WPShift vs WP Engine: mail and DNS included, on your own server
WP Engine sells three tiers: Essential, Core and Enterprise. WPShift sets up a server in your own cloud account and manages the sites on it, along with DNS, mailboxes and backups for those sites.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.
WPShift
The dashboard
- Team access
- Copilot · Scale
WPShift bills the plan
sets up and manages
- Site
- Site
- Staging copy from Solo
Also managed in WPShift
- Backups stored off the server
- DNS records for domains you point at WPShift
- Mailboxes on your own domain
- Uptime checks from outside the serverfrom Solo
- PageSpeed tests against the live sitefrom Studio
WP Engine's support documentation says: "We do not provide nameservers or email servers, and therefore do not support requests relating to DNS or inbound email." WPShift includes mailboxes and DNS hosting on every plan.
What this page says about WP Engine comes from wpengine.com/plans and their support scope page, read on 30 September 2026. Check wpengine.com for the current state.
Costs
How each one charges
WPShift
WPShift charges for a plan: Free €0, Solo €5,99, Studio €14,99 or Scale €29,99 a month, excluding VAT, with mailboxes, backup storage and DNS hosting included. A server in your own cloud account is billed by your provider, with nothing added by WPShift. A WPShift Cloud server is billed by WPShift.
WP Engine
Three tiers, Essential, Core and Enterprise, each limited by number of sites, monthly visits, storage and bandwidth.
per wpengine.com, 30 September 2026
The differences
How the two differ
WP Engine: per wpengine.com, 30 September 2026
Mailboxes and DNS
WPShift
Both included on every plan, including the free one.
WP Engine
Neither. The support documentation says they provide no nameservers or email servers.
Backups
WPShift
Scheduled per site and stored off the server, in the plan's storage or your own S3-compatible storage.
WP Engine
Automatic and on-demand backups on all tiers.
Your own cloud account
WPShift
You, when it is created in your own cloud account and billed by your provider. A WPShift Cloud server is bought through WPShift.
WP Engine
The plans page mentions no way to connect a cloud account of your own.
How capacity is measured
WPShift
By the server you choose (CPU, memory and disk) and your plan's allowances.
WP Engine
By sites, monthly visits, storage and bandwidth per tier.
Resources
WPShift
Each site has its own system user and database credentials. Sites on one server share its CPU, memory and disk.
WP Engine
Shared resources on Essential, isolated resources on Core and Enterprise.
Which one
Both lists are WPShift's own view.
When WP Engine suits better
- You want a managed platform with support that works on the site itself.
- You think about capacity in traffic, and a visits allowance is a clearer unit for you than a server size.
When WPShift suits better
- You want mail and DNS with your WordPress sites. Both are part of every WPShift plan.
- You want the server in your own cloud account, billed by your provider at their price.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.
In the dashboard
Questions
Questions about WPShift and WP Engine
- Is WPShift a WP Engine alternative?
- For people who want the server in their own cloud account, with mail and DNS in the same place, yes. WPShift's support covers the platform and its infrastructure features. It does not repair theme code or debug a custom plugin, so check where that help would come from.
- Will I pay less?
- That depends on your current plan and the server you would need. Compare your current total with a WPShift plan plus the server you need, and count domains, storage and email on both sides. The pricing page adds up a plan and a WPShift Cloud server. For a server in your own cloud account, add your provider's price to the plan price.
Test a copy before you decide
Copy a site to a WPShift-managed server and check it on a temporary address. Your current setup keeps serving the live site until you move DNS.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.