Kinsta is a well-regarded premium host with Australian data center options — but it has no agency management dashboard, no care plan automation, and carries a premium price tag that most Australian agencies don't need to pay. Stack2 is Australian-owned and gives agencies managed WordPress hosting plus the tools to run client sites at scale, in one platform.
| Feature | Stack2 | Kinsta |
|---|---|---|
| AU Data Residency | ✓ Sydney & Melbourne | |
| Automatic Plugin Updates | ✓ paid add-on | |
| AutoCare — Updates + White-label Reports to Clients | ||
| Agency Management Dashboard | ||
| White-label Client Reports (Automatic) | ||
| Local AU Support | ||
| Agency Operations — Tasks, Docs & Passwords | ||
| Starting Price | Free to start | ~$35 USD/mo (1 site) |
Kinsta added automatic plugin updates in 2025 as a paid add-on — so the update side is covered. What's missing is everything after: no white-label reports, no automated delivery to clients, no agency dashboard to manage everything in one place. Agencies still need separate tools to close those gaps.
Stack2 combines managed WordPress hosting with the dashboard agencies need — uptime, updates, health scores, client access, white-label reports, and AutoCare — in one subscription. No separate tools required.
Kinsta is a premium US product priced accordingly — from ~$35 USD per site per month. For an agency with 20 active client sites, that's $700+ USD per month just for hosting — before any management tooling. Agencies with tight margins feel this quickly.
Stack2 is Australian-owned and priced for the Australian market — no US dollar exposure, and the agency management dashboard comes with your hosting rather than as a separate subscription.
Kinsta uses US data centres. For Australian visitors, every page load crosses the Pacific. For Australian clients asking about data residency, the answer requires a conversation about Kinsta's data processing agreements.
Stack2 is hosted in Australia. Your client sites load faster for Australian visitors, and the data residency question has a simple answer: it stays in Australia.
Kinsta can auto-update plugins as a paid add-on. What it can't do is tell your clients about it. AutoCare generates a branded report of everything that was updated and emails it directly to each client — automatically, on your schedule. For agencies billing monthly retainers, that's the difference between a care plan that costs you time and one that costs you nothing.
See AutoCareKinsta is a premium WordPress host with data center options in Sydney and Melbourne. Kinsta offers automatic plugin updates as a paid add-on, but has no agency management dashboard, no white-label reports sent to clients, and no care plan automation. Stack2 is Australian-owned and combines managed WordPress hosting with an agency management dashboard, AutoCare for automated care plan delivery, and white-label client reports.
Stack2 uses high-performance Australian infrastructure with NVMe storage, full-page caching, and 24/7 monitoring. Kinsta also offers Sydney and Melbourne data center options on Google Cloud. Both can deliver good performance for Australian visitors — we're happy to run a benchmark on your existing sites to compare.
A few of the people who trust us with their IT and hosting.
Stack2 are not just a web host, for our Marketing Agency they are a dedicated partner. Working together for close to 10 years now, Stack2 not only manage your agency’s IT infrastructure and cyber security, they also power hundreds of websites we have built for clients. The team are responsive, proactive and extremely knowledgeable. I cant imagine our agency without them.
Mary-Anne Amies, Founder & CEO at Wise Up Marketing
We've been working with Leigh and the team at Stack2 for several years, and they've become our go-to provider for all things web and email hosting. Having a local Australian team has been a real advantage, and their service has been consistently exceptional. Knowing our hosting is in safe hands gives our team complete peace of mind!
Christian Andrée, Managing Partner at Made Somewhere
I’ve worked with Leigh at Stack2 since 2020 across 4 different businesses, and I honestly wouldn’t recommend anyone else. Leigh has a way of making even the most overwhelming tech issues feel manageable, always explains things in plain English, responds incredibly quickly, and never makes me feel silly for asking questions. I trust him completely with my IT and web hosting, and he is the first person I recommend whenever a client needs reliable IT support.
Cheryl East, Founder at Complete Bookkeeping & Admin Support
I’ve worked with Leigh and the Stack2 team for close to eight years now, and I’ve never viewed their work as an expense, they’re genuinely an asset to my digital marketing agency. They’ve supported me at every stage, and whenever I’ve scaled up, they’ve scaled with me. Their customer service is exceptional; no question is ever too big or too small and nothing is ignored. Leigh takes the time to understand your needs and will work with you to find the right IT solution for your business. Before moving across to Stack2 in 2018, I had tried several other business technology providers. I’ve never once considered leaving Stack2. The consistency, reliability, and local support make all the difference.
Julia Makin, Founder & Executive Director at Sink or Swim Marketing
We've trusted Stack2 to host not only our own website but also many of our clients' websites for years, and they've consistently delivered exceptional service. They are always quick to respond, and they resolve any questions or technical issues promptly and efficiently. A special mention goes to Leigh, who we work with most often. His technical knowledge is outstanding, and he's always friendly, approachable, and easy to communicate with. His attention to detail and ability to quickly troubleshoot even complex issues gives us confidence that our websites, and those of our clients, are in good hands. While Stack2 may not be the cheapest hosting provider on the market, we've found the level of expertise, reliability and efficiency they provide more than justifies the investment. Their service has been a big reason we've remained a loyal customer over the long term. We also really value that they're Australian-based. Having local support available during our business hours means we can get help when we need it most, without worrying about time zone delays. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Stack2 to anyone looking for dependable hosting backed by knowledgeable, responsive support.
Nadia Kerr, Founder at Hatchling Web
Managed WordPress hosting and agency dashboard in one Australian-owned platform.