HostDealRadarCloudways free trial: 3 days, when billing starts, and what to check
Short answer: Cloudways says its standard trial lasts 3 days and does not require a credit card. It is a trial, not a free hosting plan: paid use is pay-as-you-go after upgrading, and Cloudways Autonomous can auto-upgrade at trial end if a payment method is already on the account.
The key step is to identify which Cloudways product you started. The standard Flexible trial and the separate Autonomous trial do not have identical end-of-trial behavior.
What the 3-day trial includes
Cloudways’ Getting Started FAQ says the trial period starts when you create a trial server. It says the standard trial is 3 days and that Cloudways does not provide permanent free hosting. During trial, the upgrade guide says you can launch a server, deploy an application, or migrate an existing site. Read the official Getting Started FAQ ↗ · Read the official trial-upgrade guide ↗
When charges begin
Cloudways says paid use is pay-as-you-go and the amount depends on the selected server plan, infrastructure provider, server size, bandwidth, and paid add-ons. Its trial-upgrade guide says usage is invoiced at the start of the following month, rather than charging the usage total on the upgrade date. A payment-method authorization may still appear: the guide describes a temporary $1 card authorization that is reversed, or a $5 PayPal amount that is applied to an outstanding balance or next invoice. These are the amounts and terms stated in that help article, not a test transaction.
For Flexible plans, the source describes hourly usage pricing for servers and a monthly invoice for the previous month. Autonomous is separately billed by the hours an app is active, with autoscaling and overage charges possible. See the Cloudways billing and offer guide for the current dated billing-source notes.
Flexible trial and Autonomous trial are different
| Question | Standard trial / Flexible | Autonomous trial |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 3 days; the FAQ says the period starts when the trial server is created. | 3 days, according to Cloudways’ Autonomous trial instructions. |
| Payment method needed to start? | Cloudways’ trial-upgrade guide says no credit card is required for the standard trial. | The Autonomous instructions say no credit card is needed to subscribe. |
| If a payment method is already on the account | The cited standard-trial pages tell users to upgrade to keep servers and applications active; they do not state that Flexible automatically upgrades at expiry. | Cloudways says the account is automatically upgraded to Plan 1 after the trial if a payment method was added beforehand. |
| How to avoid a paid Autonomous upgrade | Review the account and server state before trial expiry. | The official instructions say to delete the application or unsubscribe before expiry. |
Sources: standard trial upgrade ↗, Getting Started FAQ ↗, and Autonomous trial instructions ↗. Checked October 17, 2026.
Before the trial expires
- Check whether the trial is Flexible or Autonomous.
- Open Billing and confirm whether a payment method is saved.
- If you want to continue, check the selected plan, server or app, add-ons, and estimated usage before upgrading.
- If you do not want a paid Autonomous plan, follow Cloudways’ stated unsubscribe or delete-app step before the three-day trial ends.
- Save the dashboard’s current usage and billing details for your own records.
Evidence limit: the official support pages describe standard trial terms and steps. We did not create an account, observe the countdown, test an upgrade, or confirm a final invoice. The cited amounts and automatic-upgrade rule are the help center’s published statements, not independently tested outcomes.
Check the Cloudways coupon and billing guide → · Read Cloudways’ historical Black Friday records →