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DreamHost vs Liquid Web

DreamHost

DreamHost

VS
Liquid Web

Liquid Web

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.

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DreamHost
DreamHost No reviews yet
23 plans
from
$2.89/mo
Liquid Web
Liquid Web No reviews yet
18 plans
from
$5.00/mo
Hosting Type
Billing Period

Feature Comparison

Feature
DreamHost
Liquid Web
RatingN/A N/A
PriceNot offered Not offered
Storage25 GB NVMe SSD30 GB SSD
BandwidthUnmetered1 TB
Websites25N/A
CPUN/A1 vCPU
RAMN/A1 GB
Free Domain
Free SSL
Server Locations
Regions3 4
Locations
US East, Ashburn, Virginia US West, Hillsboro, Oregon Western Europe, Amsterdam
US East, Lansing, Ashburn US West, Phoenix, San Jose Western Europe, Amsterdam, London Australia & Oceania, Sydney
Plan Details
Limited plan details available
BackupsAcronis Cyber Backups
Money-Back Guarantee
Monthly Visitors40k
Email Accounts20 Mailboxes
Features
CMS & Platforms (7)
Languages & Frameworks (9)
Databases (4)
Developer Tools (8)
Performance & CDN (4)
Caching
CDN
LiteSpeed
SSD Storage
Security (6)
2FA
Backups
DDoS Protection
Malware Scan
SSL
WAF
Support (4)
Extras & Guarantees (5)
Slight discrepancies are possible. We recommend verifying details on the provider's website.
Visit DreamHostVisit Liquid Web

Pricing & Plans

DreamHost Plans

Web Hosting Launch shared
Storage: 25 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth: Unmetered
Websites: 25
Free Domain: Yes
Free SSL: Yes
Stack 4 vps
Storage: 75 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth: Unmetered
CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 4 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Stack 8 vps
Storage: 150 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth: Unmetered
CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 8 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 1 wordpress
Storage: 15 GB NVMe
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Stack 16 vps
Storage: 250 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth: Unmetered
CPU: 4 cores
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 2 wordpress
Storage: 25 GB NVMe
Websites: 2
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 3 wordpress
Storage: 30 GB NVMe
Websites: 3
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 5 wordpress
Storage: 50 GB NVMe
Websites: 5
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Stack 32 vps
Storage: 450 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth: Unmetered
CPU: 8 cores
RAM: 32 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 10 wordpress
Storage: 100 GB NVMe
Websites: 10
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
DreamPress 20 wordpress
Storage: 200 GB NVMe
Websites: 20
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Standard 16 / 480 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 480 GB SSD
CPU: 6-Core 12-Thread
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Standard 16 / 960 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 960 GB SSD
CPU: 6-Core 12-Thread
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 16 / 480 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 480 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 32 / 480 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 480 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 32 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 16 / 960 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 960 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 64 / 480 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 480 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 64 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 32 / 960 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 960 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 32 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 64 / 960 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 960 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 64 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 16 / 1920 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 1920 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 32 / 1920 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 1920 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 32 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 64 / 1920 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 1920 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 64 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No
Enhanced 128 / 1920 GB SSD dedicated
Storage: 1920 GB SSD
CPU: 12-Core 24-Thread
RAM: 128 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: No

Liquid Web Plans

VPS 1GB (Self-Managed) vps
Storage: 30 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 1 TB
CPU: 1 vCPU
RAM: 1 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 4GB (Self-Managed) vps
Storage: 80 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 3 TB
CPU: 2 vCPU
RAM: 4 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WP Essentials wordpress
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WC Essentials woocommerce
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WP Pro wordpress
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WC Pro woocommerce
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 8GB (Self-Managed) vps
Storage: 240 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 5 TB
CPU: 4 vCPU
RAM: 8 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WC Elite woocommerce
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
WP Elite wordpress
Storage: 15 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Websites: 1
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 4GB (Managed) vps
Storage: 80 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 3 TB
CPU: 2 vCPU
RAM: 4 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 16GB (Self-Managed) vps
Storage: 440 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 7 TB
CPU: 6 vCPU
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 8GB (Managed) vps
Storage: 240 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 5 TB
CPU: 4 vCPU
RAM: 8 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 16GB (Managed) vps
Storage: 440 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 7 TB
CPU: 6 vCPU
RAM: 16 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
VPS 24GB (Managed) vps
Storage: 540 GB SSD
Bandwidth: 8 TB
CPU: 6 vCPU
RAM: 24 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
Intel 6226R dedicated
Storage: 2x 960 GB SSD RAID-1
Bandwidth: 10 TB
CPU: Intel Xeon 6226R (16 cores @ 2.9 GHz)
RAM: 64 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
Intel 6226R Dual dedicated
Storage: 2x 960 GB SSD RAID-1
Bandwidth: 15 TB
CPU: Dual Intel Xeon 6226R (32 cores @ 2.9 GHz)
RAM: 128 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
Intel 6526Y dedicated
Storage: 2x 960 GB NVMe RAID-1
Bandwidth: 10 TB
CPU: Intel Xeon 6526Y (16 cores @ 2.8 GHz)
RAM: 64 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes
Intel 6526Y Dual dedicated
Storage: 2x 960 GB NVMe RAID-1
Bandwidth: 15 TB
CPU: Dual Intel Xeon 6526Y (32 cores @ 2.8 GHz)
RAM: 128 GB
Free Domain: No
Free SSL: Yes

Pros & Cons

DreamHost

Pros

  • Industry-leading 97-day money-back guarantee on shared hosting
  • Unlimited free SSL certificates on all plans
  • Daily automated backups included at no extra cost
  • Free domain for 1 year on annual plans
  • Officially recommended by WordPress.org
  • DreamPress managed WordPress with BunnyCDN and staging
  • Unmetered bandwidth on all plans
  • Employee-owned company — no corporate conglomerate

Cons

  • No cPanel — custom DreamHost panel requires adjustment
  • DreamShield malware scanning is a paid add-on ($3.99/mo)
  • No Windows hosting — Linux only
  • VPS plans do not include root access
  • Dedicated servers start at $165/mo — premium pricing
  • No phone support — live chat and email only

Liquid Web

Pros

  • 100% network and power uptime SLA (not just 99.9%)
  • Heroic Support — 24/7/365 phone, chat, and tickets with <59s response
  • Fully managed VPS and dedicated servers with root access
  • Nexcess managed WordPress/WooCommerce with autoscaling
  • Enterprise-grade Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC processors
  • Free Acronis Cyber Backups on all plans
  • Multiple US data centers (Michigan, Arizona, Texas)
  • 30-day money-back guarantee on managed hosting

Cons

  • Premium pricing — managed VPS from $36/mo, dedicated from $335/mo regular ($167.50 promo)
  • No shared hosting option for budget users
  • Nexcess WordPress plans have promotional pricing that increases on renewal
  • Windows VPS and dedicated plans cost significantly more
  • Cloud Sites product has been discontinued
  • No free domain included with any plan

Frequently Asked Questions

DreamHost

Do I need technical experience to use DreamHost?

Not at all. Our control panel is beginner-friendly, and we offer expert support, AI tools, and even free website setup to help you get started.

How long does it take to get my site online?

We’ll help you get started quickly with a free Handcrafted Starter Website—our team will build a 4-page site for you at no cost, so you can get online fast with zero setup required. Prefer a DIY approach? Use Liftoff, our AI-powered WordPress builder, to launch a personalized site in under 60 seconds. Just choose your hosting plan and answer a few simple questions—no technical skills needed. Either way, getting your site live is fast, easy, and free to start.

I’m new to this. Can you help me get my website up and running?

Yes, we've got you covered. Every hosting plan includes one Free Handcrafted Starter Website to help you get started. Our team will handle setup, add your initial content, and customize your template all at no extra cost.

What kind of support does DreamHost offer?

We offer 24/7 support from a dedicated, in-house team that knows WordPress inside and out. You can reach us through live chat or email anytime you need help. No outsourcing, no bots—just real experts ready to assist you.

How can I migrate a non-WordPress site to DreamHost?

For WordPress sites, we offer a free automatic migration tool that makes the process fast and easy with zero downtime. Just install the plugin and follow a few simple steps, no technical expertise required.For non-WordPress sites, you have two options:Manually migrate your non-WordPress site by backing up your website files and uploading them to DreamHost. You can learn more about this here.Hire our Pro Services to help migrate your site! Please note that sites built with proprietary site builders (e.g., Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace) and Windows Server-based "Active Server Pages" (ASP) websites may incur additional fees for site migration. If you have any questions, schedule a free consultation with us.

Do hosting plans include a free domain name?

Our annual and multi-year Web Hosting, DreamPress, and VPS plans include a free 1-year domain registration. Your domain registration also includes free private registration (Domain Privacy Protection).

Can I upgrade to a more powerful hosting plan later?

Totally. Web Hosting is a smart, budget-friendly starting point, and when your site needs more, whether that's traffic, content, or performance, you can upgrade to a plan with more server space, dedicated resources, advanced security, and faster speeds. Wondering when to upgrade? If you notice diminished site performance or lack necessary space or resources, it's time to consider bumping your site to the next level and choosing a better-fit hosting package. No matter the current size of your website, DreamHost offers a perfectly-matched plan. We adapt to match your needs, making upgrading easy.

Do you include SSL certificates?

We care about safety big time — and so do your site's visitors. With a Web Hosting account, you get an SSL certificate for free to add to your site. In this day and age, having an SSL for your site is a no-brainer best practice. Not only does an SSL help your visitors feel safe interacting with your site — this is particularly important if you run an e-commerce site — but it avoids penalizations you might otherwise earn from search engines without one. No website wants an “unsafe” or “insecure” label to bruise their reputation. While a SSL certificate isn't an end-all, be-all defense against internet baddies, it's certainly a great first step in the right direction to putting your site visitors at ease.

What if I have a domain at another company? Can I transfer it?

Yep! Forget about packing up virtual boxes or worrying about a forwarding address— we'll handle the transfer tasks and make moving to DreamHost E-A-S-Y. By transferring your domain registration from your old provider to DreamHost, you can easily manage all aspects of your domain from one convenient location. See our guide to get more details about moving.

Can I get business email with my hosting plan?

Yes! All of DreamHost's web hosting plans include a free 3-month trial of Professional Email @yourdomain, with the number of mailboxes varying by plan. Learn more about business email hosting at your own domain.

Will my price go up when my plan renews?

Promotional pricing applies to your first term, and every DreamHost plan card shows the exact renewal rate right next to the promo price. You will never have to dig through fine print to find out what year two costs.

Can I pay month-to-month instead of prepaying for years?

Absolutely. Every DreamHost web hosting plan offers monthly billing, so you can start without a long commitment. Longer terms earn bigger discounts, but the choice is always yours.

What happens if my site gets more visitors than my plan's estimate?

The visitor numbers on each plan describe the traffic that tier comfortably handles, not a hard cap. Bandwidth is unmetered on every plan, so a busy month never triggers overage fees. If your site consistently needs more resources, upgrading to a bigger plan takes just a few clicks.

What is Managed WordPress Hosting—and do I need it?

Managed WordPress Hosting means we handle the technical heavy lifting—speed, security, updates, and backups—so you can focus on your site or business. If you want better performance and dedicated WordPressexpert support, DreamPress is the right fit.

How is DreamPress different from Standard Hosting or other WordPress plans?

Unlike shared hosting or basic WordPress plans, DreamPress includes advanced WordPress-specific features out of the box: on-demand backups, BunnyCDN, NGINX caching, failover protection, free professional migrations, and 24/7 expert WordPress support. It's purpose-built for performance and reliability.

What's the difference between Professional WordPress Migration and Automated WordPress Migration?

With Professional Migration, our experts personally move your site—no bots or automation—ensuring zero downtime and no errors. Normally a $199 service, it's included free with every DreamPress plan (1 migration per site). If you prefer DIY, our free Automated Migration plugin helps you move your site in just a few clicks.

How do I get started with DreamPress?

It's simple. Choose your plan, and WordPress is automatically installed and optimized. Want to launch even faster? Use Liftoff, our AI-powered website builder, to create a full WordPress site with content and structure in minutes.

Can I host multiple sites—and switch plans if I need to?

Yes! DreamPress supports up to 20 WordPress sites, depending on your plan. You can upgrade, downgrade, or reallocate resources at any time, right from your DreamHost panel.

What is a VPS and who is it for?

A VPS gives you a full virtual server with root access. You install what you need, configure your stack, and run whatever applications you want. It's designed for developers, technical builders, and self-hosters who need flexibility beyond traditional web hosting. If you're running Node, Python, Docker, or anything your AI tools help you build, you're in the right place.If you're looking for a more hands-off experience, you can explore our managed VPS options here.If you're looking to run a WordPress site, DreamPress managed hosting is a better fit.

Do I have to manage the server myself?

You manage your applications and software stack — but we don't disappear. DreamHost guarantees the underlying infrastructure: hardware, network, and uptime. Our support team is available 24/7.

What can I run on a VPS?

Anything that runs on Linux. Node.js, Python services, Docker containers, AI-powered APIs, automation platforms, analytics tools, self-hosted productivity suites, custom databases, game servers — you have complete freedom over the software stack. You can install any OS, runtime, framework, or service you need. If it runs on a Linux server, it runs here.

Are there bandwidth or traffic limitations?

No. All plans include unmetered bandwidth — no transfer caps, no overage fees, no surprises when traffic spikes. You pay the same flat monthly rate whether your app gets 10 visitors or 10,000.

Can I scale up my plan as my project grows?

Yes. You can move between Stack plans as your resource requirements grow — from Stack 4 to Stack 32 is straightforward, and your environment moves with you. Scaling down to a smaller Stack is not currently supported.

What support is included?

DreamHost support is available 24/7 — hardware, network, and connectivity are all supported by our team. You can also reach us via live chat or email through the panel at any time.

What is Dedicated Hosting?

Think of a dedicated web server as a storage unit for your website or web applications. It keeps documents, videos, images and other computer files online. Web hosting companies rent space to you. All you’ve got to do is upload files or a website onto the server.

What can you do with a Dedicated Server?

Dedicated servers are fully-managed, business class servers. They are perfect for resource-heavy apps and giant websites. With a dedicated server, you have full control over how to configure your hosting environment making it perfect for major hosting needs.

What are the reasons to choose a Dedicated Server?

A dedicated server is the ultimate in power, security, and control. With a dedicated server, you won’t have to share resources with anyone. Here are some of the top reasons that people choose a dedicated server over other hosting options:Security is a top priorityYou expect consistently high levels of trafficPage load times need to be lightning fastYou need custom programming optionsYou’re anticipating major growth Learn More

VPS vs Dedicated Hosting

VPS: A Virtual Private Server, still involves hosting several websites on the same server, but there's a hypervisor that ensures that one website doesn't start causing trouble for the other sites on the server. With Managed VPS Hosting, you're allocated a certain amount of RAM and server space, with unmetered bandwidth. Dedicated: You're able to choose the equipment, including the amount and type of RAM, the size and type of hard drive and the processor, used in the server. Further, 100 percent of the server's resources are allocated to your site and they aren't shared with any others.

Liquid Web

How does VPS hosting work?

A hosting provider uses a hypervisor to divide a physical server into isolated virtual environments and assign resources to each VPS.

What are the benefits of VPS hosting?

VPS hosting gives websites and applications more control, capacity, and flexibility than shared hosting.

What is VPS hosting used for?

Businesses and technical users choose VPS hosting when they need more resources, control, or flexibility than shared hosting provides.

What are the limitations of VPS hosting?

VPS hosting provides more control and capacity than shared hosting, but it doesn’t fit every workload.

Is all managed hosting for WordPress hosting the same?

Not all managed hosting for WordPress is the same. While all providers offer specialized services tailored to WordPress, there are significant differences among them in terms of hosting platform features, performance, support, and pricing.

What is managed hosting for WordPress?

Managed hosting for WordPress hosting is a form of web hosting that makes it easier to run a WordPress site because technical tasks are done for you. Unlike regular hosting, managed hosting for WordPress includes tailored support and optimizations that make WordPress run like a well-oiled machine.

Do I need managed hosting for WordPress?

If you’re not into web tech or are less than skilled at troubleshooting, managed hosting is the ideal fit. Also, if you prefer to focus on content creation and business operations, managed hosting for WordPress will free up time to grow your online presence.

Is managed hosting for WordPress hosting worth it?

Managed hosting for WordPress is worth the investment if you don’t have the technical experience to manage a server in-house or if those resources could be more efficiently used elsewhere.&nbsp;Managed hosting offloads technical responsibilities like updates, backups, security, performance optimization, and more, so you can focus on the rest of your business and website. And it frees up resources for your organization without compromising on speed, security, or performance.

How is your platform optimized for WordPress?

Hosting resources are finely tuned for WordPress with intelligent caching, layered security, and Edge computing. Additionally, our support team is well-versed in WordPress. In fact, many team members have been using it since its launch in 2003, and they’ve learned a lot along the way.

Can I host my clients with your plans for WordPress?

Absolutely. Agencies and developers can purchase client plans individually or purchase our higher-level plans with more site capacity. We also have an amazing agency partner program that offers elevated support and referral payouts.

Do you offer reseller or affiliate programs for WordPress?

We’d love to talk more about this with you. We offer several flexible partner programs designed to support how you do business and help you better serve your customers. Please contact our partner team at 1.866.210.4185 or [email protected] to get started today.

When is managed hosting for WordPress not the right fit?

While hosting for WordPress offers great features and convenience, managed WordPress hosting may not be necessary in the following situations:Your budget is limitedIf you’re just starting out or you’re working with a shoestring budget, managed hosting may not be the most cost-effective choice.You’re skilled in ITIf you’re comfortable managing servers and performing maintenance yourself, you can probably go with a self-managed hosting solution like a VPS or dedicated server.Your environment needs

How does the 99.99% uptime SLA protect my store&#039;s revenue?

Downtime is a direct hit to your bottom line. Our 99.99% guarantee is a contractual commitment that your infrastructure remains reachable. If power or network availability fails beyond our threshold, we credit your account, providing professional-grade insurance for your storefront.Chat with an expert

What’s included in the &quot;white-glove&quot; migration service?

Moving a high-volume store is high-stakes. Our specialists handle the entire transition—auditing your database, moving your order history and configurations, and performing rigorous testing to ensure a seamless &quot;cutover&quot; with zero disruption to your customers.Chat with an expert

How does the PHP worker autoscaling handle traffic spikes?

During a flash sale or viral surge, our system automatically scales your RAM and CPU for 24 hours. By providing up to 100+ PHP workers, we ensure your store has the high-concurrency power needed to process thousands of simultaneous checkouts without lagging.Chat with an expert

Ready to Choose?

Both providers offer great features. Visit their websites to see the latest deals and pricing.

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