CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. Think of it as the "brain" of your server — it's the part that does all the thinking and calculating needed to run your website or application.
Every time someone visits your site, opens a page, or submits a form, your server's CPU does the work behind the scenes to make that happen.
What is CPU usage, and why should you monitor it?
CPU usage simply means how much of that "brainpower" your server is currently using. It's shown as a percentage:
Low CPU usage (0–50%) means your server has plenty of spare capacity and is running comfortably.
High CPU usage (80–100%) means your server is working very hard and may start to slow down, or your website may become slow or unresponsive for visitors.
Regularly checking your CPU usage helps you:
Catch performance problems before they affect your visitors or customers.
Decide when it's time to upgrade your server to a more powerful plan.
Understand which application on your server is using the most resources.
This is one part of a bigger picture — Cloudways also lets you track RAM (memory), disk space (storage), and bandwidth (data transfer) usage from the same screen. We recommend checking all four regularly, but this article focuses on CPU usage specifically.
Step-by-step: How to check your server's CPU usage on Cloudways
Log in to your Cloudways Platform account and follow the steps below.
Step #1 - Open your server:
From the left-hand sidebar, click on Flexible.
From the menu that appears, click My Servers.
You'll now see a list of all your servers. Click on the name of the server you want to check.
Step #2 - Go to the Monitoring section:
Once you're inside your server's dashboard, look at the menu on the left side of the screen and click on Monitoring.
This will open the Monitoring page, which has three tabs at the top: Summary, Details, and New Relic.
Each one gives you a different way to view your server's CPU usage — we'll walk through all three below.
Option 1: Quick overview with the Summary tab
The Summary tab is the fastest way to get a snapshot of your server's overall health. It opens automatically when you click Monitoring, and it displays a section called Server Health, which includes:
RAM Usage — how much memory is currently being used.
CPU Usage — the current percentage of processing power being used.
Disk Usage — how much storage space has been used.
Bandwidth Usage — how much data has been transferred this month.
These numbers refresh automatically, but you can also click the Refresh button in the top-right corner to update them manually at any time.
Seeing which application is using the most CPU
If you have more than one application running on the same server, you can see how much CPU each individual application is using:
Scroll down to the Application Wise Details section.
Click on it to expand the table.
You'll see a breakdown for each application, showing its CPU %, Memory, Disk Usage, and Bandwidth.
This is especially useful if your server's overall CPU usage is high and you want to identify exactly which website or app is responsible.
Note:
If you see a message saying "no data available," it simply means Cloudways hasn't recorded any usage data yet for the time period you selected. Try selecting a longer time range, such as the last 7 days.
Option 2: Detailed graphs with the Details tab
If you want a more in-depth, visual look at your CPU usage over time, click on the Details tab.
Here's how to use it:
From the first dropdown menu, select CPU Consumption.
From the second dropdown, choose the time period you want to view (for example, 1 Hour, 24 Hours, or 7 Days).
Click Refresh to load the latest graph.
How to read the graph:
The bottom axis (X-axis) shows time.
The side axis (Y-axis) shows the CPU Consumption percentage.
A higher point on the graph means your server was busier at that moment. A lower point means your server had spare capacity.
You can hover your mouse over any point on the graph to see the exact percentage and timestamp.
Good to know:
This graph shows CPU Consumption (how busy the server is). This is the opposite of an older metric some users may remember called "Idle CPU," which showed free capacity instead. If you're used to reading Idle CPU numbers, just remember: with CPU Consumption, higher = busier, not the other way around.
Option 3: Advanced monitoring with New Relic
For users who want deeper, real-time application performance monitoring, Cloudways also offers integration with New Relic, a well-known third-party monitoring tool.
To set it up:
Click on the New Relic tab.
Enter your New Relic license key in the field provided. (You can get this key from your New Relic account if you already have one.)
Click Save Changes.
Once saved, click Launch New Relic to open the detailed monitoring dashboard.
Note: New Relic license keys created in the EU (European Union) region are not currently supported.
What counts as "normal" CPU usage?
There's no single number that fits every website, since usage depends on your traffic, applications, and server size. As a general guideline:
CPU Consumption | What it usually means |
Below 50% | Healthy — your server has room to handle more traffic |
50%–80% | Busy but manageable — worth keeping an eye on |
Above 80–90% (consistently) | Your server may be under strain — consider upgrading |
If your CPU usage is consistently high, you can upgrade your server's resources at any time without downtime. Learn how in our guide on how to increase server resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Cloudways update CPU usage data?
Server Health statistics on the Summary tab update automatically every few minutes. You can also click Refresh at any time to get the latest reading.
Why does my Details tab show "no data available"?
This means no usage data was recorded for the specific time range you chose. Select a longer time frame, such as 24 hours or 7 days, to see historical data.
What should I do if my CPU usage is too high?
First, check the Application Wise Details table to see which application is using the most CPU. If one application is consistently high, you may want to optimize it (for example, by enabling caching) or upgrade your server to a plan with more CPU cores.
Is high CPU usage always a problem?
Not necessarily. Brief spikes during busy traffic periods are normal. The concern is when CPU usage stays high for long, sustained periods, which can slow down your website for visitors.
What's the difference between CPU usage and RAM usage?
CPU usage measures your server's processing power (how much "thinking" it's doing), while RAM usage measures its memory (how much information it can hold and access quickly at once). Both affect performance, so it's best to monitor them together.
Related articles
How to Increase Server Resources (Guide to Scale Servers on the Cloudways Platform)
Monitoring Server and Application Resources (How to Monitor Server and Application Resources)
That's it! We hope this article was helpful.