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.
Why pick fortrabbit over Cloudways for PHP?
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 in 2022, 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.
Start a free trial — no credit card# Frequently asked
How do I move my WordPress or Magento site from Cloudways to fortrabbit?Self-service
Self-service - The migration is two parts: code and data. Push your repo to fortrabbit so the git-push deploy runs Composer as part of the build, then import your MySQL dump via the SSH tunnel into the new MySQL component. Uploads go into the app's persistent storage via SFTP or rsync. Unlike Cloudways, there is no underlying IaaS provider to pick — one platform, one bill, one support channel.
#Is fortrabbit managed hosting on top of AWS or DigitalOcean, like Cloudways?No
No - fortrabbit runs its own platform on dedicated EU hardware — there is no underlying provider you pick or pay for. Cloudways layers a control panel on top of someone else's infrastructure (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, Linode), so you have two failure domains and two roadmap dependencies. On fortrabbit the platform is the platform.
#Is fortrabbit a good Cloudways alternative for EU-based hosting?Yes
Yes - fortrabbit runs on AWS EU (Ireland) under EU jurisdiction, with the company itself registered in Berlin. With Cloudways the EU region comes from the underlying provider, but the contractual and operational entity sits in the US under DigitalOcean. For GDPR-bound projects that distinction can matter to a DPO.
#Can a fortrabbit app be cancelled at any time?Yes
Yes - Cancellation runs from the dashboard, takes effect immediately, and carries no lock-in or long-term contract. Pricing is post-paid and pro-rated, so there is nothing paid upfront to refund. Support is direct chat during CET business hours, with a median response around an hour.
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