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Cloudways vs Microsoft

Based on 4 and 2510 real audits

View Cloudways details | View Microsoft details
MetricCloudwaysMicrosoftWinner
Performance3839Microsoft
Accessibility8489Microsoft
Best Practices9786Cloudways
SEO8489Microsoft
Security7267Cloudways
TTFB723ms331msMicrosoft
Composite7773Cloudways
Performance
Cloudways
38
Microsoft
39
Accessibility
Cloudways
84
Microsoft
89
Security
Cloudways
72
Microsoft
67
SEO
Cloudways
84
Microsoft
89
Composite
Cloudways
77
Microsoft
73

Microsoft outperforms Cloudways in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (73 vs 77). Cloudways leads in best practices, security, composite score.

When to choose Cloudways

Choose Cloudways when your primary concern is best practices and security. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose Microsoft

Choose Microsoft when your primary concern is server response time and accessibility. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 4 audited Cloudways sites and 2510 audited Microsoft sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

Small sample: one or both technologies have fewer than 10 audited sites. Treat these numbers as directional — medians stabilize around 20–30 audits per side.

FAQ

Which is faster, Cloudways or Microsoft?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Microsoft sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (39 vs 38 on average).
Which has better security, Cloudways or Microsoft?
Cloudways sites score higher on security analysis (72 vs 67 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Cloudways or Microsoft?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Microsoft (89 vs 84). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, Cloudways or Microsoft?
Microsoft sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (89 vs 84 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), Cloudways or Microsoft?
Microsoft sites show lower Time to First Byte (331 ms vs 723 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose Cloudways or Microsoft for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Microsoft scores higher on overall composite score while Cloudways may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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