Guides · Migration guides

Moving between hosting providers

10 guides to moving a site or server from one provider to another, newest first. Each opens with today's prices for both ends, read 6 Nov 2026; its text keeps the date its own figures were read.

1. AWS Lightsail to Vultr migration in 2026: cut bandwidth risk in half

   AWS Lightsail to Vultr migration guide. Same $5-24 price point, much friendlier bandwidth overage rates ($0.01/GB vs $0.09/GB), more regions, no ecosystem lock-in.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

2. Cloudways to DigitalOcean direct in 2026: bypass the wrapper, save 40%

   Cloudways is a managed layer on top of DigitalOcean. If you're technical, going direct to DO cuts your bill 40-60% for the same underlying box. Real cost, real trade-offs, step-by-step.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

3. Cloudways to Kinsta migration in 2026: cost, steps, gotchas

   Complete Cloudways to Kinsta migration guide for 2026. Cost delta, step-by-step with Kinsta's first-party migration team, DNS cutover, gotchas around plugins and Redis.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

4. Contabo to OVHcloud migration in 2026: same price tier, different trade-offs

   Contabo to OVHcloud migration in 2026. When OVH's steadier CPU and quantified port speeds are worth Contabo's 20 GB storage advantage.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

5. DigitalOcean to Hetzner migration in 2026: cutting your bill in half (or more)

   Complete guide to migrating from DigitalOcean to Hetzner in 2026. Real cost savings (typically 60-85% at the same spec), step-by-step tooling, DNS cutover, and what you give up.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

6. Kinsta to Cloudways migration in 2026: cost, steps, gotchas

   Complete guide to migrating from Kinsta to Cloudways in 2026 — including cost delta, step-by-step migration via WP Migrator plugin, DNS cutover, Redis and CDN differences.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

7. Managed WordPress to VPS + Nginx migration in 2026: take back control

   Complete guide to moving from managed WordPress hosting (Cloudways, Kinsta, WP Engine) to a self-managed VPS with Nginx in 2026. Real cost savings, honest sysadmin expectations, step-by-step LEMP stack setup.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

8. Shared hosting to a plain VPS migration in 2026: keep your budget, gain your independence

   How to migrate from shared hosting (Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy) to a plain unmanaged VPS in 2026. Real cost savings, DIY step-by-step, and honest expectations of the sysadmin work involved.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

9. Shared hosting to Cloudways migration in 2026: the upgrade path for WordPress

   How to migrate from Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy or similar shared hosting to Cloudways in 2026. Real performance improvement, cost comparison, step-by-step with free Cloudways migration.

   text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026

10. Vultr to DigitalOcean migration in 2026: when it is the right call

    Vultr to DigitalOcean migration guide for 2026. Cost delta, migration steps, and honest evaluation of whether the DO ecosystem is worth the $8-10/mo premium at every tier.

    text written 22 Sep 2026 · 3 plans priced 6 Nov 2026