With wide price fluctuations, it can get difficult for small business owners to determine which web hosting services offer the best value for money. While affordability is a priority, it must not be the only consideration. Providers should also deliver reliability, security, ample storage and bandwidth, top-notch support, and free extras, such as domain names and business emails. We put dozens of the top providers to the test to find the best cheap web hosting services.
Here are the best cheap web hosting services for 2022:
- DreamHost: Most affordable web hosting with the best overall performance, highest uptime, and longer refund period
- A2 Hosting: Cheapest web hosting with free unlimited emails
- Bluehost: Best beginner-friendly, cheap web hosting platform
- Hostinger: Best cheap web hosting for the fastest loading time
- IONOS: Most flexible cheap web hosting platform for those who don’t want to limit themselves to WordPress but also want to use Joomla! or Drupal
- GreenGeeks: Best environmentally friendly web hosting platform for guilt-free business practices
- HostPapa: Best web hosting provider for managing both a professional and personal website
Best Cheap Web Hosts (Compared)
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
Starting Price | $2.59/mo. | $2.99/mo. | $2.95/mo. | $1.39/mo. | $0.50/mo. | $2.49/mo. | $3.95/mo. |
Websites | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Storage | 50GB | 100GB | 50GB | 30GB | 10GB | 50GB | 100GB |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unmetered | Unspecified | Unspecified | 100GB | Unspecified | Unmetered | Unmetered |
Uptime | 100% (as per guarantee) | 99.9% | 99.98% (as per guarantee) | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | ✔ | N/A | For 1 yr. | N/A | For 1 yr. | For 1 yr. | ✔ |
Free Email | N/A | Unlimited | ✔ | 1 | 1 | 50 | 100 |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | WP Website Builder | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | Drag-and-drop website builder | Starter |
Automated Backups | ✔ | N/A | N/A | Weekly | Daily | Regular nightly backups | N/A |
Customer Support | Only 3:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time | Ticketing/email (no live chats) | ✔ | Ticketing/email (no live chats) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Money-back Guarantee | Within 97 days | Within 30 days | Within 30 days | Within 30 days | Within 30 days | Within 30 days | Within 30 days |
Interested in finding out which are the best web hosting providers overall? Check out our guide on the best web hosting companies.
How We Evaluated the Best Cheap Web Hosting Providers
When evaluating, we made sure these providers do not lag behind in quality. Although they are considered really cheap web hosting services, both WordPress-centered and non-WordPress-centered, we made sure the basic plans come with the essentials that a small business website needs.
55% of Overall Score
Since affordability is the priority, we made sure that every provider on our list costs $5 or less.
30% of Overall Score
- Websites: The number of websites is definitely a bonus. However, since most budget-oriented website owners usually focus on just one website, we made sure the best cheap web hosting services offered support for at least one website.
- Storage: A 1,000-page website only needs 5GB of storage. We doubled that amount to provide extra space for expansion.
- Bandwidth: Bandwidth is usually generous, with small websites needing at least 10GB per month. Most of the best cheap web hosting sites do not specify their bandwidth, so we based their performance (maximum data transfer within seconds) on customer reviews.
- Uptime: Having accurate uptime is a must, and websites that generally promise this are bound to their word. We made sure each website has at least a 99.98% uptime.
- Free domain: Free domain is ideal, but since some website owners might personally prefer other providers, it is not required (we listed it anyway for your reference). Learn how to get a free domain name for your website.
- Free business email: Emails are an integral part of adding to the professionalism of your site. Although they are not always needed, it is always worth having a business email that uses your own domain name, especially when free.
- Free SSL certificate: Security is of utmost importance. We made sure all of the best cheap web hosting sites on this list come with a free SSL certificate to secure your site and save you money.
- Automated backups: Automated backups are very useful for site owners who do not always back up their data. Although manually backing up your site’s data is a good practice, automated backups help secure your site and give you peace of mind.
5% of Overall Score
We made sure each website has its own dedicated customer support—24/7 customer support is preferred. Whenever things go wrong and you can’t fix them, the best way to solve the problem is by first contacting the provider.
10% of Overall Score
Our expert score is based on the web hosting service’s popularity, ease of use, value for money, and different standout features (like website staging).
Here’s the complete breakdown of the best cheap web hosting providers:
DreamHost: Best Overall Affordable Web Hosting Platform
DreamHost
What We Like
- The most reliable cheap web host with a 100% uptime guarantee
- Plans come with a free domain name
- WP Website Builder makes the hosting very friendly for beginners
- One of the industry’s longest satisfaction guarantee at 97 days
- Top-rated customer service
What's Missing
- Has half the storage of A2 Hosting and HostPapa at 50GB
- Migration issues (specifically from Bluehost)
Who It's Best For
- Bloggers
- First-time website owners
The feature-rich DreamHost is considered the best overall cheap web hosting provider due to its fair price and 97-day refund for account credits. For those who do not want to commit to a yearly plan, but think 30 days is too short a trial, DreamHost is a good place to start. It has the best support and does not track user traffic—offering unmetered bandwidth.
DreamHost Tiered Pricing & Features
Shared Starter | Shared Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for Annual Contract | $2.59/mo. | $2.95/mo. |
Renewal Pricing for Annual Contract | $6.99/mo. | $10.99/mo. |
Introductory Pricing for 36-month Contract | $2.59/mo. | $3.95/mo. |
Renewal Price for 36-month Contract | $5.99/mo. | $12.99/mo. |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited |
Storage | 50GB | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unmetered | Unmetered |
Uptime | 100% (as per guarantee) | 100% (as per guarantee) |
Free Domain | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Email | N/A | ✔ |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | WP Website Builder | WP Website Builder |
Automated Backups | ✔ | ✔ |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ |
DreamHost offers two choices for its most affordable plans (expensive plans not included in the list). Despite the small difference in price, the unlimited plan already jacks up the total number of websites from one to unlimited and the storage from 50GB to unlimited. Users will also be getting other unlimited features like subdomains, FTP/SFTP/Shell Users, and MySQL Databases.
Our Expert Opinion
DreamHost’s Shared Starter does not advertise that it offers a free email, unlike A2 Hosting with unlimited emails. When using DreamHost, you’re better off using the Shared Unlimited instead of the Shared Starter. Customer support is only available from 3:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time, unlike Bluehost, which is reachable any time of the day.
We do recommend the Shared Unlimited one-year plan to get unlimited websites, traffic, and emails compared to the Shared Starter, offering only one website. The renewal price of the Shared Unlimited is $12.99 per month, so it is mostly recommended for those who want to stay within one year of usage.
Check out our DreamHost review to see a more thorough breakdown of this web hosting service.
A2 Hosting: Cheapest Web Hosting With Free Unlimited Emails
A2 Hosting
What We Like
- The only provider to include unlimited email addresses with its entry-level plan
- Highest storage on the list with 100GB
- 24/7 malware scanning and monitoring
Who It's Best For
- Small business websites
- People outside the U.S.
- Website owners who upload their art/media collection
A2 Hosting caters to worldwide users with its global data centers, unlike DreamHost, which only has data centers in the U.S. The web hosting provider also does 24/7 monitoring and scanning for potential malware. Moreover, it is considered heavy duty due to its free 100GB storage, capable of handling a significant amount of media files.
A2 Hosting Tiered Pricing & Features
Startup | Drive | |
|---|---|---|
Intro Price | $2.99/mo. | $4.99/mo. |
Renewal Price | $2.99/mo. | $4.99/mo. |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited |
Storage | 100GB | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unspecified | Unspecified |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | N/A | Unlimited |
Free Email | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | N/A | N/A |
Automated Backups | N/A | ✔ |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ |
A2 Hosting offers two budget plans below $5. When setting up the website, website owners can tweak behind the scenes, utilizing the website staging before bringing the changes out to the live website. The good thing about A2 Hosting is that it also has very straight-up pricing for those who don’t want to host a website for years—only monthly prices.
Our Expert Opinion
When using A2 Hosting’s Startup plan, be sure to automatically backup your files since there are no automatic backups, unlike DreamHost, which automatically backs up its users’ data. If you want to start with the Drive plan but later on decide to downgrade to the Startup plan, there is a $25 content migration fee.
The good thing about A2 Hosting is that the pricing is straight up, meaning the price does not increase upon renewal. For small business websites doing their budgeting for the next five years, having a consistent account of expenses does help. A2 Hosting is very straightforward, with its prices starting at $2.99 per month.
Check out our A2 Hosting review to get a thorough breakdown of the affordable web hosting service.
Bluehost: Best Beginner-friendly Cheap Web Hosting Service
Bluehost
What We Like
- 24/7 live chat customer service
- Easy link with WordPress
- Great user experience (UX)
- Loaded cPanel with useful tools like searches, password-protected subdirectories, and ecommerce
What's Missing
- Not suitable for uber-high volumes of traffic
- High renewal rates
- No global data centers
Who It's Best For
- Small business websites
- Small ecommerce websites
- Website owners with little to no coding experience
Bluehost is a great place to start making your website, thanks to its loaded cPanel. It provides multiple tools like mailing lists, blogs, hit counters, free-for-all pages, random link pages, and most importantly, ecommerce. For websites that sell merchandise or services, billing through Bluehost is extremely easy.
Bluehost Tiered Pricing & Features
Basic | Plus | Choice Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for Annual Contract | $4.95/mo. | $7.45/mo. | $7.45/mo. |
Renewal Price for Annual Contract | $8.99/mo. | $11.99/mo. | $16.99/mo. |
Introductory Pricing for 36-month Contract | $2.95/mo. | $5.45/mo. | $5.45/mo. |
Renewal Price for 36-month Contract | $9.99/mo. | $13.99/mo. | $18.99/mo. |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Storage | 50GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unspecified | Unspecified | Unspecified |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | For 1 yr. | For 1 yr. | For 1 yr. |
Free Email | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Automated Backups | N/A | N/A | For one year |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Bluehost is an excellent choice for smaller brands that want a dedicated merch store instead of just selling on online retailers. Furthermore, it has one of the most beginner-friendly interfaces with its own website builder. It uses a smart builder with an array of custom themes for website owners to choose from.
Our Expert Opinion
The free domain is only available for one year despite picking a three-year term, unlike HostPapa with unlimited domains. Bluehost has high renewal rates, making it hard to keep a website after the first term unless it really starts monetizing. It also has multiple upsells, from automatic backups to additional domain names.
The good thing about Bluehost is that WordPress.org officially recommends Bluehost, giving users access to free and premium themes. WordPress already comes with Bluehost, and WordPress installation is available on user’s Bluehost accounts.
Check out our Bluehost review to learn more about the official WordPress-recommended web hosting.
Hostinger: Best Cheap Web Hosting for Fast Loading
Hostinger
What We Like
- Custom dashboard
- Competitive introductory price at $1.39/mo.
What's Missing
- No live chat support
- Ticketing/email response can take a while
- No free domain
- Not everything qualifies for a refund
Who It's Best For
- Beginner bloggers
- Sites that host games (and need high loading time)
- Small business websites with less than 10,000 monthly visits
- Community website announcements
- Event websites
Hostinger is good for those website owners who might have a small project. In fact, it works best if you need a website running for just $1.39 per month, which goes up to $2.99 after four years. This is the perfect cheap web hosting for small projects like community website announcements, event websites, and other small projects.
Hostinger Tiered Pricing & Features
Single | Premium | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for Annual Contract | $2.99/mo. | $5.99/mo. | $6.99/mo. |
Renewal Pricing for Annual Contract | $5.99/mo. | $8.99/mo. | $10.99/mo. |
Introductory Pricing for 24-month Contract | $1.99/mo. | $3.99/mo. | $4.99/mo. |
Renewal Pricing for 24-month Contract | $3.99/mo. | $6.99/mo. | $9.99/mo. |
Introductory Pricing for 48-month Contract | $1.39/mo. | $2.59/mo. | $3.99/mo. |
Renewal Pricing for 48-month Contract | $2.99/mo. | $5.99/mo. | $8.99/mo. |
Websites | 1 | 100 | 100 |
Storage | 30GB | 100GB | 200GB |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | 100GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Email | 1 | 100 | 100 |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Automated Backups | Weekly | Weekly | Daily |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Hostinger is a fairly balanced cheap web hosting site that caters perfectly to small- to medium-sized websites. The initial price for the single shared hosting costs less than $2. The regular pricing is still considered affordable compared to other web hosting providers like IONOS, whose upgrade plan is far from its initial price demand.
Our Expert Opinion
The biggest disadvantage of using Hostinger is not having live chat support. In comparison to Bluehost, with an extremely easy-to-reach 24/7 chat support, Hostinger users will have to send tickets and wait (potentially up to hours) for a response. Weekly backups could also be a disadvantage for websites that publish every day.
Hostinger reviews point toward the fast loading speed of 382 milliseconds from August 2020 to July 2021. Servers are scattered through the U.S., the U.K., and Asia. Each one is connected to a 1,000mbps connection to ensure reliable loading time.
Check out our Hostinger review to find out if the cheap starting price is worth it.
IONOS: Most Flexible Cheap Web Hosting Platform
IONOS
What We Like
- Works well with WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal
- Unlimited (S)TFP accounts
- Up to 10,000 subdomains
What's Missing
- More cart services instead of separate purchases
- No website builder
- No free website transfer
- Limited account registration list of countries
Who It's Best For
- Linux and Windows users
- Blogs
- Portfolio websites
IONOS starts at an extremely generous Business package starting price of 50 cents per month for 12 months, but renews at a higher $10 per month. The more affordable Essential package starts at $4 per month for 12 months and renews at $6 per month. It is a good option for those working with multiple databases since the Essential package offers 10 databases with 2GB SSD each.
IONOS Tiered Pricing & Features
Essential | Business | Expert | |
|---|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for Annual Contract | $4/mo. | $0.50/mo. | $8.00/mo. |
Renewal Price for Annual Contract | $6/mo. | $10/mo. | $16/mo. |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Storage | 10GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unspecified | Unspecified | Unspecified |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Email | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Automated Backups | Daily | Daily | Daily |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
IONOS is a good cheap web hosting provider for small business websites and personal or professional portfolios. IONOS runs on average speed while remaining consistent. This is in contrast to Hostinger, with reviews attesting to its speed. IONOS is also a good service provider for those in unique locations. Make sure to check the IONOS data center locations before subscribing.
Our Expert Opinion
Despite the tempting 50 cents per month starting price for the Business package, the renewal price is way too high compared to Hostinger. It starts at $1.39 per month with a $2.99 per month renewal price.
Not everyone might want to use WordPress, and for this reason, IONOS is a good host for websites that want to deviate from the norm. IONOS is integrated with WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, TYPO3, and PrestaShop.
GreenGeeks: Best Environment-friendly Web Hosting Provider
GreenGeeks
What We Like
- Eco-friendly web hosting provider
- WooCommerce supported
- Easy installation for third-party apps
What's Missing
- Support is only available from 9:00 a.m. to midnight Eastern Time
- No website staging
Who It's Best For
- Environment-conscious website owners
- Business homepages
Building your website while contributing to the environment does sound like a huge plus in the world of technology. GreenGeeks is an eco-friendly company that does more than just help the environment. It matches its electricity consumption thrice—offering LSCache, free SSL, and the ability to install over 250 scripts with Softalucous.
GreenGeeks Tiered Pricing & Features
Lite | Pro | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for 36-month Contract | $2.49/mo. | $4.95/mo. | $8.95/mo. |
Renewal Price | $10.49/mo. | $15.95/mo. | $25.95/mo. |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Storage | 50GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | For one year | For one year | For one year |
Free Email | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Automated Backups | Daily | Daily | Daily |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
GreenGeeks’ pricing can be tricky since this web hosting service promotes a 70% off its $2.49 per month starting price, which is exactly the same as the regular price with a three-year term. It is also very security-oriented—should a hack happen, GreenGeeks experts will help clean your website at no cost.
Our Expert Opinion
The hardest thing about GreenGeeks is that it does not offer website staging. Live changes are applied on your website. With Bluehost, users can make their modifications behind the scenes and away from visitors.
For companies that pledge to do more good than bad, the eco-friendly GreenGeeks is a perfect match to your company’s mission and vision. The company pledges to match every amperage it pulls from the grid with thrice that amount in renewable energy through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
Check out our GreenGeeks review to see if this green company is a perfect match for you.
HostPapa: Best Web Hosting Provider for Managing Multiple Websites
HostPapa
What We Like
- You can make up to 100 emails
- Generous storage space
- You can make two websites
- Fast servers
- Built-in caching
What's Missing
- High renewal prices
- No automatic backups
- Domains will be charged for cancellations within the first term ($19.99/yr.)
- Multilingual customer support
Who It's Best For
- Beginner business owners
- Website owners who know very little about building a website
- PayPal merchants
HostPapa is one of the best web hosting companies targeting local business owners. The dual website capability allows users to either make another website or share the hosting with a friend, thus making it more affordable—domain not included.
HostPapa Tiered Pricing & Features
Starter | Business | Business Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
Introductory Pricing for Annual Contract | $5.95/mo. | $5.95/mo. | $17.95/mo. |
Renewal Price for Annual Contract | $11.99/mo. | $16.99/mo. | $27.99/mo. |
Introductory Pricing for 36-month Contract | $3.95/mo. | $3.95/mo. | $12.95/mo. |
Renewal Price for 36-month Contract | $9.99/mo. | $14.99/mo. | $23.99/mo. |
Websites | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Storage | 100GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (Monthly) | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Free Domain | |||
Free Email | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Free SSL Certificates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Free Website Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Automated Backups | Daily | Daily | Unlimited |
Customer Support | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
HostPapa, despite being the most expensive on this list, is still considered one of the most beginner-friendly cheap web hosting platforms. When local businesses are searching for cheap web hosting services, HostPapa is definitely on top of the list. It has a mobile-friendly design template, one-click app install website builder, and PayPal merchant compatibility.
Our Expert Opinion
HostPapa does not offer any automated backups, unlike DreamHost. Website owners will have to pay an additional fee for HostPapa to automatically backup their data. It also includes some tricky cancellation clauses, like the price of the domain being deducted.
HostPapa is an ideal place to start if you have little to no experience with making online stores. Traditional local businesses that are planning to establish an online presence should consider HostPapa.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it cheaper to host your own website?
No. Buying and maintaining equipment can be quite expensive; some of them have to run 24/7 to keep the website up all throughout. To get reliable speed, you’ll have to install a redundant T1 internet connection—which isn’t cheap. Aside from the cost, it can also be quite complicated to set up, requiring a certain level of technical coding. Learn how to pick the right web hosting platform instead.
Does GoDaddy have free hosting?
No. However, GoDaddy does offer certain add-ons for free, like a domain and a free year’s subscription to Microsoft Office 365 business email. Check out our GoDaddy websites review and find out if it is really the fastest way to build a new site.
What is the cheapest web hosting provider?
Based on our research, Hostinger’s 48-month introductory price is the cheapest you can get. Upon renewal (after four years), subscribers will have to pay $2.99 per month, the same as A2 Hosting’s starting price.
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