Cheaper than WP Engine when you host every client site
WP Engine’s public plans are priced per site and per visit allowance. This page does not invent their current rate card. It states the WPHost side of the comparison, which is the number an agency can put in a proposal today.
The number
Business is $149 a month for unlimited WordPress sites. Yearly is $1,490 once, which is $124.17 a month, two months free. Visits and storage on Business are fair use. There is no per-site surcharge on that plan.
Starter at $9, Pro at $30, and Scale at $65 are the smaller plans. They are the wrong comparison if the pitch is “every client.”
What the $149 is buying
- Each WordPress site has its own MySQL database, its own files, and its own web server site.
- PHP 8.4, automatic HTTPS on the preview address, and a custom domain when DNS points here.
- One dashboard and one bill. Client access is an invite with the editor or viewer role, not the agency password. Billing stays on the agency account.
- Pro and above include staging copies, CLI deploy, and scheduled tasks. Pro and Scale include up to 10 team members.
- Scale and Business check uptime every five minutes and email the owner only when a site changes between up and down.
- Business is unlimited WordPress sites, unlimited team members and client logins, and a free migration of each eligible client site.
- A recovery point stores that site’s files and database together, and it can be restored. You take it when you want one. It is not a daily backup job.
Where a cheaper bill is the wrong goal
WP Engine includes a cache and CDN product that WPHost does not have. A site that is fast because of that stack can get slower here. Check it on the preview URL. Saving the monthly invoice is not a reason to skip that check.
- There is no built-in CDN, page cache, or object cache.
- There is no malware scanner, no automatic plugin updates, and no email hosting. Leave MX records where they are.
- Support is a person answering the ticket. There is no coded response-time promise.
- There is no SSH product and no multisite move. WooCommerce can run as PHP and MySQL. There is no dedicated checkout SLA.
How the move is priced
Eligible client migrations on Business are free. You still pay the plan. You do not pay a per-site migration fee on top. Keep the old host until each preview is accepted, so you are not paying a rush fee to a second vendor either.
Read the product, then the move
Questions
Is $149 the renewal price?
It is the price for a new Business checkout, monthly or as $1,490 for the year. An existing subscriber keeps the price they already have.
Are visits really unlimited?
Business does not enforce a visit cap or a bandwidth cap. The public plan calls that fair use. A spike does not add an overage.
What if I only have three sites?
Pro is $30 a month. You do not need Business until the roster, the client logins, and the migrations are the point.