The best fast web hosting is Hostinger. In our speed tests Hostinger achieved a global server response time of 136 ms, which is considerably faster than our benchmark of 180 ms. Hostinger customers benefit from their fast SSD servers, 8 global data center locations, LiteSpeed Web Servers and CDN on higher plans. Hostinger plans start at $1.99/mo for a 48-month term and renew at $3.99/mo.
Verify 5 factors when picking the best fast web hosting: speed-enhancing hardware and software, customer service, security, reliability, and value for money. Important host speed features include SSD (Solid State Drive) storage, caching, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), optimized server configurations and support for the latest PHP versions. Prioritize LiteSpeed technology and WordPress optimized servers if you need fast hosting for WordPress sites. Host data center locations are another important factor in optimizing hosting speed. Hosting your website on a server close to your main target audience reduces latency and improves load times. Prioritize providers that make it possible to choose a data center near to your audience.
TMDHosting, GreenGeeks and SiteGround follow Hostinger as the best fast web hosts. TMDHosting starts at $2.99 and recorded an average server response time of 126.8ms. GreenGeeks starts at $4.95 and recorded an average response time of 118.6ms. SiteGround starts at $4.99 and recorded an average response time of 136.9ms.
Server response time measures how long a server takes to respond to a request and is a critical metric to verify when identifying fast hosts from slow hosts. Server response time is measured in milliseconds (ms). All brands in this article qualified as fast web hosts by taking less than 180 ms to respond. A slow web host takes longer than 500 ms and is best avoided to prevent website delays. The easiest way to check a host’s server response time is to use a tool like Bitcatcha Server Speed Checker.
| Host | Hostinger | TMDHosting | GreenGeeks | SiteGround | Kinsta | DreamHost | Bluehost | HostPapa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Fast shared hosting | Fast hosting with cPanel | Fast and eco-friendly hosting | Fast cloud hosting | Fast WordPress hosting | Fast unlimited hosting | Fast hosting the the US | Fast and affordable hosting |
| Average server response time (ms) | 136.0 ms | 126.8 ms | 118.6 ms | 136.9 ms | 179.5 ms | 118.4 ms | 153.0 ms | 121.7 ms |
| Details | Read details | Read details | Read details | Read details | Read details | Read details | Read details | Read details |
| Visit host |
Note
- All prices listed are based on a 12-month subscription rate.
- You may enjoy lower prices by opting for a longer subscription period.
1. Hostinger
https://www.hostinger.com/
Hostinger has been steadily growing in popularity for offering well-balanced hosting. Not only are they fast – their prices are very affordable.
In terms of speed features, Hostinger offers a whole load of speed-optimized hardware and software. These include SSD drives, a Cache Manager and free CDN for certain plans.
To test their speed performance, we set up a total of 17 test sites and hosted them across 6 different Hostinger data centers in 4 continents. Here are the best results from our Speed Test Tool:
| Test node (origin) | Hostinger server (destination) | Server response time |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | New York, US | 75 ms |
| US (E) | New York, US | 21 ms |
| London | New York, US | 92 ms |
| Singapore | New York, US | 244 ms |
| São Paulo | New York, US | 136 ms |
| Bangalore | New York, US | 211 ms |
| Sydney | New York, US | 265 ms |
| Japan | New York, US | 172 ms |
| Canada | New York, US | 37 ms |
| Germany | New York, US | 107 ms |
Hostinger’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 136 ms – See full result
The US data center returned the fastest server response, with a worldwide average of 136 ms. Requests from further away in the Asian or Oceanic region, with the slowest response time being 265 ms from Sydney.
Luckily, Hostinger’s data center spread is fantastic. They currently offer 8 different data centers, in France, the Netherlands, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Singapore, India, the USA, and Brazil. Simply host from the one closest to your main audience’s location and your site should be fast indeed! Read our Hostinger review to find out more.
2. TMDHosting
https://www.tmdhosting.com/
TMDHosting is a host from Orlando, Florida that excels in delivering top-notch speed and reliability with its use of CloudLinux servers and advanced caching solutions. A unique advantage is that TMDHosting utilize cloud hosting infrastructure even for their shared hosting plans. This means customers enjoy the speed and reliability benefits of cloud hosting without needing to pay a premium price.
TMDHosting is very fast because it maintains a robust infrastructure featuring all-SSD drives and 3 layers of cache (АPC, OPCache, Varnish). They also integrate Cloudflare CDN, which distributes content across global servers to speed up page loads further for international visitors.
We set up a test site and it hosted it from their Chicago data server on their Business plan to review their speed performance.
| Test node (origin) | TMDHosting server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | Illinois, US | 58 ms |
| US (E) | Illinois, US | 23 ms |
| London | Illinois, US | 91 ms |
| Singapore | Illinois, US | 230 ms |
| São Paulo | Illinois, US | 136 ms |
| Bangalore | Illinois, US | 222 ms |
| Sydney | Illinois, US | 207 ms |
| Japan | Illinois, US | 156 ms |
| Canada | Illinois, US | 33 ms |
| Germany | Illinois, US | 112 ms |
TMDHosting’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 126.8 ms – See full result
It returned an impressive global average response time of 126.8ms which earned them a top A+ ranking. This puts them on par with the fastest web hosts in the market.
The fastest pings came in from the East Coast in the United States, at 23ms because this was the closest region to the data center we were hosting from. TMDHosting actually operates a wide global network of data centers spread across 5 continents. Customers simply host from the nearest location to their audience to reduce latency and speed up page loads even further. See our full in-depth TMDHosting guide to learn more.
3. GreenGeeks
https://www.greengeeks.com/
GreenGeeks has everything that makes a premium web host, but what makes them special is their commitment to green hosting. GreenGeeks gives back to the planet by investing 3 times of every amp they use into renewable energy!
GreenGeeks offer a ton of speed features, starting with solid reliable data centers, strong support team, cutting edge infrastructure, Git compatibility, and Cloudflare integration.
At a worldwide average of 118.6 ms, they are ranked A+, faster than Google’s recommended response time and our top 3 hosts.
| Test node (origin) | GreenGeeks server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | Illinois, US | 50 ms |
| US (E) | Illinois, US | 23 ms |
| London | Illinois, US | 86 ms |
| Singapore | Illinois, US | 218 ms |
| São Paulo | Illinois, US | 145 ms |
| Bangalore | Illinois, US | 208 ms |
| Sydney | Illinois, US | 186 ms |
| Japan | Illinois, US | 151 ms |
| Canada | Illinois, US | 20 ms |
| Germany | Illinois, US | 99 ms |
GreenGeeks’ server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 118.6 ms – See full result
The above test, taken from their US dataserver, reported fastest speeds in Canada and on the East Coast – 20 ms and 23 ms respectively! The slowest location was Bangalore, at 208 ms.
However, their data centers are based only in the US, Canada and Amsterdam, so if you’re targeting Asia, you might not be able to experience them at their optimum speed.
Let’s not forget hosting with GreenGeeks means you’ll not only be carbon-neutral, but “carbon-reducing”. They actually put 3x the energy they consume back into the grid by purchasing wind energy credits. Head over to our complete GreenGeeks review to learn more!
4. SiteGround
https://www.siteground.com
SiteGround is officially WordPress endorsed (it’s kind of a big deal, guys!), and that kind of recognition is only given out to web hosts that meet WordPress’s lofty criteria.
All SiteGround’s shared hosting plans make use of the super fast Google Cloud Platform. They combine this with SSD drives, cache software called SuperCacher, and easy integration with Cloudflare.
How did our SiteGround test site fare in our speed tests? FAST! With a worldwide average of 136.9 ms, SiteGround ranked A+. Their fastest server location was Canada at 29 ms, whilst the slowest was Bangalore at 243 ms.
| Test node (origin) | SiteGround server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | Virginia, US | 68 ms |
| US (E) | Virginia, US | 33 ms |
| London | Virginia, US | 96 ms |
| Singapore | Virginia, US | 233 ms |
| São Paulo | Virginia, US | 181 ms |
| Bangalore | Virginia, US | 243 ms |
| Sydney | Virginia, US | 203 ms |
| Japan | Virginia, US | 165 ms |
| Canada | Virginia, US | 29 ms |
| Germany | Virginia, US | 118 ms |
SiteGround’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 136.9 ms – See full result
SiteGround actually offers 10 data centers spread out across 4 continents so just pick the one that’s closest to your target audience to supercharge their site load speeds. Given the higher price, SiteGround is best suited for websites who have more budget and resources to play with (e.g. business websites). Check out our in-depth SiteGround review!
5. Kinsta
https://kinsta.com
Next on our list of fastest web hosts is Kinsta Managed Hosting. They’ve had over a decade’s worth of experience with WordPress, and they’ve dedicated that experience into creating the best and fastest Managed WordPress Hosting solution you’ve seen.
Kinsta has plenty of great speed features, starting with the fact they utilise the premium tier of Google Cloud. This means Kinsta users benefit from cutting-edge tech and a very global network. With their next gen architecture, infrastructure, and implementation of Kinsta CDN (in partnership with CloudFlare) Kinsta lets you load your hosted sites in literally a fraction of a second.
Our speed test results did not disappoint:
| Test node (origin) | Kinsta server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | London, UK | 130 ms |
| US (E) | London, UK | 95 ms |
| London | London, UK | 10 ms |
| Singapore | London, UK | 287 ms |
| São Paulo | London, UK | 203 ms |
| Bangalore | London, UK | 487 ms |
| Sydney | London, UK | 266 ms |
| Japan | London, UK | 221 ms |
| Canada | London, UK | 83 ms |
| Germany | London, UK | 13 ms |
Kinsta’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 179.5 ms – See full result
They scored a worldwide average of 179.5 ms, earning an A+ rating. Their speeds are pretty impressive, recording just 10 ms in London and the worst performing one at 487 ms in Bangalore.
Kinsta’s global spread of data centers is almost impossible to beat – with a total of 35 data centers! No matter where in the world your audience is based, you’re sure to find a server nearby.
It’s best suited for businesses, bigger sites, and higher budgets. Read our Kinsta review to see if it’s the web host for you!
6. DreamHost
https://www.dreamhost.com/
When it comes to world-famous web hosts, DreamHost is one of the most familiar names around. Founded in 1997, they’ve remained a very strong web host, and are still one of the few hosts that are officially WordPress endorsed.
DreamHost offers plenty of speed-enhancing features, including storing all data in SSDs, which are twice as fast as HDDs.
They’ve invested a lot into optimizing their servers, and have impressive response times to show for it! We built and hosted a test site on DreamHost’s Shared Plan, from their Virginia center and fed them through our Speed Test Tool.
| Test node (origin) | DreamHost server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | Virginia, US | 70 ms |
| US (E) | Virginia, US | 2 ms |
| London | Virginia, US | 77 ms |
| Singapore | Virginia, US | 242 ms |
| São Paulo | Virginia, US | 117 ms |
| Bangalore | Virginia, US | 194 ms |
| Sydney | Virginia, US | 210 ms |
| Japan | Virginia, US | 169 ms |
| Canada | Virginia, US | 16 ms |
| Germany | Virginia, US | 87 ms |
DreamHost’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 118.4 ms – See full result
The numbers impressed us with a blisteringly fast worldwide average of 118.4 ms! The fastest speeds were from the East Coast of the US, recording just 2 ms. As expected, speeds got slower in regions further away, with the slowest location being Singapore at 242 ms.
However, DreamHost lacks a global spread. They currently operate just 2 data centers that are both located in the US. If your audience is within, or close to the Americas, they should enjoy blink-of-an-eye speeds. However, DreamHost may be a little slow if your audience is situated further away, for example – in Asia. See our full DreamHost review for more information!
7. Bluehost
https://www.bluehost.com/
One of the more prominent brands out there, Bluehost has a good 16 years of experience under their belt as a web host.
In regards to speed features, BlueHost offers fantastic SSD servers and a free CDN with all plans.
From our speed tests, they recorded an average response time of 153 ms, earning them an A+ grade!
| Test node (origin) | Bluehost server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | US (E) | 23 ms |
| US (E) | US (E) | 78 ms |
| London | US (E) | 183 ms |
| Singapore | US (E) | 193 ms |
| São Paulo | US (E) | 164 ms |
| Bangalore | US (E) | 330 ms |
| Sydney | US (E) | 168 ms |
| Japan | US (E) | 125 ms |
| Canada | US (E) | 92 ms |
| Germany | US (E) | 174 ms |
Bluehost’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 153 ms – See full result
The fastest pings came in from the US at 80 ms each, but results from countries further away were a little slower, dipping down to 330 ms in India.
Unfortunately, Bluehost is not very forthcoming about the number of data centers they have – we only know of their 1 data center which is located in the USA. We are also not allowed to pick the data center we’d like to use with Bluehost, which is the reason they’re this far down the list. See our full Bluehost review to learn more!
8. HostPapa
https://www.hostpapa.com/
Next comes HostPapa, a hosting company from Toronto, Canada. They’re independently-owned and not only offer a solid hosting product, but we noticed they’re been very active in upgrading their offerings over the years. Just in Q1 of 2022, they acquired 3 new services and finally launched Managed WordPress hosting!
HostPapa offers some great speed features including providing SuperMicro SSD servers and combining it with Cloudflare’s content delivery network.
HostPapa really impressed us on our performance tests. We set up 3 test sites for our speed test tool and their Canadian datacenter returned a worldwide average response time of 121.7 ms. These guys deserved that A+ ranking!
| Test node (origin) | HostPapa server (destination) | Server response time (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| US (W) | Toronto, Canada | 67 ms |
| US (E) | Toronto, Canada | 28 ms |
| London | Toronto, Canada | 80 ms |
| Singapore | Toronto, Canada | 231 ms |
| São Paulo | Toronto, Canada | 132 ms |
| Bangalore | Toronto, Canada | 200 ms |
| Sydney | Toronto, Canada | 203 ms |
| Japan | Toronto, Canada | 173 ms |
| Canada | Toronto, Canada | 8 ms |
| Germany | Toronto, Canada | 95 ms |
HostPapa’s server response time tested from 10 locations. Average speed: 121.7 ms – See full result
Given the locations of their data centers, HostPapa is a blazing-fast host if your audience is within Canada or the US. The fastest ping came from Canada at 8 ms, whilst the slowest came from Sydney at 203 ms. However, if your audience is only based in Asia or Australia, picking another host with a server located in that region (like Hostinger) would probably be a better idea. They currently operate 3 data centers across North America and Europe. See our full HostPapa review to learn more!
What is fast? How the fastest web hosting works?
Fast, in the context of web hosting, refers to how well a host is able to support the speed and responsiveness of your website.
At the end of the day, as a website owner – you always want to deliver a seamless user experience with quick loading times and smooth navigation. Not only does this mean happier website visitors for you, a faster website also brings important SEO advantages!
And all this relates directly to a host’s hardware and software specs. The fastest web hosting providers achieve this by employing a winning combo of factors.
For one, they utilize state-of-the-art server infrastructure with high-performance hardware. This typically involves using SSD drives, which are much faster than the traditional HDDs of old. This allows for rapid data processing and delivery.
Next, fast web hosts also often offer features such as a caching system and content delivery networks (CDNs). These technologies help store and serve website data closer to wherever your audiences are, and help cut down latency.
Finally – fast web hosts optimize their servers and software configurations to minimize any bottlenecks and maximize efficiency. For example, making sure their servers are optimized for WordPress, or that they support the latest PHP versions.
A high speed server is one that takes less than 180 ms to respond.
How to spot slow web hosting providers?
A slow server is one that takes longer than 500 ms to respond.
Slow web hosting can be defined as hosts that aren’t able to deliver the server speeds required for your website to load quickly. The result is typically a poor user experience for your visitors, since they’ll be left hanging around waiting for your pages to load.
Server speed is measured by testing a server’s response time. By comparing this number against certain benchmarks, it gives us an easy way to judge whether or not a web host is fast enough to meet your visitors’ expectations.
What is server response time?
Server response time is simply the amount of time it takes for the server to respond to a request from a client.
Imagine someone in Canada accessing a website. The server response time would be the duration between the moment they click a link and when they start receiving the website’s content in the browser. A faster response time means the server processes the request swiftly, providing a seamless browsing experience for the user.
What is the difference between server response time and TTFB?
Many people get ‘server response time’ confused with something called TTFB, or “Time To First Byte”. Both are important metrics for judging a web host, but represent two different ways to measure website speed performance.
- Server response time The total time needed to get a pingback from the server after making a request.
- TTFB The time needed to receive the first piece of data, after making a request from the server.
Server response time is a more reliable way of measuring server performance. TTFB is a more accurate way to measure website performance.
A lower server response time and TTFB indicate faster processing and quicker initial response, respectively, contributing to improved user experience and faster page loading times. Win win!
How can you check server response time?
The easiest way to check server response time is to use a tool like our unique Bitcatcha Server Speed Checker. Ours calculates the average server response times across 10 locations worldwide, to emulate different visitors coming from different parts of the world.
Scores below 180 ms are ranked “A+” and scores from 181 ms to 210 ms are ranked “A”. Our server speed test can help reveal the effective reach of the data center, hardware specs, server setup and their network planning. It’s an important tool we use whenever we review web hosts.
To find out a website’s server response time, head on over to our Bitcatcha server speed test.
How to pick the best fastest web hosting?
Picking the best fastest web hosting isn’t JUST about comparing response times.
Making sure your host provides a fast server speed is important, but you’ll want to be sure your chosen host meets ALL the following criteria in order to provide a well-rounded web hosting experience.
- Speed The host should earn at least an A+ rating on our Bitcatcha server speed test, meaning it should score an average server response time of 180 ms or faster.
- Customer service Host should provide around-the-clock support in your desired language, and in the method you’re looking for. Their team should also be knowledgeable and able to explain things to you, no matter your level of tech expertise.
- Secure A web host should help you effectively defend your site from hackers and malware. This could include providing firewalls, Cloudflare, free SSL certificates and a security monitoring system.
- Reliability Look for web hosts that offer an uptime guarantee of at least 99%.
- Value for money Web hosts differ hugely in pricing, but the important thing is that they’re giving you the features YOU need at a price you’re willing to pay.
Find out more on choosing a web host here.
Who offers the fastest WordPress hosting?
WordPress is an incredibly popular CMS (Content Management System) that many people use to build their websites.
After much testing and playing around with WordPress test sites, we’re confident to nominate Hostinger again as our preferred choice of fastest WordPress hosting.
We observed a server speed of 136 ms on our WordPress test site hosted on Hostinger, which is a well-earned A+ rank. Not only are they exceptionally fast and powered by LiteSpeed technology, their servers are truly optimized for WordPress.
Verdict: Web hosting speed comparison
Note that all of the web hosts that appear here are superb and are ranked A+, so you can’t really go wrong with any of them. We’ve ranked them according to our preference, but feel free to make your own choices!
If we HAD to pick just one web host, we’d go with Hostinger. They stand out from the pack for their winning combo of lightning-fast server speeds and well-balanced offerings.
They use a combination of hardware and software to make them the best FASTEST shared host, including:
- SSD servers – 30% faster than regular HDDs
- Automatically updated & optimized software
- Tier-3 datacenters in 7 regions around the world
- PHP7 support – the quickest PHP release to date
- LiteSpeed Web Servers & cache plug-in to boost performance
Whilst they were initially known best for their budget plans, Hostinger has really evolved in recent years and continually improved their performance hardware – which we’ve seen translate into fantastic server speeds. Pay Hostinger a visit at their official website.