When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting? Best Managed WordPress Hosting Compared (2019)

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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. 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, 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 green line in this graph represents page load time and the blue line represents number of users on the site. As you can see that WP Engine server performance remained steady throughout the test as the numbers of users increased.

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: 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.
• CONS: Prices are slightly higher for advanced plans, but totally worth the $$$.

Get Started with WP Engine

2. 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 (649 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 blue line represents the number of active virtual users on the site. The green line is the server load time. SiteGround performed almost consistently except for a spike at 50 users on the site. It quickly recovered and page load time remained steadily low even with more users.

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 performed exceptionally well in the United States and all other locations except Japan.

If your target audience is mainly in Asia, then you can ask SiteGround to move you to their Asia-Pacific servers to remedy this.

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.

• PROS: Awesome WordPress support, great uptime, blazing fast speed, and free SSL.
• PROS: They are one of the officially recommended WordPress hosting providers.
• PROS: Free site migration
• CONS: No free domain

Get Started with SiteGround

3. 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:

In this chart, the blue line indicates number of active virtual users on the website, and the green line shows server load time. The server load remained stable through out 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 experience
• PROS: Freedom to do more than just WordPress
• CONS: Sometimes support can be slow

Get Started with Bluehost

4. Liquid Web

Liquid Web is another excellent managed WordPress hosting company popular among WordPress community. They offer multiple levels of hosting plans including managed WordPress hosting, VPS, cloud sites, and dedicated hosting.

Here are the results from our Liquid Web performance tests:

First we tested our test site for speed using Pingdom website speed testing tool.

As you can see in the test result, our Liquid Web test site loaded in less than a second for a server in San Jose, California. That’s faster than 91% of tested sites.

Next, we wanted to see how Liquid Web holds up under peak traffic load.

To measure this, we ran the Load Impact test on Liquid Web servers. We gradually built up to 100 unique visitors at once to see how the server handles increased requests from multiple connections.

In this chart, the blue line indicates number of active virtual users on the site, and the green line shows the server load time. As you can see the server load remained stable through out the test even at peak traffic.

Next, we tested Liquid Web’s server response time using the Bitcatcha tool which measures response times from different geographic regions.

As you can see in the results, our Liquid Web test site responded with in less than a second. The response time was particularly great in the United States.

We also evaluated their customer support, features, and pricing in our detailed Liquid Web review.

After thorough analysis, we find Liquid Web to be an excellent managed WordPress hosting service for all kind of websites.

• PROS: Incredibly fast managed WordPress hosting with powerful features.
• PROS: High performance servers, SSL included, excellent support.
• PROS: Plenty of options to scale and grow your business. Excellent for enterprise.
• CONS: Price is slightly higher

Get Started with Liquid Web

5. DreamHost

DreamHost is a reliable name in hosting industry. They offer shared, VPS, dedicatedm, 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 in the results, our test site loaded in less than half a second. That’s faster than 97% of all tested sites, which is incredible for a site with no performance optimization plugins.

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

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
WP Engine	$35/mo	No	Yes	Yes
SiteGround	$11.95/mo	No	Yes	Yes
Bluehost	$19.99/mo	Yes	Yes	Yes
Liquid Web	$29/mo	No	Yes	Yes
DreamHost	14.95/mo	No	Yes	No

In our in-depth managed WordPress hosting review, we believe that if you are looking for a reliable managed WordPress host, then WPEngine is your best option. Their plans are reasonably priced, incredible performance, with free SSL and 1-click staging at $14.50 is by far the best value.

If you are concerned about costs, then you should go with either Bluehost or SiteGround because they offer highly optimized managed WordPress hosting which now comes with powerful developer tools like staging and more.

If you’re a large company and looking for truly enterprise level service, then we recommend using Liquid Web or 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?

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.

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.

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

Our top choices for managed WordPress hosting are:

1. WP Engine – Best overall in terms of performance, reliability, pricing and features.
2. SiteGround – Low cost managed WordPress hosting with friendly support and great performance.
3. Bluehost – All the features of premium managed WordPress hosting plus free domain and ultra fast servers.
4. Liquid Web – Truly enterprise WordPress hosting experience with heroic support.

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.

About the Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. Trusted by over 1.3 million readers worldwide.