Last verified 34 days ago·28 sources·Updated automatically
Liquid Web and SiteGround compared across Company facts, Pricing, Performance & infrastructure, WordPress management, Support & security and Platform & integrations — every fact sourced and re-verified from each vendor's public material.
Liquid Web
Managed WordPress and ecommerce hosting (formerly Nexcess), on Liquid Web's own datacenters with Cloudflare Enterprise and a 100% uptime SLA.
Staging not on entry StartUp plan; unlocks on GrowBig and above (GoGeek adds Git)
Automatic Daily Backups
Automatic daily backups on every plan
Free automatic daily backups on all plans, one-click restore
Backup Retention (Days)
7 days7-day backup retention on the entry Spark – Launch plan (30 days on Thrive/Elevate)
30 days30 days of backup history retained
Free Site Migration
Free self-serve migration on the entry plan (assisted migration on higher tiers)
Free site migrations (Migrator plugin self-serve; free expert migrations on higher tiers)
SSH & WP-CLI Access
SSH (Secure Shell) access with WP-CLI on managed WordPress plans
SSH and WP-CLI on all plans including entry StartUp
WordPress Multisite Support
WordPress Multisite supported (subdomain or subdirectory networks)
WordPress Multisite officially supported (subdomain and subdirectory), documented setup
Support & security
Uptime SLA (%)
100%100% uptime SLA (network and power), with service credits
99.9%Marketed 99.9% (no contractual SLA)
24/7 Support
24/7/365 support on all plans
24/7 expert support on all plans (live chat, tickets, phone); GoGeek adds priority support
Malware Removal / Hack Fix
Malware remediation is a paid one-time service ($200/incident), not an included guarantee
Malware cleanup is a paid service, not a free hack-fix guarantee
WAF / DDoS Protection
Web application firewall + DDoS protection (Cloudflare Enterprise) included on every plan
Custom in-house WAF + DDoS protection on every server, included free on all plans
Platform & integrations
Control Panel
customCustom Sites & Stores portal (sites-portal.liquidweb.com), not cPanel/Plesk
customCustom Site Tools control panel (SiteGround's own, not cPanel)
White-Label / Agency Features
Reseller / white-label hosting and client management for partners
White-label access (GoGeek), collaborator/client roles, custom client packages, reseller program
Email Hosting Included
Email hosting not included; mailboxes require a paid add-on or third-party provider
Free unlimited email accounts at your domain on all plans
The verdict
Liquid Web
Best for entry price, staging, and a firm uptime SLA
The entry plan starts at $6/mo versus SiteGround's $17.99, with 15 GB storage to SiteGround's 10 GB, and includes a staging environment SiteGround withholds until GrowBig. It also backs a contractual 100% uptime SLA where SiteGround only markets 99.9%. The trade-off: no money-back guarantee (SiteGround gives 30 days) and no email hosting.
Best for risk-free trial buyers who need email at the domain
SiteGround pairs a 30-day money-back guarantee (Liquid Web offers none) with free unlimited email accounts at your domain, which Liquid Web excludes. It runs on Google Cloud, ships PHP 8.4 over Liquid Web's 8.3, and retains backups 30 days to Liquid Web's 7. The catch: entry pricing is $17.99/mo and staging is locked off the StartUp tier.
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