Flywheel built a following among designers and agencies with its clean interface and agency-friendly tools. That's changing as Flywheel consolidates into WP Engine — bringing along the plugin bans, US-only data residency, and higher costs. Stack2 is the Australian-owned alternative that still puts agencies first.
| Feature | Stack2 | Flywheel |
|---|---|---|
| AU Data Residency | ||
| AutoCare — Automated Care Plans | ||
| White-label Client Reports (Automatic) | ||
| No Banned Plugins | WP Engine restrictions | |
| Independent (not absorbed into another brand) | Moving to WP Engine | |
| Local AU Support | ||
| Agency Operations — Tasks, Docs & Passwords | ||
| Starting Price | Free to start | ~$15 USD/mo per site |
You chose Flywheel for its simplicity and agency focus. The platform consolidation means a new interface, WP Engine's higher price point, and plugin restrictions — including permanent bans on UpdraftPlus and W3 Total Cache that many agencies depend on.
Stack2 is independently owned and operated. No parent company merging brands, no plugin restrictions. The product you start with today is the product it's growing into — built for agencies in Australia.
Flywheel managed the hosting. The care plan — documenting updates, producing a report, sending it to clients — was always your job. Moving to WP Engine doesn't change that.
Stack2's AutoCare applies updates on schedule and automatically sends a branded report to each client. It's the care plan workflow Flywheel always lacked — and it's included in the Stack2 Agency plan.
Flywheel never had AU data residency. With the move to WP Engine, that's not changing. Client site data, backups, and emails are stored in US data centres by default.
Stack2 is based in Melbourne. All client data stays on Australian infrastructure — a clean, simple answer when clients in legal, finance, health, or government ask where their data is.
Flywheel managed hosting well, but the care plan side was always manual. AutoCare closes that gap — updates applied on your schedule, white-label reports sent to clients automatically. No monthly grind, no screenshots, no copying logs into a PDF.
See how AutoCare worksFlywheel is being consolidated into WP Engine (its parent company since 2019). Flywheel customers are being migrated to the WP Engine platform, meaning a different interface, WP Engine's pricing structure, and plugin restrictions — including permanent bans on popular plugins like UpdraftPlus and W3 Total Cache.
Stack2 is built specifically for Australian agencies managing WordPress client sites. It offers a clean agency dashboard (similar in spirit to what Flywheel aimed for), managed WordPress hosting, white-label reports, and AutoCare — automated care plan delivery that Flywheel never offered. AU data residency is included by default.
Yes. Stack2 provides free migration assistance. We help with moving WordPress site files and databases, staging environments, and DNS cutover so you can test before switching. Contact us and we'll walk you through the process — most migrations complete within a few business days.
Start free on Stack2 and bring your Flywheel sites across on your schedule. Free migration assistance included.