Amazon AWS and Kinsta are both great choices for hosting your WordPress website, but they offer very different service models. AWS requires significant technical knowledge to set up and maintain use while Kinsta makes it extremely hands-off for website managers, but it comes at a much higher price in most situations.
Debate rages in the WordPress community over whether AWS or Kinsta is best. Both have their pros and cons. Which one suits your needs?
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Key takeaways
- Kinsta offers better performance out-of-the-box and includes a free CDN.
- AWS is cheaper and more scalable but requires technical expertise for setup.
- Kinsta is easier to use with 24/7 live support, ideal for those new to web hosting.
- Kinsta provides automatic backups and WordPress-specific features.
- AWS offers a broader range of services but is more complex for beginners.
I’ll compare AWS and Kinsta to help you decide which is the best option for your website.
For more hosting comparisons, check out my articles on Kinsta vs Siteground and Kinsta vs Rocket.net.
AWS vs Kinsta Hosting: What are the Main Differences?
Choosing the best provider involves considering price, performance, features, and support. Here’s a comparison of AWS and Kinsta based on these factors.
Performance
Performance is crucial when picking a WordPress host. You want your site to be fast and reliable.
AWS and Kinsta both provide high-performance hosting, but Kinsta leads due to its exceptional performance without the need for configuration. Its WordPress-specific architecture is optimized for speed, making its servers some of the fastest available.
Kinsta plans are based on the Google Cloud Platform, a major competitor to AWS for cloud services.
Kinsta provides a free CDN with all plans through Cloudflare, boosting website performance. AWS, by contrast, offers a more universal setup optimized for varied workloads. Setting up a CDN on AWS is possible, but it requires a little extra effort.
Additionally, Kinsta’s caching and database management features are top-notch, further boosting website performance. Overall, Kinsta is the better choice for performance.
- Kinsta optimized for speed
- Free CDN with all plans
- Top-notch caching features
Ease of Use
Another essential factor to consider is the ease of use. If you’re not familiar with AWS, you might find it tough to use. While AWS provides numerous features and flexibility, it can be complex and overwhelming for beginners.
Kinsta is much easier to use. Its platform is built specifically for WordPress, making it straightforward and user-friendly. Plus, Kinsta offers 24/7 live chat support for any issues.
- Ease of Use important
- AWS is complex
- Kinsta offers 24/7 support
Scalability
Both AWS and Kinsta offer scalable hosting solutions that let you upgrade your plan as your site grows. AWS, however, is more scalable due to its wider range of services that can adjust as needed.
With AWS, you can easily add more EC2 instances or S3 storage as your website grows. Kinsta specializes in WordPress hosting, but you can still adjust your plan based on your needs. Their infrastructure scales automatically to accommodate growth.
However, this will cost more in the long run as your website traffic increases. But, if you’re looking for a scalable WordPress host, Kinsta is still a good choice.
- AWS more scalable than Kinsta
- AWS: Add EC2 or S3 storage
- Kinsta: Auto scale, higher cost
Price
AWS is cheaper than Kinsta for most uses. For example, the Amazon Lightstail VM costs $3.5 per month, while Kinsta’s most affordable plan is $30 per month.
Check out the latest Kinsta pricing plans and AWS pricing plans.
However, AWS charges for extra services like storage and bandwidth, while Kinsta includes these in all plans. AWS might seem cheaper initially, but you’ll pay more over time.
Additionally, Kinsta offers a free CDN with all plans, while AWS charges for CloudFront. Overall, Kinsta is more expensive than AWS, but competitively priced as a WordPress host.
| Aspect | AWS | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Cheaper | Expensive |
| Example Cost | $3.5/month (Lightstail) | $30/month |
| Additional Charges | Storage, Bandwidth | Included |
| CDN | Extra cost (CloudFront) | Free |
| Conclusion | Cheaper upfront | Competitively priced |
Features
Both AWS and Kinsta offer many features, but Kinsta excels for WordPress-specific needs. For example, Kinsta provides automatic backups, free SSL certificates, and 24/7 live chat support.
AWS provides diverse features based on the chosen service. Kinsta, on the other hand, specializes in WordPress hosting, making it more focused compared to the general-purpose nature of AWS.
If you want a WordPress host with all the features, Kinsta is the better choice.
- Kinsta better for WordPress
- AWS general-purpose
- Automatic backups by Kinsta
Support
Kinsta provides better customer service than AWS for WordPress management. Kinsta offers advice on various issues, while AWS only provides technical platform support that doesn’t cover most basic WordPress queries.
With AWS, you’ll need to set up and troubleshoot most functional and technical issues yourself, whereas Kinsta provides more hands-on support throughout the process.
You can connect a Kinsta support agent directly to your WordPress site for help with debugging any issues.
Kinsta is the better choice for support, especially if you need WordPress-specific help.
- Kinsta better customer service
- Direct connection to WordPress site
- Best for WordPress-specific help
Dashboard
AWS provides access to their web-based console, where you can manage AWS services. Check billing details, metrics, and create instances easily from the dashboard.
Although the AWS dashboard is comprehensive, it can overwhelm beginners. Kinsta’s dashboard is simpler and easier to use.
From the MyKinsta dashboard, you can easily view your website’s performance, manage backups, set up CDN, purge cache, switch PHP versions, and more.
- AWS console: comprehensive
- Kinsta dashboard: simpler
- Manage performance, CDN, PHP
Performance Monitoring
Both AWS and Kinsta offer comprehensive performance monitoring tools.
AWS’s CloudWatch is a valuable tool for monitoring your AWS resources and applications. It provides insights into resource use, performance metrics, and log files.
Kinsta’s MyKinsta dashboard comes with comprehensive performance monitoring tools. You can easily check your site’s uptime, page speed, and bandwidth usage. It also provides detailed insights into your site’s traffic and performance.
They also offer an APM tool that gives you detailed performance insights.
- CloudWatch for AWS monitoring
- MyKinsta dashboard tools
- APM for detailed insights
Server Locations
AWS offers cloud services in 26 regions and 85 zones globally. Their low-cost plans provide limited data center access. To access more server locations, you’ll need to upgrade your plan.
Kinsta has 29 data centers worldwide. Powered by the Google Cloud Platform, your website will enjoy excellent uptime and performance.
- AWS: 26 regions, 85 zones
- Kinsta: 29 data centers
- Google Cloud Platform: Kinsta’s backbone
Amazon AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a powerful cloud computing platform from Amazon.com. Launched in 2006, it offers online cloud services to businesses and individuals.
Over time, AWS has introduced many services and features, making it a powerful platform. Today, AWS is a popular cloud platform, serving customers from small businesses to large enterprises.
AWS offers popular services like EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud), S3 (Simple Storage Service), and RDS (Relational Database Service). These services give businesses scalable, reliable, and high-performance computing and storage solutions at a low cost.
AWS is powerful and flexible, but beginners may find it overwhelming. If you’re new to AWS, it can be challenging to grasp.
Amazon AWS Pros:
- Offers a wide range of services
- Scalable and reliable
- High performance
- Large arrays of tools
- Highly flexible and cost-effective
Amazon AWS Cons:
- Complex and overwhelming for beginners
- Security issues if you don’t manage it properly
- Limited backup protection
- Paid dedicated support
Kinsta
Kinsta is a managed WordPress hosting provider offering high-performance solutions for WordPress websites. Established in 2013, it’s now one of the fastest-growing companies globally.
Kinsta offers everything you need for a high-performance WordPress site, including massive traffic handling, free CDN, and automatic backups. Kinsta also stands out with 24/7 live chat support.
Though Kinsta costs more than some other hosts, it’s worth it for its speed, reliability, and features. If you want a managed WordPress host to elevate your site, Kinsta is an excellent option.
Kinsta Pros:
- Excel in speed and performance
- State of the art technologies
- Automatic backup and database optimization
- Free CDN and SSL included
- Automatic backups and 24/7 live chat support
- User friendly managed hosting
Kinsta Cons:
- More expensive than many other hosts
- No phone support
- Limited to WordPress
- Don’t support unlimited traffic
Which One Should You Choose?
Both AWS and Kinsta are great for web hosting. However, Kinsta is the better option if you want an easy-to-use host with WordPress-specific features, support, and performance monitoring tools.
Kinsta is the first web host powered by the Google Cloud Platform’s premium network tier. This guarantees your website’s maximum performance, speed, and security.
That said, you’ll get better value for money with AWS. However, potential downtime and handling technical issues alone might affect this benefit.
Moreover, Kinsta is easier to use than AWS, thanks to its simplified dashboard. These features make Kinsta the better choice for most users compared to AWS.
Conclusion
In my opinion, Kinsta stands out for most people. They’ve optimized their platform for top WordPress performance, offering automatic backups and advanced security features. These are crucial for keeping your website safe. If you’re after a reliable, high-performing WordPress host, Kinsta should be your top choice.
AWS offers a lot. However, I believe Kinsta is a better choice for WordPress users needing specific features and optimizations for their WordPress sites.
I hope this article helped you learn the difference between AWS and Kinsta so you can make an informed decision about which platform is right for you.