What Is Cloudways Pay As You Go? Explained
What is Cloudways Pay-As-You-Go Hosting?
Cloudways Pay-As-You-Go is a flexible and cost-effective hosting option that allows you to pay only for the web hosting resources you actually use.
With Pay-As-You-Go hosting, you are billed hourly based on your resource usage rather than paying a fixed monthly fee.
This usage-based pricing model is ideal if your website’s traffic, storage needs, or computing requirements fluctuate month to month.
With Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go solution, you can scale your website hosting up or down on demand.
You have full control and only pay for what you provision and use.
This gives you flexibility and potential cost savings compared to fixed-price monthly plans.
How Does Pay-As-You-Go Hosting Work?
Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go hosting utilizes a metered hourly billing model for web hosting resources.
Here’s an overview of how it works:
- Compute Resources – You are billed per hour for the number of CPU cores, amount of RAM, and SSD storage allocated to your hosting server. More resources used equals higher hourly fees.
- Network Usage – Outbound bandwidth usage is metered in MB and billed per hour. The more traffic your site handles, the more you pay.
- Add-Ons – Additional services like dedicated IP addresses are charged hourly based on usage.
- Cloud Provider – The hourly compute rates vary depending on which cloud provider you choose to host with (AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, etc).
- Server Location – Where you provision your server also impacts hourly compute fees.
In summary, you pay only for what you provision and use on an hourly basis. Unused resources are not charged.
Benefits of Pay-As-You-Go Hosting
Pay-As-You-Go hosting offers some compelling benefits:
Flexibility & Scalability
You can provision additional resources when you need them and scale back down during quiet periods.
With unpredictable traffic, Pay-As-You-Go is more flexible than fixed packages.
Cost-Effectiveness
Unused resources are not charged, so you can save money when traffic is low.
Pay-As-You-Go is extremely cost-effective for fluctuating sites.
No Long-Term Commitments
You can cancel anytime without early termination fees.
This removes the lock-in associated with monthly contracts.
Spike Protection
Unexpected traffic spikes won’t cripple your site or incur excess fees.
You only pay for exactly what is used.
Granular Control
Micromanage and optimize costs by tweaking server resources hourly.
Right-size your hosting to match live traffic demands.
When to Use Pay-As-You-Go Hosting?
Pay-As-You-Go hosting is best suited to these situations:
- New websites with unstable traffic.
- Businesses with significant seasonal variations.
- Sites with frequent spikes (e.g. coupon sites).
- Short-term projects and temporary sites.
- Startups with fluctuating bandwidth needs.
The granular billing allows you to closely match your changing resource requirements.
Potential Drawbacks of Pay-As-You-Go
While flexible, Pay-As-You-Go does have some potential drawbacks to consider:
- Unpredictable costs if usage spikes frequently.
- No discounted long-term contract rates.
- Need to monitor usage closely to avoid surprises.
- Can require manual scaling of resources.
- Not ideal for high traffic sites with stable needs.
For some, a fixed monthly plan with predictable costs may be preferable.
Cloudways Pay-As-You-Go Pricing Explained
Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go pricing is based on your actual hourly usage.
But how much does it actually cost?
Here is an overview of the Cloudways Pay-As-You-Go rates:
Compute Resources
These form the bulk of Pay-As-You-Go charges:
- CPU Cores: Starts at around $0.01 – $0.05/hour depending on provider.
- RAM: Approximately $0.003 – $0.012/hour per GB.
- SSD Storage: Around $0.004 – $0.05/hour per GB.
- Premium Support: Optional at $0.55 per hour.
Rates vary based on the cloud provider and hosting location chosen. More resources used equals higher hourly fees.
Network Usage
You pay for outbound bandwidth transfer on an hourly metered rate:
- Data Transfer: $0.01 – $0.02 per GB outbound traffic.
- Load Balancers: Optional add-on starting at $0.008/hour.
Cloud Provider & Server Location
The cloud provider and server location significantly impacts hourly compute rates. For example:
- AWS costs more than DigitalOcean or Linode.
- Singapore servers cost more than USA or Europe.
Run cost estimates during server setup to compare options.
Additional Cloudways Charges
Other optional charges include:
- Managed Services: Starts at $99/month for core management.
- Backups: Around $0.22 per GB per month.
- SSL Certificates: Free Let’s Encrypt or $20/year Comodo SSL.
So in summary, while base compute rates start cheap, many factors influence your end Pay-As-You-Go costs. Crunch the numbers carefully.
Is Pay-As-You-Go Suitable for My Site?
With Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go hosting, is the pricing a good fit for your website? Ask yourself:
Is your traffic highly variable or unpredictable month to month?
If yes, Pay-As-You-Go provides cost-efficiency and flexibility to scale.
Are there seasonal fluctuations or traffic spikes?
Pay-As-You-Go allows seamless scaling to handle spikes without paying 12 months of higher fees.
Is it a new site where future growth is unknown?
Pay-As-You-Go lets you start small and scale up hosting as traffic increases.
Do you need short-term hosting for a project or event?
For short-term needs, Pay-As-You-Go is more cost-effective than monthly hosting.
Does waste from unused resources concern you?
Pay-As-You-Go ensures you only pay for what you actually use down to the hour.
If you answered “Yes” to any of the above, Cloudways’ Pay-As-You-Go hosting could be a great fit! For stable high-traffic sites, fixed monthly plans may still be better value.
Pay-As-You-Go vs Monthly Hosting Plans
How does Pay-As-You-Go compare to fixed monthly pricing for web hosting? Here’s a side-by-side overview:
| Pay-As-You-Go | Monthly Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Costs | Only pay for resources used | Fixed monthly fee |
| Flexibility | Scale up and down anytime | Limited ability to upgrade/downgrade |
| Traffic Spikes | Handle spikes seamlessly | May violate plan limits |
| Unpredictability | Ideal for fluctuating sites | Works best with stable traffic |
| Long-Term Costs | Can become expensive long-term | Cheaper for high traffic sites |
| Commitment | Cancel anytime, no lock-in | Monthly or annual contracts |
| Ease of Use | Requires close monitoring | Simplicity of fixed pricing |
The Bottom Line
Pay-As-You-Go offers flexibility and potential cost savings but requires more effort.
Monthly plans provide predictable costs but less agility. Choose the option that best fits your site’s needs.
FAQ About Cloudways Pay-As-You-Go Hosting
Q: Can I switch between Pay-As-You-Go and fixed monthly hosting?
Yes, with Cloudways you can change your billing model at any time without affecting your web hosting. Switch to fixed pricing if your traffic stabilizes or to Pay-As-You-Go if it fluctuates.
Q: What if my resource usage spikes on Pay-As-You-Go?
If your usage exceeds plan limits, Cloudways will restrict access to prevent excessively high charges. You will need to upgrade to a larger hosting plan if this occurs frequently.
Q: Is technical assistance included with Pay-As-You-Go?
Cloudways provides 24/7 live chat support for all accounts. For full management of your server and apps, add their optional Managed Services.
Q: Can I host a high-traffic site on Pay-As-You-Go?
Pay-As-You-Go can become expensive for large sites with consistently high resource usage.
Fixed monthly pricing may offer better value in this case.
