Ultimate Multisite vs MainWP
Many separate sites, or one network of sites?
MainWP and Ultimate Multisite are both excellent self-hosted, open-source WordPress tools — but they solve different problems. MainWP centrally manages many separate WordPress installs. Ultimate Multisite turns one WordPress install into a network of sites. Pick by architecture, or use both.
Two great tools, two different jobs
MainWP is a self-hosted dashboard plugin you install on a WordPress site you control. Each managed site is a complete, independent WordPress install that runs the MainWP Child plugin. The Child plugin reports back to your Dashboard so you can run updates, backups, uptime checks, vulnerability scans and branded reports across all your client sites from one place.
Ultimate Multisite is the WaaS plugin for WordPress multisite. One WordPress install, with multisite enabled, hosts every customer site as a subsite under a shared core. You add subscription billing, plan limits, domain mapping, customer signup, and templates so customers can spin up their own sites on your infrastructure.
Same shared values — open source, self-hosted, no per-site SaaS pricing — applied to opposite architectural patterns.
Side-by-side comparison
| Ultimate Multisite | MainWP | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | WordPress multisite WaaS plugin | WordPress fleet management dashboard |
| Architecture | One WordPress multisite install hosts all sites | One Dashboard install manages many separate WordPress installs |
| Who owns the customer site | You — the operator owns the platform; subsites belong to customers | Your client — each managed site is fully separate, often on the client’s own host |
| Primary buyer | WaaS operator, multi-brand company, school/church network, hosting provider | Web agency running care plans for many clients |
| Licence model | Free, open source (GPL) | Free Essentials tier; Pro $29/mo, $199/yr or $599 lifetime |
| Source code | Public on GitHub, accepts PRs | Public on GitHub, accepts PRs |
| Self-hosted | Yes — your WordPress, your host | Yes — your WordPress, your host |
| Per-site fees | None | None — unlimited managed sites at any tier |
| Site isolation | Subsites share core, plugins and themes (uploads/users isolated) | Full — every managed site is a completely separate install |
| Resource cost per site | Very low — one install, shared core | One full WordPress install per managed site (typical hosting cost) |
| Customer signup & billing | Built in — subscriptions, plans, domain mapping, Stripe/PayPal | Not in scope — MainWP manages, it does not sell sites |
| Domain mapping | Built in | Each managed site has its own DNS naturally |
| Backups | Use any WordPress backup plugin on the multisite | Centralized — UpdraftPlus, BackWPup, WPvivid, host-level integrations |
| Bulk updates across sites | Network admin updates apply to all subsites at once | One-click batch updates across all managed installs |
| Uptime / SSL / vulnerability monitoring | Single host to monitor | Built in — UptimeRobot, Better Uptime, Site24x7, NodePing, NVD, Jetpack Scan |
| Branded client reports | Not the focus | Built in — white-label PDF reports for care-plan clients |
| WordPress plugin/theme support | Full — every plugin/theme | Full — every plugin/theme on every managed site |
| Founded | WP Ultimo 2018 → Ultimate Multisite community fork 2024 | 2014, founder-run, debt-free, privately owned |
| Track record | Continuation of WP Ultimo (used in production by hosts and operators since 2018) | 20,000+ users managing 700,000+ sites; 2,200+ five-star reviews |
Pick by use case, not by feature count
Use Ultimate Multisite when…
- You are running a Website-as-a-Service business and want to sell sites: signup, plans, billing, domain mapping
- You operate a network you own — multi-brand company, franchise, school district, church network, university — and want centralized themes, plugins, branding
- You want to host hundreds or thousands of sites on a single VPS without per-install hosting cost
- Customers should not need any technical knowledge of WordPress hosting
- You are coming from WP Ultimo and want continuity
Use MainWP when…
- You run a WordPress agency or freelance practice with care-plan clients whose sites you do not own
- Each client site lives on its own host (often the client’s own host) and must stay fully isolated
- You need centralized updates, backups, uptime, security and white-label client reports across that fleet
- Your business model is monthly maintenance retainer per client, not subscription site rental
- You need DPA-friendly architecture where each client’s data physically stays on their own infrastructure
You can — and often should — run both
MainWP and Ultimate Multisite are not mutually exclusive. The natural pairing:
- Run Ultimate Multisite on the WordPress multisite installs you operate (your WaaS network, your school district network, etc.)
- Run MainWP Dashboard on a small WordPress install you control to manage your own WordPress sites — including the Ultimate Multisite network installs themselves — alongside any standalone client sites
- Use MainWP’s branded reports for the standalone client sites; rely on multisite network admin tools for the WaaS subsites
Both are GPL, both are self-hosted, both refuse the per-site SaaS pricing model. Different teams, same philosophy — they should sit side by side in your stack.
Need a network you sell or operate?
If your goal is a Website-as-a-Service network — one platform, many customer sites, one billing relationship — Ultimate Multisite is built for that. If your goal is to manage other people’s separate WordPress sites, head over to MainWP. We are happy to recommend each other.