{
  "review_date": "2026-10-01",
  "evidence_status_audit": {
    "audited_on": "2026-10-23",
    "new_vendor_reading": false,
    "kinsta_status": "Historical Lead and Agency 20 price examples pending plan-specific reverification; no complete comparison row.",
    "october_16_limit": "Some detailed Kinsta table values came from web retrieval with an uncertain source capture date. Chrome read an Agency summary with Annual selected and Pay today $3,400, but the subsequent detailed Lead/Agency 20 table read timed out. The full table must not be described as verified in Chrome on October 16.",
    "preservation": "Original source URLs, recorded amounts, quotes, currency and calculation assumptions remain historical evidence. October 23 is an evidence-status correction date, not a price-verification date.",
    "wp_engine": "Separate Essential and existing Scale renewal-notice observations retain October 16; other policy-source reviews retain their own dates."
    ,"kinsta_followup": "On October 24 Chrome read the official pricing page with Annual selected. The current Business WP 20 table stated $3,400 billed annually, $340/month list price, and the rounded display $284/month; the resources table stated 20 sites, 250GB bandwidth, 50GB storage, 1,000GB CDN and 14-day backup retention. Prices exclude tax and are in USD. Calculated 3,400/12 = $283.33/month. No exact future renewal monthly rate was shown; therefore this remains incomplete. Exact time of day was not recorded. The October 16 Lead and Agency 20 records remain historical and were not replaced by WP 20."
  },
  "method": "Official public text read through web retrieval. No account, invoice, checkout, code redemption or performance measurement.",
  "guide": "https://hostdealradar.com/guides/wp-engine-vs-kinsta/",
  "scope": "An existing WP Engine renewal decision compared with published Kinsta alternatives; not matched new-customer checkout quotes.",
  "sources": [
    {"url":"https://wordpress.com/support/com-vs-org/","topic":"Software versus hosted service"},
    {"url":"https://content.wpengine.com/wp-engine-updated-pricing","topic":"Existing subscription renewal schedule effective March 11, 2026; match account and currency"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/plans/","topic":"First-year eligibility, migration services, plugin-manager inclusion; dynamic new-customer amount not established"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/pricing/","topic":"Lead and Agency 20 published monthly/annual prices and different allowances"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/billing/wordpress-hosting-plans/","topic":"Entry-plan first-month eligibility; do not apply to Lead or Agency 20"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/billing/wordpress-hosting-plans/wordpress-choosing-the-right-plan/","topic":"Launch through Lead bandwidth-only; other plans may offer a choice"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/overage-pricing/","topic":"Named-plan visit rates; monthly overages despite annual subscription"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/billing/wordpress-hosting-plans/overages/","topic":"Resource-specific rates, storage proration and accrued charges"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/count-visits/","topic":"Billable IP/day methodology and environments"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/wordpress-hosting/wordpress-analytics-mykinsta/","topic":"Current traffic exclusions; CDN/edge distinction"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/wordpress-hosting/wordpress-add-ons/","topic":"Storage increments and Premium Staging"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/change-plan-user-portal/","topic":"Sites, included environments and purchased capacity"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/wordpress-hosting/staging-environment/","topic":"Staging disk exclusion; Premium Staging CDN consumption"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/wordpress-updates/","topic":"Core release testing and major/minor deferral rules"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/wordpress-update-source/","topic":"Account/site repository selection, failover and WP-CLI"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/smart-plugin-manager/","topic":"Separate scheduling, visual checks and rollback"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/add-ons/kinsta-automatic-updates/","topic":"Optional per-environment automated update product"},
    {"url":"https://kinsta.com/docs/wordpress-hosting/wordpress-migrations/migrating-to-kinsta/","topic":"Standard/expedited migration, credits, testing and cutover"},
    {"url":"https://wpengine.com/support/wp-engine-site-migration/","topic":"Plugin migration boundaries, testing, DNS and resync"}
  ],
  "alternatives_review": {
    "review_date": "2026-10-01",
    "scope": "Same-page section grouped by billing basis; one row per provider, WP Engine included as the reference. No new alternatives URL.",
    "method": "Official public price/policy text reviewed; no account, customer invoice, checkout, capacity or support measurement.",
    "rows": [
      {"provider":"WP Engine","price_url":"https://wpengine.com/plans/","policy_urls":["https://wpengine.com/support/usage/"],"finding":"Account storage includes Production, Staging, Development and transferable environments; official automated backups excluded. Storage inclusion does not establish an automatic per-GB charge or separate staging tariff."},
      {"provider":"Kinsta","price_url":"https://kinsta.com/pricing/","policy_urls":["https://kinsta.com/docs/billing/wordpress-hosting-plans/wordpress-choosing-the-right-plan/","https://kinsta.com/docs/wordpress-hosting/staging-environment/"],"finding":"Launch through Lead are server-bandwidth-only; Agency20 has visits/bandwidth options. Staging disk excluded from plan storage; Premium Staging subscription and CDN consumption remain distinct."},
      {"provider":"Cloudways Flexible (DigitalOcean)","price_url":"https://www.cloudways.com/en/pricing.php","policy_urls":["https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/5116158-guide-to-billing-at-cloudways","https://support.cloudways.com/en/articles/5124886-how-to-create-a-staging-environment"],"finding":"Server resource billing, unmetered visits, configuration-dependent resource/add-on charges. Staging clone occupies chosen server disk. Comparison does not price Autonomous or assert capacity/savings."},
      {"provider":"SiteGround shared WordPress","price_url":"https://www.siteground.com/wordpress-hosting.htm","policy_urls":["https://www.siteground.com/kb/fair-use-siteground-hosting/","https://www.siteground.com/tutorials/staging/create-staging","https://www.siteground.com/kb/how_to_reduce_the_number_of_inodes_my_account_uses"],"finding":"Shared resource policy includes CPU/RAM/I/O/inodes. Staging copies use files/inodes; creation requires more than51% free space and more than20% free inodes. No per-visit charge or 20-site matched quote inferred."}
    ],
    "illustration": {"assumed_live_files_database_gb":20,"assumed_staging_clone_gb":20,"wp_engine_two_copy_storage_gb":40,"kinsta_live_storage_gb":20,"kinsta_staging_contribution_gb":0,"boundary":"Capacity illustration, not measured usage/invoice or tariff. Excludes other environments, backups, caches and logs."},
    "community_boundary":"No new single-source comments quoted as evidence; current section supported by official documents. Supplied search volumes and competitor claims are not independently remeasured."
  },
  "calculations": [
    {"name":"Twelve monthly charges","formulae":["330*12=3960","299*12=3588","340*12=4080"],"boundary":"Unchanged rates; excludes extras; not annual-plan invoices."},
    {"name":"Annual equivalents","formulae":["2990/12=249.1666667","3400/12=283.3333333"],"boundary":"Rounded to cents; prepaid cost equivalents, not monthly instalments."},
    {"name":"Lead hypothetical month","assumptions":{"monthly_billing":true,"server_bandwidth_gb":300,"live_storage_gb_entire_month":75,"cdn_bandwidth_gb":1100,"other_extras":0},"formula":"299+(300-275)*0.50+(75-60)*2+(1100-1000)*0.05","result_usd":346.50,"boundary":"Current bandwidth-based Lead, not visits-based Agency; storage steady all month; before tax."},
    {"name":"Full-month storage add-on alternative","formula":"299+12.50+20+5","result_usd":336.50,"boundary":"20 GB storage increment active all month; remaining assumptions unchanged."},
    {"name":"Move and payback illustration","formulae":["6*50+100=400","330-299=31","400/31=12.9032258"],"boundary":"Labour/overlap hypothetical. Use complete sustained savings after usage and extras, not base-price difference alone; no positive savings means no payback."},
    {"name":"Optional update product","formulae":["20*3=60","40*3=120"],"boundary":"Enabled environments after free first month; not total hosting costs."}
  ],
  "reader_supplied_topic_leads": [
    {"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1w3laj6/","topic":"WordPress names"},
    {"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/WebsiteSEO/comments/1t02jzg/","topic":"Introductory term versus renewal"},
    {"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/1wnid7n/","topic":"Update timing"}
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Reddit full threads could not be independently retrieved; supplied excerpts establish topic leads, not tariffs, vote verification or incident diagnosis.",
    "No universal three-year WP Engine deal verified. Existing Scale allowances cannot be inferred from current Essential product slots.",
    "No matched workload capacity, invoice, performance or support-quality comparison. Different billing meters cannot be equated by a guessed conversion.",
    "Prices may change; future renewal and legacy contract terms require account confirmation."
  ]
}