MaintainHQ and Kinsta
Kinsta runs fast WordPress hosting. MaintainHQ looks after the sites on it, and on every other host.
Facts checked on 4 November 2026. Prices taken from each vendor's own website.
The short answer
MaintainHQ
MaintainHQ works with WordPress sites on any host, and also offers its own hosting at $5 a month per site with MaintainHQ built in. On whichever host you use, it looks after the WordPress layer: Gus diagnoses and fixes problems (your approval for every fix, staging or production as you choose, coding-standards checks, verification and automatic rollback), safe updates with pre-update testing, backups, malware scanning, uptime with incident autopilot, team roles and white-label reports across every site you manage.
Choose MaintainHQ if
- You manage sites on Kinsta and on other hosts
- You want Gus to fix the problems an update or a conflict causes
- You want pre-update testing, team roles and white-label reports in one place
Kinsta
Kinsta is a managed WordPress host. Plans start at $30 a month billed annually ($35 monthly) for a single site, with CDN bandwidth included. Its Automatic Updates add-on, from $3 per site per month, compares screenshots before and after each update to catch broken updates.
Choose Kinsta if
- You need managed hosting
- All your sites are on Kinsta and the Automatic Updates add-on is enough
Use both
MaintainHQ does not ask you to leave Kinsta. Kinsta runs the servers; MaintainHQ and Gus look after the WordPress layer on top, across every host your clients use. MaintainHQ also offers its own hosting if you want servers and maintenance in one place, but for many agencies the right answer is to use both.
Side by side
- Included
- Paid add-on
- Not available
| Feature | MaintainHQ | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Connects to WordPress sites on any host, and offers its own WordPress hosting ($5 a month per site, on servers MaintainHQ runs) with MaintainHQ built in. | Managed WordPress hosting |
| Safe updates | Backup first for risky plugins, visual checks after the update and automatic rollback | Automatic Updates add-on with before and after screenshot comparison |
| CDN | MaintainHQ Edge: a built-in CDN for connected sites | CDN bandwidth included in plans |
| AI that fixes | Gus diagnoses and fixes: your approval for every fix, on staging or production as you choose, WordPress coding-standards checks, a backup, verification and automatic rollback | Not offered for fixing sites |
| Pricing model | Flat plans: Starter $2.99/mo (1 site), Starter Plus $29/mo (5), Pro $79/mo (25), Agency $199/mo (unlimited). 7-day free trial. Gus is on every plan, with an allowance that resets every 6 hours and a weekly allowance, bigger on bigger plans. | From $30/mo billed annually; Automatic Updates from $3 per site per month |
Pricing
Kinsta charges for hosting (from $30/mo billed annually) and $3 per site per month for Automatic Updates. MaintainHQ maintenance plans are flat and work on any host.
Adding MaintainHQ to Kinsta sites
Step 1: Keep your sites on Kinsta. Nothing moves.
Step 2: Add the sites in MaintainHQ (one by one, or paste a list of addresses into the importer) and install the connector plugin on each one.
Step 3: Decide which tool owns updates and backups on each site. Many agencies keep Kinsta's server backups as a second copy and let MaintainHQ run updates, monitoring and Gus.
Questions
Is MaintainHQ a replacement for Kinsta?
It does not have to be. Your sites can stay on Kinsta (or any other host): MaintainHQ connects to them with a plugin and handles maintenance and fixes on top. If you would rather have servers and maintenance in one place, MaintainHQ Hosting is $5 a month per site, on servers we run, with MaintainHQ built in.
Can I run MaintainHQ alongside Kinsta?
Yes. The MaintainHQ connector is an ordinary WordPress plugin and runs alongside other plugins, Kinsta included. The one thing to avoid is two tools auto-updating the same site, so pick one to own updates on each site.
What does Gus actually do?
Gus is the AI WordPress engineer built into MaintainHQ. It inspects a site, finds the cause of a problem and prepares a fix. Code changes are checked against WordPress coding standards and wait for your approval, then go to staging or production as you choose, after a backup. They are verified afterwards and roll back automatically if the site gets worse. Every change has a receipt you can share with the client.
Facts about Kinsta checked on 4 November 2026 from their public websites. Prices and features change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. Product names belong to their owners.
Try MaintainHQ free
From $2.99 a month for 1 site, with a 7-day trial. Connect your first site in minutes and let Gus run a health check.