So what’s the main difference between managed hosting and shared hosting? You’ll find it by the end of this post along with some killer hosting recommendations.
Did you know #1 part in building a profitable blog online?
If you said, web hosting, then you are right. Whether you agree it or not, web hosting plays #1 role in your website’s success.
Web hosting directly impacts your:
- website speed
- SEO
- user experience
- security of your site
- above all your overall sales
So if you’re using a cheap or free hosting, you’re killing your site all by yourself.
Another big mistake most bloggers make while picking hosting for their sites is they often go for shared hosting (usually offered by ChemiCloud, Bluehost etc) over managed hosting. If you’re wondering about what’s the difference between managed and shared hosting, this post is for you.
You will also discover all the pros and cons of using both shared hosting vs managed hosting along with some of the best services that offer those hosting features. Are you ready to find them out? Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
What is managed hosting?
In Managed hosting, a service provider leases dedicated servers and associated hardware to a single client. That means, Managed hosting services minimize the amount of hands-on IT work that needs to be performed to keep a server running at peak performance.
While you focus on your software, the hosting company will handle the hardware. Some companies offer managed hosting as an add-on to their existing cloud, VPS or dedicated packages.
Here are the 2 types of managed hosting:
- Semi-managed hosting: It is for those people or businesses who want to use a hosting company’s support and infrastructure but feel comfortable managing their own servers.
- Fully-managed hosting: This hosting is best for those with limited technical knowledge. It also allows people or companies to focus on growing their business.
Benefits of Managed hosting:
1. Regular monitoring of server: One of the major benefits of managed server hosting is regular monitoring of server which enables proactive detection of irregularities, vulnerabilities or failures that affects the productivity of your business.
It continuously scans your server for server hardware, CPU usage, operating system, applications running on OS, network traffic, memory and disk usage and more. Thus, this regular check keeps your site and server working efficiently.
2. Automated backups: With managed hosting services, your data is secure and backed up. You need not worry of hacking attempts, data crash or anything which is unfortunate for your site as with Managed WordPress hosting you get automated backups.
3. Enhanced security assistance: They have various tools and have ability to handle server security related issues, block hacking attempts. They constantly scan the operating system for viruses, run security audits to find security vulnerabilities, which they can fix in order to prevent the server from being attacked.
They also install proper security mechanisms against malware and phishing acts so that there’s no breach in your website security.
4. Fully managed control panel: A managed server hosting is accompanied with control panel which helps you to manage your hosting account and website efficiently. You can create databases, email forwarders, DNS records, access logs, view performance statistics and more with this robust tool on your hosting account.
Pros and cons of managed hosting
So what are the pros and cons of using managed hosting?
Pros:
- Managed WordPress hosting servers are blazing fast even when your website gets a lot of traffic.
- All updates are done automatically.
- They create daily backups and offer restore points if you ever want to revert.
- Managed WordPress hosting providers have a very tight security layer that actively scans for malware and block all hacking attempts.
- Your website will probably never go down, no matter how much traffic your site gets.
- You don’t have to spend a lot of time learning how to run WordPress or what plugins you should use, understand CSS or HTML to make changes to your templates. This all take care of while you can focus on your content, thus saving you a great deal of time.
- A managed WordPress hosting service will provide expert support when you need it
Cons:
- It is more expensive when compared to shared hosting. Base plan usually starts around $29/mo. where as shared hosting plan starts at $3.95/mo.
- You can’t run all WordPress plugins. Managed WordPress hosting providers block plugins that slows down your site.
- Someone else is managing all the technical aspects. If you are a professional blogger who likes to have control over every aspect of your blog, you will lose a lot of this with managed hosting.
Shared hosting allows multiple websites to utilize a single server. In other words, it is the web hosting in which the service provider serves pages for multiple web sites, each having its own Internet domain name, from a single web server.
However, you will have a limit on the total amount of server resources you can use, but this will be defined by your hosting package.
Let’s now talk about some of the pros and cons on shared hosting.
Pros:
- Shared hosting is the cheapest and most economical option for your needs.
- It usually comes equipped with a built-in cPanel, which makes it easy to manage your site.
- You need not take care of technical maintenance as this is usually included in part of your hosting package.
- Most hosting companies have multiple levels of hosting available, so you can upgrade your hosting package with time. This makes shared hosting a great place to start.
Cons:
- Most of the times, the server can become overburdened by other sites that are sharing the server.
- It is impossible for you to know who your neighbors are. But, it is possible for other sites on the server to pose a risk to your own site.
- When your site begins to receive higher levels of traffic, you will notice that your site begin to perform much worse.
- There are no much customization options to truly get the highest level of performance from your website.
Shared hosting is a great choice for beginners whose sites don’t receive a lot of traffic.
There are several hosting companies around the world and they offer many different packages and it is not obvious most of the times which one company and which package to select. Without talking about the difference between two hosting types, this post is incomplete.
Here are the key differences between shared hosting and managed hosting:
- With shared hosting, there are other sites that are hosted on the server along with your website. With managed hosting, you will get all hosting benefits because you are all alone on a server.
- With shared hosting, the amount of disk space and bandwidth you are allotted is limited because there are others sharing the server. With managed hosting, you get a computer all on your own, so you can customise it extensively. You will be able to choose the amount and type of memory, the OS to install, and other hardware elements that make up a computer.
- With shared hosting, the hosting company installs firewalls and server security applications and programs. With managed hosting, the downside is that you actually need to know quite a bit about computers and server technology. You could get a completely unmanaged service where you need to install the OS yourself, let alone all the tools needed to run a web server, security scanning, malware removal and so on.
The hosting type that you choose will depend on your budget, server and website needs, and the amount control that you desire.
Read: WordPress Hosting vs Web Hosting: The Ultimate Decision for 2024
2 of the best managed hosting services
1. WPX hosting
To succeed in online business, your website has to load fast. From blogging for fun to selling products online, no matter what the purpose of your website is, the site will get benefited from quick loading times. Improving website speed can help you get more visitors and thus there is an increased visibility in the search engines.
Faster websites have higher conversion rates which results in more of the visitors joining your email list, clicking on links, purchasing products, or taking some other important action. If you want such fast loading website then WPX Hosting is for you.
Pros
- WPX offers you daily backup of your whole sites.
- WPX Hosting offers free migration of your website over to their service within 24 hours.
- Offers fast and effective support. Connecting to someone on Live Chat is pretty much instant.
- WPX Hosting offers unlimited FREE Google sponsored SSL Certificates to all its clients.
- WPX Hosting servers are configured to give your blog the fastest speed possible.
- Performs continuous malware and hack scanning.
- WPX Hosting makes it easy to register a new domain for your website or use an existing domain name.
Cons
- Pricing starts at $24.99 per month. It’s a bit expensive for beginners. However, you will get a dedicated hosting along with daily backups.
Features
- WPX hosting company only offers dedicated WordPress hosting. That means each and every user will get dedicated hosting so you can boost your overall website performance and more importantly site speed.
- It offers unlimited free SSL certificates where it can be installed and activated in just 10 minutes on your WordPress sites. It also offers the most secured hosting
- WPX offers exceptional pricing plans. The pricing offered by WPX beats their competitors like WPEngine, Bluehost, HostGator etc.
WPX hosting is currently serving over 40 million page views every single month. Their pricing options, unbeatable customer support, blazing fast servers, daily backups make their hosting unique from the rest of the competitors.
If you are searching for a dedicated, affordable and secured web hosting service to host your WordPress sites, you should definitely start using WPX. You will get some of the best customer support.
Here’s a detailed review of WPX hosting just in case if you want to find more about it.
2. Kinsta
Kinsta offers fast and robust servers that can handle anything. They offer automatic security updates, daily backups, one-click restore points, automatic caching, top-tier security, one-click staging area, and more.
Kinsta only offers managed WordPress hosting. There are 4 different plans available: Starter, Pro, Business (1-4), and Enterprise (1-4).
Pros
- Support is available 24/7 through live chat for all customers.
- Kinsta keeps your site protected with many advanced security features.
- Without slowing down your site, Kinsta proprietary front-end layer system can handle traffic spikes easily.
Cons
- Kinsta is more expensive. However, the services they offer are well-worth the investment.
- It doesn’t offer domain registrations. You will have to register your domains with another company.
Features
- Kinsta offers a number of premium security features. The WordPress core is automatically updated to the latest version for you.
- Kinsta includes some unique features for WordPress users that most hosts don’t offer which are Git version control, Instantly create a copy of your site for testing, Easy transferable installs from free to paid accounts.
- It also offers proprietary intrusion detection and prevention system to block any DDoS attacks, brute force attacks, SQL injection attacks and more.
- Kinsta offers a content delivery network in partnership with Cloudflare, making their hosting even faster.
- It offers 30 day money back guarantee which means you can cancel your account within the first 30 days and receive a full refund if you are not happy with their service.
Kinsta can provide decent hosting and is perfect for developers and freelancers. You will find that Kinsta advanced features save your time on WordPress development for clients.
Looking for more hosting options? See our top picks in the best hosting list or you can check the below:
1. Hostinger
Hostinger is the #1 shared hosting chosen by millions of customers worldwide. Plans start from just $2.65/mo (Use Coupon: ANILAGARWAL)
Hostinger offers free domain registration and web hosting services, including managed WordPress hosting. It offers everything you need to grow your website, whether you are a new blogger or established business.
Pros
- All of Hostinger plans use SSD drives for faster loading.
- Through ticket system, Hostinger offers 24/7 support. It also maintain a forum on their website where you can post your questions and most questions are answered within 24 hours.
- Hostinger plans includes one free domain registration plus domain privacy, so your contact information is not made public on the web.
- Whatever the type of hosting, you are provided a free domain name for a year.
Cons
- Hostinger doesn’t offer a phone support.
- It uses its own custom-designed control panel, which allows you to manage your billing and domains as well as your hosting. If you are accustomed to cPanel, then you might not want to try a new control panel.
Features
- Hostinger specializes in providing hosting for web designers, developers, bloggers and online businesses. They offer shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers. It also offers cloud servers and cloud storage.
- It offers a managed WordPress hosting plan called Cloud Startup which is over 5 times faster than shared hosting. The servers are optimized for WordPress that it can handle traffic spikes without your site going down.
- Hostinger offers free AI website builder. Usually, most hosts doesn’t have this feature. That means, you can design your website with this AI builder in just 2 minutes without any coding knowledge.
2. Bluehost
Bluehost is an official WordPress recommended hosting provider that offers a wide variety of hosting plans for beginners to larger businesses with 24/7 customer support. With Bluehost, you never have to worry about your website being slow even when there is a lot of traffic. It offers a wide range of hosting plans with tons of features that help you easily build your website.
Pros
- You can manage your hosting, create databases, etc. as all plans come with an easy to use hosting control panel.
- All plans are backed by 24/7 service and a money-back guarantee.
- You get a free domain name for a year included with your purchase.
- All plans include automatic plugin updates and regular backups.
- There are no hidden fees when signing up for your account.
- Bluehost is a boon for beginners as it has a step by step guides and video tutorials as part of their extensive knowledge base. It solves the most common issues that can be quickly resolved by a simple search.
Cons
- The one problem with Bluehost is excessive upselling. It tries to sell you on add-ons and upgrades and to experience full functionality, there are a lot of areas where you flat-out need add-ons.
- Bluehost shared hosting is only good for beginners but if you’re making money from your sites, go for dedicated hosting services like WPX hosting or WP Engine.
Features
- With Bluehost, you can easily set up an online store that offers many different shopping carts like Zen, Cube, Agora and OS Commerce.
- Bluehost is known for it’s security. You get three layers of anti-spam protection in the form of Spamexperts, Spam Hammer and Apache Spamassassin. All your directories will be password-protected.
- With the help of CloudFlare, Bluehost offers single-click integration. CloudFlare is particularly good for thwarting DDOS attacks. It provides even more excellent security features and speeds up your site.
- Bluehost offers 30-day money back guarantee. So, if you cancel within the first 30 days, you will get a full refund. However, domain fees are not refundable.
- For all budgets and size, Bluehost offers a variety of hosting plans. This includes shared hosting, VPS, dedicated server, cloud hosting, WooCommerce hosting, WordPress hosting and more.
- Bluehost offers free SSL certificate to every new and existing users. For the new site, Bluehost will automatically install and configure SSL certificate.
If you are looking for a reliable web host with a strong reputation, if you can pay extra to get access to more features and a dedicated support team of WP experts and if you are on a budget and just want general-purpose shared hosting, then go for Bluehost.
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about managed hosting vs shared hosting.
If you’re concerned about your website’s security and speed, managed hosting is worth every penny. Most web hosts in managed hosting manage things like backups, 24/7 network monitoring, speed optimization, automatic WordPress update installation, etc.
Shared hosting is extremely affordable and a single server is split between multiple websites. Whereas in managed server hosting, a single site has a physical server all to itself and is expensive.
Yes, absolutely. In fact, we’ve been using WPX on BloggersPassion since 2016 and we had zero issues with it so far. Their pricing starts just at $20 per month and offers features like 30-second support, free CDN, SSL, automated backups, website migration, etc.
Managed hosting is best for those who’re running a high-traffic website and looking for speed and top-notch performance with incredible security features. Shared hosting is suitable for smaller websites and blogs and looking for affordable hosting plans
WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting that is exclusively optimized for the needs of a WordPress website. WordPress hosting offers features like pre-installed sites, automatic WordPress updates, WordPress support, etc.
Shared hosting on the other hand isn’t optimized for any specific CMS such as WordPress and has shared resources that are distributed across multiple websites. Shared hosting offers features like free SSL, free domain, emails, databases, etc.
Here are a few web hosts that offer managed hosting along with superior features and speed.
– WPX Hosting (we use the same host)
– WPEngine
– Kinsta
Recommended Web Hosting Resources:
- Web Hosting Deals [10+ Offers Up to 86% OFF]
- Top Cloudways Discount Codes in 2024
- Best Dreamhost alternatives to pick in 2024
- How to start a blog in 2024?
- Comparison of best web hosting services by BloggersPassion
- What is VPS Hosting? Virtual Private Servers Explained
Final Thoughts
As I said earlier in the post, web hosting is what makes or breaks your blogging success. If you’re really serious about making money from blogging, you need to treat is as a business. Every business needs investment. Here’s where putting your investment on web hosting can pay a lot in the long run for you.
So what are your thoughts about managed hosting vs shared hosting? Are you using shared hosting or managed hosting to run your website? Do you have any questions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
![WP Engine Review - Our Thoughts After Thorough Testing [In 2024]](https://bloggerspassion.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/wpengine-review.webp)
Hello Anil,
Great comparison among managed and shared WordPress hosting. I think if someone just want to start a blog than shared hosting is a good option to go. However he/she have to choose a reliable shared hosting provider. Managed Hosting is quite expensive and needed when a blog grows and getting lots of visitors. I think you would agree with me on this?
Have a great Day 🙂
Vishwajeet