devautomation

Posted on May 20

MainWP vs ManageWP vs custom scripts: how I manage 15+ WordPress sites in 2025

#wordpress #webdev #devops #freelance

Managing multiple WordPress sites for clients is a solved problem -- but the solution depends on how many sites you manage and what your actual bottleneck is.

I've used all three approaches. Here's when each one makes sense.

Free download: The full monthly maintenance checklist (30 checks, all commands included): WordPress Monthly Maintenance Checklist -- no email required, instant download.

The three real options

ManageWP -- cloud-hosted dashboard, monthly subscription (~$2/site or $100+/month flat), handles updates, backups, uptime, performance checks. Polished UI.

MainWP -- self-hosted on your own WordPress install, free core, paid extensions for advanced features. You own the data.

Custom scripts -- WP-CLI + SSH + your own automation. Free forever, runs exactly how you want, no third-party dependencies.

ManageWP: best for non-technical agency owners

ManageWP is the easiest to set up and the easiest to explain to clients. The dashboard looks like a proper SaaS product.

Strengths:

Cloud-hosted (no maintenance of the dashboard itself)
White-label client reports that look professional
Good uptime monitoring
One-click safe updates (tests after updating)
Works with WooCommerce

Weaknesses:

Gets expensive at scale. 20 sites at $2/site = $40/month. 50 sites = $100+/month.
You're dependent on their infrastructure. If ManageWP has downtime, so does your monitoring.
Less customizable -- you get what they give you
Premium features (performance checks, SEO audits, etc.) add cost quickly

Best for: agencies managing 5-20 sites who want a polished tool and don't mind paying for it.

MainWP: best for large volumes and data ownership

MainWP installs on a WordPress site you control. Your data stays yours.

Strengths:

Free core with no per-site fees
Good extension ecosystem
Works well at 50+ sites
You control the data and the dashboard

Weaknesses:

You're now managing another WordPress site (the MainWP dashboard)
Extensions add up: advanced reports, client portal, vulnerability scanning are paid
Requires more setup than ManageWP
The child plugin must be installed on every site you manage

Best for: agencies with 20+ sites who want to own their data and avoid per-site pricing.

Custom scripts: best for technical freelancers who want full control

If you're comfortable with the command line, WP-CLI + SSH + bash/PowerShell gives you more flexibility than either dashboard solution.

The basic flow:

#!/bin/bash
# Run on one client, or loop over clients.json for all
WP_PATH="/var/www/html/client"

# Backup first
wp --path="$WP_PATH" --allow-root db export backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Update everything
wp --path="$WP_PATH" --allow-root core update
wp --path="$WP_PATH" --allow-root plugin update --all
wp --path="$WP_PATH" --allow-root theme update --all

# Check for issues
wp --path="$WP_PATH" --allow-root doctor check --all

Strengths:

Zero monthly cost
Runs on your schedule, not a third party's
Fully customizable (add any check you want)
Generates reports exactly how you want them
No dependency on external services staying online
Handles edge cases that dashboards don't

Weaknesses:

Takes time to build (10-15 hours upfront)
Requires SSH access to servers (not always available on shared hosting)
No visual dashboard (unless you build one)
Debugging when something goes wrong requires CLI knowledge

Best for: technical freelancers managing 8+ sites who want the lowest possible ongoing cost and maximum control.

The math: what each approach actually costs

Assuming 15 sites, 2 hours/month manual time per site without automation:

ManageWP ($2/site):

Monthly cost: $30
Time: ~3 hours/month reviewing dashboards + handling flagged issues
Annual: $360 + ~36 hours of your time

MainWP (free core + $100/year extensions):

Monthly cost: ~$8
Time: ~3 hours/month + occasional dashboard maintenance
Annual: ~$100 + ~36 hours of your time

Custom scripts (built once):

Monthly cost: $0
Build time: 12-15 hours (one time)
Monthly time: ~45 minutes reviewing automated reports
Annual: $0 + ~9 hours of your time

At $80/hour, the time saved by custom scripts vs ManageWP:

ManageWP: 36 hours x $80 = $2,880 in time + $360 in fees = $3,240/year
Custom scripts: 12 hours build + 9 hours/year = 21 hours x $80 = $1,680 year one, $720 year two onward

Custom scripts break even in year one and cost 80% less by year two.

What I actually use

I use all three, depending on the client:

ManageWP: clients who want a client portal and professional white-label reports. I bill the ManageWP cost to the client.
Custom scripts: my standard setup for most clients. Free, runs exactly as I need.
MainWP: inherited from a previous agency setup. I'm gradually moving those sites to scripts.

For the sites on custom scripts, I run a maintenance script that handles updates, backups, security checks, and HTML report generation -- one command per site, or one command for all sites via a JSON config file.

Which should you choose?

Choose ManageWP if:

You're less technical and want a polished dashboard
You have fewer than 20 sites
You can bill the cost to clients
You want one-click safe updates with rollback

Choose MainWP if:

You have 20+ sites
Data ownership matters to you
You're comfortable running another WordPress installation

Choose custom scripts if:

You're comfortable with the command line
You want zero ongoing cost
You have SSH access to client servers
You want maximum flexibility

Don't choose scripts if:

You're not comfortable debugging shell scripts
Your clients are on shared hosting without SSH
You want a visual dashboard without building one

The custom script option, ready-made

If the scripts approach sounds right but you don't want to spend 12 hours building them from scratch, I put the full toolkit together: bulk update script (Bash for Linux, PowerShell for Windows), security audit, uptime monitor, HTML report generator, and clients.json template.

WordPress Agency Automation Bundle -- 19 PLN, use DEVTO for 20% off.

What do you use for managing multiple WordPress sites? Curious whether the community has moved more toward cloud dashboards or self-hosted in recent years.