The Best WPCentral Alternatives for WordPress Agencies (2026)

Phil Storey

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Key takeaway: WPCentral's website is still live, but its connector plugin was permanently closed on WordPress.org in July 2023, the download still serves a version listed as affected by CVE-2023-41854 with no fix shown, and its blog has not been updated since 2021, so we recommend moving off it. Our top pick is Glow, which puts support tickets, maintenance, backups, security and white-label client reports in one dashboard for $1.95 per site per month, with your first site free. If you want something free for many sites, ManageWP and MainWP are the strongest options.

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

What is the status of WPCentral in 2026?

WPCentral is a WordPress management dashboard owned by Softaculous, the company behind the Softaculous auto-installer. Its site still shows "© 2026" and lists pricing, including a free plan for unlimited sites. These facts, checked on 13 November 2026, are why we suggest planning a move:

Plugin closed on WordPress.org: the wpCentral connector plugin was closed on 3 July 2023. WordPress.org says "This closure is permanent. Reason: Author Request."
Known vulnerability: the site's download button still serves version 1.5.7. CVE-2023-41854, a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) issue disclosed on 10 October 2023, lists versions 1.5.7 and below as affected, and WPScan lists no fix.
Little sign of development: the most recent post in the site's blog feed is from 20 August 2021.

A closed plugin no longer gets updates through WordPress.org, so security fixes would not reach your sites in the usual way. If WPCentral manages client sites for you, switching is the safer choice.

Which WPCentral alternative should you choose?

Choose Glow if you run a WordPress agency and want support tickets, maintenance, backups, security and white-label reports in one dashboard.
Choose ManageWP if you mainly used WPCentral because it was free for unlimited sites.
Choose MainWP if you want a free dashboard you host and control yourself.
Choose WP Remote if you want a free tier with paid security plans.
Choose WP Blazer if you want a cheap annual plan and have five sites or fewer to start.
Choose Softaculous WordPress Manager if your host already gives you Softaculous and you manage sites on one server.

How do the alternatives compare?

Tool	Model	Starting price (as of November 2026)	Free tier	Client reports	Support tickets	Built-in backups	Security	Best for
Glow	SaaS	$1.95 per site per month (sites 2 to 100)	First site	Yes, white-label	Yes	Yes, daily cloud	Vulnerability alerts, safe patching, login protection	Agencies selling support and maintenance
ManageWP	SaaS	Free core; add-ons from $1 per site per month	Unlimited sites	Basic free; advanced and white label are add-ons	Not found	Monthly free; frequent $2 per site per month	Free check; vulnerability add-on	Free start on many sites
MainWP	Self-hosted	Free core; Pro $29 per month	Unlimited sites	Yes	Not found	Via third-party plugins	Vulnerability scanner	Teams who self-host
WP Remote	SaaS	Free; paid from $1.99 per site per month	Yes	Yes; white label from Essential	Not found	From Essential	Firewall and malware scan from Premium	Security-led maintenance
WP Blazer	SaaS	Free; Pro $78 per year list price	Up to 5 sites	Yes; white-label on Agency	Not found	Yes, daily cloud	Vulnerability alerts, malware scans	Freelancers on a budget
Softaculous WordPress Manager	Control panel feature	Included with a Softaculous Premium licence (check the vendor's site)	Varies by host	Not found	Not found	Yes, to cloud destinations	Basic toggles	Sites on one Softaculous server

The best WPCentral alternatives in 2026

1. Glow: best overall for agencies

Glow gives agencies one white-label dashboard for client support tickets, updates with Safe Updates and automatic rollback, daily cloud backups, uptime monitoring, Glow Security and automated client reports. As of November 2026 it is free for your first site, then $1.95 per site per month for sites 2 to 100, with all features and unlimited team seats on every plan. Its plugin is actively maintained on WordPress.org, and you can connect Claude or ChatGPT to your sites over MCP.

Honest limitation: unlike WPCentral, Glow has no free plan for unlimited sites; only your first site is free.

2. ManageWP: best free replacement for many sites

ManageWP, owned by GoDaddy, is the closest match to WPCentral's free plan: it is free on unlimited websites with bulk updates, monthly cloud backups, a security check, basic client reports and one-click login. Add-ons as of November 2026 are per site per month: backups $2, uptime $1, advanced reports $1, white label $1 and vulnerability protection $2. Its Worker plugin was updated in November 2026 and has more than a million active installs.

Honest limitation: costs stack per add-on per site, and ticketing is not listed. See our ManageWP alternative page.

3. MainWP: best for self-hosting

MainWP is a free, open-source (GPL) dashboard you install on your own WordPress site, managing unlimited sites. MainWP Pro costs $29 per month or $599 lifetime as of November 2026, with a yearly list price of $199 (a sale was running when we checked). Both the dashboard and Child plugin were updated on 10 November 2026, and it offers client reports, team roles, a vulnerability scanner and an open-source MCP server in alpha.

Honest limitation: you host and maintain the dashboard, and backups and uptime rely on third-party tools. Read our MainWP alternative guide.

4. WP Remote: best for a free tier with paid security

WP Remote has a free plan with updates, uptime monitoring and scheduled reports. As of November 2026 paid plans are $1.99, $4.99 and $14.99 per site per month, adding daily backups and white-label reports from Essential, then a firewall, malware scanning and virtual patching from Premium.

Honest limitation: security features start at $4.99 per site per month. See our WP Remote alternative page.

5. WP Blazer: best for a cheap annual plan

WP Blazer is free for up to five sites. As of November 2026, Pro (up to 10 sites) has a list price of $78 per year and Agency (unlimited sites) $390 per year, with 50% off the first year. It includes bulk updates, daily cloud backups, uptime alerts, vulnerability alerts and malware scans, and the Agency plan adds white-label reports and team roles.

Honest limitation: the advertised prices are first-year discounts, so renewals cost double. See our WP Blazer alternatives page.

6. Softaculous WordPress Manager: best if your host provides Softaculous

Because WPCentral comes from Softaculous, some users will find Softaculous WordPress Manager a natural move. It is included with a Softaculous Premium licence, which your host usually provides, and it offers auto-updates, backups to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3 and more, plus staging and cloning.

Honest limitation: it manages sites per server or hosting account, not a whole agency fleet, and uptime monitoring and client reports are not listed.

How to choose a WPCentral replacement

Under 20 sites: ManageWP's free core and WP Blazer's free plan (5 sites) keep costs at zero; Glow is free for your first site and $1.95 per site after that.
20 to 100 sites: Glow includes backups, uptime, security and reports in one per-site price, which is easier to forecast than stacking ManageWP add-ons.
100+ sites: MainWP's flat Pro licence keeps costs fixed if you can self-host. Glow falls to $1.85 per site above 100 and $1.65 above 400.
Self-hosted vs SaaS: MainWP is self-hosted; Softaculous runs in your control panel; the rest are hosted.
Client support: WPCentral had no client-facing support tools. Glow includes support tickets, time tracking and a branded client portal.

Frequently asked questions

Is WPCentral still safe to use?

We recommend moving off it. Its connector plugin was permanently closed on WordPress.org on 3 July 2023, the download still serves version 1.5.7, and CVE-2023-41854 lists that version as affected with no fix shown by WPScan.

Is WPCentral still maintained?

What is the best free alternative to WPCentral?

ManageWP is free on unlimited sites, and MainWP has a free, open-source core for unlimited sites if you self-host. WP Remote and WP Blazer also have free plans.

What is the best WPCentral alternative for agencies?

Our top pick is Glow, because it combines client support tickets, maintenance, backups, security and white-label reports in one dashboard at a simple per-site price, with the first site free.

How do I move my sites off WPCentral?

Connect each site to your new tool, take a fresh backup, then deactivate and delete the wpCentral plugin. With Glow, you install the free Glow plugin from WordPress.org, or import sites from Cloudways, Kinsta, WP Engine or Plesk.

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