The two pricing models
On a managed VPS you pay for a box. KnownHost's managed NVMe VPS Basic plan starts at $43.25 a month for 4 vCPU cores, 6 GB guaranteed RAM, 100 GB NVMe and 3 TB bandwidth, with cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk preinstalled and licensed. Liquid Web lists a 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 80 GB SSD, 3 TB VPS at $17 a month on a page that offers each plan self-managed or fully managed; confirm the managed price and whether a control panel licence is included at checkout.
On managed WordPress you pay for usage. Kinsta's WP 2 plan is $70 a month for 2 installs and 70,000 visits; Single 65k is $50 a month. WP Engine's Essential plan starts at $28 a month billed annually with visits from 25,000. Visit overages are $0.50 per 1,000 at Kinsta and $2 per 1,000 at WP Engine on the plans its billing article names. A VPS has no visit line; its limit is how many requests the CPU and RAM can serve.
Side-by-side comparison
| Question | Managed VPS (KnownHost, Liquid Web) | Managed WordPress (Kinsta, WP Engine) |
|---|---|---|
| Root access | Yes; KnownHost and Liquid Web both list full root access | No server root; you work through the host's dashboard and tools |
| Non-WordPress apps | Anything the OS can run | Kinsta provides no support for non-WordPress scripts and applications |
| What support covers | KnownHost: OS, control panel, initial hardening, initial migration; third-party apps best effort | WordPress platform features, server errors, fatal-error plugin disable (Kinsta); limited third-party plugin help (WP Engine) |
| Capacity limit | Your cores and RAM; you size PHP-FPM workers | Plan's PHP threads or workers; documented per site at Kinsta |
| Billing metric | Fixed monthly price plus add-ons | Visits or bandwidth, storage, with overages |
| Backups | KnownHost: JetBackup add-on $8.95/mo; Liquid Web managed VPS lists automated backups | Included: Kinsta 14 days on Single 35k to 125k; WP Engine 30 to 60 days |
| Staging | Build it yourself or via control panel tools | One-click staging included |
| Uptime terms | Network SLA: KnownHost 99.9%; Liquid Web 100% network with 10x credit | Kinsta 99.9% default; WP Engine 99.95% standard |
Signals that point to a managed VPS
- You run another application next to WordPress (a community forum, a custom API, a reporting job) and want the host to keep the server patched.
- You need to install server software or PHP extensions the managed WordPress host does not offer.
- Daily student logins push you over visit allowances: 3,000 active students logging in on 20 days is about 60,000 visits a month before marketing traffic.
- You host several small sites and the agency pricing on managed WordPress exceeds a VPS.
- Someone on the team can read server logs and size PHP-FPM, or you budget for it. KnownHost says anything beyond best effort may be professional services at an hourly rate.
Signals that point to managed WordPress
- The site is WordPress only and you want staging, backups and caching managed for you.
- You want the host to disable a plugin that causes a fatal error so the site comes back while you contact the developer (Kinsta lists this as in scope).
- You want help identifying plugin conflicts: Liquid Web's managed WordPress scope lists plugin, module or theme conflict identification as a shared task done in collaboration with you.
- Your traffic is spiky around launches but low otherwise, so paying overages in a few months is cheaper than a larger server all year.
- Nobody on the team wants to own OS updates or a control panel.
Worked example: a 2,500-student course with a forum
Hypothetical: 2,500 active students logging in on 16 days a month is 40,000 visits; add 35,000 marketing visits for 75,000. The site also runs a separate self-hosted forum application.
Managed WordPress: Kinsta Single 125k at $90 a month covers the visits, but the forum is a non-WordPress application Kinsta does not support, so it needs a second host. WP Engine's Business plan lists 400,000 to 800,000 visits at $400 a month billed annually, far more capacity than this site needs.
Managed VPS: KnownHost Basic at $43.25 a month plus the $8.95 JetBackup add-on is $52.20 a month with no visit metering, and both apps live on one server. The trade-off is that you size PHP-FPM, test plugin updates without a one-click staging tool, and accept best-effort help for the forum and WordPress plugins.
In this example the VPS is cheaper and consolidates the apps; managed WordPress is the better fit only if the forum moves to a hosted service and nobody wants server duties.
Questions to ask both kinds of host
- For a VPS: is the control panel licence included at this price, and at renewal?
- For a VPS: which tasks are best effort, and what is the hourly rate beyond that?
- For managed WordPress: how many PHP workers or threads does this plan have, and can I add more without changing plan?
- For both: what does the SLA cover (network only, or the application) and how do I claim a credit?
- For both: can you migrate the site, and who tests logins, payments and progress after the move?
Questions before you decide
Is a managed VPS harder to run than managed WordPress?
It shifts more work to you. KnownHost manages the OS and control panel, but third-party applications and custom configurations are best effort, and its support coverage list does not include WordPress-specific tools such as one-click staging.
Does a VPS have visit limits?
Not in the plans compared here. KnownHost and Liquid Web list bandwidth allowances (3 TB on the entry plans) rather than visits; your practical limit is CPU and RAM.
Can I run a non-WordPress app on Kinsta's WordPress hosting?
Kinsta's scope of support says it provides no support for non-WordPress scripts and applications. Use a separate host or a VPS for those.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- KnownHost: Managed VPS plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- KnownHost: Support coverage Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- KnownHost: Service level agreement Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: VPS hosting plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: Managed WordPress scope of support Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: Service level agreement Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: WordPress hosting plans and pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: WordPress hosting overages Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: Scope of support for WordPress hosting Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kinsta: Service level agreement Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: Plans and pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: Understand billable visits Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: Support channels and scope Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- WP Engine: Service level agreement Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.