Free web hosting services offer a no-cost way of storing website files for public access. We reviewed dozens of services to find the best free web hosting sites based on bandwidth, storage, uptimes, whether ads are displayed, the ability to connect your own domain, and if they include email hosting.
The five best free web hosting providers are:
- Infinity Free: Best overall for free web hosting with unlimited storage and bandwidth
- Freehostia: The most reliable free web hosting service
- Byet Host: Best free web host with free business email included
- AwardSpace: Best for free reseller hosting
- WordPress.com: Best for creating a free blog that’s built for search engine optimization (SEO)
However, if you’re looking to host a professional website, the savings you can gain by using a free hosting service are not worth the risk of your business’ reputation or site’s uptime and security, especially since paid hosting services aren’t expensive. For example, you can get high-quality hosting that’s packed with the extras you’ll need, like a free domain, free SSL, and free business email, for under $3 per month from Bluehost.
To learn more about the best low-cost, but high-quality services overall, check out our guide to the best cheap web hosting companies.
How We Evaluated the Best Free Web Hosting Sites
To be considered in this article, a web hosting service had to be offered at no cost. However, to make it onto our list of the best, a service also had to meet additional business needs like the ability to connect your own domain, offer benefits such as free email, and the quality of their customer service.
Additional criteria we used to find the best free web hosting sites included:
- Reliability
- Ad-free hosting options
- Storage and bandwidth limitations
- Additional features (e.g., free domain)
- Existing customer reviews
Based on the above criteria, Infinity Free is the number one free web hosting service. Its free plan not only comes with unlimited disk space and bandwidth, but it also has fast load speeds, high uptimes, and allows businesses to connect their own domain name. Overall, it’s a good option for small businesses with very tight budgets.
Let’s take a look at each of the best free web hosting providers in-depth:
Infinity Free: Overall Best Free Web Host
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Unlimited storage and bandwidth | Does not provide support |
Connect your own domain | No longer includes free business email |
Ad-free hosting | Does not include an SSL certificate |
Infinity Free is a web host with a free plan and low-cost plans starting at $3.99 per month. It stands out as our best overall for offering unlimited disk space and bandwidth on its free plan, as well as a 99.9% uptime and the ability to connect your own domain. It’s best for businesses with content-heavy sites that want a provider they can scale with.
Infinity Free Free Plan Features
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Price | Completely free |
Disk Space | Unlimited |
Bandwidth (per Month) | Unlimited |
Can You Connect Your Own Domain? | Yes |
cPanel | Yes |
Free SSL Certificate | No |
Do They Display Ads on Your Site? | No |
Uptime | 99.9% |
Customer Service | No |
Infinity Free offers a free plan as well as premium plans from $3.99 to $6.90 per month. The free plan includes unlimited disk space and bandwidth, ad-free hosting, and a high 99.9% uptime. It allows users to connect their own domain name and does not display ads.
Freehostia: Most Reliable Free Web Hosting Service
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Reliable with a high uptime | Incredibly limited storage |
Helpful customer support included | Very limited bandwidth |
Ad-free web hosting |
Freehostia provides one of the best free web hosting services given its high 99.9% uptime. In addition to providing the reliability you’d expect from a paid web host, it also includes free and fast customer service, which is unheard of among free hosting plans. However, Freehostia has shortcomings. In fact, its storage and bandwidth limits are so low that it will not serve most business websites (or even content-heavy blogs).
If you need more storage and bandwidth, choose Infinity Free. However, if you need both unlimited storage and reliability, you should consider IONOS, which offers reliable hosting with ample 100GB of storage space for just $1 per month, or learn more about the best cheap web hosting providers to choose the right one for your website.
Freehostia Free Plan Features
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Price | Completely free |
Can You Connect Your Own Domain? | Yes |
Storage | 250MB |
Bandwidth (per Month) | 6GB |
Email Included? | Yes, up to three accounts |
Do They Display Ads on Your Site? | No |
Server Uptime | 99.9% |
Customer Service | Yes, via a fast-response ticketing system |
Byet Host: Best Free Web Hosting With Free Email
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Free business email included | Very limited storage space |
Connect your own domain | Bandwidth limit is not advertised |
Customer support via a ticketing system | Very unreliable |
Byet Host is a free web hosting provider that offers free business email in addition to free web hosting, enabling you to connect your own domain without any ads. While the bulk of users are not happy with its free service, there is a small percentage who rave about it. Those who have zero budget for hosting and also need free email may want to try Byet out for themselves.
If you’re not willing to risk losing your site at any time with poor-quality free hosting, but need free email addresses, try Bluehost for just $2.95 per month.
Byet Host Free Plan Features
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Price | Completely free |
Disk Space | 5GB |
Bandwidth (per Month) | Unknown |
Can You Connect Your Own Domain? | Yes |
cPanel | Yes |
Email Included? | Yes, up to five accounts |
Do They Display Ads on Your Site? | No |
Customer Service | Yes, via a support ticket system |
AwardSpace: Best Free Web Hosting With Free Reseller Hosting
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Free hosting for up to four sites | Limited storage of just 1GB |
Offers reseller hosting | Limited bandwidth of 5GB |
Includes support (however, it's slow) |
AwardSpace is a well-known web hosting company that offers a free plan. However, given its polarizing reviews, it’s unlikely to win any awards with a base of users who either love it or hate it. The storage limit alone will render it useless for the average professional site. On the flip side, it is also considered unique as it offers free reseller services and hosting for up to four websites. That said, it could be good for those with very simple sites that businesses don’t rely on for sales.
AwardSpace Free Plan Features
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Price | Free |
Storage | 1GB |
Bandwidth (per Month) | 5GB |
Can You Connect Your Own Domain? | Yes, free hosting for four domains |
Email Included? | Yes, one email account included with a spam filter |
Do They Display Ads on Your Site? | No |
Customer Service | Yes, via live chat and phone |
WordPress.com: Best Free Web Hosting for SEO
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Unlimited bandwidth | Cannot connect your own domain |
Top blogging platform | Does not include support |
Free subdomain | Does not include business email |
WordPress.com is a leading blogging platform that offers free web hosting for entry-level websites and blogs. With WordPress.com, you can create and host your site in one place for free using a subdomain. It’s best for those building a blog who want a free way to start crafting their site built for search without yet incurring the cost of web hosting.
WordPress.com Free Plan Features
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Price | Free |
Can You Connect Your Own Domain? | No |
Bandwidth (per Month) | Unlimited |
Storage | 6GB |
Email Included? | No, email forwarding only for the free plan |
Do They Display Ads on Your Site? | Yes |
Customer Service | No (forums only) |
Businesses that want a professional website with a custom domain and no ads will need to upgrade to a premium plan, which starts at $5 per month. Of course, this isn’t the most competitively priced option for budget-conscious businesses. If you want a WordPress-approved web host at nearly half the price and tons of money-saving extras, choose Bluehost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I build a small business website?
There are two main ways businesses build a website: with a content management system, such as WordPress, or with a drag-and-drop site builder, such as Squarespace. Businesses building a site using WordPress will need to first get web hosting and a domain name before choosing a template and customizing it. Get the step-by-step details on how to easily build a small business website.
How can I get a free domain name?
Typically, domain names cost around $12 to $14 per year to register. It’s possible to get a free domain name through a web hosting service, though. Many of the leading web hosting providers, such as Bluehost, as well as drag-and-drop website building platforms, such as Squarespace, include a free domain with their plans. Bluehost has web hosting plans starting at just $2.95 per month. Learn more about how to get a free domain name.
Does my website need an SSL certificate?
SSL certificates are a must-have for sites that collect personal information and accept online payments; they allow you to protect sensitive information from hackers. Regardless of the type of site you have, it is advised that every site has an SSL certificate. It gives your site more security while also helping to improve your ranking in search engine result pages (SERPs). Learn about the easiest ways to get an SSL certificate.
You Might Also Like…
- Check out the easy way to build a WordPress website.
- Finding a domain isn’t easy, so get expert advice on choosing a domain name.
- Want free email? Here are five legit ways to get free business email.
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