Flywheel vs Kinsta: guide for 2024

Flywheel vs Kinsta: Final verdict

Looking over Flywheel vs. Kinsta, both offer robust hosting solutions tailored for different user needs.

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  Flywheel (Overall grade: 8.4)
  
  
  shines with a focus on WordPress management tools and developer-friendly features. It offers a local development environment, free migrations, and a comprehensive security approach, making it a highly suitable choice for agencies and developers. Although Flywheel’s response times and support mechanisms are strong, concerns over pricing changes and email limits suggest areas for improvement.
  
• 
  Kinsta (Overall grade: 8.5)
  
  
  delivers reliable performance and extensive scalability with its Google Cloud-based infrastructure. It offers various hosting types, including cloud hosting, making it ideal for high-traffic and diverse hosting needs. Kinsta’s exceptional speed optimization tools, comprehensive security, and user-friendly hosting environment make it a preferred choice for WordPress sites, despite the slightly higher pricing compared to competitors.
  

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

Section 1:
🏆 Winner Kinsta: A reliable hosting provider with impressive uptime results.

Section 2:
Kinsta and Flywheel both deliver excellent uptime guarantees, each promising 99.9%. In actual performance, Flywheel showcased 100% uptime in a two-week monitored test, demonstrating strong reliability. Kinsta also displayed impressive results with 100% uptime over several tests, including a three-month period maintaining 99.99% uptime. Kinsta’s consistency over a long-term 12-month independent test further solidifies its reliability.

Section 3:
Flywheel and Kinsta use Google Cloud servers, contributing to their efficient performance. Flywheel offers a faster average response time at 371ms compared to Kinsta’s 461ms. Both companies provide strong support systems, but Flywheel requires a minimum spend for phone support. With additional features like Cloudflare integration and consistent long-term uptime performance, Kinsta stands out as the winner.

🏆 Winner
Kinsta: Optimal for high-performance WordPress hosting with Google Cloud infrastructure.

Comparing general performance between Flywheel and Kinsta reveals two strong contenders in the managed WordPress hosting market. Flywheel uses its proprietary Flywheel Cloud Platform for speed optimization and managed caching at the server level. It also integrates with Fastly CDN and offers compute-optimized dedicated servers for WooCommerce. Kinsta leverages Google Cloud Platform’s premium tier network, including the fastest C2 and C3D virtual machines, and integrates Cloudflare for enhanced performance and security. With 35 global data centers, Kinsta has a more extensive network than Flywheel. Both offer 99.9% uptime and various caching methods.

Website Speed

Both Flywheel and Kinsta focus on speed optimization, but Kinsta offers additional tools like Edge Caching, which cuts Time to First Byte (TTFB) by up to 50%, continuous MySQL optimization, and image optimization that converts files to WebP automatically. Flywheel features server-level caching, the FlyCache technology tailored for WordPress plugins, and CDN powered by Fastly. While both platforms boast rapid load times, Kinsta’s additional optimization tools give it an edge in website speed.

Scalability

Flywheel and Kinsta both offer scalable solutions but do so differently. Flywheel works individually with customers to optimize and scale sites, and offers custom-built plans and dedicated servers for WooCommerce. Kinsta supports elastic scaling with its Google Cloud infrastructure and multiple pricing tiers starting from $7/month, though specific costs for scaling are not detailed. Flywheel has transparent overage charges at $1 per 1,000 extra monthly visitors and $1 per GB of storage over the limit.

🏆 Winner Flywheel: Flywheel stands out with its comprehensive security features and compliance measures designed for utmost reliability.

Both Flywheel and Kinsta, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Both Flywheel and Kinsta offer free SSL certificates and support for custom SSLs, ensuring secure data transmission. Flywheel supports PHP 8.1, while Kinsta allows you to select PHP versions through their MyKinsta dashboard. Flywheel employs a Fastly Web Application Firewall (WAF) and intelligent IP blocking, whereas Kinsta leverages a fully managed WAF with DDoS protection via Cloudflare. Flywheel includes auto-healing technology for WordPress sites, whereas Kinsta offers a security pledge and proactive site monitoring every three minutes.

Operational security measures:

Flywheel provides nightly backups stored for 30 days, whereas Kinsta offers multiple backup options, including automatic daily, manual, system-generated, and downloadable backups. Flywheel includes free malware removal conducted by their Happiness Engineers, a service Kinsta also provides for sites hacked while hosted on their platform. Flywheel sends plugin security alerts, while Kinsta sends timely security vulnerability alerts for plugins and themes. Both offer role-based access controls, but Flywheel extends this with a federated identity service for integrated user authentication.

Compliance and certifications:

Flywheel is certified for SOC 2 and meets HIPAA, GDPR, and 21 CFR Part 11 compliance. Their infrastructure supports de-identification for managing clinical trial data, adhering to GCP guidelines. Kinsta complies with SOC 2 and GDPR standards and offers robust security, aiding in achieving PCI compliance for eCommerce. Kinsta does not specify support for HIPAA or 21 CFR Part 11.

🏆 Winner
Flywheel: A top choice for managed WordPress hosting with extensive features tailored for developers and agencies.

Flywheel and Kinsta both offer robust hosting solutions for WordPress users, but they differ significantly in their features and user experience. Flywheel stands out with various managed services, including free migrations, nightly backups, and comprehensive WordPress support. Additionally, Flywheel provides a local development environment, site cloning, and blueprint functionality, making it highly optimized for developers and agencies looking for seamless workflows. On the other hand, Kinsta offers reliable SFTP and SSH access, essential for secure management and efficient file transfers, and comprehensive control panel features that allow users to manage their hosting environment with ease.

Neither Flywheel nor Kinsta offers built-in website builders, which is an important consideration for those who prefer ready-made tools for site creation. Flywheel’s 14-day free demo sites and Site Cloning feature substantially ease development work, while its FlyCache technology and CDN enhance site performance. Kinsta’s focus is more on performance and security, offering unique features such as a secured staging environment and robust FTP/SFTP and SSH login details. Costs can add up when considering additional sites or third-party tools on both hosts, with Flywheel charging $20/month for each additional site and additional fees for managed plugin updates and performance insights.

Email services:

Email services at Flywheel does not offer any email hosting services, focusing exclusively on managed WordPress hosting and suggesting using providers like Google Apps for handling email requirements. On the contrary, Kinsta includes email hosting capabilities, allowing clients to set up their own email systems directly through the hosting provider. This difference is crucial for businesses that require robust email campaigns and internal email management without relying on external services.

🏆 Winner
Kinsta: Exceptional scalability and a diverse array of hosting options.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Flywheel offers five WordPress hosting plans starting from the Tiny Plan at $13 per month, up to a Custom Plan with varying prices based on needs. Flywheel’s plans combine a range of features, including PHP 8.1 readiness, FlyCache, CDN, and SSL certificates. On the other hand, Kinsta has several diverse plans, including Managed WordPress Hosting, Application Hosting, Database Hosting, and Static Site Hosting, starting from $30 per month for WordPress. Kinsta’s higher-tier plans offer greater storage, more monthly visits, and an extended backup retention period. Both providers offer strong support and security features, but Kinsta’s broader range of scalable plans and infrastructure options makes it the standout choice.

Enterprise plans

Flywheel’s Agency Plan costs $242/month and supports up to 30 sites with 50GB storage and 500GB bandwidth, reinforcing its capacity for high traffic. Kinsta’s Enterprise Plans start at $675/month, supporting 60+ sites with over 100GB storage, 2,000GB CDN, and 30-day backup retention, making it a viable option for larger enterprises with more extensive hosting needs.

🏆 Winner Kinsta
: A streamlined hosting provider ideal for diverse projects with detailed support.

Flywheel’s admin panel is built with a focus on user-friendliness, particularly for WordPress users. The panel allows for intuitive management of sites with features like staging environments, blueprints, and site cloning. The local development environment and demo sites enhance the experience for both novice and seasoned users. With extensive documentation and help resources, Flywheel ensures easy navigation through the setup and management processes.

Kinsta offers a custom-built, award-winning dashboard known as MyKinsta. This dashboard is designed to simplify site management with features such as one-click backup creation and easy PHP version selection. MyKinsta is highly accessible, boasting a clean and modern interface that caters to both technical and non-technical users. Its inclusion of staging environments ensures that users can test changes safely before going live, making it a versatile choice for various hosting needs.

Flywheel provides free site migrations, which simplifies the process of transferring existing sites to their platform. This service is particularly advantageous for users who want to avoid the technicalities of manual migration. Kinsta also offers a straightforward migration process with basic and premium migration options. Users can request migrations through the MyKinsta dashboard, providing detailed support at each step. While Kinsta doesn’t offer migrations for free universally, the detailed support and structured process make it accessible.

Flywheel’s help center includes comprehensive resources, such as 24/7/365 chat support, phone support, detailed help documentation, and various educational materials like ebooks and videos. Kinsta’s help center features 24/7/365 live expert support via chat, extensive documentation, guides, tutorials, and a community forum for Static Site Hosting. Both providers offer in-depth support, but Kinsta’s unique combination of proactive monitoring and specialized support channels stands out.

🏆 Winner Flywheel: Flywheel and Kinsta offer unique user management features tailored to various needs. Flywheel allows collaborators full access to sites within the Flywheel dashboard, enabling them to manage domains, settings, and databases while being restricted from billing management, site deletion, and site reset. Kinsta, on the other hand, gives company owners and administrators broad control over user management, and divides roles into company developers who can grant site access. Flywheel’s more defined collaborator role structure contrasts with Kinsta’s more streamlined hierarchical access system.

Flywheel’s user interface offers the Flywheel dashboard, where collaborators can easily manage site elements and invite new collaborators through a straightforward process. Kinsta’s MyKinsta portal requires customers to manage their user credentials, and settings related to two-factor authentication can be accessed directly within the user settings. While both platforms provide user-friendly interfaces, Flywheel’s focus on collaborative tools is more evident.

In terms of access control measures, Flywheel ensures that collaborators can access WordPress admin areas using Seamless Login, provided owners have not opted out. Collaborators can also swiftly add or remove other users, ensuring efficient access management. Kinsta’s emphasis is on security, placing the responsibility of credential management and access level assignment onto customers. This approach allows Kinsta to effectively manage a growing user base by delegating responsibility to the users themselves.

Flywheel user roles table:

Kinsta user roles table:

🏆 Winner Flywheel: A comprehensive hosting service praised for its exceptional customer support and extensive features.

Flywheel and Kinsta both provide reliable and efficient customer support, but there are key differences in their offerings. Flywheel excels with 24/7 chat support, phone support, and personalized services like a dedicated account manager and migration dashboard, ensuring seamless migrations and continued assistance. They offer a 60-day money-back guarantee which provides extra assurance for new customers.

Kinsta, on the other hand, offers 24/7 live chat support for all paid customers and proactive site monitoring, ensuring rapid response to any arising issues. While phone support isn’t provided, Kinsta compensates with multilingual support and a community forum to enhance customer experience. Despite having a slightly lower score, Kinsta’s focus on security with SOC 2 compliance and Cloudflare integration makes it a solid choice for privacy-conscious users.

Flywheel vs Kinsta: User feedback

Flywheel is highly regarded for its intuitive user interface, efficient WordPress management, and reliable speed and performance. Customers appreciate the ease of site migration, robust support, and included features like SSL and backups. However, some users highlight concerns over recent pricing changes, slower customer service response times, and issues with email limits and staging environments. Despite a few drawbacks, Flywheel is praised for its agency-oriented focus, making it a strong choice for professionals managing multiple client websites.

Kinsta is highly recommended by users for its reliable and easy-to-use hosting services, particularly for WordPress sites. Customers appreciate the fast and responsive customer support, impressive speed, and robust security features provided by the platform. The user-friendly dashboard and extensive documentation also stand out as significant advantages, making it easy for both novices and tech-savvy individuals to manage their sites. However, some users find the pricing to be on the higher side, and a few have suggested improvements like expanding data center locations and providing direct access to all integrated services. Overall, Kinsta is praised for delivering a high-quality, dependable hosting experience.

Flywheel vs Kinsta: FAQ