# Cloudways: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 13 judge labels across 1 categories by 7 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cloudways/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud hosting | 2% | 9 | 23% | 13 |

## What the models said for it

- "Cloudways is the strongest default recommendation because it is positioned specifically for mid-market businesses" (Perplexity Sonar, Cloud hosting)
- "`Hostinger Cloud Startup` or `Cloudways` (~$10–$14/mo). They abstract the infrastructure" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, Cloud hosting)
- "Kamatera or Cloudways (pay-as-you-go without huge provider complexity)" (Kimi K2, Cloud hosting)
- "SiteGround, Kinsta, Cloudways, Hetzner, DigitalOcean have better track records" (MiniMax M2.5, Cloud hosting)

## And against it

- "Post-acquisition concerns include high CPU usage, limited integrations, ~220% markup on underlying resources, and allegedly fake reviews" (Kimi K2, Cloud hosting)
- "described by one 2026 review as having notable caveats after DigitalOcean's acquisition" (Perplexity Sonar, Cloud hosting)
- "Slow response times, unhelpful bot interactions, and poor customer service overall" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, Cloud hosting)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.