BigScoots vs WP Engine (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, BigScoots and WP Engine share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan, and BigScoots starts cheaper, at $29.17 a month against $35 a month.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
BigScoots grades higher on value for money. WP Engine grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BigScoots
Managed WordPress hosting priced by monthly visitors
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting sized by sites and monthly visits
Which one is for you
Pick BigScoots if
- Fits if you run a WordPress site and want the host to handle migrations and upkeep
- Works for sites with steady traffic that fits a visitor tier
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you run one small site, at $29.17 a month for 1 site
- Tight if your traffic grows, because plans are capped by monthly visitors
- Skip it if you want to try first, as there is no free plan or trial listed
- Watch out: Essential 75 uses a CDN, and Boost starts at Essential 125
- Watch out: monthly billing is higher on every plan, with annual shown as two months free
Pick WP Engine if
- Fits if you build sites for clients and want to transfer them at launch
- Works for developers who want staging, SSH and an API on managed hosting
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you stay past year one, as the yearly deal is first-year only and renewal isn't stated
- Skip it if you want a firewall or uptime monitoring included on Essential, as they're paid add-ons
- Tight if traffic jumps, since plans are sized by visits and overages may apply
- Not for you if you need isolated resources or an SLA, which start at $400 a month on Business, through sales
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $35 a month for one site and 25,000 visits
How we grade them
| 1.6GPABigScootsWeak | 1.6GPAWP EngineWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssential 75 is $29.17 a month billed annually for 1 site and 75k visitors, above the $20.83 dearer-quarter line for web hosting. Two sites and 200k visitors is $70.83. | DGraded against the other managed WordPress hosts. Essential's first year is $336 billed yearly and the renewal isn't stated. At the $35 monthly rate the second year is $420, so about $756 over two years, $31.50 a month, the dearest of that group. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free: no free plan and no trial are listed. | FNo free plan and no trial on record. The yearly price is a first-year promotion for new customers, not a way to try it. |
| Features | CManaged WordPress with free migrations, staging, backups, SSL, monitoring and email. Boost by BigScoots starts at Essential 125, and shared, VPS and dedicated are separate products. | CManaged WordPress and PHP updates, backups kept at least 30 days, staging, EverCache, a Cloudflare CDN and SSH. The gaps the listing names: on Essential the managed firewall and AI plugin updates are paid add-ons, and sites share servers. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A managed host handles servers, but you still migrate and connect a site. | CNo app store rating to go on. Updates and backups are handled for you, but plans sized by visits and a list of add-ons take some working out. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only and WordPress only, with a Cloudflare-powered CDN and no integrations list. | BA web portal with no app on record, plus a hosting API with per-user credentials, and Cloudflare, NitroPack, Advanced Custom Fields and Amazon SES on the integration list. |
| Best for | managed WordPress hosting sized by monthly visitors | agencies building and handing over WordPress sites |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BigScoots and WP Engine. How we grade
Price against what you get
BigScoots starts at $29.17 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WP Engine starts at $35 a month and scores 2.3.
WP Engine scores higher, and starts $5.83 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 54 score higher than BigScoots for less, and 12 score higher than WP Engine for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BigScoots also covers page speed.
At a glance
| BigScoots | WP Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $29.17 per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly) | $35 per month for 1 site, billed monthly; $336 for a first year billed yearly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | BigScoots | WPEngine, Inc. |
| Price read from | bigscoots.com | wpengine.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BigScoots
- Plans are capped by monthly visitors, so traffic growth can push a site into a pricier tier.
- Essential 75 uses a CDN rather than Boost; Boost by BigScoots starts with Essential 125.
- Annual billing is shown as two months free; the monthly price is higher on every plan.
- Shared hosting, VPS and dedicated servers have their own pricing, not covered by these plans.
WP Engine
- Yearly billing is a first-year promotion for new Essential customers ($336 for one site); the page says renewal pricing is subject to change and does not state it.
- Essential runs on shared servers; isolated resources and the 99.99% uptime SLA start with Business at $400 a month, sold through sales.
- AI plugin updates, uptime monitoring, NitroPack page-speed tuning and the managed firewall are paid add-ons on Essential.
- Plans are sized by estimated monthly visits, storage and bandwidth, and overage charges may apply.
Key features
BigScoots
- Free migrations
- The vendor says its team performs zero-downtime site migrations at no charge on every managed WordPress plan.
- Boost by BigScoots
- A performance and edge delivery layer built on a custom Cloudflare Enterprise setup, included from the Essential 125 plan upward.
- Staging, backups and SSL
- One-click staging, automatic and manual backups with retention, and an SSL certificate for each site.
- Monitoring and security
- Sites are checked every 60 seconds, with a DDoS and web application firewall service and an uptime SLA.
- Email included
- Unlimited email accounts with 10 GB of storage appear in the plan comparison.
- Other hosting types
- Cloud VPS, dedicated servers, shared hosting and optimization, security and website maintenance services are sold separately.
WP Engine
- Managed WordPress updates
- WordPress and PHP are updated for you, with security patching and plugin risk scans by WP Engine's security team.
- Backups and one-click staging
- Automatic and on-demand backups are kept for at least 30 days, and staging and development copies of a site can be pushed live in one click.
- EverCache and Cloudflare CDN
- WordPress-tuned server caching and a global CDN run by Cloudflare are included on every plan, with SSL that renews by itself and SSH access.
- WP Engine API
- A hosting API, switched on from the user portal with per-user credentials, scripts account tasks such as listing accounts, adding users and creating backups.
- Transferable sites and themes
- Agencies can build a site and hand it to a client's account, and every plan includes 10 premium themes and Genesis Blocks.
- AI plugin updates
- An add-on on Essential and included on Business, it updates plugins and themes, checks the result with visual regression tests and rolls back if anything breaks.
Plans
BigScoots
Essential 75$29.17
per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
1 WordPress site, 75k monthly visitors, 10 GB storage, 150 GB bandwidth and a Cloudflare-powered CDN.
Essential 125$50
per month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
1 site, 125k monthly visitors, 15 GB storage, 500 GB bandwidth, with 1 Boost by BigScoots license.
Essential 200$70.83
per month, billed annually ($85 billed monthly)
2 sites, 200k monthly visitors, 30 GB storage, 750 GB bandwidth, with 1 Boost license.
Core 500$166.67
per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly)
5 sites, 500k monthly visitors, 100 GB storage, 1.5 TB bandwidth and 2 Boost licenses.
Core 1000$291.67
per month, billed annually ($350 billed monthly)
10 sites, 1M monthly visitors, 150 GB storage, 2 TB bandwidth and 5 Boost licenses.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited sites and millions of visitors, quoted through a consultation. Essential 300 ($100 a month annually) also exists.
WP Engine
Essential, 1 site$35
per month for 1 site and 25,000 visits, billed monthly
10 GB storage and 75 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $336 ($28 a month), a promotional price for new customers.
Essential, 3 sites$65
per month for 3 sites and 75,000 visits, billed monthly
15 GB storage and 150 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $624.
Essential, 10 sites$130
per month for 10 sites and 100,000 visits, billed monthly
20 GB storage and 240 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $1,248.
Essential, 30 sites$330
per month for 30 sites and 400,000 visits, billed monthly
50 GB storage and 550 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $3,168.
Business$400
per month and up, billed annually
Isolated resources for 400,000 to 800,000 visits, phone support, managed migrations and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
BigScoots
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
The pricing page shows annual plans at a lower monthly rate, for example $350 a year for Essential 75 versus $35 a month.
WP Engine
- Other savings
First year of Essential billed yearly at 20% off
New customers paying yearly for Essential get the first year for $336 with one site, against $35 a month billed monthly. The offer does not apply to renewals.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BigScoots or WP Engine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, BigScoots is cheaper to start with: $29.17 a month, against $35 a month for WP Engine. BigScoots starts at $29.17 per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly), and WP Engine starts at $35 per month for 1 site, billed monthly; $336 for a first year billed yearly.
Which has a free plan, BigScoots or WP Engine?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither BigScoots nor WP Engine has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.