Our Pick Of The 10 Best Shared Hosting Services Of 2024

• HostGator
• TMDHosting
• Bluehost
• InMotion
• DreamHost
• IONOS
• MochaHost
• InterServer
• GoDaddy Hosting
• Hostwinds

The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, first-person testing, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content to guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey in Australia.

Our team analysed 16 shared hosting providers with 24 factors such as price, uptime guarantee, whether they offer a free domain name, availability of additional features such as automatic backups or a website builder, ease of use and customer ratings to organise this list of the 10 best shared hosting services. A final layer of research was applied by our local Australian team to ensure relevance to readers. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Note: The below list represents a selection of our top category picks, as chosen by Forbes Advisor Australia’s editors and journalists. The information provided is purely factual and is not intended to imply any recommendation, opinion, or advice about a financial product. Not every product or provider in the marketplace has been reviewed, and the list below is not intended to be exhaustive nor replace your own research. For more information on how Forbes Advisor ranks and reviews products, including how we identified our top category picks, read the methodology selection below.

Forbes Advisor’s aim is to provide you with the information you need to make an educated purchase decision. With the enormous amount of shared hosting companies to choose from, deciding which is best isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting for you.

Here’s what we considered while putting together our list of the top shared hosting providers for Australian businesses:

• Price: We searched the market to find solutions that provide exceptional value, given the importance of price in making a shared hosting decision.
• Ease of use: We evaluated how simple it is to launch a new website, navigate the provider’s interface and install different applications and plugins.
• Uptime: Website downtime can cost money and make your site readers frustrated. This is why we considered host provider uptime stats and guarantees.
• Features: We looked at the number and quality of features each provider offers, such as bandwidth, SSL certificates, storage and other extras, such as a free domain and email addresses.
• Guarantee: Does the host company guarantee its uptime? Do you get money back if you’re not satisfied?
• Customer support: A stellar track record of prompt, helpful, no-hassle customer service is a necessity for any hosting company.

Related: Best Web Hosting for Australian Small Businesses

Shared hosting is a type of web hosting in which your website shares server resources with other websites. By sharing hosting, you share the cost of operating the server with other website owners. This cuts costs for everyone involved and is a great option if you’re on a budget. Learn more about web hosting, including types of web hosting such as shared hosting, in our guide.

Featured Partners

1

Bluehost

Learn More

On Bluehost’s Website

VPS Starting Price

$US31.99 ($48.42 AUD)

Storage and Bandwidth

120 GB (SSD), unmetered

RAM

2 GB

2

HostGator

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On HostGator’s Website

Starting price

$US3.75 ($5.62 AUD) per month

Storage and Bandwidth

Unmetered

Extras and inclusions

Free domain registration for a year, free website and domain transfer, free SSL certificate, free email

3

IONOS

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On Ionos’ Website

VPS Starting Price

$US2 ($3 AUD)

Storage and Bandwidth

10 GB, unmetered (entry-level plan)

RAM

1 GB

Pros of Shared Hosting

• Cost-effective: Shared hosting is usually much cheaper than other hosting options.
• Easy to use: Providers often offer user-friendly management interfaces.
• Maintenance: Server maintenance and administration are handled by the host.
• Features: Many plans include email, domain names and other useful features to grow and maintain your online presence.

Cons of Shared Hosting

• Limited resources: Shared resources can affect website performance.
• Lack of control: Limited customisation and control over server settings.
• Security risks: Sharing a server may expose your site to security vulnerabilities.
• Not scalable: If your website grows rapidly, shared hosting may not cope well.

Shared hosting services are ideal for those who want to create and deploy their own website, but don’t anticipate a lot of web traffic and don’t want to spend the extra money for a dedicated service. Therefore, those looking for a shared service should consider affordability as a major factor when researching a service provider.

But affordability isn’t the only factor you need to consider when choosing a shared web host. Here’s what you need to know.

Essential Shared Hosting Features

When researching shared hosting services, look for the following features:

• Storage and bandwidth: How much storage space and bandwidth do you need? Some providers offer unlimited or nearly unlimited amounts. This is important as your site scales.
• SSL certificates: Security is paramount. Make sure your provider offers free SSL certificates so you can keep your site and customers secure.
• Control panel: Look for a provider that offers a control panel where you can easily manage all of your websites, domains and email accounts. Often, this is via cPanel, one of the most popular control panels in the industry.
• Support: Does your host have 24/7 customer support? What is the average response time? In Australia, it may not be possible to phone the company directly, but are there live-chat or email options?
• Security: Make sure your host offers security features, such as SSL certificates and malware protection. The last thing you want is a hacker to hijack your website without any recovery efforts in place.
• Backups: Ask your host provider how often they back up their servers and how easy it is to restore a website if needed.
• Extras: Does the provider offer any extras, such as free domain registration, email accounts or website-building tools? These are nice to have if you are setting up a site for the first time.
• Uninterrupted power supply (UPS): Does the hosting provider offer a UPS service? This ensures your website won’t be down due to a power outage.
• Uptime guarantee: A host that guarantees 99% uptime or higher is ideal.

Cost

The cost of a shared web host will almost always be lower than a virtual private server (VPS), dedicated or managed server. This is because you’re pooling resources with other website owners, so the cost is lower for everyone. You can expect to pay less than $5 AUD per month if committing to a contract, such as 36 months, though your renewal rate will almost always increase. It’s not unheard of for it to double or triple upon renewal.

However, it’s important to factor in the other costs associated with shared hosting, such as SSL certificates, domain names and storage space. The total cost will depend on the features and services you need, so add up these costs before signing up for a contract. Some offer many of these extras for free while others don’t.

A popular tactic is to offer the first year free and charge for renewal. This also applies to introductory rates notorious for auto-renewing at a higher rate than the original offer. Be sure to read the fine print so you know what you’re getting into.

Ease of Use

Shared hosting services are typically user-friendly and easy to use. Most provide a control panel where you can manage your site, email accounts and other elements of your website. This makes setting up a site and maintaining it easier than ever.

Some shared hosts offer free website migration, which is often one of the most difficult parts of working with a new host. The process often requires a little more technical knowledge, but if a host offers it for free, it can be a huge timesaver.

Scalability

Shared hosting services are scalable, meaning you can upgrade to a larger plan as your website grows. Look for providers that make it easy to upgrade your plan with just a few clicks. Similarly, if you scale your site down, you should be able to downgrade your plan without any hassles.

Shared hosting is like living in an apartment complex. Multiple sites share the same server resources. It’s affordable and simple to use, but resources are limited. This option is suitable for small businesses, personal sites or blogs that don’t require massive resources or high-level security.

VPS hosting (virtual private server) is similar to living in a townhouse. You still share external spaces, but have your own dedicated portion of the resources. It’s more expensive but offers greater control, more resources and improved security. This option is ideal for medium-sized businesses, e-commerce sites or those who need more customisation and have a higher budget.