MaintainHQ and SiteGround
SiteGround's AI Agent runs admin tasks by chat. Gus fixes problems with staging, approval, verification and rollback.
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 want every fix approved, applied to staging or production as you choose, checked against coding standards, verified and rolled back automatically
- You manage many client sites and want fleet-wide updates, monitoring and reports
- You want incident autopilot, status pages and team roles
SiteGround
SiteGround is a web host whose AI Agent for WordPress connects through a plugin, including on sites hosted elsewhere (with a connection key and an AI Studio service). Power Mode is off by default, so the agent pauses for confirmation before hard-to-reverse actions such as deleting plugins, themes, posts or users. WordPress Multisite is not supported. The agent is free for SiteGround hosting clients. GrowBig hosting is listed at $4.99 a month for the first 12 months, renewing at $29.99.
Choose SiteGround if
- You need hosting and want an AI assistant included in it
- You mainly want a chat assistant for admin tasks on a single site
Use both
MaintainHQ does not ask you to leave SiteGround. SiteGround 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
| Feature | MaintainHQ | SiteGround |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Shared, cloud and WordPress hosting |
| 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 | AI Agent for WordPress: chat-based admin tasks, pauses before risky actions unless Power Mode is on |
| 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. | GrowBig $4.99/mo for 12 months, then $29.99/mo (US, ex VAT) |
Pricing
SiteGround charges for hosting (GrowBig $4.99/mo introductory, $29.99/mo renewal, US prices ex VAT) and includes the AI Agent for its clients. MaintainHQ charges for maintenance on any host, with Gus included.
Adding MaintainHQ to SiteGround sites
Step 1: Keep your sites on SiteGround. 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 SiteGround's server backups as a second copy and let MaintainHQ run updates, monitoring and Gus.
Questions
Is MaintainHQ a replacement for SiteGround?
It does not have to be. Your sites can stay on SiteGround (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.
How is Gus different from SiteGround's AI Agent?
SiteGround's agent carries out admin tasks you ask for in chat and pauses before hard-to-reverse actions. Gus is built to fix problems safely: it finds the cause, writes a change checked against WordPress coding standards, waits for your approval, applies it to staging or production as you choose, verifies the result and rolls back automatically. It also works across your whole fleet, with fleet questions and incident autopilot.
Can I run MaintainHQ alongside the SiteGround AI Agent?
Yes. The MaintainHQ connector is an ordinary WordPress plugin and runs alongside other plugins, the SiteGround AI Agent included. The one thing to avoid is two tools auto-updating the same site, so pick one to own updates on each site.
Facts about SiteGround 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.