Hostinger vs WP Engine – Which is Best for Your WordPress Site?

So you’re thinking about making a WordPress site…

You might be debating whether to get hosting from WP Engine or Hostinger. 

“It’s a WordPress website. The obvious better choice MUST be WP Engine, right?”

Not necessarily. 

Although WP Engine certainly has exceptional services, it does have its shortcomings. For example, some users might find WP Engine too expensive. 

The same can be said for Hostinger. While it’s a great hosting provider, no doubt, it also has a few downsides worth noting. 

To determine which one is best for your WordPress site, we’re going to look at an in-depth Hostinger vs WP Engine comparison review. 

We’ll be looking at their services, features, pricing, and more.

Let’s get started!

Hostinger vs WP Engine - An Overview

Hostinger is home to 29 million active customers across 178 countries, making it one of the biggest hosting providers in the industry. Founded in Kaunas, Lithuania in 2004, the firm was originally named Hosting Media before rebranding and changing its name to Hostinger in 2011. 

The company has data centers in various parts of the globe, including: 

• Brazil

• Indonesia

• Lithuania

• The Netherlands

• Singapore

• United Kingdom

• United States

Meanwhile, WP Engine is host to over 1.3 million clients worldwide. The company was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. Now, they have branched out and have offices in more locations, such as:

• San Francisco
• California
• San Antonio, Texas
• London, England
• Limerick, Ireland

They are the leading provider of Managed Hosting for WordPress websites. 

Hostinger vs WP Engine - A Side by Side Comparison

To compare both hosts, we’ll look at their:

• Performance and uptime
• Website building
• Migration services
• Products and features
• Customer support services
• Ease of use

Now, let’s look into more details. 

Performance and Uptime

The first thing you should consider when looking for a hosting provider is uptime. 

Why?

Well, every second that you’re website is down is a second that you lose one of your viewers or customers. If you’re only starting, losing your audience’s interest and trust is not something you can afford. 

As you might expect, WP Engine offers an impressive rate with an average uptime of 100% (August 2023). Your website will hardly experience any downtime. 

Unfortunately, Hostinger has inconsistent uptime. Now, their average is 99.98% (August 2023). Last year, they were offline for 22 hours, which isn’t the most ideal. 

That said, Hostinger is still a reliable hosting compared to many others. But if your goal is to find a web host that is almost at a 100% uptime rate, then Hostinger might not make the cut. 

As for loading speed, both providers are some of the fastest hosts out there. 

Thanks to their many features, Hostinger and WP Engine have a whopping 435 ms (August 2023) and 489 ms (August 2023), respectively. It will take less than 1 second to load the whole site! 

Website Building

Hostinger has a free website builder for WordPress sites in its basic plan. This site builder has a simple drag-and-drop interface making it perfect for beginners. 

You can even create a website in just a few minutes! Check out how here:

On the other hand, WP Engine has its own site builder that has lots of themes that you can choose from. It also comes with a staging area that lets you look at a preview of your site without affecting the live version of it. 

Migration Services

Already have a website that you want to migrate to either WP Engine or Hostinger? 

No problem! 

These web hosts have free migration services for existing WordPress sites. 

For Hostinger, it already has a plug-in that allows you to migrate your site automatically. But if you prefer to have someone do it, you can always contact the support team to migrate your site for you. 

Products and Features

Hostinger is popular for being one of the cheapest hosting providers in the industry. Despite its very affordable prices, they don’t skimp on features. 

You can find absolutely everything you need to start on the right foot with Hostinger! 

Here’s what they have in store for your WordPress website:

WP Engine’s prices, on the other hand, may not be as forgiving as Hostinger’s, which is why not many people prefer their services, despite it being equal (if not better) to Hostinger. 

Here’s a brief look into WP Engine’s Managed Hosting plans (note: they have higher plans with even more features):

One feature that I want to talk about is the domain. 

WP Engine offers new clients a 60-day money-back guarantee for their hosting products. That’s more than enough time for you to get to know their services and see if it’s a great fit for you. 

If you plan to cancel, make sure you don’t go over the 60-day allowance or your refund won’t be processed. 

On the other hand, Hostinger offers the normal 30-day money-back guarantee. Since their interface is quite easy to understand, this should be enough time for even the most beginner of beginners to adjust to its hPanel and other services. 

Customer Support Services

WP Engine offers its support services 24/7/365, so you never have to worry about not getting assistance. You can reach them via live chat, email, or call. They also have a helpful knowledge base and blog that can help you in a pinch. 

Hostinger gives clients very quick replies. You can contact them via live chat, email, or call — they also offer their services 24/7/365. What’s great about them is that their customer support system is convenient and easy to use, plus the waiting period for assistance isn’t long. 

Ease of Use

WP Engine’s control panel proves to be a little difficult to navigate as opposed to the one Hostinger offers. There are too many menus and the arrangement and terms need a little getting used to before you can fully appreciate its features.  

Hostinger’s control panel, called hPanel, is pretty similar to the traditional cPanel and is just as intuitive and easy to navigate. 

Hostinger vs WP Engine - The Verdict

Yes, WP Engine is more optimized for WordPress sites. Not only that, they offer more WordPress plans, have an impressive uptime average, and are one of the fastest providers out there. However, it might be too expensive for some. 

As for Hostinger, they might have a low uptime, but they do make up for it with their fast speeds, cheap prices, and great features. 

With all this in mind, it’s time to make your decision. 

Pick the one that fits your needs and preferences more.