SiteGround vs WP Engine 2025: Honest Review by Experts

Gizmodo

2 days ago

We understand your struggle. You're looking for an adequate WordPress hosting solution. However, after days or weeks of searching, you've become dead-set on SiteGround or WP Engine. You've heard plenty of good stuff about them — speed, security, ease of use, etc.
Well, the rumors are true. SiteGround is impeccable, with ample performance, feature-packed plans, and tons of security features. WP Engine is renowned for its reliable WordPress hosting too, with flexible, scalable, and diverse plans to suit everyone's growing needs.
In our SiteGround vs WP Engine analysis, we liked SiteGround more, as it's cheaper and simultaneously more reliable than WP Engine. However, our goals and preferences don't have to align with yours. That's why you should examine our comparison, be the judge, and make the decision accordingly.
SiteGround vs WP Engine – Quick Comparison
🏆 SiteGround WP Engine 🌐 Shared (WordPress) Hosting Price $3.99/mo (StartUp plan) $25/mo (Essential Startup plan) 💾 WooCommerce Hosting Price $3.99/mo (StartUp plan) $30/mo (Essential eCommerce Startup plan) ☁️ Cloud Hosting Price $100/mo (Jump Start Plan) / 🧑 Dedicated Hosting Price / / 🆓 1-Year Free Domain No No 🔐 WHOIS Domain Privacy No No 🌎 Data Centers Ashburn, Council Bluffs, Dallas, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Eemshaven, Frankfurt, Paris, Sydney, Singapore Iowa, Oregon, Virginia, Sydney, South Carolina, Montreal, London, Netherlands, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Tel Aviv, and more. ✅ Uptime Guarantee 99.95% 99.95% 🖥️ Free SSL Certificate Yes Yes ⏬ Automated Backups Yes, daily Yes, daily 💿 Storage 10 GB to 40 GB 10 GB to 50 GB #️⃣ Number of Hosted Websites 1 to unlimited 1 to 30 🤖 AI Website Builder Yes No 💸 Money-Back Guarantee 30 days 60 days
Hosting Plans, Pricing & Features
One of the main criticisms of WP Engine is the price. It's not for everyone, especially for people on an inflexible budget. However, SiteGround isn't the least expensive pick either. On the other hand, these are premium WordPress hosting services, so naturally, they'll going to cost slightly more.
Before we discuss their prices, it's smart to look at their hosting types which are in the table below:
SiteGround WP Engine WordPress ✅ ✅ WooCommerce ✅ ✅ Cloud ✅ ❌ Shared ✅ ✅ Dedicated ❌ ❌ VPS ❌ ❌
Both providers primarily rely on shared hosting but with a caveat.
SiteGround's shared hosting is out-of-the-box ready for WordPress and WooCommerce, with no upselling trickery. WP Engine begs to differ, splitting its shared hosting plans into two — you guessed it, WordPress and WooCommerce.
That's practically it in the case of WP Engine. SiteGround, however, includes a few cloud hosting plans and reseller options if you're interested in that. Variety-wise, SiteGround takes the crown, but once we examine their prices and features, we can paint the whole picture.
WordPress & WooCommerce Plans
As said, SiteGround is a great WooCommerce hosting option regardless of the chosen plan — no need to spend more. Thus, you can start selling online at as low as $3.99/mo, although you can have only one online store with 10 GB of web space. That's why SiteGround's GrowBig plan is the best.
GrowBig costs $6.69/mo and comes with unlimited sites, 20 GB of web space, staging, on-demand backups, and so on.
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On the other hand, WP Engine WordPress hosting starts at $25/mo for the Essential plan, which you can customize to get more sites and storage.
Essentially, WP Engine goes from $25/mo to $242/mo based on your needs. The Core plan is the next tier at $400/mo, and there's the Enterprise plan with a custom price.
Moving on, WooCommerce plans start at $30/mo for Essential eCommerce with only one site and 10 GB of storage. Core eCommerce is a gargantuan $500/mo, which is out of many people's budgets.
Despite costing much less, SiteGround lacks nothing from WP Engine. In fact, we'd bravely say it offers more and doesn't charge you on top of silly things like automated updates, extra security, speed boosts, etc.
WordPress & WooCommerce Features
Now that we touched on extra features and features in general, it's time to compare them.
So, SiteGround offers the following things outside the box, in its best-value GrowBig plan:
Unlimited sites
20 GB of web space
Managed WordPress (auto-install, auto-updates, WP-CLI, SSH, …)
Fully enabled WooCommerce
Free SSL, email, email migratory, and CDN
Daily backups (+ on-demand backups)
Enhanced security
Out-of-the-box NGINX caching
Collaborators
30% faster PHP
WordPress Staging
Unmetered traffic
100,000 monthly visitors
But then, the Essential Professional plan at $50/mo from WP Engine offers:
3 websites
75,000 monthly visitors
15 GB of storage
150 GB of bandwidth
Proactive WordPress security
Managed WP updates
Global CDN
24/7 WordPress technical assistance
Daily and on-demand backups
Website staging
You'll agree that WP Engine is no slouch, but SiteGround is a less expensive alternative and a better one at that. WP Engine charges you $17 for each additional site. You'll also spend $3 on top, for automated plugin updates and $26 for SOC 2 level security with a WAF.
Do you want speed boosts? Spend $17 to get 30+ site optimizations. Plus, if you want an e-commerce package, that would be another $13 to spice things up. Add all of this, or at least half of it, and WP Engine will become a bloody expensive investment from the get-go.
One of the worst things about WP Engine is the lack of unlimited websites, bandwidth, and monthly visitors. As you see above, all three are quite limited, especially monthly visitors and bandwidth. SiteGround's GrowBig plan alleviates all restrictions for the best experience.
Ultimately, it's not that WP Engine doesn't offer specific features. It's that you have to spend a ludicrous amount of money to get them. This, in turn, makes SiteGround a more sensible option that'll save you a fortune.
Winner: SiteGround
SiteGround is a better package at a lower price. It also offers cloud hosting which aids scalability, as well as the GoGeek plan that offers more than WP Engine's equivalent at a vastly lower price. WP Engine's 60-day money-back guarantee is better than a 30-day one in SiteGround.
Apart from that, it's hard to deem WP Engine a better value for money. That's why our choice would always be SiteGround, whether it's a simple WordPress site or a rich WooCommerce online store.
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SiteGround vs WP Engine Performance Comparison
SiteGround is a logical choice if you seek maximum performance, speed, and uptime. WP Engine is a solid performer, but with a rival so strong in front, it'll be hard to do some serious damage. Nevertheless, we compared WP Engine vs SiteGround fairly.
For example, we used their US-based server to host our websites. Our websites were made in WordPress and we used the same minimalist theme called Astra. We always pick this theme because it's lightweight, while still allowing us to make a good-looking and functional site.
That's what we did! We made two identical websites, with some compressed images, a few blog posts, and a couple of interactive segments, just to make things more interesting.
GTmetrix Speed Test Comparison
Okay, so now, it's time to examine our GTmetrix speed tests. They'll tell us more about page-loading times and give us a broad image of both websites' performances. During our SiteGround vs WP Engine speed test evaluation, we focused on these five metrics:
TTFB or Time to First Byte
FCP or First Contentful Paint
LCP or Largest Contentful Paint
CLS or Cumulative Layout Shift
FLT or Fully Loaded Time
Also, we used the default server in Vancouver for this test. This meant that the test would simulate the performance of the website for users located in Vancouver. We knew using the US server would yield better performance results, but that wasn't the point of our testing.
The point was to gauge the performance in non-ideal conditions.
GTmetrix, Vancouver SiteGround WP Engine TTFB
40 ms 161 ms FCP
281 ms 457 ms LCP
321 ms 878 ms CLS 0.02 0.02 FLT
683 ms 1.0 s
It's clear which web host is the fastest — SiteGround.
However, WP Engine performed admirably and well within the recommended limits. For instance, TTFB should be under 200 ms, and as you see, both providers are well above that. SiteGround is exceptional, though.
Fully loaded time or FLT should ideally be under 2 seconds, and in both cases, it never goes above 1 second. FCP, which is the time it takes for the browser to render the first element on the page, is relatively low in both cases, at under 500 ms.
We'll also mention LCP, which is the time it takes for the largest element on the page to load. At under 900 ms for WP Engine and under 400 ms for SiteGround, both have displayed fantastic results. However, SiteGround's industry-leading performance is tough to defeat.
Uptime Analysis & Response Times
Our next testing adventure continued on Pingdom, where we examined their uptimes and response times. We'll start with uptimes because both providers scored impressive scores.
We tested SiteGround and WP Engine for 3 months and monitored their downtimes.
The results were 99.95% for SiteGround, which had a few minor outages in this period. All three combined didn't last for more than 10 minutes, so it's really nothing to be up in arms about. WP Engine, however, didn't have a single outage in 3 months, which was surprising.
With WP Engine's 100% uptime score, it gained the upper hand on SiteGround for a while. But when you examine their average response times, you'll see that SiteGround was a speck better at 299 ms versus 403 ms in WP Engine. To be clear, both are fairly impressive.
However, after examining our Pingdom results, we found that WP Engine's graph danced up to 600+ ms and went as low as ~220 ms, which resulted in the given average response time. SiteGround kept things much lower and didn't have these spikes.
At one point, SiteGround's response time even went well under 200 ms, indicating impressive performance that couldn't be beaten easily. Overall, at under 600-650 ms, which is the upper range for shared hosting, both providers passed our exhaustive tests with flying colors.
Winner: SiteGround
Despite flying colors on both sides, SiteGround was ever so slightly more vibrant and its outstanding performance metrics brought it yet another trophy. Though, even if you went with WP Engine, you wouldn't be disappointed with the performance. It's just that SiteGround is a notch or two above.
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Which Hosting Provider is Easier to Use?
We'll press on to hosting management and ease of use, where we had ample time to test and evaluate SiteGround and WP Engine. To be frank, we preferred SiteGround at first, but after using WP Engine for a while, we found them equally functional and simple to use.
SiteGround Interface & Ease of Use
SiteGround offers its good, old Site Tools. It's an intuitive hosting management system, which operates on a single page and we always praise that. This results in unbelievable snappiness that permeates the experience and makes website management and updates insanely quick.
The left-hand side holds different menus, like the dashboard, site management, security settings, speed optimization, WordPress updates, emails, and so on. The upper portion is reserved for pinned tools, and you can pin as many as you like for added convenience.
Scroll a bit and you'll find insightful site information, such as disk space, name servers, and more. Even if you prefer cPanel hosting, which is arguably great, Site Tools will match it in flexibility, ease of use, and functionality. An adequate case in point is the WordPress setup.
SiteGround completes it in a few simple steps thanks to a built-in WordPress installer. Better yet, there's the option to install WordPress + WooCommerce at once, and have your online store ready in no time.
WP Engine Interface & Ease of Use
WP Engine doesn't have a cPanel. It uses an in-house solution that… well, looks slightly more advanced at first glance. Again, you'll find your tools on the left, and from there, you can access your websites, CDN, backup points, migrations, error logs, and so much more.
We love that WP Engine has staging and website development put separately. For example, to make a staging copy, click Add Staging on the left, and you'll be offered to make an experimental copy of the website. Another highlight of this interface is the live checklist.
It's a simple list that allows you to track tasks and see which ones are complete. WP Engine is, overall, very simple to use, and like SiteGround, lets you install WordPress promptly. You simply have to choose if you'd like a WordPress or WooCommerce site and follow the steps.
Winner: Tie
SiteGround is usually our benchmark for ease of use, along with Hostinger's hPanel. This time, however, WP Engine stood up for itself and defended bravely against its rival. With both options having some of the best hosting panels around, we have to go with a tie. It's the only logical outcome.
Which Web Hosting Is More Secure?
One of the most important aspects of the WP Engine vs SiteGround comparison is security. Based on our in-depth research and testing, SiteGround stood out slightly in this area. As mentioned earlier, SiteGround includes key security features by default, without requiring optional add-on purchases.
SiteGround is also featured in our ranking of the most secure hosting providers—thanks to its strong security features, including:
Automated daily backups
Free SSL
Proactive WAF (Web Application Firewall)
Self-learning AI Anti-Bot system
DDoS protection
Real-time website monitoring system
That's a serious arsenal that makes SiteGround leaps and bounds above its competition. By far the most innovative feature is the AI Anti-Bot System, which detects and removes even the most stubborn threats. Its real-time monitoring is powerful, as well, as it scans the server for issues every 0.5 seconds.
We then have WP Engine that secures your website using:
Automated daily backups
Free SSL
Server monitoring
Layer 3 + 4 DDoS protection
The list is a bit shorter, but you can top it up by buying a managed WAF and DDoS as optional add-ons. Can you guess the price? It's a whopping $300 a year! I mean, WP Engine's basic security features are sufficient, and in our testing, we haven't had a single problem.
We must say we're baffled at the fact that a managed Web Application Firewall and associated DDoS protection cost this much when SiteGround offers them free of charge. Again, WP Engine doesn't lack the tools — it just charges you a premium to enjoy them.
Winner: SiteGround
SiteGround puts no restrictions on your website security, no matter the plan you opt for. Having an impressive track record and some innovative security measures (like AI Anti-Bot), it's a no-brainer option in this WP Engine vs SiteGround 2025 comparison.
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Customer Support
The thing we're not fond of in SiteGround is the way its customer support functions.
Inspect Hostinger and you'll see that you'll be able to get in touch immediately. SiteGround likely doesn't favor lazy customers and wants them to search for answers within its knowledge bases, FAQs, tutorials, etc. If they can't find what they seek, they can get in touch.
SiteGround offers live chat, phone, and ticketing support, which works reliably. However, it's all a bit perplexing, as some requests are for ticket support, while some can be addressed based on your choice — through chat or phone support. We think we got the gist of it.
More complex requests are transformed into tickets, while quick questions can be tackled on the spot.
WP Engine's support is mainly realized via live chat. The cheapest plan limits you to 24/7 live chat, while all higher-tier plans include a phone service on top. We found it baffling that WP Engine's live chat support was so much quicker to respond and without fluff, so to speak.
If you want, you can get in touch right away. No need to sift through the knowledge base. On a few occasions, our interactions with the support agents were lengthy, but as a result of the agent's hard work and dedication to answering our questions and satisfying us.
We also noticed that WP Engine has sort of a ticketing system, which can be found under the Contact Us section on the website. It's an efficient way of getting in touch, albeit if you're not urgently seeking an answer.
Winner: WP Engine
SiteGround's support is helpful, but we'd like it to be more concise and easy to reach, without needing to seek help in the knowledge base. Meanwhile, WP Engine's support is equally helpful but quicker to respond, while also being reachable directly through the live chat widget at any time.
Conclusion: SiteGround is Better than WP Engine
Our WP Engine vs SiteGround analysis ends on a good note, as both services' valiant efforts are expectedly successful. However, having hosted multiple WordPress sites and WooCommerce stores on WP Engine and SiteGround, we ended up settling for the latter.
SiteGround is so much cheaper, but the price difference isn't felt in any way performance-wise. We'll bluntly say we enjoyed SiteGround just a bit more, and even found it better for security and speed. WP Engine is a high-quality web host, but with its premium pricing, it may only be suitable for users with more flexible budgets.
To remind you, SiteGround starts at under $7/mo for its best-value GrowBig plan. WP Engine is at least 4 times more expensive just to start, not counting optional add-ons. At the end of the day, it's not only about the price. Even if you have more to spend, again, pick SiteGround.
You can spend the rest on something else, like marketing or SEO, and achieve better results in the long run. There you go. You have our two cents about which web hosting is better — for us, that's SiteGround.
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