Comparing WordPress Manager Plugins For Multiple Sites

Updated For 2017
This comparison is regularly updated to help you find the best plugins of 2016!
Last update on: 15.4.2017
Contents

  1. Search And Find
  2. Feature Comparison Chart
  3. Instructions And Suggestions
  4. Corrections And Comments

Welcome to the best comparison of the best management plugins for WordPress! Let me help you find the cheapest WordPress management plugin that is perfect for your specific requirements and budget!

To get started simply enter which features you will definitely need from your management plugin in the form below. After pressing “Compare Now” you will instantly get your individual comparison results and can see the top alternatives that offer all the features you require at the best price! Go here for more details on how to use this comparison.

Search And Find A Great WordPress Management Plugin

Get Individual Results

How many blogs do you manage?
What features do you need?

WordPress Management Features:
Security Features:
Other Features:

Top Management Plugins, ordered by

The Big Management Plugin Feature Comparison Chart

The search form above is meant to give you a personalized comparison and let you compare prices of the different blog management services. The chart below on the other hand is meant to give you a quick overview over which kind of features you can find in all of the management plugin alternatives. If you find this huge table too confusing you can also use my heads up comparisons between two specific plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites instead.

Features marked with free in the chart are available in the free version of the plugin. Features marked with addon are sold as a separate extension. Hover over the text to see the starting price of the extension.

CMS Commander ManageWP InfiniteWP WP Remote iControlWP MainWP iThemes Sync
Listing Data Verified?
WordPress Management Features
Manage Posts and Pages (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
Bulk Posting (addon) (free)
1-click Theme Updates (free) (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
1-click Plugin Updates (free) (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
1-click WordPress Updates (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
1-click Admin Login (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
Bulk Edit WordPress Posts and Pages
Bulk Plugin and Theme Installation (free) (free) (free) (free)
Manage Comments (free) (free) (addon) (addon) (free)
Manage User Accounts (free) (addon) (free) (free)
Bulk Create User Accounts (free)
Edit WordPress Settings (addon)
Configure Automatic Updates (free) (free) (free) (free)
WordPress Backups + Restore (free) (free) (free) (free)
Automatic Scheduled Backups (addon) (free) (free)
Save backups to Amazon S3 (addon) (addon) (free)
Save backups to Dropbox (addon) (addon) (free)
Save backups to Google Drive (addon) (free) (free)
Website Cloning (addon) (addon)
Maintenance Mode (free) (free)
CMS Commander ManageWP InfiniteWP WP Remote iControlWP MainWP iThemes Sync
Secure SSL Encryption (free) (free) (free) (free) (free) (free)
Uptime Monitoring (free) (addon) (free)
Sucuri.net Malware Scanner Integration (free) (free) (addon) (free)
2-Factor Authentication (free) (free) (free)
CMS Commander ManageWP InfiniteWP WP Remote iControlWP MainWP iThemes Sync
Google Analytics Integration (free) (addon) (addon)
SEO / Keyword Tracking
Automatic Content / API Integration (addon)
Self Hosted (free) (free)
Custom Client Plugin Branding (addon) (addon)
Activity Reports (free) (addon) (addon)
Storage Space for Plugins, Images or Files (free)
DB Maintenance and Optimization (free) (free) (addon) (addon)
Code Snippets (addon) (addon)
Sub Users (addon) (addon)
Premium Support (free) (free) (addon) (free)

Instructions, Recommendations And Ressources

A Short Intro To Choosing A Management Plugin

Some Details On Pricing:

  • Hosted WordPress management services are generally priced after a subscription model. That means you subscribe to their service for managing your blogs and then pay the fee either on a monthly or yearly basis (the latter usually at a slight discount). Your price will depend on the number of websites you want to manage and (for some services) on the features you want access to. Most services allow you to cancel or upgrade a subscription at any time, but be sure to always check the exact payment details first! Shown is the price you would need to pay “per month” and (if available) the discounted “per year” rate next to it.
  • For self-hosted WordPress managers you usually buy the software in the first step and can then install and use it to manage all your blogs. Generally however a subscription is still required to get access to updates and support, which is important for security when managing all your blogs from one dashboard. Because of that and to make them more easily comparable to the hosted counterparts I report the cost for self-hosted products on a “per year” basis.

How To Find The Best WordPress Management Service For Your Needs

I recommend you do the following to find the best solution for managing multiple WordPress blogs:

  1. Use the comparison form above to search for blog management solutions that best fit your needs and budget. Enter as many details as possible, e.g. how many websites you want to manage remotely and all of the features you definitely need access to.
  2. At the top of the results you will find some of the best services for your situation, namely the ones that match the most features you need at the smallest price. To learn more about your top results you can follow the links to my in depth review articles.
  3. Once you settled on 2 or 3 services simply click on the “free signup” links in the comparison results. Create a free account and test each service to compare for yourself and find the alternative that works best for you.

How To Manage Multiple WordPress Sites For Free

You can also use this comparison to find a free solution to manage all your WordPress blogs. Most of the products compared here offer a free account option. Usually the free account option is either limited by the number of websites you can manage remotely or by the management features you get access to (or both). Free plans are returned by the WordPress management search above when the filter criteria you enter make you eligible. To start your search try disabling all specific feature filters and search for a small amount of websites only. Press “Search Now” and you will see free options to manage multiple WordPress blogs displayed on the right side with a price of $0.

Other Factors To Consider In Your Choice

There are of course many other factors you should consider in your choice of a management plugin which are not part of this comparison because they are either highly subjective or hard to track. For example:

  • Is the plugin easy to use? To answer this question download a demo or free version (if available) to get a closer feel for how the plugin works.
  • How good is the plugin interface? Try watching some Youtube videos of each WordPress management plugin in action to get an idea what the admin area looks like.
  • Is the support fast and helpful? Consider just getting in touch and asking some questions before your purchase to see what kind of answer you get.
  • Is the plugin updated regularly? Check if they post about new version releases on their website. For products with a free version in the WP plugin directory you can browse the changelog there.

Finally I want to stress that this management plugin comparison only compares prices and features as reported by the developers. It can not tell you whether those features actually work or in which WordPress management plugin they work better. I recommend you use my comparison as a starting point in your search for the best blog management service and then try some of the top choices yourself!

How To Use This Management Plugin Comparison

My big WordPress managers plugin comparison

Using this comparison is very easy, certainly easier than actually choosing one of the WordPress management plugins! In the form at the top of the page enter which features you will definitely need from the management plugin of your choice by checking the boxes next to each feature. Because many plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites increase in price depending on your number of sites you should also select on how many blogs you intend to use the plugin with the dropdown box.

After clicking the “Compare Now” button the top WordPress management plugins based on your requirements are shown on the right side. By default the results are ordered by how well they match the features you have searched for. You can change that with the “Order results by” dropdown, e.g. to display the cheapest blog management services in front.

What the results mean: Each compared product is shown in a blue box that contains the following information:

  • Features: This comparison tracks a number of features that are commonly found in the best plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites. The number next to each alternative shows you how many out of all those features you can find in this particular product. Features are listed as reported by the developers.
  • Missing Features: This will only show up if a WordPress management plugin does not offer all the features you need (defined by your selection in the comparison search form). All products are displayed regardless of how many features they are missing with the best matches listed higher.
  • Price: The price as calculated for your number of blogs and required features. The goal is to show you the exact cost you can expect when deciding to purchase one of the alternatives in order to help you find the cheapest management plugin possible.
    All prices are as listed on the developers websites. Bulk or automatic discounts are factored in if available. There can be minor variations due to rounding errors. If you find a product has changed their prices please report it so I can keep the list updated.
  • Reviews: This section lists the average rating of the plugin given by WPscoop users. If available the average rating from the WordPress.org plugin directory or the CodeCanyon marketplace is also listed.
  • Download / Order Link: Many of the products compared here offer you a way to test their service for free. Some offer a basic plugin for free, others a demo on their website or a refund period. You will find the details next to each plugin. If possible I recommend you try and test any WordPress management plugin yourself before buying.

Suggestions And Corrections Welcome!

All the data about prices and features is coming directly from the developers. I want this comparison to be an objective starting point in your search for a great blog management service. Because of that it only contains hard facts and no subjective verdict by myself.

Since most WordPress products are regularly updated and prices get changed often I need your help to keep this comparison up to date! If you spot an outdated price, find an error or notice that a feature was added to one of the WordPress management plugins please leave a comment so that I can update the article. Thank you!

Which management plugin do you like best? Is there another plugin alternative I should add to this comparison? Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below. If you wish you can also contact me directly!

About Thomas Höfter

I am a WordPress plugin developer from Germany. Some might know me from my WP Robot plugin or one of my free plugins but most don't know me at all. To change that you can write me a message or find me on Google+.

21 Comments


  1. Hi, thanks for the great article.

    However, I have noticed that some features that MainWP plugin provides are not included in the comparison table.
    In last few months, MainWP released a couple of new extensions which provide some additional functionality. For example, Editing WordPress Settings is not possible with using the MainWP Bulk Settings Manager extension. Saving backups to Google Drive is possible with the MainWP UpdraftPlus Extension. Also, creating and managing Sub Users is possible with the MainWP Team Control Extension.

    Thanks.


  2. It seems your icontrolwp pricing is out of date.


    1. Thanks for the heads up. Seems they changed their pricing recently. I will get the comparison updated as soon as possible.


    2. not wrong. they are still going i understand last time i looked but they just seem so unloved there at icontrolwp and i had some issues as well and left.


  3. Hi Thomas, great comparison.

    How about WPdash?


  4. You are a LEGEND for putting all of these comparisons together, now the problem is making a decision. Spreadsheet heaven. Good work.


  5. Great article, although I noticed you updated this comparison last month but you seem to have overlooked Jetpack which is now offering a free multiple site management option.


    1. Thanks, Terence. The update last month only changed the currently compared products but I definitely plan to add the new Jetpack site management tool in the future.


  6. Silly question … I’m assuming that managing multiple Woocommerce sites’ categories and products is also going to work?


    1. Yes, as far as I know most of the compared solutions also offer support for custom post types and thus can be used to manage WooCommerce products as well. Better check it directly with the site manager you are interested before committing though.


      1. We’re contacting MainWP and ManageWP for more info … will reply here based on their feedback for you and others to benefit from.


  7. Hi,

    Apparently, we miss the mobile app companion, if it exist or not for the different services.


    1. Hi Alex, thanks for the suggestion! Comparing whether the management services have a mobile app is a good idea and I will try to add that with the next update.


  8. Hi Thomas, great site, great comparison.

    Could you share your private recommendation for one of the plugins above? What do you prefer, which one do you use?
    Which one is most safe and which one do solid backups without troubles with restore ? Which one can be trusted, which one is best coded? Although, of course each user has it’s own requirements, Your opinion is very welcome!

    Best regards


    1. Hi Dawid! Thank you but unfortunately I can not answer your question because it is beyond of the scope of this comparison. Since I have actually not used all of the compared management plugins properly (and certainly not compared the code in detail) it would not be fair for me to share my own verdict here. But I have just recently added user reviews to WPscoop so that others can do just that. I would love to see your reviews for the plugins you use there too! 😉


  9. I think some of the new WordPress managed hosting providers offer this in every plan.


    1. What do you mean with this? While some of the managed hosts might have some of the features listed here (like automatic backups or updates) I am not aware of any host that comes close to the functionality the solutions to manage multiple blogs compared here offer.


  10. How about MainWP? They’ve been featured on some major WordPress sites, and comes heavily recommended 🙂 We moved from ManageWP to MainWP recently as well


    1. Yes, MainWP is alrady on the radar and will get to the comparison soon! Thanks for your suggestion.


  11. Fix your comparison links not even one of them works, 404 error on every one


    1. Hi Don, thanks for the heads up. The links have been fixed now.

Comments are closed.