Introduction

Are you struggling to choose between Flywheel and Nexcess for your managed WordPress hosting needs? Both providers offer impressive features, but which one is right for you?

Comparison Table

Detailed Comparison

Ease of Use

• Flywheel: Known for its intuitive user interface, Flywheel makes it easy for designers, developers, and agencies to manage multiple client websites. It offers tools like billing transfer, demo sites, and blueprints to streamline the process.

  

• Nexcess: Nexcess also offers a user-friendly interface, particularly with its visual comparison tool for testing software updates and its Stencils feature for quickly deploying custom WordPress websites. It is well-suited for users who need robust features for WooCommerce and membership sites.

  

Stability

• Flywheel: Flywheel boasts an impressive uptime of 99.9%, backed by an SLA agreement. It achieved 100% uptime over a monitored 2-week period and has an average response time of 371ms, significantly faster than the market average.

• Nexcess: Nexcess offers a commendable uptime of 99.88% with transparent monitoring through dedicated server status pages. It also provides daily backups stored for 30 days, ensuring robust reliability.

Speed

• Flywheel: Flywheel is built for speed with its unique Flywheel Cloud Platform and managed caching at the server level. It uses Fastly for its CDN and offers performance insights to optimize site speed further.

• Nexcess: Nexcess ensures fast load times through optimized caching and PHP workers, with extra resources deployed during traffic surges. It uses Cloudflare for its CDN and offers features like Elasticsearch for enhanced performance.

Security

• Flywheel: Flywheel provides robust security features including free SSL, malware protection, DDoS protection, and 2FA. It also offers HIPAA and GDPR compliance, making it a reliable choice for business-critical sites.

• Nexcess: Nexcess includes free iThemes Security Pro, malware protection, and other security measures. It also offers auto-scaling options and selective restoration, enhancing the overall security of your site.

Pricing and Cost

• Flywheel: Flywheel’s plans start at $13 per month for one site, with 5 GB storage and up to 5,000 monthly visitors. It offers various plans tailored to different needs, including agency-focused plans.

• Nexcess: Nexcess’s managed WordPress hosting plans start at $19 per month (or $12.67 per month with annual billing). It offers comprehensive Cloud and Managed WordPress plans with advanced features, making it a good value for the price.

Customer Support Service

• Flywheel: Flywheel provides 24/7 live chat and ticket support, with telephone support available on more expensive plans. It is known for its excellent support, particularly for agencies and high-traffic websites.

• Nexcess: Nexcess offers 24/7 live chat, email, and telephone support. While it has a strong support system, some users have noted room for improvement in certain areas.

Client Reviews

• Flywheel: Clients praise Flywheel for its ease of use, exceptional uptime, and fast response times. It is highly recommended for designers, developers, and agencies managing multiple client websites.

• Nexcess: Nexcess is praised for its fast performance, affordable pricing, and dedicated plans for WooCommerce. Users appreciate its unlimited email accounts and robust security features.

Pros and Cons

Flywheel

Pros:

• Fast page load times
• Excellent support
• Useful features for agencies
• Well-designed dashboard
• Robust security and compliance measures
• High uptime and reliability

Cons:

• No email hosting
• Limited storage and visitor limits on lower plans
• Recent pricing changes might be a concern

Nexcess

Pros:

• Very fast performance
• More affordable than other managed WordPress hosts
• Dedicated plans for WooCommerce
• Unlimited free email accounts
• Robust security features

Cons:

• Support could be improved in some areas
• No significant cons noted by users

FAQs

1. Which hosting provider is better for agencies and high-traffic websites?

Flywheel is generally better for agencies and high-traffic websites due to its dedicated account managers, workflow tools, and advanced caching solutions. It offers plans that can handle up to 400,000 visits and provides exceptional uptime and response times.

2. Does Nexcess offer email hosting?

Yes, Nexcess provides unlimited free email accounts, making it a good option for those seeking an all-in-one hosting solution.

3. How do the speeds of Flywheel and Nexcess compare?

Both Flywheel and Nexcess offer fast load times, with Flywheel averaging 277ms and Nexcess averaging 273ms. Both use CDNs (Fastly for Flywheel and Cloudflare for Nexcess) to enhance performance.

4. What security features do Flywheel and Nexcess offer?

Flywheel offers free SSL, malware protection, DDoS protection, and 2FA, along with HIPAA and GDPR compliance. Nexcess includes free iThemes Security Pro, malware protection, and other security measures.

5. Which provider has better customer support?

Flywheel is often praised for its excellent support, particularly for agencies and high-traffic websites. However, Nexcess also offers comprehensive 24/7 support, though some users have noted room for improvement in certain areas.