5 Best Kinsta Alternatives (More Affordable & PHP Workers)

Kinsta offers one of the best-managed WordPress hosting services money can buy. I know because I’ve used it for a couple of my clients. 

But it’s not just me who is impressed by their web hosting services. They’ve garnered a 4.8-star rating on both G2 and Trustpilot—so plenty of others agree.

However, Kinsta isn’t for everyone. Like any web hosting service provider, it has its downsides:

• It’s expensive for new websites with plans starting at $30 per month. 
• It limits the number of PHP workers.
• Its add-ons are pricey.

In this guide, I’ll reveal the top Kinsta alternatives and show how they measure up when it comes to pricing, resource allocation, hosting technology, security, and more. 

But first, let’s talk about where Kinsta falls short and why consider other options.

Why Look for Alternatives to Kinsta?

Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress hosting provider built on top-tier web hosting infrastructure: 

• Google Cloud Platform: Provides exceptional performance for your website with powerful computing resources.
• Isolated Linux containers: Ensures your website doesn’t share resources with others, leading to better security and speed performance.
• Cloudflare CDN integration: Offers access to a global network of 260+ data centers, along with features like edge caching, HTTP/3 support, and Brotli compression for optimized website delivery.
• Managed Web Application Firewall: Delivers superior protection against web attacks, safeguarding your website from vulnerabilities.

On top of that, Kinsta provides exceptional support from a team of WordPress engineers and includes a hack-fix guarantee to help you recover your site in the event of a security breach.

But why look for Kinsta alternatives? Here are three golden reasons.

Reason #1: You Want Affordable and Fixed Pricing

Kinsta’s pricing model is expensive.

They charge you based on the number of visitors to your website.

For example, its entry-level plan costs $35 per site, capped at 25,000 visitors per month, which is high for new and small websites.

While Kinsta offers premium performance with Google Cloud C2 machines, its infrastructure is overkill if you’re just starting. 

In fact, you can get more value at a fraction of the price from one of its cheaper alternatives like DreamHost or Hostinger.

Additionally, Kinsta charges overage fees when you hit your limit.

• $1 per 1000 visits
• $2 per GB of local storage
• $0.10 per GB of CDN bandwidth

These fees can quickly add up, especially during unexpected traffic spikes. 

Although Kinsta will keep your site running and add the overage fees to your next invoice, if the fees exceed your hosting plan cost, they’ll require immediate payment before your hosting renewal.

Moreover, Kinsta charges extras for add-ons they offer. Unfortunately, these add-ons are expensive. 

For example, integrating Redis (an object cache tool) costs $100—something that comes free with hosts like Rocket.net and Cloudways.

Reason #2: You Need More PHP Workers

Kinsta imposes strict limits on PHP workers on your site. Depending on your plan, you’re limited to 2 to 8 PHP workers per site. 

For example, the Starter plan allows only 2 PHP workers — which may not be enough for e-commerce and membership sites serving dynamic pages.

If you exceed your PHP worker limit, Kinsta will require you to upgrade to a more expensive plan. They do not offer an option to autoscale your PHP workers without moving to a higher-tier plan.

Reason #3: You Need More Control and Flexibility

Control and flexibility are some of the reasons to look for Kinsta alternatives.

Here’s why:

Firstly, Kinsta restricts you to using the Google Cloud Platform. 

Unlike managed cloud hosting providers like Cloudways, which allows you to choose from other cloud hosts such as Vultr, AWS, and Digital Ocean, Kinsta limits you to GCP.

Secondly, some plugins are banned on Kinsta. 

This is typical for many managed web hosting providers because of performance, compatibility, and security reasons. 

As such, while using Kinsta, you don’t have the freedom to install any plugin. However, some plugins like WP Rocket, Flying Press, and UpdraftPlus are supported.

5 Best Kinsta Alternatives to Choose in 2025

While many web hosts can compete with Kinsta in various areas, only a few truly stand out. In this section, we’ll review the top Kinsta alternatives and highlight where each one excels.

• Rocket.net – Best overall Kinsta alternative with a performance-optimized infrastructure.
• WP Engine – Ideal for high-value WordPress websites.
• SiteGround – Best scalability.
• Cloudways – Best for versatility and affordability.
• Pressidium – Perfect for small business websites and WooCommerce sites.
• DreamHost – Best for affordability and transparent pricing

Now let’s explore how these Kinsta alternatives measure up.

1: Rocket.Net 

Best Kinsta alternative for unlimited PHP workers across the board.

Rocket.net is the closest Kinsta alternative for resource-intensive websites that need more PHP workers. Unlike Kinsta which limits you to 2 PHP workers on its low-tier plan and up to 8 on its more expensive plans, Rocket.net offers unlimited PHP workers on all its plans. 

This allows dynamic websites like WooCommerce, membership, and forum sites to scale without worrying about hitting their PHP workers’ limit regardless of the hosting plan.

Furthermore, Rocket.net natively integrates with Cloudflare Enterprise, providing outstanding performance and security features such as tiered caching, HTTP/3 support, 230+ global data centers, and intelligent WAF, among others. 

Rocket.net vs. Kinsta

Both Rocket.net and Kinsta offer strong managed WordPress hosting solutions. But after evaluating each host, few aspects make Rocket.net a more compelling alternative. Here’s why:

• Unlimited PHP workers: Rocket.net provides unlimited PHP workers across all plans. Meanwhile, Kinsta restricts you to 2 – 8 PHP workers per site, depending on your plan. If you exceed this limit, you must upgrade to a higher plan as Kinsta does not offer auto-scaling for PHP workers.
• Rocket.net has 16 times more RAM than Kinsta.: While both web hosts provide substantial RAM and CPU resources, Rocket.net offers 128GB of RAM and 32+ CPU cores, whereas Kinsta has 8GB of RAM and 12 CPU cores within its Google Cloud containers. With significantly more RAM, Rocket.net is far better equipped for resource-intensive sites.
• Generous traffic limits: Rocket.net’s entry-level plan supports up to 250,000 monthly visits at $30 per month price, ten times more than Kinsta’s 25,000-visit limit on a similarly priced plan. This makes Rocket.net a more scalable and cost-effective choice for growing websites.
• Free Redis and Object Cache Pro: Rocket.net includes advanced performance tools like Redis and Object Cache Pro at no extra cost, boosting the speed and efficiency of dynamic and high-traffic sites. Meanwhile, Kinsta charges $100 per site per month for Redis, making it an expensive add-on for those who need enhanced caching.
• Modern NVMe storage: Rocket.net uses NVMe storage, which is up to 3x faster than the typical SSDs used by Kinsta. 

Rocket.Net Pricing

Rocket.net offers more bang for the buck by including features like unlimited PHP workers and Redis caching, which come at a premium with Kinsta. Here’s a simple price breakdown of Rocket.net.

• Managed Hosting: Starter ($30/month), Pro ($60/month), and Business ($100/month).
• Agency Hosting: Ranges from $100/month to $1,600/month.
• Enterprise Hosting: Ranges from $649/month to $2,599/month.

Rocket.Net Pros and Cons

2: WP Engine

Closest alternative to Kinsta.

WP Engine is a pioneer in managed WordPress hosting and a long-time Kinsta competitor. Like Kinsta, it is built on the Google Cloud Platform, ensuring global fast load times thanks to Google Cloud’s scalability and extensive data center network. 

However, unlike Kinsta, which is limited to Google Cloud, WP Engine offers the flexibility to use AWS as your preferred cloud infrastructure for hosting your WordPress website.

When it comes to performance and reliability, WP Engine stands out. The platform features a proprietary edge caching mechanism through its EverCache tool. It also integrates with Cloudflare to offer security and performance advantages such as global edge security, Argo Smart Routing, and DDOS  protection.

For developers, WP Engine offers developer-friendly tools including a staging environment, WP-CLI access, and ACF. Additionally, WP Engine provides a native migration plugin that makes it easy to migrate your site to their platform.

WP Engine vs Kinsta

While both WP Engine and Kinsta offer premium hosting solutions for WordPress, WP Engine has stand-out features that make it a better option for high-value websites:

• Proprietary caching technology: Both WP Engine and Kinsta offer native caching mechanisms to boost performance. However, WP Engine’s EverCache offers a more intelligent approach, particularly for WooCommerce sites. It’s able to dynamically determine whether a page contains dynamic content, bypassing WooCommerce’s cookie-based exclusions and serving static pages from the cache. This is superior to Kinsta’s server-level caching.
• Enhanced customer support: Both platforms offer excellent support via chat and email, but WP Engine goes a step further by providing phone support. This added support channel ensures you can quickly resolve issues, a significant advantage for mission-critical sites.
• Premium themes are included as part of the package, WP Engine includes access to premium WordPress themes built on the Genesis framework, eliminating the need for additional purchases or development work. Kinsta does not offer any WordPress themes in its plans.
• Both offer automated site backups but WP Engine offers more flexibility: WP Engine offers daily automated backups with a retention period of up to 40 days and flexible restoration options, allowing you to restore full accounts, specific files, or databases. Kinsta’s backup retention is limited to 14 days for most plans, extending to 30 days only for higher-tier plans, restricting long-term backup access.

WP Engine Pricing

WP Engine employs the same pricing criteria that Kinsta uses, that is pricing their plans based on the number of visits, sites, and local storage. Here’s a breakdown of WP Engine pricing.

• Essential: Starts at $24/month for 25,000 visits, with scalability up to $232/month for 400,000 visits.
• Core WordPress: Begins at $400/month, providing additional features such as site monitoring alerts, isolated resources, and on-demand site health assessments, making it ideal for more demanding websites.
• Enterprise WordPress: Priced at $2,000/month and comes with hardened security and advanced performance features.

WP Engine Pros and Cons

3: SiteGround

Ideal choice for performance & scalability

Balancing performance, customer support, and affordability is a challenge for many budget-friendly web hosts. High-performance server hardware and quality customer support are expensive, which drives users toward premium hosts like Kinsta. However, Kinsta’s pricing is steep, making it less accessible for many.

Enter SiteGround. The web host offers strong performance and scalability at a more affordable price point. With SiteGround, you can start with an affordable plan and scale as your site grows. The platform supports unlimited sites, making it suitable for everything from small blogs to large WooCommerce stores.

In addition to scalability, SiteGround is optimized for performance. It integrates with Cloudflare (though not the premium version that Kinsta uses) and runs on Google Cloud’s infrastructure. SiteGround also offers a proprietary three-layer caching mechanism to enhance site speed and reliability.

4: Cloudways

Speed, cheaper & established competitor.

If you’re looking for a Kinsta alternative that combines speed, scalability, agility, and excellent customer support — then look further than Cloudways.

Unlike Kinsta, which focuses solely on WordPress, Cloudways is more versatile, supporting various PHP applications such as Laravel, Drupal, and Joomla. Additionally, Cloudways allows you to choose from five cloud providers—AWS, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Google Cloud, and Linode—whereas Kinsta restricts you to Google Cloud only.

Each server you deploy on Cloudways comes integrated with Cloudflare Enterprise, offering features like Edge Caching, Enterprise WAF, and DDoS Mitigation. Moreover, Cloudways provides free access to Object Cache Pro, a premium version of Redis. Kinsta charges $100 per month to integrate Redis into your environment.

Cloudways also stands out in pricing with a flexible pay-as-you-go model. You can scale resources as needed, and in case of unexpected traffic spikes, Cloudways automatically implements resource autoscaling to maintain optimal performance.

Cloudways vs Kinsta

Both Cloudways and Kinsta offer robust WordPress cloud hosting features, but Cloudways surpasses Kinsta in several key areas:

• Unlimited PHP workers: Cloudways enables the autoscaling of PHP workers based on your site’s demands, unlike Kinsta, which imposes limits. Kinsta also requires you to upgrade to a more expensive plan to access more PHP workers.
• More data centers: Cloudways offers over 65+ data center locations compared to Kinsta’s 37.
• Performance-optimized environment: Cloudways uses NVMe SSD storage, which is faster than the SATA drives used by Kinsta. It also integrates Cloudflare Enterprise, caching systems like Object Cache Pro, and autonomous scaling to adjust resources based on traffic to reduce performance bottlenecks attributed to traffic spikes.
• Auto-healing servers: Cloudways’ auto-healing feature continuously monitors your site and automatically resolves issues, ensuring uninterrupted uptime.

Cloudways Pricing 

Cloudways pricing varies depending on the cloud infrastructure you choose. The platform offers a range of options across five cloud providers, allowing you to select plans that fit your needs and budget. DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Linode provide more affordable plans, while Google Cloud and AWS tend to be more expensive. Pricing also depends on the RAM size, processor, storage, and bandwidth across all cloud packages.

• Digital Ocean (Standard): $7.70 – $739.20 per month
• Digital Ocean (Premium): $9.80 – $340.90 per month
• Vultr (Standard): $9.80 – $280.00 per month
• Vultr (High Frequency): $11.20 – $233.80 per month
• Linode: $9.80 – $877.10 per month
• Google Cloud: $26.22 – $1115.51 per month
• AWS: $26.99 – $2498.99 per month

Cloudways Pros and Cons

5: Pressidium

Best Kinsta alternative for mission-critical websites & WooCommerce stores

Pressidium is a great Kinsta alternative for websites that require top-tier performance and uptime. It caters to a wide range of users, from small websites to large enterprises that require dedicated resources.

While Kinsta offers exceptional performance on Google Cloud’s containerized stack, Pressidium employs High Availability (HA) architecture to minimize the chance of your site going offline.

Essentially, what this means is that,  unlike standard hosting where a single version of your site is running, Pressidium’s HA setup maintains multiple identical copies of your site across various nodes. This redundancy ensures zero downtime, as traffic is seamlessly rerouted to another node if one fails. This is crucial for high-traffic sites, WooCommerce stores, or mission-critical websites that can’t afford to go offline.

Security-wise, Pressidium doesn’t cut corners. You get features like malware monitoring with auto-removal, a managed Web Application Firewall (WAF), bad-bot filtering, and even reporting on vulnerable plugins.

However, customer support is where Pressidium could do better. While the team is skilled, your options are limited to email and ticket-based support. No live chat, no phone support—a bit of a letdown if you’re someone who values quick, direct communication.

Meanwhile, customers on higher-tier plans benefit from a dedicated account manager, ensuring a more personalized support experience. Plus, Pressidium includes free site migrations, a perk you won’t find with platforms like WP Engine.

Pressidium vs. Kinsta

Both Pressidium and Kinsta offer top-tier managed WordPress hosting, with a clear focus on performance and scalability. However Pressidium thrives in most areas where Kinsta claims dominance. Let’s break down why Pressidium is a good Kinsta alternative, especially for WooCommerce and other demanding sites.

• Infrastructure resilience and scalability: Pressidium operates on a fault-tolerant, multi-node server cluster. If one node goes down, another steps in, ensuring your site stays live. There’s no reliance on standalone servers, VPS, or containers. Each site is load-balanced across multiple nodes, making downtime practically non-existent. Kinsta, on the other hand, uses isolated software containers on Google Cloud’s infrastructure. It’s secure and performs well, but it lacks the inherent redundancy that Pressidium’s multi-node setup provides.
• Enterprise-level caching technology: Caching is another area in which Pressidium excels. Its multilayer adaptive caching system is designed to handle any traffic spike with precision. The system features both RAM-based and SSD-based cache for reliable durability. The adaptive caching engine dynamically tweaks caching rules based on real-time traffic, ensuring your site always runs at peak performance. Kinsta’s native caching is reliable, but it lacks the sophisticated, multi-tiered architecture Pressidium brings to the table. Plus, if you want object caching with Kinsta, be prepared to shell out an extra $100 per month for Redis—a feature Pressidium includes at no additional cost.
• Dynamic load balancing and traffic management: Pressidium offers dynamic load balancing across multiple data centers, ensuring that traffic is always directed to the least busy server. This includes total traffic management for handling surges, minimizing latency, and preventing downtime during traffic peaks. Kinsta on the other hand doesn’t offer multiple instances of load balancing.

Pressidium Pricing 

Pressidium offers scalable plans that you can choose depending on your site size and budget. 

• Entry Plans: costs $21 – $110/mo
• Agency Plans: costs $125 – $550/mo
• Premium Site: costs $167 – $600/mo
• Enterprise: starts at $790/mo

Pressidium Pros and Cons

5: DreamHost

Comprehensive hosting with a transparent pricing structure.

Looking for a Kinsta alternative that offers comprehensive features without breaking the bank? Enter DreamHost.

While other options we’ve covered above cater to growing, resource-intensive, or traffic-heavy sites, DreamHost caters to all users across the board. From fresh blogs and low-traffic portfolios to rapidly expanding websites, DreamHost has a plan for you. It offers various plans including, shared hosting, VPS, managed WordPress to Dedicated Servers — all of which are reasonably priced without any hidden charges.

DreamHost is one of the few hosts recommended by WordPress itself. And for good reason. I’ve tried countless hosting services, and DreamHost consistently delivers on affordability and transparency.

Starting at just $4.95 per month, DreamHost offers unlimited traffic, disk storage, SSL, and WordPress pre-installed. Commit to a year, and that drops to $2.95 per month with a free domain for the first year. Unlike Kinsta, you can host unlimited websites across all plans except for its WordPress Starter package.

Dreamhost vs Kinsta

Comparing DreamHost to Kinsta might feel like comparing apples to oranges—Kinsta is a powerhouse, running on Google Cloud’s high-end C2 machines with Cloudflare Enterprise integrated. 

But here’s the thing: DreamHost isn’t trying to be Kinsta. It’s focused on a different audience—new websites that prioritize budget and versatility over sheer power. Here’s where DreamHost has an edge over Kinsta.

• Comprehensive web hosting services: DreamHost offers various web hosting plans for different websites. That includes shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and managed WordPress hosting. You also get domain registration, email hosting, and more, making it a well-rounded option. Kinsta, however, is laser-focused on delivering premium WordPress hosting and nothing else.
• Feature-rich at a fraction of Kinsta price: With DreamHost, you get the essentials—unlimited traffic, ample storage, SSL, email accounts, and more—without breaking the bank. Kinsta, while a performance powerhouse, comes with a premium price tag that’s hard to justify unless you need that top-tier speed and scalability. DreamHost keeps things affordable while still offering the core features most websites need, making it an unbeatable value compared to Kinsta’s high-cost, high-performance approach.
• Generous money-back guarantee: DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee on its basic plans, giving you ample time to test its service risk-free. Kinsta on the other hand only offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Dreamhost Pricing

With DreamHost, you can choose from its wide selection of hosting plans depending on your needs and budget. 

• Shared Hosting: $4.95 – $8.95 per month
• Virtual Private Servers: $15 – $90 per month
• DreamPress (Manage WordPress Hosting): $19.95 – $29.95 per month
• Dedicate Hosting: $199 – $749 per month

Dreamhost Pros and Cons

FAQ: Kinsta Alternatives & Competitors

Which Kinsta alternatives offer more PHP Workers?

For more PHP workers than Kinsta offers, Rocket.net and Cloudways are strong alternatives. Rocket.net doesn’t cap PHP workers on your site, allowing for maximum resource utilization. Meanwhile, Cloudways supports vertical scaling, enabling your site to automatically adjust PHP workers as needed to maintain optimal performance, especially during traffic spikes.

Is WPEngine a good alternative to Kinsta?

Yes, WPEngine is a viable alternative to Kinsta, especially if you’re looking for a managed WordPress hosting solution with excellent performance and robust security features. Both hosts offer premium services, but WPEngine stands out with its proprietary EverCache technology and a strong focus on developer-friendly tools. 

What is the best European alternative to Kinsta? (Serverbolt, Hostinger) 

For those seeking a European-based alternative to Kinsta, Serverbolt is an excellent choice. It offers superior speed, security, and performance, tailored specifically for WordPress sites, with data centers across Europe. Hostinger, another European alternative, provides more affordable plans, making it a great option for small businesses and personal blogs that don’t need the enterprise-level features of Kinsta.

As per Reddit, what are the best Kinsta and WPEngine alternatives?

According to Reddit discussions, both Kinsta and WPEngine are considered premium options with pricing to match. Redditors often recommend Pressable as a more budget-friendly alternative that still delivers reliable performance. Pressable offers managed WordPress hosting at a lower price point, making it a popular choice among users who find Kinsta and WPEngine too expensive.