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Linode (Akamai) vs Liquid Web
Linode (Akamai)
Liquid Web
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Linode (Akamai) | Liquid Web |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | Not offered | Not offered |
| Storage | 25 GB SSD | 30 GB SSD |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB | 1 TB |
| Websites | Unlimited | N/A |
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 10 ★ | 4 |
| Locations | US West, Fremont, Seattle, Los Angeles Western Europe, London, Paris, Amsterdam Central Europe, Frankfurt, Milan Southeast Asia, Singapore, Jakarta East Asia, Tokyo, Osaka India, Mumbai, Chennai Australia & Oceania, Sydney, Melbourne South America, Sao Paulo Africa, Johannesburg US East, Newark, Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago | US East, Lansing, Ashburn US West, Phoenix, San Jose Western Europe, Amsterdam, London Australia & Oceania, Sydney |
| Plan Details | ||
| Limited plan details available | Limited plan details available | |
| Backups | Acronis Cyber Backups | |
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 Linode (Akamai) | Visit Liquid Web | |
Pricing & Plans
Linode (Akamai) Plans
Liquid Web Plans
Pros & Cons
Linode (Akamai)
Pros
- Simple and predictable pricing — no hidden fees or renewal increases
- Hourly billing with monthly cap across all plans
- 25+ global data center locations
- 100% SSD/NVMe storage on all instances
- Full root access with KVM virtualization
- Comprehensive REST API and CLI (linode-cli)
- Managed Kubernetes (LKE) with free control plane
- Free inbound network transfer on all plans
- 99.99% SLA uptime guarantee
- One-click Marketplace apps for quick deployment
Cons
- No managed shared hosting (IaaS only, self-managed)
- Backups cost extra (20% of instance price)
- No free domain registration
- No cPanel/WHM — command-line or custom panel required
- No phone support — ticket and community-based only
- No live chat for standard support tier
- Stopped instances continue to charge until deleted
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
Linode (Akamai)
What is Linode (Akamai Cloud Computing)?
Linode is a cloud infrastructure provider, now part of Akamai Technologies. Founded in 2003, it offers cloud compute instances, managed Kubernetes, object storage, databases, and more across 25+ global data centers. It provides simple, predictable pricing with hourly billing capped at a monthly maximum.
How does Linode billing work?
Linode uses hourly billing with a monthly cap. You are charged by the hour for the time your instance is running, but the total monthly charge will never exceed the listed monthly price. Charges begin when an instance is created and stop when it is deleted — powering off does not stop billing.
What is the difference between Shared CPU and Dedicated CPU instances?
Shared CPU instances share processor cores with other instances, making them ideal for general workloads like web servers and small databases. Dedicated CPU instances guarantee physical CPU cores exclusively for your instance, providing consistent performance for CPU-intensive tasks like CI/CD, video encoding, and high-traffic applications.
What are Premium CPU instances?
Premium CPU instances use the latest AMD EPYC processors and are available in select high-performance data centers. They offer the best single-thread and multi-thread performance, ideal for latency-sensitive applications, enterprise workloads, and production databases. Pricing starts at $43/month.
What are High Memory instances used for?
High Memory instances are optimized for memory-intensive workloads such as in-memory databases (Redis, Memcached), real-time data processing, and caching layers. They offer a high ratio of RAM to CPU cores, starting at 24 GB RAM with 2 vCPUs for $60/month.
Does Linode offer free backups?
Linode Backups are an optional paid service costing approximately 20% of the instance price. The Backup Service takes automatic daily, weekly, and biweekly snapshots of your instance, and you can also create a manual snapshot. You can restore from any available backup at any time.
What operating systems does Linode support?
Linode supports Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Alpine, Gentoo, Kali Linux, and Slackware. You can also upload and deploy custom images. All instances use KVM virtualization with full root access.
Does Linode offer managed Kubernetes?
Yes, Linode Kubernetes Engine (LKE) provides a fully managed Kubernetes service with a free control plane. You only pay for the compute instances in your cluster. LKE supports auto-scaling, load balancers, and persistent storage integration.
What is Linode network transfer and how does it work?
Each Linode instance includes a monthly outbound transfer allowance (1-20 TB depending on plan). Inbound transfer is always free and unlimited. Transfer allowances are pooled across all instances on your account. Overage charges apply at $0.01/GB for outbound transfer beyond your pool.
Does Linode have a money-back guarantee?
Linode does not offer a traditional money-back guarantee. However, since billing is hourly, you can create an instance, test it, and delete it within hours for minimal cost (typically under $1). There are no contracts or long-term commitments required.
Where are Linode data centers located?
Linode has 25+ data centers across North America (US, Canada), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain), Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Japan, India, Australia, Indonesia), South America (Brazil), and Africa (South Africa). Pricing may vary by region.
Can I deploy WordPress on Linode?
Yes, Linode offers a WordPress One-Click Marketplace app that deploys a fully configured WordPress instance in minutes. You can also manually install WordPress on any compute instance. Linode is unmanaged hosting, so you are responsible for server maintenance, security updates, and backups.
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. 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'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 "white-glove" 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 "cutover" 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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US West, Fremont, Seattle, Los Angeles
Western Europe, London, Paris, Amsterdam
Central Europe, Frankfurt, Milan
Southeast Asia, Singapore, Jakarta
East Asia, Tokyo, Osaka
India, Mumbai, Chennai
Australia & Oceania, Sydney, Melbourne
South America, Sao Paulo
Africa, Johannesburg
Western Europe, Amsterdam, London