MainWP, ManageWP and WP Umbrella help agencies keep many WordPress sites updated, backed up and monitored from one place. MainWP and WP Umbrella also let AI assistants work through them.
Shuttle by MoonPress is an AI workspace for building and running a site: you ask for changes in plain words, and your own ChatGPT or Claude makes them. Many agencies will use both: a dashboard for upkeep across all their sites, and Shuttle for the work on each one.
Dashboards keep a fleet of sites healthy. Shuttle changes what a site does and how it looks.
Checked on each company’s own pages on October 17, 2026.
| Question | MainWP | ManageWP | WP Umbrella | Shuttle by MoonPress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Self-hosted management for agencies | Online management for many sites | Upkeep for agencies on retainers | Building and running a site with AI |
| What goes on each site | The MainWP Child plugin | The ManageWP Worker plugin | The WP Umbrella plugin | Nothing |
| AI | A free connection for your own AI assistant; version 6.3 adds Knowledge and approval before updates | None mentioned on its pricing page | A connection for your own AI: read-only by default, changes only if you allow them | Your own ChatGPT or Claude account |
| What the AI can change | Updates and site management; nothing in sites’ files or code | Nothing | Updates, database clean-up, clients and labels | Pages, design, SEO and features |
| Price | Free; Pro $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 once, unlimited sites | Core free on unlimited sites; add-ons from $1 per site a month | €1.99 per site a month, with optional Security (€2) and Hourly Backups (€2.49) add-ons | $29 per website a month for the first 3 months, then $49 |
MainWP. You install the MainWP Dashboard on a WordPress site you control and a small MainWP plugin on every site you manage. Essentials is free, and Pro costs $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 once, for unlimited sites. Its free AI connection runs on your own computer, links an AI assistant such as Claude or Cursor to the Dashboard, and stops anything destructive until you confirm. MainWP 6.3 adds Knowledge, which keeps working instructions for your agency, each client and each site for AI tools to read, and update plans you approve before they run.
ManageWP. An online dashboard that reaches each site through a small ManageWP plugin. The core features, including monthly backups, updates, security and performance checks, client reports and code snippets, are free on unlimited websites; Safe Updates need the paid Backups add-on. Add-ons cost $1 or $2 per site a month (uptime monitoring and white label are $1), with bundles for up to 100 sites. Its pricing page mentions no AI features.
WP Umbrella. An upkeep platform for agencies, at €1.99 per site a month, with optional Security (€2) and Hourly Backups (€2.49) add-ons per site. Its AI connection lets Claude, Cursor and ChatGPT check updates, vulnerabilities, backups, uptime and performance across your sites. Changes stay off until you switch them on, cover updates, database clean-up, and clients and labels, and every action can be set to allow, ask or block, with an activity log.
We built Shuttle for the work on a site, rather than the upkeep around it. You connect your site once, Shuttle learns how it’s built, and then you ask for what you need in plain words: a new page, a design change, SEO fixes or a new feature.
New pages and sections come out in your site’s own design, so you don’t wait for a designer or a developer. Nothing is installed on your website, and it stays exactly where it is.
You use the ChatGPT or Claude account you already have, and you can invite teammates and clients to a website, each with their own account. AI can make mistakes, so check each change.
All sites or one site. Dashboards run the same upkeep across dozens or hundreds of sites. Shuttle is for the changes that make one site better.
What the AI does. Through MainWP or WP Umbrella, an AI assistant checks status and runs upkeep, such as updates, with your approval. In Shuttle, the AI works on pages, design and features.
Knowing the site. MainWP 6.3 keeps instructions for your agency, clients and sites. Shuttle learns each site it works on.
Upkeep. Backups, uptime checks and client reports are what dashboards do best. Shuttle doesn’t provide them.
Yes. Keep updates, backups and monitoring in your dashboard, and use Shuttle for the work on each site. Agree which tool handles plugin updates so they don’t clash.
No. Shuttle isn’t an upkeep service. Use your host’s backups or a maintenance tool, and keep backups before bigger changes.
MainWP and WP Umbrella both let your own AI assistant connect to them. ManageWP’s pricing page doesn’t mention AI features.
Checked on October 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm current terms on each site.
Download Shuttle for Mac, connect a site and ask for your first change.
