Flywheel vs WPX Hosting: Complete 2026 Comparison
Flywheel and WPX Hosting are both managed wordpress providers, but they suit different priorities. Across our 7-category breakdown, WPX Hosting comes out ahead, winning 3 of them — including Price, Performance and WordPress.
Data last updated June 2026
Overall Winner
WPX Hosting
- Wins in 3 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price, Best Performance, Best for WordPress
- 4.4/5 overall rating
Flywheel vs WPX Hosting: Overview
On entry pricing, WPX Hosting is the cheaper option at $17.99/mo versus $25.00/mo for Flywheel. 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. WPX Hosting, by contrast, leans on 30-second average support response with Trustpilot 5, ideal for wordPress blogger or content creator wanting lightning-fast support and transparent pricing without renewal surprises.
Category Winners
WPX Hosting
$17.99/mo vs $25.00/mo
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
WPX Hosting
99.95% uptime, 4.4/5 rating
Tie
Similar support options
WPX Hosting
Optimized, Staging, WooCommerce, LiteSpeed
Flywheel
SSH, Git, Staging
Tie
Similar beginner-friendliness
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Managed WordPress | Managed WordPress |
| Monthly Price | $25.00/mo | $17.99/mo |
| Renewal Price | $25.00 | $17.99 |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 4.0/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.95% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.4/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 350 | 3,608 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $300.00 | $215.88 |
| Second Year Cost | $300.00 | $215.88 |
| 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 | 100 GB |
| Max Websites | 1 | 1 |
| Max Databases | — | Unlimited |
| 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 |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Nightly (automatic) | Daily |
| Backup Retention | 30 days | 28 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 | — | 0.5 min |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 0 | Unlimited |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Fastly CDN | WPX XDN (proprietary, 41 global edge locations) |
| Server Locations | North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia | Chicago (US), London (UK), Sydney (Australia) |
| Server Location Count | 10 | 3 |
| 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 | WPX Dashboard |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 1 | Unlimited |
| 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 | 4.5/10 |
| Support Quality | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Security Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 3.5/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 5.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Developers | 4.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 3.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | 20GB included on Tiny plan; $1-2 per 1,000 extra visitors; may be charged for consistent overages | Bandwidth-based pricing (NOT visitor-based); no visitor caps; no overage fees |
| Storage Overage | $1/GB for storage over limit | Upgrade to higher plan required |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2012 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | United States | Bulgaria |
| Parent Company | WP Engine (acquired 2019 for ~$200M) | Independent |
| Green Hosting | ||
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | visits | bandwidth |
| Monthly Visit Limit | 5,000 | Unlimited |
| Visit Overage Cost | $2.00 | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | ||
| Dev Env Name | Local | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
| Local Currencies | USD | USD |
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR, SOC 2 | GDPR |
| 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 | MariaDB |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | ||
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | Unlimited |
| 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 |
| 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) | Let's Encrypt |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | — | — |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | Page Caching | LiteSpeed Cache + OpCache |
| 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 | $0.00 |
| 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 bloggers and content sites; Speed-focused WordPress users; Sites needing 30-second support response; Users wanting no renewal price hikes; WooCommerce stores under 60GB |
| 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 SSH access; Need more than 60GB storage; Need global data center options; Running high-traffic news sites; Need Redis/advanced caching; Budget-conscious beginners |
| 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 | No SSH access; Limited to 3 data center locations; Low PHP workers on some plans; No Redis caching; Max 60GB storage even on Elite plan; No automated scaling; Not ideal for high-traffic spikes |
| Unique Selling Point | Designer-focused managed WordPress with free Local development tool and lower price than parent WP Engine | 30-second average support response with Trustpilot 5.0 rating and no renewal price increases |
| Ideal Customer | Designer or creative agency wanting managed WordPress with great local development tools at lower cost than WP Engine | WordPress blogger or content creator wanting lightning-fast support and transparent pricing without renewal surprises |
| Best Alternative To | WP Engine | Kinsta |
| Primary Competitors | WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways | Kinsta, Rocket.net, Cloudways |
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...
- Need SSH access
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want more server locations (10 available)
Choose WPX Hosting if you...
- Want to save money ($17.99/mo vs $25.00/mo)
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.4/5)
- Want LiteSpeed caching for WordPress
Flywheel vs WPX Hosting: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Flywheel cheaper than WPX Hosting?
Yes — WPX Hosting is cheaper, starting at $17.99/mo compared with $25.00/mo for Flywheel. Factor in renewals too: WPX Hosting marks up about 0% after the first term.
Which is better for WordPress, Flywheel or WPX Hosting?
WPX Hosting is the stronger WordPress host thanks to WordPress-optimized servers, LiteSpeed caching, staging and WooCommerce tuning. If WordPress or WooCommerce is your main workload, it's the safer pick.
Does Flywheel or WPX Hosting have better uptime?
WPX Hosting edges out Flywheel on performance with a 99.95% uptime guarantee and a 4.4/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Should I choose Flywheel or WPX Hosting?
For most users, WPX Hosting is the better overall choice, winning 3 of our 7 categories (notably Price, Performance and WordPress). That said, the right host depends on your specific needs — check the category breakdown above for the factors that matter to you.