Liquid Web vs Rackspace Technology: Complete 2026 Comparison
In-depth comparison of these two hosting providers across pricing, performance, features, and support.
Overall Winner
Liquid Web
- Wins in 5 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price, Best Performance, Best for WordPress
- 4.3/5 overall rating
Category Winners
Best Price
Liquid Web
$3.50/mo vs $Infinity/mo
Best Value
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
Best Performance
Liquid Web
100% uptime, 4.3/5 rating
Best Support
Rackspace Technology
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
Best for WordPress
Liquid Web
Optimized, Staging, WooCommerce
Best for Developers
Liquid Web
SSH, Git, Staging, Node.js
Best for Beginners
Liquid Web
Higher ease of use score (6.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | VPS Hosting | Cloud Infrastructure |
| Monthly Price | $3.50/mo | — |
| Renewal Price | $3.50 | — |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 4.3/5 | 3.0/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 100% | 100% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.2/5 | 1.2/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 2,637 | 286 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $396.00 | $2388.00 |
| Second Year Cost | $396.00 | $2388.00 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days | — |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | ||
| Minimum Contract | 1 months | 1 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 40 GB | — |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD/HDD (VARIES BY PLAN) |
| Bandwidth | 5000 GB | — |
| Max Websites | Unlimited | — |
| Max Databases | Unlimited | — |
| PHP Versions | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 | — |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | — | |
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | ||
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | Multi-level DDoS protection included | Enterprise DDoS mitigation included |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Daily (30-day retention) | Daily |
| Backup Retention | 30 days | 7 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Phone, Live Chat, Ticket, Knowledge Base | Phone, Ticket, Chat, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7/365 | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7/365 (59-second response guarantee) | 24/7/365 |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | 1 min | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | Unlimited | — |
| Mailbox Size | — | 25 GB |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Cloudflare Enterprise CDN (on managed WordPress/WooCommerce) | Akamai/CloudFlare (partner integrations) |
| Server Locations | Lansing, MI (US-Central), Phoenix, AZ (US-West), Amsterdam (Netherlands), San Jose, CA (US), Ashburn, VA (US-East), Sydney (Australia), London (UK) | Dallas (US), Chicago (US), Virginia (US), London (UK), Hong Kong, Sydney (Australia) |
| Server Location Count | 10 | 6 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | ||
| Brotli Compression | ||
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | cPanel/InterWorx/Plesk (choice) | MyRackspace Portal |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | Unlimited | — |
| Migration Turnaround | 1 days | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | Free | — |
| Migration Quality | 5.0/10 | — |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, PCI-DSS | SOC 1, SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, PCI DSS Level 1, HIPAA, HITRUST CSF, FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, ITAR, FIPS 140-2 |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Performance Rating | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 5.0/10 | 2.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 5.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Features Rating | 4.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 3.5/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 2.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 5.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 5.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Developers | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 2.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | 5TB included on entry VPS; overage billed or upgrade required | Varies by contract; typically metered |
| Storage Overage | Upgrade to higher tier or add storage | Varies by contract |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 1997 | 1998 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | CloudOne Digital (acquired by One Equity Partners in April 2023; previously Madison Dearborn Partners) | Independent (publicly traded; owned by Apollo Global Management since 2016) |
| Green Hosting | — | |
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
| Local Currencies | USD | USD, GBP, AUD |
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 | GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2 |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.2/5 |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | — |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL/MariaDB | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Oracle |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | — | |
| PHP Switching | — | |
| Subdomains | Unlimited | — |
| FTP Accounts | Unlimited | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | 30-day guarantee for managed VPS and managed cloud server hosting only; Domain fees non-refundable; Custom configurations may have exclusions | Enterprise contracts; no traditional refund policy |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer, Check | Credit Card, Invoice, Wire Transfer, Enterprise Agreement |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | — |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed) | Let's Encrypt / Custom certificates |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | Redis | — |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Percentage of MRR | — |
| Commission Amount | 300% per Liquid Web sale; 400% per Nexcess sale; up to $7,000 per sale; 90-day cookie; via Impact | — |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | — | |
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | — | — |
| Account Suspension Policy | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse reports | Violation of ToS; non-payment |
| Malware Removal Cost | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Businesses and agencies needing managed hosting with premium support; Mission-critical websites requiring 100% uptime SLA; WooCommerce stores needing optimized ecommerce hosting; Users willing to pay premium for Heroic Support; HIPAA-compliant healthcare applications; Enterprise clients needing dedicated infrastructure | Large enterprises needing multi-cloud management; Organizations requiring managed services across AWS/Azure/GCP; Companies needing 24/7 expert support; Compliance-heavy industries |
| Avoid If | Budget-conscious users; Need shared hosting; Beginners who don't need managed services; Simple personal blogs; Price-sensitive projects; Need many international locations | Small business or startup; Need affordable hosting; Want simple self-service; Budget-conscious; Need quick support responses |
| Known Issues | Premium pricing (significantly higher than budget hosts); No shared hosting option; Windows VPS much more expensive than Linux; Some users report billing confusion especially with Nexcess; Support quality reportedly declined after CloudOne acquisition per some reviews; Complex pricing structure with many tiers; Limited international data centers compared to hyperscalers | Very poor Trustpilot rating (1.2) despite 'Fanatical Support' brand; Support quality reportedly declined after outsourcing; Expensive for what you get; Complex contracts; Slow response times reported; Not suitable for small businesses; Apollo acquisition led to cost-cutting |
| Unique Selling Point | 100% uptime SLA with 1000% credit and 59-second Heroic Support response guarantee | Multi-cloud managed services provider with 'Fanatical Support' across AWS, Azure, and GCP |
| Ideal Customer | Business or agency needing premium managed hosting with industry-leading support SLA | Enterprise needing managed multi-cloud services with 24/7 support and compliance requirements |
| Best Alternative To | WP Engine | Self-managed multi-cloud |
| Primary Competitors | WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways | Cloudways, AWS Managed Services, Azure Managed |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Liquid Web if you...
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.3/5)
- Need WordPress-optimized hosting
- Need staging environments
- Are new to web hosting
- Need enterprise-grade features
Choose Rackspace Technology if you...
- Require 24/7 live chat support