Contrary to common assumptions, the most reliable hosts for single WordPress setups might not necessarily qualify as the best WordPress multisite hosting providers. And the vice versa is true as well. ⭐
Multisite hosting involves a network of multiple WordPress sites operating simultaneously from one WordPress installation. Instead of setting up individual WordPress instances for each site, a multisite network lets multiple virtual sites use a single database and file system. Each site basically maintains its own tables within the shared database and operates with distinct customizations and functionalities. 🎨
Not every WordPress host can cope with the resultant complex database queries and heightened resource demands. You need a hosting environment with advanced database optimizations, caching mechanisms, resource scalability, domain mapping, etc.
👇 Below is a breakdown of the four best WordPress multisite hosting providers, curated from our extensive research, technical evaluations, and industry insights.
Best WordPress multisite hosting solutions of 2023
1. Kinsta
Kinsta is a managed WordPress host that uses Google Cloud infrastructure and Cloudflare edge caching to deliver top-notch performance for all types of WordPress sites, including multisite networks.
With edge caching, you can fully cache your site’s pages on Cloudflare’s huge global network, which offers impressively fast load times all around the globe.
Setting up a WordPress multisite environment with Kinsta is also a breeze. You get an intuitive MyKinsta dashboard for managing all your WordPress installations, tracking data, administrating backups, tweaking SSL, coordinating redirects, and more.
The Kinsta WordPress installer tool also offers a pre-configured multisite option.
Developers, on the other hand, have a complimentary suite of local development tools – complete with an integrated database manager. This is where you build, test, and deploy your WordPress multisite projects.
⚙️ Kinsta WordPress multisite hosting features
- Powered by the Google Cloud Platform
- Isolated containers
- Full-page edge caching via Cloudflare
- Support for multisite domain mapping, including easy setup
- Pre-configured multisite option in WordPress installer
- Advanced built-in caching
- One-click staging
- Application performance monitoring
- Unlimited collaborators
- Nginx reverse proxy
- Integration with DevKinsta for local development.
💳 Kinsta pricing
While Kinsta’s WordPress hosting plans start at $29.17 per month, you’ll need at least the $58.33 Pro plan to support multisite networks. Both prices are based on annual pricing. Month-to-month plans are priced higher.
🔃 Loading times
| East Coast, USA: 0.42s ⭐ | West Coast, USA: 0.85s ⭐ |
| London: 0.99s ⭐ | Paris: 1.03s |
| Mumbai, India: 2.39s | Sydney: 1.81s |
2. Cloudways
Cloudways is a unique host that lets you choose your cloud hosting infrastructure from three different options – DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, or AWS.
Once you pick your preferred provider, Cloudways handles configuring and maintaining everything for you, and it works similarly to any other WordPress host.
The virtualized system is also capable of scaling resources vertically. As traffic to your multisite network fluctuates, the Cloudways’ platform makes real-time adjustments to RAM, CPU, and storage allocations.
Another thing that qualifies Cloudways as one of the best WordPress multisite hosting providers is its performance optimization. Their proprietary ThunderStack combines web servers (Nginx and Apache) with cache technologies (Varnish, Memcached, and Redis).
Cloudways also recently added support for edge caching via Cloudflare, similarly to how Kinsta functions.
On the database front, Cloudways uses a WordPress-optimized version of MySQL. Database queries, which are frequent in multisite setups, are thus executed swiftly.
👉 Full Cloudways hosting review
⚙️ Cloudways WordPress multisite hosting features
- Supports multiple cloud infrastructure providers
- Isolated virtual containers
- Real-time vertical scaling of resources
- Pay-as-you pricing
- Custom PHP Configuration
- Advanced caching with Thunderstack
- Cloudflare edge caching integration
- WordPress multisite option in application installer
- Elasticsearch
- Developer features including SSH access, WP-CLI, Git integration, and more
💳 Cloudways pricing for hosting multiple WordPress sites
The cheapest option is the Standard DigitalOcean droplet, which starts at $11.00 per month. However, you might want a higher resource server for a multisite network.
🔃 Loading times
| East Coast, USA: 1.66s | West Coast, USA: 1.32s |
| London: 0.22s ⭐ | Paris: 0.24s ⭐ |
| Mumbai, India: 1.22s | Sydney: 2.76s |
3. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting joins Cloudways as one of the best cheap WordPress multisite hosting providers, owing to the exceptional value it offers for less than $50 a month.
The platform itself is well-rounded, allowing you to deploy WordPress multisite networks on VPS, dedicated, or Turbo LiteSpeed servers. The latter happens to be the best WordPress multisite hosting option, though, as it comes pre-optimized for performance and security.
The Turbo plan’s use of LiteSpeed Web Server offers excellent performance, while you also get other helpful features like unmetered bandwidth.
A2 Hosting’s system is further fortified with MariaDB, a superior alternative to MySQL. With faster database queries, optimized storage, and enhanced replication, MariaDB delivers quick page load times in a multisite setting where each site frequently accesses the database.
👉 Full A2 Hosting hosting review
⚙️ A2 Hosting features for multiple WordPress sites
- Turbo LiteSpeed Servers
- Object caching using Redis
- Unlimited NVMe SSD storage
- Unlimited WordPress sites
- Managed multisite WordPress hosting
- Traffic surge protection
- Unmetered bandwidth
💳 A2 Hosting pricing for hosting multiple WordPress sites
While A2 Hosting’s plans start at just $2.99 per month (annual contract), we recommend using at least the Turbo Boost plan for a multisite network. This plan starts at $5.99 per month with promo pricing.
🔃 Loading times
| East Coast, USA: 0.77s ⭐ | West Coast, USA: 1.35s |
| London: 1.82s | Paris: 1.62s |
| Mumbai, India: 3.38s | Sydney: 3.51s |
4. Nexcess
⚠️ Note: Nexcess is owned by Liquid Web, and you’re also able to purchase these multisite hosting plans via the Liquid Web website.
Although not half as popular as, say, A2 Hosting or Kinsta, Nexcess has certainly earned its place among the best WordPress multisite hosting services. Among its range of offerings are fully managed WordPress hosting and enterprise WordPress hosting, both of which support multisite networks.
With Nexcess’s fully managed WordPress hosting, you’ll enjoy a hands-off experience. The Nexcess team takes care of server management, updates, and optimizations.
Their Enterprise WordPress hosting, on the other hand, is engineered for large-scale operations, with support for server clusters. It boasts advanced infrastructure for managing the demands of expansive multisite networks.
For efficient database query caching, Nexcess Object Cache Pro leverages Redis, an in-memory data structure store. This is particularly helpful in multisite setups, where several websites might be querying the database simultaneously. The caching mechanism facilitates fast data retrieval.
Speed is further enhanced with the Nexcess Cloudflare CDN integration, which delivers static assets (like images and scripts) from the server closest to the user.
Nexcess also provides ample PHP workers, who process incoming server requests concurrently to prevent bottlenecks in WordPress multisite networks.
⚙️ Nexcess WordPress multisite hosting features
- Managed server clusters
- Intelligent plugin update tools
- Autoscaled PHP workers
- Nginx platform caching
- Object Cache Pro with Redis
- iThemes Sync Pro integration
- Image optimization tools
💳 Nexcess pricing for hosting multiple WordPress sites
At Nexcess, multisite WordPress hosting options start at $35.83 per month (based on annual contract; month-to-month pricing is higher).
If you expand your search to include Nexcess’s parent company, Liquid Web, you can also find a range of VPS and dedicated server options.
🔃 Loading times
| East Coast, USA: 0.26s ⭐ | West Coast, USA: 0.18s ⭐ |
| London: 0.37s ⭐ | Paris: 0.43s ⭐ |
| Mumbai, India: 0.55s ⭐ | Sydney: 0.48s ⭐ |
Launch your multisite network on the right hosting 📡🖥️
👉 To sum up the best WordPress multisite hosts:
- Kinsta shines with its integration of Google Cloud’s infrastructure, which delivers isolated container technology for each WordPress site. This provides dedicated resources and optimal performance across extensive multisite networks.
- Cloudways stands out for its blend of flexibility, scalability, and performance. You get to cherry-pick your preferred infrastructure from the leading cloud providers.
- A2 Hosting offers remarkable value, especially with its Turbo LiteSpeed servers. Its unlimited subdomains and uncapped bandwidth make it ideal for growing multisite networks.
- Nexcess supports enterprise users with managed server clusters, intelligent caching with Redis, and autoscaled PHP workers. While it might not be as well known as other hosts, it’s owned by Liquid Web (a very well-established hosting company).
To see some other options, you also might be interested in our general roundup of the best WordPress hosting providers. ⭐⭐⭐
Do you still have any questions about how to choose the best WordPress multisite hosting for your network? Let us know in the comments!