Introduction

Are you struggling to decide between Kinsta and WP Engine for your WordPress hosting needs? Both are top-tier managed WordPress hosting providers, but they have some key differences that might make one more suitable for you than the other.

Comparison Table

Detailed Comparison

Ease of Use

Both Kinsta and WP Engine are designed to be user-friendly, especially for those familiar with WordPress. Here are some key points:

• Kinsta: Kinsta’s MyKinsta dashboard is intuitive and allows you to easily manage your sites, switch PHP versions, and access performance monitoring tools. It also supports 10 languages, making it more accessible globally.

  

• WP Engine: WP Engine’s dashboard is also easy to navigate, with clear options for managing your sites, backups, and security. However, it is only available in English.

  

Stability

When it comes to stability, both hosts offer robust solutions:

• Kinsta: Kinsta guarantees 99.9% uptime and uses Google Cloud Platform’s Premium Tier network. Each site runs in its own Linux container, and the database operates as a service. Kinsta monitors uptime every 2 minutes and acts quickly to restore service if issues arise.

• WP Engine: WP Engine guarantees 99.95% uptime, slightly higher than Kinsta. They also offer reliable uptime, though their lower-tier plans might use Amazon AWS servers instead of Google Cloud.

Speed

Speed is crucial for any website, and both hosts deliver:

• Kinsta: Kinsta is powered entirely by Google Cloud Platform and uses C2 compute-optimized VMs, which are significantly faster than lower-tier machines. Kinsta also includes a free Cloudflare integration for enhanced performance.

• WP Engine: WP Engine also offers fast performance, especially on its higher-tier plans that use C2 VMs. However, lower-tier plans may use less powerful servers. WP Engine’s proprietary EverCache technology helps in optimizing performance.

Security

Security features are a top priority for both hosts:

• Kinsta: Kinsta includes a complimentary Cloudflare integration with an enterprise-level firewall and DDoS protection. It also provides automatic system backups during tasks like theme and plugin updates.

• WP Engine: WP Engine offers robust security features, but firewall protection is not included in all plans. They do provide daily automatic backups and the option to restore from up to 60 backup copies.

Pricing and Cost

Pricing can be a significant factor in your decision:

• Kinsta: Kinsta’s base plan starts at $35/month with no bandwidth cap. It has 21 pricing tiers and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Overage fees are $1/1,000 visits.

• WP Engine: WP Engine’s base plan starts at $15/month with a 50 GB bandwidth cap. It has 10 pricing tiers and offers a 60-day money-back guarantee. Overage fees are $2/1,000 visits.

Customer Support Service

Both hosts are known for their excellent support:

• Kinsta: Kinsta offers 24/7 support via a chat/ticket hybrid system but does not include phone support. Their support team is highly responsive and helpful.

• WP Engine: WP Engine provides 24/7 support, including phone support on advanced plans. They also have a database of consultants and companies that work directly with WP Engine for development or maintenance services.

Client Reviews

Client satisfaction is a good indicator of a host’s performance:

• Kinsta: On aggregate, Kinsta customers are happier with the service, praising its performance, support, and features.

• WP Engine: WP Engine customers are also satisfied, though some find the overage fees and lower-tier server performance to be drawbacks.

Pros and Cons

Kinsta

Pros:

• More global data center locations (35)
• Faster servers (C2 VMs) on all plans
• Free Cloudflare integration
• No bandwidth cap
• Better performance on lower-tier plans
• DevKinsta for local development
• Auto wildcard SSL included

Cons:

• No email hosting included
• No phone support
• Higher starting price ($35/month)
• Limited backup retention (14-30 days)

WP Engine

Pros:

• Lower starting price ($15/month)
• More generous visit limits on base plan (25,000 visits)
• Proprietary EverCache technology
• Phone support on advanced plans
• 60-day money-back guarantee
• More data backup retention included

Cons:

• Bandwidth cap on base plan (50 GB)
• Higher overage fees ($2/1,000 visits)
• Lower-tier plans use less powerful servers
• No free Cloudflare integration

FAQs

1. Which host offers better performance?

Both Kinsta and WP Engine offer excellent performance, but Kinsta has a slight edge on lower-tier plans due to its use of C2 VMs on all plans. However, WP Engine’s premium plans can outperform Kinsta in some tests.

2. What is the difference in pricing between Kinsta and WP Engine?

Kinsta’s base plan starts at $35/month, while WP Engine’s base plan starts at $15/month. WP Engine also has higher overage fees ($2/1,000 visits) compared to Kinsta ($1/1,000 visits).

3. Do Kinsta and WP Engine offer free backups?

Yes, both hosts offer daily automatic backups. However, WP Engine retains backups for up to 60 days, while Kinsta retains them for 14-30 days unless additional services are purchased.

4. Which host provides better customer support?

Both hosts offer excellent 24/7 support, but WP Engine includes phone support on advanced plans, while Kinsta only offers chat/ticket support.

5. Do Kinsta and WP Engine support multisite hosting?

Yes, both hosts support multisite hosting, but Kinsta’s multisite plans start at $70/month, while WP Engine’s start at $115/month.