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Kinsta

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Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Kinsta Inc. · kinsta.com

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Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

Kinsta at a glance

Vendor
Kinsta Inc.
Headquarters
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Data hosting
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Free plan
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Kinsta 3.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. Kinsta sells managed WordPress hosting on Google Cloud with customer-chosen data centre regions. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 2 Nov 2026. all sources

Kinsta alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Skeptic

Weighted verdict

Has seen "unlimited" storage end at an inode limit in the small print, "99.9 % uptime" with no credit when it was missed, "free daily backups" that only the support could restore for a fee, and a tariff from 1 € that cost eight times as much in the second year. Asks what the limits are in numbers, what the SLA pays, who can reach the data, and what it costs to take everything and leave.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Skeptic

Panel median The Skeptic This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Skeptic
Performance, uptime & infrastructure 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Control panel, WordPress & developer tooling 4 of 5 4 of 5
Security, backups & recovery 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Scaling, migration & exit 3.5 of 5 4 of 5
Support, domains & email 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
European sovereignty 2.5 of 5 2.5 of 5
Pricing transparency 4 of 5 3 of 5

Performance, uptime & infrastructure

How this is scored

What runs the sites and how reliably: CPU, RAM and storage per tariff stated, SSD or NVMe storage, current PHP versions and how long old ones are kept, HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, server-side caching (OPcache, Redis, a page cache), a CDN, databases and their limits, resources that are guaranteed rather than shared without a stated limit, an uptime SLA with a service credit, a public status page with incident history, and redundancy of the platform. Where the data centre is located is scored under sovereignty.

0 — Not a hosting product; websites or web apps cannot be run on it.

3 — Storage and a number of sites per tariff are stated and the product is described as fast; resources, PHP versions, caching and uptime are basic or not described.

5 — Resources per tariff stated (CPU or a performance class, RAM, SSD or NVMe storage), several current PHP versions selectable, HTTP/2, server-side caching or a cache plugin documented, free SSL, a stated uptime target, and a public status page.

8 — Dedicated or guaranteed resources stated per tariff, HTTP/3 and a CDN included, Redis or an object cache, PHP versions kept current with an end-of-life policy published, an uptime SLA with a service credit, a status page with incident history, and a redundant platform (replicated storage, failover) described.

10 — Infrastructure documented to the level an operator could audit: hardware generations and storage architecture named, performance measured and published with method, an SLA with credits and exclusions at 99.95 % or above, every incident on the status page with a post-mortem, and scaling without downtime documented.

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The Skeptic

The SLA pays, but narrowly: the base guarantee is 99.9 %, nothing is owed until downtime passes 43 minutes, credits are capped at one month's subscription value, carry no cash value, expire on termination, and must be claimed through chat within 30 days. Around it the platform is well documented — PHP 7.4 through 8.5, HTTP/3, a CDN with 300+ edge locations, container isolation, automated failover, and a status page with 90-day history showing MyKinsta at 99.97 %. We found no public CPU or RAM figures per tariff, and the Redis object cache is a 100 $ per site per month add-on rather than included. 13 8 14 15 17 2

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Control panel, WordPress & developer tooling

How this is scored

How sites are set up and run day to day: the control panel or console, one-click installers for named CMS and shop systems, managed WordPress features (automatic core and plugin updates, staging, cloning, a search-and-replace), SSH, SFTP, Git deployment, Composer, cron jobs, a PHP version and settings per site, databases and phpMyAdmin or an equivalent, log access, a public API and command-line tool, infrastructure-as-code support, team members and roles, and client or project management for agencies. On a cloud server: images, snapshots, firewalls, private networks and the API that manages them.

0 — No documented way to deploy or manage a website on the product.

3 — A control panel with FTP access and a one-click installer for WordPress; SSH, staging, Git, an API and roles are basic or not described.

5 — A control panel with installers for several named CMS, SSH and SFTP, cron jobs, PHP version per site, databases with a web admin, a staging copy or snapshots, team members with access rights, and log files available — or, for a cloud server, a console with images, snapshots, a firewall and a documented API.

8 — Managed WordPress or app tooling (automatic updates with rollback, one-click staging and push to live, cloning), Git deployment and Composer documented, a public REST API and CLI covering sites, databases, domains and backups, granular roles per project, and an agency view with client projects, transfer of ownership and white-label or reseller options.

10 — A platform that scales across an agency or a development team: everything in the panel available through a versioned API, CLI and an infrastructure-as-code provider, preview environments per branch, audit logs of every change, SSO for the team, and projects that can be handed to the client with billing transferred.

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The Skeptic

The MyKinsta panel plus a documented REST API cover site creation, cloning, staging with push-to-live, backups, DNS, domains, plugin and theme updates, SFTP accounts and log files, and the team side is real: unlimited role-based users, SAML SSO, an activity log and white-label options for agencies. Automatic plugin and theme updates with visual regression checks and rollback are documented, as are SSH, Git, WP-CLI and Composer. The API is explicitly in public beta with fixed rate limits that cannot be increased, and we found no public information on a command-line tool or infrastructure-as-code support. 7 15 3 4 14

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Security, backups & recovery

How this is scored

How the sites are protected and how fast they come back: isolation between customers (containers, separate PHP processes, chroot), free SSL with automatic renewal, a web application firewall, malware scanning and cleanup, DDoS protection, two-factor login to the panel, brute-force protection, backup frequency and retention, off-site or geo-redundant backup copies, self-service restore of files and databases from a point in time, restore of single sites or tables, security updates handled by the vendor on managed tariffs, and security certifications (ISO 27001, BSI C5, SOC 2) with their scope.

0 — No backups and no security measures described, and the customer is told to secure the site entirely on their own.

3 — Free SSL and some backup exist; frequency, retention, restore and the security measures are basic or not described.

5 — Free SSL with automatic renewal, daily backups with a stated retention, restore by the customer in the panel, account isolation described, DDoS protection, two-factor login to the panel, and malware scanning or a firewall offered.

8 — Backups several times a day or on demand with retention of 14 days or more, stored in a second location, point-in-time restore of single files, databases or sites, a web application firewall and malware cleanup included, isolation per site stated, and an ISO 27001 or equivalent certification of the hosting operation published.

10 — Recovery that can be evidenced: backup and restore times stated and tested, immutable or off-provider backups, recovery objectives (RPO and RTO) published, a security incident process and disclosure policy, certifications with their scope and audit reports available, and penetration test results or a bug bounty programme.

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The Skeptic

Daily automatic plus on-demand backups with 14–20 days retention, one-click restore and download, free hack cleanup, a Cloudflare Enterprise firewall and DDoS protection, 24/7 malware monitoring, two-factor login, per-site container isolation and SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 badges are all on the record. The catch sits in the backup documentation: each backup is stored on the same host machine as the site, a second location only arrives with a paid external-backup add-on, and restore works at environment level — we found no public information on single-file or point-in-time restore. Customer audit rights are conditioned on 30 days' notice, an NDA, a pre-approved plan, once per 12 months, at the customer's cost. 17 2 3 11 12

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Scaling, migration & exit

How this is scored

What it takes to grow and what it takes to leave: tariff changes up and down without a migration, resource limits stated rather than "unlimited" with a fair-use clause, add-on resources, the path from shared hosting to a server or cluster within the same vendor, a free or paid migration service from another host, standard tooling that runs elsewhere (no proprietary stack lock-in), full export of files, databases and mailboxes, domain transfer out without a fee, cancellation periods and minimum terms, and the deletion of data after the contract ends.

0 — Data cannot be taken out and the contract cannot be cancelled on stated terms.

3 — A tariff upgrade exists and files can be downloaded by FTP; limits, migration in, export and exit terms are basic or not described.

5 — Tariff upgrades and downgrades in the panel, the main limits per tariff stated (storage, sites, databases, mailboxes, inodes or processes), a migration service or guide from another host, files and databases exportable with standard tools, domain transfer out documented, and the cancellation period stated.

8 — Resources scalable without moving the site, a documented path from hosting to a server or cluster at the same vendor, a free migration service with its scope stated, every limit including fair use published, monthly terms available, full export including mail, and deletion of data after termination with its deadline stated.

10 — Growth and exit with no friction: scaling on demand without downtime, everything built on open standard tooling with no proprietary lock-in, a complete export in a format another host imports, migration out supported, and cancellation, data return and deletion documented with deadlines.

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The Skeptic

Moving in is documented better than almost anywhere: free, unlimited managed migrations with scope and exclusions stated (email, DNS and third-party services remain the customer's), weekdays-only scheduling, bulk migrations, a 49 $ per site expedited option with an 8-hour target and a refund if missed, and a malware scan on every move. Limits are numbers — disk, server and CDN bandwidth, visits with a defined visit — with a stated overage policy and self-service add-ons from 20 $ per 20 GB up to dedicated servers from 300 $ a month. Leaving is self-service termination at period end with downloadable backups, though we found no public information on domain transfer-out terms or a deadline for deleting data after termination. 19 2 10 17 11

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Support, domains & email

How this is scored

Who helps and what comes with the hosting: support channels (phone, chat, ticket, email), hours and languages, response times stated or guaranteed, technical depth (WordPress or server experts, help with a hacked site), a help centre and documentation, a premium or managed support option, an agency or partner programme, and the domains, SSL certificates and mailboxes included or bookable in the same account, with their DNS management and mail features (IMAP, webmail, spam filter, mailbox size).

0 — No support offered beyond a community forum and no domain or email service.

3 — Email or ticket support and a help centre; hours, language, response times and domain and mailbox features are basic or not described.

5 — Support by phone or chat and ticket in the customer's language with hours stated, a searchable help centre, domains and mailboxes bookable in the same account with DNS management, and webmail with a spam filter.

8 — Support around the clock by people with stated technical expertise, response times stated per channel, help with hacked or broken sites, a premium support or managed service tier, an agency or partner programme with its benefits stated, and mailboxes with stated size, aliases and server-side filtering.

10 — Support with guarantees: response times contractually bound in an SLA, a named contact or account manager for business customers, proactive incident notifications, support satisfaction or response figures published, and every included service (domains, DNS, mail, certificates) documented with its limits.

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The Skeptic

Support runs exclusively through chat in MyKinsta, around the clock every day, in eight languages, staffed — per the vendor — by WordPress developers and Linux engineers with no tier-one front line, an average response under two minutes, 47-minute average resolution and published satisfaction around 96–98 %. Every customer reaches an account manager by chat, meetings bookable from the WP 10 plan upward, and the agency programme's benefits are spelled out. The response time is an average, not a guarantee; email sits outside the service — the migration guide says customers set it up themselves — and we found no public information on phone support or domain registration. 21 6 4 22 19 2

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where the servers, backups and support sit, and who the subprocessors are (data centre operator, CDN, DNS, mail filtering, support and payment tools). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; a host stores everything the customer's sites collect, so the whole chain counts, including where backups are kept and which non-EU group company can reach the data.

0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, data centre location unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.

3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but the data centre location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.

5 — EU data centres available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (parent company, CDN, mail filtering, support, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard.

8 — EU data centres named by location, EU contracting entity and parent, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, BSI C5) stated for the data centres.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, own data centres and every subprocessor, backups in the EU, no non-EU group access, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.

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The Skeptic

You contract with Kinsta Inc. of West Hollywood under Delaware law, disputes go to arbitration in Wilmington with a jury-trial waiver, and the FTC oversees the Data Privacy Framework compliance; EU Google Cloud regions are selectable by the customer and standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum and Swiss Amendments are published. The subprocessor list is public and specific: DNS on AWS in the United States, support on HubSpot and Intercom in the United States, log storage on Clickhouse in the United States, and Kinsta's own analytics cluster processing IP addresses and access logs hosted in the United States. SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 are published; we found no public information on an EU contracting entity or EU representative. 9 10 11 12

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the real cost over the contract from public pages alone: the price per tariff for the first term and on renewal, minimum term and how the price depends on it, setup fees, what is included (domains, mailboxes, SSL, backups, restores, migration), what costs extra (additional PHP versions or extended support, more backups, a restore, premium support, staging, CDN), traffic or resource overage, VAT treatment, and the cancellation terms.

0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.

3 — A starting price is shown, but the renewal price, minimum term or what is included is unclear.

5 — Tariffs are public with their monthly price and main inclusions, the minimum term stated, but at least one commonly needed piece (the renewal price after an introductory offer, setup fee, restores, extra backups, extended PHP support) is unpriced or hard to find.

8 — Every tariff priced with the price for the first term and on renewal side by side, the minimum term and setup fee stated, add-ons priced, overage handling stated, and VAT treatment for business customers stated.

10 — Complete price computability: the cost over three years derivable for a given tariff and set of add-ons, with every setup, restore, support and migration fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.

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The Skeptic

Add-on pricing is unusually complete — hourly backups at 100 $ per site per month, external backups at 10 $ per 500 MB plus 1 $ per GB bandwidth, disaster recovery at 300 $ a month plus a one-time 300 $ setup, expedited migration at 49 $ per site — and prices are stated in USD with taxes excluded. Of the tariff table itself, the pages we read price only the Single plan (first month 0 $, 30 $ a month list), the overage policy promises to bill based on the actual usage without a published unit rate, and we found no public information on renewal prices shown side by side with first-term prices. Hosting plans auto-renew for up to twelve months and fees are otherwise non-refundable, though a 30-day money-back guarantee and self-service termination are documented. 1 2 10 18 19 4

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European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 6 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Hosting location Not determined — uncited Report an error
Hosting options Not determined — uncited Report an error
Open source Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data processing agreement Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Transfer impact assessment Not determined — uncited Report an error

Questions about Kinsta

Is Kinsta European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies Kinsta as Rest of world.

Where does Kinsta store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

Does Kinsta have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

What are the best alternatives to Kinsta?

As of 2 Nov 2026, the panel rates Raidboxes (3/5), Infomaniak Web Hosting (3/5) and webgo Webhosting (3/5) highest among the other 14 Web Hosting products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Raidboxes (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Kinsta alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

Do you know more about Kinsta? Tell us Report an error on this page

Sources (24)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage (managed WordPress hosting) kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Pricing page kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Features page (security) kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Features page (agencies) kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  5. 5 Features page (migration) kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  6. 6 Support page kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  7. 7 API documentation kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Status page status.kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Privacy policy kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  10. 10 Terms of service kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Data processing agreement (dpa) kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Subprocessor list kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  13. 13 Performance, uptime & infrastructure — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  14. 14 Performance, uptime & infrastructure — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  15. 15 Control panel, WordPress & developer tooling — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  16. 16 Control panel, WordPress & developer tooling — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  17. 17 Security, backups & recovery — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  18. 18 Security, backups & recovery — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  19. 19 Scaling, migration & exit — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  20. 20 Scaling, migration & exit — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  21. 21 Support, domains & email — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  22. 22 Support, domains & email — found from sitemap kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  23. 23 Imprint — found from the homepage kinsta.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  24. 24 Code repository (open-source licence) — found from the homepage github.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →