A2 Hosting vs WP Engine (April 2024)

In this comparison, we take a look at how the new managed WordPress hosting plans from A2 Hosting compare with WP Engine. WP Engine has long been the industry standard when it comes to managed WordPress hosting. Meanwhile, A2 Hosting has been one of our top rated web hosting companies for a variety of web hosting plans (Shared, VPS, etc.). So when it comes to managed WordPress hosting, how does A2 Hosting match up with WP Engine? Let’s take a closer detailed look to find out.

A2 Hosting vs WP Engine Details

Category	A2 Hosting	WP Engine	Comments
Setup
Control Panel
Data Centers			WP Engine has data centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Sydney.
Website Speed
Security Features			WP Engine provides Free SSL and Enterprise Grade WordPress Security.
Data Backup and Restore
Automatic Updates			Tie.
Servers
Network
WordPress Development			A2 Hosting provides better PHP support.
SSL			WP Engine provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates.
Hosting Features			With A2 Hosting you get Unlimited Email and Plesk Functionality.
Resources
Staging			Tie.
Customer Support			WP Engine focuses exclusively on WordPress.
Money Back Guarantee			WP Engine offers 60 Day Money Back Guarantee.
Price/Value

A2 Hosting vs WP Engine: Speed and Performance

While both WP Engine and A2 Hosting offer excellent website speed and performance, in our testing A2 Hosting’s Managed WordPress does post faster speed and performance times. A2 Hosting’s turbo servers and optimized WordPress environment really made a difference. And, we found A2 Hosting provided more consistently impressive website speed results.

In my personal experience using both WP Engine and A2 Hosting, I also have to report that I’m more than satisfied with the speed offered by both of these web hosts. However, if you’re looking for the more consistent faster website provider, A2 Hosting is the winner.

Below are some of our sample speed test results:

A2 Hosting vs WP Engine: Website Staging

While WP Engine has long provided one of the best staging environments, we were very surprised that A2 Hosting’s managed WordPress hosting includes equally impressive website staging features. The staging from both of these web hosts worked out perfectly for us, and therefore we have to call it a tie in this category.

A2 Hosting vs WP Engine: Data Backup and Restore

Here is another category where WP Engine would have dominated in the past. WP Engine not only provides automatic daily backups, but you also get their Snapshot Backup capability—meaning you can choose to create a backup copy whenever you wish. The process comes in very handy when you need to upgrade a theme or plugin. You can quickly and easily create a backup copy just in case something goes wrong.

However, as with their website staging, A2 Hosting more than holds their own here. With A2 Hosting’s Managed WordPress hosting, you get automated daily backups and on-demand backup capability. Also, you get the ability to configure automated off-site backups.

So, in this category, A2 Hosting is the surprise winner.

A2 Hosting vs WP Engine: Customer Support

A2 Hosting and WP Engine have two of the best customer support teams in the industry. I’ve always been impressed with the quick response times and helpful assistance they have provided over the years. However, when it comes to managed WordPress hosting, keep in mind that WP Engine focuses exclusively on WordPress. While A2 Hosting’s Guru Crew support team is well-versed in many areas of web hosting, their managed hosting is relatively new and the staff is sometimes not as familiar with the product as they could be. So here, WP Engine gets the advantage.

A2 Hosting
Plans:

• 1 Site ($11.99 mo.)
  1 Website/50GB Storage
• 5 Sites ($18.99 mo.)
  3 Websites/250GB Storage
• Unlimited ($28.99 mo.)
  Unlimited Websites/Unlimited Storage

Data Center: Michigan, USA
Free Domain?: No
Money Back Guarantee: 30 Days

Advantages of A2 Hosting

• Faster Turbo Servers provided on every plan.
• Includes Email Accounts
• WordPress LiteSpeed Cache
• WordPress Toolkit for managing Multiple Websites
• No Restrictions on Plugins
• Anytime Money Back Guarantee

Click Here for More Details on A2 Hosting Managed WordPress

WP Engine
Plans:

• Startup ($35 mo.)
  1 Website/10GB Storage
• Growth ($115 mo.)
  10 Websites/20GB Storage
• Scale ($290 mo.)
  25 Websites/30GB Storage
• Premium
  25+ Websites/100-300GB Storage
• Enterprise
  25+ Websites/400GB – 1TB Storage

Data Centers: U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia
Free Domain?: No
Money Back Guarantee: 60 Days

Advantages of WP Engine

• WordPress Hosting Specialist
• Faster Performance with Google Cloud Platform Virtual Machines.
• Proprietary EverCache Technology
• Transferable Installs and Billing Transfer
• Page Performance Diagnostics
• Enterprise Solutions Available
• Expert WordPress Customer Support

Click Here for More Details on WP Engine Managed WordPress

Recommendation

When it comes to managed WordPress hosting, WP Engine remains the standard by which others are compared to. However, with their recent improvements to their Managed WordPress Hosting lineup, A2 Hosting not only matches up well, but they actually surpass WP Engine in our head to head comparison. Overall, A2 Hosting Managed WordPress is the winner here. See our A2 Hosting Review Ratings below.