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Hostinger vs WP Engine — Which Host Should You Use?

When comparing Hostinger vs WP Engine, we find Hostinger to be the better web host overall. Hostinger wins with its affordable pricing, wider range of hosting types, and custom control panel. WP Engine is excellent for WordPress hosting but is more expensive and lacks the flexibility that Hostinger provides.

In this article, we compare Hostinger vs WP Engine on the grounds of plans, pricing, features included and performance. We also compare their data center coverage, software supported, developer tools, customer support, and security features. Finally, we answer the question: “Hostinger Vs WP Engine: Which is better for you?”

hostinger vs wp engine

Plans

Hosting Plan TypeHostingerWP Engine
Shared Hosting$2.99/mo – $7.99/moNot Available
VPS Hosting$4.99/mo – $19.99/moNot Available
WordPress Hosting$2.99/mo – $7.99/mo$20/mo – $2000/mo
Cloud Hosting$7.99/mo – $29.99/moNot Available
Dedicated HostingNot AvailableNot Available
Reseller HostingNot AvailableNot Available
Managed HostingShared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, Cloud HostingWordPress Hosting

Hostinger offers 4 types of hosting: Shared, VPS, WordPress, and Cloud Hosting. Managed hosting is available for Shared, WordPress, and Cloud Hosting plans. WP Engine focuses on WordPress hosting and provides managed services exclusively for WordPress users.

Pricing

Pricing TypeHostingerWP Engine
Introductory Price$2.99/mo$20/mo
Renewal Price$7.99/mo$20/mo
Monthly Payment Option?YesYes

Hostinger offers an introductory price of $2.99 per month. It renews at $7.99 per month, which marks a 167% increase. WP Engine starts at $20 per month with no price change upon renewal. Hostinger remains the more cost-effective choice over time despite the renewal price increase.

Features Included

FeatureHostingerWP Engine
Storage Space100 GB SSD storage10 GB SSD storage
BandwidthUnlimited50 GB
Number of websites1001
Email Hosting100 email accounts, each with 1 GB of storageNo
Free DomainYesNo
AI Website BuilderYes, Hostinger website builderNo
Unlimited Storage?NoNo
Unlimited/Unmetered bandwidth?UnlimitedNo
Additional FeaturesAI tools, SEO tools, Marketing credits, Multisite feature, on-demand backupsNone

Hostinger offers a generous 100GB in its cheapest plan while WP Engine offers much less at 10GB. Hostinger’s cheapest plan also supports up to 100 websites and provides unlimited bandwidth. WP Engine restricts users to one website with 50 GB bandwidth. Hostinger additionally provides email hosting, a free domain, and an AI website builder, while WP Engine lacks these features. Hostinger also adds value with additional tools for content generation and SEO.

Performance

Performance FeatureHostingerWP Engine
CDNYes, Hostinger CDN (Higher plans)Yes, Cloudflare
Type of SSD ServerSSD (NVMe on higher plans)SSD
CachingYesYes
Uptime Guarantee99.9%99.95%
Additional Performance FeaturesLiteSpeed WordPress acceleration, NVMe SSDLightSpeedWP, EverCache® for WP

Both hosts offer CDN and caching, but WP Engine has a slightly higher uptime guarantee at 99.95% compared to Hostinger’s 99.9%. WP Engine uses standard SSDs, while Hostinger upgrades to NVMe SSDs on higher plans. Hostinger also includes LiteSpeed WordPress acceleration, while WP Engine’s EverCache® system focuses on WordPress optimization.

Data Center Coverage

Geographical CoverageHostingerWP Engine
Number of Data centers1014
Headquarter LocationVilnius, LithuaniaAustin, Texas, US
Data center locationsUSA, UK, Brazil, India, Singapore, Lithuania, Indonesia, Netherlands, FranceUSA, UK, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Israel, Singapore

WP Engine has 14 locations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Hostinger operates 10 data centers that cover regions in the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America. WP Engine’s additional locations in Japan, Taiwan, and Israel give it a slight edge in global coverage. Hostinger still remains competitive in most major regions.

Software Supported

Software FeatureHostingerWP Engine
1-Click WordPressYesYes
OS supportedLinuxLinux
Control panelhPanel (proprietary), option of cPanel for VPSManagement tools: SFTP, phpMyAdmin, SSH Gateway, WP-CLI, MySQL command line

Both hosts support Linux hosting only. Both also offer 1-click WordPress installation. Hostinger provides its custom hPanel with the option for cPanel on VPS plans. WP Engine uses a suite of management tools like SFTP and SSH Gateway tailored to WordPress hosting. Hostinger offers more flexibility for users preferring traditional control panels like cPanel.

Developer Tools

Developer ToolHostingerWP Engine
Staging ToolsHigher plansYes
Root AccessYes for VPS hostingNo
GIT accessYesYes
WP-CLIYesYes
Cron jobsYesYes
Multiple PHP versionsYesYes
SSHYesYes
Node.js SupportYesYes
Python SupportYesYes
Java SupportYesYes
Django SupportYesNo
Perl SupportYesNo
Ruby on Rails SupportYesYes
ASP.NETYesNo

Both Hostinger and WP Engine offer the major developer tools, including GIT, WP-CLI, and the major programming languages. Hostinger offers more options like Django, Perl, and ASP.NET, and provides root access on its VPS plans. WP Engine offers staging tools on all plans, while Hostinger limits this to higher-tier plans.

Customer Support

Customer Support FeatureHostingerWP Engine
Support MethodsLive chat, Help CenterLive chat (lower plans), phone/email (higher plans)
Support Hours24/724/7
Website MigrationYesYes
Money-Back Guarantee30 days60 days

Hostinger offers 24/7 support via live chat and a comprehensive Help Center but lacks phone support. WP Engine provides live chat on lower plans and adds phone and email support on higher plans. WP Engine also offers a longer money-back guarantee of 60 days compared to Hostinger’s 30 days. Both hosts include free website migration services.

Security Features

Pricing TypeHostingerFastComet
Introductory Price$2.99/mo$1.79/mo
Renewal Price$7.99/mo$8.95/mo
Monthly Payment OptionYesYes

Both Hostinger and WP Engine provide free SSL certificates. WP Engine offers more advanced backup solutions with daily and on-demand backups on all plans. Hostinger restricts backups to weekly on entry-level plans and provides daily backups on higher-tier plans. WP Engine excels in DDoS protection with additional layers and proactive monitoring. Hostinger adds value with free WHOIS privacy protection, but WP Engine’s Global Edge Security with managed WAF provides a higher level of security for enterprise-level users.

Hostinger vs WP Engine: Which Is Better For You?

Hostinger is the better host. Use Hostinger if you need a variety of hosting types like Shared, VPS, and Cloud Hosting. Also use Hostinger if you’re starting a small website like a blog or online portfolio. Beginners benefit from affordable pricing and a beginner-friendly control panel. Also choose Hostinger if you’re a business or eCommerce website and require strong global coverage. Lastly, use Hostinger if you need support for multiple programming languages like Django, Perl, or ASP.NET.

Use WP Engine if you’re focused on WordPress and want optimized managed hosting with features like EverCache® and staging tools across all plans. Also use WP Engine if you need more advanced security features such as proactive monitoring and Global Edge Security.

Explore more web hosting comparisons here.

Who is Hostinger?

Hostinger is a web host founded in 2004 and headquartered in Lithuania. It offers affordable pricing and a wide variety of hosting types. Hostinger’s strengths are its speed, global data centers, and user-friendly hPanel. It lacks phone support. Read our review on Hostinger to learn more.

Who is WP Engine?

WP Engine is a web host founded in 2010 and headquartered in Texas. It specializes in premium managed WordPress hosting with excellent performance and security. WP Engine’s higher costs and limited flexibility is not ideal for non-WordPress users. See our WP Engine review for more details.

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