons) | fortrabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Small site / dev | ~$14 droplet + $5 backup ≈ $19 / mo | €5 / mo |
| Production app | ~$28 droplet + backup + dedicated DB ≈ $50+ / mo | €30 / mo |
| Scaled app | ~$80+ droplet + add-ons ≈ $100+ / mo | €60–€120 / mo |
Numbers are illustrative — exact Cloudways pricing varies by underlying IaaS, region, and add-on choice. See fortrabbit pricing for the current matrix.
Migrating from Cloudways to fortrabbit
- Provision the app on fortrabbit. Pick a region (EU) and a plan. The free trial is enough to validate the move.
- Add the MySQL component. From Cloudways, take a
mysqldumpvia SSH and import via fortrabbit's SSH tunnel — see MySQL import guide. - Connect your git provider. Install the fortrabbit GitHub App (or connect GitLab / Bitbucket) and link your existing repo to the new fortrabbit app — see deployment intro. Pushes to your branch trigger an automatic deploy; Composer install runs as part of it.
- Move environment variables. Cloudways
Application Settings → Environmentmaps 1:1 to fortrabbit env vars — set them in the dashboard or via the CLI. - Move media / uploads. rsync from the Cloudways application directory into your fortrabbit app's persistent storage via SFTP / SSH.
- Cut over DNS. Add the domain in the fortrabbit dashboard, update the CNAME, and watch the certificate issue automatically via Let's Encrypt.
For framework-specific notes see the install guides — Laravel, Statamic, Craft CMS, and WordPress are the most common migrations.
Why teams switch
- No IaaS-vendor lock-in. Cloudways is a thin layer over DO/Vultr/AWS; fortrabbit is the whole platform.
- Predictable bills. No surcharge stacking, no hourly droplet math.
- Owner-run support. You talk to the engineers who run the platform.
- Independence. We're not a DigitalOcean subsidiary. Roadmap decisions are made for PHP developers.
For background on Cloudways itself, see our hosting guide entry.
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