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Move from Cloudways to Valebyte: same DigitalOcean/Vultr underlying, but at $7.59 instead of $14, and you control the panel.
Cloudways resells DigitalOcean/Vultr/Linode/AWS at 2x markup for the managed layer. Their 1 GB plan ($14) is a $6 DO Droplet underneath.
Cloudways uses NGINX + Apache + Varnish + Redis on a fixed pattern. If you need a different setup (Caddy, Traefik, custom kernel modules), you're constrained.
SSL ($0 with Let's Encrypt), backups ($0.033/GB-mo), staging server (extra), email ($1-5/mo) — easy to double your effective price.
Moving sites between Cloudways servers is a paid feature ($25-50). You don't really 'own' your VPS — Cloudways manages access.
Cloudways is now a DO subsidiary. Long-term independence is uncertain. Some users report support quality changes since the acquisition.
If you already own a server (or want to use Hetzner, Scaleway), Cloudways won't manage it. You're tied to AWS/DO/Vultr/Linode/GCP under their control.
No marketing — actual differences. Including where they win.
Total time — 1 hour (small VPS) to 4 hours (TB-scale DB). Zero-downtime possible — steps 4-6.
Cloudways panel → server → 'Backups'. Trigger an on-demand backup. Then use Cloudways' 'Migration' option to package, OR SSH directly into the server (Master Credentials → SSH Terminal) and rsync your `/home/master/applications//` directory.
Cloudways doesn't manage DNS. Your DNS is at your registrar (or Cloudflare). Lower TTL there 24h before, then update A/AAAA records to your new Valebyte VPS IP after restoring.
Do this 24h before cutover. Visitors see new IP within 5 min instead of waiting hours for caches.
Match RAM and vCPU; disk you can grow later. Pay your preferred way (card, SEPA, USDT/BTC, MIR/SBP).
`rsync -avzP --delete /source/ root@new-server:/dest/` for files, configs, Docker volumes, and pre-dumped databases. Test first with `--dry-run`.
Postgres: `pg_dumpall | ssh new-server psql`. MySQL: `mysqldump --all-databases | ssh new-server mysql`. Cloudways MySQL: phpMyAdmin (Application → Access Details) → Export → SQL → import on new server with `mysql -u root < dump.sql`. For larger DBs, use `mysqldump --single-transaction` over SSH directly to the new server.
Don't copy `/etc/shadow` blindly across distros — use `useradd` and copy `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`. Verify sudoers with `visudo -c`.
Same Docker Compose, Ansible playbook, or k3s manifest works on Valebyte (Ubuntu 22/24, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 are available). No vendor-specific lock-in.
List your existing rules → recreate via `ufw` or `nftables` on Valebyte. Test all inbound services with `nmap` from outside before going live.
Wait for old TTL to expire (5 min if you lowered earlier). Watch traffic with `tcpdump` to confirm requests are arriving on the new server.
Don't shut down the old side immediately. Watch error rates, latency, customer complaints. If something breaks — flip DNS back instantly.
Wait until you're sure nothing references old IPs (cron jobs, webhooks, hardcoded configs in third-party services).
All plans: 10 Gbps, dedicated IP, full root, KVM console
10 Gbps unmetered, multi-region, flexible payment (card, SEPA, crypto, MIR). VPS in 30 seconds.