Bluehost vs Liquid Web (2026): Shared Hosting or Fully Managed?
Short answer: Bluehost is the cheaper choice for a small site, at about $264 for four years. Liquid Web is the better choice for a business site: its managed WordPress hosting starts at $19 a month with daily backups, a CDN, malware protection, email hosting and a migration done with a person's help.
See Liquid Web's plansLiquid Web is a premium host aimed at businesses. Its cheapest WordPress plan costs about twice Bluehost’s renewal price, but it includes most of the things Bluehost charges extra for.
Liquid Web prices were checked on Liquid Web’s site on November 7, 2026. Bluehost prices are from current published pricing reviews. Confirm at checkout.
Bluehost vs Liquid Web at a glance
| Bluehost Starter | Liquid Web Pro WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Shared hosting | Managed WordPress |
| Price | $3.99/mo for 36 months, then $9.99/mo | $19/mo (10% off if paid yearly) |
| Cost over 4 years | ~$264 | ~$821 (paid yearly) |
| Sites | 10 | 1 (extra sites $9/mo each) |
| Visits | Not published for Starter | 50,000 a month |
| Storage | 10 GB NVMe | 20 GB |
| Backups | Weekly; CodeGuard $2.99/mo extra | Daily, kept 14 days |
| CDN | Not included on Starter | Edge CDN (Cloudflare) included |
| Security | Basic; SiteLock extra | Firewall (WAF) and malware protection included |
| 1-month free trial, then $2.99/mo | Email hosting included | |
| Staging | Not on Starter | Staging and dev site for each site |
| Migration | Free for WordPress | Included, with a person’s help |
| Support | 24/7 chat; phone from Business up | 24/7/365 |
What each one costs
| Plan | Year 1 | First 3 years | First 4 years | Each year after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost Starter | $47.88 | $143.64 | $263.52 | $119.88 |
| Bluehost Business | $83.88 | $251.64 | $419.52 | $167.88 |
| Liquid Web Pro WordPress (monthly) | $228.00 | $684.00 | $912.00 | $228.00 |
| Liquid Web Pro WordPress (yearly, 10% off) | $205.20 | $615.60 | $820.80 | $205.20 |
Count the extras. Bluehost Starter plus email ($2.99/mo) and automated backups ($2.99/mo) costs about $550 over four years. Liquid Web includes both, plus a CDN, malware protection and staging.
Check Liquid Web’s current price
Need a VPS instead?
Both hosts sell VPS servers.
| Bluehost | Liquid Web | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry VPS | NVMe 2, $4.99/mo (self-managed) | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, $18/mo |
| Managed VPS with cPanel | From $49.99/mo (36-month term), renews $68.99/mo | Same server, self or fully managed; cPanel, Plesk or InterWorx available |
| Dedicated servers | From $144.19/mo | From $116.75/mo |
Liquid Web’s $18 VPS can be fully managed, which is a lot cheaper than Bluehost’s $49.99 managed VPS. Check the price with management and a control panel added at checkout.
Who should choose Bluehost
- Your site is small, new or personal.
- You want the lowest cost and you’re fine adding extras only when you need them.
- You run several small sites on one plan.
Who should choose Liquid Web
- Your site is a business site or a WooCommerce store.
- You want backups, security, CDN and email all included and handled.
- You want a managed VPS or dedicated server with real support behind it.
When neither is the best fit
- Premium managed WordPress: see Bluehost vs Kinsta and Bluehost vs WP Engine.
- Lowest cost: Hostinger costs about $96 for four years through our link. See Bluehost vs Hostinger.
FAQ
Is Liquid Web good for beginners? Its managed WordPress plans are. Liquid Web handles updates, backups and security, and a person helps move your site. Its unmanaged servers are for people comfortable with Linux.
Does Liquid Web include email? Its managed WordPress plans list email hosting as included.
What uptime does Liquid Web promise? Liquid Web advertises 99.999% uptime on its higher WordPress plan and a 100% network uptime promise on its VPS.
Sources
- Liquid Web pricing, Liquid Web, checked Nov 7, 2026
- Bluehost pricing and plans, Website Builder Expert, updated Feb 2026