Backup summary:

Kinsta: Daily automatic backups with 14-30 day retention (by plan tier). Hourly backups available as add-on ($20-100/site/mo). One-click restore. External backups to AWS/Google Cloud Storage ($2/site/mo + bandwidth).

WP Engine: Daily automatic backups with 40-day retention on all plans. On-demand backups anytime. One-click restore to any backup point. Downloadable backups.

Cloudways: Daily automatic backups included. Configurable frequency and retention. Local and offsite storage. Backup storage charged per GB ($0.033/GB offsite).

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Why Backup Policy Matters for Managed Hosting

All three managed hosts include daily backups. That puts them ahead of shared hosting where backups are your responsibility. But the details vary in ways that affect your recovery options when something goes wrong: a bad plugin update breaks your site, a security incident corrupts your database, or you accidentally delete content.

The key questions are: how far back can you restore? How fast can you recover? What does it cost to increase backup frequency or retention?

Kinsta Backup Policy

Automatic daily backups are included on all plans. Retention is 14 days on lower-tier plans (Single and WP 2), 20 days on mid-tier plans (WP 10 and WP 20), and 30 days on Enterprise plans. Each backup captures the full site: files, database, and configuration.

One-click restore from any available backup point through the MyKinsta dashboard. Restores replace the live site entirely with the backup version. You can also restore to a staging environment first to verify the backup before pushing to live.

Manual backups: You can create up to five on-demand backups that do not count toward your automatic retention. These are useful before major changes or deployments.

Hourly backups (add-on): For sites where data changes frequently (ecommerce stores processing orders, membership sites with user-generated content), you can upgrade to every-6-hours ($20/site/mo) or every-hour ($100/site/mo) backup frequency. This reduces the maximum data loss window from 24 hours to 6 hours or 1 hour.

External backups (add-on): Back up to your own AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage bucket. $2/site/mo plus $1/GB for bandwidth. Weekly or monthly frequency. You can back up files, database, or both. This provides an offsite copy independent of Kinsta's infrastructure.

WP Engine Backup Policy

Automatic daily backups with 40-day retention on all plans, including the entry-level Startup plan. This is the longest standard retention among the three providers and the clearest advantage for WP Engine's backup system.

On-demand backups: Create a backup at any time through the WP Engine portal. No limit on manual backup creation, and these do not reduce your 40-day retention window.

One-click restore: Restore any backup with a single action. You can restore to the production environment or to a staging environment for testing first.

Downloadable backups: You can download full backups (files + database) from the WP Engine portal. This gives you a local copy independent of WP Engine's infrastructure, effectively providing the offsite backup that Kinsta charges extra for.

No paid backup tiers: WP Engine does not offer hourly backup upgrades. The daily frequency with 40-day retention is the same on every plan. For sites that need more frequent backups than once daily, you would use a WordPress backup plugin (like UpdraftPlus) alongside WP Engine's built-in system.

Cloudways Backup Policy

Automatic backups are included on all plans. The default is daily, but you can configure the frequency. Backup retention depends on your settings and available storage.

Configurable frequency: You can set backup frequency from every hour to once a week through the Cloudways dashboard. More frequent backups consume more storage and increase costs.

Storage costs: Offsite backup storage is charged at $0.033/GB per server. Local backups (stored on the same server) are free but not truly offsite. For proper disaster recovery, offsite is recommended despite the per-GB cost.

Restore process: Restore from any available backup through the dashboard. The restore replaces the current application state. You can also restore to a staging copy first.

On-demand backups: Create manual backups at any time. Useful before deployments or major changes.

Backup Policies Compared

  Kinsta WP Engine Cloudways
Daily backups All plans All plans All plans
Retention 14-30 days (by plan tier) 40 days (all plans) Configurable
Hourly backups $20-100/site/mo add-on Not available (daily only) Configurable (storage cost applies)
Manual backups Up to 5 on-demand Unlimited on-demand On-demand anytime
One-click restore To live or staging To live or staging To live or staging
Downloadable backups Via external backup add-on Direct download from portal Downloadable
Offsite storage $2/site/mo + $1/GB (AWS/GCS) Download = your offsite copy $0.033/GB per server

Which Backup Policy Fits Your Needs

Your Priority Best Fit
Longest retention with no add-ons WP Engine. 40 days on every plan. No extra cost for extended retention.
Hourly backups for ecommerce/high-change sites Kinsta ($20-100/site/mo add-on) or Cloudways (configurable, storage-based cost).
Free downloadable backups for offsite storage WP Engine. Download directly from the portal at no cost.
Restore to staging before going live Any of the three. All support restoring to staging for verification.
Cheapest backup solution WP Engine. 40-day daily retention + free downloads with no add-on costs.

For provider evaluations including backup details, see the guides for Kinsta, WP Engine, and Cloudways. For pricing including backup add-on costs, see the Kinsta pricing, WP Engine pricing, and Cloudways pricing guides.

Backup policies and pricing change as providers update their platforms. Verify current backup capabilities and costs directly with each provider. Always test your restore process before you need it in an emergency.