Cleavr vs Hatchbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cleavr grades higher than Hatchbox: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cleavr grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cleavr
Server and deployment manager for PHP and Node.js apps on your own VPS
Hatchbox
Deploy Rails and Ruby apps to servers you own, billed per server
Which one is for you
Pick Cleavr if
- Fits if you run a handful of PHP or Node.js sites on a VPS and want a dashboard instead of SSH
- Works for freelancers who already pay a VPS provider and only need the deployment layer
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want hosting included, because every server is billed separately by your provider
- Tight if you need more than one server, as Lite is capped at one
- Pricey if you need backups, which start at Pro at $15 a month
- Watch out: team members and API access need Business at $30 a month, and the trial is 5 days
- Not for you if you need to see monthly-billing prices, which the pricing page doesn't list
Pick Hatchbox if
- Fits if you run Rails and want servers in your own DigitalOcean or Hetzner account
- Works for people with several apps who want a flat fee per server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, since there is none
- Tight if you dislike giving a card first: the 7-day trial needs a payment method
- Watch out: the cloud server is billed separately at the provider's list price on top of $15
- Not for you if you want hands-off hosting, as you still run your own servers
- Watch out: the pricing page has a Yearly toggle but lists no yearly plan
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACleavrFair | 2.0GPAHatchboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $5.50 a month billed yearly, just above the $5.00 cheaper-quarter line for web hosting, and that covers one server. Backups and monitoring start at Pro, $15 a month, and your VPS is billed on top. | C$15 a server a month with unlimited apps, level with the $10.99 middle of hosting. The server itself is billed by your cloud provider on top. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 5-day trial with Pro and API access and no card until you subscribe. No free plan, and five days is short. | DA 7-day free trial that needs a payment method, with billing starting after day 7. No free plan. |
| Features | CProvisioning, Git deploys, SSL, databases and monitoring for PHP and Node apps. Backups and server monitoring need Pro, team members and the API need Business, and Lite stops at one server. | CServer setup, Rails-aware zero-downtime deploys, workers, cron, databases, SSL and a beta MCP server. The vendor says it is not a hands-off replacement for Heroku. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect a provider account or a custom server and set up each app yourself, so there is a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record. You connect a cloud account or Ubuntu server and keep SSH access to run it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it connects to Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Slack, and has an API on Business. | BWeb dashboard with DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, Linode, Vultr, AppSignal, Honeybadger and Sidekiq. No desktop or phone apps. |
| Best for | setting up PHP and Node.js apps on your own VPS | deploying Rails apps to your own cloud servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cleavr and Hatchbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cleavr starts at $5.50 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Hatchbox starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Cleavr starts $9.50 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 2 score higher than Cleavr for less, and 5 score higher than Hatchbox for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Cleavr also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Cleavr | Hatchbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5.5 per month, billed yearly ($66 a year) | $15 per server / month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 5-day free trial with Pro access and API access; no credit card required until you subscribe. | 7-day free trial; a payment method is required at checkout and billing starts after day 7. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Vistafari LLC | Hatchbox |
| Price read from | cleavr.io | hatchbox.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cleavr
- Servers are not included: you pay your VPS provider separately.
- Lite is limited to one server, and backups and server monitoring start at Pro.
- Team members and API access need Business, which is $30 a month billed yearly.
- The pricing page shows yearly-billed figures; the monthly-billing prices are not listed in the page text.
Hatchbox
- The server is paid separately to the cloud provider at its list price, on top of $15 a month per server Hatchbox manages.
- There is no free plan, and the trial needs a payment method.
- The vendor says it is not a hands-off replacement for Heroku: you still run your own servers.
- The pricing page has a Yearly toggle but lists no yearly plan.
Key features
Cleavr
- Server provisioning
- Servers are created at Vultr, DigitalOcean, AWS, UpCloud, Linode or Hetzner, or a custom VPS is connected.
- App types
- AdonisJS, NuxtJS, NextJS, Laravel, Strapi, NodeJS, WordPress, PHP and static HTML apps can be installed from the dashboard.
- Zero-downtime deploys
- Deployments run with one click or by push-to-deploy from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, to one server or several behind a load balancer.
- Databases and backups
- MySQL, PostgreSQL and MariaDB servers are managed, and backups can go to AWS S3, Wasabi, Backblaze, DO Spaces, SFTP or local storage.
- Security
- Free Let's Encrypt SSL, Fail2Ban, UFW configuration, SSH key handling and site isolation are listed.
- Monitoring and API
- Server health monitoring and notifications to Slack, Discord, Telegram or email are available; the API needs the Business plan or an active trial.
Hatchbox
- Your own servers
- Servers are created in your DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, Linode or Vultr account, or you can bring an Ubuntu server, and you keep full SSH access.
- Rails-aware deploys
- Rails is detected from the Gemfile; the Ruby version comes from the repo and Puma runs behind Caddy, with zero-downtime deployments.
- Workers and cron
- Sidekiq or Solid Queue workers, other processes, cron jobs, environment variables and streaming logs are managed in the dashboard.
- Databases
- PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis and SQLite can run on the server, or managed databases can be connected with environment variables.
- Automatic SSL
- Caddy handles SSL redirects, and On-Demand TLS issues certificates for custom domains.
- MCP server (beta)
- A beta MCP server lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client ask what is deployed and investigate failing jobs.
Plans
Cleavr
Lite$5.5
per month, billed yearly ($66 a year)
One server, unlimited apps, cron jobs and process monitors.
Pro$15
per month, billed yearly ($180 a year)
Everything in Lite plus unlimited servers, server monitoring and log reports, database and filesystem backups, and quick scripts.
Business$30
per month, billed yearly ($360 a year)
Everything in Pro plus team members and team management, resource management and Cleavr API access.
Hatchbox
Standard$15
per server / month
Unlimited apps and team members, zero-downtime deployments, hosted Hatchbox domains, custom domains with SSL and human support.
Ways to pay less
Cleavr
- Annual discount
Yearly billing savings
The pricing page states yearly billing saves $30 a year on Lite, $36 on Pro and $72 on Business.
- Education
50% off yearly plans for students
Students, non-profits and individuals from low-income regions can ask for 50% off yearly plans by emailing proof of status.
- Startups
Free for open-source projects
Open-source projects can ask to be sponsored with Cleavr at no cost in return for a README credit and link.
Hatchbox
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cleavr or Hatchbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cleavr is cheaper to start with: $5.50 a month, against $15 a month for Hatchbox. Cleavr starts at $5.5 per month, billed yearly ($66 a year), and Hatchbox starts at $15 per server / month.
Which has a free plan, Cleavr or Hatchbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Cleavr nor Hatchbox has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.