Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ExpressionEngine VS MainWP

Compare ExpressionEngine VS MainWP and see what are their differences

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ExpressionEngine logo ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine is a flexible, feature-rich content management system that empowers thousands of...

MainWP logo MainWP

A Free, Open-source, & Self-hosted one-stop solution to manage Unlimited WordPress websites from a single dashboard. MainWP is the only management plugin with 2000+ โญโญโญโญโญ reviews on WP.org
  • ExpressionEngine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-08-05
  • MainWP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-02

MainWP is a suite of open-source self-hosted plugins & extensions for users that have multiple WordPress sites and want to control them from one central location. This includes sites on different hosts or servers.

Once you have connected your sites (called Child Sites) to your Dashboard, you can do almost anything from your MainWP Dashboard that you would be able to do from your Child sites wp-admin.

Combined with the MainWP extensions, here's a glimpse of what you can do to manage hundreds of WordPress websites effortlessly:

๐Ÿ’ฐ Free Forever

๐Ÿท White Label

โ™พ๏ธ Connect Unlimited Websites

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Organize Sites in Groups

๐Ÿ•’ Uptime & Site Health Monitoring

๐Ÿšฉ Lighthouse

๐Ÿ”„ Effortless Bulk Updates

๐Ÿšง Staging, Clone

๐Ÿ“ Client Reports

๐Ÿ”’ Full Privacy, Self-hosted

๐Ÿ”— Security & Backup Integrations

๐Ÿ˜Œ Bulk Content Management (Draft, Publish, Edit, Trash)

๐Ÿ’ฌ Comments

๐Ÿ›  Maintenance

๐Ÿ›ก Security

๐Ÿ“ˆ SEO, Traffic, etc. Analytics

๐Ÿš€ Rocket

And a lot more ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mainwp.com/mainwp-extensions/

The MainWP plugin is 100% FREE, forever! However, MainWP Pro offers a wide range of 30+ premium Extensions at a single price. The extensions aren't required, but they extend the functionality to improve your workflows.

During the subscription, you'll get Priority Support, Important security & performance updates, and access to all new extensions.

  • Monthly: $29/mon

  • Yearly: $199/year

  • Lifetime: $499 (One-time)

ExpressionEngine

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

MainWP

Website
mainwp.com
$ Details
freemium $29.0 / Monthly (32+ Premium Extensions & Priority Support)
Platforms
Browser Web Wordpress WooCommerce
Release Date
2014 January

ExpressionEngine features and specs

  • Flexibility
    ExpressionEngine is highly flexible and can be used to create a wide range of websites, from simple blogs to complex web applications. It doesn't impose rigid structures, allowing developers to design content and data structures according to the project's needs.
  • Template Engine
    Its powerful template engine allows for both simple and complex designs. Designers and developers can create custom layouts and templates without having to delve deeply into backend code.
  • Security
    Known for its robust security features, ExpressionEngine prioritizes the safety of its users. It includes in-built security measures such as data encryption, secure form handling, and regular security updates.
  • Addon Ecosystem
    ExpressionEngine has a diverse addon ecosystem, enabling users to extend core functionalities easily. Many high-quality third-party plugins are available for various needs like SEO, eCommerce, and more.
  • User Management
    The platform offers advanced user management capabilities. It allows for intricate access controls and user permissions, making it ideal for membership sites and other applications requiring multiple user roles.
  • Documentation
    ExpressionEngine provides thorough and well-maintained documentation, helping developers and content managers navigate and make the most out of the platform.

Possible disadvantages of ExpressionEngine

  • Cost
    ExpressionEngine is a paid CMS. While it does offer significant advantages, the cost might be prohibitive for small businesses or individuals who are just getting started.
  • Learning Curve
    While its flexibility is a major advantage, it also means that there can be a steep learning curve for beginners. Those who are new to CMSs or coming from simpler systems may find the initial setup and customization challenging.
  • Performance
    ExpressionEngine can be resource-intensive, particularly for large, high-traffic websites. Without proper optimization and hosting, this could lead to slower load times and potential performance issues.
  • Complexity for Simple Sites
    For simpler websites, the extensive feature set of ExpressionEngine might be overkill. Users looking for a straightforward blogging platform or a basic company website may find it unnecessarily complex.
  • Limited Themes and Plugins
    Compared to other CMS platforms like WordPress, ExpressionEngine has a smaller library of pre-built themes and plugins. This may require more custom development work to achieve desired functionalities and aesthetics.
  • Community Support
    While there is a dedicated group of users, the community around ExpressionEngine is smaller compared to more widely-used CMS platforms. This could make finding community support, tutorials, and third-party resources more difficult.

MainWP features and specs

  • Monitoring
  • Backups
  • Staging
  • Google Analytics
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Client Reporting
  • SEO
  • White label
  • WordPress plugin

ExpressionEngine videos

ExpressionEngine 2 Tutorials #1 - Installation

More videos:

  • Tutorial - ExpressionEngine 2 Tutorials #18 - Embedded Templates
  • Review - ExpressionEngine 3 Interface Changes

MainWP videos

How to Manage Multiple Websites with ManageWP on Wordpress (MainWP Alternative)

More videos:

  • Review - Manage and control all your WordPress sites with MainWP
  • Review - Using MainWP for Client Website Maintenance (a biased review)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ExpressionEngine and MainWP)
CMS
100 100%
0% 0
WordPress
0 0%
100% 100
Blogging Platform
100 100%
0% 0
Tool
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing ExpressionEngine and MainWP.

What makes your product unique?

MainWP's answer:

It's Open Source, Self-hosted, and privacy-focused WordPress plugin.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

MainWP's answer:

Digital Agencies, Freelancers, Developers, in fact, everyone who has multiple WordPress websites.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

MainWP's answer:

It's Privacy-Focused and affordableโ€”single pricing to get everything.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

MainWP's answer:

Can't disclose that, however, as per our public stats on wp .org, 10k+ users are managing over 600,000 WordPress sites which makes 60 sites on average.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ExpressionEngine and MainWP

ExpressionEngine Reviews

11 Popular Free And Open Source WordPress CMS alternatives in 2021
It features: run multiple sites, live preview, one-click updates, with ExpressionEngine, your site content is stored in channelsโ€”flexible data containers with fields for any type of information, and more.
Source: medevel.com

MainWP Reviews

We have no reviews of MainWP yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MainWP should be more popular than ExpressionEngine. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ExpressionEngine mentions (2)

  • Expression Engine & HubSpot
    Does Expression Engine support integration with HubSpot? Source: almost 3 years ago
  • What technologies for these requirements?
    PHP Headless Or you go with a Headless PHP CMS. Some options for that are Bolt CMS, Suru, Twill and ExpressionEngine. A Headless CMS doesn't have any frontend. It can provide you with a REST API or you create it in their template engine and integrate your JS stuff there. There are so many, I can't count them all. You can also search for Cockpit and Strapi. Source: over 4 years ago

MainWP mentions (8)

  • Managing Performance Across 50+ WordPress Sites Without Burning Out
    MainWP offers another centralized management option that's self-hosted on your infrastructure, which works well if you want full control over the management layer without relying on external services. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Flat Rate Website Acceleration Tools for Agencies
    MainWP is a management dashboard making plugin deployment and monitoring simpler. Pairs well with free optimization plugins if you control hosting. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Does WP-CLI have a command to detect out-of-date plugins?
    I've inherited about 40+ of wordpress sites and I need to produce a report on any plugins that are no longer maintained. I know that MainWP can do this but I would like to be able to run a search through the command line so that I can export into a spreadsheet. I need a centralized report that I can pass around other people in order to make larger decisions. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Website Developer Mentor - side job
    Each site is connected to MainWP. This allows us to monitor and patch all sites from a central place. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Nextcloud checking wordpress sites for updates?
    Currently I use mainwp.com from one WP site, but I thought it would be kinda neat to just see it on my daily Nextcloud homepage. Source: about 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ExpressionEngine and MainWP, you can also consider the following products

Drupal - Drupal - the leading open-source CMS for ambitious digital experiences that reach your audience across multiple channels. Because we all have different needs, Drupal allows you to create a unique space in a world of cookie-cutter solutions.

ManageWP - ManageWP is a service for bloggers, site owners and web based companies helping them manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

InfiniteWP - Manage unlimited https://alternativeto.net/software/wordpress/ sites from a central admin panel.

TYPO3 - TYPO3.com - Infos, SLAs, Extended Support Versions and more

WP Umbrella - The easiest way to manage multiple WordPress websites effortlessly.