WP Octo vs MainWP

MainWP is an open-source management tool you host yourself: the dashboard is a plugin on a WordPress site of your own, and every site you manage runs the MainWP Child plugin. The core is free for unlimited sites; a Pro subscription adds more than 30 add-ons, such as reports, white label, regression tests and Lighthouse. Because you host the dashboard yourself, your data stays on your own server, but you also look after that server, its updates and its security. WP Octo is a European platform you do not have to host, for WordPress agencies, freelancers and hosting companies. It puts the emphasis on reliable maintenance on any hosting, on clients with their own maintenance package, and on modules that run on the site itself. The table above shows, feature by feature, where the two agree and where they differ.

Updates and backups

Both tools update plugins, themes, WordPress itself and translations from one dashboard, on a schedule you choose. MainWP rolls a plugin back when an update fails and, with Pro, can compare the HTML of pages before and after. WP Octo runs updates in scheduled rounds, puts the site in maintenance mode while it does, backs up what is being updated first, compares the site visually and rolls a plugin that breaks the site back automatically. WP Octo runs the database updates of WooCommerce and Elementor as standard, MainWP with Pro. Built-in backups arrive in MainWP with Dashboard 6.4, still a release candidate; until then you use a backup plugin. WP Octo makes backups from hourly to monthly, incrementally, on the site, externally or in both places.

Security and modules on the site

MainWP checks for vulnerabilities and connects to services such as Sucuri, Wordfence and Jetpack for malware scans and extra protection. Login security and 2FA are handled there with a plugin of your own. WP Octo brings these to the site itself: limiting login attempts, a custom login URL, a password policy, 2FA, shorter administrator sessions, security headers, changed-file detection and bot protection on forms, without a captcha. Modules such as a cookie banner with recorded consent, statistics without cookies and a mail log also run on the site, on or off per site or per package. Where MainWP is strong: a public API and MCP, cost tracking per site, publishing content to several sites, cloning and staging, and its large range of add-ons.

Hosting it yourself or not, and your data in the EU

With MainWP you need a WordPress site of your own with enough memory as the dashboard, and that server checks your sites’ uptime itself. WP Octo runs as a service: you install nothing but the plugin on your sites. It is built for shared hosting without SSH or WP-CLI, works in small steps within 30 seconds and 128 MB, and the site contacts the platform itself, so its data stays current when a firewall refuses requests from outside. Your data is stored with Hetzner in Germany and Finland. For agencies WP Octo records clients, maintenance packages, team roles and your own logo and brand colour, and for hosting companies there is a WHMCS module. Moving over from MainWP needs no migration of your sites: you install the WP Octo plugin and connect the site.