The 5 Best Cheap Web Hosting of 2023 – Host Your Website for $5 or Less!
The best cheap web hosts offer you top features, great performance, and excellent support, with prices below $5! Their low introductory price greatly benefits those looking to start a website at a budget.
Our #1 best cheap web hosting goes to Hostinger, with premium speed, features, and support – plans start from $1.99/mo!
Since 2014, we have bought & tested over 30 web hosting brands. To help you make an informed decision, we checked their performance, feature, support, and pricing; then narrowed down to the 5 best cheap web hosting that actually doesn’t suck!
5 Great Affordable Web Hosting Services
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Note
- All prices shown below are based on a 36-month plan introductory rate unless stated otherwise.
- You may get even lower prices by opting for a longer subscription period.
1. Hostinger
https://www.hostinger.com/
Plan
Single
Introductory Price
$1.99 /mo
Renewal Price
$3.99 /mo
Key Features
- 50GB SSD
- 100GB Bandwidth
- Free SSL
- Outstanding Support
- hPanel
“Premium services at a super low price, what else can you ask for?”
Hailing from Lithuania, Hostinger is a brand that keeps getting better by the year. In fact, they emerged as the fastest-growing web hosting provider of 2020, and it’s great to see that they’ve kept their prices as low as ever, even as they upgrade their features and grow their global presence.
Hostinger is our easy top choice for cheap web hosting because they offer premium hosting services at a very low signup price.
Pros and cons of Hostinger
Pros
- ✓ Great introductory price
- ✓ Cheapest long-term price on the market
- ✓ Great global coverage on a budget
- ✓ Premium performance and features
- ✓ Responsive multilingual support
Cons
- • No daily backups on their cheaper plans
- • Cheaper plans don’t include unlimited bandwidth
- • No phone support
Plans and value for money
Hostinger’s plans cater for a range of users – from bloggers and small businesses, to enterprise users. For this article, we tested out their cheapest plan (Single Shared Hosting) which costs an insanely low $1.99/mo for a 48 month period.
Hats off to them – not only do they offer the cheapest long-term prices in the industry, but the price doesn’t even jump much higher once you need to renew it.
Their cheapest plan unlocks plenty of resources for a single site, including some premium features like Git-access, 1-click app installs, unlimited free SSL and access through their slick and intuitive custom hPanel interface.
Whilst we think that’s ideal for smaller websites, if you need a little extra boost, you can unlock a lot more resources by upgrading to the next tier for just an extra monthly dollar. Premium Shared Hosting costs $2.99/mo (for 48 months) and unlocks some juicy extras like:
- 100 Email accounts
- Unlimited bandwidth and databases
- Cronjobs
- A domain name
Still – Hostinger’s value-for-money doesn’t just lie in a list of features. It’s worth mentioning that one of their strongest assets is the quality of support they provide. Not only are their teams available 24/7 over Live Chat, but they currently serve over 20 countries in their native language!
Performance
Hostinger passed our own performance tests with flying colors. We built a total of 3 different test sites specifically to host on Hostinger and run through our server speed test tool. Here are the results from their US datacenter!
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 ms | 21 ms | 92 ms | 244 ms | 136 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 211 ms | 265 ms | 172 ms | 37 ms | 107 ms |
With an average response time of 136ms, Hostinger scored a solid A+. Users can speed things up even more with their very own Cache Manager, LiteSpeed cache, NGINX caching, PHP7 support and WordPress optimisation
What’s also outstanding though, is how many servers they have around the world!
They currently operate 10 data centers across the major continents, which means you can easily host from the location closest to your audience. This sort of range is surprising because you don’t expect that when you’re paying prices like these!
Learn more about Hostinger
- Read our full Hostinger review to find out more!
- See our Hostinger test site!
2. Dreamhost
https://www.dreamhost.com
Plan
Shared Starter
Introductory Price
$2.59 /mo
Renewal Price
$5.99 /mo
Key Features
- Unlimited Websites
- 100GB SSD
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- 100% Uptime
- 97-Day money-back
“World-famous, WordPress-endorsed hosting that’s surprisingly cheap!”
DreamHost are one of the most established names in the industry, but they’ve kepting on wowing us over the years. Aside from being able to boast an official WordPress endorsement, DreamHost offers very high-value hosting for surprisingly cheap.
We’d recommend these guys if you want budget hosting for a WordPress site, especially if you’re just starting out.
Pros and cons of DreamHost
Pros
- ✓ Officially endorsed by WordPress!
- ✓ Free SSL and WordPress migrations
- ✓ Excellent security suite without paying extra
- ✓ 97-day money back guarantee
Cons
- • Only has data centers in the US
- • Live chat operating hours limited to 05:30 – 21:30 Pacific Time
Plans and value for money
DreamHost plans are packed with value, including unlimited bandwidth, a free domain name and premium features like a WordPress drag-and-drop website builder to help you throw together a pro-looking website, ASAP.
Even their cheapest plans (starting from $2.59 /mo) cover a surprising amount of essential ground for small businesses, including great security features and a 100% uptime guarantee. Basically – you cover your bases without breaking the bank.
| Features | Shared Starter | Shared Unlimited |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.59/mo | $3.95/mo |
| Renews at | $5.99/mo | $10.99/mo |
| Storage | 50 GB | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| SSL certificate | Free | Free |
| See all features |
What’s also quite stand-out is their money back guarantee. Whilst most hosts offer a guarantee of 30 days, DreamHost takes it to the next level with a 97-day money back guarantee!
You also get the rare option to pay on a monthly basis, which is something that many hosts don’t offer anymore. Whilst you won’t unlock the cheapest prices this way, you may appreciate the cashflow advantage.
Performance
DreamHost also performs fantastically. When put through our speed test, their SSD servers recorded the fastest average response times out of all the hosts we’ve tested here!
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 ms | 2 ms | 77 ms | 242 ms | 117 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 194 ms | 210 ms | 169 ms | 16 ms | 87 ms |
We were impressed with their average response time of 118.4 ms, scoring a solid A+ rank.
Their downsides? They only have servers based in the US, so may not be the best choice for those with audiences in Asia or Oceania since you can see that speeds are slower there.
Learn more about Dreamhost
- See our Dreamhost review!
- See our Dreamhost test site!
3. Bluehost
https://www.bluehost.com/
Plan
Basic
Introductory Price
$2.95 /mo
Renewal Price
$9.99 /mo
Key Features
- 1 Website
- 10GB SSD
- Free SSL Certificate
- Free Domain
- Cloudflare CDN
“Low prices with standard features, great for bloggers!”
Bluehost is one of the more highly recommended, inexpensive web hosting services around, and their prices are low enough to earn them a spot on this list.
Pros and cons of Bluehost
Pros
- ✓ Affordable hosting that’s endorsed by WordPress
- ✓ All plans include free SSL, CDN and domain
- ✓ 1-click WordPress install
Cons
- • No uptime guarantee
- • Cheaper plans don’t include much storage compared to other hosts on this list
Bluehost is one of the more highly recommended, inexpensive web hosting services around, and their prices are low enough to earn them a spot on this list.
Plans and value for money
For this article, we went with their cheapest ‘Basic’ plan.
Here, you kind of get what you pay for – 1 free domain, 10GB of SSD storage and unmetered bandwidth. It isn’t specified how much is allocated per account, but as long as you fall into their “normal” range, you should be okay.
Whilst 10GB is probably enough for a very basic website, it’s not much, especially when compared to how much storage some of the other hosts on this list offer at the same price point (DreamHost is slightly cheaper and offers 5x the storage!)
However, Bluehost does come with free SSL, free CDN and a free domain for the first year, which is handy. Aside from that, they’re pretty stable and offer good WordPress integrations. Couple that with their other perks, such as an official WordPress endorsement, we still think Bluehost is a worthy contender for this list.
Performance
We’ve set up a whopping total of 6 Bluehost test sites to run our server speed tests on. And they provided lightning-quick server response times across the board!
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 ms | 78 ms | 183 ms | 193 ms | 164 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 330 ms | 168 ms | 125 ms | 92 ms | 174 ms |
With a global average of 153 ms, Bluehost emerged as another A+ ranked web host, performing incredibly well in the West US (23 ms), East US (78 ms) and Canada (92 ms).
Their response times in the other locations are decent too, mostly scoring below 180 ms. The slowest location at Bangalore was 330 ms, suggesting that those targeting audiences out in Asia and Oceania may not get the best speeds. However, they do offer a free CDN built directly into the account, available at just a click, which will help get these speeds up to scratch.
Learn more about Bluehost
- Read our Bluehost review!
- See our Bluehost test site!
4. GreenGeeks
https://www.greengeeks.com/
Plan
Lite
Introductory Price
$2.95 /mo
Renewal Price
$10.95 /mo
Key Features
- 50GB Web Space
- RAID-10 SSD
- HTTP/3 & PHP7
- Optimized LiteSpeed
- 300% Green Energy
“Affordable and powerful YET great for the planet!”
GreenGeeks tick virtually every box of a premium web host.
However, the special thing about them isn’t just their generous features or their high speeds, it’s that GreenGeeks gives back to the planet by investing 3 times of every amp they use into renewable energy!
In short, they’re fast, affordable, and a better choice for the planet.
Pros and cons of GreenGeeks
Pros
- ✓ Environment-friendly
- ✓ Free SSL, domain and nightly backup
- ✓ 30-day money back guarantee
- ✓ Lots of unlimited resources for a low price tag
Cons
- • Price almost triples upon renewal
- • No data centers near to Asia or Oceania
Plans and value for money
Very rarely do you see a cheap web hosting service as environmentally-conscious as GreenGeeks. And you won’t need to compromise anything either – they set you up with a generous amount of resources even on their cheapest ‘Lite’ plan.
We’re talking unmetered data transfers, unlimited databases, and even 50 email accounts – something that will come in handy for businesses!
They’ve even thrown in free SSL, a free domain, free nightly backups and sweetened the deal with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Add that to a strong support team, cutting edge infrastructure and CloudFlare integration, we think GreenGeeks offers an impressive amount of value for money.
Performance
To test out their servers, we set up and hosted 2 different test sites on GreenGeeks.
Here are the results from our test site hosted on their cheapest Lite plan, from their US data center.
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 ms | 23 ms | 86 ms | 218 ms | 145 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 208 ms | 186 ms | 151 ms | 20 ms | 99 ms |
At a worldwide average of 118.6 ms, GreenGeeks scored a fantastic A+, faster than Google’s recommended response time and than most of the hosts on this list!
However, their data centers are based only in Chicago (US), Phoenix (US), Toronto (CA), Montreal (CA) and Amsterdam (EU). So, if you’re targeting Asia, you might not be able to experience them at their optimum speed.
Learn more about GreenGeeks
- See our in-depth GreenGeeks review for more info!
- See our GreenGeeks test site!
5. HostPapa
https://www.hostpapa.com/
Plan
Starter
Introductory Price
$2.95 /mo
Renewal Price
$9.99 /mo
Key Features
- 100GB SSD
- 1 Website
- Free Domain
- Multilingual support
- Unmetered Bandwidth
“Fantastically affordable green and no-frills hosting for small businesses.”
HostPapa hails from Canada, which already bodes well for anyone looking for cheap hosting that takes privacy seriously – thanks to Canada’s strict PIPEDA laws.
We’re putting them on this list because we love how many ‘unlimited’ goodies HostPapa manages to squeeze in under an affordable, less than $5 price tag, even if they aren’t quite as cheap as the others on this list.
But HostPapa also has a few other special things going for it. From their award-winning customer support via the ‘PapaSquad’, to the fact that they were one of the first web hosting companies to make a public commitment to going green. Even today, they make a decent effort to offset their carbon emissions.
Pros and cons of HostPapa
Pros
- ✓ Data centers in Europe and North America
- ✓ Eco-conscious
- ✓ Great support team
- ✓ Free knowledgebase of videos and tutorials
- ✓ 30-minute consultation 1-on-1 for free!
Cons
- • Need to pay extra for auto backups
- • Not as cheap – their cheapest plans are pricier than others on the market
- • No data centers near Asia or Australia
Plans and value for money
For this article we tested out their Starter Plan, which is their cheapest on offer and offers surprisingly generous storage (100GB!), unlimited bandwidth and a free domain thrown in!
That said – if you’re setting up a business website and really want to get maximum value at a budget-friendly price, you can look one tier higher into their Business Plan.
This unlocks unlimited SSD, unlimited websites, unlimited email accounts… and even a free domain for a year and free site migrations. That means never needing to worry about paying for additional storage space, additional sites, or adding on email accounts for new hires.
With 3 fast data centres, reliable support and budget-friendly prices, we think HostPapa makes for a great no-frills hosting solution for small businesses looking for a greener option.
Performance
To investigate their speeds, we set up and hosted a grand total of 3 test websites. We ran each site through the speed test tool and were really happy with the results!
| US (W) | US (E) | London | Singapore | Sao Paulo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 159 ms | 119 ms | 8 ms | 160 ms | 213 ms |
| Bangalore | Sydney | Japan | Canada | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 ms | 275 ms | 238 ms | 129 ms | 14 ms |
HostPapa’s worldwide average response time was 143 ms. That earns this host a solid A+ rank.
To sum it up, HostPapa’s servers respond quickly for ALL your site visitors
- See our in-depth HostPapa review for more info!
- See our HostPapa test site!
What Is Cheap Web Hosting?
Cheap web hosting is web hosting with plans that cost $5 or less per month. This price range allows users access to either Shared or WordPress hosting. The important features included regardless of this low price include SSD NVMe storage, unmetered bandwidth and free email accounts. Free CDN, free SSL and domain name and a 99.9% uptime guarantee are also included in reputable cheap web hosting.
How are cheap web hosting plans so affordable?
Cheap web hosting plans are made so affordable because the web host places limits on certain features. They also share their server resources between multiple users. This is instead of allocating you dedicated features and this further reduces costs. Most budget-friendly web hosts offer introductory discounts for new signups in order to attract new customers. New users have the chance to purchase hosting plans at a dramatically reduced discount that can go as high as 80% off.
Are there hidden costs with cheap web hosting?
Reputable cheap web hosting providers do not incur hidden costs. A hidden cost refers to unexpected fees or charges that are not initially disclosed when you sign up for a service. In the context of web hosting, this includes unexpectedly high renewal rates or charging extra for key features like SSL certificates, CDN, or emails. A good cheap web hosting provider clearly spells out the renewal price of their plans on the pricing section of their website. They also provide detailed transparent breakdowns of what’s included. They also allow you to select or deselect add-ons during the checkout process to ensure you only pay for what you want.
Do I Save More With Cheap Monthly Or Yearly Web Hosting Plans?
You save more by opting for cheap yearly web hosting plans when the host is offering an introductory discount. Web hosts typically offer higher introductory discounts to users who commit to a longer-term plan that lasts beyond 12 months to save them money. This usually means that paying one lump sum for a 12 month (1 year), 24 month (2 years) or 36 month (3 years) plan will result in a lower ‘per month’ fee than purchasing a plan that renews on a monthly basis. It’s important to only commit to a long-term web hosting plan when you’ve done the research to make sure the web host is a good fit for your long-term website needs.
What Are The Limitations Of Cheap Web Hosting?
There are 3 main limitations of cheap web hosting. The first is limited resources. Cheap web hosts offer limited storage and bandwidth. This leads to bottlenecks in website performance for fast growing websites since they outgrow such allocated resources quickly. The second limitation of cheap web hosting is limited features. Advanced features such as Wildcard SSL certificates, advanced firewall, dedicated IPs require additional fees. eCommerce features such as shopping carts, payment gateways and plug-ins may also require you to upgrade to a pricier plan. The third limitation is slow support. Web hosts reserve priority support for higher-tier customers. Certain cheap web hosts require you to wait up to 48 hours to receive a response from their customer support.
Is Cheap Web Hosting Good For Small Businesses?
Yes, cheap web hosting is good for small businesses looking to establish their online presence with a website. Cheap web hosting is a great starting point for meeting their important needs without requiring a large upfront investment. The key is to look for cheap web hosting that fits your required resources, features and budget. Ensure the cheap web host you choose also offers more powerful options that your small business can easily upgrade to when the time comes.
The best type of cheap web hosting depends on the type of business or site you’re operating. For example, online stores, WordPress blogs and web apps require different needs.
What makes the best cheap hosting for online stores?
An online store is an eCommerce website where visitors can browse and shop products or services. Cheap VPS hosting plans that cost below $10 per month are the best recommendation for small online stores. VPS hosting offers excellent resource scalability to accommodate business growth or busy sales periods. Online store owners unlock more resources (CPU, RAM) by simply upgrading to the next tier and this allows them to handle more traffic. Check our guide to the best cheap VPS hosting for brand recommendations.
What makes the best cheap hosting for WordPress blogs?
WordPress blogs are websites that use WordPress CMS to publish and update content that’s written about specific niches. Cheap WordPress hosting plans that cost below $5 per month are recommended for small WordPress blogs. Look for plans that are specifically optimized for WordPress so that you can get the most out of this platform. Features such as WordPress acceleration and auto updates ensure that the WordPress blog runs fast and stays secure.
What makes the best cheap hosting for web apps?
A web app is a software or service that can be used by visitors via a web browser. Cheap dedicated server hosting plans that cost below $80 per month are recommended for small web apps. This is because they offer dedicated and scalable resources. Dedicated resources (CPU, RAM, storage, bandwidth) are required for web apps to work smoothly for visitors. This scalable type of web hosting also allows you to add more resources to your server to improve web app performance and accommodate higher traffic. Check our guide to the best cheap dedicated server hosting for brand recommendations.
Can I host business emails with cheap web hosting?
Yes, you can host business emails together with your website with cheap web hosting.
This is preferred since bundling your website and email hosting is cheaper than purchasing each component separately. Most cheap web hosts offer website hosting with email hosting included in their plans.
Do Cheap Web Hosting Include A Free Domain Name?
Yes, cheap web hosting includes a free domain name in most cases. Most cheap web hosts will provide you with a free domain name of your choosing if you sign up for a hosting plan term that is 12 months or longer. Your domain name will be free for the first 12 months upon signing up. Once that time has elapsed you will need to pay the renewal fee each year.
Can I Host Multiple Domains With Cheap Web Hosting?
Yes, you can host multiple domains with cheap web hosting. A “hosted domain” is a website with their own files, email accounts and DNS records. Many cheap hosting providers allow users to host multiple domains on a single account. This feature means you can run several websites without buying separate plans for each. Every hosted domain maintains its own content and settings.
Does Cheap Web Hosting Include Unlimited Features?
Yes, cheap web hosting plans include unlimited features in many cases. Many cheap web hosts offer unlimited features like unlimited storage, bandwidth, email accounts, and databases. There are also cheap web hosting that offer free unlimited SSL certificates. It’s important to read the fine print in all cases. “Unlimited features” usually have certain restrictions or fair usage policies.
Does Cheap Web Hosting Include cPanel?
Yes, cheap web hosting does come with cPanel as the default control panel in many cases. When you sign up for a cheap web host that utilizes cPanel, you will be given the log-in credentials to a cPanel account. You will then use cPanel as the interface to manage your website. You do not own the cPanel license.
Does Cheap Web Hosting Include Website Builders?
Yes, cheap web hosting includes website builders for free. Choosing a web host that provides a website builder in their cheap plans allows you to build a functional website without needing knowledge of code. Website builders offer easy drag-and-drop editors to help you build an attractive site with minimal hassle. They include hundreds of customizable themes and mobile-responsive templates. Website builders also offer integration with useful website analytics and marketing tools.
What Makes The Best Cheap Linux Hosting?
Cheap Linux hosting refers to Linux web hosting plans that cost below $5 per month. Linux hosting refers to servers that are installed with a Linux-based operating system, such as Debian, Ubuntu or CentOS. Linux hosting is more economical than Windows hosting plans.
What Makes The Best Cheap Windows Hosting?
Cheap Windows hosting refers to Windows web hosting plans that cost below $9 per month. Windows hosting refers to servers installed with a Windows-based operating system, such as Windows Server Standard or Windows Server Datacenter. The cost of these plans is inclusive of the Windows licensing fee.
What Makes The Best Cheap Reseller Hosting?
Cheap reseller hosting refers to reseller web hosting plans that cost below $20 per month. Reseller hosting refers to a service that lets individuals or companies buy web hosting in bulk and then sell it to others. This type of web hosting is ideal for web designers, web developers, or marketing agencies on a budget.
Verdict: Which Is The Best Affordable Web Hosting?
The best affordable web hosting provides great performance, all the important features needed for small businesses and a low price. It’s important to consider the individual needs and budget of your website when choosing the right cheap web host for you. Our top recommended affordable web host is Hostinger for how well it ticks these boxes.
