Best White Label Hosting for Agencies: Resell Under Your Own Brand

Comparison of the best white label hosting for agencies featuring Liquid Web and SiteGround reseller plans.

I still remember the nightmare of my early freelance days. I had 15 different clients, each on their own cheap shared hosting account. I had a spreadsheet of 15 different passwords, 15 different expiry dates, and every time a server went down, I had to call a different support line while my client screamed at me on the other line.

I wasn’t a partner; I was a glorified middleman with zero control and zero profit margin on the infrastructure.

That changed when I switched to white label reselling. Suddenly, I wasn’t just “the web guy”; I was the hosting provider. I set the prices, I controlled the dashboard, and most importantly, my clients saw my logo when they logged in, not some generic “BlueHostGator” branding.

If you run an agency, hosting shouldn’t be a chore you hand off to GoDaddy. It should be a recurring revenue stream that builds your brand equity.

Below, I’m breaking down the best white label hosting solutions for agencies, stripped of marketing fluff and focused on technical reality.


Transparency Disclosure

I am a DevOps engineer, not a salesperson. I recommend the tools I actually use or have vetted in production environments. Some links below are affiliate links (specifically for Liquid Web and SiteGround), meaning I get a commission if you sign up. This does not change my technical assessment: if a host has slow TTFB or terrible support, I will tell you, regardless of the payout.


TL;DR: The Short Answer

If you are…The Best ChoiceWhy?
A “Full Stack” Agency wanting to run a serious hosting business with automated billing.Liquid Web ResellerIncludes free WHMCS (essential for billing), high-performance VPS/Dedicated options, and root access.
A Creative/Design Agency managing maintenance for small business clients.SiteGround (GoGeek/Cloud)Easiest interface (Site Tools), excellent support, but no native billing automation (WHMCS) included. Best for “care plans.”

What actually is White Label Hosting?

In technical terms, white labeling allows you to present a third-party provider’s infrastructure as your own. You lease the server resources (CPU, RAM, Storage) from a provider, but the “User Interface” (cPanel, Plesk, or a custom dashboard) is branded with your agency’s logo, CSS colors, and support email.

The critical distinction:

  • Standard Reselling: You sell the hosting, but the client might see “Powered by [Provider]” in the footer or IP whois data.
  • White Labeling: The provider is invisible. The DNS nameservers are ns1.youragency.com, not ns1.provider.com.

Why bother reselling? (The Engineer’s View)

Marketing blogs will tell you it’s “easy money.” It’s not. It’s recurring money, but you earn it by taking on responsibility.

  • The Pro: Stickiness. If a client hosts with you, they are 10x less likely to leave you for another dev. Migrating a site is annoying; migrating a relationship is harder.
  • The Con: You are Tier 1 Support. When a client’s email breaks at 2 AM, they call you, not Liquid Web. You need to be ready to troubleshoot DNS propagation and PHP errors.

The “Engine” You Need: What is WHMCS?

Before we look at the hosts, you need to understand WHMCS (Web Host Manager Complete Solution).

If you have more than 10 clients, you cannot manage billing manually. You will go insane sending PDF invoices every month.

WHMCS is the industry-standard software that:

  1. Automatically generates invoices.
  2. Suspends accounts if they don’t pay.
  3. Provisions the server automatically (creates the cPanel account) when they sign up.

Key Takeaway: If you want to be a “hands-off” host, you need a provider that supports (and ideally provides) WHMCS.


Top Pick 1: Liquid Web (The Heavy Lifter)

Best For: Agencies building a scalable hosting business or hosting high-traffic/eCommerce sites.

Liquid Web is not for the $5/month hobby blog market. They specialize in high-availability VPS and Dedicated servers. Their reseller program is built for engineers and agencies who need raw power and automation.

The Technical Specs

  • Infrastructure: Cloud VPS or Dedicated Servers (Linux/Windows).
  • Control Panel: InterWorx, Plesk, or cPanel (you choose).
  • White Labeling: Deep customization. You can white-label the control panel, nameservers, and even the billing portal.
  • Automation: Includes a FREE WHMCS license (Standard Plan and up). This is a huge value (usually ~$20/month separately) Source: Liquid Web Reseller Features.

Why I recommend it

  1. No “Bad Neighbor” Effect: unlike cheap shared hosting resellers, LW uses VPS tech. If another agency’s client gets DDoSed, your container is isolated. Your performance won’t tank.
  2. The WHMCS Plugin: Liquid Web has a specific plugin for WHMCS that handles the provisioning of VPS instances. You can literally sell “Cloud Servers” on your agency site, and LW’s API spins them up automatically.
  3. Root Access: If you have a complex client running a custom Python script or needing specific Redis configurations, you have root access to install it.

The “Gotcha”

Price & Complexity. It’s expensive. You aren’t paying $30/month; you’re likely starting closer to $100+ once you factor in cPanel licenses per account. Also, you need to know how to configure WHMCS, which has a learning curve steeper than Mount Everest.

Engineer’s Note: If you choose Liquid Web, opt for their InterWorx panel if you want to save money on licensing fees. cPanel has increased license prices aggressively—jumping roughly 10% annually between 2024 and 2026 Source: cPanel Pricing Updates.


Top Pick 2: SiteGround (The Managed “Easy” Button)

Best For: Design agencies offering “WordPress Care Plans” who don’t want to touch a command line.

SiteGround is my go-to for shared hosting. They moved away from cPanel to their own custom “Site Tools,” which is faster, cleaner, and much easier for non-technical clients to understand.

The Technical Specs

  • Infrastructure: Google Cloud Platform (GCP) backend. Extremely fast TTFB (Time to First Byte).
  • Control Panel: Site Tools (Proprietary).
  • White Labeling: Available on GoGeek and Cloud plans only. You can give clients access to their site’s tools without the SG logo Source: SiteGround White Label Docs.
  • Automation: None. No WHMCS included.

Why I recommend it

  1. Performance out of the box: You don’t need to tweak Apache/Nginx settings. Their “SuperCacher” (Nginx reverse proxy) is pre-configured for WordPress and flies.
  2. Client Management: Their “Client Area” lets you add clients as “users.” You can granularly control what they see. Want to hide the “File Manager” so they don’t break the site? You can.
  3. Support: SiteGround’s support is decent (though declining slightly in recent years), but their knowledge base is excellent.

The “Gotcha”

Storage Limits & Billing.

  • Storage: The GoGeek plan caps at 40GB. If you have 20 clients, that’s only 2GB per client. That is tight for media-heavy sites.
  • No Billing Integration: SiteGround does not integrate natively with WHMCS to automate billing. You will likely be billing your clients manually (e.g., via Stripe/Quickbooks) and managing their accounts manually. It’s better for “Retainer” models than “Hosting Provider” models.

Comparison: The Engineer’s Breakdown

FeatureLiquid Web (VPS Reseller)SiteGround (GoGeek/Cloud)
PerformanceHigh (Dedicated resources)High (Google Cloud Shared)
Billing SoftwareWHMCS Included (Free)Manual / None
White Label DepthFull (Nameservers, Panel, IP)Partial (Panel UI only)
Root AccessYesNo
StorageScalable (Add block storage)Strict Limits (40GB on Shared)
Best Use Case“I want to be a Hosting Company”“I want to offer Maintenance Plans”
Technical DifficultyHard (Requires SysAdmin skills)Easy (Point and Click)

The “Fine Print”: Technical Truths Vendors Hide

Before you sign up, here are three things the sales pages won’t tell you.

1. “Unlimited” is a Lie (Inodes)

Many hosts claim “Unlimited Storage.” This is marketing nonsense. They almost always have an Inode limit (file count limit).

  • If a client installs a caching plugin that generates 500,000 tiny cache files, you will hit the Inode limit and the site will crash, even if you only used 1GB of disk space.
  • Liquid Web is more generous here because you control the file system. SiteGround has strict inode caps on shared plans (e.g., GoGeek is capped at 600,000 inodes) Source: SiteGround Features Comparison.

2. Email Deliverability is Your Problem

If you resell hosting, clients will want email (info@their-domain.com).
Do not host client email on your web server.

  • If one client sends spam, your server’s IP gets blacklisted. All your clients’ emails will start going to junk.
  • My Advice: Resell Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Don’t touch transactional email with a ten-foot pole.

3. Migration is Painful

Moving 50 sites to a new reseller account is not a “one-click” magic trick. It usually involves DNS propagation downtime, SSL certificate re-issuance failures, and database connection errors.

  • SiteGround offers a great “Migrator Plugin” for WordPress that works 90% of the time.
  • Liquid Web has a dedicated migration team that will do it for you (utilize this—it’s worth its weight in gold).

Final Verdict: Which one is for you?

  • Choose Liquid Web if you are a technical agency that wants to automate everything. You want to wake up, see 5 new invoices paid in WHMCS, and know the servers provisioned themselves. You need the power of VPS.
  • Choose SiteGround if you are a creative agency. You want to charge clients $50/month for “Hosting + Maintenance,” you want a beautiful interface, and you don’t mind sending the invoices manually because you only have 20-30 high-value clients.

What Now?

If you’re ready to start, audit your current clients.
Check their disk usage and traffic. If they are mostly small brochures, go SiteGround. If they are heavy WooCommerce stores, go Liquid Web.

Don’t guess—check the metrics. That’s what an engineer would do.


FAQ

What exactly is white label hosting?

White label hosting allows you to lease server infrastructure from a provider (like Liquid Web) but present it to your clients as your own. Your clients log into a dashboard that features your agency’s logo, your support email, and your branding colors, rather than the provider’s.

Does SiteGround offer automated billing (WHMCS)?

No. SiteGround does not include WHMCS or any native billing automation in their reseller or cloud plans. If you choose SiteGround, you will need to invoice your clients manually (via tools like Stripe, QuickBooks, or Xero) and manually suspend their sites if they fail to pay.

What is the Inode limit on SiteGround GoGeek?

The SiteGround GoGeek plan is capped at 600,000 inodes (files). This is a critical technical constraint: if a client has a massive email archive or a plugin that generates thousands of cache files, the site will crash or be suspended, even if you haven’t used all 40GB of disk space.

Does Liquid Web include a free WHMCS license?

Yes. Liquid Web includes a compliant WHMCS license with their dedicated Reseller plans and many of their VPS options. This allows you to automate account creation, billing, and suspension without paying the standard monthly licensing fee for the software.


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