Name the job before naming a product
Shared WordPress hosting and a cloud VM are different jobs. On a shared plan the provider administers the hosting stack; you still own plugins, course records, membership rules, and payments. On a cloud VM you administer the operating system, updates, PHP, the web server, backups, and mail unless a separate product says otherwise.
This is documentation-based research. We have not installed LearnDash or MemberPress on SiteGround or DigitalOcean, and we have not measured class concurrency. Keep the current host if the same login, progress, and payment-sandbox checks already pass.
Published plan limits versus unknowns
Figures below were recaptured from official pages on 15 September 2026. Introductory prices, VAT, annual equivalents, and checkout promotions can change the invoice. A blank in the unknown column is not a hidden included feature.
| Published offer | What the official page states | Unknown without your own test |
|---|---|---|
| SiteGround StartUp | First-term $2.99/mo prepaid 12 months, renews $17.99/mo; world page marks the price ex. VAT. 1 website, 10GB (world page: Premium Google storage), ~10,000 visits marketing estimate, unmetered data transfer. World page also says host 1 website with unlimited traffic. | Whether ~10,000 visits equals a busy class. PHP workers, logged-in membership cache, LearnDash progress, and MemberPress permissions. Actual first invoice including VAT. |
| SiteGround GrowBig / GoGeek | GrowBig $4.99/mo prepaid 12 months, renews $29.99/mo; 50GB, unlimited websites, ~100,000 visits marketing estimate. GoGeek $7.99/mo prepaid 12 months, renews $29.99/mo; 100GB, unlimited websites, ~400,000 visits marketing estimate. | Whether a higher visit marketing estimate repairs a slow quiz or membership rule. Course-specific capacity is not published as a tested figure. |
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet | Listed from $4.00/mo: 512 MiB, 1 vCPU, 10 GiB SSD, 500 GiB transfer. Next listed sizes include $6.00/mo (1 GiB) and $12.00/mo (2 GiB). Droplets include free outbound data transfer starting at 500 GiB/mo. Public internet egress overage listed $0.01 per GiB. | Whether 512 MiB can run WordPress plus LearnDash or MemberPress. Who applies updates, backups, and mail. WordPress management is not a Droplet line item on the pricing page. |
| DigitalOcean platform (not a VM) | Pricing page lists build and deploy 3 static sites for free. | A static site is not a WordPress course or membership application. Do not treat the free static allowance as hosting for LearnDash or MemberPress. |
| Kinsta Single 20GB (managed WordPress, already cited) | Listed $35/month on 15 September 2026; first-month promotions and annual billing change the cash invoice. | PHP workers versus class concurrency. Plugin compatibility still needs a staging rehearsal. |
| WP Engine Essential (managed WordPress, already cited) | A 1-site card displayed $336/year on 15 September 2026 with promotional first-year pricing. | Membership cache exceptions and the undiscounted checkout. No course-capacity test is claimed here. |
Course and membership checks a visit number cannot answer
SiteGround's ~10,000 visits figure is labeled a suitable number of monthly visits on the features page. That is a marketing estimate, not a concurrent-student rating. DigitalOcean's $4.00 Droplet is a listed VM size. Neither page publishes a LearnDash or MemberPress concurrency result.
Before moving, rehearse login, lesson access, progress saving, quiz submission, registration, and two memberships with different permissions on an isolated copy. Use synthetic records and the provider's permission. Do not send test transactions to live payment accounts. If those checks already pass on the current host, keep the current host.
Administration and the full invoice
SiteGround StartUp is prepaid for 12 months at the introductory monthly rate, then renews at $17.99/mo on the pages recaptured 15 September 2026. The world hosting page marks the displayed price ex. VAT. Record currency, term, VAT, and renewal before comparing it with a month-to-month VM.
A DigitalOcean Droplet bill is the selected size plus any bandwidth over the included transfer and any extra products you add. The $4.00 size includes 500 GiB transfer. Overage is listed at $0.01 per GiB. You still need a named owner for updates, backups, SSL, mail, and PHP upgrades. Ordinary vendor links on this page lead to current information; no affiliate enrollment or commission is claimed.
- Write the user action that fails today, or write that the current host already passes.
- Record first-term price, prepaid term, renewal, VAT, and currency for shared hosting.
- Record Droplet size, included transfer, overage rate, and who administers the VM.
- Do not use the free static-site allowance as a stand-in for a WordPress course.
Questions before you decide
Is $2.99/month the ongoing SiteGround StartUp price?
No. On 15 September 2026 the features and world hosting pages listed $2.99/mo prepaid for 12 months, renewing at $17.99/mo. The world page marks the displayed price ex. VAT. Confirm the live checkout.
Does a $4/month DigitalOcean Droplet include WordPress management?
The Droplet pricing page lists VM sizes, transfer, and storage. It does not list managed WordPress, LearnDash, or MemberPress administration as part of that $4.00 size. You administer the server unless you buy a different product that says otherwise.
Which option is faster for a course site?
We have not run comparable benchmarks and cannot name a faster host. Compare the same course installation and acceptance checks. If those checks already pass on the current host, keep the current host.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- SiteGround: shared hosting feature comparison Accessed 2026-09-15
- SiteGround: web hosting plans Accessed 2026-09-15
- DigitalOcean: platform pricing Accessed 2026-09-15
- DigitalOcean: Droplet pricing Accessed 2026-09-15
- Kinsta: WordPress hosting plans and pricing Accessed 2026-09-15
- WP Engine: plans and pricing Accessed 2026-09-15
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.