How to leave Cloudways: back up, move your sites, then cancel

In short. Cloudways has no contract and no notice period. It bills by the hour, in arrears, and billing for a server stops when you delete it, with one final invoice the following month. So you can, and should, keep Cloudways running until your sites are working somewhere else. Then:

1. List everything the Cloudways panel does for you that won't come with you: caching, the Cloudflare add-on, email, cron jobs, rewrite rules, Git deployments.
2. Take your own copy of every site: enable Local Backups and download them over SFTP, or export each database and copy the files over SSH.
3. Set up and test each site on the new host before you touch DNS.
4. Switch DNS, with a short freeze for shops so no orders are lost.
5. Cancel in order: download final backups, delete servers, remove add-ons, then cancel the account. Cancelling is irreversible, and Cloudways says it cannot recover your data afterwards.

The rest of this guide covers each step, with the commands.

Flexible or Autonomous: what changes when you leave

Cloudways sells two products for PHP sites, Flexible and Autonomous (it also sells Velocity, for Node.js apps, and servers for AI agents). Leaving them differs in places.

Sources: Cloudways pricing (checked 7 November 2026), its Autonomous pricing announcement and its knowledge base on SSH and SFTP access, root access and recovering deleted apps and servers.

Before you decide: what you give up

Leaving is right for many people, but be clear about what goes:

• Legacy Autonomous pricing. Cloudways repriced Autonomous for sign-ups from 12 November 2025: Growth $99, Scale $199 and Plus $399 a month (Cloudways), against "Starting from $35/month" when it launched in January 2024. Existing customers keep their old pricing only while they stay subscribed.
• The bundled Object Cache Pro licence. Cloudways includes it free on Flexible servers of 4 GB and above, and says it "usually costs $95 a month" on its own. Your new host needs its own object cache, or you buy a licence.
• Hourly billing and the choice of five clouds.

For context on prices: Cloudways raised list prices "for the first time since 2017" from April 2023, for example a DigitalOcean 1 GB server from $10 to $11 and a 4 GB server from $42 to $46 a month (Cloudways). All Cloudways prices are in US dollars, and it adds tax based on your billing country unless you enter a valid VAT or GST ID.

Step 1: list everything the panel does for you

Work through each server and each app in the Cloudways panel. Menu names differ slightly between the Classic and New interfaces.

Sources: Cloudways knowledge base on finding application information and server-level backups; its Cloudflare Enterprise add-on and Lightning Stack pages.

Step 2: take your own copy

Do this even if you plan to restore from Cloudways' backups later. After you cancel, Cloudways cannot recover your data, and DigitalOcean's terms, which cover Cloudways, say: "You are responsible for downloading or otherwise exporting your data prior to termination or closure."

Option A: Local Backups, downloaded over SFTP

Cloudways' off-site backups can't be downloaded directly. Instead, it can keep a copy of the latest backup on the server itself (Cloudways):

1. Servers > your server > Backups. Turn on Local Backups and save.
2. Click Take Backup Now, or wait for the next scheduled backup.
3. Connect over SFTP with the server's master credentials and download the file from /applications/<app_folder>/local_backups.

# From your own machine. List first: the file name can vary.
ssh <master_user>@<server_ip> 'ls -lh /home/master/applications/<app_folder>/local_backups/'
scp <master_user>@<server_ip>:/home/master/applications/<app_folder>/local_backups/<backup_file> ./

Only the latest backup is kept locally, and each one covers every app on the server. It takes disk space on the server, so delete it from the Backups page once you have downloaded it.

Option B: export over SSH (for larger sites)

Cloudways says its browser Database Manager is "not suitable" for databases larger than 200 MB (Cloudways). Over SSH there is no such limit. Connect with master credentials, or with application credentials once SSH is enabled for that app user.

ssh <master_user>@<server_ip>
cd /home/master/applications/<app_folder>/public_html

# WordPress: WP-CLI reads the credentials from wp-config.php and passes extra flags to mysqldump.
wp db export ../private_html/<app_folder>.sql --single-transaction --quick

# Any PHP app: mysqldump, with the database name and user from Access Details.
mysqldump --single-transaction --quick --no-tablespaces -u <db_user> -p <db_name> \
  | gzip > /home/master/applications/<app_folder>/private_html/<db_name>.sql.gz

Keep dump files in private_html, never public_html, where anyone could download them.

Then copy the files. Running rsync from the new server (or your machine) lets you repeat it later and copy only what changed:

rsync -avz --partial \
  --exclude 'wp-content/cache/' \
  -e ssh <master_user>@<server_ip>:/home/master/applications/<app_folder>/public_html/ ./public_html/
rsync -avz --partial \
  -e ssh <master_user>@<server_ip>:/home/master/applications/<app_folder>/private_html/ ./private_html/

Option C: the Database Manager, for small databases

Application Management > Access Details > Launch Database Manager, then Export with Save (SQL) or Gzip.

Laravel and Magento apps

The same copy works, plus:

• Laravel: copy .env and anything under storage/app. On the new host run composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader, php artisan storage:link and php artisan config:cache, and recreate the scheduler cron (* * * * * php /path/to/artisan schedule:run) and your queue workers.
• Magento 2: copy app/etc/env.php and pub/media, then point env.php at the new database, cache, session and search services. Run bin/magento cache:flush and bin/magento indexer:reindex, and regenerate your Varnish configuration for the new host.

Step 3: set up the new host and import

Create each site on the new host with the same PHP version, then import:

gunzip <db_name>.sql.gz            # if compressed
wp db import <db_name>.sql         # WordPress, with the new host's credentials in wp-config.php
# or: mysql -u <new_db_user> -p <new_db_name> < <db_name>.sql

Keep wp-config.php's table prefix and keys, and change only the database settings. Then replace the pieces that only worked on Cloudways:

• Breeze. It is a free plugin and works elsewhere, but its Varnish purging depends on the host. If the new host has its own page cache, deactivate it: wp plugin deactivate breeze.

• Object Cache Pro. Check whether the object-cache drop-in belongs to it, and remove it unless you have your own licence:

  Shell

  head -n 5 wp-content/object-cache.php     # shows which plugin wrote the drop-in
  wp plugin list --status=active             # find the Object Cache Pro slug
  wp plugin deactivate <object_cache_pro_slug>
  rm wp-content/object-cache.php
  wp cache flush
  

• Cloudflare Enterprise add-on. When it goes, so do its CDN and firewall for that domain. If you want them, set up your own Cloudflare account (or the new host's equivalent) before you switch.

• Rewrite rules. Recreate Web Rules or .htaccess rules in the new host's format. If the new host runs nginx, Apache rules need converting.

• Cron jobs. Recreate each one. For WordPress, wp cron event list shows what WP-Cron runs.

• Email sending. Configure an SMTP plugin with your own email provider, and update SPF and DKIM records that mention Cloudways' SMTP service.

• Mailboxes. If you use the Rackspace add-on, move your mailboxes and update your MX records before you remove the add-on.

Step 4: fix URLs only where you need to

If the domain stays the same, the database usually needs no changes. Check for Cloudways' temporary addresses, which end in cloudwaysapps.com:

wp option get home
wp db search 'cloudwaysapps.com' --all-tables-with-prefix --stats
grep -rl 'cloudwaysapps.com' wp-content/themes wp-content/plugins

If there are matches, preview the change, then run it for real. Leave the guid column alone (WP-CLI):

wp search-replace 'https://<app>.cloudwaysapps.com' 'https://www.example.com' \
  --all-tables-with-prefix --skip-columns=guid --dry-run
# then the same command without --dry-run

Step 5: test before DNS moves

Point only your own computer at the new host. Add a line to your hosts file (/etc/hosts on macOS and Linux):

<new_server_ip>  example.com www.example.com

Or test from the command line without changing anything:

curl -sI --resolve www.example.com:443:<new_server_ip> https://www.example.com/
# add -k if the new host can't issue the certificate until DNS moves

Check the home page, login, forms and search. For a shop, put the payment gateway in test mode on the copy and run a checkout, then check the order emails. Read the new host's PHP error log.

While both copies run, stop the new one sending real email or running scheduled jobs twice: keep its SMTP off, or add define( 'DISABLE_WP_CRON', true ); to wp-config.php until you switch.

Step 6: switch over

1. Lower the DNS TTL at your DNS provider, for example to 300 seconds, and wait at least the old TTL before switching. See the current value (second column) with:

   Shell

   dig +noall +answer www.example.com A
   

2. Freeze changes that would be lost. For a shop, put the Cloudways site into maintenance mode (wp maintenance-mode activate) so no orders arrive during the final copy.

3. Run a final sync: export the database again (Step 2), import it on the new host, and run the rsync again to pick up new uploads.

4. Change the DNS records (A and AAAA, or the CNAME you used for the Cloudflare add-on) to the new host. Issue the SSL certificate there.

5. Undo the test settings on the new host: SMTP back on, DISABLE_WP_CRON removed, payment gateway live.

6. Watch both sides. Keep Cloudways running until its access log goes quiet and the new host is serving everything.

Step 7: cancel Cloudways in the right order

Cloudways' own steps are (Cloudways):

1. Download a full backup of each application (Step 2 again, now that everything has moved).
2. Delete all servers (Servers > the server > delete). Billing for a server stops when it is deleted; a stopped server is still billed.
3. Remove every add-on: Add-ons > edit > Remove Subscription.
4. Cancel the account: Profile > Account, read and accept the conditions, then Cancel My Account.

Know before you click:

• Cancelling is irreversible. Cloudways says "we will not be able to recover your websites' data because of GDPR compliance".
• Deleting is recoverable only briefly. Deleted servers and apps can be recovered within 14 days if they were backed up at least once; deleted staging apps cannot; after that the data is permanently deleted.
• One more invoice follows. "As Cloudways charges in arrears, you will receive one final invoice in the next month". Clear any outstanding invoices first.
• Fees are not refunded. DigitalOcean's terms say "any and all fees paid to us are non-refundable". If you have an unused prepaid balance, ask Cloudways support whether any of it can be refunded.

Then tidy up: remove Cloudways' deploy key from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, revoke the Cloudways API key and any MCP connection, remove the old server IP from allow-lists, and delete DNS records that pointed at Cloudways or its SMTP service.

What stays behind, and what to do

Moving to Corefinity

Free migration on every plan, done by our engineers. We'll move your sites for free.

Whoever moves your sites, a few things stay with you: changing the records at your DNS provider, moving any mailboxes you keep on the Rackspace add-on, and cancelling Cloudways once you're happy. Until then, Cloudways keeps serving your visitors.

What you move to: fully managed hosting for WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento 2 and Laravel on Google Cloud, in London, Northern Virginia (Ashburn), the Netherlands or Sydney, with staging and production environments for every site, backups (snapshots) every 6 hours kept 30 days, and 24/7 engineer support. Agencies get their own managed cluster for client sites, from £300 / €330 / $350 a month (+ VAT in the UK and EU), billed monthly in GBP, EUR or USD with no minimum term and no setup fee.

In place of the Cloudflare Enterprise add-on's firewall: a web application firewall. The control panel's firewall has several layers (per-site IP and country rules, HTTP authentication and SSH access control), and Cloudflare's WAF is fully supported if you use your own Cloudflare account.

One site? CoreStack is one fully managed site with its own staging environment, ordered online, from £150 / €165 / $175 a month ex VAT (Magento 2, on CS4 with Medium staging, from £410 / €450 / $480). Order online

For shops, see WooCommerce hosting at Corefinity; for the wider picture, see how we approach security.

Sources

Checked on 7 November 2026 unless stated. Cloudways' knowledge base (support.cloudways.com) refused automated access on 6 and 7 November 2026, so its articles were last read from the Internet Archive copies dated below.

• Cloudways, Pricing
• Cloudways blog, Autonomous new pricing (updated 12 November 2025), Autonomous general availability (updated 23 January 2024), Updated pricing plans (updated 28 February 2023), Lightning Stack (updated 5 November 2025)
• Cloudways, Cloudflare Enterprise add-on
• DigitalOcean, Terms of Service (last updated 22 August 2026; §12)
• Cloudways knowledge base: How do I cancel my account? (archived 16 September 2025); Recover a deleted application or server (archived 17 February 2026); Server-level backups (archived 14 November 2025); Download the backup of your application (archived 16 September 2025); Database Manager (archived 21 August 2026); SSH and SFTP access; Application information; Root access (archived 16 September 2025); Transfer a server
• Cloudways, Rackspace email add-on (accessed 6 November 2026)
• WordPress.org, Breeze plugin (accessed 6 November 2026)
• WP-CLI, wp db export, wp search-replace and wp db search