By Editorial Staff | Reviewed by Syed Balkhi | October 3, 2024 | Reader Disclosure

Many users of WordPress have expressed a desire to find alternatives to WP Engine following a recent dispute with WordPress.org, which left many WP Engine customers unable to update their plugins and themes.

Additionally, some users are considering a change in hosting for other reasons, such as increasing costs or issues with support.

For over 15 years, we have been reviewing and testing the major WordPress hosting providers and have assisted more than 250,000 users in launching their websites.

Here are our recommendations for the top WP Engine alternatives that offer both affordability and reliability.

If you’re short on time, feel free to take a look at our quick comparison table showcasing the best WP Engine alternatives:

Since early 2020, we have been using SiteGround on WPBeginner, giving us a good understanding of its setup, advantages, and disadvantages.

For the other hosting services featured here, we created accounts to explore all their functionalities. We set up a sample WordPress site on each platform using a default WordPress theme and some content, making it comparable to an actual website.

We then employed various third-party tools such as Pingdom, K6, and Bitcatcha to assess the real-time performance of the website.

In selecting the WordPress hosting providers we would recommend, our criteria included:

Since 2009, WPBeginner has been assisting individuals in launching their own WordPress sites. Throughout this time, we have utilized nearly all leading WordPress hosting services. Our evaluation of each provider involves signing up and conducting comprehensive tests.

The recommendations we provide stem from rigorous testing, personal insights, and ongoing feedback from users. For further information, please review our editorial process.

Rocket.net stands out as a premier managed WordPress hosting service, recognized for its remarkable speed, robust security, and user-friendly approach. This platform is particularly advantageous for businesses and websites with high traffic that need dependable hosting while avoiding the complexities of technical management.

In our evaluation, Rocket.net showcased an impressive speed. This heightened performance is attributed to its advanced technology stack, which provides a significant advantage over its rivals.

The plans offered by Rocket.net come equipped with enterprise-level security features and a CDN. The infrastructure is fine-tuned for both speed and scalability, ensuring that your website runs efficiently, even with heavy user load.

Advantages of Using Rocket.net:

Drawbacks of Using Rocket.net:

Ideal For:

Our Experience: We have discovered that Rocket.net delivers outstanding performance and dependability, making it a suitable option for companies in need of top-tier hosting. Its user-friendly interface and integrated security features make it a prominent choice for websites with high traffic. (For more information, take a look at our thorough Rocket.net review.)

SiteGround is recognized as one of the leading WordPress hosting services, celebrated for its exceptional customer support, rapid loading speeds, and robust security measures. Whether you’re just starting out or run an established business, SiteGround provides dependable hosting with flexible options.

Several of our websites are hosted on SiteGround, including WPBeginner, which utilizes SiteGround’s enterprise cloud platform. Our experience with this hosting service has been positive, as detailed in our article on why WPBeginner transitioned to SiteGround.

Built on Google Cloud, SiteGround’s hosting infrastructure delivers rapid loading times and outstanding uptime. It also offers complimentary SSL certificates, automated updates, daily backups, and integrated caching to enhance performance.

Advantages of Using SiteGround:

Disadvantages of Using SiteGround:

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Our Insight: We utilize SiteGround to host the WPBeginner site, recognized as one of the largest resources for WordPress with substantial traffic. SiteGround has consistently provided excellent speed and dependability. (For further information, take a look at our comprehensive SiteGround review.)

WordPress.com serves as a widely-used hosted platform for website creation. Their paid plans start at $4 per month. However, their Starter and Premium options do not permit plugin installations. If you are transitioning from WP Engine, you will need to select at least their Business plan ($25/month) or Commerce plan ($45/month).

Using WordPress.com ensures robust performance with global edge caching and high-burst capacity. Additionally, there are no visitor limits, making it an excellent option for websites with high traffic.

To ensure security, WordPress.com features a built-in firewall along with a CDN. This helps safeguard your site from malware, DDoS threats, and various other security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the platform provides automatic site backups and a straightforward 1-click restoration option for added reassurance.

Advantages of Using WordPress.com:

Disadvantages of Using WordPress.com:

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Our Experience: WordPress.com is a solid option for small businesses and agencies. However, if you seek more flexibility and control, we suggest opting for WordPress.org for a self-hosted site. (Check out our guide on the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.)

Hostinger stands out as one of the most cost-effective WordPress hosting providers, offering a remarkable balance of price and performance. It is perfect for small enterprises and personal sites that are in search of budget-friendly managed WordPress hosting without sacrificing quality.

Numerous team members host their websites on Hostinger, which has consistently shown excellent performance in our regular hosting assessments. We have been particularly impressed with its customer support, being one of the best in the field, with quick response times and efficient solutions.

Hostinger ensures quick load times, offers free SSL, and incorporates built-in caching. For added performance, it utilizes LiteSpeed web servers and custom caching enhancements specifically designed for WordPress websites. Additionally, Hostinger features an intuitive and user-friendly control panel, catering to beginners.

Advantages of Choosing Hostinger:

Disadvantages of Choosing Hostinger:

Ideal For:

Our Insights: Hostinger delivers remarkable value at its price point, offering quick speeds and beneficial features tailored for newcomers and small enterprises. The customer service is attentive and accessible around the clock. (Check out our complete review of Hostinger for further information.)

Liquid Web is a top-tier managed hosting provider catering to businesses, developers, and agencies seeking exceptional performance and scalability. With a focus on VPS, cloud, and dedicated hosting, it serves as an excellent option for websites that require significant resources.

During our evaluation of Liquid Web hosting, we noted the impressive speed of its servers and its remarkable uptime.

Liquid Web offers a range of advanced hosting services, including fully managed hosting, automated updates, integrated security features, and round-the-clock customer support. This platform is well-equipped for handling complex websites with high traffic, making it a preferred choice for organizations that prioritize reliability and uptime.

Advantages of Choosing Liquid Web:

Drawbacks of Liquid Web:

Ideal For:

Our Insights: We discovered that Liquid Web serves as a trustworthy option for those seeking high-quality VPS and cloud hosting. The support team is highly knowledgeable, and the platform offers a variety of robust hosting solutions. (For more information, check out the complete Liquid Web review.)

Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress hosting provider utilizing Google Cloud’s top-tier network. It is recognized for its rapid speeds, superior security, and outstanding support, positioning it as one of the finest options for high-performance WordPress hosting.

Kinsta provides comprehensive managed hosting services that include automatic backups, complimentary CDN, and staging environments. Leveraging advanced cloud infrastructure, Kinsta guarantees exceptional speed and dependability for websites that experience significant traffic.

Advantages of Choosing Kinsta:

Disadvantages of Choosing Kinsta:

Ideal For:

Our Experience: The cloud-based infrastructure provided by Kinsta ensures remarkable performance, making it an excellent choice for websites with high traffic that demand optimal uptime and speed. Their intuitive dashboard and supportive customer service facilitate seamless management of your WordPress site.

From our perspective, determining the best alternative to WP Engine hinges on your individual hosting requirements.

For those managing a high-traffic site where performance is paramount, we recommend Rocket.net. Its cloud infrastructure guarantees outstanding performance, making it particularly suitable for large websites.

Conversely, if your intention is to switch from WP Engine to save on expenses or to enhance customer support, SiteGround or Hostinger might be your best choices. Both of these providers deliver dependable hosting solutions at a more affordable rate, complete with excellent performance and advantages such as complimentary migrations and outstanding customer service.

Migrating a website is a significant undertaking, and it is crucial to ensure that all your data is securely transferred without any interruptions.

Fortunately, all the alternatives mentioned earlier provide free website migrations. Simply reach out to their support teams, and they will assist you through the entire process, step-by-step.

For those who prefer a do-it-yourself approach, Duplicator is the top WordPress migration plugin ideal for duplicating and migrating your WordPress websites. For detailed guidance, you can refer to our tutorial on moving WordPress to a new host without downtime.

In need of expert assistance? Feel free to reach out to our Premium WordPress Support service. For a nominal one-time fee, our skilled team of WordPress technicians will handle the transfer of your website from WP Engine to your new hosting provider.

We trust that this article has assisted you in discovering the ideal alternative to WP Engine for your hosting requirements. You might also find our guide on when it’s time to switch your WordPress hosting valuable, or you can explore our selection of the fastest WordPress hosting providers.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.

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