WP Engine offers premium WordPress hosting, while FatCow functions as more of a traditional jack-of-all-trades type host. We’ll break down their major similarities and differences, and at the end, we’ll give our best hosting advice.

Similarities:

  • 24/7 customer support
  • Uptime guarantee
  • Linux

Major Differences:

  • WP Engine has a lengthy 60 day money-back guarantee, while FatCow has the standard 30 day money-back guarantee
  • WP Engine offers strictly WordPress hosting, so they have many WordPress-specific features
  • WP Engine has better customer service and more reliable uptime
  • WP Engine has more advanced security features
  • FatCow has a much wider-range of plans
  • FatCow is significantly cheaper
  • FatCow offers a ‘MiniMoo’ plan that can be used for domain parking and only costs $5.00 a year

Plans:

FatCow hosting:
  • “MiniMoo” plan
  • Shared
  • VPS
  • Dedicated
  • WordPress
WP Engine hosting:
  • WordPress
  • Managed WordPress

Prices:

WP Engine is arguably the best WordPress host out there, but they are not cheap. Their cheapest plan, the ‘Personal’ plan, costs $29.00/month. Meanwhile, FatCow has shared hosting plans starting at just $49.00/year, which comes out to a little over $4.00/month.

Conclusion:

WP Engine and FatCow are so different that it’s tough to choose a clear winner. When it comes to features and performance, there aren’t many hosts out there that can compete with WP Engine. Their WordPress-specific features, solid reliability, and 60 day money-back guarantee make them a very appealing host for your WordPress needs. However, if you are on a budget, you’ll need to look elsewhere. FatCow has very affordable plans, and offers a wide-variety of hosting options.

For more information on WP Engine and FatCow, check out the following videos: