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xCloud vs Kinsta: Three Meters, or None
Compare xCloud and Kinsta on price per site, metered visits, disk and CDN bandwidth overages, plugin restrictions and server control, with every figure sourced and dated.
71 features compared · 64 where the two differ · Last updated: 07/09/2026
Quick verdict
Choose xCloud if…
- You want one predictable bill. Kinsta meters visits, disk and CDN bandwidth separately and publishes a price for exceeding each; xCloud meters none of them.
- You run more than one site. A second WordPress install on Kinsta means the $70/month WP 2 plan; on xCloud sites are unlimited on the server you already pay for.
- You want to choose your own plugins. Kinsta blocks installation of banned and incompatible plugins, including caching plugins and some backup and migration tools.
- You want root access and control of NGINX, cron, PHP-FPM and everything else on the machine.
- You want WordPress, Laravel, Node.js and Docker apps on one bill and one dashboard, rather than WordPress on Kinsta and everything else on Sevalla.
- You want a genuinely free tier to start on — one server, ten sites, the full feature set.
Choose Kinsta if…
- You want a longer window to change your mind: Kinsta publishes 30 days against xCloud's 14, and the first month free on its Single 35k and WP 2 plans.
- You want a premium managed platform on Google Cloud's network where you never think about a server, and you are happy to pay for that.
- You want unlimited free migrations handled for you, on every plan.
- Your traffic, disk and bandwidth are stable and comfortably inside a plan's caps, so the three meters never actually bite.
- You want Kinsta's support organisation and its published performance work rather than administering anything yourself.
- You value a vendor that publishes its overage rates openly in its own docs — which, to be fair, is exactly how this page could quote them.
At a glance
xCloud vs Kinsta at a glance
The decision criteria first. The full feature-by-feature matrix is below.
| Criteria | xCloud | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| What each product is | WordPress and PHP hosting plus server management; managed servers or your own VPS | Premium managed WordPress hosting on Google Cloud |
| Pricing model | Per server, by size. Visits, sites and bandwidth are not separately metered | Per WordPress install, with visits, disk and CDN bandwidth capped and billed above the cap |
| Starting price | $5.00/month managed, or $0 self-managed on a server you already have | $35/month ($30 on annual billing) for one WordPress install |
| Traffic limits | None — traffic is not metered | 35,000 monthly visits on the entry plan, then $0.50 per 1,000 |
| How a visit is counted | Not applicable | Unique IP addresses per 24 hours from the logs, excluding edge-cached requests |
| Disk space | 25 GB to 768 GB by server size, not billed separately | 10 GB on the entry plan, then $2 per GB per month |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB to 8 TB by server size, not billed separately | 125 GB of CDN bandwidth on the entry plan, then $0.05 per GB |
| Sites included | Unlimited on any server, on every plan including the free tier | 1 install on Single plans; 2 for $70, 5 for $115, 10 for $225, 20 for $340 |
| Server control | Full root, SSH and a browser terminal; NGINX, cron and PHP-FPM are yours | None — Kinsta manages the platform, there is no server to configure |
| Plugin restrictions | None. It is your server, so the plugin list is yours | A banned and incompatible list; installing a listed plugin is blocked |
| What else you can run | Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP, static sites, Docker Compose apps and a one-click library, on the same server | WordPress. Applications and databases are Sevalla, a separate Kinsta product |
| Staging and backups | Staging with push/pull, plus full and incremental backups to your own S3-compatible storage | Free one-click staging on every plan; daily backups retained 14 to 30 days by plan |
| Migration | Built-in bulk site and server migration plus a documented cPanel path | Unlimited free migrations included on all plans |
| Refund terms | 14-day money-back guarantee | 30 days, first-time customers only, with overages and one-time fees excluded |
| Free tier or trial | Free self-managed tier: 1 server, 10 sites, full feature set | No free tier; first month free on the Single 35k and WP 2 plans |
| AI and agent tooling | MCP server and installable AI agent skills for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Not published |
| Main limitations | No bundled CDN, no published uptime SLA, and you are responsible for a server rather than handing it over | Three separately metered dimensions, one site on the entry plan, blocked plugins, no root access, and no free tier |
Feature comparison
Every Feature, Side by Side
71 features side by side, starting with what each product meters — Kinsta bills three dimensions separately, xCloud bills none of them. 64 of them differ between xCloud and Kinsta — use the filter to see only those.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
 xCloud | Kinsta | |
|---|---|---|
| What gets metered | ||
| Monthly visits counted against a limit | No — traffic is not metered | 35,000 on the entry plan |
| Charge for exceeding the visit limit | None | $0.50 per 1,000 visits |
| Disk space metered separately | No — sized by the server | 10 GB on the entry plan |
| Charge for exceeding disk | None | $2 per GB per month |
| CDN bandwidth metered separately | No — sized by the server | 125 GB on the entry plan |
| Charge for exceeding CDN bandwidth | None | $0.05 per GB |
| Number of separately billed meters | 0 | 3 |
| Plans and what they cost | ||
| Entry price | $5.00/mo managed · $0 self-managed | $35/mo ($30 annual) |
| Sites on the entry plan | Unlimited | 1 WordPress install |
| Cost of a second site | $0 | $70/mo — the WP 2 plan |
| Cost of ten sites | $0 extra, same server | $225/mo — the WP 10 plan |
| Disk on the entry plan | 25 GB SSD | 10 GB |
| Free tier | 1 server, 10 sites, all features | — |
| First month free | — | On Single 35k and WP 2 |
| Money-back guarantee | 14 days | 30 days, first-time customers, overages excluded |
| Whole price ladder published | Yes | Yes |
| Control over the server | ||
| Full root access | Yes | No |
| Bring your own server or cloud account | DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, GCP, Hetzner, Linode or any Ubuntu host | No |
| Choose NGINX or OpenLiteSpeed | Yes | — |
| Edit server config, cron and PHP-FPM workers | Yes | No |
| Install other software on the same machine | Yes | No |
| Plugin restrictions | None — it is your server | Banned and incompatible list; installation is blocked |
| Caching plugins allowed | Yes | No |
| Backup plugins allowed | Yes | Restricted by version |
| What you can run | ||
| WordPress | Yes | Yes |
| WooCommerce | Yes | Yes |
| Laravel, custom PHP and Node.js apps | Yes | Sevalla, a separate Kinsta product |
| Docker Compose applications | Yes | Sevalla, a separate Kinsta product |
| One-click open-source app library | Yes | No |
| Everything on one bill and one dashboard | Yes | No |
| WordPress platform features | ||
| Free one-click staging | Yes | Yes |
| Staging with push/pull | Yes | — |
| Automated daily backups | Yes | Yes |
| Backup retention | Your own S3 storage, your own policy | 14 to 30 days by plan |
| Free migrations | Yes | Unlimited |
| CDN included | Cloudflare add-on, $5/domain | Included, then metered |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes |
| WP-CLI | Yes | Yes |
| Bulk WordPress updates across sites | Yes | — |
| Multisite | Yes | — |
| AI and agent control | ||
| MCP server — drive servers and sites from Claude, Cursor or any AI agent | Yes | No |
| Installable AI agent skills (servers, sites, WordPress, SSL, account) | Yes | No |
| AI bot blocker — block AI crawlers and scrapers at the server | Yes | — |
| Public REST API with scoped tokens | Yes | — |
| Security and WordPress integrity | ||
| Virtual patching for known vulnerabilities (Site Security PRO) | Add-on, $2/site | — |
| WordPress integrity monitor — verifies core files against checksums | Yes | — |
| Custom security headers (HSTS, CSP) from the panel | Yes | — |
| HTTP basic auth and per-site IP allow/deny | Yes | — |
| SSH lockdown — restrict SSH to trusted IPs, custom port | Yes | No |
| Performance and caching | ||
| Edge full-page cache on a global PoP network | Yes | — |
| Cloudflare Enterprise (330+ PoPs, Enterprise WAF) | Add-on, $5/domain | — |
| HTTP/3 (QUIC) and Brotli compression, one click | Yes | — |
| Per-site PHP-FPM worker tuning and PHP extension manager | Yes | No |
| Auto-healing — restarts MySQL, NGINX, Redis or PHP if it stops | Yes | — |
| MySQL/MariaDB auto-tuning and OPcache control | Yes | No |
| Monitoring and observability | ||
| Broken link monitoring with one-click 301 redirect | Yes | No |
| Site Insights — PHP, MySQL and traffic analytics per site | Yes | — |
| Scheduled PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals monitoring with history | Yes | — |
| Telegram alerts for site, server and team events | Yes | — |
| Native macOS menu-bar app (xCloud Pulse) | Yes | No |
| Developer and deployment | ||
| Browser SSH terminal and command runner | Yes | No |
| One-click deploy from Git with stack auto-detection | Yes | — |
| Docker and Docker Compose application hosting | Yes | Via Sevalla |
| Node.js, Laravel and Next.js hosting with queue workers | Yes | Via Sevalla |
| One-click app library | 242 apps | No |
| Supervisor process management and site snapshots | Yes | — |
| Backups, migration and agency tooling | ||
| Off-site backups to your own S3, R2, Backblaze, Wasabi, Google Drive or pCloud | Yes | — |
| Full server clone and server-to-server migration | Yes | — |
| Branded client maintenance reports (PDF) | Yes | — |
| White-label reseller programme with Stripe billing and your own plans | Yes | — |
| Business mailboxes on your own domain | Add-on, $1/mo | — |
Pricing
xCloud vs Kinsta: What You Actually Pay
Their published plans against the xCloud server the same sites would sit on — every figure from Kinsta's own plans and billing docs.
Kinsta prices per WordPress install with visits, disk and CDN bandwidth each capped and each separately billed above the cap; xCloud prices per server, with unlimited sites and none of those three metered. Kinsta figures are the published monthly rates from kinsta.com/plans/ and the overage rates from their own billing docs, both read 7 September 2026; annual billing is cheaper on their side and is noted where it applies. xCloud figures are the managed ladder on /pricing/, where the same server carries every site you put on it. ⚠️ List prices only. Kinsta runs on Google Cloud's premium tier and publishes its own benchmarks; xCloud publishes none against them, so nothing here claims either is faster. Note also what Kinsta gives that we do not: 30 days to change your mind against our 14, the first month free on two plans, and unlimited free migrations.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| WordPress sites | xCloud | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5.00/mo — 25 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer | $35/mo — Single 35k, 1 install, 10 GB, 35k visits |
| 2 | $5.00/mo, same server | $70/mo — WP 2, 20 GB, 250 GB CDN |
| 5 | $5.00/mo, resources permitting | $115/mo — WP 5, 30 GB, 500 GB CDN |
| 10 | $5.00–$12.00/mo | $225/mo — WP 10, 40 GB, 750 GB CDN |
| 20 | $12.00–$24.00/mo | $340/mo — WP 20, 50 GB, 1 TB CDN |
| Going over the visit cap | No visit cap | $0.50 per 1,000 visits |
| Going over the disk cap | No separate disk bill | $2 per GB per month |
| Going over the bandwidth cap | No separate bandwidth bill | $0.05 per GB |
| Money-back guarantee | 14 days | 30 days |
Already on Kinsta?
Moving Is Two Supported Routes, Not A Rebuild
You do not have to rebuild the site to change host. Both routes below are documented, and both bring the files and the database across together.
xCloud's built-in migration
Connect the site you are running on Kinsta and let xCloud pull it across. It is the path most people take, and it handles the files and the database together.
Read the migration guideMigrate Guru, if you prefer a plugin
A free WordPress plugin, fully compatible with xCloud. Useful when you would rather drive the move from inside the site you already control.
Read the plugin guide
Before you start: if a token migration fails, our guide's first checks are to disable 2FA and Cloudflare Bot Fight Mode on the source site. A migration that stalls is almost always a security setting rather than the data.
xCloud vs Kinsta: Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people ask before choosing between xCloud and Kinsta, including the ones with an uncomfortable answer.
Is xCloud cheaper than Kinsta?
At list price, substantially, and the gap widens with every site. Kinsta's entry plan is $35 a month ($30 on annual billing) for one WordPress install with 35,000 visits, 10 GB of disk and 125 GB of CDN bandwidth; two installs is $70 and ten is $225. An xCloud managed server is $5.00 a month with unlimited sites, and the self-managed tier is free. What Kinsta gives for the difference is a premium managed platform, unlimited free migrations and a 30-day guarantee, which this page does not pretend is worth nothing.
Does Kinsta charge overage fees?
Yes, on three separate things, all published in their own billing docs: $0.50 per 1,000 visits above your plan's cap, $2 per GB per month for disk space above your allowance, and $0.05 per GB for CDN bandwidth above it. Kinsta keeps sites online and bills the difference, with notifications at 80% and 100% of the allowance. xCloud meters none of the three — a server costs what the server costs.
How does Kinsta count a visit?
Their docs define it as the sum of unique IP addresses seen within a 24-hour period in the logs, and requests served from the edge cache do not count. It is a reasonable definition, but it still means that traffic you did not plan for arrives as an invoice line. On xCloud there is no visitor count at all, so the number does not exist to be billed.
How much does a second WordPress site cost on each?
On xCloud, nothing — sites are unlimited on the server you are already paying for, including on the free self-managed tier. On Kinsta, a second install means moving from a Single plan to WP 2 at $70 a month, since Single plans hold one install each.
Does Kinsta block any WordPress plugins?
Yes. Kinsta publishes a banned and incompatible plugins list and blocks installation of anything on it, with a warning message. It covers caching plugins (their server-level caching replaces them), some backup plugins by version, server-based video conversion, certain security plugins and some migration tools. xCloud has no such list, because the server is yours — including the caching and backup plugins Kinsta blocks.
Can I run Laravel or Node.js apps on Kinsta?
Not under the Kinsta brand any more. Kinsta's application and database hosting is now Sevalla — kinsta.com/application-hosting/ redirects there, and Sevalla's own site states it is a Kinsta product. So a WordPress site and a Node.js app mean two products and two bills. xCloud runs WordPress, Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP, static sites and Docker Compose apps on the same server, one dashboard and one bill.
Do I get root access on Kinsta?
No. Kinsta manages the platform, so there is no server to configure — which is exactly what many people are paying for. xCloud gives full root over SSH plus a browser terminal, along with NGINX, cron, PHP-FPM and the rest of the machine, because the server belongs to your account.
Is Kinsta faster than xCloud?
This page does not claim either way, and you should be sceptical of any comparison published by one of the two products that does. Kinsta runs on Google Cloud's premium tier and publishes its own performance work; xCloud has published no head-to-head benchmark against them. Test both with your own site, your own plugins and your own traffic.
Which has the better guarantee?
Kinsta. They publish a 30-day money-back guarantee against xCloud's 14 days, plus the first month free on the Single 35k and WP 2 plans. Two caveats from their own docs: it is first-time customers only, and overages and one-time fees are excluded from the refund.
Which is better for agencies?
It depends on how you bill. Kinsta publishes Agency plans from 20 to 60 installs at $340 to $675 a month with the platform managed for you. xCloud puts unlimited client sites on one flat-priced server and adds white-labelling, a reseller programme with your own plans and billing, and branded client maintenance reports — so the marginal cost of a client site is server headroom rather than a plan upgrade.
Can I migrate from Kinsta to xCloud?
Yes. Both run standard WordPress on Linux, so a move transfers files, database and configuration rather than rebuilding anything. xCloud includes bulk site and server migration plus a documented cPanel path at no extra cost. Worth knowing in the other direction too: Kinsta includes unlimited free migrations, so trialling both costs you time rather than money.
What happens to my bill if a post goes viral?
On xCloud, nothing — visits are not counted, so the bill is the same the month a post does well as the month it does not. On Kinsta, a spike can move all three meters at once: $0.50 per 1,000 visits above the cap, $0.05 per GB of extra CDN bandwidth, and $2 per GB per month if the traffic also grows what you store.
Hear what people are saying about us
See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.
xCloud works really well, I am surprised by its performance being this the release version, I have tried many paid platforms such as runcloud, cloudpages or serveravatar, as well as free platforms such as CyberPanel, CloudPanel or Hestia Control Panel and direct competitors such as SpinupWP and FlyWP. Of all those that I have tried, the platform that works best for WordPress is SpinupWP and I believe that xCloud can reach and surpass that development, its roadmap is promising. Congratulations to the xCloud team, I hope they become the leading platform in the segment, it has all the potential to achieve it!
Brian GeovannyI've been with runcloud for the last 3 years. However, after trying xcloud for the last month, I'm switching over. They are on a roll with their setup.
Kevin PinedaI'm moving my servers to xCloud, a cloud control panel by M Asif Rahman and the WPDeveloper team. Their roadmap looks interesting and no, there are no team mates nor API limits with xCloud! #xCloud #wordpress #hosting
Leo KooHow Cloud Nine Web Elevated Client Experience While Streamlining Hosting Operations using xCloud
Ed EllinghamxCloud is like having an expert server team on call — without the big agency costs. It's given me back my time and given my clients peace of mind. Highly recommended for freelancers and small teams who want reliable performance and security.
Dumitru ButucelxCloud isn't just a solution. It's like one of that friend who got your back when you screw things up pretty bad.
Waqar AhmedTrust me when I say, once people explore the potential of xCloud they gonna switch from other panels, just keep delivering the best tech, lots of love for the team 😍😍
Rahul SinghSo far my experience has been smooth like silk. I didn't imagine that configuring and managing a VPS would be so easy. As of today, I have deployed 8 sites. The support is good, and they treat users with respect, even if they ask stupid questions (myself included). For the future, I hope for greater flexibility in scheduled backups and more comprehensive and consistent documentation. I'm sure that within a few months, xCloud will become the leader in its segment. This community is amazing, and the Staff here is super helpful.
Massimo VillaCame from cloudways then to runcloud then to xcloud. Looks like I'm staying here.
Gerson ElI've recently taken all of my Vultr-hosted sites and gotten rid of cPanel for them to substitute it with xCloud. I have to say, I'm really impressed with xCloud so far! The interface is definitely the standout feature for me.
Tony LewisI came from Cloudways and won't go back. Highly impressed with xCloud. Glad I gave them a chance.
Jared McDowellI like xCloud better than RunCloud, but one thing I'll point out is that some years ago RunCloud was hungry for business, the support was outstanding, and the community was active and helped each other. Maybe it was sold, there was a change in management, or they stopped being hungry, but the quality of the RunCloud offering declined and it hasn't been moving forward quickly. My point is that currently the xCloud team has the edge and it is theirs to keep or lose
David McCanHow Kevin Heinrichs Cut Hosting Costs by 84% While Running WooCommerce & Node.js Sites Efficiently
Kevin HeinrichsI had 150 sites on cloudways and am in the process of moving them to xcloud. Much faster and better priced.
Dan SpinozaDear xCloud Team, I have been using xCloud for some time now and am genuinely impressed with its capabilities and the flexibility it offers by allowing users to bring their own VPS for management. It's a fantastic service, and my experience so far has been very positive. Successful migrated 5 sites on a single server. Xcloud migration tool worked great. There were few hiccups with security plugin like MalCare but disabling the plugin prior to migration worked just fine.
Rahil MaknojiaCame from runcloud. Tried xcloud and never came back.
Karl FanegaHow Advanced Web Strategies Saved Over $2,000 & Recovered 56 Hours per Month Managing 70+ Client Websites
Gary MoodyxCloud gave me what no other hosting platform could: the flexibility of a VPS with the convenience of managed WordPress. As a solo founder running an entire business on one server, that combination is an important unfair advantage.
Jorge de los Reyes MartínezI use Server Avatar and xCloud and I'll sooner use xCloud than Server Avatar personally.
Jay PaganoHow Newman Web Solutions Ensured Perfect Uptime and Seamless Scaling For 120+ WordPress Sites with xCloud
Lori NewmanI too have moved over to xCloud. It's pretty sweet. One click n8n and uptime Kuma apps
John ApertureI went from Cloudways to xCloud. No intention on switching in the foreseeable future.
Blaine MooreKeep comparing
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Ready To Try xCloud Instead?
Start free on your first server with ten sites, bring your own VPS or ours, and move when you are ready. No contract, no per-site fee and no migration fee.