Best Cheap Web Hosting

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Do you want to skip the read and get right to my top picks? The best cheap web hosting service for most people is Hostinger or Bluehost.

If you’re launching a new website, there’s no reason to pay a fortune for web hosting. There are plenty of cost-effective solutions available on the market for you to choose from.

Small websites, personal blogs, and other newer websites can definitely get away with a cheap web hosting plan.

But with thousands of web hosting providers to choose from, finding the best option for your site can feel like a tall task. 

Fortunately, you won’t actually have to search through thousands of plans. There are really only one or two dozen reputable web hosts to consider. That list gets even smaller if you’re looking for a cheap web hosting plan. For those of you on a tight budget, these are my top picks:

The Top 6 Options For Cheap Web Hosting

1. Hostinger — Best Web Hosting Plan Under $1
2. Bluehost — The Best Value in Web Hosting
3. A2 Hosting — The Best Customer Service
4. HostGator — The Best Cheap Cloud Hosting
5. iPage — Best Cheap Web Hosting Features
6. GoDaddy — The Best Cheap VPS Hosting

What I Looked at to Find the Best Cheap Web Hosting

You’re looking for the cheapest plan out there, but you still need a dependable host.

There’s no shortage of budget-friendly web hosting options available. Each one promises great uptime, site performance, and customer support.

It seems like anyone can get their site up for less than the cost of a cup of coffee.

What’s the catch?

If you understand your options and pick the right one, there is no catch.

I’m going to guide you through saving every dollar possible without getting scammed or locked into a plan that you’ll regret later.

Use these four criteria to cut through the advertising gimmicks, rule out plans that are “too good to be true,” and hone in on the best deal for lowest price.

Price

When looking for web hosting in general, price is pretty important. But in looking at cheap web hosting, I’ve made pricing the most important criteria by far. 

In other words, I asked myself: How can I get dependable hosting at the absolute lowest price?

Since you have to pay for hosting each month, even a few dollars’ difference between plans will add up over time.

I focused on web hosts with a rock solid reputation because their cheap hosting options don’t cut corners. These plans are no-frills hosting, for sure, but I made sure they cover all the essentials. 

With some of the less reputable hosts out there, you can get a rock-bottom price and a rock-bottom experience. 

The providers I chose have super-affordable plans that won’t cause trouble now, trap you into upgrading, or wind up costing a fortune down the road.

Contract Terms

Lots of web hosts might seem cheap at first glance, but you need to review the contract terms to truly get a sense of the actual cost. 

To lock in the lowest possible rate, you’ll likely have to commit to a two, three, or even a four-year plan. 

Importantly, these contracts are typically paid up-front and in-full. 

That means that web hosting advertised at $3 per month could actually cost you upwards of $100 today.

Along with the length of the contract, you need to check the renewal rates. It’s common practice in the web hosting industry for hosting plans to skyrocket upon renewal.

Promotional pricing might cost $3 per month, but then automatically renew at something like $10 per month.

That would more than triple your rate upon renewal. Suddenly it’s not so cheap anymore.

Domain Limits

How many sites do you want? 

If you add a site or two, you could accidentally get forced to upgrade and pay a lot more.

iPage, for example, lets people create as many websites as they want with their cheapest hosting plan. 

With Hostinger, on the other hand, you’ll have to upgrade to host more than one site. That said, Hostinger’s next plan up is still less than $3 per month and you can build up to 100 websites.

Another important limit to consider is bandwidth. This is the maximum amount of data your site can transfer to users during a set amount of time. 

Now there’s no such thing as unlimited bandwidth, but you are definitely going to see that advertised with a lot of the cheapest web hosting plans out there.

Why can they say this?

Because these are shared hosting plans where your site is on a server with a bunch of other sites. On a typical day, these sites are not going to use all of the server’s resources, so they say it’s unlimited.

The truth is that you will definitely still have limits on how much of the server’s central processing unit (CPU) your site can use. 

Getting too many visitors to your site may exceed your CPU limits, and the provider may ask you to upgrade.

Shared hosting plans with unlimited bandwidth are perfect for cheap web hosting, just don’t equate it with unlimited visitors.

Free Tools to Build and Grow Your Site

You’d be surprised, but even some of the least expensive web hosting plans are packed with free tools and capabilities. Getting these freebies as part of a bundle can help you save in other areas.

Some of the features to look out for include:

• Ad credits: free Google or Bing advertising credits to target your audience
• Domain name: your site’s online address at www.your-domain-name.com
• Email account: an address @your-domain-name.com
• SSL Certificates: protects online privacy and lets visitors know your site is secure
• Visual website builder: an application that lets even total newbies design beautiful pages

Everything that’s included with your hosting plan is something you don’t have to spend more money on. 

It’s not hard to register your domain name, but if your hosting plan includes it, that’s going to save you $10-15 in the first year.

Getting a free professional email is another $30 in your pocket. The freebies add up.

Even Hostinger, which can be purchased for less than $1/month, comes with an email account, SSL certificate, and a website builder that requires zero coding knowledge to use.

The Different Types of Cheap Web Hosting

The term “cheap” is means different things to different people. A college student starting a personal blog as a side project or a hobby will have a different definition of cheap than a small business owner trying to generate sales online. 

But with that said, cheap web hosting can be segmented into the following five categories. I’ll give you some more information on each one below.

Shared Hosting

Shared web hosting will always be the cheapest option. These entry-level plans host multiple websites on a single server. 

You’ll benefit from low rates, but your site won’t have dedicated server resources. Other sites on your server could take up the server resources and cause your site to crash. Your host might even limit your bandwidth and slow down your site if you get traffic spikes.

While shared hosting isn’t the top of the line, it’s the best option for the vast majority of new websites. If you want something cheap, there’s no reason to look beyond shared plans. 

VPS Hosting

VPS (virtual private server) hosting is a step above shared hosting.

It’s a bit more expensive, but your site performance will improve dramatically. You’ll still be sharing servers with other websites; however, your site will have its own dedicated resources on a virtual server. 

For those of you who are expecting tons of traffic out of the gate, you could consider jumping right into a VPS plan. Alternatively, cheap VPS hosting is ideal for websites that have outgrown a shared plan.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosting can come in all different shapes and sizes. There are shared WordPress hosting plans, WordPress VPS plans, fully managed WordPress hosting, and more.

As the name implies, this is obviously made for WordPress websites. 

If you want perks like one-click WordPress installations, automatic WordPress updates, free WordPress backups, and other similar features, this will be a top option to consider. The price can be pretty comparable to shared hosting or slightly higher (depending on the provider). 

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is relatively new. But this type of web hosting has quickly gained popularity in the hosting world. It can best be described as a hybrid version of VPS hosting, but cheaper.

So if you’re price-sensitive and evaluating VPS plans, cloud hosting will likely be more cost-effective. 

Cloud plans are great for those of you who want to scale your server resources on-demand. This will help you account for traffic spikes. 

Lots of cloud providers only charge you for the server resources that you’re actually using. While this can be tough to budget for, it’s a great way to save money and ensure you’re not overpaying for resources that never get used. 

#1 – Hostinger Review — Best Web Hosting Plan Under $1

Hostinger is one of the most reputable names in the world of web hosting. Their hosting services are simple, straight forward, and best of all—cheap.

You can get plans for as low as $0.99 per month. 

If you’re looking for the cheapest possible plan from a reputable provider, look no further than Hostinger. It’s worth noting that you’ll need to lock in a 48-month contract to get this rock-bottom rate. 

This plan is really only suitable for beginners and new websites. For those of you who want fewer restrictions, Hostinger has two other shared plans starting at $2.89 and $3.99, respectively—both still very affordable. 

Noteworthy highlights of Hostinger’s web hosting plans include:

• Easy to set up
• Simple site migrations
• Optimized for WordPress (with one-click installations)
• Built to scale
• User-friendly control panel
• Cloudflare protected nameservers
• Github integration
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Unlimited bandwidth (with select plans)
• Free domain name (with select plans)

All Hostinger web hosting plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you’re unhappy for any reason, just contact their support team for a full refund. 

#2 – Bluehost Review — The Best Value in Web Hosting

Bluehost is one of the most popular providers in the web hosting industry. They power 2+ million sites across the globe.

Shared hosting plans from Bluehost start at $3.95 per month. While this entry-level pricing is a bit higher compared to other options on our list, Bluehost is arguably the best host on the market today.

Personally, I’d rather pay a couple of extra dollars per month for quality. If you fall into that same category, Bluehost will be perfect for you.

This is also my top pick for anyone starting a new website from scratch. Bluehost makes it easy for you to bundle your web hosting with domain registration from a single provider. 

Other features and benefits of Bluehost include:

• 24/7 customer support
• Free domain name for one year
• Recommended by WordPress since 2005
• Automatic WordPress installations and automatic WordPress updates
• Free SSL certificate
• Unmetered bandwidth

Bluehost is built to scale as well. As your site gains traffic and requires additional needs, this hosting provider makes it easy for you to grow. 

All Bluehost web hosting plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you can try Bluehost risk-free. 

#3 – A2 Hosting Review — The Best Customer Service

A2 Hosting is synonymous with speed. With turbo servers, more resources, and extra power, they boast some of the fastest page loading times in the hosting industry.

Shared plans from A2 start at $2.49 per month, but you’ll need to upgrade to a higher tier if you want to take advantage of their fastest speeds.

While everyone talks about A2 Hosting’s speed, it’s their customer service and support that really stands out the most to me. All plans come with features and benefits like:

• Free and simple site migrations
• 24/7/365 guru support
• Free automatic backups
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Optimized for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, and Magento
• Free SSL certificate

If you’re starting a new site from scratch, A2 Hosting has site-building tools as well. For those of you who have an existing site hosted with another provider, A2’s expert site migration team will handle the transfer for you.

Like most providers on our list, A2 Hosting also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

#4 – HostGator Review — The Best Cheap Cloud Hosting

As previously mentioned, cloud hosting is a cost-effective alternative to VPS hosting. So if your site is getting too much traffic for a shared plan, but you don’t want to spend a fortune upgrading to a VPS, HostGator has cheap cloud plans for you to choose from.

Starting at just $4.95 per month, you won’t find a better deal from such a reputable provider.

In addition to blazing fast load speeds, HostGator cloud hosting allows companies to increase their resources with the click of a button. Scale on-demand, with no data migrations or downtime necessary.

Some other noteworthy highlights of HostGator’s cloud plans include:

• Up to 2x faster and 4x more resources than shared plans
• Free domain registration
• Free SSL certificate
• Easy to set up with a powerful dashboard to manage your site
• Integrated caching
• Data mirroring
• Automated failover (to prevent downtime)

At such a low price, you could even consider getting a HostGator cloud plan if you’re launching a new site from scratch. It’s the perfect combination of performance and value.

#5 – iPage Review — Best Cheap Web Hosting Features

iPage is a web hosting provider and site builder bundled into a single package. If you’re starting a new website from scratch and looking for a bargain, this will be a top choice to consider.

Hosting plans start at $1.99 per month with a 36-month contract.

Even at such a low introductory rate, the plan is packed with features. Here’s a quick overview of what comes with your subscription:

• Free domain registration
• Free email address
• Free SSL certificate
• Free website builder
• Free domain transfers
• Free WordPress building tools
• Free SiteLock security scans
• $100 in Google Ads credits
• $100 Bing ad credits
• Unlimited domains
• Thousands of free templates
• 24/7 phone and live chat support

iPage is even optimized for ecommerce sites, making it a popular choice for beginner online stores. Plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you’ll have a month to try iPage risk-free.

#6 – GoDaddy Review — The Best Cheap VPS Hosting

Most people recognize GoDaddy for their domain registration services and provocative marketing campaigns. But they are also a big player in the web hosting space.

For those of you who have outgrown your shared plan, GoDaddy has cheap VPS hosting, starting at just $4.99 per month.

This rate is closer in price to most shared hosting plans, as opposed to comparable VPS plans from other providers. It’s worth noting that the self-managed VPS plans from GoDaddy aren’t really designed for beginners. These plans are built for developers, designers, and system administrators who want full control over their hosting environment. 

All VPS plans include:

• Root access to configure your server needs at the operating system level
• Monitoring and notification alerts for servers and performance (CPU, RAM, storage)
• Advanced DDoS protection and free SSL certificate
• Easy to scale and increase RAM, CPU, and storage
• Ability to choose your data center
• Automated weekly backups
• Ability to create unlimited hosting accounts
• Optional cPanel/WHM + installation
• Unlimited traffic with a 99.9% uptime guarantee

Again, if you’re a beginner starting a new site from scratch, look elsewhere. But tech-savvy individuals with hosting experience can definitely benefit from GoDaddy’s cheap VPS plans. 

Summary

If you’re looking for cheap web hosting, choosing a shared plan from one of the recommended providers on the list above will be your best option. These start as low as $0.99 per month.

Some of you might be looking for a bit more than an entry-level option. If you fall into this category, there are some cheap VPS plans and cloud plans to consider as well. 

As long as you follow the buying guide resources and tips I’ve outlined in this guide, you won’t have a problem finding what you need.

The post Best Cheap Web Hosting appeared first on Neil Patel.

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