WP Engine does not do email or DNS. WPShift includes both.
WP Engine is a managed WordPress platform: the infrastructure is theirs and you buy capacity on it. WPShift configures a server in your own cloud account and puts your mailboxes, DNS and backups in the same place as your sites.
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 and DNSIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftBoth included on every plan, including the free one. Inboxes with webmail on your own domains, and the DNS records for them managed in the same place.
WP EngineNeither. Their support documentation states: "We do not provide nameservers or email servers, and therefore do not support requests relating to DNS or inbound email."
Backup storageIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftIncluded on every plan, off the server it protects, or pointed at your own S3-compatible storage.
WP EngineBackups are part of the platform and held within it, against your tier’s storage allowance.
Who the infrastructure belongs to
WPShiftYou. The server is created in your cloud account and stays there.
WP EngineWP Engine. Their plans page describes a managed platform, with no route for connecting a cloud account of your own.
How capacity is measured
WPShiftBy the server you choose (CPU, memory and disk) and your plan’s allowances.
WP EngineBy monthly visits, storage and bandwidth per plan tier.
Resource isolation
WPShiftEach site gets its own system user and database credentials on a server you control.
WP EngineTheir plans page lists shared resources on the entry Essential tier, and isolated resources on Core and Enterprise.
If you stop paying
WPShiftThe server keeps running in your own account.
WP EngineThe hosting ends, because the hosting is the product.
How each one charges
WPShift
A plan for the software, covering mailboxes, backup storage and DNS, and a separate provider bill for the server, sized by the resources you choose rather than by traffic.
WPShift pricingWP Engine
Plan tiers priced by site count, with a monthly visit allowance, storage and bandwidth on each. Their entry Essential plan covers one site, 25,000 visits a month and 10 GB of storage. Mail and DNS are not included.
WP Engine pricingWhen WP Engine is the better choice
- You want a managed platform with support that engages with the site itself, and an established company carrying that responsibility.
- Traffic rather than resources is how you think about capacity, and a visits allowance is a clearer unit for you than a server size.
When WPShift fits better
- You want mail and DNS with your hosting. WP Engine says outright it provides neither; both are included here on every plan.
- You would rather pay your provider’s list price for the machine, and keep the machine.
- Your traffic does not fit a visits allowance neatly, or you would rather size a server than buy a tier.
Questions
Does WP Engine offer email hosting?
No. Their support documentation states "We do not provide nameservers or email servers, and therefore do not support requests relating to DNS or inbound email." Mail and DNS both have to come from somewhere else. WPShift includes mailboxes with webmail on your own domains, and DNS management, on every plan.
Is WPShift a WP Engine alternative?
For people who want to own the server and keep mail and DNS in one place, yes. If what you want is a managed platform where the host is accountable for the site itself, that is a different category and WPShift is not a like-for-like replacement.
Will I pay less?
Often, because the server is bought at your provider’s list price and mail, DNS and backup storage are already included rather than bought separately. Count both sides properly: the server, the software, backup storage, email, a CDN if you need one, and the support you expect.
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 RunCloudA general PHP control panel against WordPress hosting with mail included.
Try it before you leave WP Engine
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.