Maintaining and managing multiple WordPress sites can be challenging for non-tech-savvy users.
If you are a WordPress maintenance and development agency or a developer, you know how tedious it can be to manage a WordPress site. And it gets worse with multiple sites.
From taking regular backups to updating plugins regularly to the site’s uptime monitoring, all of it can be arduous manual labor. And you don’t want to invest your precious time in all this struggle, right?
Thankfully, we have WordPress automation tools like ManageWP and MainWP to make your life easier. But which one is the better option?
This blog compares ManageWP vs MainWP to help you determine which trumps the other!
ManageWP vs MainWP – An Introduction
ManageWP and MainWP are both WordPress maintenance and management tools that let you control multiple WP websites simultaneously. But they are different in several aspects, making it interesting to put them in the same fighting ring.
For instance, ManageWP is a third-party platform owned by GoDaddy, requiring you to link your WP sites to the platform and manage it from there. MainWP, on the other hand, is an open-source, self-hosted solution that you can install on your WordPress dashboard.
Also, they differ in functionality as well; like MainWP works with two plugins, while ManageWP works with one.
So let’s compare both tools and see which one emerges as the winner.
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ManageWP vs MainWP – Comparison
This section compares ManageWP and MainWP across similar features to help you pick the best-suited option for your business.
Pricing
ManageWP and MainWP both offer free basic versions. But, of course, they are limited, and you’ll need to get the premium add-ons to use the plugins in their full glory.
Let’s have a look at their pricing structures.
MainWP Pricing & Plans
MainWP has a simple pricing schedule, and its monthly package starts from $29, which is great if you want to try the platform before deciding to stick with it for the long term. Also, you can get the yearly package at $199.
But if you decide to use it for extended periods, you can get a lifetime subscription for $499, which you can pay in two installments. This option is great for agencies that want maximum utility without worrying about prices.
ManageWP Pricing & Plans
ManageWP, like MainWP, also offers a free plan. And as with MainWP, you’ll need to get the paid version to maximize the tool’s potential.
ManageWP’s pricing model differs from MainWP as it lets you get individual add-ons for $1 or $2 (per website). And agencies managing 25-100 websites can get all the add-ons for $25 to $150 each per month.
Final Verdict: MainWP wins the pricing game for the most part. However, if you just want to manage 5-10 websites with limited premium options, then ManageWP would be a good fit.
But if you want to scale, MainWP is clearly a better choice, as it lets you manage unlimited websites for a lifetime for just $499.
Dashboard Outlook
The dashboard for MainWP and ManageWP looks almost identical. I have attached screenshots of both tools’ dashboards to help you compare them at a glance.
ManageWP Interface
MainWP Interface
Both WordPress management tools give you a panel on the left with relevant options. You may choose your desired option and work on the right side of the dashboard.
Final Verdict: Both tools have a neat and navigable dashboard interface. I prefer MainWP’s interface because the colors are easy on my eyes and also because of more options. But that’s just a personal preference and may not be true for everyone!
Installation Process
MainWP and ManageWP are both easy to install, but let’s find out which one’s process is quicker and more effortless.
MainWP Installation Process
MainWP has its process explicitly written on its website. You can follow those steps (also mentioned below) to instantly install MainWP dashboard on your WordPress website.
Installing MainWP
Another step is installing and activating the MainWP Child plugin on all the other websites you want to control from the main website. Simple enough, right? Once you’re done with that, you’re good to play around with the plugin.
ManageWP Installation Process
Installing and activating ManageWP isn’t rocket science either.
- Go to their website, and enter your email & captcha, then click the sign-up button to get started.
- You will be redirected to the next step:
Enter the details or skip directly to the dashboard. But you’ll be required to input your websites to start managing them. Once you’re done with the necessary details, you’ll be redirected to the dashboard.
Final Verdict: Installing either of the platforms is easy, and both are at par in this regard.
Managing Updates
ManageWP and MainWP let the users efficiently manage updates. They are different in their offerings but efficiently get the job done.
And automating your updates can really save you hours and hours of manually servicing the website updates. Check out SafeUpdates by Cloudways. With this, you can schedule automated updates of your plugins, and themes, and even get the core vitals checked for your website(s).
And the best part – SafeUpdates come with Advanced Visual Regression Testing (VRT). With VRT, your website never breaks down because of the updates. And if there’s anything worrisome with the updates, VRT rolls back to the last working backup so that your website always runs smoothly!
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MainWP Update Management
MainWP lets you manage updates in several ways:
- Manage updates for all child websites from the overview page.
- Manually install an update by accessing the plugin/theme page.
- Schedule regular updates (1 to 12 times per day).
Note: You must checkmark themes and plugins as trusted for automatic updates because MainWP considers everything malicious by default.
ManageWP Update Management
ManageWP also lets you manage updates easily from the overview page. In fact, I found it more convenient because it lets you manage updates for each child website individually. Also, you can use its dashboard to micromanage site options.
However, its automatic update frequency is restricted to once per week. So, if you want a better update routine, you’ll have to do it manually.
Final Verdict: I feel that both tools do a good job of managing updates, so it’s pretty much a tie here.
Backup Options
Taking regular site backups is essential. Various malicious plugins, DDoS attacks, corrupted theme updates, etc., can take your website down. But if you have a backup, you can always restore it. Else, you’ll have to build up everything from scratch.
You can take regular backups with both ManageWP and MainWP, but their processes differ.
MainWP Backup Options
MainWP lets you take backups via extension plugins, and gives you both free and paid options.
The free options include BackWPUp, Updraftplus, and WPvivid. But if you want extended backup options, you’ll have to get the pro version.
ManageWP Backup Options
ManageWP has a native backup system and offers regular monthly backups with the free version. But like MainWP, if you want the premium backup services, you will have to pay for that.
The best part about ManageWP is that it creates offsite backups that don’t put any load on your servers. Its premium version makes taking backups much easier and offers extended features like on-demand backups and cloning.
You can even download the backups to your local machine to make any changes offline.
Final Verdict: While MainWP lets you take backups without much difficulty, ManageWP offers overall better functionality and more ease of backups.
Uptime Monitoring
Monitoring several websites’s uptime at once can get tough. But not with ManageWP and MainWP, as their different mechanisms let you monitor multiple sites’ uptime with absolute ease.
Let’s see how each one performs in this regard.
MainWP Uptime Monitoring
MainWP lets you monitor uptime for free. Plus, it doesn’t restrict you to only using its uptime monitor and allows keeping a stricter check with other third-party services that you may integrate into its dashboard.
These plugins include Uptime Robot, NodePing, Site24x7, and Better Uptime which also let you acquire reports to share with your clients.
ManageWP Uptime Monitoring
With ManageWP, uptime monitoring is a luxury, as you’ll have to pay for the service.
ManageWP checks your sites every minute and instantly notifies the detection of any anomalies. Same as MainWP, you get client reports with ManageWP as well.
Final Verdict: MainWP offers many great options that put the ball in their court in the ManageWP vs. MainWP battle of uptime monitoring.
Security
ManageWP and MainWP are both good at guarding your websites. They can sufficiently look out for your WordPress security.
They both offer the security feature for free, which takes care of most security aspects. But if you want ironclad security for all your websites, then you can go for the paid options.
MainWP – Security Features
MainWP offers a free security plugin, i.e., Sucuri, that guards your websites by scanning malicious JS, IE-only attacks, Blackhat SEO spam, etc. It even reminds you when you forget to scan sites for extended periods and tells you if the search engine has blacklisted your sites.
And the best thing: all this is offered for free. However, if you want to take your site security up a notch with MainWP, you can choose a premium plugin – virusdie. This plugin will ensure that your sites remain well protected against viruses.
You can control both these options directly from your MainWP dashboard. Sadly, you won’t find the reporting option in the free version and will have to upgrade to the Pro Reports plugin to report the security statuses to the clients.
ManageWP – Security Features
ManageWP also has a free security scanner that keeps an eye on all your sites.
It’ll prompt you with malware issues, or if any of your sites is blacklisted, etc., so you can resolve them instantly. But the free version requires a manual security run.
Like MainWP, If you want to automate security checks, you’ll have to pay for that feature and that is $1/mo/site. And unlike MainWP, the free version gives you security reports as well.
Final Verdict: I think ManageWP has a simpler process for security scans. MainWP is a cheaper option for agencies with several clients with several utilities on offer, but ManageWP edges this one.
Content Management
Both ManageWP and MainWP let you access your child sites’ content from the dashboard. But with MainWP, you can create a new post and publish it on any child websites, taking away the hassle of logging into each site to publish content.
Final Verdict: Both tools are almost the same with content management, but MainWP takes the lead here as it lets you publish directly from the dashboard.
Customization
Customizing child websites is a big part of website management, and thankfully, ManageWP and MainWP both offer the needed features.
You can easily install, update, activate, and deactivate plugins and themes for any of your child sites using any of these tools.
Final Verdict: It’s a tie.
MainWP vs. ManageWP – Which One Wins the Game
This is where it gets interesting.
Both MainWP and ManageWP cover all the basic multiple website management features. But when it comes to making the final decision, there’s a lot more to consider.
For me personally, the biggest plus with MainWP is its simple pricing structure. If you are a mid-sized to a big agency, you can pay $500 and get lifetime access to manage unlimited child sites. So you can solely focus on moving your agency forward and never worry about the pricing again.
ManageWP’s price structure is somewhat confusing, as it requires you to micromanage the add-ons for each child site. Plus, in the long run, MainWP is cheaper than ManageWP. However, ManageWP can also be cost-effective if you have a few sites or manage less than 10 sites for your clients.
Second, MainWP is an open-source tool making it a customizable option. On the contrary, ManageWP is a SaaS that will limit your flexibility to some extent.
With MainWP, you set up everything on your own server. But with ManageWP, you rent services and servers that’ll limit you in some ways.
Besides that, both tools are good at letting you manage and control several sites simultaneously. But because of the two points above, I believe MainWP wins this faceoff for sure!
Raza Aslam Lakhani
I'm a digital content producer at Cloudways. I'm also a hodophile- always ready to explore new places and cultures. Other than that, I play guitar and love to indulge myself in deep, meaningful conversations. Always looking for opportunities to learn new things.
