When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting? Best Managed WordPress Hosting Compared (2023)

Are you a WordPress beginner who is wondering what is managed WordPress hosting?

During your research, you probably came across numerous managed WordPress hosting companies and found that prices of managed WordPress hosting is quite higher than the average shared hosting which you can get for as low as $2.75 per month.

If you’re like most people, then you probably thought: Why is there such a big price difference? Is managed WordPress hosting really that much better? Do I need managed WordPress plan for my site? Is managed WordPress hosting worth the cost? If so, then which is the best managed WordPress hosting company?

If you have any of those questions, then you are in the right place.

In this article, we will highlight the pros and cons of managed WordPress hosting. We will also compare the top managed WordPress hosting companies by doing performance tests. You can use our research, knowledge, and experience to decide which managed WordPress hosting company is right for you.

After carefully reviewing and comparing dozens of provider, we have also hand-picked the best managed WordPress hosting companies of 2023.

Best Managed WordPress Hosting Comparison (2023)

After reviewing our top picks for managed WordPress hosting companies, you might still be wondering which is the best managed WordPress hosting company for your website?

We have created a few additional resources to help you choose the best managed WordPress hosting for your business:

1. Managed WordPress Hosting Quiz
2. Detailed Managed WordPress Hosting Performance Comparison
3. Side-by-Side Managed WordPress Hosting Feature Comparison

Choosing the wrong hosting can cost you more money and headache. The goal of these resources is to help you pick the best managed WordPress hosting company from the start.

Managed WordPress Hosting Quiz

With all this information, it’s quite easy to get overwhelmed. After reading this guide, often users email us asking for personalized recommendations for managed WordPress hosting suitable for their growing websites.

To make this process easier, we have created a managed WordPress hosting recommendation engine. This simple quiz will help you decide which managed WordPress hosting suits your particular needs.

All you have to do is accurately answer the questions in the widget below:

If you still want to get personalized help in choosing a managed WordPress hosting company, then feel free to drop us a message using our contact form. One of our team members will get back to you within 24 hours.

Detailed Managed WordPress Hosting Performance Comparison

The reason WPBeginner users trust us is because our reviews are result of real-time tests, accurate data, and actual usage.

Instead of relying on information available on hosting company’s website, we actually sign up for managed WordPress hosting providers to properly test their services.

We use professional benchmarking tools and run thorough tests to measure performance and reliability of each provider.

To make sure our tests are accurate across all managed WordPress hosting companies, we sign up with each hosting company and create a sample website. Next, we install a default theme and fill the site with dummy data including images and media. This way our test site resembles like an average WordPress website.

Here is the breakdown of our step by step testing process.

First, we measure the website speed across multiple managed WordPress hosting companies. We use Pingdom for this test, which is an industry leading website speed testing service.

Next, we test how a managed WordPress hosting company would perform during peak traffic. For this we use Load Impact service to send virtual users (VU) to each website and see how the hosting server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.

Last but not least, we use Bitcatcha service to test server response times across numerous geographical locations including United States, London, Singapore, Sao Paulo, India, Sydney, and Japan. This helps us decide which managed WordPress hosting is best for which geographical location.

Now that you know our exact testing process, let’s compare the performance of the top managed WordPress hosting companies.

1. SiteGround

SiteGround is one of the top-rated hosting companies in the WordPress community. They offer unique in-house performance optimization and security which is why they’re one of the officially recommended WordPress hosting providers.

Here are our results for SiteGround performance test:

As you can see in the screenshot, our test site on SiteGround server loaded in less than a second (491 ms to be precise) for a server in Dallas, Texas. That’s faster than 95% of all tested websites, which is amazing.

But how would our SiteGround test site perform under peak traffic?

To test this, we ran the Load Impact test on SiteGround servers. During this test, we gradually increased to 100 unique visitors to see how the server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.

In this screenshot, the green line is the number of active virtual users on the site, and the blue line is the server response time. SiteGround performed consistently throughout the test without any hiccups.

Next, we ran a more detailed and accurate response time test. For this, we used Bitcatcha to test accurate server response time from different geographical locations.

Our SiteGround test site server performed really well in the United States and it responded in less than a second for all other locations.

SiteGround allows you to change your server location, and you can choose a datacenter closer to your target audience for even better response times in that particular region.

In our detailed SiteGround review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing.

After our analysis, we find SiteGround to be an excellent choice for managed WordPress hosting. Their servers are incredibly fast and support is available 24/7 by knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Note: WPBeginner site is also powered by SiteGround’s Enterprise Managed hosting platform.

• PROS: Awesome WordPress support, great uptime, free SSL, and blazing fast speed since your sites will be hosted on Google cloud platform.
• PROS: Ultrafast PHP and other built-in performance improvements are available in GrowBig and GoGeek plans which are great for eCommerce sites.
• PROS: They are one of the officially recommended WordPress.org hosting providers.
• PROS: Free site migration tool + a 30 day money-back guarantee.
• PROS: Free CDN in partnership with Cloudflare, SSH + WP CLI integration, and free email accounts on all plans including Startup plan.
• CONS: Advanced features like Staging + Git, Ultrafast PHP, Whitel-label client panel, and others are only available on higher plans.

Get Started with SiteGround

2. WP Engine

WP Engine is one of the most popular managed WordPress hosting providers. Their hosting plans include powerful in-house performance optimization, managed updates, 1-click staging environment, content delivery network (CDN), and more.

Here are the results from our WP Engine performance tests:

First we tested our sample WP Engine website for speed.

As you can in the screenshot, our test site loaded in less than a second. That’s faster than 96% of all tested sites. Considering that we didn’t need to install any performance optimization this result is quite impressive.

But how does WP Engine performs under peak traffic?

To test performance under traffic, we ran the Load Impact test on WP Engine server. During this test, we gradually built up to 100 unique visitors to see how the server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.

The blue line represents response time and the green line represents the number of users on the site. As you can see, our test site performed really well with minor spikes. It maintained an incredible response rate throughout the test.

Next, we tested the WP Engine server for more accurate response time.

For this test we used Bitcatcha to test server response time more accurately from multiple geographical locations.

As you can see in the results, WP Engine server response time remained under less than half a second on all geographic locations. It was particularly great in the United States.

In our detailed WP Engine review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing. After our analysis, we find WP Engine to be the best managed WordPress hosting provider for any kind of website.

• PROS: Highly optimized for WordPress performance with fully stable managed hosting.
• PROS: Automatic backups, WordPress pre-installed, and premium StudioPress WordPress themes included for free.
• PROS: 1-click staging environment, free SSL, and integrated support to add CDN service as an addon.
• PROS: Powerful yet easy to use custom hosting control panel with excellent customer support team (includes both phone support and email support).
• CONS: Prices are slightly higher for advanced plans, but totally worth the $$$.

Get Started with WP Engine

3. Hostinger

Hostinger is one of the most affordable hosting companies and is quickly growing in popularity.

Let’s take a look at our Hostinger performance test results.

Our test site loading speed was a fraction of a second, which is great. However, this test alone does not show the full picture because our test site has no traffic at all.

Hostinger Stress Test Results

Next, we wanted to see how well Hostinger handles website traffic during peak hours. To measure this, we used a tool called K6 (formerly called Load Impact).

We gradually built up to 100 unique visitors at once to see how the server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at the same time.

Here are the results:

The blue line represents page load time and the green line represents the number of users on the site.

As you can see Hostinger performed really well on this test. As we increased virtual users, the response time remained steady.

What this means is that if you have a small business website, an online store, or a growing blog, your website can easily handle sudden traffic spikes.

Hostinger Response Time Test

Next, we wanted to test how our Hostinger test site responds to requests from different geographic locations. To measure this we used a tool called Bitcatcha.

Here are the results

As you can see that the response times were great across the board particularly in Europe and North America.

We also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing in our detailed Hostinger review. After this thorough analysis, we believe that Hostinger is a great managed WordPress hosting provider for any kind of website.

• PROS: Very affordable lower priced plans
• PROS: Excellent performance and speed especially considering the price point
• PROS: Highly rated customer support
• CONS: No daily backups included, so you’d have to create your own

Get Started with Hostinger

4. Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the most popular hosting companies in the world and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.

Let’s take a look at our Bluehost performance test results. Note: this isn’t the typical Bluehost shared hosting. This is an optimized WordPress hosting product that’s powered on their VPS infrastructure.

We first tested our test site on Bluehost servers for speed.

As shown in the screenshot, our test site loaded in less than two seconds. That’s faster than 85% of all tested websites. Keeping in mind that the test site wasn’t using any performance optimization plugins, this result is very good.

After that, we ran the Load Impact test on our Bluehost test site. This test allows us to see how our test site would perform during peak traffic.

We gradually increased up to 100 unique visitors at once to see how the server handles increased requests from multiple connections at the same time.

Here is the result screenshot:

The green line is the number of active virtual users on the site, and the blue line is the server load time. As you can see the server load remained stable throughout the test even at peak traffic.

Next, we used Bitcatcha for more accurate server response time test from different geographic regions.

Response times for our Bluehost test site were exceptionally great in the United States loading under a fraction of a second. Response time in other locations was a bit higher but still under less than a second.

If your target customers are in the United States, then this would be highly beneficial for website.

We also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing in our detailed Bluehost review. After this thorough analysis, we believe that Bluehost is a great managed WordPress hosting provider for any kind of website.

• PROS: 50% discount on managed WordPress hosting + free domain + free SSL
• PROS: Officially recommended by WordPress
• PROS: Highly optimized WordPress installation experience with built-in tools for SEO, bloggers, and eCommerce sites.
• PROS: Free migration tool included, and they still have cPanel support
• CONS: WordPress users report that sometimes support can be slow

Get Started with Bluehost

5. DreamHost

DreamHost is a reliable name in hosting industry. They offer shared, VPS, dedicated, and managed WordPress hosting plan called DreamPress.

Here are the results from our DreamHost performance tests:

First, we ran the speed test on our test site on DreamHost server.

As you can see our test site loaded in just under a second for a server in New York City. That’s faster than 93% of all tested sites.

That’s great but how does DreamHost server performs under traffic?

To test this, we ran the Load Impact test. We gradually increased traffic to up to 100 users to see how server responds to multiple connections.

The blue line is the number of active virtual users on the site, and the green line is the server load time. As you can see in the results, our test site remained stable through out the test.

Next, we ran the response time test to accurately measure server response time from different geographic locations.

As you can see in the results, our test site responded with in less than half a second for all geographic locations. Response time was particularly great in the United States.

In our detailed DreamHost review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing.

After our thorough analysis, we find DreamHost to be a good option for managed WordPress hosting services.

• PROS: Super-fast managed WordPress hosting service
• PROS: Each plan includes custom control panel, free SSL, SSD storage.
• PROS: Easy to scale suitable for all budgets.
• CONS: Staging site only available with Advanced plan.

Get Started with DreamHost

6. Rocket.net

Rocket.net is a specialized managed WordPress hosting company offering a fast and reliable platform to build your website with WordPress.

Here are the results from our Rocket.net performance tests:

As you can see our website loaded in less than half a second (588 ms to be precise).

Rocket.net Stress Test Results

The speed test on a new site is often faster because the site has no traffic at all. We wanted to see how would Rocket.net hold up under traffic spikes.

For this test, we used a tool called K6 (formerly LoadImpact). We gradually sent 100 virtual users in 5 minutes sending multiple page requests.

Here is a screenshot of our test result:

The green line represents number of virtual users and the blue line represents the response time. As you can see that our test site responded pretty much the same regardless of the number of users and the page request rates.

This is incredible, considering that we didn’t apply any speed optimization techniques on the site.

Rocket.net Response Rate Tests

Rocket.net uses CDN and a cloud edge network, which means it sends users to the nearest server for a faster response time.

The response time or the time-to-first-byte makes a huge difference in how fast your website loads and feels to the users.

We used a tool called Bitcatcha to see the response times for Rocket.net. Here is a screenshot of our test result.

These are amazing results. Our test site responded in merely a couple of milliseconds for all locations.

In our detailed Rocket.net review, we also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing.

After our thorough analysis, we find Rocket.net to be a good option for managed WordPress hosting services.

• PROS: Their servers are highly optimized for WordPress speed and performance.
• PROS: Very easy to use control panel.
• PROS: Ultra secure managed hosting.
• CONS: Currently they don’t have much online documentation, but their support team is very fast and helpful.

Get Started with Rocket.net

Best Managed WordPress Hosting (Quick Recap)

Now that you have compared performance test results of the top managed WordPress hosting companies, you need to decide which one fits your needs.

To make this easier for you, we have created a table with a side-by-side feature list. Here you can easily compare the best managed WordPress hosting companies.

Hosting	Cost	Free Domain	Free SSL	Staging
SiteGround	$7.99/mo	No	Yes	Yes
WP Engine	$35/mo	No	Yes	Yes
Hostinger	$15.99/mo	No	Yes	Yes
Bluehost	$19.99/mo	Yes	Yes	Yes
DreamHost	$14.95/mo	No	Yes	No
Rocket.net	$25/mo	No	Yes	Yes

In our in-depth managed WordPress hosting review, we believe that if you are looking for a reliable managed WordPress host, then you really can’t go wrong with either SiteGround or WPEngine.

SiteGround’s platform is powered on Google Cloud, and they offer all the premium features at a very affordable price.

WP Engine is a household name when it comes to managed WordPress hosting, and they also bundle StudioPress premium themes which is a bonus for some.

They both come with free SSL, 1-click staging, and all the optimization that you would expect from a managed hosting platform.

If you’re a large company and looking for truly enterprise level service, then we recommend using WP Engine. Both offer outstanding service, but Liquid Web is famous for their heroic support.

In fact, you can’t go wrong with any of the best managed WordPress hosting companies that we have compared above. They all offer hassle free WordPress hosting, with blazing fast servers, great uptime, friendly support, and prices to match your budget.

Managed WordPress Hosting FAQs

Over the years, we have helped thousands of users and have heard every hosting related question imaginable. Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about managed WordPress hosting.

Do I need managed WordPress hosting to start my website?

No you don’t need managed WordPress hosting to start a website. Managed WordPress hosting offers a premium hosting environment specializing in WordPress. It includes expert WordPress support, automatic updates, and performance optimization for WordPress. This premium experience often costs extra but offers a completely hassle free WordPress hosting.

Our web hosting statistics show that managed WordPress hosting is on the rise with WP Engine being used by 2.2% of all websites.

If you are concerned about price, then you can see our guide on how to build a website on shared hosting like Bluehost which costs $2.75 per month and comes with a free domain. You can always upgrade your site to managed WordPress hosting later if you need it.

Can I install Plugins on Managed WordPress Hosting by myself?

Yes, you can. Managed WordPress hosting makes it easy to update all your plugins automatically from the dashboard. It doesn’t stop you from installing WordPress plugins. However, some managed hosting companies may block some plugins that are not compatible with their hosting environment.

Can I Install WooCommerce in managed WordPress hosting?

Yes, you can. WooCommerce allows you to add an online store to your website. You can install it on your managed WordPress hosting like you would install any other plugin. You can also see our comparison of the best WooCommerce hosting companies.

How much does it cost to build a website on managed WordPress hosting?

The total cost of your website is calculated based on hosting costs, domain name, and SSL certificate. The cost of maintaining your website will grow as your website grows. We have created a detailed guide on how much does it cost to build a website with breakdowns for different scenarios and how to control your costs.

I already purchased a domain. Can I use it with my managed WordPress hosting?

Yes, you can. Once you register a domain name, you are free to use it with any hosting company. You will just need to change domain settings and point its DNS to your managed WordPress hosting company. Each managed WordPress hosting company has step by step instructions on how to do that. See our guide on the difference between domain name and web hosting.

Do I need to buy domain and managed WordPress hosting from same company?

No you don’t. You can buy managed WordPress hosting from one company and domain name from a different company. However, it does help to get them from the same company as you will not have to change DNS settings, and you will be able to manage your domain and hosting under the same dashboard. Some companies will even offer you a free domain with purchase of hosting.

Do I need to buy any addons when purchasing managed WordPress hosting?

During the sign up process, some managed hosting companies will offer to sell you add-on services. You can safely uncheck them as they would add to the cost of your hosting bill.

Later on, if you feel you need one of these add-on services, then you can simply add them to your hosting plan from your account dashboard.

How do I migrate my WordPress site to my new managed WordPress hosting account?

Some managed WordPress hosting companies offer free site migration. They may not mention it but if you ask, they will transfer your website. Some hosting companies may offer migration service at an additional cost. You can also move your website to your new host on your own with no downtime.

Do managed WordPress hosting companies keep backups of my site?

Yes, many of them do. However, we don’t recommend relying on your hosting company’s backups. You must always create your own backups by using a WordPress backup plugin.

Can I change my managed WordPress hosting later?

Yes, you can totally change your manage WordPress hosting company if you are unhappy with them. Most hosting companies offer migration services that you can utilize with minimum downtime.

Are there other managed WordPress hosting providers that are not listed here?

Yes, there are literally dozens of managed WordPress hosting companies out there, and we simply can’t list them all here because that would create more confusion and cause choice paralysis for readers.

We have tried every major managed WordPress hosting company in the market including many that are not in our list above such as: Flywheel, Kinsta, Cloudways, Pagely, GoDaddy, InMotion Hosting, Pantheon, NameCheap, Pressable, HostGator, Amazon (AWS), and more.

The top managed WordPress hosting companies that we have chose to include in our list provides the best features for the best price.

What are the best managed WordPress hosting companies in your opinion?

Our top choices for managed WordPress hosting are:

1. SiteGround – Low cost managed WordPress hosting with friendly support and great performance for entry-level and established sites (WPBeginner is hosted with SiteGround).
2. WP Engine – Well-known brand for performance, reliability, pricing and features.
3. Hostinger – Extremely optimized managed hosting with Litespeed technology at affordable prices.

This last question is not by mistake. We still get this question a lot even when we refer users to this guide.

We hope that this guide helped you find the best managed WordPress hosting for your website. If you have a managed WordPress hosting question that we missed, then please send us a message using our contact form. One of our team members will respond back within 24 hours.