WP Remote is a popular website monitoring tool that lets you monitor and update all your WordPress sites from one place. However, WordPress users and agencies are seeking WP Remote alternatives after finding it lacking on accounts.
In this article, we will analyze WP Remote and popular alternatives such as InstaWP, ManageWP, InfinteWP, and MainWP. Then, we will present you with the best WP Remote alternative based on our verdict.
Table of Contents
What is WP Remote
WP Remote is a platform allowing WordPress users with multiple sites to monitor and update all their WordPress sites from one centralized dashboard.
As a website management tool, you can remotely manage and update all your WordPress sites’ installed plugins, themes, and WordPress core from your WP Remote dashboard. It also allows you to install and activate new plugins and themes from your dashboard.
Apart from making site updates, WP Remote also allows you to track pending updates, monitor sites for issues, and back up your WordPress sites.
WP Remote Role in Website Management
It is daunting and time-consuming to monitor and manage multiple WordPress sites one after the other. To streamline and simplify the website management process, website management tools like WP Remote, which lets you manage multiple WordPress sites from one centralised dashboard, were created.
WP Remote plays a vital role in streamlining site management and workflows in the WordPress community. It eliminates the burden of logging into several WordPress sites individually by providing a means to connect and manage all of them within one central dashboard.
With just a few clicks, you can update all of your sites faster and more effectively, thereby saving time and increasing productivity.
When to Stay with WP Remote
If WP Remote still adequately meets and aligns with your agency’s site management needs and goals, you can consider staying with the platform.
WP Remote can benefit your agency if you manage many clients’ websites and do not require advanced features. It is also worth staying with if your overall experience has been positive and if you are satisfied with its performance regarding updates, backups, and monitoring.
You may also have to stick a little bit longer with WP Remote if your agency has deeply integrated it into vital workflows and processes, such that the cost of switching outweighs the benefits of moving to another platform.
Why Users Consider Moving Away from WP Remote
A management tool like WP Remote has several disappointing flaws and challenges that prompt WordPress developers and agencies to look for better WP Remote alternatives. Some of the issues that spur users to consider leaving WP Remote include:
Lack of Scalability
WP Remote supports three-tier plans: Basic, Plus, and Pro, each with its own set of features. These three-tier plans are grouped into 5-100 sites. The fact that the plans are grouped by a finite number of sites makes them less scalable. For instance, if you manage 6 sites, you will have to pay for the 10 sites plan, which invariably puts you at a loss by paying for more than you need.
Furthermore, scaling sites based on their needs is complicated because features are unevenly available across the 3-tier plans. If you need to manage more than 100 sites, you have to contact WP Remote for custom pricing.
Limited Feature Set for Growing Agencies
As stated, each WP Remote tier paid plan has limited feature sets. You must upgrade to a higher plan to access vital site management features such as a higher number of staging sites, backup frequency, uptime monitoring interval, malware scanning, 1-click malware cleanups, firewall, Bot protection, activity logs, API integration, etc. Not only that but there are some features, otherwise called Add-ons, that will incur an additional monthly cost per add-on if you require them. Lastly, there are some features you may need that are not available in WP Remote.
Performance and Reliability Issues
WP Remote users sometimes face outages and slow loading times when using the platform to manage their sites. This can be frustrating and cause unwanted delays and missed deadlines.
Security Concerns
The basic plan, which costs $29/month, lacks key features such as activity logs; with lower plans, users don’t have access to proper features such as malware and vulnerability scanning and removal, firewall, and Bot protection. At this level, sites are not properly secured and are therefore vulnerable to threats.
Pricing Issues
WP Remote claims to support the management of unlimited WordPress sites for free and directs you to the pricing page for features of the free version. But a glance at the pricing page will reveal that there is no free version. You will also discover that the paid plans have limited site support of 5-100 instead of the acclaimed unlimited support. WP remote plans are also complex and expensive, starting at $29/month for the least basic plan, which supports only 5 sites, and ending at $999/month for the highest pro plan, which supports 100 sites. But it gets worse: they offer premium Add-ons billed monthly for all plans to include features such as real-time backups, 12-hour backup and security plans, extra staging, etc, thereby incurring more cost per add-on. Talk about a rip-off!
Top 4 WP Remote Alternatives
Due to its downsides, it’s worth exploring other options. Fortunately, WP Remote is not the only website monitoring and management tool. WP alternatives with better features or pricing may better suit your needs. Among these include:
InstaWP: An Efficient Site Management Tool
InstaWP is an all-in-one WordPress toolkit for developers that transforms anything WordPress into a one-click, instant and hassle-free process. It allows you to build, manage, test, and deploy WordPress sites faster. It is also a platform with an integrated managed WordPress hosting solution for seamlessly deploying WordPress sites from development to live.
InstaWP is also an efficient tool for WordPress site management. With it, you can monitor and maintain multiple connected WordPress sites from one dashboard, thereby eliminating the hassles of managing many WordPress sites separately.
Key Features of InstaWP
- Remote Management
- 1-click WP-Admin Access
- Bulk Theme and Plugins Management
- Purge Cache
- User Role Management
- Uptime Monitoring
- One-click staging
- Content Management
- Cloning and Migration
- Backup and Restore
- Performance & Security Monitoring
- Collaboration with Team and Clients
Pricing of InstaWP
InstaWP is a freemium tool. Meaning it has both a free version and paid plans. The pricing is as follows:
- Free
- Starter: $90 / year
- Professional: $180 / year (free hosting for one site included)
- Agency: $490 / year (free hosting for three sites included)
ManageWP: A Popular Choice for Managing Multiple Sites
ManageWP is a very popular alternative to WP Remote. It is a cloud-based site management platform that allows WordPress users to connect multiple WordPress sites to one dashboard and manage them centrally.
ManageWP offers features and tools that optimize site management processes and workflows, facilitating seamless plugin, theme, and WordPress core updates, site performance and security checks, site backups, etc.
Key Features of ManageWP
- One-click Admin Login
- Plugin and Theme management
- Maintenance mode
- One-click updates
- Unlimited sites
- Template builder
- Team collaboration
- Security and performance check
- Vulnerability check
- Site cloning and migration
- Incremental backups
- White labelling
Pricing of ManageWP
ManageWP is a free tool with premium extensions for features like automated performance checks starting at $1 per feature per site.
InfiniteWP: A Self-Hosted Alternative
InfiniteWP is tailored for WordPress professionals who need robust management capabilities across multiple websites with the flexibility of a self-hosted platform.
InfiniteWP is a self-hosted WordPress alternative that allows you to manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard. It is designed specifically for WordPress developers and agencies that need their own self-hosted platform with robust management capabilities.
Once installed on your server, you gain full control over all your WordPress sites, with the freedom to make updates and backups and monitor them efficiently.
Key Features of InfiniteWP
- Single dashboard management
- One-click site updates
- Plugin and theme management
- Automated backups
- Performance monitoring and checks
- Security management
- User role management
Pricing of InfiniteWP
InfiniteWP offers several pricing plans, including:
- Starter plan: Manage ten sites for $147/ year.
- Developer plan: Manage 20 sites for $247/year.
- Freelancer plan: Manage 50 sites for $347/year.
- Agency plan: Manage 100 sites for $447/year.
- Enterprise plan: Manage unlimited sites for $647/year.
MainWP: Customizable and Developer-Friendly
MainWP is a customizable and developer-friendly self-hosted WordPress management tool installed on one of your WordPress sites. It converts that site into a centralized platform to which you can connect and manage your other WordPress sites.
MainWP gives you full control and freedom to manage your platform and sites in a way that fits you.
Key Features of MainWP
- Self-hosted Central dashboard
- Instant theme and plugin updates
- User role management
- Vulnerability check
- Uptime monitoring
- Scheduled automated backups
- Support external backup storage
- SEO Monitoring
- speed testing
- Security check and hardening
Pricing of MainWP
MainWP is a freemium tool with various pricing options for advanced features and premium extensions. The available plans include:
- Free version: Manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard but with limited features.
- Subscription: $29/month or $199/year
- Lifetime License: $599 one-time payment
InstaWP as a WPRemote Alternative
InstaWP is the best WP Remote alternative for WordPress developers and agencies, and there are tons of reasons to back up this claim. InstaWP stands out with its enhanced and outstanding site management features for WordPress, including:
Built-in Staging, Migration, and Hosting Tools
Staging
InstaWP comes with a built-in free staging environment to create replicas of live sites for testing changes away from your live site server. This eliminates any extra load on your live site server that could cause downtime or reduced site performance. InstaWP also lets you create more than one staging site per site, exposing you to unlimited possibilities. InstaWP staging also offers a two-way sync feature that lets you record, select, and deploy changes with just a click.
Migration
InstaWP migration tool simplifies moving WordPress sites between different environments and hosting providers. You can effortlessly migrate your clients’ sites from one host to another without issues in record time.
Hosting
InstaWP Live is a budget-friendly, cloud-based, managed WordPress hosting solution from InstaWP’s team. It offers optimal performance with edge caching, CDNs, and robust security features, including advanced WAF, enhanced DDoS, and redundancy. It also offers vulnerability scanning, hourly database backups, and daily file backups.
Seamless WordPress Development and Deployment
InstaWP offers a one-click WordPress setup that enables you to spin up a fresh WordPress site in seconds. Its installer also lets you set up WordPress sites from a wide selection of free and premium templates, streamlining your development workflow.
With the way InstaWP is set up, you can easily create new WordPress sites quickly and deploy them to live hosting seamlessly. It also offers uptime monitoring, automated backups, 1-click staging, A/B testing, advanced development tools, etc, for a comprehensive yet smooth development process.
Comparing WP Remote with InstaWP
In the table below, we break down and compare the features of WP Remote and InstaWP.
Table: Feature Breakdown: WP Remote vs. InstaWP
| Features | InstaWP | WP Remote |
| Free Version | Yes | No |
| Built-in Staging Environments | Yes | No |
| 1-click WordPress install | Yes | No |
| Built-in Migration Tools | Yes | No |
| User role management | Yes | Yes |
| Hosting Solutions | Yes | No |
| User Interface | User-friendly | Simplistic |
| Advanced development tools | Yes | No |
| Backup and Restore | Automated | Basic |
Conclusion
WP Remote is a pretty decent site management tool for WordPress. However, WP alternatives have better offerings that are worth exploring for a better user experience. InstaWP comes off as the best WP Alternative because of its amazing features, integrated tools, affordability, and user-friendly interface. Whether you are looking for a management solution that meets your current needs, is affordable, scalable, user-friendly, and provides robust features, you can’t go wrong with InstaWP.
