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Reviewed
Website hosting and upkeep can be costly, but there are plenty of reliable budget-friendly options available as well. In this guide, we’ll feature the best cheap web hosting services in 2024. Forbes Advisor compared the best web hosting providers and found 11 great options that balance performance with affordability. If budget isn’t an issue, check out our guide to the best website hosting services overall.
Featured Partners
1
Bluehost
$2.95 per month
Unmetered bandwidth, SSD storage starts at 10GB
Free domain name & SSL for a year
2
HostGator
$2.75 per month (for first 36 months)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, free website transfer
3
Web.com
$2.75 per month
Yes
Customizable templates, Easy drag-and-drop technology, SSL certificate
The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content and guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.
We reviewed several web hosts using a complex process to help determine the 11 best cheap web hosting services. Our ratings consider factors around pricing, general features, additional features, customer ratings and reviews and a final review by our team of experts. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Intro Price | Money-Back Guarantee | Inclusions | LEARN MORE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MochaHost |  |
4.9 |  |
$3.18 per month | 30 days, 180 days risk-free | Free SSL certificate, 100% uptime guarantee, free website transfer | View More | ||
| HostGator |  |
4.8 |  |
$2.64 per month (for first 36 months) | 30 days | Free SSL certificate, free website transfer | Learn More | On HostGator's Website | |
| MilesWeb |  |
4.8 | |
$1 per month (with 36-month contract) | 30 days | Renews at intro rate, free SSL certificate, 10 free business email accounts | View More | ||
| GreenGeeks |  |
4.8 | |
$2.95 per month (with 36-month contract) | 30 days | Free CDN, free SSL certificate, free nightly backups | Learn More | On GreenGeek's Website | |
| Namecheap |  |
4.7 | |
$22.88 per year | 30 days | Free SSL certificate, host three sites, low-cost VPS hosting | Learn More | On Namecheap's Website | |
| DreamHost |  |
4.5 | |
$2.59 per month (with 3-year commitment) | 97 days | Top-rated tech support, free domain name, free SSL certificate | Learn More | On DreamHost's Website | |
| Bluehost |  |
4.5 | |
$1.99 per month (for your first three years) | 30 days | Free SSL certificate, website builder | Learn More | On Bluehost.com's Website | |
| StableHost |  |
4.2 |  |
$90 cents per month (paid annually) | 45 days | Free domain, free SSL certificate, free business email | View More | ||
| InterServer |  |
4.2 |  |
$2.50 per month | 30 days | Unlimited email accounts, free website migration, free SSL certificates and unlimited SSD storage | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review | |
| IONOS |  |
3.8 |  |
$1 per month (first 12 months) | 30 days | Free SSL certificate, free domain, business email | Learn More | On IONOS' Website | |
| Hostinger |  |
3.3 | |
$2.99 per month (with 48-month contract plus three months free) | 30 days | Free SSL certificate, weekly backups, website builder | Learn More | Read Forbes' Review |
To find the best cheap web hosting services of 2024, we looked at a variety of factors, including price, features, uptime and customer service. We also compared general features and unique features, giving weight to the ones customers find the most beneficial. After comparing these data points, we looked at real customer reviews to see if experiences live up to marketing hype, including a final review by our panel of experts.
For pricing, we looked at the starting price for a web hosting service’s plan, especially how much it was per month on a monthly, annual and three-year basis. We also considered how expensive a plan became upon renewal, giving higher ratings to those services that kept their prices in line with their original pricing. Finally, if a service offered a free trial of its service, we gave them credit for that as well. Pricing accounted for 15% of our weighted scoring.
For features, we looked at what kind of limitations a web hosting service puts on its users, specifically around storage and bandwidth, something that many users need plenty of. Those that offered unlimited bandwidth and/or storage fared best in this category and those with limitations or that charge for more storage and bandwidth took a hit in our rankings. We also expected each service to provide an option for a free domain for users.
In the additional features category, we gave providers credit if they offered services like easy installation, free business email addresses and money-back guarantees. We weighted all features as 40% of our total score.
We wanted to know what actual users of the web hosting services thought of them, so we turned to reviews left on third-party review websites. We specifically looked for providers that received numerous positive reviews (more than 300 on a site) and reviews that were better than average (at least 3.5 out of 5). This allowed us to gain the fullest picture of reality and reduce bias. These reviews accounted for 20% of the total score.
Turning to those same reviews, our experts also looked at four specific criteria: ease of use, stand-out features, popularity and value for the price. Based on customer reviews of these four topics, they came up with a final rating for our list of cheap web hosts, which made up 25% of the total score.
Web hosting is a service that provides businesses and individuals with servers to store their website and its related data, such as images, documents, videos and more. Web hosting services provide users with access to their website through the internet. Websites are hosted on computers called servers, which are connected to the internet. The hosting company provides an interface and technical support to manage the server so that users don’t have to worry about any of the technical aspects.
Hosting works by storing a website’s data on a server that is connected to the internet. When someone visits the website, they can access the data stored on the server. The hosting company’s user-friendly interface and accessible technical support ensure that users are freed from the burden of having to manage any of the server’s complex components.
The hosting company also maintains and updates the server, ensuring that it runs smoothly and efficiently. This helps ensure that the website runs without any issues. Additionally, web hosting companies provide security measures to protect data from malicious attacks and may also offer additional services such as domain name registration, email hosting and SEO support.
Our list of the best cheap web hosting companies focuses on monthly cost, term lengths and overall value. You should keep a few factors in mind when you’re choosing the best host for your website, cheap or otherwise.
Web hosting services seem to shift between unlimited and unmetered in regard to storage and bandwidth, with little explanation. If you read the fine print of the Terms and Conditions from each host, you’ll usually find the answer.
If your storage is unlimited, it often comes with conditions. For example, if you use too many resources on a shared server, as it relates to others on the server, the web host may ask you to remove files from your site.
Unmetered bandwidth usually means that the hosting company isn’t paying much attention to your site visitor numbers but, if it goes above a certain amount, such as 300,000 in a month, the host may ask you to upgrade to a virtual private server (VPS).
Even when you find a web host that promises 100% uptime, unlimited storage or $1 per month, it can change the terms at any time. It’s a good idea to read any changes a web host makes to its policies to make sure it’s still a good fit for your website needs.
It’s common to see 99.90% to 100% uptime in web host marketing. What difference does 0.10% make? First, those uptime guarantees don’t apply to scheduled downtime for maintenance. If you notice your site is down, but the web host let you know it was going to happen, it doesn’t count. Unplanned downtime is when hosting companies scramble to get service back up because otherwise, they owe a lot of people free months.
If your website is up only 99.90% of the time, it’s about the equivalent of 44 minutes of downtime per month. Bump that uptime to 99.99% of the time, and you might have four minutes or so of downtime per month.
Server location can impact the speed of one’s website for some users. If you have a bakery in Chicago, most of your site visitors are likely to be local, so you would want to choose a host with servers in the central United States. Server location shouldn’t impact search engine optimization (SEO), so it shouldn’t affect your ranking in search engines. Some experts disagree, though, and believe server location can affect rankings.
If you’re doing your due diligence, you might have noticed the word inodes in a web hosting company’s policies. An inode is a data structure that includes all the attributes of a file. It includes information about a file or directory, such as file name, permissions and time of last change. Sometimes web hosts won’t limit storage but will limit the number of inodes (HostGator limits inodes to 100,000 for shared plans).
Premium web hosts offer more features, such as unlimited storage, bandwidth and email accounts, as well as better performance and security. However, these features come at a higher price.
Affordable web hosts offer more basic features, such as shared hosting, which is more affordable but doesn’t offer the same level of performance and security. However, if you don’t need the extra features, an affordable web host can be a good option.
Be sure to read the fine print of any web hosting company’s terms of service. Many companies will change their terms over time, and some of those changes could have an impact on your website. For example, a company could change its policy on unlimited storage and bandwidth to limit the amount of storage and bandwidth you can use.
Additionally, some companies will change their terms to allow themselves to increase prices after you’ve signed up for service. Be sure to read the terms of service carefully and pay attention to any changes that are made.
When you’re choosing a web hosting company, customer support is an important factor to consider. If you have a problem with your website, you’ll want to be able to contact customer support and get help resolving the issue.
Be sure to read customer reviews of web hosting companies to get an idea of their customer support. You can also test out a company’s customer support by contacting it with a question before you sign up for service.
Make sure the company you choose has customer support that is available 24/7. You never know when you’ll need to contact customer support, and you don’t want to have to wait for a response. Additionally, make sure the company offers multiple ways to contact customer support, such as by phone, email and live chat. This will give you the flexibility to choose the best method for you.
When you’re choosing a web hosting company, you’ll want to make sure the company offers easy setup and use. You don’t want to sign up for a company that is difficult to use or set up. Be sure to read customer reviews of web hosting companies to get an idea of their ease of use. You can also test out a company’s control panel to see how easy it is to use.
The location of the server can affect the speed and performance of your website. If the server is in a different country than your target audience, it can take longer for your website to load, or your audience may not be able to access your website at all. For these reasons, it’s important to choose a web hosting company with servers located in the same country as your target audience.
Additionally, if you’re targeting a global audience, you’ll want to choose a web hosting company with servers located in multiple countries. This will ensure that your website is accessible to as many people as possible.
A free trial can be a great way to test out a web hosting company before you commit to paying for service. Be sure to read the terms of the free trial carefully, as some companies will require you to enter a credit card number.
Additionally, many web hosting companies offer money-back guarantees. This means you can sign up for service and get a refund if you’re not satisfied. Be sure to read the terms of the money-back guarantee carefully, as some companies will only refund your money if you cancel within a certain period of time.
Featured Partners
1
Bluehost
$2.95 per month
Unmetered bandwidth, SSD storage starts at 10GB
Free domain name & SSL for a year
2
HostGator
$2.75 per month (for first 36 months)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, free website transfer
3
Web.com
$2.75 per month
Yes
Customizable templates, Easy drag-and-drop technology, SSL certificate
When it comes to web hosting, the cost can vary greatly depending on the type of hosting you need. Shared hosting is usually the most affordable option, but it can also be the least reliable. This is because your website will be hosted on a server with other websites, meaning the performance of your website can be impacted by the performance of other websites.
Dedicated hosting is more expensive but offers better performance and reliability. Dedicated hosting means that your website is the only one hosted on a server, so you don’t have to worry about the performance of other websites impacting yours.
Cloud hosting is also an option and can offer more flexibility than dedicated hosting but it typically costs more than shared or dedicated hosting.
No matter what type of hosting you choose, be sure to compare the features and prices of different web hosting companies before making your decision. This will help you find the best deal for your budget. And remember: Choosing a web hosting company with excellent customer service and reliable servers can be worth the extra cost.
Sample shared hosting introductory pricing
The cost of web hosting can vary depending on the company you choose and the features you need. Most companies offer promotional pricing for new customers. Read the terms of the promotional pricing carefully, as some companies will require you to sign up for a long-term contract to get the promotional price. Compare the promotional price to the company’s regular price to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
Many companies will increase the price of your web hosting when you renew your service. Be sure to compare the renewal price to the promotional price to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
The cost of web hosting can also vary depending on the type of web hosting you choose. Shared web hosting, for example, is typically less expensive than VPS or dedicated web hosting.
There are a few things you can do to reduce the cost of web hosting.
First, try to sign up for a longer-term contract. Many companies will give you a discount if you sign up for 12 months or more of service. Second, try to find a company that offers discounts for paying upfront. Many companies will give you a discount if you pay for 12 months or more of service upfront.
Third, you can try to find a company that offers a free trial. This will allow you to test out the company’s service before you commit to paying for it. Finally, you can try to negotiate a lower price with the company. If you’re bringing over multiple websites, the company may be willing to give you a lower price.
If you only need a basic, one-page sales funnel or website, you may want to consider using a website builder instead of web hosting. Website builders are typically much cheaper than web hosting, and they’re much easier to use.
With a website builder, you typically get everything you need to create and launch your website in one package. This includes a domain name, website templates and hosting.
There are some downsides to using a website builder, however. The most obvious downside is that you won’t have as much control over your website. Additionally, website builders rarely offer the same level of customer support as web hosting companies.
Check out our list of the Best Free Website Builders and Best Website Builder for our full list of recommendations. These include Weebly, GoDaddy, Wix, Mailchimp and IONOS.
IONOS is Forbes Advisor’s pick for the best cheap hosting service of 2024. With plans starting at $1 per month for the first 12 months, IONOS is one of the most affordable hosting providers on the market.
HostGator is best for existing sites. Plans start at $2.64 per month for the first 36 months and come with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
MochaHost is best for long-term low-cost pricing with plans starting at $3.18 per month.
The cheapest way to host a website is through a shared hosting plan. Shared hosting plans start at around 99 cents per month and offer limited storage and bandwidth. Shared hosting plans are best for blogs or small businesses with few pages that don’t require a lot of storage space.
It is possible to host a website for free but it’s not recommended. Free hosting plans often come with strict storage and bandwidth limitations, as well as a lack of customer support. If your website experiences high traffic or you need to add features such as an SSL certificate, you’ll likely have to upgrade to a paid hosting plan. The cheapest web hosting plan is offered by MilesWeb, at 75 cents per month with a three-year contract.
Website hosting can be expensive because it’s a competitive market. Most web hosts offer similar features and resources, so the best way to stand out is to offer more features, which often come at an additional cost. Web hosts also have to pay for the servers and infrastructure that power their websites, as well as 24/7 customer support.
Not necessarily. While some web hosts offer cheap hosting plans with limited features, others offer affordable plans with plenty of storage space and bandwidth as well as robust customer support. It’s important to compare features and prices before selecting a web host to find the best value for your needs.
A good monthly price for hosting will depend on your needs. If you’re just starting a website, you can find shared hosting plans for as little as 75 cents per month, provided you commit to a longer contract. If you need more storage space or bandwidth, you can find VPS plans for around $20 per month. Dedicated server plans start at $100 per month but can go up to several thousand dollars, depending on your needs.
Shared hosting is an okay option for new small businesses because it’s affordable and easy to set up. However, you’re sharing resources with other websites, so your site might not be as fast or reliable as it could be. If your website starts to experience high traffic, you’ll likely need to upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server plan.
Of the providers on our list, StableHost has the cheapest shared hosting at 90 cents for the first 12 months of your plan. Other providers that are comparably priced include IONOS and MilesWeb, which have plans that start at $1 per month.
IONOS offers dedicated hosting starting at $32 per month for your first 24 months. It comes with 12GB of RAM, 4 cores and allows for unlimited traffic.
