Kinsta Vs WP Engine 2024: Actual Performance Comparison

Kinsta Vs WP Engine — TL;DR Version

— Kinsta has more than 120,000 customers while WP Engine has 1,000,000+ customers.
— Kinsta uses Google’s cloud Hosting platform to host websites while WP Engine uses Google’s Cloud Platform but may vary according to the lower pricing plans.
— WP Engine does have a bandwidth cap while Kinsta doesn’t have any bandwidth cap.
— Kinsta has 35 global data server centers while WP Engine has 20.
— Kinsta offers 21 pricing-plan tiers with a starting price of $35/month, while WP Engine has 10 pricing plans starting at $20/month.
— Kinsta offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, while WP Engine provides a 60-day guarantee.
— Kinsta includes a free APM tool for performance insights, while WP Engine’s APM tool is only available on higher-tier plans.
— Kinsta optimizes performance for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads with C2 VMs and specific caching rules while WP Engine has special caching rules for e-commerce but may not offer C2 VMs for all customers.
— Kinsta and WP Engine both offer automated daily backups. Kinsta stores backups for only 14-30 days while WP Engine offers 60 days of backups.
— Kinsta provides hassle-free migrations handled by expert engineers, unlike WP Engine’s plugin-based migrations.
— Both WP Engine and Kinsta offer premium support 24*7.
— Both Hostings offer free SSL certificates. Kinsta supports wild-card domains while WP Engine doesn’t support them.
— WordPress multisite support is available at higher plans for both web hosting companies. Kinsta pro plans start from $70/month While WP Engine offers multisite support from its Growth plan at $115/month and higher.
— Both Hosting providers don’t offer email hosting.
— The Kinsta dashboard supports 10 languages but WP Engine is only Available in English.
— Kinsta’s overage pricing ($1/1000 visits) is more affordable than WP Engine ($2/1000 visits).
— WP Engine offers premium WordPress themes from Studiopress for free with its web hosting.

Kinsta’s Key feature advantages over WP Engine;

• Kinsta uses the Google Cloud Platform for all pricing plan tiers. That means better performance, scalability, and better management of sudden traffic surges.
• Kinsta has more data centers (35) than WP Engine (20). It is always better to host your website in a data center that is near your targeted country. It helps with website loading speed and SEO rankings in that location.
• Mykinsta Dashboard is more user-friendly, especially for newbie and non-techie webmasters. Also, It is available in 10 languages.
• Kinsta offers free Cloudflare integration. That means your website loads quickly around the world.
• More pricing options.
• In-built Edge Caching with more than 260 data centers around the world. It improves your website performance and helps to load the website data quickly worldwide.
• Kinsta offers free Uptime monitoring.
• Kinsta does free website migrations as well as offers paid migration services to migrate your website(s) to Kinsta.
• Kinsta offers free wildcard domain SSLs.
• Kinsta offers free IP Geo-location with its all plans.
• Kinsta doesn’t have any bandwidth cap.
• Kinsta offers reliable over-usage pricing.

WP Engine’s Key feature advantages over Kinsta;

• WP Engine’s base plan is more reliable for smaller sites starting from $20/month.
• WP Engine Offers Call support for higher plans.
• Free Studiopress themes with all WP Engine Pricing plans.
• WP Engine offers 60 days of backups.
• WP Engine has three hosting environments; staging, production, and development. It’s better for developers.
• WP Engine uses EverCache Technology that improves website loading time globally.
• Free Website migration plugin. you can migrate as many sites as you want and whenever you want without any cost.
• WP Engine has a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Kinsta vs WPengine — Common features

• Free SSL certificates.
• Server-level optimizations and caching.
• Managed WordPress hosting features like automatic backups and updates, staging sites, etc.
• Security rules and firewalls.

Kinsta and WP Engine, both are premium managed WordPress hosting providers and offer all the basic managed WordPress hosting features.

Kinsta vs Wp Engine: Features Comparison Table

Let’s talk about the most important factors in finding the best hosting option between WP Engine Vs Kinsta.

Kinsta vs WP Engine — Performance

We did various tests from analyzing core web vitals to server load-bearing efficiency to Uptime tracking. We found that Kinsta is performing well at lower pricing plans. Probably it is because kinsta uses premium core infrastructure for its all plans. while WP Engine uses Amazon AWS servers for lower-tier pricing plans.

But When we tested the premium pricing plans for both web hosting providers, WP Engine provided better website performance.

But Uptime and load-bearing capabilities are impressive for both web hosting services. We didn’t find any issues during traffic surges.

Kinsta vs WP Engine — Cost

Kinsta’s base plan starts from $35/month while WP Engine’s base plan starts from $15/month. Kinsta and WP Engine both offer 25,000 visits/month and one website in their base plans. But WP Engine has a bandwidth cap of 50 GB and kinsta has no bandwidth cap.

Kinsta has 21+ pricing tiers ($35/month to $675/month) and a custom hosting plan. Check this screenshot for more details;

WP Engine has 11+ pricing tiers ($15/month to $600/month) and a custom plan for custom and enterprise requirements. Check this Screenshot;

WP Engine has a more reliable base plan than Kinsta suitable for smaller websites. But When it comes to WordPress Multisite Hosting then Kinsta is more reliable than WP Engine.

Kinsta’s multisite hosting starts from $70/month while WPEngine’s starts from $115/month.

Kinsta vs WP Engine — Support

Kinsta and WP Engine both offer premium quality support. You get the first response in a few seconds from both web hosting companies. I have used both web hosting companies for my websites.

I found that kinsta is slightly better than WP Engine customer support. Kinsta’s support team tries its best to solve your issues as soon as possible. That’s where I found the WP Engine support team lacking.

Kinsta offers chat and ticket support. WP Engine offers Call support for higher plans and Chat and ticket support for all plans.

Kinsta vs WP Engine — Customer Satisfaction

Here is the kinsta rating on top product rating sites:

• G2.com — 552 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/5.
• TrustPilot.com — 570 reviews with an average rating of 4.2/5.
• Capterra.com — 27 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/5.

Here is the WP Engine’s rating on top product rating sites:

• G2.com — 282 reviews with an average rating of 4.6/5.
• TrustPilot.com — 1082 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/5.
• Capterra.com — 10 reviews with an average rating of 4.9/5.

Kinsta vs WP Engine — Real Customer Testimonials

Here are the screenshots of reviews from real Kinsta customers;

Here are the screenshots of reviews from real WP Engine customers;

Kinsta customer seems more satisfied than WP Engine’s.

Which One Is Best For You; Kinsta Vs WPEngine?

Kinsta and WP Engine both are reputable WordPress-managed hosting companies and offer premium quality to their customers. That’s why it is not possible to say a clear winner from the Kinsta Vs WP Engine comparison.

None of them is a bad hosting. But it can be good or bad for you according to your needs. for example, if you want to host a smaller website then WP Engine’s base plan is the best option for you as it costs only $15/month as compared to Kinsta ($35/month).

But If you’re looking for multisite hosting then you should go with kinsta rather than WP Engine as kinsta costs only $70/month while WP Engine costs $115/month for multisite hosting.

So, you need to understand your hosting requirements to find the best hosting for you.

When Is Kinsta the Best Option?

Kinsta is the best hosting solution if you want;

• quality is more than budget.
• Hosting a WordPress Multisite.
• free local WordPress development including WP multisites.
• Technically flexible hosting solution.
• hassle-free server-scaling
• want to host an enterprise or large website.
• hosting for a website getting sudden traffic surges.

When is WP Engine the best Option?

WP Engine is the best Hosting solution if you want;

• host a smaller or new website.
• require an auto-scaling feature.
• want phone call support.
• host multiple but smaller sites.
• any wordpress plugin usage (no restrictions).

I do suggest going with Kinsta if you have a large website and want to avoid the risks of any server scaling and security issues.

Final Words

When it comes to Kinsta vs WP Engine comparison, it is a tough fight between both WordPress hosting providers. I do suggest understanding your website and hosting requirements before comparing both hosting providers based on your requirements.

For top-notch quality and hassle-free experience, go with Kinsta. But to save some money and host multiple smaller sites, WPEngine can be a good option.