Which management plugin is the better alternative for my blog? With more and more competing premium WordPress plugins it gets harder and harder to answer that question. This article takes a look at two popular plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites: It compares MainWP with iThemes Sync in order to help you with your decision in choosing one.
There are several other alternatives to MainWP and iThemes Sync on the market which I have compared in separate articles. Go to my main WordPress Management Software comparison to start your search.
Please note that this comparison only looks at the features on paper as reported by either plugin’s developers. It does not and can not tell you if or how well a certain feature will work for you. Because such a verdict would depend on too many variables, including your server setup and personal preference, I have decided to stick to the hard facts for this feature comparison between MainWP and iThemes Sync.
MainWP And iThemes Sync Feature Comparison
In my comparison I track 35 different features for all the WordPress management plugins. In MainWP you can find 31 out of 35 of those features. iThemes Sync on the other hand offers 16 out of the 35 features in total.
| MainWP | iThemes Sync | |
| Listing Data Verified? | ||
| User Rating | [crfp id=”4261″ enabled=”2″ displaystyle=”grey” displayaverage=”1″ averageratingtext=”” displaytotalratings=”0″ displaybreakdown=”0″] (1 reviews, add your own) |
[crfp id=”4264″ enabled=”2″ displaystyle=”grey” displayaverage=”1″ averageratingtext=”” displaytotalratings=”0″ displaybreakdown=”0″] (4 reviews, add your own) |
| WordPress Management Features The main point behind it all: These features save you time by allowing you to manage multiple weblogs simultaneously from a single dashboard. |
||
| Manage Posts and Pages |
(free) |
|
| Bulk Posting |
(free) |
|
| 1-click Theme Updates |
(free) |
(free) |
| 1-click Plugin Updates |
(free) |
(free) |
| 1-click WordPress Updates |
(free) |
|
| 1-click Admin Login |
(free) |
|
| Bulk Edit WordPress Posts and Pages | ||
| Bulk Plugin and Theme Installation |
(free) |
(free) |
| Manage Comments |
(addon) |
(free) |
| Manage User Accounts |
(free) |
(free) |
| Bulk Create User Accounts |
(free) |
|
| Edit WordPress Settings |
(addon) |
|
| Configure Automatic Updates |
(free) |
|
| WordPress Backups + Restore |
(free) |
(free) |
| Automatic Scheduled Backups |
(free) |
(free) |
| Save backups to Amazon S3 |
(addon) |
(free) |
| Save backups to Dropbox |
(addon) |
(free) |
| Save backups to Google Drive |
(free) |
(free) |
| Website Cloning |
(addon) |
|
| Maintenance Mode | ||
| MainWP | iThemes Sync | |
| Security Features Security features are essential for all WP managers since the services have direct access to all your WordPress blogs. |
||
| Secure SSL Encryption |
(free) |
(free) |
| Uptime Monitoring |
(free) |
|
| Sucuri.net Malware Scanner Integration |
(free) |
|
| 2-Factor Authentication |
(free) |
|
| MainWP | iThemes Sync | |
| Other Features Several management services have implemented new features in order to provide more value to users and differentiate themselves from the pack. |
||
| Google Analytics Integration |
(addon) |
|
| SEO / Keyword Tracking | ||
| Automatic Content / API Integration |
(addon) |
|
| Self Hosted |
(free) |
|
| Custom Client Plugin Branding |
(addon) |
|
| Activity Reports |
(addon) |
|
| Storage Space for Plugins, Images or Files |
(free) |
|
| DB Maintenance and Optimization |
(addon) |
|
| Code Snippets |
(addon) |
|
| Sub Users |
(addon) |
|
| Premium Support |
(addon) |
(free) |
MainWP And iThemes Sync Interface Comparison
Even if many of the features compared above overlap between those competing products there is one very important difference: MainWP as well as iThemes Sync both provide a unique interface and dashboard from which you will manage all your WordPress blogs (pictured below). Since it is hard to rate the quality of such an interface objectively I recommend that you try both products yourself by signing up for the free trial offered by either service.
MainWP vs iThemes Sync Price Comparison
WPscoop indexes the exact prixing plans of all compared plugins. Please refer to the table below for a quick overview of the prices of MainWP and iThemes Sync.
To find the cheaper management plugin for your individual needs please go to my main comparison article. There you can search for the features you need and then see the exact price you would need to pay for MainWP or iThemes Sync (as well as other alternatives).
| Price | MainWP | iThemes Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum (1 Site) | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
| Maximum (1 Site) | 319.90 USD | 1560.00 USD |
| Minimum (10 Sites) | 0.00 USD | 0.00 USD |
| Maximum (10 Sites) | 319.90 USD | 1560.00 USD |
Explanations: The minimum price compared above is the lowest price a product is available for, e.g. the version with the least features. The maximum price listed is for a version of the product that includes all features. For plugins that charge per addon it factors in the cost of all available addons. For some products the price increases if you want to use it on more than 1 WordPress site – the listed price for 10 sites shows if that is the case.
Disclaimer: While we update this comparison regularly we can not guarantee the prices displayed above are still correct and take no responsibility if they changed.
More Information
Visit the developers website to learn more about each of the plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites and order or download the software.
Most WordPress plugins have an option to test their service for free, either thrhough a basic free version, a trial period or online demo. Check if such an offer exists for MainWP and iThemes Sync and if so: Make use of it! By doing so you can compare both plugins directly and find out which one is the better alternative in you situation.
Visit MainWP NowVisit iThemes Sync Now
Other Alternative Management Plugins
But wait, there is more! Besides MainWP and iThemes Sync I have compared several other WordPress management plugins on WPscoop. I recommend you start your search for MainWP alternatives or iThemes Sync alternatives in the main comparison article. There you can filter all different products and search for the features you need.
MainWP vs. other plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites
- CMS Commander vs MainWP Comparison
- ManageWP vs MainWP Comparison
- InfiniteWP vs MainWP Comparison
- iControlWP vs MainWP Comparison
iThemes Sync vs. other WordPress management plugins
- CMS Commander vs iThemes Sync Comparison
- ManageWP vs iThemes Sync Comparison
- InfiniteWP vs iThemes Sync Comparison
- iControlWP vs iThemes Sync Comparison
Did you spot a mistake in here? Is some feature in my comparison out of date? Please leave a comment below so I can update the article!
Which one is the better blog management service: MainWP or iThemes Sync? Please share your opinion or experience in the comments!
Last update on: 15.4.2017
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The iThemes price is far from reality. You can get a bundle of, I think its 20 total plugins, which includes both iThemes security and Backup Buddy for around $250. These are the two most costly plugins and sync is free for 10 sites. Sync Pro which includes a lot of high value extras is only $130 per year for 10 sites so the max I see sync pro costing for 10 sites for one year is around $380.
Of course I have no way of knowing how you arrived at $1560, perhaps you want it to wash the car? 😉