Skip to content

Cloudways vs PHP

Based on 2 and 1061 real audits

View Cloudways details | View PHP details
MetricCloudwaysPHPWinner
Performance5047Cloudways
Accessibility8789PHP
Best Practices9888Cloudways
SEO9291Cloudways
Security6366PHP
TTFB346ms430msCloudways
Composite7374PHP
Performance
Cloudways
50
PHP
47
Accessibility
Cloudways
87
PHP
89
Security
Cloudways
63
PHP
66
SEO
Cloudways
92
PHP
91
Composite
Cloudways
73
PHP
74

Cloudways outperforms PHP in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (73 vs 74). PHP leads in accessibility, security, composite score.

When to choose Cloudways

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

When to choose PHP

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 2 audited Cloudways sites and 1061 audited PHP 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 PHP?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Cloudways sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (50 vs 47 on average).
Which has better security, Cloudways or PHP?
PHP sites score higher on security analysis (66 vs 63 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Cloudways or PHP?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor PHP (89 vs 87). 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 PHP?
Cloudways sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (92 vs 91 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 PHP?
Cloudways sites show lower Time to First Byte (346 ms vs 430 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 PHP for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Cloudways 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.
Audit your own site

Send Feedback