Liquid Web vs WP Engine
We give Liquid Web a 2.0 GPA and WP Engine a 1.6, out of 4.0. Liquid Web grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Liquid Web
Managed WordPress, VPS and dedicated server hosting for businesses
WP Engine
Managed WordPress hosting sized by sites and monthly visits
How we grade them
| 2.0GPALiquid WebFair | 1.6GPAWP EngineWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | DGraded against the other managed WordPress hosts. Essential's first year is $336 billed yearly and the renewal isn't stated. At the $35 monthly rate the second year is $420, so about $756 over two years, $31.50 a month, the dearest of that group. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial on record, so you pay from the start. | FNo free plan and no trial on record. The yearly price is a first-year promotion for new customers, not a way to try it. |
| Features | 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. | CManaged WordPress and PHP updates, backups kept at least 30 days, staging, EverCache, a Cloudflare CDN and SSH. The gaps the listing names: on Essential the managed firewall and AI plugin updates are paid add-ons, and sites share servers. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo app store rating to go on. Updates and backups are handled for you, but plans sized by visits and a list of add-ons take some working out. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BA web portal with no app on record, plus a hosting API with per-user credentials, and Cloudflare, NitroPack, Advanced Custom Fields and Amazon SES on the integration list. |
| Best for | WordPress sites that may grow into a server | agencies building and handing over WordPress sites |
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: Liquid Web and WP Engine. How we grade
Price against what you get
Liquid Web starts at $17 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WP Engine starts at $35 a month and scores 2.3.
Liquid Web scores higher and starts $18 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Liquid Web for less, and 5 score higher than WP Engine 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
- Liquid Web starts at $17 per month (self-managed VPS); managed WordPress $17.10 a month, billed annually. WP Engine starts at $35 per month for 1 site, billed monthly; $336 for a first year billed yearly.
- Liquid Web also covers malware protection.
At a glance
| Liquid Web | WP Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $17 per month (self-managed VPS); managed WordPress $17.10 a month, billed annually | $35 per month for 1 site, billed monthly; $336 for a first year billed yearly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Liquid Web, LLC | WPEngine, Inc. |
| Price read from | liquidweb.com | wpengine.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Liquid Web
- Businesses that expect to move from WordPress hosting to their own server
- Teams that want a fully managed VPS with cPanel or Plesk
- Developers who want a cheap self-managed VPS with root access
WP Engine
- Businesses that want WordPress kept updated and backed up for them
- Agencies building client sites and transferring them on launch
- Developers who want staging, SSH and an API on managed hosting
Worth knowing
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.
WP Engine
- Yearly billing is a first-year promotion for new Essential customers ($336 for one site); the page says renewal pricing is subject to change and does not state it.
- Essential runs on shared servers; isolated resources and the 99.99% uptime SLA start with Business at $400 a month, sold through sales.
- AI plugin updates, uptime monitoring, NitroPack page-speed tuning and the managed firewall are paid add-ons on Essential.
- Plans are sized by estimated monthly visits, storage and bandwidth, and overage charges may apply.
Key features
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.
WP Engine
- Managed WordPress updates
- WordPress and PHP are updated for you, with security patching and plugin risk scans by WP Engine's security team.
- Backups and one-click staging
- Automatic and on-demand backups are kept for at least 30 days, and staging and development copies of a site can be pushed live in one click.
- EverCache and Cloudflare CDN
- WordPress-tuned server caching and a global CDN run by Cloudflare are included on every plan, with SSL that renews by itself and SSH access.
- WP Engine API
- A hosting API, switched on from the user portal with per-user credentials, scripts account tasks such as listing accounts, adding users and creating backups.
- Transferable sites and themes
- Agencies can build a site and hand it to a client's account, and every plan includes 10 premium themes and Genesis Blocks.
- AI plugin updates
- An add-on on Essential and included on Business, it updates plugins and themes, checks the result with visual regression tests and rolls back if anything breaks.
Plans
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.
WP Engine
Essential, 1 site$35
per month for 1 site and 25,000 visits, billed monthly
10 GB storage and 75 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $336 ($28 a month), a promotional price for new customers.
Essential, 3 sites$65
per month for 3 sites and 75,000 visits, billed monthly
15 GB storage and 150 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $624.
Essential, 10 sites$130
per month for 10 sites and 100,000 visits, billed monthly
20 GB storage and 240 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $1,248.
Essential, 30 sites$330
per month for 30 sites and 400,000 visits, billed monthly
50 GB storage and 550 GB bandwidth. Billed yearly, the first year is $3,168.
Business$400
per month and up, billed annually
Isolated resources for 400,000 to 800,000 visits, phone support, managed migrations and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
WP Engine
- Other savings
First year of Essential billed yearly at 20% off
New customers paying yearly for Essential get the first year for $336 with one site, against $35 a month billed monthly. The offer does not apply to renewals.
