Nexcess vs WP Engine
We give Nexcess and WP Engine the same GPA: 1.6 out of 4.0. Nexcess 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.
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting sized by sites and monthly visits
How we grade them
| 1.6GPANexcessWeak | 1.6GPAWP EngineWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price on record: every plan is quoted after a talk with its team, so no two-year figure can be worked out. It sits at C, the grade for no stated price. The add-ons are priced: Imunify360 malware scanning is $30 a month, cPanel from $20. | 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, and no self-serve plan to try at all. You start with a conversation. | 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, WooCommerce, Magento and Shopware, managed VPS, a compliance-ready setup and full migrations including email and DNS. The gaps the listing names: malware scanning is a $30 add-on, and cPanel and Plesk cost extra. | 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. Its team plans the setup with you and does the migration, which helps, but you can't just sign up and start. | 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 | CA web service with no app or API on record. The named integrations are the platforms it hosts and its control panels: WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopware, cPanel, Plesk and InterWorx. | 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 | stores that need PCI-ready managed hosting | 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: Nexcess and WP Engine. How we grade
Where they differ
- Nexcess also covers malware protection.
At a glance
| Nexcess | WP Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $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 | Nexcess Corp. | WPEngine, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | wpengine.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Nexcess
- Stores that need PCI-ready hosting for WooCommerce or Magento
- Businesses moving off shared hosting that want a managed VPS
- Teams that prefer to plan hosting with an engineer rather than pick a plan online
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
Nexcess
- No hosting plan has a published price; WordPress, ecommerce and VPS hosting are quoted after talking with its team.
- cPanel costs $20 a month for 5 accounts, $35 for 30 or $50 for 100, and Plesk is $15 a month on Windows servers.
- Imunify360 malware scanning is a $30-a-month add-on, ThreatDown intrusion monitoring $34 and per-server DDoS mitigation $111.
- Its pages lead with regulated industries such as healthcare and finance, so there is no self-serve plan for a small blog.
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
Nexcess
- Managed WordPress and WooCommerce
- WordPress and WooCommerce environments come with automatic updates, security hardening and performance tuning, and scale up for traffic spikes.
- Magento and Shopware hosting
- Ecommerce environments for Magento and Shopware are managed at the application layer, with autoscaling and a bundled CDN for Shopware.
- Managed VPS
- Each VPS has its own CPU, RAM and storage, with OS and security patches, DDoS protection, firewalls, a CDN and WAF, and 7-day Acronis backups.
- Control panel choice
- InterWorx is included free on Linux servers; cPanel and Plesk are available for a monthly fee.
- Compliance-ready setup
- The platform is built for PCI-DSS, HIPAA and SOC 2 requirements, and PCI ASV scans and vulnerability scanning can be added.
- Full migrations
- Its team moves files, databases, email and DNS records, including SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and verifies sites before DNS is switched.
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
Nexcess
Pricing could not be confirmed. See nexcess.com.
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
Nexcess
No public discounts listed.
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.
