MainWP is a WordPress management dashboard for remote updates, backups, and monitoring across many sites. WP Triage is a risk scoring and prioritization engine. They solve different problems and work well together.
| Capability | MainWP | WP Triage |
|---|---|---|
| Remote plugin/theme updates | Yes | No |
| Site management dashboard | Yes | No |
| Portfolio risk score (0–100) | No | Yes |
| CVE matching with severity | Limited / via extensions | Yes |
| Top 3 prioritized issues per site | No | Yes |
| Recommended fix order | No | Yes |
| Critical-only alerts | Configurable | Yes (by design) |
| Weekly triage digest | Client reports | Yes (risk-focused) |
| Published price | Free, or Pro $199/year unlimited | From $9/month |
MainWP is for agencies that want a self-hosted WordPress dashboard: one hub site that pushes updates, runs backups, and administers client installs. Essentials is the free tier for teams that can live on the free add-ons. Pro is for teams that want the paid add-ons, updates, and priority support on an unlimited number of sites.
Prices checked 24 September 2026 on the vendor’s public pricing page. Plans change. The linked page is the source of truth.
From MainWP’s signup page:
MainWP does not charge per site. WP Triage does, by slot: Starter $9/month (1–5 sites), Pro $29/month (6–25), Agency $49/month (26–50). See pricing. At 25 sites, MainWP Pro yearly ($199) is cheaper than WP Triage Pro ($29 per month, $348 per year). Buy MainWP when you need the hub. Buy the score when the hub will not rank the work. Do not drop MainWP to save money you will not save.
MainWP makes it easy to update everything. The hub still shows pending updates and extension notices without one number you can sort the book by. A risk score beats that dashboard when twenty sites all have something open and the week only has a few hours.
Open WP Triage, sort by the 0–100 score, and take the top three issues on Critical and At Risk sites. Run those updates in MainWP. The next snapshot should show the score move. That is the job the $199 Pro license does not do, even though it is the right license for remote admin.
If you are deciding whether to leave MainWP, the MainWP alternative page covers the switch, the bill at 10 and 25 sites, and what to keep.
Use MainWP when you need remote plugin updates, client reporting, uptime monitoring, and centralized WordPress administration across your portfolio.
Use WP Triage when you need to know which sites are most at risk, what vulnerabilities matter most, and what to fix first — before you open MainWP to run updates.
MainWP is where work gets executed: remote updates, checks, and admin actions across many sites. WP Triage is where work gets ordered. A practical split:
Without a prioritization layer, MainWP makes it easy to update everything — including low-impact churn — while the genuinely dangerous site waits. WP Triage exists so the update queue matches exposure, not inbox noise. See the agency workflow and scoring methodology.
WP Triage is intentionally not a management dashboard. If you need remote admin, keep MainWP. If you need WordPress risk scoring, add WP Triage.
No. MainWP is a WordPress management dashboard for remote updates, backups, and administration. WP Triage does not push updates or replace that console. It tells you which sites and issues to work first, then you execute in MainWP or on the site.
Yes. Open WP Triage first, sort by risk score, take the top three issues for Critical and At Risk sites, then run those updates in MainWP. The next snapshot should show the score and ranking improve.
No. WP Triage is intentionally not a remote admin or bulk-update tool. Keep MainWP (or ManageWP, hosting tools, or WP-CLI) for execution.
As of 24 September 2026, MainWP Essentials is free for unlimited sites. MainWP Pro is $29 per month, $199 per year, or $599 once, also for unlimited sites. WP Triage Pro is $29 per month for up to 25 sites and does not push updates. If you only need remote admin, MainWP Pro is the smaller bill. Add WP Triage when the hub will not say which site is dangerous.
WP Triage is a decision engine — it complements tools like MainWP rather than replacing them.