SiteGround vs WP Engine: Which One Suits Your Needs?
Choosing the right WordPress site hosting is not always an easy task. This is because multiple companies are offering this type of service with very similar features, making it difficult to find the right one for you.
In this article, we will navigate through the most important features when choosing a hosting plan. We will go step by step through characteristics like security, speed, and customer service using two very popular sites that offer these services: SiteGround vs WP Engine. This way, you will have a complete comparison of both.
You may wonder why we chose these two specifically?
Because SiteGround alone has around 2 million domains in its network, while WP Engine already exceeds 90,000 customers worldwide. Having this number of users using their services is undoubtedly a sign that they are doing a good job.
But which one will be the best for you? Find out below in this SiteGround vs WP Engine article.
Comparative WP Engine vs SiteGround
Before we begin, let's take a walk through the features we're discussing today. Many WordPress users know what features to look for when choosing a hosting service. But, if you don't have the experience, you may not understand a lot of the information.
So, here's a little bit about the features we'll be comparing today:
Best Price
No matter if you are just starting your brand or if you have been in the market for a long time, the main goal is always to reduce costs. That's why you must choose wisely the best service for the price you are going to invest.
Traffic and storage
Knowing how many visitors the hosting service can support is a key feature to take into account. It is also important to be clear about what happens if the visitor limits are exceeded. Nor can you leave out the significant data transfer rights, here we give you all this information and more.
Uptime and speed
There is no doubt that uptime is important on the web nowadays. In just 3 seconds we must capture the attention of people to stay on the website, and if you have a page that takes time to load, not only will the users leave quickly, you will also be penalized by google.
So, without a doubt, this aspect should be of utmost importance to you.
Data Security
With so many hackers and malware present on the web, you cannot take the security of your site for granted. The protection measures of companies must be optimal to provide the best service to every customer. This aspect includes the security of data transfer and storage, plus of course, the safety of the host site.
Customer Service
It is most likely that at some point, you will need to resolve a question, or you will need help and technical support from the host. Of course, you will want to have good customer support, so counting on excellent customer service is key.
Now that you know what we're going to compare today, it's time to put SiteGround and WP Engine head-to-head. Let's see who wins!
WP Engine or SiteGround – Best Price
SiteGround
SiteGround has a base level called StartUp that starts at around $15 per month. They also have the GrowBig plan available for around $24 per month, and finally, they have a higher level, the GoGeek plan, for around $39 per month.
This service also has shared hosting plans. The most important thing is that if you exceed the limit of visits or storage, you will not have to pay extra. But, keep in mind that the performance of your site may be affected. Check their site for any discounts.
WP Engine
Without a doubt, this is one of the most expensive services available. The most basic plan they have is also called Startup, and its price is $35 per month. The plan after that costs $115 per month. Scale is one of the most expensive, with a price of $290 per month.
In WP Engine, you must pay if you exceed the limits of visitors per month on your website. This way, you will ensure that your site functions properly. This service also has a shared host plan.
Which one is the best?
If we take into account the prices, don't hesitate to choose SiteGround. The basic plan offers many features similar to WP Engine for a much more affordable price. You just have to keep in mind the flow of visitors to your site to avoid your site's performance being affected if the limit is exceeded.
SiteGround vs WP Engine – Traffic and storage
SiteGround
On the one hand, if you choose this service and purchase the StartUp plan, you will have 10GB of storage available, while you will be able to receive up to 10,000 visitors per month.
With GrowBig, you will have 20GB and up to 25,000 visitors per month. The last one, the GoGeek plan, gives you a total of 30GB and a total of 100,000 visitors. Yes, you read that right.
These plans come with unlimited monthly data transfers!
WP Engine
WP Engine offers the same storage capacity as SiteGround. It starts with a 10GB basic plan, a 20GB plan, and a 30GB plan. The only thing that varies is the number of monthly users it supports.
The base plan allows a total of 25,000 visitors per month, while the second plan expands it up to 100,000 visitors. But, without a doubt, the biggest surprise is the third plan, which surpasses SiteGround in all aspects, since it allows a total of 400,000 visitors per month.
Another important aspect that differs from SiteGround is the data transfer limit since these are limited depending on the plan you decide to choose.
According to your choice, you will have 50GB with the base plan, 220GB with the intermediate plan, and 400 GB of data transfer in the highest plan.
Which one is the best?
Once again, our winner in this SiteGround vs WP Engine is, SiteGround. Although the monthly storage limits are tied, and WP Engine offers many more visitors per month, the unlimited data transfers take the lead, and that's why SiteGround is crowned again.
SiteGround vs WP Engine – Uptime and speed
SiteGround
Although they have slowed down their page load time, SiteGround still takes approximately 1.3 seconds to load the page. The decrease in time has been attributed to the number of users using the system. However, the actual time is good enough compared to other services.
This speed is due to the Supercharger, a function that stores in the cache the elements that are used repeatedly on the page, reducing the number of elements to download in one visit.
The uptime is another outstanding feature of this service since it has a total uptime of 99.99%. What does this mean? It means that in 6 months, your site will be inactive for only 4 hours.
WP Engine
Another thing that WP Engine and SiteGround have in common is their loading time, which is 1.3 seconds. This speed is achieved thanks to the five data centers it has spread around the world, which shortens the data transfer transition time.
Also, in common with SiteGround is the uptime, which is 99.99%. Although the company has mentioned on different occasions that it is looking to increase this number to 100%, for now, it continues to share the same percentage with its competitor.
Which is the best?
In this feature, we have a tie. Both loading times and uptime on both hosts are equal so far. So, we can only give equal points to both.
WP Engine vs SiteGround – Data Security
SiteGround
SiteGround doesn't take for granted the security of its customers, that's why it has unique security features, among which Leech Protect stands out.
This tool prevents users from posting names and passwords on the website, thus helping to protect their security. It also blocks repeated attempts to enter passwords, in case a user is being hacked.
SiteCheck is another wonderful tool from this host, as it allows you to combat malware at the code level and the site level by just running a scan.
In addition, in their data centers, they not only use power redundancy systems but also use hardware. What does this mean? Well, even if the host servers fail, your site will remain active or will be deactivated for a very short time.
They also have integrated protocols that protect a server that is failing, preventing it from affecting the others.
As for the use of the control panels, we can say that the handling is quite simple. It is not necessary to be an expert to manage this host simply.
The backups vary depending on the plan you decide to choose, daily backups are the order of the day with shared hosting plans. With more advanced plans, you will have access to on-demand backups, but with the most basic plan, you will have to pay extra for this tool.
WP Engine
This host fights malware with another method, as it uses disk write protection and limitations. WP Engine places a limit on the processes allowed to write to disk. This successfully prevents an infected theme or plugin from affecting your website.
For sure, this is one of the most effective ways to identify malicious and non-malicious entries written in code. Of course, the system can log any attempt to write to disk. From this log, a constantly updated list of permissions that are blocked or otherwise allowed is created.
This ensures that the malware attack is as up-to-date as possible.
Daily backup and on-demand backups are also available with this host, and most importantly, it is just as easy to use as SiteGround.
SiteGround or WP Engine – Which one is the best?
We're back to a tie. Both fight malware and protect data like no other service. So, we can only award honors to both.
WP Engine or SiteGround – Customer Service
SiteGround
If you need help, SiteGround is available for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Their support team is known for solving problems in as little as five minutes. Live chat and phone support are available.
The only downside to their customer service is that priority is given to users with premium plans like GrowBig and GoGeek. If you are on a basic plan like StartUp, you will have to wait a few minutes to be attended.
WP Engine
It is known that the staff of this host is an expert in solving WordPress sites problems, so if this is your case, be assured that in minutes you will have your issue solved.
Their technical support is active 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can talk to a person in real-time if you call between 7 am and 7 pm CST. The WP Engine website also has a comprehensive Q&A section.
A live chat is available, as well as, the option to write via email. A very complete service to give you the best quality support.
Which one is the best?
Now we break the tie to go with WP Engine. Although both companies have a great customer support service, the diversity of issues that WP Engine's team can solve puts it as the winner in this category.
Siteground vs WP Engine: Conclusion
As you can see, what SiteGround and WP Engine offer is quite similar in general terms. Both web hosting services have good features in terms of speed, security, and uptime.
Although WP Engine takes the lead in customer support, SiteGround comes out ahead with the unlimited monthly data transfers and, of course, the price.
So, if you are looking for managed WordPress hosting with excellent performance and an affordable price, we recommend going for SiteGround.
This is not to say that WP Engine is not a good option, it is. You just have to have a bigger budget if you want to use their services.
Now the decision is in your hands. Take advantage of the service that best suits your needs!
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Alternatively, if you have a larger budget for more power – Get an exclusive WP Engine Discount Here!