No credit card needed. 3 full days of access to all features. This guide walks you through signup step by step — and tells you exactly what to test during your trial.
Start Your Free Trial Now →Before committing to a hosting provider, it's smart to try it yourself. Cloudways knows this — and offers one of the industry's most generous free trials: 3 days of full access with no credit card required. Zero risk. Zero cost.
In this guide, I'll walk you from zero: create an account, deploy a server, test performance, and show you how to save even more with a promo code after your trial ends.
The Cloudways free trial is not a watered-down experience. You get almost everything paid users get:
Complete control over your cloud server: start, stop, restart, clone, and scale
WordPress, WooCommerce, Laravel, Magento, and 10+ more applications
One-click Let's Encrypt SSL installation with auto-renewal
Real-time CPU, memory, disk, and bandwidth usage monitoring
One-click staging environments to safely test changes
Access the support team via Live Chat even during your trial
The entire process takes about 5–10 minutes, including account creation and deploying your first server. Here's the full walkthrough:
Go to Cloudways via our exclusive link. Click the "Start Free" button in the top right to open the registration form.
Enter your name, email, and password. You can also use Google, GitHub, or LinkedIn for quick signup. No payment information required at this stage.
If you plan to use a promo code, use the promo field only if Cloudways displays one, and confirm the discount before upgrading.
Cloudways will send a verification email to your registered address. Click the confirmation link to activate your account. If you don't see it, check your spam folder.
After verification, you'll land on the server configuration page. You'll need to choose:
Click "Launch Now". Cloudways will deploy your server in 2–3 minutes. Once the status shows green "Running," you're ready to go!
Three days isn't much time, but it's enough for a thorough evaluation. Here's a trial testing checklist to help you make the most of every day:
Three days not enough? Here are a few options:
This is the most direct approach. Log into the Cloudways dashboard, click the Live Chat button in the bottom right corner, and tell the support agent you need more time to evaluate. Cloudways support may approve an extension, but it is not guaranteed.
Suggested message:
If you've already decided Cloudways is the right fit, the smartest move is:
All your trial data and configurations are fully preserved when you upgrade — no need to start over.
Cloudways charges by the hour after trial upgrade. If you're still undecided, a short paid test at the official checkout final amount is usually more efficient than restarting the whole evaluation process with another host.
The safest path is to test Cloudways first, then upgrade only after the plan, payment method, and any promo discount are clear.
If Cloudways shows a promo field during signup or upgrade, enter the code you plan to use and make sure it is accepted before continuing.
Use the trial normally. These 3 days are completely free.
If you're satisfied, add a payment method and upgrade only after the billing screen shows the final monthly/hourly price.
Before upgrading, do the math: use the official monthly price shown by Cloudways, subtract any accepted promo discount, then add optional services such as CDN, email, premium support, or extra backup storage.
| Period | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 days | Free trial | Free trial |
| First paid period | Checkout price | Only if Cloudways accepts and displays a promo discount |
| After promotion | Official plan price | Use the Cloudways billing screen as the final source of truth |
The important point is not the headline discount; it is whether the final checkout screen matches your expected monthly cost.
👉 See the current-offer checklist and promo-code steps: Cloudways Coupon Code 2026 — Complete Guide
No. The Cloudways 3-day free trial only requires an email address. You will not be asked for a credit card number, PayPal, or any payment information during signup. This is a truly zero-risk trial.
Almost not at all. You can use the full server management panel, install applications, configure SSL, set up backups, use staging environments, and access all core features. The only limitation is a server size cap — but it's more than adequate for evaluation purposes.
No. Since no credit card is required at signup, the system cannot charge you automatically. Your server will be suspended (data retained for a few days) after the trial. To continue, you'll need to manually add a payment method and upgrade.
You can ask Cloudways support through Live Chat, but extensions are not guaranteed. If you need more time, explain what you are testing and ask before the trial expires.
Fully preserved. Upgrading from trial to paid is seamless. All servers, applications, data, configurations, and domain settings you created during the trial are retained as-is — no need to reconfigure or migrate anything.
📖 More Resources: Coupon Code Guide · Pricing Plans · Setup Guide · Full Review