Hivelocity vs Liquid Web (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Liquid Web grades higher than Hivelocity: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Liquid Web grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hivelocity
Bare-metal dedicated servers, VPS and colocation in 40+ data centers
Liquid Web
Managed WordPress, VPS and dedicated server hosting for businesses
Which one is for you
Pick Hivelocity if
- Fits if you want your own server with a choice of locations
- Works for teams that automate infrastructure with Terraform
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want managed hosting, as server management and firewall are separate services
- Tight if you want a fixed price, since dedicated and GPU prices vary by configuration
- Watch out: the 35% lifetime savings banner covers eligible dedicated servers only
- Watch out: some listed VPS prices show a higher crossed-out figure beside them
Pick Liquid Web if
- Fits if you expect to move from WordPress hosting to your own server
- Works for a fully managed VPS with cPanel or Plesk, at $72 a month for 4 GB
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your site gets busy, as one Pro site at 400,000 visits is $71.10 a month
- Skip it if you want the $17 VPS looked after, as fully managed is $72 a month
- Tight if you dislike surprise bills, since autoscaling and CDN overage are billed by use
- Watch out: Performance Shield, dedicated servers, Magento and agency plans are priced apart from these plans
- Not for you if you want to try first, as there's no free plan or trial on record
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAHivelocityWeak | 2.0GPALiquid WebFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe smallest listed VPS is $10 a month for 2 vCPUs and 4 GB, below the $10.99 middle for web hosting. A dedicated E-2236 server is $97 and GPU servers start far higher. | CPro WordPress is $17.10 a month billed yearly for one site, with no intro price to expire, so two years cost $410.40. That sits between the cheaper and dearer quarters of hosts. More traffic costs more: 400,000 visits is $71.10 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free: no free plan and no trial are listed. | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial on record, so you pay from the start. |
| Features | BVPS, dedicated VDS, bare metal and colocation across 40-plus data centres, with an API, Terraform and a choice of OS and apps. Management is a separate service. | BManaged WordPress with Object Cache Pro, a Cloudflare-powered CDN, a firewall, daily malware scans, Patchstack and staging with visual comparison, plus VPS plans with root access. Nothing in the core hosting job is missing. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. You get a server and run it yourself, usually over SSH. | CNo app store rating to go on. Managed WordPress is looked after for you, but the cheapest VPS is self-managed, so there you'd run the server yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it has an API and Terraform and installs CloudPanel, Coolify, Nextcloud, Portainer, GitLab and Tailscale. | BA web dashboard with no app on record. VPS plans come with an API and cPanel, Plesk or InterWorx, and Cloudflare and Kadence are named too. |
| Best for | rented VPS, dedicated servers and colocation | WordPress sites that may grow into a server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hivelocity and Liquid Web. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hivelocity starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Liquid Web starts at $17 a month and scores 2.7.
Liquid Web scores higher, and starts $7 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 3 score higher than Hivelocity for less, and none scores higher than Liquid Web for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Hivelocity also covers workflow automation.
- Liquid Web also covers malware protection and managed WordPress.
At a glance
| Hivelocity | Liquid Web | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $10 per month (pro.sm.amd VPS) | $17 per month (self-managed VPS); managed WordPress $17.10 a month, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hivelocity | Liquid Web, LLC |
| Price read from | hivelocity.net | liquidweb.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hivelocity
- These are rented servers, not managed web hosting; server management and firewall are separate listed services.
- The homepage banner offers 35% lifetime savings on eligible dedicated servers, so many dedicated prices differ from the examples shown.
- Prices above are monthly list prices for example plans; the catalog and custom quotes hold many more configurations.
- Dedicated GPU servers are priced much higher, with a sample L4 server at $999 a month.
Liquid Web
- Dedicated servers, Magento hosting and white-label plans for agencies are sold separately from the plans listed here.
- WordPress prices rise with traffic: one Pro site with up to 400,000 visits is $71.10 a month, billed annually.
- The $17 VPS is self-managed; the same server fully managed costs $72 a month.
- Autoscaling and CDN overage are billed by use, and Performance Shield is an optional add-on; the plan page does not give their prices.
Key features
Hivelocity
- Dedicated servers
- Single-tenant bare-metal machines, from entry Xeon models to a GPU server, either from a catalog of instant servers or configured to order.
- VPS and VDS
- VPS plans share CPU cores with guaranteed minimums, while VDS plans give unshared CPU cores and RAM.
- Global data centers
- The vendor lists 40+ data centers on six continents and a network it describes as 2+ Tbps with a 99.99% uptime SLA.
- API and Terraform
- Servers can be purchased, deployed and managed through an API, and a Terraform provider for Hivelocity is published.
- Colocation and add-on services
- Customers can house their own hardware, and the services list covers server management, firewall, backups and cloud object storage.
- Choice of operating systems and apps
- VPS options include Ubuntu, Windows, AlmaLinux, Debian and Rocky, with app images such as CloudPanel, WordPress, Coolify and Nextcloud.
Liquid Web
- Managed WordPress platform
- WordPress core and plugin updates are handled for you, with Object Cache Pro, a Cloudflare-powered edge CDN, a web application firewall and DDoS protection.
- Staging with visual comparison
- Pro and Elite WordPress plans include staging sites and visual comparison, which previews how plugin updates change pages before they go live.
- Security layers
- WordPress plans include daily malware scans, Kadence Security Pro and Patchstack virtual patching for known plugin flaws.
- VPS with root access
- VPS plans give root access on a 10 Gbps network, with cPanel, Plesk or InterWorx control panels, Windows servers and an API.
- Self or fully managed
- The same VPS can be self-managed or fully managed, where Liquid Web also handles system updates, firewall setup, PHP support and restores.
- Migrations
- A self-serve tool moves WordPress sites over, and Elite plans add migration by a specialist. Managed VPS moves include email and control panel accounts.
Plans
Hivelocity
VPS pro.sm.amd$10
per month
2 vCPUs, 4 GB memory, 40 GB NVMe SSD and 10 TB bandwidth on a 1 Gbps port.
VPS pro.md.amd$15
per month
4 vCPUs, 8 GB memory, 80 GB NVMe SSD, 10 TB / 1 Gbps. The page shows $20 crossed out beside the $15.
VDS vds.sm.intel$21
per month
Dedicated, unshared 2 vCPUs, 4 GB memory, 80 GB storage and 10 TB bandwidth on a 1 Gbps port.
VDS vds.md.intel$37
per month
Dedicated 4 vCPUs, 8 GB memory and 160 GB storage. The page shows $42 crossed out beside the $37.
Dedicated E-2236$97
per month
A whole server: 6 cores and 12 threads, 16 GB memory, 480 GB SSD, 20 TB bandwidth on a 1 Gbps port.
Liquid Web
Self-Managed VPS, 4 GB$17
per month for 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM, billed monthly
80 GB SSD, 3 TB bandwidth, root access and a dedicated IP. You look after the operating system, security and software yourself.
Pro WordPress$17.10
per month for 1 site, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 50,000 visits, 15 GB storage, 14 days of daily backups, staging and visual comparison. $35.10 at 150,000 visits.
Elite WordPress$26.10
per month for 1 site, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
Up to 50,000 visits and 15 GB, with 30 days of backups and migration done by a person. $53.10 at 150,000 visits.
Managed VPS, 4 GB$72
per month for 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM, billed monthly
The same server fully managed: 24/7 support, updates, firewall setup and Acronis backups, with cPanel, Plesk or InterWorx and Windows available.
Pro WordPress, 10 sites$89.10
per month for 10 sites, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Ten sites with up to 50,000 visits each. Plans for 25 sites start at $179.10 a month, billed annually.
Ways to pay less
Hivelocity
- Other savings
35% lifetime savings on eligible servers
A banner on the homepage advertises 35% lifetime savings on eligible dedicated servers; which servers qualify is not listed there.
Liquid Web
- Annual discount
10% off WordPress plans billed yearly
Annual billing saves 10% on managed WordPress plans: Pro for one site is $17.10 a month instead of $19 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hivelocity or Liquid Web?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hivelocity is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $17 a month for Liquid Web. Hivelocity starts at $10 per month (pro.sm.amd VPS), and Liquid Web starts at $17 per month (self-managed VPS); managed WordPress $17.10 a month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Hivelocity or Liquid Web?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hivelocity nor Liquid Web has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.