Compared

ManageWP vs MainWP

ManageWP and MainWP are two of the longest-running WordPress management tools. ManageWP is a hosted service; MainWP is a plugin you host yourself. Here is how they compare, using only facts from their own websites and documentation.

Usman Naim Checked against vendor sources on 2 October 2026

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Summary

The main differences

Where the dashboard runs: ManageWP is a hosted service. MainWP runs on a WordPress install that you host yourself, and it is open source.
Pricing: both have a free core for unlimited sites. ManageWP charges per site per add-on, or per bundle of up to 100 sites. MainWP Pro is one price for all premium add-ons: $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 lifetime.
Backups: ManageWP has its own backup service (monthly on the free plan, up to hourly with the $2 per site Backup add-on). MainWP has no backup engine of its own and connects to backup plugins and some hosts' backup APIs.
Update safety: ManageWP Safe Updates (with the Backup add-on) check HTTP status, roll back on errors and show screenshots. MainWP rolls back failed plugin and theme updates automatically and offers a Regression Testing add-on in Pro.
Uptime: ManageWP sells an Uptime Monitor add-on. MainWP includes uptime monitoring in its free core, run from your own dashboard server, with a free add-on for external services.

Side by side

ManageWP and MainWP compared

Checked on 2 October 2026. Rows we could not confirm for every product are left out.

Comparison of ManageWP and MainWP
Capability	ManageWP	MainWP
Type of product	Hosted dashboard. Part of GoDaddy since 2016.	Self-hosted and open source. The dashboard runs on your own WordPress install.
Published pricing	Free core. Add-ons cost $1 or $2 per site per month, or $25 to $75 a month per bundle of up to 100 sites. All-in-one bundle $150 a month.	Free core. MainWP Pro (all 30+ premium add-ons): $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 lifetime.
Free plan	Yes, free on unlimited sites	Yes, free core for unlimited sites
Bulk updates	Yes, included free	Yes, included free
Update safety	Safe Updates: restore point, HTTP status check after the update, automatic rollback on 4xx or 5xx errors, and before/after screenshots. Requires the premium Backup add-on.	Failed plugin and theme updates roll back automatically (since version 5.1). Optional backup before update and HTTP check after update. Regression Testing add-on (Pro).
Backups	Free monthly backups kept for 90 days, stored in the US or EU. Premium Backup ($2 per site per month): up to hourly, on demand, downloadable.	No built-in backup engine. Free add-ons connect plugins such as UpdraftPlus, BackWPup and WPvivid, plus host API backups.
Uptime monitoring	Uptime Monitor add-on ($1 per site per month). Alerts by email, SMS or Slack.	Built into the free core: HTTP, ping or keyword checks every 5 minutes to 24 hours. Free add-on for Uptime Robot, NodePing, Site24x7 and Better Uptime.
Performance checks	Free manual Performance Check. Scheduled checks $1 per site per month.	Lighthouse add-on (Pro), using Google PageSpeed Insights
Security	Free manual Security Check and vulnerability detection. Scheduled checks $1 per site per month. Vulnerability Protection $2 per site per month.	Free Vulnerability Checker (NVD or WPScan API). Integrations with Jetpack Protect (free) and Wordfence, Jetpack Scan and others (Pro).
Client reports	Free client reports with PDF download and a ManageWP watermark. Advanced Client Reports ($1 per site per month) remove the watermark and add scheduling.	Pro Reports add-on (Pro), with PDF and email delivery
White label	White Label add-on, $1 per site per month	White Label add-on (Pro)
Team access	Free. Collaborators with full or read-only access, with collaborator history.	Team Control add-on (Pro): custom roles and privileges
One-click login to wp-admin	Yes, free (1-click login)	Yes, free (1-click passwordless login)
Staging and cloning	Clone and one-click staging, included with the premium Backup add-on	Staging and Clone add-ons (Pro)

Details come from each vendor's own website, help center or WordPress.org listing, checked on 2 October 2026. Prices and features change, so please check the vendor's site before you decide. Where we could not confirm a detail, we left it out.

Which fits

Which one fits your work

ManageWP may suit you if

You do not want to host or maintain a dashboard yourself.
You want a built-in backup service with off-site storage.
You want per-site add-ons so you only pay for the sites that need them.

MainWP may suit you if

You want to host the dashboard and keep the data on your own server.
You want one flat price for all premium features, or a lifetime license.
You want open-source code you can review.

Answers

Common questions

It depends on your setup. Both have free cores for unlimited sites. ManageWP charges per site per add-on ($1 or $2 per site per month) or per bundle of up to 100 sites. MainWP Pro costs $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 lifetime for all premium add-ons, but you also pay to host the dashboard and any third-party backup or monitoring services you use. Prices checked on 2 October 2026.

Yes, in different ways. ManageWP Safe Updates (which need the Backup add-on) roll back automatically on 4xx or 5xx errors after an update. MainWP automatically restores the previous version when a plugin or theme update fails, since version 5.1.

Sources

Each statement about another product on this page comes from that vendor's own website, help center or WordPress.org listing, checked on 2 October 2026. Statements about WPCentrify describe features that are built and available in the product today. If you spot something out of date, please tell us and we will correct it.

ManageWP and MainWP are trademarks of their owners. This page is not endorsed by or affiliated with ManageWP and MainWP.

How we compare products: our methodology.

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