Kinsta is one of the most well-known premium WordPress hosting providers in the world. And rightly so - they offer excellent technology, a user-friendly dashboard and good performance. But there is a hefty price tag attached: the cheapest Kinsta hosting starts at €32 per month. For one website. With limited traffic. For many Dutch website owners that is simply too expensive. That is why more and more people are looking for a Kinsta alternative that offers comparable quality for a fraction of the price.

In this article we honestly investigate what the best Kinsta alternative is. We look at what Kinsta does well, where the high price comes from, and how a Dutch provider like Theory7 measures up as a Kinsta alternative. No marketing talk, but an honest comparison of technology, features and prices.

Let's start honestly: Kinsta does many things well. It is not for nothing one of the most popular managed WordPress hosting providers. Below are the most important reasons why developers and companies choose Kinsta.

Google Cloud Platform

Kinsta runs on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), specifically on the C2 machines that are optimized for computing. This means your WordPress site runs on the same infrastructure that Google uses for its own services. The performance is consistently good and the uptime is excellent. GCP also offers a worldwide network of data centers, so you can host your site close to your visitors.

MyKinsta dashboard

The proprietary MyKinsta dashboard is perhaps Kinsta's strongest point. It is a modern, intuitive dashboard built specifically for WordPress. In it you can manage sites, create staging environments, view backups, change PHP versions, activate CDN and much more. The dashboard is considerably more user-friendly than cPanel or DirectAdmin, especially for WordPress-specific tasks.

Built-in features

Kinsta offers an impressive list of features that are included with every plan:

  • Free staging environment - test changes before you put them live
  • Kinsta CDN - speeds up your site worldwide
  • Automatic daily backups - with the option for manual backups
  • Free SSL certificate - Let's Encrypt or your own certificate
  • PHP 8.x support - always the latest version available
  • Site migration - free migration from your current provider
  • Nginx + server-side caching - optimized for WordPress
  • Hack-fix guarantee - if your site gets hacked, they fix it

Excellent support

Kinsta is known for good support. The team consists of WordPress experts who can solve complex problems. Support is available 24/7 through live chat and the average answer comes within a few minutes. For developers and companies that depend on their website this is an important plus.

The problem with Kinsta: the price

Now comes the less fun part. Kinsta is expensive. Really expensive. The cheapest plan (Starter) costs €32 per month and gives you the following:

  • 1 WordPress site
  • 10 GB of storage
  • 25,000 visits per month
  • Free CDN (100 GB)
  • 1 staging environment

That is €384 per year. For one website. With a limit of 25,000 visits per month - exceed that, and you pay extra. For comparison: for the same amount you can run WordPress hosting at Theory7 for many years, including more storage and no traffic limit.

Price comparison: Kinsta vs. Theory7

Let's put the prices side by side. This is perhaps the most sobering table in this article.

Feature Kinsta Starter Theory7 Mini Theory7 Basic
Price per month €32.00 €0.49 €4.99
Price per year €384.00 €5.88 €59.88
Number of sites 1 1 25
Storage 10 GB 10 GB SSD 250 GB SSD
Visit limit 25,000/mo Unlimited Unlimited
SSL certificate Free Free Free
Daily backups ✅ ✅ ✅
Staging ✅ ✅ ✅

The price difference is enormous and explains why so many people go looking for a Kinsta alternative. Theory7 Mini costs less than 2% of what Kinsta charges - and offers the same amount of storage plus unlimited traffic. Theory7 Basic costs less than 13% of Kinsta and offers 25 sites, 250 GB of storage and unlimited traffic. For the annual amount of Kinsta Starter you can pay for more than 65 years of hosting at Theory7.

Feature comparison: what do you get where?

Price is important, but of course it is also about what you get for it. Let's put the features side by side.

Feature Kinsta Theory7
Staging environment ✅ ✅
CDN ✅ (Kinsta CDN) ✅
Daily backups ✅ ✅
Free SSL ✅ ✅
PHP 8.x ✅ ✅
Server-side caching ✅ (Nginx) ✅ (LiteSpeed)
Email hosting ❌ (external needed) ✅ (included)
Phone support ❌ ✅
Unlimited traffic ❌ (limited) ✅
Google Cloud Platform ✅ ❌
MyKinsta dashboard ✅ ❌ (DirectAdmin)
Hack-fix guarantee ✅ ❌

What Theory7 does better

There are three areas where Theory7 is clearly stronger than Kinsta:

  1. Email hosting included - With Kinsta no email is included. You have to take an external service such as Google Workspace (from €6/mo per user) or a separate email provider. At Theory7 email is included with every plan, at no extra cost. That quickly saves €72 per year per mailbox.
  2. Phone support - Kinsta offers live chat and tickets, but no phone support. At Theory7 you can simply call. For many Dutch users that is a big plus - especially if you have an urgent problem and want to speak to someone quickly.
  3. Unlimited traffic - Kinsta applies a visitor limit. On the cheapest plan that is 25,000 visits per month. Go over it, and you pay extra. At Theory7 traffic is unlimited - you never pay more because your site is popular.

What Kinsta does better

In fairness we should say that Kinsta is stronger in some areas:

  1. Google Cloud Platform - Kinsta runs on Google's infrastructure. That offers a level of redundancy and scalability that is hard to match. If you have a site that attracts millions of visitors worldwide, then GCP is an advantage.
  2. MyKinsta dashboard - Kinsta's own dashboard is objectively better than DirectAdmin or cPanel. It is more modern, more intuitive and built specifically for WordPress. If you work in your dashboard daily, you notice the difference.
  3. Hack-fix guarantee - If your WordPress site at Kinsta gets hacked, they fix it for you free of charge. That is a reassuring promise, especially for site owners who do not have the technical knowledge to fix a hack themselves.

When do you choose Kinsta?

We are honest: there are situations in which Kinsta is the better choice. Kinsta is the right provider if you meet several of these criteria:

  • Budget is not an issue - you have sufficient budget and price is not your first consideration
  • You want Google Cloud - you have specific reasons to want to run on GCP, for example because of compliance requirements or integration with other Google services
  • You have a large international audience - your site attracts visitors from all over the world and you want to benefit from GCP's worldwide network
  • You are a developer agency - you manage dozens of sites and need the MyKinsta dashboard for efficient management
  • No email needed - you already use Google Workspace or another external email service

If you meet all these criteria, then Kinsta is an excellent choice and you do not need to look any further.

When do you choose Theory7 as a Kinsta alternative?

For most other situations, Theory7 is the smartest Kinsta alternative. Specifically if you meet one or more of these criteria:

  • You want the same speed for a fraction of the price - LiteSpeed + NVMe delivers comparable or better performance than Nginx on GCP, for 98% less
  • You want email with your hosting - no hassle with external email services or extra costs
  • You want phone contact - call when you have a problem, instead of waiting for a chat
  • You do not need a traffic limit - unlimited traffic with every plan
  • You focus on the Dutch market - servers in the Netherlands, Dutch support
  • You manage multiple sites - the Basic plan offers 25 sites for €4.99/mo (at Kinsta that would cost €800/mo)
  • You are a starter or freelancer - €0.49/mo vs €32/mo is a difference of more than €370 per year

For a Dutch freelancer, SME or blogger the price difference is simply too big to justify. At Theory7 you get comparable technology, better support and more features - for a fraction of the price.

Migration from Kinsta to Theory7

Are you currently at Kinsta and considering switching? The process is easier than you think. Below are the steps to migrate your WordPress site from Kinsta to Theory7.

Step 1: make a backup at Kinsta

Log in to your MyKinsta dashboard and make a manual backup of your site. Download this backup to your computer. Kinsta also offers the option to download a backup through their API. Make sure you have both your WordPress files and your database.

Step 2: create an account at Theory7

Go to Theory7 WordPress hosting and choose the plan that suits you. After creating your account you receive your login details for DirectAdmin and you can get started.

Step 3: install WordPress

In DirectAdmin you can install WordPress with one click through Softaculous. This is a temporary installation - you will overwrite it shortly with your Kinsta data. The goal is to have a working WordPress installation that you can import into.

Step 4: import your site

The easiest way to migrate is with the All-in-One WP Migration plugin. Install this plugin on both your Kinsta site and your new Theory7 site. Export your site at Kinsta and import the file at Theory7. The plugin automatically processes the database, files and URL references.

Alternatively, you can ask the Theory7 support team to do the migration for you. They have experience with migrations from Kinsta and other providers and can carry out the process quickly and flawlessly.

Step 5: configure email

One of the advantages of switching is that you now have email with your hosting. Create your mailboxes in DirectAdmin. If you previously used an external service such as Google Workspace, you can now switch to the built-in email and save those costs - or you can keep using Google Workspace if you prefer that.

Step 6: update DNS and check

Point your domain to the Theory7 servers by changing the nameservers or A records at your domain registrar. Wait until DNS propagation is complete (usually 1 to 24 hours) and then check your site thoroughly. Test all pages, forms and functionalities. If everything works, you can cancel your Kinsta account.

What you save

Let's make it concrete. If you switch from Kinsta Starter (€32/mo) to Theory7 Mini (€0.49/mo), you save €378 per year. Over five years that is almost €1,900. And if you can also cancel your Google Workspace subscription because email now comes with your hosting, you save another €72+ per year on top of that.

The technology behind the price

A logical question is: how can Theory7 be so much cheaper than Kinsta while delivering comparable performance? The answer lies in the business model and the technology choices.

Why Kinsta is expensive

Kinsta pays Google for using the Cloud Platform. Those costs are considerable and are passed on to customers. In addition, Kinsta invests heavily in marketing, sponsoring and brand awareness. The MyKinsta dashboard is owned by Kinsta and requires continuous development. All these costs are built into the price.

Why Theory7 can be cheaper

Theory7 manages its own servers with LiteSpeed and NVMe storage. By not using an intermediary such as Google Cloud, the infrastructure costs are lower. LiteSpeed is also more efficient than Nginx - it can handle more simultaneous connections with less server capacity. That translates directly into lower costs per customer, without compromising on performance.

In addition, Theory7 has lower marketing costs than Kinsta. No multi-million budgets for international advertising, but a focus on the Dutch market. Those savings come back in the price for the customer.

Experiences of those who switched

More and more website owners are making the switch from premium providers like Kinsta to affordable alternatives. The most important reasons we hear are consistent:

  • The price difference is too big - the difference in performance does not justify a difference of €30+ per month
  • The visitor limit is frustrating - paying extra because your site grows feels like a punishment
  • Email is missing - a separate email service is a hassle and costs extra
  • LiteSpeed is faster - many who switch notice that their site loads faster on LiteSpeed than on Nginx at Kinsta

The switch itself rarely takes longer than a day, and the Theory7 support team helps you at every step. Most who switch say they wish they had switched sooner.

Other Kinsta alternatives at a glance

Theory7 is not the only Kinsta alternative on the market. There are more providers that position themselves as an affordable alternative to premium hosting. Let's briefly discuss the most important options besides Theory7.

Cloudways

Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that lets you choose from multiple cloud providers (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud). It is cheaper than Kinsta (from €11/mo) but more expensive than Theory7. The advantage is the flexibility in cloud provider; the disadvantage is that email is not included and the interface is less WordPress-specific than MyKinsta.

SiteGround

SiteGround is an international provider that also offers managed WordPress hosting. Prices start at around €3/mo but rise considerably after the first year. SiteGround has good support but no Dutch servers. As a Kinsta alternative for the Dutch market it is less suitable than Theory7 because of the higher latency and the lack of Dutch support.

Why Theory7 is the best Kinsta alternative

Of all the alternatives, Theory7 offers the best combination of price, performance and service for the Dutch market. The most important reasons summarized:

  • Lowest price - from €0.49/mo vs €11+ at other alternatives
  • Dutch servers and support - low latency for Dutch visitors
  • LiteSpeed technology - faster than the Nginx that Kinsta uses
  • Email included - save on a separate email service
  • Phone support - personal contact when you need it
  • Unlimited traffic - no surprises on your invoice

If you are seriously looking for a Kinsta alternative that saves you hundreds of euros per year without compromising on quality, then Theory7 is the most logical choice.

Frequently asked questions about Kinsta alternatives

Finally, we answer the most frequently asked questions we get from people looking for a Kinsta alternative.

Is the performance of a cheaper provider worse?

Not by definition. LiteSpeed web servers are demonstrably faster than Nginx for WordPress. In combination with NVMe storage, Theory7 delivers load times that are comparable to or better than Kinsta. The price of hosting is determined not only by performance, but also by infrastructure costs, marketing budgets and profit margins.

Do I lose features when switching from Kinsta?

The core features - staging, backups, SSL, CDN and PHP 8.x - are also available at Theory7. You lose the MyKinsta dashboard (you use DirectAdmin), the Google Cloud infrastructure and the hack-fix guarantee. In return you get email, phone support and unlimited traffic.

Is Theory7 reliable enough for a business site?

Yes. Theory7 offers the same uptime guarantees as Kinsta, runs on professional server hardware and offers phone support in case something goes wrong. For the vast majority of business WordPress sites, Theory7 is more than sufficient. Only if you specifically need Google Cloud for compliance or integration is Kinsta the better choice.

The smart choice for your WordPress hosting

Kinsta is a premium provider that offers good technology. We do not deny that. But for the vast majority of Dutch WordPress users it is simply too expensive. If you spend €32 per month on hosting for one website, while you can get comparable quality for €0.49 - then it is worth taking a serious look at alternatives.

Theory7 offers the same speed thanks to LiteSpeed and NVMe, plus advantages that Kinsta does not have: email included, phone support and unlimited traffic. The saving can run to hundreds of euros per year - money that you can better invest in your website, content or marketing.

Take a look at the web hosting plans from Theory7 and discover the difference for yourself. And if you are in doubt: the support team is ready to answer your questions - by phone, chat or email.