MainWP is a well-known self-hosted dashboard for WordPress fleets. The core dashboard is free for unlimited WordPress sites. Pro (extensions pack, priority support) is commonly listed at $29/mo, $199/yr, or a $599 lifetime seat. Check mainwp.com/signup before you buy, because plans move.
That is a fair product if your whole world is WordPress and you want the dashboard sitting on your own server.
I needed something that also covers Joomla, with off-server backups and a simple per-site ops rate.
That is CMS Inspect. It is the operations layer I built at Revibe Digital for mixed WordPress and Joomla fleets: uptime, safer updates, database and file backups to Google Drive or Dropbox, security triage, Analytics linking, and client reports. One dashboard. Both CMS platforms.
How the pricing actually compares
MainWP (public pricing, early September 2026):
- Free core dashboard, unlimited WordPress sites.
- Pro: about $29/mo, $199/yr, or $599 lifetime. Unlimited WordPress sites. 30+ Pro add-ons in that one price.
- Self-hosted. You run the dashboard WordPress install.
CMS Inspect:
- Free: site inventory, shared dashboard, WordPress and Joomla agents connected.
- Operations: $1 per active site / month. That unlocks updater workflows, command logs, bulk actions, security scan triage, database and file backups with Drive/Dropbox upload, Google Analytics linking, audit history, CSV exports, and reporting.
So a 10-site WordPress-only shop that is happy self-hosting a dashboard can stay on MainWP free (or Pro at a flat $199/yr). A 10-site mixed WordPress and Joomla fleet that wants uptime, off-server backups, security triage, and reports is $10/month on Inspect.
I am not saying MainWP is a bad tool. It is WordPress-only and self-hosted. Inspect is built for people who also have Joomla in the mix and want Drive or Dropbox sitting next to the update log.
When MainWP is still the better fit
Stay on MainWP if you only run WordPress, you already live in that dashboard, and you want the control panel on your own host with a flat Pro price.
Look at Inspect if you:
- run WordPress and Joomla in the same fleet
- want uptime, safer updates, off-server backups, security triage, and reports at $1 per active site
- want backups in Drive or Dropbox, not only on the same host as the site
Start here
Core is free. Operations is $1 per active site a month.
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