← Back to calculator

Flywheel vs Cloudways

Flywheel

Optimal Baseline Tier

Tiny plan (Optimal for baseline workload)

$28.00/ month
Included storage5 GB
Included bandwidth20 GB
Included RAMN/A
Base plan$15.00
Disk storage$9.00
Bandwidth overage$4.00
App RAM overage$0.00

Cloudways

Optimal Baseline Tier

Cloudways VULTR Small plan (Optimal for baseline workload)

$28.00/ month
Included storage55 GB
Included bandwidth2000 GB
Included RAM2 GB
Base plan$28.00
Disk storage$0.00
Bandwidth overage$0.00
App RAM overage$0.00

A direct comparison between Flywheel and Cloudways reveals distinct pricing strategies. Flywheel's entry tier demands $15.00. In contrast, Cloudways sets its baseline at $28.00. Looking strictly at the entry barrier, Flywheel provides a more cost-effective starting point, undercutting Cloudways's base plan by $13.00 per month.

Variable costs often dictate the true monthly bill. To accommodate scaling on Flywheel, additional storage is billed at $0.20 per GB, while excess egress traffic is billed at $0.05 per GB. Alternatively, Cloudways structures this differently, where additional storage is billed at $0.10 per GB, while excess egress traffic is billed at $0.02 per GB.

Architectural Cost Simulation

PaaS Parameters

10,000 Visits
100 GB
20 GB
Flywheel (Tiny)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$15.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$4.00
Disk storage:$3.00
Flywheel (Starter)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$25.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$2.50
Disk storage:$2.00
Flywheel (Freelance)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$115.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Flywheel (Agency)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$290.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (DigitalOcean Micro)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$14.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (VULTR Micro)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$14.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Linode Micro)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$14.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (AWS Micro)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$20.56
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.96
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (VULTR Small)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$28.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Linode Small)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$28.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (DigitalOcean Small)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$28.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Google Cloud Small)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$37.33
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.98
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (AWS Small)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$38.56
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.96
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (DigitalOcean Medium)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$54.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (VULTR Medium)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$54.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Linode Medium)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$59.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Google Cloud Medium)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$84.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.98
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (AWS Medium)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$91.84
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.96
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (DigitalOcean Large)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$99.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (VULTR Large)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$99.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Linode Large)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$105.00
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:Plan limit
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Google Cloud Large)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$152.02
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.98
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (AWS Large)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$183.22
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.96
Disk storage:Plan limit
Cloudways (Google Cloud XL)Details →
Requires higher plan
Base plan:$241.50
Monthly visits:Plan limit
Bandwidth overage:$1.98
Disk storage:Plan limit

Still exploring your options?

Don't limit yourself to just two provider. Use our master calculator to adjust parameters and benchmark all providers side-by-side.

Open our master calculator

Frequently asked questions

Is Flywheel more cost-effective than Cloudways?

The starting price for Flywheel is $15.00 per month, whereas Cloudways starts at $28.00. The true cost-effectiveness depends heavily on your specific resource requirements beyond these base tiers.

How do resource limits and scaling fees compare between Flywheel and Cloudways?

When scaling, overages dictate the final bill. For Flywheel, extra storage is billed at $0.20 and network egress is billed at $0.05. In contrast, for Cloudways, storage is billed at $0.10 and egress is billed at $0.02.

Should I choose Flywheel or Cloudways for my infrastructure?

Choose Flywheel if your workload strictly aligns with their base limits and penalty structure. Choose Cloudways if their starting footprint offers a more predictable financial trajectory for your specific application requirements.

Pricing metrics are updated automatically from official provider data. Last synced:
August 30, 2026