ManageWP is the most established WordPress management tool there is, and for a lot of people it remains perfectly adequate. This page is an honest account of where WPCentrify differs, and where ManageWP is still the better choice.
Free assisted migration. We move your sites for you.
Comparison verified against publicly documented features, August 2026. Reviewed quarterly.
ManageWP has been managing WordPress sites at scale since long before most of its competitors existed, and that maturity shows. The free tier is unusually generous: unlimited sites, one-click updates, basic backups and one-click login, at no cost. For someone managing a handful of sites on a tight budget, that is difficult to argue with.
It is also stable and widely understood. Being part of GoDaddy means it is not going to disappear, and there is a large body of documentation and community knowledge. If your requirements are simply bulk updates and a monthly backup, ManageWP covers that competently and cheaply.
The free tier is genuinely free, but almost everything beyond basic updating is a paid per-site add-on: backups, uptime monitoring, security checks, performance checks, white labelling and client reports each carry their own monthly per-site charge. At thirty sites with four add-ons the total is frequently a surprise, and it grows with every site you add.
ManageWP applies updates and can take a backup first. What it does not do is score the release for risk beforehand, validate on staging, run visual regression or functional testing afterwards, or roll back automatically when something breaks. If an update takes down a client's checkout at 2am, you find out in the morning.
GoDaddy acquired ManageWP in 2016. The product has been maintained since, but the category has moved considerably and the interface and feature set reflect an earlier generation of expectations. This is the single most common reason cited by people evaluating a move.
Reports are available as an add-on but remain fairly technical. There is no client portal, no support ticketing, no time tracking against accounts and no view of whether a given care plan is actually profitable.
| Capability | WPCentrify | ManageWP |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk core, plugin and theme updates | Yes | Yes |
| Update risk scoring before running | Yes | No |
| Staging validation for risky updates | Yes | Partial |
| Visual regression testing | Yes | Add-on |
| Automatic rollback on failed checks | Yes | No |
| Functional testing of forms and checkout | Yes | No |
| Off-site encrypted backups | Included | Add-on, per site |
| Scheduled restore testing | Yes | No |
| Real-time WooCommerce order backup | Included | Add-on |
| Vulnerability matching to installed versions | Included | Add-on |
| Uptime monitoring | 60 second, included | Add-on, per site |
| Core Web Vitals tracking | Included | Add-on |
| PHP error monitoring | Yes | No |
| White-label client reports | Included | Add-on, per site |
| Client portal | Yes | No |
| Care plan profitability tracking | Yes | No |
| Role-based team permissions | Yes | Partial |
| Tamper-evident activity log | Yes | Partial |
| Free tier | 1 site, full features | Unlimited sites, basic features |
| All features on every paid plan | Yes | No |
| Assisted migration in | Included | n/a |
Products change. Verify current capability and pricing on the vendor site before making a decision. We review these pages quarterly and date every revision.
Every product suits somebody. If any of these describe you, ManageWP is probably the right call and we would rather you knew that now.
Install the WPCentrify connector alongside your existing ManageWP connection. Nothing is removed and no site is touched.
Sites, client groupings, tags, schedules and report settings are brought across. Assisted migration is included.
Keep ManageWP active for one full backup retention cycle so you have overlap and a fallback.
No pressure and no deadline. Export everything from WPCentrify at any point if you change your mind.
It depends entirely on which add-ons you use. ManageWP is cheaper if you use the free tier and nothing else. Once you add backups, uptime monitoring, security checks and client reports across a portfolio, WPCentrify is usually less expensive because those capabilities are included rather than charged per site per add-on. Model both against your own site count before deciding.
Yes. Nothing about migration touches the live sites. We install the WPCentrify connector alongside your existing ManageWP connection, import your sites, client groupings, tags and schedules, and you keep ManageWP running in parallel until you are satisfied. Assisted migration is included.
Historical ManageWP backups stay where they are and remain downloadable from ManageWP. WPCentrify begins its own backup history from connection, and we recommend keeping ManageWP active for one full retention cycle so you have overlap.
It is still maintained and supported. The pace of feature development has been slower than several newer competitors since the 2016 GoDaddy acquisition, which is a reasonable thing to weigh, but characterising it as abandoned would be inaccurate.
What happens when an update goes wrong. ManageWP applies the update. WPCentrify scores it, tests it, verifies the result and reverses it automatically if the verification fails.
The whole field compared, not just WPCentrify: nine tools and what each is best at.
Read the roundupHow WPCentrify compares to MainWP, including where MainWP wins.
Read moreHow WPCentrify compares to WP Umbrella, including where WP Umbrella wins.
Read moreHow WPCentrify compares to WP Remote, including where WP Remote wins.
Read moreThe full head-to-head: pricing model, update safety, backups and client operations, feature by feature.
See the head-to-headA neutral three-way comparison that does not involve us, for anyone still narrowing the field.
See all threeConnect a few sites alongside your current tool and compare them on real work rather than on a feature table.
Free during early access. Keep your data, export any time.