ManageWP vs WPCentral (2026): WordPress Management for Agencies

Key takeaway: our top pick for agencies is Glow, because it puts client support tickets, WordPress maintenance and white-label reports in one hosted dashboard, with backups, uptime and security included rather than sold as add-ons. Between these two, choose ManageWP, because WPCentral looks dormant: its connector plugin has been permanently closed on WordPress.org since 3 July 2023 at the author's request, the version its site still serves (1.5.7) is listed as affected by CVE-2023-41854 with no fix shown on WPScan, and its blog stopped in August 2021. ManageWP is actively maintained and remains the best free option for a large number of sites.

Disclosure: Glow is our product. Competitor details are from their own websites, checked November 2026.

• Choose Glow (best overall for agencies) if: you run care plans that include client support, maintenance and reporting, and want backups and security included on every site.
• Choose ManageWP if: you mainly want a free hosted dashboard on unlimited sites and will pay per site for backups, uptime and white label where needed.
• Avoid starting with WPCentral: its plugin is no longer distributed on WordPress.org and shows no sign of active development.

How do ManageWP and WPCentral compare side by side?

Prices as of November 2026, from each vendor's own pages. "Not found" means we did not find it on the vendor's pages.

	Glow	ManageWP	WPCentral
Model	Hosted SaaS + free plugin	Hosted SaaS + Worker plugin	Hosted dashboard + connector plugin
Starting price (as of November 2026)	First site free; $1.95 per site per month	Free core; add-ons from $1 per site per month	Free plan; paid plans listed from $2.50 per month for 1 site
Free tier	First site only, all features	Yes, unlimited sites	Yes, unlimited sites (listed)
Bulk updates	Yes, with Safe Updates and rollback	Yes (free)	Yes
Built-in backups	Yes: daily, last 7 kept, 10GB per site, EU or US storage	Free monthly cloud backup; frequent backups $2 per site per month	Yes, local and remote (listed)
Uptime	Included, from 3-minute checks	$1 per site per month	Not found
Security	Vulnerability alerts, safe patching, login protection, file scan	Free security check; automated check $1, Vulnerability Protection $2 per site per month	"Regular security checks" (no detail published)
Client reports	Included, white-label, automated	Basic free; Advanced Client Reports and White Label $1 each per site per month	Mentioned; white label not stated
Support tickets	Yes, shared inbox with time tracking	Not found	Not found
Client plugin status	On WordPress.org	Updated 2 November 2026, 1,000,000+ active installs	Closed on WordPress.org since 3 July 2023
Best for	Best overall for agencies: support, maintenance and reports in one place	A free start, paying only for add-ons you use	Existing Softaculous users only

ManageWP: best for a free, mature hosted dashboard

ManageWP has been owned by GoDaddy since 2016 and is the most widely installed tool in this category: its Worker plugin has more than 1,000,000 active installs and was updated on 2 November 2026. The core is free on unlimited websites and includes bulk updates, a monthly cloud backup, security and performance checks, basic client reports, 1-click login and team and client collaboration.

Premium add-ons are billed per site per month on actual usage, as of November 2026: Backups $2, Uptime Monitor $1, Automated Security Check $1, Advanced Client Reports $1, White Label $1 and Vulnerability Protection $2. Bundles cover up to 100 websites each, and an all-in-one package is $150 per month.

Honest limitation: below bundle volumes, add-on costs stack per site, so a site with backups, uptime, security check, advanced reports and white label is about $6 a month. Safe Updates need the paid Backups add-on, and no client ticketing or client portal is listed.

WPCentral: dormant since 2023

WPCentral is a Softaculous product that pairs a dashboard with the Softaculous installer for installing, staging and deleting sites. Its website still lists a free plan for unlimited sites and paid plans from $2.50 per month (1 site) to $34 per month (100 sites), with a 7-day trial. Listed features include bulk updates, automated local and remote backups and reports.

The wpCentral connector plugin was closed on WordPress.org on 3 July 2023, and WordPress.org states the closure is permanent, at the author's request. The site still links to version 1.5.7 for download, and CVE-2023-41854, a cross-site request forgery issue disclosed on 10 October 2023, lists 1.5.7 and below as affected; WPScan shows no fix. The latest post on its blog is from 20 August 2021.

Honest limitation: with no active, distributed plugin, there is no clear path for security fixes or compatibility updates. No uptime monitoring, ticketing or client portal was found, and the paid plans list the same features as the free one.

Which should you choose?

• You sell care plans with client support: Glow, our top pick. Tickets, maintenance, backups, security and reports are in one dashboard, and the first site is free.
• Under 20 sites: ManageWP's free core covers updates, monthly backups and basic reports. Add paid add-ons only to the sites that need them.
• 20 to 100 sites: per-site add-ons on ManageWP add up. Compare against tools that include backups, uptime and reports in one per-site price.
• Around 100 sites: ManageWP's bundles and $150 all-in-one package bring the per-site cost down.
• Existing WPCentral users: move to a maintained tool and remove the wpCentral plugin from client sites afterwards.
• If clients send you requests: neither lists ticketing, so budget for a helpdesk or a combined tool.

Is there an option that does both? Glow, best overall for agencies

Yes, and it is our top recommendation for agencies: Glow combines support tickets, WordPress maintenance and white-label client reports in one hosted dashboard. Clients email in, your team works from a shared inbox with private notes, priorities and time tracking, and the time logged appears in each client's automated report.

Unlike ManageWP's add-on model, everything is included on every plan: Safe Updates with backup, before and after screenshots and automatic rollback; daily backups with EU or US storage per site; uptime monitoring confirmed from a second region before alerting; Glow Security with vulnerability alerts and automatic safe patching; and a white-label dashboard on your own domain. Your first site is free, then $1.95 per site per month for sites 2 to 100, with unlimited team seats (see pricing).

Where ManageWP charges per site for each add-on, Glow includes backups, uptime, security and white-label reports in one per-site price. If you are moving off WPCentral anyway, connecting sites to Glow with its free plugin from WordPress.org is a clean break. Compare in more detail: Glow vs ManageWP.

Honest limitation: Glow's free tier is the first site only, where ManageWP's core is free on unlimited sites.

Frequently asked questions

Is WPCentral discontinued?

There is no shutdown notice, but it looks dormant. Its plugin has been permanently closed on WordPress.org since 3 July 2023, the served version is listed as affected by CVE-2023-41854 with no fix shown, and the blog has not been updated since August 2021.

Is ManageWP free?

Yes, the ManageWP core is free on unlimited websites. Frequent backups, uptime monitoring, automated security checks, advanced reports and white label are paid add-ons, priced per site per month.

Who owns ManageWP?

GoDaddy, which acquired ManageWP in 2016. It is still actively developed in 2026.

How much does ManageWP cost for 50 sites?

The core is free. If all 50 sites need backups, that add-on is $2 per site per month ($100), or $75 per month as a bundle covering up to 100 sites. Each extra add-on costs $1 per site or $25 per bundle, as of November 2026.

What is the best alternative to WPCentral?

Our top pick is Glow, because it combines support tickets, maintenance, backups, security and white-label reports in one dashboard. For a free hosted dashboard on many sites, ManageWP. For self-hosting, MainWP.

Start free with Glow: free for your first site, no credit card.