WP Engine vs Nexcess: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over WP Engine vs. Nexcess, both showcase strong hosting capabilities tailored to specific needs but WP Engine emerges as the stronger option for WordPress-specific hosting due to its advanced technologies, security, and performance features.

• 
  WP Engine (Overall grade: 8.6)
  
  
  stands out with its near-perfect uptime, superior page load speeds, and comprehensive managed WordPress hosting solutions. Users benefit from EverCache® Technology, a global CDN, and support for the latest PHP version, ensuring fast, reliable performance even during high traffic scenarios. Enhanced security features like real-time threat detection, enterprise-grade technology, and constant monitoring add extra layers of protection. Although slightly more expensive, WP Engine’s range of premium services, including daily backups, automatic updates, and responsive 24/7 customer support make it ideal for high-traffic and WordPress-centric websites.
  
• 
  Nexcess (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  
  shines in offering diverse hosting plans suited for various applications, from WordPress to Magento and WooCommerce, making it a versatile choice for different user requirements. Key benefits include extensive storage, large bandwidth, and features like free email hosting and inherent SEO tools. Nexcess offers solid performance with integrated caching, free autoscaling, and a Cloudflare-powered CDN. Though the platform has received mixed reviews regarding its backup system and server reliability since the company’s acquisition, its support for multiple PHP versions, PCI compliance, and daily backups still make it a reliable platform for eCommerce and growing businesses looking for flexible, user-friendly hosting solutions.
  

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
WP Engine: The platform stands out due to its near-perfect uptime and reliable global performance.

WP Engine excels with an almost flawless uptime record, showing 100% uptime over a two-month period. Backed by a 99.99% SLA, the hosting provider offers 24/7 monitoring and email or Slack alerts for any issues. With global data centers and proactive security measures, WP Engine ensures minimal latency and high availability for users worldwide.

Nexcess also presents commendable uptime with a 99.88% rate and 10 hours of downtime over the past year. The platform leverages 10 global data centers and site-monitoring software to maintain transparency and quick alert systems. It provides a proprietary CDN, daily backups, and PCI compliance, enhancing its service reliability.

🏆 Winner: WP Engine: Specializes in high performance for WordPress sites.

When comparing WP Engine and Nexcess, both provide superior hosting experiences emphasizing speed and reliability, but WP Engine edges out with its advanced technologies tailored specifically for WordPress. WP Engine utilizes EverCache® Technology, ensuring fast page load times by handling hundreds of millions of hits per day. It offers a global CDN with over 200 points of presence for optimal speed. WP Engine runs on the latest PHP version to handle more requests per second efficiently and is optimized for Core Web Vitals. They also have numerous data centers worldwide, contributing to high availability. Nexcess also guarantees lightning-fast WordPress sites with integrated caching via Nginx and Redis, leverages a Cloudflare-powered CDN, and offers data centers for reduced latency. Nexcess provides automatic and manually deployable PHP workers to handle traffic surges.

Website Speed

WP Engine shines in terms of website speed, using its proprietary EverCache® Technology designed specifically for WordPress, resulting in consistently fast load times. Their global CDN and the latest PHP version further ensure optimal performance. According to testimonials, WP Engine provides noticeable improvements, with pages loading in half the previous time. Nexcess also offers commendable speeds with its integrated caching and Cloudflare CDN. Their PHP worker autoscaling feature ensures sites remain fast during traffic spikes. Both platforms offer impressive website speeds, but WP Engine’s dedicated technologies provide a slight edge.

Scalability

Both WP Engine and Nexcess offer scalable solutions, but their approaches differ slightly. WP Engine’s scalable architecture ensures sites can handle any traffic spikes seamlessly, supported by isolated resources for optimized reliability. Nexcess provides free autoscaling for every site, automatically deploying extra PHP resources during surges. However, Nexcess’s specific pricing and resources depend on the chosen plan, ranging from producer to enterprise levels. WP Engine seems to offer seamless scaling without a need to manually upgrade plans, but specific costs for scaling aren’t detailed. Additionally, it’s unclear if either platform offers dedicated servers, focusing more on managed, scalable solutions.

🏆 Winner WP Engine: Highly secure hosting environment for WordPress websites with advanced security measures and constant monitoring.

Both WP Engine and Nexcess, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

WP Engine employs enterprise-grade technology to block 72 million attacks daily and continuously updates to keep website vulnerabilities current. It features Global Edge Security, including DDoS protection, a managed Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Cloudflare CDN. Nexcess offers a robust suite of SSL certificates and advanced web application firewalls via Cloudflare, alongside daily malware scans for enhanced protection. Nexcess supports PHP 7 and 8+, while WP Engine does not specify the PHP versions supported. Both providers offer substantial security but WP Engine’s threat detection and updates provide a slightly more comprehensive solution.

Operational security measures:

WP Engine provides real-time security management, proactive alerts, and 24/7 global support with a 97% satisfaction rate. It has multiple layers of protection with daily backups, automatic updates, and two-factor authentication. Nexcess offers daily server backups stored for 30 days, proactive security with advanced threat detection, and enterprise server monitoring. While both hosting services cover operational security well, WP Engine’s constant monitoring and real-time management give it an edge.

Compliance and certifications:

WP Engine is SOC-2 compliant, ISO 27001-2013 certified, and may include PCI vulnerability scanning. Nexcess is equally strong with PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, SSAE-18 compliance, and GDPR compliance. Both providers stand strong in their compliance and certification offerings, fulfilling crucial regulatory standards.

🏆 Winner
WP Engine: Comprehensive managed WordPress hosting with advanced performance and security features.

When evaluating WP Engine and Nexcess, both hosting providers offer robust features, but they serve slightly different needs. WP Engine specializes in managed WordPress hosting, delivering strong end-to-end management and optimized performance through EverCache® technology and a global CDN. They provide advanced features like 24/7 WordPress-specific support, automatic updates, and multi-factor authentication, making them suitable for beginners and enterprises alike. Free SSL certificates, daily backups, and automated migration tools add extra value. Nexcess, however, impresses with its diverse hosting plans, supporting WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, and PHP-based applications. Their unique selling points include plugin performance monitoring, automated WooCommerce testing, free autoscaling, and inherent SEO features. Nexcess also offers free unlimited email, an attractive option for businesses requiring comprehensive email services.

WP Engine stands out with its multiple environments (dev, staging, and production) and premium support options, including consultative support and regular business reviews. Their developer-focused features, like Git and SFTP access and WP Engine Platform API, cater well to sophisticated users. On the other hand, Nexcess offers a wide range of services, including PCI compliance and disaster recovery assistance for Managed Magento Hosting. Nexcess users benefit from 24/7 expert support across all their plans, daily backups, and free premium migrations. Though both providers excel in offering free SSL and daily backups, WP Engine’s higher-tier plans include advanced performance insights and premium themes, which set them apart for those seeking a comprehensive managed WordPress solution.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both WP Engine and Nexcess offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Nexcess provides free unlimited email hosting across all plans, making it a viable choice for businesses looking to manage their emails directly through their hosting provider. This includes support for setting up personal and business email addresses, ensuring seamless communication. WP Engine does not include email hosting, which means customers may need to rely on third-party services like Google Workspace or others to handle their email requirements. Both providers, however, support transactional email capabilities essential for actions like form submissions, although the details on limits are more explicit in Nexcess’s offerings.

🏆 Winner WP Engine: Offers versatile Managed WordPress Hosting with robust security and performance features.

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.

When comparing WP Engine and Nexcess, WP Engine offers a variety of Managed WordPress Hosting plans with strong security measures, automatic updates, and premium themes starting at $20/month. WP Engine plans include features like 24/7 support, SSL, and global CDN. Nexcess, on the other hand, offers diverse hosting options including cloud and eCommerce hosting, starting with the Spark Plan for Managed WordPress Hosting at $21/month. Nexcess provides more expansive storage and bandwidth but requires higher starting costs for multiple sites and advanced features.

Enterprise plans

WP Engine’s Custom Plan starts at $600/month and includes premium onboarding, dedicated technical account manager, advanced DDoS protection, and application performance monitoring, making it suitable for large-scale enterprises requiring robust security and premium support. Nexcess’s Enterprise Plan starts at $492.75 (introductory price), then $1095/month, offering up to 250 sites, large storage capacities up to 800GB, and extensive bandwidth up to 10TB with high PHP worker limits per site, making it fitting for agencies or businesses handling multiple high-traffic websites.

🏆 Winner Nexcess: Nexcess offers a highly user-friendly hosting experience with features tailored for seamless setup and support.

The admin panel of WP Engine is custom-built, designed specifically for WordPress users. It focuses on providing an intuitive interface that is easy for both beginners and experienced users. The panel includes various tools and settings for managing your website, such as staging environments, security configurations, and performance optimization tools. These features are accessible through a clean and organized dashboard, which simplifies the management process considerably for non-technical users. WP Engine also offers developer tools like Git Push and SSH Gateway, ensuring that technical users have the resources they need for advanced management.

Nexcess, on the other hand, provides a custom hosting dashboard with a different approach. Their panel is equally user-friendly and caters to both technical and non-technical users, but with an added emphasis on e-commerce solutions like WooCommerce. The interface includes drag-and-drop builders, pre-installed applications, and one-click setups, making it particularly attractive for those running online stores. Moreover, Nexcess integrates numerous functionalities such as staging sites, autoscaling, and performance monitoring directly into the panel, streamlining site management and enhancement.

Both WP Engine and Nexcess offer excellent migration tools, but they differ in execution. WP Engine provides an Automated Migration plugin that is free and easy to set up, along with a comprehensive manual migration checklist for alternative scenarios. If users encounter any issues, WP Engine offers 24/7 chat support. Nexcess, however, stands out by offering unlimited free managed migrations, handled by professionals. This service eliminates the need for users to engage in the migration process themselves, making it a highly attractive option for those who prefer a hands-off approach.

Both hosting providers excel in supporting their users through extensive help center resources. WP Engine has a robust Support Center featuring articles, migration guides, technical support, and specialized resources for security and performance optimization. The knowledge base is well-structured, providing easy access to crucial information. Nexcess also offers a comprehensive Knowledge Base with articles, tutorials, and webinars, as well as specialized guidance for various applications like WordPress and Magento. Their 24/7/365 support via phone, chat, and email, along with resources like webinars and white papers, ensures that users always have access to the help they need.

🏆 Winner WP Engine: Exceptional user management and flexible role assignments.

When comparing WP Engine and Nexcess in terms of user role management, WP Engine provides more detailed and versatile roles. WP Engine offers distinct categories like Owners, Full Users, and Partial Users, which come with specific permissions, making it easier to tailor access based on user needs. Conversely, Nexcess categorizes users into Superuser, Billing, Technical, and custom teams that can be configured according to the expertise of team members. While Nexcess allows for the creation of custom teams with specific permissions, WP Engine’s predefined roles offer precise control and flexibility, making it easier to manage diverse user roles effectively.

The user interfaces provided by both hosting platforms are intuitive and feature-rich. WP Engine’s User Portal is structured, allowing users to invite, edit, and remove members seamlessly with few clicks. Nexcess’s Client Portal offers similar functionality but emphasizes team-based management, enabling the creation and customization of teams. Both platforms ensure user roles can be managed efficiently, but WP Engine stands out with a more granular approach to user permissions directly in the navigation interface, making it slightly easier for administrators to keep track of user roles and permissions.

Access control measures in WP Engine are detailed and effective, ensuring that each user has appropriate access to environments and functionalities. WP Engine’s distinct user roles and detailed access logs provide comprehensive oversight. Nexcess, by contrast, supports multiple users without enforcing hard limits on permissions, which is beneficial for growing teams. However, WP Engine’s ability to define precise user roles and its active account activity log give it an edge in managing larger user bases with varied access needs. This thorough control helps to scale operations more efficiently.

WP Engine User Roles Table:

Nexcess User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner WP Engine: Superior customer support and security features for WordPress hosting.

WP Engine and Nexcess both offer extensive customer support, available 24/7/365. WP Engine’s support includes phone and chat options for all clients, with additional access through the User Portal for various plan-related functions. The user portal also provides error logs, password reset options, database import instructions, and more. WP Engine also has a high customer satisfaction score and offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Nexcess provides comprehensive support through phone, chat, and email, coupled with a customer portal for creating support tickets and accessing guides. Notable features include free managed migrations, proactive monitoring, daily backups, SSL certificates, and a CDN powered by Cloudflare. Nexcess also supports troubleshooting and infrastructure issues but does not extend support to web development or SEO tasks. The 30-day money-back guarantee provides users with a risk-free trial.

User feedback

WP Engine exudes excellence in managed WordPress hosting, boasting top-notch technical support that’s often highlighted as a standout feature. Users appreciate the user-friendly dashboard, seamless migration tools, daily backups, and solid security measures, all of which contribute to high performance and reliability. However, the service does come at a higher price point, which some users find steep, especially for entry-level plans or smaller projects. Despite occasional concerns about costs and some technical nuances, WP Engine’s premium service quality justifies the expense for many, making it a highly recommended solution for businesses and developers alike.

User feedback on Nexcess hosting is highly polarized. Positive reviews frequently commend the platform’s knowledgeable and responsive customer support, emphasizing swift issue resolution and a user-friendly interface. However, negative reviews highlight significant issues with the backup system, slow migration processes, and unreliable server performance, causing operational disruptions and reputational damage. Many users note the decline in service quality following the company’s acquisition, culminating in mixed recommendations.

FAQ