Here is our comparison of Liquid Web vs Media Temple. These are two of the top managed WordPress hosting providers. And while they both also offer other hosting services, WordPress is a huge focus of both companies. Which is better? If you’re looking for a premium managed WordPress hosting solution, let’s take a closer look to see which host is a better fit for your WordPress sites.
Liquid Web vs Media Temple Details
| Category | Liquid Web |
Media Temple |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup |  |
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| Control Panel | |
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| Data Centers | |
Liquid Web has Data Centers in Lansing, Michigan; Phoenix, AZ; and Amsterdam, EUR. | |
| Website Speed | |
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| Security Features | |
Liquid Web provides Automatic Free SSL. | |
| Data Backup and Restore | |
With Liquid Web you get Automated Daily Backups stored offsite 30 Days, plus unlimited manual backup capability. | |
| Automatic Updates | |
Liquid Web provides Automatic Plugin Updates in addition to WordPress Core. | |
| Servers | |
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| Network | |
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| WordPress Development | |
Liquid Web includes iThemes Sync for managing multiple sites. | |
| Resources | |
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| Staging | |
See Below | |
| Customer Support | |
See Below | |
| Money Back Guarantee | |
Pro-Rated | |
| Price/Value | |
Website Speed and Performance
When it comes to website speed and performance, Liquid Web is definitely the winner here. Their WordPress hosting platform combined with their image compression technology provide some of the fastest performing WordPress sites that we’ve experience. Media Temple also provides good website speed—although not at the level that Liquid Web has demonstrated. Therefore, in this category Liquid Web takes the honors.
Website Staging
It’s good to see that both Liquid Web and Media Temple provide full website staging. Interestingly, both have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to this category. It’s much easier to create and access the staging copy of your website with Liquid Web. However, moving the changes from your staging copy to your live site is easier with Media Temple. While both web hosts allow you to effectively use website staging, we’ll give Media Temple a slight edge here.
Data Backup and Restore
Liquid Web and Media Temple both provide automatic daily backups of your websites. And, it’s very easy with both hosts to access and restore your data. Liquid Web takes things a step further by providing the ability to manually create a backup copy at any time. This snapshot type of backup capability comes in handy when you need to update themes or plugins. Liquid Web also provides the option to download any backup copy of your website. So, when it comes to data backup and restore functionality, Liquid Web is the winner.
Customer Support
With customer support, it’s a pretty easy call. Liquid Web provides some of the fastest response times I’ve experienced from a customer support team. They provide 24×7 support access via phone, email, or live chat. Conversely, with Media Temple we’ve found that live chat is often not available. Also, their response times with support tickets and live chat can sometimes be on the slow side. Liquid Web definitely gets the advantage here.
Liquid Web
Plans:
- Personal ($29 mo.)
1 Website/20GB Storage - Freelance ($69 mo.)
4 Websites/40GB Storage - Professional ($99 mo.)
10 Websites/100GB Storage - Business ($149 mo.)
25 Websites/150GB Storage
Data Centers: Lansing, Michigan; Phoenix, AZ; Amsterdam, EUR
Free Domain?:: No
Money Back Guarantee: Pro-Rated
Advantages of Choosing Liquid Web:
- Specialize in Upscale Managed Hosting
- Automatic Plugin Updates
- 100% Uptime Guarantee
- Auto Image Compression
- Manage Multiple Sites with iThemes Sync
- iThemes Security Pro
- No Pageview Limits
- Automatic Daily Backups Stored Offsite for 30 Days
- Full Server Access
Click Here to See More Details on Liquid Web
Media Temple
Plans:
- Personal ($20 mo.)
2 Websites/50GB Storage - Pro ($60 mo.)
10 Websites/200GB Storage
Data Centers: El Segundo, CA and Ashburn, VA
Free Domain?: Yes (Pro Plan)
Money Back Guarantee: 30 Days
Advantages of Media Temple
- True Staging Environment
- 30 Day Backup and Restore
- WP Easy Mode includes Themes and Stock Photography
Click Here for More Details on Media Temple
Recommendation
Both Liquid Web and Media Temple are legitimate quality managed WordPress hosting providers. If you need managed WordPress hosting for only one website and you’re looking to spend less money, then Media Temple is a good choice. However, for multiple site owners and those who can afford to spend more on premium features, we recommend Liquid Web. See our review ratings for Liquid Web below.
