WP Engine is a popular hosting service for WordPress. Unfortunately, popular doesn’t always mean the best. If you think it doesn’t meet your requirements, I have compiled a list of the best WP Engine alternatives to run your WordPress websites.
Web hosting itself is a super crowded market in the WordPress world. There are many players with their respective segment. WP Engine itself can be categorized into middle-up hosting service. It uses cloud infrastructure for its service. When adding a new website, you can choose whether you want to use Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft Azure to power your server.
Unlike hosting services like SiteGround and Bluehost, WP Engine is designed specifically for WordPress. You can’t install other CMSes than WordPress on the service. Probably, this is reason why WP Engine is capable of providing a better service than traditional shared hosting services.
Features to Consider when Picking a WP Engine Alternative
WP Engine holds a status as one of the most popular WordPress hosting services as it has better performance compared to traditional shared hosting services like SiteGround and Bluehost. Although the pricing is a bit higher, but it can guarantee a faster site performance.
One of the main features that WP Engine offers — which contributes in speeding up site performance — is built-in CDN. Every website hosted on WP Engine has this feature enabled by default and you don’t need to make extra configuration. WP Engine itself uses Cloudflare for its CDN feature — in which its data centers spread in 275 different locations around the globe. This is great if your website has global audience.
In addition to CDN, WP Engine also comes with professional features like staging environment, scheduled backups, PHP manager, and team collaboration.
Hence, here are some key features you need to consider when you want to look for a WP Engine alternative.
- CDN
- Caching
- Scheduled backups
- PHP manager
- Team collaboration
- SSL
Also conduct further research to learn technical aspects like web server, database software, PHP configuration, and so on.
Top WP Engine Alternatives
On the list:
1. Kinsta
If you want to build a fast-loading website, Kinsta is a hosting you can consider. It has a great reputation on this matter thanks to its built-in CDN — which is powered by Cloudflare, a CDN service that has over 100 data centers around the globe. In addition, Kinsta also comes with a built-in cache and Early Hints — two features aimed at speeding up load speed of websites. Kinsta itself is a cloud hosting service that uses Google Cloud for its main hosting infrastructure.
The specifications of Kinsta are more than enough to run most WordPress themes and plugins. First, it has a default maximum file size of 128MB. Second, Kinsta has the default PHP memory limit of 256MB — which higher than the one demanded by most plugins.
If you are an agency, Kinsta is also one of the best WordPress hosting for agencies I can recommend. It offers several plans dedicated to agencies. Also, it offers directory listing feature you can make use of to gain more exposure.
Key Features of Kinsta:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Super clean and intuitive control panel
- Team collaboration
- Image optimizer
- Free migration
- Comprehensive analytics
Pros and Cons of Kinsta
Pros:
- Excellent performance
- Second to none documentation
- Intuituive control panel
- No fixed term contracts
Cons:
- A bit pricier
- No file manager feature
Kinsta Pricing:
- From 35/month
2. Rocket.net
Rocket.net is another great option if you want to have a website that has a great performance (fast to load). Same as Kinsta above, Rocket.net also comes with a built-in CDN and caching features powered by Cloudflare. Its intuitive custom-built control panel allows you to control the features. Rocket.net has a great PHP configuration. Especially PHP memory limit whereby it has the default PHP memory limit of 1GB.
Unlike other services which usually has limited PHP workers, Rocket.net comes with unlimited PHP workers.
You can use Rocket.net to create any type of website with WordPress. From e-commerce website, blog, membership website, to a more static website like a portfolio website. If you plan to build an e-commerce website with WooCommerce, Rocket.net has dedicated hosting plans for WooCommerce.
Key Features of Rocket.net
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- WAF
- Free migration
- Built-in file manager
- Team collaboration
Pros and Cons of Rocket.net
Pros:
- Excellent performance
- Excellent technical support
- $1 price for the first month
- Built-in file manager
Cons:
- No email hosting
- Lack of documentation
Rocket.net Pricing:
- From $30/month
3. Cloudways
Cloudways is specifically a great WP Engine alternative if you often create WordPress websites with Divi. The hosting service is one of the Elegant Themes’ partner in the Divi Hosting program. What is that?
Divi Hosting is a partnership program between Elegant Themes — the Divi developer — and several prominent WordPress hosting services. The program offers managed WordPress hosting services bundled with Divi. When you subscribe to a certain Divi Hosting plan, you will get a WordPress hosting pre-installed with Divi. Thus, you don’t need to install Divi yourself.
Cloudways itself is a cloud hosting service owned by DigitalOcean. Unfortunately, Cloudways doesn’t offer CDN as the built-in feature like the Kinsta and Rocket.net above. CDN feature is available, though. However, it’s available as an add-on instead of a built-in feature.
Key Features of Cloudways:
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Server-level firewall
- Isolated resources
- Team collaboration
Pros and Cons of Cloudways
Pros:
- Unlimited websites
- No plugin restrictions
- Dedicated cloud servers
- Offers trial without credit card
Cons:
- No file manager feature
- No email hosting
- Registration process is a bit complex
Cloudways Pricing:
- From 14/month for server on DigitalOcean
FYI. You can use the following promotion code to get 10% discount for three months on Cloudways (first three invoices). Code: WPBDEAL
4. Pressable
Looking to create a WooCommerce website with WordPress? Pressable might be the best option. WooCommerce and Pressable are both the products of Automattic. So, the people behind Pressable might have better knowledge over WooCommerce to deliver a WooCommerce-optimized hosting.
Regardless of the type of website you plan to build, Pressable is another option I recommend if you plan to create a high-speed WordPress website. It also has great specifications to run most plugins and themes.
Before you subscribe to a hosting plan offered by Pressable, you can try the experience of managing your websites on Pressable as it allows you to try its control panel for free. You can play around with the panel to figure out the offered features.
Key Features of Pressable:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team collaboration
- Free migration
- WAF
- Hack recovery assistance
Pros and Cons of Pressable
Pros:
- Excellent performance
- Built exclusively for WordPress
- Great PHP configuration
Cons:
- No native email hosting (requires external service)
- No file manager
Pressable Pricing:
- From $25/month
5. Pressidium
Pressidium is a WordPress hosting service that has four main data centers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. In addition, it also has 73 strategic edge locations. Unlike other hosting services mentioned earlier above, Pressidium build its own hosting infrastructure from the ground.
Currently, its CDN service is powered by StackPath, but it is building its own CDN infrastructure. The hosting service comes with an intuitive custom-built control panel which you can use to control the features.
Key Features of Pressable:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging Environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team Collaboration
- Free migration
- WAF
Pros and Cons of Pressable
Pros:
- Designed exclusively for WordPress
- Offers free trial
Cons:
Pressidium Pricing:
- From 21/month
The Verdic – Which WP Engine Alternative is the Best?
Picking a hosting service to run your WordPress website is a tricky job. Many people end up being a hosting hopper because they don’t make decent research upfront. WP Engine is a great hosting service. At least when compored to SiteGround and Bluehost, WP Engine has a better performance.
But if you compare it with other hosting services in the same segment as mentioned on the list, the claim is still debatable.
So, which WP Engine alternative you should use?
If CDN is the feature you prioritize, Kinsta could be the option to go. While Kinsta uses the same CDN service as WP Engine, it offers more space and has better analytics feature to monitor the CDN usage. If you prefer managed VPN, there is no better alternative on the list than Cloudways.
Pressable, meanwhile, is worth trying if you are not into Cloudflare.