Flywheel vs Rocket.net: Complete 2026 Comparison
Flywheel and Rocket.net are both managed wordpress providers, but they suit different priorities. The two are closely matched in our 7-category breakdown, each taking a share of the wins, so your decision comes down to which factors matter most to you.
Data last updated January 2026
Result
It's a Tie!
- Both hosts are evenly matched
- Choose based on your specific needs
Flywheel vs Rocket.net: Overview
On entry pricing, Flywheel is the cheaper option at $25.00/mo versus $30.00/mo for Rocket.net. Flywheel also gives you a longer 60-day money-back window to test risk-free.
Flywheel's standout is designer-focused managed WordPress with free Local development tool and lower price than parent WP Engine — a natural fit for designer or creative agency wanting managed WordPress with great local development tools at lower cost than WP Engine. Rocket.net, by contrast, leans on cloudflare Enterprise CDN (~$6,000 value) included free with sub-100ms global TTFB, ideal for wordPress site owner prioritizing speed and global performance with Cloudflare Enterprise benefits.
Category Winners
Flywheel
$25.00/mo vs $30.00/mo
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
Rocket.net
99.99% uptime, 4.3/5 rating
Tie
Similar support options
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Tie
Similar developer features
Tie
Similar beginner-friendliness
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Managed WordPress | Managed WordPress |
| Monthly Price | $25.00/mo | $30.00/mo |
| Renewal Price | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 4.0/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.4/5 | 4.9/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 350 | 234 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $300.00 | $360.00 |
| Second Year Cost | $300.00 | $360.00 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 60 days | 30 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | ||
| Minimum Contract | 1 months | 1 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 10 GB | 10 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD |
| Bandwidth | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Max Websites | 1 | 1 |
| Max Databases | — | — |
| PHP Versions | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | ||
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | ||
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | DDoS protection included | Enterprise DDoS protection via Cloudflare |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Nightly (automatic) | Daily |
| Backup Retention | 30 days | 14 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Live Chat, Ticket, Knowledge Base | Live Chat, Ticket, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7/365 | 24/7/365 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | — | — |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | 2 min |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Fastly CDN | Cloudflare Enterprise CDN (275+ edge locations; ~$200+/mo value included free) |
| Server Locations | North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia | North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Africa |
| Server Location Count | 10 | 275 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | ||
| Brotli Compression | ||
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | Flywheel Dashboard | Rocket.net Dashboard |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 1 | 1 |
| Migration Turnaround | 2 days | 1 days |
| Paid Migration Cost | Free | Free |
| Migration Quality | 5.0/10 | — |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | SOC 2 Type II | SOC 2 |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 4.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Features Rating | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 4.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | 20GB included on Tiny plan; $1-2 per 1,000 extra visitors; may be charged for consistent overages | Bandwidth overage $0.08/GB; Disk overage $2/GB |
| Storage Overage | $1/GB for storage over limit | Disk space overage $2/GB |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2012 | 2020 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | WP Engine (acquired 2019 for ~$200M) | Hosting.com (acquired) |
| Green Hosting | ||
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | visits | visits |
| Monthly Visit Limit | 5,000 | 250,000 |
| Visit Overage Cost | $2.00 | $1.00 |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | ||
| Dev Env Name | Local | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada | United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany |
| Local Currencies | USD | USD |
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR, SOC 2 | GDPR, SOC 2 |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.5/5 | 4.5/5 |
| BBB Rating | NR | NR |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | — |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL | MySQL/MariaDB |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | ||
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | 60-day money-back guarantee for Tiny, Startup, and non-custom Freelance plans | Full refund within 30 days; $1 first month trial available |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal | Credit Card, PayPal |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | — |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed) | Cloudflare SSL |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | — | — |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | Page Caching | Redis + Object Cache Pro + Relay |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Per sale | Per sale |
| Commission Amount | $50-$500 per sale depending on plan; 90-day cookie | Varies by plan |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | $1.00 | $0.08 |
| Account Suspension Policy | Violation of ToS; non-payment; excessive resource usage | Violation of ToS; non-payment |
| Malware Removal Cost | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Designers and creative agencies; WordPress freelancers; Users wanting free Local development tool; Those who prefer Flywheel's interface over WP Engine; Budget managed WordPress users ($15/mo entry); Sites needing free demo sites feature | WordPress sites needing blazing fast performance; Sites needing Cloudflare Enterprise CDN; Users wanting sub-100ms TTFB globally; WooCommerce stores; Speed-focused businesses |
| Avoid If | Need phone support; Need PCI compliance (use WP Engine instead); Need Redis caching; Large storage requirements; Prefer independent company (owned by WP Engine) | Need phone support; Running non-WordPress sites; Concerned about acquisition; Need email hosting included; Budget-conscious |
| Known Issues | Owned by WP Engine since 2019; No phone support; No Redis caching; Storage limited on entry plan (5GB); No dedicated IPs; No PCI compliance unlike parent WP Engine; Fewer features than Kinsta at similar price point | Acquired by Hosting.com (concerns about changes); No phone support; WordPress-only; No email hosting; Some SSL cert issues reported; Bandwidth/disk overages can add up |
| Unique Selling Point | Designer-focused managed WordPress with free Local development tool and lower price than parent WP Engine | Cloudflare Enterprise CDN (~$6,000 value) included free with sub-100ms global TTFB |
| Ideal Customer | Designer or creative agency wanting managed WordPress with great local development tools at lower cost than WP Engine | WordPress site owner prioritizing speed and global performance with Cloudflare Enterprise benefits |
| Best Alternative To | WP Engine | Kinsta |
| Primary Competitors | WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways | Kinsta, WP Engine, Flywheel |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Flywheel if you...
- Want to save money ($25.00/mo vs $30.00/mo)
Choose Rocket.net if you...
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.3/5)
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want more server locations (275 available)
Flywheel vs Rocket.net: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flywheel cheaper than Rocket.net?
Yes — Flywheel is cheaper, starting at $25.00/mo compared with $30.00/mo for Rocket.net. Factor in renewals too: Flywheel marks up about 0% after the first term.
Does Flywheel or Rocket.net have better uptime?
Rocket.net edges out Flywheel on performance with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and a 4.3/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Should I choose Flywheel or Rocket.net?
Flywheel and Rocket.net are evenly matched overall, so the best choice depends on your priorities. Use the category winners and feature table above to weigh the factors that matter most for your project.