At a glance
Figures are from each provider's plan pages on 29 October 2026. SiteGround prices exclude VAT. Liquid Web's prices load in the plan selector on its managed WordPress page; annual billing is labelled Save 10%.
| SiteGround | Liquid Web managed WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | StartUp: $2.99/mo prepaid 12 months, renews at $17.99/mo | Pro WordPress 50k: $19/mo monthly, $17.10/mo on annual billing |
| Mid plan | GrowBig: $4.99/mo first 12 months, renews at $29.99/mo | Pro WordPress 150k: $39/mo monthly, $35.10/mo annual |
| Higher plan | GoGeek: $7.99/mo first 12 months, renews at $44.99/mo | Pro WordPress 400k: $79/mo monthly, $71.10/mo annual; Elite tiers $29, $59 and $119/mo monthly |
| Sites | StartUp 1; GrowBig and GoGeek unlimited | Priced per site count: 1, 3, 5, 10 or 25 (3-site Pro 50k is $39/mo monthly) |
| Traffic | Visit estimates: around 10,000, about 100,000, 400,000+ | Plan tiers: 50k, 150k or 400k monthly visitors |
| Storage | 10 GB, 50 GB, 100 GB | 15 GB, 40 GB, 100 GB (listed as shared) |
| Backups | Free daily backups; on-demand backups on GrowBig and GoGeek | Daily; 14-day on Pro, 30-day on Elite |
| Staging | GrowBig and GoGeek | Listed on Pro and Elite |
| Included extras | Free CDN, free email accounts | WAF, DDoS protection, Cloudflare-powered edge CDN, Object Cache Pro, Patchstack virtual patching, Kadence Security Pro |
| Support | 24/7 expert support; priority support on GoGeek | Expert support mentioned; hours and channels not stated on the plan page |
Two-year cost for one course site
Assume one course site at about 40,000 visits a month that needs staging. SiteGround StartUp's 10,000-visit estimate and missing staging rule it out, so the comparison is GrowBig against Liquid Web Pro WordPress 50k.
SiteGround GrowBig: 12 months at $4.99 is $59.88, then 12 months at $29.99 is $359.88. Two-year total: $419.76 before VAT.
Liquid Web Pro WordPress 50k: on annual billing, 24 months at $17.10 is $410.40. On monthly billing, 24 months at $19 is $456. Elite 50k, which raises backup retention from 14 to 30 days, is $626.40 on annual billing or $696 monthly over two years.
On these list prices the two-year cost of the entry options is within about $10. The difference is cash flow and lock-in: SiteGround's introductory rate requires prepaying 12 months, while Liquid Web offers monthly billing, with annual billing labelled Save 10%. Confirm the price at checkout, including tax, because both pages can change.
| Option | Year 1 | Year 2 | Two-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiteGround GrowBig (ex. VAT) | $59.88 | $359.88 | $419.76 |
| Liquid Web Pro 50k, annual | $205.20 | $205.20 | $410.40 |
| Liquid Web Pro 50k, monthly | $228.00 | $228.00 | $456.00 |
| Liquid Web Elite 50k, annual | $313.20 | $313.20 | $626.40 |
Site limits and resources: what is and is not published
SiteGround publishes visit estimates and storage, describes server resources only as Essential, Premium and Geeky tiers, and does not list CPU or memory per plan on its plan pages. GrowBig and GoGeek allow unlimited websites, so several small sites can share one account. That is efficient for a course plus a blog plus a sales page, but they also share the same plan resources.
Liquid Web prices each plan by site count and visitor tier, and labels storage and bandwidth as shared across the sites on the plan. It states that optional add-ons and usage-based extras, naming autoscaling and CDN overage, are listed in plan details; the plan page does not show their prices. Ask for those rates before a launch.
For a membership or course site, Liquid Web's inclusion of Object Cache Pro is the most relevant extra, because logged-in pages cannot be served from page cache and repeat database queries are where they slow down. Our Redis object cache guide explains what an object cache can and cannot fix. SiteGround's plan page says full-page caching and Memcached work together but does not say which plans include Memcached, and its features page names only SuperCacher; confirm object caching for your plan before relying on it.
Backups and support depth
Both include daily backups. Liquid Web publishes retention on each card: 14 days on Pro and 30 days on Elite. SiteGround's plan page lists free daily backups and adds on-demand backups on GrowBig and GoGeek; retention and download rules are covered in our backup retention guide. For a site where a broken renewal or lost lesson progress may go unnoticed for weeks, 30-day retention is worth paying for, or you need your own off-host copy either way.
SiteGround lists 24/7 expert support on every plan and adds priority support on GoGeek. Liquid Web's plan page mentions expert support but does not state support hours or channels per plan, so ask before a launch. Liquid Web's cards list migration by a human, while body text on the same page says specialists migrate sites on Elite plans; ask which applies before relying on a hands-on migration.
When the premium makes sense
| Your situation | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First course, under about 10,000 visits, tight cash | SiteGround StartUp, then reassess before renewal | $35.88 for the first year; plan to move or upgrade before the $17.99/mo renewal |
| Several small sites, modest traffic | SiteGround GrowBig or GoGeek | Unlimited sites on one plan; Liquid Web prices by site count |
| One revenue site, needs staging, 20,000 to 50,000 visits | Either; cost is similar over two years | Pick on backups, object cache and billing flexibility |
| Logged-in students make up most traffic | Liquid Web | Object Cache Pro included; check the visitor tier against your peak |
| Renewals and progress data where a mistake could go unnoticed for weeks | Liquid Web Elite | 30-day daily backup retention listed |
| Traffic heading past 100,000 visits | Compare SiteGround GoGeek with Liquid Web 150k | Confirm resource limits and usage-based charges in writing |
Who should skip each
Skip SiteGround if you will not revisit the decision before the first renewal; the jump from $4.99 to $29.99 a month on GrowBig is easy to miss. Also skip it if you need to know exact CPU and memory limits upfront, because the plan pages do not publish them.
Skip Liquid Web if you run many small sites, because the price rises with site count, or if your traffic is mostly anonymous and a cached shared plan already serves it well. Also skip it if you need firm prices for usage-based extras before buying and support cannot give them.
Checklist before choosing
- Write down monthly visits and peak logged-in students from your last launch.
- Price both options over 24 months, including VAT or sales tax.
- Confirm staging on the exact plan.
- Confirm backup retention, manual backup slots and how to download a copy.
- Ask Liquid Web for autoscaling and CDN overage rates; ask SiteGround what happens when a site exceeds plan resources.
- Rehearse the migration on a temporary URL before changing DNS.
Questions before you decide
Is Liquid Web much more expensive than SiteGround?
In year one, yes. Over two years for one site, Liquid Web Pro 50k on annual billing ($410.40) and SiteGround GrowBig ($419.76 ex. VAT) were close on 29 October 2026 list prices, because SiteGround renews at a much higher rate.
Does SiteGround StartUp include staging?
SiteGround's staging tutorial says staging is available on GrowBig and GoGeek accounts, and the plan page does not list staging for StartUp.
What is the difference between Liquid Web Pro and Elite?
On the plan cards, the visible difference is backup retention: 14-day daily backups on Pro and 30-day on Elite, at the same visitor, storage and bandwidth tiers. The page also refers to specialist migrations on Elite.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- SiteGround: web hosting plans and renewal prices Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: shared hosting features Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- SiteGround: staging tool plan availability Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Liquid Web: managed WordPress plans Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.