Hostinger vs Cloudways (2026): Fixed Plans vs Managed Cloud Servers
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Quick answer
Hostinger is the better starting point for a small business site or a modest WooCommerce store: fixed INR pricing, a 48-month lock and Mumbai servers, at INR 599/month for Cloud Startup. Cloudways starts at USD 14/month (about INR 1,230) for a 1 GB server and USD 28 for 2 GB, billed monthly with no long-term discount but also no renewal jump. Most of our clients start on Hostinger Cloud Startup and only a few outgrow it.
They are different products
Hostinger sells hosting plans: you pick Unlimited or Cloud Startup, pay for the term, and get a managed environment with hPanel. Cloudways sells managed cloud servers: you pick a provider (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud), a server size and a location, pay monthly, and Cloudways manages the stack. Cloudways has Indian locations through DigitalOcean Bangalore and AWS Mumbai.
| Hostinger Cloud Startup | Cloudways Micro | Cloudways Small | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | INR 599/month (48 mo), fixed | USD 14/month (~INR 1,230) | USD 28/month (~INR 2,460) |
| Renewal | INR 1,599/month after 48 mo | No change, ever | No change, ever |
| Billing | Up front for the term, INR | Monthly or hourly, USD | Monthly or hourly, USD |
| Resources | 4 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM | 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM | 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM |
| Storage | 100 GB NVMe | 25 GB NVMe | 50 GB NVMe |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered (fair use) | 1 TB | 2 TB |
| Scaling | Upgrade plan | Resize server anytime | Resize server anytime |
| India location | Mumbai | Bangalore (DO), Mumbai (AWS) | Same |
| Included, free 1 year | Not included | Not included | |
| Domain | Free first year | Not included | Not included |
The comparison that actually matters
On raw specification, Hostinger Cloud Startup at INR 599/month gives 4 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM and 100 GB NVMe. Cloudways Small at USD 28 gives 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM and 50 GB. On paper Hostinger looks like four times the machine for a quarter of the price.
That comparison is not quite fair in either direction. Hostinger's cloud plans are a managed, shared-tenancy product with generous published allowances; a Cloudways server is a real VPS you control, with root-level scaling, staging, Redis and git deploys. You are buying different things.
The honest framing is this: Hostinger is cheaper until its renewal, and Cloudways never renews. Hostinger Cloud Startup costs INR 599/month for four years and then INR 1,599/month, which is roughly USD 18. Cloudways Micro is USD 14/month from day one and stays there. Over a long enough horizon the two converge, and Cloudways gets more predictable.
When Hostinger is enough
A business site, a content site, or a WooCommerce store doing up to a few dozen orders a day runs well on Hostinger Cloud Startup. You get generous resources, Mumbai, email and a domain for a fixed four-year price under INR 600 a month. Nothing to manage.
When Cloudways makes sense
- A store doing hundreds of orders a day, or traffic in the hundreds of thousands
- A site that needs vertical scaling on demand (flash sales, seasonal peaks)
- A developer-run project that wants SSH, git deploys, Redis and server-level control
- Multiple sites on one server with per-app isolation
- Anyone who would rather pay a steady monthly rate than face a renewal cliff in year five
Cost reality
Cloudways looks cheap at USD 14, but add offsite backup storage (charged per GB), email hosting elsewhere, a domain, and USD card conversion, and a small Indian business lands nearer INR 1,500-2,000 a month for a 1-2 GB server. Hostinger Cloud Startup is INR 599 a month with email and domain included, until it renews.
Verdict
Start on Hostinger. Move to Cloudways when order volume or traffic demands a real server and you have someone to look after it, or when the renewal makes the maths even. We host client stores on both, and the sites on Cloudways are the ones that outgrew Hostinger, which is the right order.
Related guides
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Cloudways cost per month in India?
Checked 19 September 2026: Micro is USD 14/month (1 GB RAM, 25 GB), Small USD 28 (2 GB, 50 GB), Medium USD 54 (4 GB, 80 GB) and Large USD 99 (8 GB, 160 GB). Add backup storage, email hosting and card conversion; a small store lands around INR 1,500-2,000 a month.
Does Cloudways have a renewal price increase?
No. Cloudways bills the same rate monthly with no intro discount and no renewal jump. That is its main advantage over Hostinger, whose Cloud Startup goes from INR 599 to INR 1,599 after 48 months.
Is Cloudways better than Hostinger?
For high-traffic or high-order stores with a developer, yes. For a small business site or a modest store, Hostinger Cloud Startup is cheaper for four years, includes email and a domain, and needs no management.
Does Cloudways have servers in India?
Yes, via DigitalOcean Bangalore and AWS Mumbai. Hostinger has its own Mumbai data centre.
Can I move from Hostinger to Cloudways later?
Yes. Both run standard WordPress, so a backup plugin or Cloudways' migrator moves the site in an afternoon.
Does Cloudways include email hosting?
No. Email is a paid add-on or must be hosted elsewhere. Hostinger plans include mailboxes free for the first year.
Written by
Chirag Darji, Founder of VGraple
Chirag has built and hosted business websites since 2011 and currently runs 45+ client sites on Hostinger from Ahmedabad, India. Every recommendation on this page is based on sites VGraple manages, with prices checked on 19 September 2026.