Flywheel vs WP Engine
We give Flywheel a 2.0 GPA and WP Engine a 1.6, out of 4.0. Flywheel grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Flywheel
Managed WordPress hosting for designers, freelancers and agencies
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting sized by sites and monthly visits
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFlywheelFair | 1.6GPAWP EngineWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against the other managed WordPress hosts. Starter is $300 a year for one site, so two years cost $600, about $25 a month, the middle of that group. Extra sites are $20 a month, and visits over 25,000 are $1 per 1,000. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial. There's a 60-day money-back guarantee, longer than most, but it isn't a trial, and Agency plans aren't covered by it. | 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 | BNightly backups kept 30 days, staging, FlyCache with a Fastly CDN, free malware cleanup, Blueprints and billing transfer. Managed plugin updates are an $8 add-on and there's no email, but the managed WordPress job is covered. | 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 app store rating to go on. Free migrations help, and building in Local first is handy, but it's still a WordPress host with plans and limits to learn. | 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 | BA web dashboard plus the free Local app on your computer, which builds sites offline and pushes them to Flywheel. Fastly, Genesis and Google Analytics are named too, but no API is on record. | 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 | designers building WordPress sites for clients | 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: Flywheel and WP Engine. How we grade
Price against what you get
Flywheel starts at $25 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WP Engine starts at $35 a month and scores 2.3.
Flywheel scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Flywheel for less, and 5 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
- Flywheel starts at $25 per month for 1 site, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). WP Engine starts at $35 per month for 1 site, billed monthly; $336 for a first year billed yearly.
- Flywheel also covers malware protection.
At a glance
| Flywheel | WP Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $25 per month for 1 site, billed annually ($30 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 | WP Engine | WPEngine, Inc. |
| Price read from | getflywheel.com | wpengine.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Flywheel
- Designers and freelancers who build WordPress sites for clients
- Agencies that hand billing for each site over to the client
- Single WordPress sites that want backups and staging handled for them
WP Engine
- Businesses that want WordPress kept updated and backed up for them
- Agencies building client sites and transferring them on launch
- Developers who want staging, SSH and an API on managed hosting
Worth knowing
Flywheel
- Flywheel does not host email; its pricing page sends you to a separate email provider such as Google.
- Traffic over the plan's limit is billed at $1 per 1,000 visits and storage at $1 per GB, rather than the site being throttled.
- Extra sites cost $20 a month each, and the Agency and Custom plans are excluded from the 60-day money-back guarantee.
- It hosts WordPress sites only, and the page notes that prices may vary by server location.
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
Flywheel
- Nightly backups and staging
- Every site is backed up each night and the copies are kept for 30 days, with one-click restores. Staging sites let changes be tested before they go live.
- Caching and CDN
- FlyCache handles caching at the server with exclusions for common plugins, and a CDN run by Fastly is included on every plan.
- Security and malware cleanup
- Malware and hacking attempts are scanned for and blocked at the server, hacked sites are cleaned free, and plugin security alerts flag vulnerable plugins.
- Tools for client work
- Blueprints save a theme and plugin set for reuse, Organizations share sites with a team, and billing for a site can be handed to the client.
- Local development app
- Local, a free app from the same company, builds WordPress sites on your own computer and pushes them to Flywheel when they are ready.
- Paid add-ons
- Managed Plugin Updates ($8 a month per site) uses AI visual regression checks, Performance Insights sends monthly reports, and White Label lets agencies resell hosting.
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
Flywheel
Starter$25
per month for up to 25,000 visits, billed annually ($30 monthly)
1 site, 10 GB storage and 50 GB bandwidth. Billed at $300 a year. Extra visits cost $1 per 1,000 a month.
Freelance$96
per month for up to 100,000 visits, billed annually ($115 monthly)
Up to 10 sites, 20 GB storage and 200 GB bandwidth. Billed at $1,150 a year.
Agency$242
per month for up to 400,000 visits, billed annually ($290 monthly)
Up to 30 sites, 50 GB storage and 500 GB bandwidth. Billed at $2,900 a year. Not covered by the 60-day money-back guarantee.
CustomCustom
Built with sales for more than 30 sites or high-traffic projects, with dedicated clusters and an account manager.
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
Flywheel
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Paying yearly includes two months free: Starter is $300 a year instead of $30 a month, and an extra site is $200 a year instead of $20 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.
