xCloud.Host is a new (released in Jan 2024) SaaS service where you can deploy and manage your own WordPress servers and sites. It has direct connections to multiple cloud server providers that make provisioning servers fast and easy.
It is partially funded by the folks who publish the well regarded FLUENT series of WordPress plugin which include FLUENT CRM, FLUENT FORMS, FLUENT SMTP, FLUENT BOOKING and more.
Both WPCloudDeploy and xCloud.Host allow you to deploy and manage your own WordPress servers that are optimized for building and managing WordPress sites. All the key WordPress management tools are available in both offerings including:
While there are a lot of tiny differences between how similar features work, both products are 100% focused on WordPress to the exclusion of other technology stacks and therefore both are highly optimized for that platform.
There are four key differences between WPCloudDeploy and xCloud.Host:
Since xCloud.Host is an SaaS service, you are locked into a small set of personalization options. We do not know if they entertain requests for customization.
Because WPCloudDeploy is an open source product built on WordPress, the sky’s the limit when it comes to customizations and you have a lot of flexibility in how those are accomplished. You can:
As an experienced WordPress developer or manager, you can do many of the customizations yourself. Or you can ask any other WP developer to do the work for you. Or you can ask us of course.
As with your customization options, xCloud.Host is limited in the languages that can be used.
WPCloudDeploy can adopt any language you like simply by providing the translation terms using any of the many standard WP translation tools.
As with any SaaS service, your dashboard is running wherever xCloud.Host determines is best.
WPCloudDeploy can be run on any appropriately configured server anywhere and can be installed in multiple locations if necessary. With this flexibility you can:
xCloud.Host has direct support for three server providers plus the ability to bring your own server. (As the service matures we fully expect support for the number of direct providers to increase.)
WPCloudDeploy has built-in support for 12 providers (10 public cloud providers & 2 private cloud providers) as well as ability to “bring your own server”.
WPCloudDeploy also has an extension toolkit where you can build your own provider. Or you can ask to have one built for you at a cost of around 3K (for providers that generally follow the openstack api style format.)
xCloud.Host has limited command line support.
WPCloudDeploy uses Bash scripts that you can execute in either of two ways:
Sites deployed on xCloud.Host uses a single optimized LEMP stack.
WPCloudDeploy supports both a LEMP stack (Linux, NGINX, MySql/MariaDB, PHP) and a LOMP stack (Linux, OpenLiteSpeed, MySql/MariaDB, PHP).
As a SaaS service it is far easier to get started with xCloud.Host. WPCloudDeploy has an installation step that can sometimes be tricky (hence our free install service when you purchase a license.)
Consistent with SaaS services, the xCloud.Host UI is custom-made and absolutely gorgeous – even better than SpinupWP which is one that we have admired in the past.
In contrast, WPCloudDeploy’s UI is recognizably WordPress on the backend with a highly customized UI for your end customers on the front-end.
Both WPCloudDeploy and xCloud.Host offer tired pricing levels. xCloud.Host offers four pricing levels while WPCloudDeploy offers three (plus a free option).
xCloud.Host also offer “managed servers” where they handle all of the server components while you are focused on just site issues. This is a similar model to CloudWays.
At the time of this writing, xCloud.Host is running a limited time offer on lifetime licenses. Lifetime licenses are expected to disappear shortly.
You can transfer your sites using any WordPress backup tool. We recommend UPDRAFT PLUS though many folks seem to prefer using DUPLICATOR PRO (something we’re far less familiar with).
The above summary is only focused on the product differences and similarities. There are, of course, differences between the companies themselves – including large differences in operations, pricing, support policies, affiliate programs and more.
If you’re looking for a SaaS style product to manage your WordPress business you should look at GridPane or SpinpupWP – unless you have other product stacks you need to support. Choose xCloud.Host if you’re willing to deal with unexpected challenges that usually accompany new products. We suspect that within a year, this product will be a force to reckon, easily giving SaaS services such as GridPane and SpinupWP a run for their money.
Obviously, for a self-hosted, privacy-focused, feature-packed product, choose WPCloudDeploy.
Is anything in this article incorrect? If so, please feel free to contact us so we can apply corrections. As you might expect, corrections will be applied at our sole discretion subject to our ability to verify the new data.