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Comparison

RetainerProof vs MainWP

MainWP is a self-hosted WordPress dashboard. RetainerProof is the letter the client reads. If you want one login over a lot of wp-admins, MainWP is that tool and I am not. The overlap is the report.

Pro, when I read the pricing page on 20 October 2026, was $29 billed monthly, $199 billed yearly, and $599 once. The report extension rides on that license. There was no separate report price. The longer write-up is the MainWP alternative for client reporting.

The comparison

The Pro Reports page, the same day, said the extension needs the MainWP Child Reports plugin on every child site, and that plugin needs PHP 7.4 or higher. Templates are PHP, HTML, and CSS. You can add a logo and brand colors, then save a draft, preview, download a PDF, or email from the dashboard. Uptime gets into the report when the Advanced Uptime Monitor extension is also in use. The page points you at MainWP Pro. I did not find a price that was only for reports.

RetainerProofMainWP
JobClient page for a care retainerSelf-hosted dashboard for WordPress sites
Where it runsHosted. Nothing installed on the client siteDashboard plugin on a site you control, child plugin on each client site
Updates and backupsNoYes. That is the point of the dashboard
Client reportSecret link. Outcome lines you write. Outside checks. No client accountPro Reports, fed by the Child Reports plugin. PDF or email from the dashboard
Price I could read$9, $29, or $79 a monthEssentials free. Pro $29 a month, $199 a year, or $599 lifetime. Unlimited sites on both
UptimeHomepage probes every 15 minutes by default, down to 30 seconds per siteThe pricing page says you can monitor uptime through UptimeRobot, NodePing, Site24x7, and Better Uptime

The pricing matrix also listed “Automatically Generate & Send Reports to Your Clients” next to both the free and Pro columns. Pro Reports is a Pro extension, and the extension page says to sign up for Pro. I will not tell you the free plan sends that extension’s report. If a thinner free report exists, those two pages did not separate it cleanly, so that line stays unverified.

When to keep MainWP

Keep it when you want the child plugin’s view of WordPress: updates, users, the activity a maintenance suite can see from inside. I request the public URL from the outside. If the homepage answers, I can say so. I cannot tell you which plugin changed.

White-labeling the child plugin’s name is marked Pro on that pricing page. That hides the plugin label. It does not turn the activity log into a letter. A renamed plugin is still a plugin.

When to use RetainerProof

Use it for the page the client opens. Write the outcome, leave the plugin list in MainWP, and send one secret link. They do not get a RetainerProof login. You can still email up to five client addresses after a scheduled check, or hand them a PDF of the same page.

Plans are Starter at $9/month for up to 5 sites, Studio at $29/month for up to 25 sites, and Agency at $79/month for up to 100 sites. Studio is the plan marked recommended when it is for sale. Starter, including a trial, keeps a small Powered by RetainerProof link on the client digest and the public status page. Studio and Agency remove that link. Prices are on the pricing page.

FAQ

Does RetainerProof replace the MainWP child plugin?

No. The child plugin is how MainWP sees the site from inside. RetainerProof never installs one, and it will not reconstruct that activity log.

How much is Pro Reports on its own?

I did not find a separate price on the extension page. The pricing page showed Pro at $29 a month, $199 a year, and $599 lifetime, including the Pro add-ons.

Can the client read this without wp-admin?

Yes. The report is a secret URL. The public status page is a different URL, and it does not include the work log.

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