Best WordPress Hosting Provider – Lunarpages vs WP Engine
Are you looking for the best WordPress hosting provider? Then, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will discuss the differences between Lunarpages and WP Engine, two of the most popular web host providers for WordPress.
Features-Oriented Hosting Plans
Often, when searching for a web host, customers (and potential customers) have a look at the featured items on the hosting plan page. While it is understandable that the customer wants to see a summary of what their hosting plan includes, the features-oriented host page makes for poor customer insight. Let’s take a look at the two hosting companies’ plans and features to get an idea of what they are trying to sell.
- Lunarpages:
- Basic (shared hosting)
- Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice (shared hosting)
- Pro (shared hosting)
- WP Engine:
- Basic (shared hosting)
- Choice Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice (shared hosting)
- Pro (shared hosting)
- Lunarpages:
- Basic (shared hosting)
- Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice (shared hosting)
- Pro (shared hosting)
- WP Engine:
- Basic (shared hosting)
- Choice Plus (shared hosting)
- Choice (shared hosting)
- Pro (shared hosting)
Cost-Oriented Hosting Plans
Even though both companies provide top-notch products and services, they offer completely different pricing structures for their shared hosting plans. While WP Engine is the cheaper of the two, Lunarpages’ pricing ensures that their shared hosting plan is much more attractive to a consumer. Let’s take a look at their plans and see how much they cost.
Reliability-Oriented Hosting Plans
Based on our own experience with both companies, we can say that the reliability of their shared hosting plans is superb. In fact, we have never experienced any downtime with either of these companies. In rare instances, when a site has experienced some kind of issue (like a hacked WordPress site), the teams at each company have worked together to help get the site back up and running as quickly as possible. And, in the end, we are talking about companies that specialize in providing hosting solutions; there is no “run of the mill” web host that can offer the same level of reliability.
On the other hand, the pricing for their dedicated hosting plans is a bit higher than we would like to see. For a company that provides a premium product and offers top-notch service, the pricing structure of their dedicated hosting plans is quite high. While you can get a plus or choice plan for cheaper from WP Engine, the reliability of their dedicated servers is unknown. Fortunately, you can mitigate this risk by purchasing additional backups or storage from them. But, in our opinion, the dedicated hosting plans are overpriced for what you get. If a site’s primary purpose is to host an email newsletter, a blog, or a small business site, the shared hosting plans from both companies are perfectly suitable.
Service-Oriented Hosting Plans
While both companies provide top-notch products and services, we prefer to host our sites on WP Engine due to their awesome service. When you purchase a hosting plan from them, you get a free domain name and one free email address (the amount of storage and bandwidth is extra). Moreover, you can upgrade any of their hosting plans at any time (they have some really nice sales representatives that can help you out with this).
Even more impressive is that when you have purchased a dedicated hosting plan from them, you can ask them to set it up and customize it for you. This is incredibly helpful if you are a beginner or if you have never done web hosting before. Furthermore, all of their servers are physically located in the U.S. (a fact that you should find extremely appealing if you are based in the EU).
WordPress itself is a free product; all of the hosted websites that use the WordPress platform are hosted on different companies’ servers. Even more impressive is the fact that when you use their affiliate program, you can earn 25% – 50% commission on any purchase made from a link/recommendation you have provided.
Final Takeaway
When it comes to choosing a web hosting company, you should look for one that offers features-oriented hosting plans, is relatively inexpensive, and has a good service record. WP Engine meets all three criteria, and we are confident that they will continue to meet your expectations as you grow your business.