# Cloudways alternative for PHP hosting

> 

## 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

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Feature
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Cloudways
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Focus
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Multi-language
    </td>
    
    <td>
      PHP only
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Underlying infra
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DO / Vultr / AWS / GCP
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Integrated
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Deployment
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Git, SFTP, app installer
    </td>
    
    <td>
      git push, atomic
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      MySQL
    </td>
    
    <td>
      MariaDB on droplet
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Native, isolated
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      SSH access
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Full SFTP + SSH
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Region
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Via underlying IaaS
    </td>
    
    <td>
      EU (Germany)
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Pricing model
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per-droplet, hourly
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per-app, monthly
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Free trial
    </td>
    
    <td>
      3 days, no card
    </td>
    
    <td>
      30 days, no card
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Support
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Tiered, paid for fast
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Human chat, all plans
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Company
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DigitalOcean subsidiary
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Independent, bootstrapped
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Pricing comparison

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Use case
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Cloudways (DO 2GB + add-ons)
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Small site / dev
    </td>
    
    <td>
      ~$14 droplet + $5 backup ≈ <strong>
        $19 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €5 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Production app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      ~$28 droplet + backup + dedicated DB ≈ <strong>
        $50+ / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €30 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Scaled app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      ~$80+ droplet + add-ons ≈ <strong>
        $100+ / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €60–€120 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Numbers are illustrative — exact Cloudways pricing varies by underlying IaaS, region, and add-on choice. See <content-link href="/pricing" text="fortrabbit pricing">



</content-link>

 for the current matrix.

## Migrating from Cloudways to fortrabbit

1. **Provision the app on fortrabbit.** Pick a region (EU) and a plan. The free trial is enough to validate the move.
2. **Add the MySQL component.** From Cloudways, take a `mysqldump` via SSH and import via fortrabbit's SSH tunnel — see <content-link href="/guides/general/mysql-import" text="MySQL import guide" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

.
3. **Connect your git provider.** Install the fortrabbit GitHub App (or connect GitLab / Bitbucket) and link your existing repo to the new fortrabbit app — see <content-link href="/platform/deployment/intro" text="deployment intro" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

. Pushes to your branch trigger an automatic deploy; Composer install runs as part of it.
4. **Move environment variables.** Cloudways `Application Settings → Environment` maps 1:1 to fortrabbit env vars — set them in the dashboard or via the CLI.
5. **Move media / uploads.** rsync from the Cloudways application directory into your fortrabbit app's persistent storage via SFTP / SSH.
6. **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 <content-link href="/guides" text="install guides" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

 — 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 <content-link href="/hosting-guide/providers/server-management/cloudways" text="hosting guide entry">



</content-link>

.

<content-button property="dashboard" route="/signup" text="Start a free trial — no credit card">
<content-button property="www" route="/pricing" text="See pricing" variant="secondary">



</content-button>
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