MainWP alternative: no dashboard to host yourself
A free plugin on your own site. It updates a plugin, checks the site, and if it broke, the old version goes back.
Plugins from the WP plugin directory. Not premium plugins.
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
MainWP is a trademark of its owner. CMSHands is not affiliated with it.
Update Disable Comments and check my site after.
Watch it do this on a real site
You ask
You type it in the chat in your WP dashboard, on the site you want updated. There's no other site to log in to, and you don't need the version number.
Update Disable Comments and check my site after.
You see it first
It listed the site's plugins and got the update ready. About 6 seconds after the request, a card showed the change: 2.8.0 out, 2.9.0 in. Nothing on the site had changed yet.
Ready for you to review — 2.9.0 is newer but hasn't been tried on this site yet; if the site breaks after the change, 2.8.0 goes back on its own, and the check afterwards is part of the card.
- 2 secondsListing your plugins and themes
- 3 secondsPreparing the change for your OK
You press the button
Only now does it touch the site. It checked the site first, put 2.9.0 in, then checked the site again.
- 12 secondsChecking your site before the change
- 13 secondsUpdating Disable Comments to 2.9.0
- Checking your site
Updated and checked
The home page, the login page and the dashboard loaded as they did before, so 2.9.0 stayed. From the press to the green card took about 5 seconds. Undo on the card would put 2.8.0 back. We didn't press it this time.
Disable Comments is now on 2.9.0. I checked your homepage, login page and admin afterwards, and they load as they did before.
A real run on our test site, Quillmoor Pottery (WP 7.1.3, Twenty Twenty-Four), Oct 11, 2026. From asking to done, it took 17 seconds.
That's the whole job. The plugin is free: 3 changes to try it, no account. Nothing changes until you press the button.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Who should keep MainWP
Keep MainWP if you look after many sites. It's made for agencies: as many sites as you like with no per-site fees, and plugin, theme and WP updates across all of them in one click. It's self-hosted, so the data stays on a server you run, and open source, so anyone can read its code (mainwp.com, read Oct 11, 2026). CMSHands works on one site at a time, connects it to our service at cmshands.com, and doesn't make backups or update themes or WP itself.
How they compare
| CMSHands | MainWP | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | One site, run by its owner. One site per install | Agencies: “Unlimited Sites, Zero Per-Site Fees”2 |
| What you install | One plugin, on the site itself. The chat sits in your WP dashboard, the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin | The MainWP Dashboard plugin on a separate WP site (“We HIGHLY recommend a NEW WordPress install”), plus the MainWP Child plugin on each site you manage3, 4 |
| Where your data lives | Your site connects to our service at cmshands.com, which runs the assistant. Your site holds only our public key | On a server you run (MainWP calls this self-hosted), and its code is open for anyone to read2 |
| Plugin updates | One at a time, by asking, once you press the button on its card. Plugins from the WP plugin directory only | All your sites in one click, or on their own for items you mark as trusted2, 5 |
| Right after an update | It opens your home page, login page and dashboard again. If one is worse than before, it puts the old version back on its own | If the update fails, the old version goes back on its own, on sites with WP 6.3 or newer. A Regression Testing add-on watches for changes after updates6 |
| Going back later | Undo on the card puts the version from before back | Not on demand, its docs say: you download the older version from wordpress.org and upload it5, 6 |
| Themes and WP itself | Neither. Ask if a WP update looks safe and it answers. You press the update yourself | Yes: plugin, theme and core updates2 |
| Backups | No. It keeps a plugin's old version so Undo can put it back. That isn't a copy of your site | Free: it manages the settings of backup plugins such as UpdraftPlus. On Pro: backups through hosts such as Cloudways and GridPane. It can also make test copies of a site (staging)1, 8 |
| Uptime checks | Once a day on the free plan, and at once if it crashes. Our service does the checking, so nothing runs on a server of yours | Built in and free, but off until you switch it on. Then hourly, or anything from every 5 minutes to every 24 hours1, 7 |
| Price | Free: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month once you add your email. A paid plan is coming | Essentials free. Pro $29 a month, $199 a year or $599 once. No plan limits the number of sites1 |
- 1. https://mainwp.com/pricing/, 2026-10-11
- 2. https://mainwp.com/, 2026-10-11
- 3. https://wordpress.org/plugins/mainwp/, 2026-10-11
- 4. https://wordpress.org/plugins/mainwp-child/, 2026-10-11
- 5. https://docs.mainwp.com/sites/updates/manage-updates, 2026-10-11
- 6. https://docs.mainwp.com/sites/updates/does-mainwp-have-safe-updates, 2026-10-11
- 7. https://docs.mainwp.com/sites/management/uptime-monitoring, 2026-10-11
- 8. https://mainwp.com/free-vs-pro/, 2026-10-11
MainWP is a trademark of its owner. CMSHands is not affiliated with MainWP.
Can you use both?
Yes. Your MainWP Dashboard can keep looking after client sites, and the chat can work on a site of your own. We haven't tested the two side by side on our test site yet. On a site that has both, let one of them do the plugin updates, so it's always clear what changed and why.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
What it won't do here
Premium plugins
WP itself and themes
Backups
One plugin at a time
A switched-off plugin isn't checked
Questions
Is CMSHands made by MainWP?
No. CMSHands is a separate product from a separate company, and it isn't affiliated with MainWP. If you're looking for your MainWP Dashboard, it's on the WP site where you installed it. For MainWP's own help, go to mainwp.com.
Is there a MainWP alternative for a single site?
For plugin updates on one site, yes, and it needs no second WP site to run on. CMSHands is a free plugin that lives on the site it works on. Try 3 changes without an account, then get 10 a month by adding your email. Each update you OK on its card counts as one. It won't make backups or manage a list of sites.
How much does MainWP cost?
MainWP Essentials, the core, is free. MainWP Pro adds 30+ paid add-ons, such as client reports and white label, for $29 a month, $199 a year, or $599 once. No plan limits how many sites you manage. We read the prices on mainwp.com/pricing, and what's in Pro on mainwp.com/free-vs-pro, on Oct 11, 2026, so check there for today's.
What is the MainWP Child plugin?
It's the plugin that links a site to your MainWP Dashboard. The Dashboard plugin goes on one WP site, which MainWP says should be a new install, and the Child plugin goes on every site you manage. On wordpress.org, MainWP Child lists 700,000+ active installs (read Oct 11, 2026). CMSHands needs neither.
Does MainWP put the old version back if an update fails?
Yes, since MainWP 5.1, on sites with WP 6.3 or newer: when a plugin or theme update fails, the old version goes back on its own. Its docs say it can't go back to an earlier version on demand (docs.mainwp.com, read Oct 11, 2026). CMSHands also opens your home page, login page and dashboard after an update, and Undo on the card puts the old version back later.
Should I pick MainWP or ManageWP?
It comes down to where the dashboard lives. MainWP's dashboard is a plugin on a WP site you run, and its free core has no limit on sites. ManageWP's is a service you log in to, and its add-ons cost per site (managewp.com/pricing, read Oct 11, 2026). Both suit people with many sites. With one site, you may not need either. See how CMSHands compares with ManageWP.
Written by CMSHands team. Checked on WP 7.1, Oct 11, 2026.
Try it on your own site
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Download the plugin.
It's free: 3 changes to try it. No account, no card.
Upload and activate it.
In your dashboard: Plugins › Add Plugin › Upload Plugin (Add New Plugin on older WP). Choose the file, press Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
Press Turn on.
Press Turn on CMSHands. No account, no key, no password.