Strattic and Shifter are a different category from the other tools in this series — they're not plugins you install, they're managed platforms. You either migrate your WordPress site onto their infrastructure or build a new one there, they host a staging WordPress instance for editing, and they publish a static frontend from it, typically to their own CDN. It's a full hosting relationship, billed on a recurring plan. Pinery Static is the opposite shape: a plugin on the WordPress host you already have, exporting to a Cloudflare Pages project you own.
| Strattic / Shifter | Pinery Static | |
|---|---|---|
| What you're buying | Managed hosting — they run the WordPress backend for you | A plugin — you keep your existing WordPress host |
| Billing | Recurring subscription (typically monthly/annual) | Free core plugin; one-time Pro upgrade per site |
| Where the static site lives | Their CDN/infrastructure | Your own Cloudflare Pages project — you control the account |
| Migration effort | Higher — moving your site onto their platform | Lower — install the plugin, export, deploy; WordPress stays where it is |
| Lock-in | Higher — leaving means migrating off their hosting | Lower — it's a standard WordPress site with an export plugin |
What managed platforms offer that a plugin can't
If you'd rather not manage WordPress hosting or performance tuning at all, Strattic and Shifter take that off your plate entirely — they run the backend, handle the static builds, and typically bundle support. For agencies managing many client sites, or teams that specifically want to outsource the infrastructure question, that's a legitimate reason to pick a managed platform over any plugin.
What you give up for that convenience
It's a recurring cost tied to their platform, and moving away later means an actual migration, not just deactivating a plugin. Pinery Static's model — stay on your own host, export and deploy to a Cloudflare Pages project you own — costs less over time for a single site and never requires you to migrate anything if you decide to stop using it; you just keep the WordPress site you already had.
Which should you choose?
- Strattic / Shifter — you want WordPress hosting and static delivery both handled by one managed platform, and the recurring cost is worth not thinking about infrastructure.
- Pinery Static — you already have WordPress hosting sorted out and just want static delivery on Cloudflare Pages, without migrating anywhere or taking on a new recurring platform bill.
Current pricing for Strattic and Shifter isn't listed here since managed-hosting plans change — check each vendor directly.