WordPress Hosting Benchmarks 2024: Who Delivers the Best Performance?

We are back again for our 2024 edition of WordPress Hosting Benchmarks.

We have been testing popular WordPress hosting companies for over three years, and we took last year’s data (January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023) to write up these 2024 Hosting benchmarks.

Hostingstep WordPress Hosting Benchmark Methodology:

Our WordPress Hosting benchmark is simple. We sign up as a customer for a popular hosting service, buy a hosting account, deploy a test site, and put the site for testing.

All the test sites are pre-installed with

• WordPress Twenty Twenty-Four Theme,
• Akismet, Contact Form 7, and Rank Math plugins.

On Managed WordPress hosting services, the caching is enabled by default. We added the “WP Fastest Cache” plugin for shared hosting services to enable caching.

The table below includes the hosting plan details, data center location, CDN usage, and benchmark start date.

List of Benchmark Tests:

TTFB and Uptime test using Pingdom:

Using the Pingdom Synthetic Monitoring tool, all our test sites are monitored from 22 major regions in the United States and Canada. Pingdom collects the TTFB score from all the locations and provides an overall average TTFB score. Uptime is also measured in the same way. (Sample TTFB / uptime report)

Load Test using Loader.io:

In this test, a 500 constant client load is sent to the site, and the average response time is measured. The test is made from the Amazon US East data center. (sample report)

Hardware benchmark using WPBenchmark Plugin:

WPBenchmark is a WordPress plugin that does CPU, Memory, File system, database performance, and network speed tests. The plugin gives an overall score out of 10. (sample report)

Core web Vitals using GTmetrix:

GTmetrix measures the sites’ Core Web Vitals score. The test is done in Cheyenne, Wyoming, using a simulated mobile device setup. (sample report)

Global TTFB using SpeedVitals:

Speedvitals tool measures the average global TTFB from 40 international locations in the USA, Europe, and Asia–Pacific. These results are beneficial for sites with global audiences. (sample report)

Benchmark Test 1 – TTFB

Time to First Byte (TTFB) is the most critical factor when choosing any WordPress hosting service. Lowering the TTFB score speeds up the site, provides a better user experience, and helps pass Core Web Vitals.

The Pingdom Sytenthic monitoring tool pings the test site for 60 seconds once. A total of 43,800 tests are done in a month to calculate the average TTFB performance.

I took last year’s data (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023) and listed the hosts with better TTFB to poor TTFB scores.

TTFB Benchmark Results

Benchmark Test 2 – Uptime

Uptime is a crucial factor in benchmarking WordPress hosting services. The Pingdom Syntentic monitoring tool pings the site for 60 seconds once, and if it is not reachable within 30 seconds, Pingdom records it as downtime.

The uptime is calculated based on 365 days of data (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023).

Benchmark Test 3 – Load Testing

The load testing measures how well the sites can handle the bulk traffic. In this test, 500 Constant client load visitors are sent to the site, and the average response time is calculated. (lower the response time faster the servers)

Results

Benchmark Test 4 – WPBenchmark

WPBenchmark is our latest addition of tests in 2024. WPBenchmark does CPU, Memory, File system, database performance, and network speed tests. The plugin gives an overall score out of 10.

Results:

Benchmark Test 5 – Global TTFB Test

In the global TTFB test, sites are pinged from 40 international locations to measure the Global TTFB. If your site audience is globally distributed, then watch out for these results.

Benchmark Test 6 – Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals is Google’s new standard for Web Performance. The sites are tested using GTmetrix, and the Core Web Vitals metrics like Largest Contentful Paint, Total Blocking Time, and Cumulative Layout Shift are calculated in this test.

Results

Overall Performance Results:

With our 12 months of rigorous testing across multiple performance metrics, we’ve compiled a list of key findings to give you a complete overview of WordPress hosting performance.

Summary of Key Findings:

• Rocket.net consistently ranked at or near the top in most tests, particularly in TTFB, uptime, load testing, and global TTFB.
• Kinsta showed strong performance across tests, especially in load testing and WPBenchmarks.
• WPX recorded good results in several tests, including 100% uptime and strong load testing performance.
• Some shared hosting providers performed better than expected, outperforming more expensive managed WordPress hosts.
• GreenGeeks stood out with impressive results in global TTFB and Core Web Vitals. A2 Hosting and FastComet also performed well in various tests.
• While many Managed WordPress hosts like Kinsta performed well, others like WP Engine and DreamPress showed disappointing results in several tests.
• WP Engine, in particular, had below-average scores on all tests.
• Rocket, Templ, and WPX got 100% uptime. DreamPress had the lowest uptime at 99.82%, with nearly 16 hours of downtime.

Top Performers in Various Categories

Benchmark Review Of All Tested Hosting Companies:

A2 Hosting:

A2 Hosting is easily one of the best shared hosting options for beginners. In the TTFB, uptime, or load test, it beats most other shared and managed WordPress hosting services. The WPBenchmark hardware scores are average, but that isn’t going to make a big impact on its performance.

Bluehost:

Compared to last year’s benchmark scores, Bluehost has improved greatly in its speed and uptime score. Their load test score is not bad, either. Their WPBenchmark score improved compared to last year, so I think they improved the server architecture. However, Bluehost can’t top at any tests.

Cloudways:

Cloudways powered by DigitalOcean is a great managed Cloud hosting option for getting started. Their TTFB, Uptime, Load testing, WPBenchmark, etc., are perfect and worth the price.

ChemiCloud:

ChemiCloud benchmark scores have slipped compared to last year. Their uptime is below average, and the load handling also got worse.

DreamPress:

Data shows that DreamPress can be avoided at all costs. Although their prices increase every year, their Speed, Uptime, load handling, etc., worsen.

FastComet:

FastComet improved their speed, uptime, and load handling by 2x compared to last year. The load testing score is the most impressive, as the scores were below par last year. It’s definitely a worthy contender for the best shared hosting service.

GreenGeeks:

GreenGeeks is another great shared hosting service, consistently performing in our last two years of testing. They handle the load better, and uptime and TTFB are excellent. Their Global TTFB is super impressive, making them suitable for sites with global visitors.

Hostinger:

Hostinger’s uptime has improved compared to last year. However, their load testing still needs improvement. They recently upgraded their plans with upgraded server specs, such as more PHP workers, SQL connections, etc., which might explain their improved WPBenchmark hardware score.

HostGator:

HostGator is the only shared hosting service that should be avoided at all costs. Its performance is below par on all the tests, and nothing is good to discuss.

Kinsta:

Kinsta’s load handling is one of the best among all the hosts tested, and even with increasing load, their response time remained the same. Their TTFB, uptime, and WPBenchmark hardware scores are excellent, making them one of the greatest Managed WordPress hosting services.

Nexcess:

Nexcess scores are above average in all the tests, but it can’t perform better than its competitors. Considering the overall performance in all the tests, I give Nexcess a buy call.

Rocket.net:

Rocket.net looked better at all the tests. Their Global TTFB is top-notch and has a good WPBenchmark score. It has the best load testing score, so it’s good to trust them for high-traffic sites. Easily my recommended Managed WordPress host in 2024.

SiteGround:

SiteGround’s uptime and load testing scores have improved compared to last year.

Templ:

Templ’s load testing scores used to be the best but slightly slipped this year. Yet, the scores are still impressive. Whether you take TTFB, Uptime, or global TTFB, Templ’s performance is good. It’s worth considering for affordable Google Cloud WordPress hosting.

WP Engine:

WP Engine performance is below par, just like last year. Though they introduced a new Advanced Network for better performance, it does nothing groundbreaking. I can’t test them for load test as the test gets blocked due to security.

WPX:

WPX’s performance has improved dramatically. They had frequent downtimes in 2021, and now, in 2024, it’s 100%. Their load handling is excellent. The TTFB is great, but the global TTFB is below par.