4 Best Web Hosting Services for Nigeria 2023 (& 4 To Avoid)
The best web hosts for Nigeria in 2023 have superior speeds and ultra reliability, along with responsive support and excellent features - all at a value price.
Wonder who’s the #1 web host for Nigeria? We recommend Hostinger – get premium speeds, SSD storage, free SSL (and more) from just ₦756.2 /mo!
With speed and uptime data from over 70 test sites we’ve set up, we handpicked the top 4 web hosts (and 4 to avoid) that can best fulfil your requirement in hosting a website for Nigeria.
Top 4 Web Hosting Providers For Nigeria
- Hostinger – Best cheapest web host with premium speed
- DreamHost – Best value hosting for WordPress
- HostPapa – Good value cPanel web hosting
- A2 Hosting – Best unlimited web hosting
Note
- All prices shown are based on a 12-month plan introductory rate.
- The exchange rate being used is 1 USD to 380 NGN.
1. Hostinger
https://www.hostinger.com/
Worldwide Speed
A+
Avg. Response Time
136 ms
Price (NGN)
₦1,136.20 /mo
Key Features
- 100GB SSD
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain & SSL
- hPanel
- Localised support
"An affordable, all-around fantastic web host for experts and beginners."
Coming in at the top of our list is Hostinger. They’re a very beginner friendly web hosting company with an excellent support system designed to provide step-by-step guides for people who are unfamiliar with building websites. Their customer support is one of the best we’ve experienced!
They’re also very fast, scoring A+ in our Worldwide Speed Tests.
At a killer entry price of only ₦756.2 per month (for Single Shared Hosting), Hostinger really offers maximum value for the features you’ll receive.
Upgrading to their Premium Shared Hosting (₦1136.2) unlocks even more. With 100GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, and email, you’ll never have to worry about paying more for resources you might need. You’ll also rest easy with their 99.9% uptime guarantee, and you’ll save even more as they offer you free domain name (with Premium Shared Hosting plan and above) and SSL. It’s perfect for anyone just starting out.
What’s not good with Hostinger?
Hostinger’s introductory prices are really affordable BUT there’s a catch to it; you’ll be tied down to a contract of 48 months. A lot can happen in 4 years, and we’re not sure if we’re willing to be tied down for so long.
Learn more about Hostinger
- Read our in-depth Hostinger review.
- Visit our Hostinger test site.
2. DreamHost
https://www.dreamhost.com/
Worldwide Speed
A+
Avg. Response Time
118.4 ms
Price (NGN)
₦1,121 /mo
Key Features
- Unlimited SSD
- Unlimited traffic
- Free domain & SSL
- 97-day money back
- WP recommended
"A world-famous brand with an official WordPress endorsement and great speed for the US."
DreamHost is one of the older, most established web hosts in the industry. We think they’re especially great for hosting and running WordPress websites, and are one of the few hosts with an official WordPress endorsement!
Their plans include access to a great drag-and-drop website builder and hundreds of free templates to help you set up a great and professional looking WordPress website quickly – even for total beginners. You’ll also benefit from a 100% uptime guarantee and solid security features!
They currently run two datacenters within the US, and we think they’re an especially great option hosting for anyone whose audience is in that region. From our speed tests on our DreamHost-hosted test sites, they were extremely fast!
With plan prices that start from ₦984.2, you’ll get everything you need for a simple and high-performing site.
What’s not good with DreamHost?
Since DreamHost only has data centers within the US, server response speeds can slow down considerably within regions that are further away – such as in Asia or Oceania. In addition, their Live Chat operating hours cater towards the US. 5:30AM – 9.30PM Pacific Time converts to 1:30 PM – 5:30 am in Nigeria, which isn’t ideal! However, you can stil use their ticketing system or knowledge base 24/7.
Learn more about DreamHost
- Read our in-depth DreamHost review.
- Visit our DreamHost test site.
3. HostPapa
https://www.hostpapa.com/
Worldwide Speed
A+
Avg. Response Time
130.4 ms
Price (NGN)
₦2,261 /mo
Key Features
- Unlimited SSD
- Unlimited Websites
- Free domain & SSL
- PapaSquad support
- 1-click WP setup
"Host that’s lightning-quick and user-friendly thanks to cPanel."
HostPapa is an Canadian company based in Toronto. They also scored a solid n A+ for their worldwide average speed of 130.4 ms!
Aside from speed, we just love HostPapa’s user-friendly interface. They’re utilising cPanel which is one of the best web hosting management tools on the market. cPanel simplifies the most complex aspects about managing a hosting account through handy features like the 1-click installer Softaculous and a nice visual interface that’s easy for even beginners to understand.
Since cPanel upped its prices in 2020, we’ve seen many web hosts drop them, but HostPapa has held on.
What’s not good with HostPapa?
HostPapa’s datacenters are based only in the US, Canada, and Amsterdam. However, they still offer impressive global speeds.
Learn more about HostPapa
- Read our detailed HostPapa review.
- Visit our HostPapa test site.
4. A2 Hosting
https://www.a2hosting.com
Worldwide Speed
A+
Avg. Response Time
149.8 ms
Price (NGN)
₦4176.20 /mo
Key Features
- 20X Turbo Servers
- Unlimited Websites
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free SSD Storage
- 24×7 US support
"Web hosting with truly unlimited resources - great choice for media-rich websites!"
Although A2 web hosting is 3rd in this list, it really was a tough decision for us to make. As an international host with superb A+ speeds and data centers all over the world, they were so close to ranking 2nd, especially with their unlimited resources.
They’ve also got excellent time-saving features, such as their A2 Optimized Software and 1-Click set up. Pair these with an option to upgrade to their Turbo plan which comes with their Turbo servers (20x faster than regular servers), and A2 is truly a force to be reckoned with.
What’s not good with A2 Hosting?
Live chat is slightly inconsistent. At times, they’ll respond to you in seconds, while you might have to wait a little longer than usual if you’re unlucky.
Learn more about A2 Hosting
- Read our full A2 Hosting review.
- Visit our A2 Hosting test site.
✘ Nigerian Web Hosts Not Recommended
You may be tempted to choose a local Nigerian host for their location, ease of payment and domain name availability. However, please don’t sacrifice speed and performance, especially if you have a global audience.
We tested the following four Nigerian web hosts and found their speed and performance fell well below our standards.
If you want a local Nigerian host, choose QServers, and avoid the following hosts:
👎 Whogohost
https://www.whogohost.com/
Worldwide Speed
C
Avg. Response Time
315.9 ms
Price (NGN)
₦21,500 /year
Key Features
- 25GB storage
- 75GB bandwidth
- Free .ng domain
- Unlimited SQL
- FTP accounts
This is the #1 ranked host in Nigeria according to popularity. But do not mistake this for performance. In fact, we found that WhoGoHost’s performance was quite poor.
It scored a C in our worldwide speed tests, falling below Google’s recommended 200 ms in Europe.
WhoGoHost also charge a processing fee on certain payments. For example, if you pay via PayPal, you could pay an additional ₦423 in fees.
👎 Web4Africa
https://web4africa.ng/
Worldwide Speed
D+
Avg. Response Time
408.1 ms
Price (NGN)
₦24,000 /year
Key Features
- 20GB disk storage
- 200GB bandwidth
- Basic web builder
- SSL certificate
- Free backups
Google Trend ranks Web4Africa as the second most popular web host in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this host also falls short of performance expectations.
Web4Africa scored a D+ in our worldwide speed tests, falling outside Google’s recommended 200 ms in the USA. In other words, this host is too slow for American and global audiences.
On the other hand, the performance is strong in the local region, as Web4Africa lets you choose between servers in Ghana or Nigeria.
👎 DomainKing
http://www.domainking.ng/
Worldwide Speed
C+
Avg. Response Time
260.4 ms
Price (NGN)
₦20,000 /year
Key Features
- 10GB disk storage
- 100GB bandwidth
- 10 domains allowed
- cPanel
- 99.9% uptime
DomainKing is an Indian web host with a presence in Africa. It ranks third in popularity in Nigeria, so you may come across this host.
Like other local Nigerian hosts, it does allow bank transfers and supports .ng domains. However, its speed and performance is slow compared to the recommended hosts. It scores a C+ in our worldwide speed test.
DomainKing does offer 24/7 support and 99.9% uptime which is good. However, the storage and bandwidth is limited, and you’ll have to pay extra to enjoy larger limits.
👎 Utiware
http://www.utiware.net/
Worldwide Speed
D
Avg. Response Time
716.3 ms
Price (NGN)
₦20,000 /year
Key Features
- 15GB disk storage
- 25GB bandwidth
- eTextMail included
- 120 emails
- Unlimited sub-domain
Utiware is a Nigerian host with servers in the US. As a result, it does respond quickly for American audiences. However, it fails across most of the rest of the world.
Overall, Utiware delivered the slowest results in our worldwide speed tests, scoring a D.
Hosting Your Website For Nigerian Audience
Are you thinking of setting up a website in Nigeria?
If so, you would need a fast and reliable web host – the foundation that powers your site. There are two main options for hosting your Nigerian website:
- Choose a small, local host based in Nigeria.
- Choose a larger, recognized international host.
As you’ve seen throughout this post, we recommend choosing option #2: an established international host. Although there are many local Nigerian hosts, from the speed tests we’ve run with several of their brands – their performance is simply too slow. In fact, we discovered only one local host that produced acceptable performance.
Instead, we recommend the superior speeds and ultra-reliability of international hosts like Hostinger. Even in Africa, their performance is outstanding.
What Makes A Good Web Host For Nigeria?
So what makes a web hosting provider good?
A web host determines the speed, reliability and stability of your website, so it’s important to make the right choice. So, what exactly are we looking for?
- Speed
We all know the importance of website speed. And speed all begins with a fast web host. A web host should perform well against Google’s Core Web Vital, so look for a host that responds quickly in your location and around the world. - Uptime
‘Uptime’ is a measure of reliability. In other words, it’s the percentage of time your website is online. Even an uptime of 98% can mean your site is down for six days of the year (!) Look for an uptime of 99.8% or higher. - Security
There’s nothing worse than getting hacked. What would you do if you lost all your content and hard work? That’s why web host security is so important. A good host should have automatic updates and malware scanning. Some even come with a free SSL (security) certificate. - Backups
As an extra security and practical feature, many hosts now come with regular automatic backups. - Customer service
Ideally, your web host should have 24/7/365 customer service. Most hosts now have customer service options including phone, ticket systems and online chat. Note that some hosts charge extra for a premium support service. - Storage and bandwidth
‘Storage’ refers to how much content, images and data you can store on the host’s servers. And ‘bandwidth’ is how much data can flow through from the server. This has an impact on speed and visitor numbers. Naturally, we want the highest storage and bandwidth within reason. - Price
Don’t always settle for the cheapest webhost. It can end up causing you issues with speed and reliability. It may even hold you back if your website starts to grow. At the same time, you don’t need to spend a fortune! Look for an affordable host with all the features you need.
Use A Local Nigerian host or international host?
As I mentioned, you have two main choices when it comes to hosting a website in Nigeria.
- Choose a local host with servers in Nigeria
A local host may cater to an African audience, but they are generally slower in the rest of the world. - Choose a global host that covers Nigeria
A global host will give you high speeds all around the world. Large, international hosts may also have better technology, customer support and security.
Other considerations for Nigerian web hosting
Purchasing web hosting for a Nigerian site poses two additional considerations.
- Supported Payment Methods
As many people do not use a credit card in Nigeria (due to high levels of fraudulent activity), you may require a web host that accepts direct bank transfer. Local hosts are more likely to accept this. - .NG Domain Name
You may want a .ng domain name. Unfortunately, most international hosts don’t support the .ng domain registration. However, you can register the .ng domain with a second party domain company (refer to the list on “NiRA Accredited Registrar”) and then simply point the nameservers to your hosting. (We generally recommend you do this, as it gives added protection should you ever wish to change your hosting).
Our recommendation
We recommend that you choose an established, international host (Hostinger is our #1 pick). We tested all five of the largest local Nigerian hosts and were disappointed with the results. In fact, we include none in our recommended hosts above.
We repeated the tests at different times of day and continually saw disappointing results.
Verdict: Which Web Host Is Best For Nigeria?
Here is a quick recap of our top 3 web hosting provider for websites in Nigeria:
Speed
Rating
Avg. Global
Speed
Price
(NGN/MO)
Although there are lots of options for hosting Nigerian websites, we cannot recommend most of the local Nigerian hosts. They are simply too slow for the demands of a local or global audience.
Bitcatcha therefore recommends the reliability and unmatched performance of international hosting options. Hostinger is our top pick for its outstanding support, reliability and affordability.
