Final verdict

Looking over WP Engine vs. Pressable, both excel in managed WordPress hosting but serve slightly different user needs.

• 
  WP Engine (Overall grade: 8.6)
  
  
  delivers exceptional uptime, performance, and advanced WordPress features. It stands out with its detailed user management, strong security frameworks, and proven 100% uptime record over two months. The platform is particularly suitable for high-traffic and growing ecommerce sites, thanks to its sophisticated caching, global CDN, and proactive security measures. However, its higher price point may be a drawback for some smaller projects or entry-level users.
  
• 
  Pressable (Overall grade: 8.4)
  
  
  offers a competitive managed WordPress hosting service with a focus on user-friendliness and developer-friendly tools. It ensures robust performance with its 100% uptime guarantee and rapid site speeds using advanced server technologies. Pressable is well-suited for multimedia sites and users favoring intuitive interfaces. Though it doesn’t match WP Engine in some advanced customizations and detailed user role management, it’s a strong choice for those seeking reliable, easy-to-use hosting at competitive prices.
  

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

🏆 Winner WP Engine: WP Engine provides exceptional uptime and service reliability for high-traffic WordPress sites.

WP Engine stands out with a demonstrated 100% uptime over two months and an average server response time of 489ms. With a 99.99% Service Level Agreement (SLA) and global data centers, the platform ensures high-performance and stable site availability globally. Proactive security measures, automated updates, and daily backups enhance site reliability and user experience. Additionally, WP Engine offers 24/7 support, ensuring any potential issues affecting uptime are promptly addressed.

Pressable offers a strong contender with its 100% uptime guarantee and geo-redundant automatic failover system. The platform’s 24/7/365 monitoring and redundant data centers ensure minimal downtime and high fault tolerance. Health monitoring and tierless support further add to its reliability, making Pressable a solid choice for WordPress hosting. Despite these impressive features, WP Engine’s consistent uptime performance and superior SLA give it the edge.

🏆 Winner
WP Engine: For users who prioritize speed and advanced technological infrastructure, WP Engine is more suitable for high-demand websites that require reliable and fast global access.

WP Engine and Pressable both offer SSD storage and free CDN integration to enhance hosting performance and speed. WP Engine, however, showcases faster load times with a heavyweight theme clocked at 1.69 seconds, compared to Pressable’s 4.85 seconds. WP Engine operates 11 global data centers, which surpasses Pressable’s six, potentially offering better local loading speeds and content delivery. Moreover, WP Engine’s technology is more up-to-date, which may contribute to its superior performance.

Website Speed

WP Engine excels in website speed with an LCP time of 872ms, significantly outperforming Pressable’s 1.8 seconds. Although both fall within the acceptable range of LCP (up to 2.5 seconds is considered good), WP Engine’s website speed is notably better, indicating a more efficient user experience.

Scalability

Both hosting providers offer scalability options tailored to varying needs; however, WP Engine provides a more customized approach with its custom cloud plans where resources can be configured to user requirements. Pressable also offers a variety of hosting types, including shared and dedicated servers, with tiered pricing to accommodate different user levels.

Winner WP Engine: A highly secure hosting environment for WordPress websites.

Technical security measures

WP Engine and Pressable both offer strong technical security features. WP Engine automates threat detection, blocking 72 million attacks daily and provides continuous monitoring. It also includes managed WAF, advanced DDoS mitigation, and Cloudflare CDN with SSL. In contrast, Pressable offers free SSL certificates, daily malware scanning, and Jetpack Security Daily, which includes brute force attack protection and automated backups. Both hosts utilize a web application firewall and proactive threat management. However, WP Engine’s edge in technology and detection capacity sets it apart.

Operational security measures

WP Engine delivers always-on monitoring, live security management, and 24/7 global support with a 97% satisfaction rate. It updates WordPress core automatically and offers two-factor authentication, daily backups, and proactive security alerts. Pressable ensures current PHP versions, daily backups, and managed WordPress core updates. It includes free hack recovery and aims to maintain secure operations through regular scans and threat monitoring. While both provide solid operational security, WP Engine’s focus on live monitoring and extensive support underscores its leading status.

Compliance and certifications

WP Engine distinguishes itself with SOC-2 compliance, ISO 27001-2013 certification, and potential PCI scanning. This assurance of meeting industry standards provides a reliable security framework. Pressable emphasizes GDPR and PCI compliance but does not specify additional certifications. WP Engine’s numerous certifications and compliance measures offer extensive regulatory alignment.

🏆 Winner WP Engine: A comprehensive managed WordPress hosting provider with extensive features and performance optimizations.

WP Engine and Pressable both offer managed WordPress hosting with robust performance and security features, but they cater to slightly different needs. WP Engine stands out with its end-to-end management capabilities, making it highly conducive for users seeking premium performance and advanced user permissions. Features like EverCache® technology and detailed performance insights cater to businesses needing highly optimized environments. Additionally, WP Engine’s flexible migration tools and high-level security measures, including DDoS mitigation and managed updates, make it an excellent choice for growing businesses and enterprises.

On the other hand, Pressable focuses on user-friendliness and developer accessibility. Its intuitive managed hosting dashboard makes it easy for users to manage multiple websites with one-click solutions. Pressable also offers seamless developer tools, including GitHub integration and SSH access, making code deployment straightforward. Their proactive security measures, such as automatic malware scanning and regular backups, enhance site reliability and protection. While it does offer solid performance features with free global CDN and automatic scaling, it lacks the customizable site speed enhancements present in WP Engine’s offerings.

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 Pressable 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:

Neither WP Engine nor Pressable offer dedicated email hosting services or capabilities for users to set up email campaigns. Both providers focus on their core strength: managed WordPress hosting without email hosting. Users looking for email services might need to consider third-party solutions like Google Workspace or Outlook.

🏆 Winner Pressable: Offers feature-rich plans tailored for high-traffic websites at competitive prices.

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. 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 Pressable, WP Engine provides Managed WordPress Hosting with plans starting at $20/month, offering features like auto-renewing SSLs, security patches, and global CDN. Conversely, Pressable’s plans start at $40/month, highlighting capabilities such as staging with sync, 24/7 expert support, and Jetpack Security. WP Engine has lower entry-level pricing but Pressable includes many high-value features across its plans. For larger needs, such as multiple WordPress installs or higher storage, Pressable’s scaled options are priced competitively when billed annually.

Enterprise plans

Both WP Engine and Pressable offer custom enterprise solutions for high-demand clients. Pressable’s enterprise plans come with scalable WordPress installs and features tailored to user-specific needs such as custom visits and storage allowances. WP Engine, on the other hand, focuses on premium support and advanced security features. Each has its strengths for enterprise clients, with WP Engine centering on security and managed support while Pressable emphasizes scalability and comprehensive features.

🏆 Winner Pressable: An intuitive and user-friendly hosting platform that excels in flexibility and support.

Pressable, on the other hand, features a sleek and modern custom dashboard that caters to users of all levels. The intuitive interface makes it simple to manage WordPress and WooCommerce sites, set up domain management, and handle SFTP access. The dashboard’s design emphasizes ease of use, reducing the learning curve for new users, and offering advanced options for professionals managing multiple websites. With tools like one-click cloning and streamlined access to essential features, Pressable stands out for its simple, yet effective, administrative experience.

WP Engine provides a custom solution through its Support Center, ensuring accessibility for both technical and non-technical users. The platform includes automation tools and offers a detailed, step-by-step guide for manual migrations. While the dashboard is extensive, it may seem a bit overwhelming for beginners but proves highly functional for seasoned developers. The presence of 24/7 technical support and a range of developer tools make the experience of managing a site on WP Engine efficient and robust.

Both hosting providers offer robust migration tools. WP Engine provides a free Automated Migration plugin for easy site transfers, along with a Manual Migration Checklist for those preferring a more hands-on approach. Pressable matches this with its own Automated Migration plugin, praised for its hassle-free process allowing even beginners to migrate their sites effortlessly. Both providers ensure that these tools are available at no additional cost, making the migration process straightforward.

WP Engine’s Support Center is well-stocked with articles and detailed migration guides, along with 24/7 technical support via phone and chat. Their resources cover a wide spectrum of topics from security to developer tools, catering to in-depth queries and troubleshooting. Pressable’s knowledge base is equally comprehensive, segmented into categories such as tutorials, billing, speed optimization, and FAQs, backed by 24/7 expert support from WordPress-certified engineers. The readily available and well-organized resources contribute to a seamless user experience.

Winner WP Engine: A detailed and versatile user management system for hosting operations.

WP Engine offers a comprehensive approach to managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility. It enables administrators to define precise user roles with clear guidelines on what each role can access and accomplish. The platform’s use of user-level distinctions, such as Full or Partial roles (with or without billing access), allows for granular control over various environments. In contrast, Pressable, while efficient in handling basic collaborator access and permissions, does not provide the same level of detail in customizing user roles, limiting its flexibility in complex user management scenarios.

WP Engine’s user interface is straightforward, featuring clear steps for adding, editing, and removing users from the account. It provides accessible navigation through the User Portal, where administrators can manage permissions with specific role-based capabilities. The Pressable dashboard, though user-friendly and effective for collaborative purposes, primarily focuses on SFTP access and site settings, which may not be as detailed as WP Engine for comprehensive user role administration.

Both platforms implement effective access control measures, but WP Engine stands out in its capacity to handle a growing user base due to its structured user categories and environment-specific permissions. Pressable offers reliable security features and straightforward collaborator management through SSH, WP-CLI, and Git integration, but it may not be as efficient for larger teams needing sophisticated access controls. WP Engine’s activity log and advanced role management provide a robust solution for scaling user access efficiently.

WP Engine User Roles Table:

Pressable User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner
WP Engine: Offering extensive 24/7 support through multiple channels and focusing on enterprise-grade security features.

WP Engine and Pressable both offer 24/7 customer support, but their services differ in several ways. WP Engine provides chat and phone support for general inquiries, with designated hours for account verification, renewals, and cancellations. Technical assistance is available from 7 a.m. to midnight EST, via phone or a Help Ticket for email support. They have separate contact numbers for US and international customers. However, some users have reported issues such as slow response times and communication difficulties, often attributed to outsourcing.

On the other hand, Pressable also delivers round-the-clock support, primarily through online channels but without phone support. They pride themselves on quick response and resolution times, backed by a certified team of WordPress engineers. Pressable’s notable features include free migrations, security monitoring, and daily backups, complementing their high customer satisfaction rating. Premium support is available via a dedicated Slack channel for advanced issues, making Pressable a strong contender despite its slightly lower score compared to WP Engine.

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.

Overall, users have expressed high satisfaction with the hosting provider, citing exceptional customer support, fast response times, and reliable uptime as standout features. The platform’s ease of use, fast website speeds, and seamless integration with WordPress are frequently praised. Although some users noted that accessing core files and the staging environment process could be more straightforward, these issues do not significantly detract from their positive experiences. The main minor drawback highlighted is the pricing, which some users feel is on the higher side, but they acknowledge it is justified by the outstanding quality and support provided.

FAQ