RunCloud configures servers. WPShift runs the whole of hosting.
Both connect to servers you already own and configure the stack on top. RunCloud is a general PHP control panel; WPShift is WordPress hosting, with the mail, DNS and backup storage that a hosting business actually needs.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.
What WPShift includes
Hosting is more than a server. Mailboxes, backup storage and DNS come with every plan, including the free one. Not one of the products on this page bundles mail with your sites.
- Mailboxes on your own domainsReal inboxes with webmail, on every plan including the free one. None of the products compared here offer this: hosts point you at Google Workspace, and server panels do not handle mail at all.
- Off-server backup storageBackup storage is included on every plan, held away from the server it protects, with the allowance set by your plan. Or point it at your own S3-compatible storage and use none of it.
- DNS hostingFree DNS on every plan. Point your domain at WPShift and manage its records next to the sites and mailboxes that use them, while the domain stays with your own registrar.
- AI CopilotAn assistant that reads your own servers, sites and operation records and waits for your approval before it acts. Available on the higher plans.
How the two models differ
Mailboxes on your own domainIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftIncluded on every plan, including the free one, with the mail DNS records managed alongside them.
RunCloudNot among the features listed on their features page. Mail is bought elsewhere.
DNS hostingIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftFree DNS hosting on every plan, with records managed beside the sites and mailboxes that use them.
RunCloudNot among the features listed on their features page.
What it is built aroundIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftWordPress only: plugins and themes, staging clones, WooCommerce-aware cache rules, PHP versions per site.
RunCloudPHP applications generally. Their pages describe server configuration, PHP and NGINX management, SSL and security rather than anything WordPress-specific.
AI assistanceIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftCopilot reads your own servers, sites and operation records, and waits for approval before acting. On the higher plans.
RunCloudNot among the features listed on their features page.
Who the server belongs to
WPShiftYour cloud account.
RunCloudYour cloud account. RunCloud describes itself as a control panel for cloud servers and does not supply them.
Providers you can connect
WPShiftDigitalOcean, Linode, Hetzner, Vultr, AWS and Google Cloud, or a WPShift Cloud server.
RunCloudTheir site names Vultr, Linode, UpCloud, Hetzner, AWS, Google Cloud and DigitalOcean.
How each one charges
WPShift
A plan with site and server allowances that also covers mailboxes, backup storage and DNS, plus your provider’s bill for the server.
WPShift pricingRunCloud
Not stated here. Their pricing page renders in the browser and could not be read from source, so rather than repeat a figure from a third-party listing this page links to it.
RunCloud pricingWhen RunCloud is the better choice
- You host more than WordPress. A general panel is the right shape for a mixed PHP estate.
- You want the most established tool in this category by user base and track record.
When WPShift fits better
- You want mailboxes on your own domains without a second vendor. Included here on every plan.
- Everything you run is WordPress, and you would rather the software assume that than be configured into it.
- You want DNS, backup storage, uptime and PageSpeed history alongside the servers rather than as separate subscriptions.
Questions
Why does this page not compare prices?
RunCloud’s pricing page is rendered in the browser rather than served as HTML, so it could not be read from a primary source when this page was written. Quoting a number from a third-party listing would be a guess wearing a fact’s clothes, so the page links to their pricing instead. Everything else here was read from their own site.
Does RunCloud include email hosting?
Mailbox hosting is not among the features listed on their features page. WPShift includes real inboxes with webmail on your own domains on every plan, including the free one, with the mail DNS records managed in the same place.
Other comparisons
- WPShift vs FlyWPThe closest comparison, and where the two stop being alike.
- WPShift vs KinstaA managed host that does not do email, against a server of your own that does.
- WPShift vs Laravel ForgeA general deployment panel against WordPress hosting with mail and DNS included.
- WPShift vs WP EngineA managed platform that leaves out mail and DNS, against hosting that includes them.
Try it before you leave RunCloud
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.