Featured Partners
1
Hostinger
$9.99 / Month
99.9%
24/7 Support Team
1
Hostinger
On Hostinger.com's Website
2
Nexcess
Starting at $9.50 per month
99.99%
24/7 Support Team
2
Nexcess
On Nexcess.net's Secure Website
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If you donâÃÂÃÂt budget your expenses and you allow costs to escalate, website hosting and upkeep can become very costly. But if you spend some time investigating your alternatives and only pick features that apply to your business, you can find that the best cheap web hosting options still give your business an edge.
Forbes Advisor compared the best web hosting providers and found ten great options that balance performance with affordability. If budget isnâÃÂÃÂt an issue, check out our guide to the best web hosting services overall.
Featured Partners
1
Hostinger
$9.99 / Month
99.9%
24/7 Support Team
1
Hostinger
2
Nexcess
Starting at $9.50 per month
99.99%
24/7 Support Team
2
Nexcess
On Nexcess.net's Secure Website
$0.50 per month
(first 12 months)
30
days
Free SSL certificate, free domain, business email
At just $0.50 per month for the first year (then $10 per month thereafter), IONOS offers one of the lowest monthly plans for web hosting. There are no limits on storage or speed, so you wonâÃÂÃÂt have to worry about uploading too many media files or getting too much traffic. Plus, get a free SSL certificate, free domain and free email with any of its hosting plans. Domain registration alone usually costs $5 to $20 per year through third-party providers.
Hosting plans also include a 30-day money-back guarantee, 24/7 free support, a direct line to your own personal consultant, a 99.9% uptime guarantee and an easy-to-use interface.
**Who should use it: **
Startups with a small initial budget.
$2.75 per month
(for first 36 months)
45
days
Free SSL certificate, free website transfer
HostGator is one of the best-known web hosting providers, and for good reason. It offers a wide range of features, including unlimited storage, bandwidth and domains, as well as a free SSL certificate. The number of files is limited to 250,000. All of HostGatorâÃÂÃÂs plans include unlimited email addresses, too.
The company also offers a 45-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 support. ItâÃÂÃÂs important to note that if you register a free domain through HostGator but cancel your account, thereâÃÂÃÂs a fee to keep your domain. This prevents users from host-hopping to maintain a free domain. Renewal fees vary depending on the length of your contract, but a three-year term will break down to a very affordable $6.95 per month.
**Who should use it: **
Businesses or individuals who already have a live website, but are looking for a new web host.
$1.95 per month
(with 36-month commitment)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, 100% uptime guarantee, free website transfer
$1.95 per month
(with 36-month commitment)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, 100% uptime guarantee, free website transfer
MochaHost is best for entrepreneurs who are already web-savvy and donâÃÂÃÂt need a lot of support to get their business online. It offers a wide range of features, including unlimited storage and bandwidth. You also get a free SSL certificate, which is required for any website that accepts payments.
Enjoy a 100% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support and free website transfers. One of the best features setting it apart from its competition is the LifeTime Discount Guarantee: choose a two- or three-year package and renew at the same rate for life.
**Who should use it: **
Web-savvy entrepreneurs who donâÃÂÃÂt need a lot of help getting their website up and running.
$3.50
per month
45 days
Free domain, free SSL certificate, free business email
$3.50
per month
45 days
Free domain, free SSL certificate, free business email
If youâÃÂÃÂre a WordPress user, then StableHost is the best provider for you. It offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth, as well as a free SSL certificate and 24/7/365 support. Enjoy a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and some plans have no limit on the number of websites or email accounts. However, the best feature is itâÃÂÃÂs optimized for WordPress.
StableHost also offers free domains for the first year, and itâÃÂÃÂs known for its excellent customer support. Within 20 minutes, youâÃÂÃÂll have a response from its support team round-the-clock.
**Who should use it: **
Startups and new businesses will find StableHost to be a good choice as plans include everything you need to get your site up and running, as well as extras that businesses need such as free business email.
$1.99 per month
(with 48-month contract)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, weekly backups, website builder
Hostinger is best for those who want to create a simple site, but donâÃÂÃÂt need unlimited storage or bandwidth. It offers three shared hosting plans, starting at $1.99 per month with a 48-month commitment (renews at $3.99 per month). The cheapest plan doesnâÃÂÃÂt come with a free domain name, nor unlimited storage and bandwidth. This package is perfect for businesses or entrepreneurs who only need a simple site (example: a brick-and-mortar store giving store hours and contact information).
Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, as well as 24/7/365 chat support. The best feature, however, is its 99.9% uptime guarantee.
**Who should use it: **
Businesses or entrepreneurs who need a way to quickly and easily build a professional business website.
$1.99
per month
97 days
Top-rated tech support, free domain name, free SSL certificate
DreamHost is widely regarded as one of the best web hosting providers for its competitively priced feature-rich plans that include everything you need to build and manage a WordPress website. While there is a plan available for as low as $1.99 per month, this option doesnâÃÂÃÂt include a free domain name. Professional plans start at $2.95 per month with annual billing, and renew at $6.99 per month after the promotional period ends. This includes a free domain name (with private registration), a free SSL certificate, one-click WordPress installation and industry-leading technical support that is there for all of your WordPress-related questions and needs.
**Who should use it: **
DreamHost is one of the best cheap hosting service providers for those who are new to WordPress as it offers some of the best technical support in the industry.
$2.95 per month
(with 36-month contract)
30 days
Free CDN, free SSL certificate, free nightly backups
Plans start at $2.95 per month with a 36-month contract and increase to $10.95 per month upon renewal. This includes 50 GB of storage, a free SSL certificate, a free CDN, unlimited databases, Softaculous WordPress installer and free nightly backups. For businesses that also want professional email that uses their own domain name, it comes with up to 50 free email accounts so you donâÃÂÃÂt have to worry about paying separately for your staffâÃÂÃÂs email.
**Who should use it: **
GreenGeeks is a good web hosting service for businesses that want peace of mind, with its nightly backups and performance-improving CDN at no extra charge. Its Earth-friendly initiatives such as a 300% green energy match are a nice bonus to feel good about too.
$2.95
per month, billed annually
30 days
Free SSL certificate, website builder
Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosting providers on the market. While itâÃÂÃÂs not the cheapest on our list, it is a good all-around web host that offers just about everything most businesses need to build and manage a professional website. Plans start at $2.95 per month with a 12-month commitment and renew at $9.99 per month. Plans include a free domain name and SSL certificate, and a user-friendly website builder that rivals the leading site builders such as Wix and Squarespace.
**Who should use it: **
Bluehost is a top web host for businesses that are looking for a good all-around web hosting service for WordPress.
$1.58 per month
(with 24-month contract)
30 days
Free SSL certificate, host three sites, low-cost VPS hosting
Namecheap is a leading domain name registrar and web hosting provider known for its low pricing. Plans start at $1.58 per month with a 24-month contract and renew at $3.88 per month and include 20 GB of storage, unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificates, a beginner-friendly website builder and 24/7 technical support. It stands out as one of the best values for those who need hosting for more than one site, such as a business with multiple locations or brands as even its cheapest plan comes with hosting for up to three sites.
Additionally, it also offers some of the cheapest VPS hosting plans available, with pricing that starts at under $10 per month.
**Who should use it: **
Since NamecheapâÃÂÃÂs cheapest plan includes hosting for up to three websites, itâÃÂÃÂs the ideal solution for those hosting multiple sites on a budget.
$0.90 per month
(with 36-month contract)
30 days
Renews at intro rate, free SSL certificate, ten free business email accounts
$0.90 per month
(with 36-month contract)
30 days
Renews at intro rate, free SSL certificate, ten free business email accounts
MilesWeb is the cheapest hosting provider on our listâÃÂÃÂand one of the best cheap hosting services out there. Plans cost as little as $0.90 per month with a 36-month commitment. It includes 1 GB of storage and unlimited bandwidth, so itâÃÂÃÂs geared towards basic business websites used to maintain an online presenceâÃÂÃÂnot an e-commerce site or those with a lot of web pages or content. Unlike other top web hosts that increase the price upon renewal, MilesWeb lets you lock in your introductory rate, so itâÃÂÃÂs cheap forever.
**Who should use it: **
Businesses with simple, informational websites that need a web presence at an ultra-affordable price.
|Company||Forbes Advisor Rating||Best For||Intro Price||Money-Back Guarantee||LEARN MORE|
|IONOS
|4.6
|Best Overall0.50 per month (first 12 months30 days||Learn More||Read Forbes' Review|
|HostGator
|4.4
|Best for Existing Sites2.75 per month (for first 36 months45 days||Learn More||On HostGator's Website|
|MochaHost
|4.2
|Best for Long-Term Low-Cost Pricing1.95 per month (with 36-month commitment30 days||View More|
|Stablehost
|4.0
|Best for New Businesses3.50 per month||45 days||View More|
|Hostinger
|3.9
|Best Easy-To-Use Website Builder1.99 per month (with 48-month contract30 days||Learn More||On Hostinger.com's Website|
|DreamHost
|3.5
|Best for WordPress Beginners1.99 per month||97 days||Learn More||On DreamHost's Website|
|GreenGeeks
|3.5
|Best for Peace of Mind2.95 per month (with 36-month contract30 days||Learn More||Read Forbes' Review|
|Bluehost
|3.5
|Best for WordPress Hosting2.95 per month, billed annually||30 days||Learn More||On Bluehost.com's Website|
|Namecheap
|3.3
|Best for Hosting Multiple Sites1.58 per month (with 24-month contract30 days||Learn More||On NameCheap's Website|
|MilesWeb
|3.0
|Best for Simple Websites0.90 per month (with 36-month contract30 days||View More|
Featured Partners
1
Hostinger
$9.99 / Month
99.9%
24/7 Support Team
1
Hostinger
2
Nexcess
Starting at $9.50 per month
99.99%
24/7 Support Team
2
Nexcess
On Nexcess.net's Secure Website
To find the best cheap web hosting services of 2022, we looked at a variety of factors, including price, features, uptime and customer service. We also compared features such as term length, storage, bandwidth, response time and whether a free domain name is included. After comparing these data points, we looked at real customer reviews to see if experiences live up to marketing hype.
HereâÃÂÃÂs a quick glance at the various factors we considered in our evaluation:
Most plans should cost a few dollars per month, offer 24/7 support, a money-back guarantee, an uptime guarantee and provide domain names (preferably for free or at a very low cost).
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 youâÃÂÃÂre choosing the best web 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, youâÃÂÃÂll 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 isnâÃÂÃÂt paying much attention to your site visitor numbers, but if it goes above a certain amount, say, 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. ItâÃÂÃÂs a good idea to read any changes a web host makes to its policies to make sure itâÃÂÃÂs still a good fit for your website needs.
ItâÃÂÃÂs common to see 99.90% to 100% uptime in web host marketing. What difference does 0.10% make? First, those uptime guarantees donâÃÂÃÂt 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 doesnâÃÂÃÂt 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, itâÃÂÃÂs 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 oneâÃÂÃÂs 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 shouldnâÃÂÃÂt impact search engine optimization (SEO), so it shouldnâÃÂÃÂt affect your ranking in search engines. Some experts disagree, though, and believe server location can affect rankings.
If youâÃÂÃÂre doing your due diligence, you might have noticed the word inodes in a web hosting companyâÃÂÃÂs 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 wonâÃÂÃÂt limit storage, but will limit the number of inodes (HostGator limits inodes to 100,000 for shared plans).
The cheapest way to host a website is through a shared hosting plan. Shared hosting plans start at around $0.99 per month and offer limited storage and bandwidth. Shared hosting plans are best for blogs or small businesses with few pages that donâÃÂÃÂt require a lot of storage space.
If you were hosting a site in your home or office with your own hardware, the process would require a certain technical knowledge to set up and deploy your site. However, todayâÃÂÃÂs hosting services take care of the process for you and give you all the tools you need to configure your website and set your preferences.
It is possible to host a website for free, but itâÃÂÃÂs 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, youâÃÂÃÂll likely have to upgrade to a paid hosting plan.
Website hosting can be expensive because itâÃÂÃÂs 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.
Kathy Haan
