9 Best Cheap Hosting Providers 2023

Who Are the Best Cheap Hosting Providers?

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Cheap Hosting Providers: Head-to-Head Comparison

If you’re not clued up on technical hosting terms, don’t worry. Here are some quick explanations of these features:

• Storage Space – How much file space you have for content and media on your website
• Backups/Domains – The ability to recover a previous version of your website/the URL of your site, e.g. websitebuilderexpert.com
• Uptime – How regularly your website is working online. For example, 99.97% uptime is the equivalent of your site being down for a mere two and a half hours each year.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at these six options individually. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive idea of which providers really do offer the best cheap hosting.

DreamHost

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Cheapest shared plans and vest value for money ($2.95/month)

DreamHost keeps it simple and cheap. Its two plans are low on cost, costing just $2.95 per month when billed annually, but great value for money, advertising 100% uptime and unlimited storage. With an impressive value for money score of 4.4 out of 5, it’s our number one choice.

Best Value For Money

DreamHost

Cheapest shared plans and best value for money

Very Good

4.4

out of 5

• Quality shared plans
• Free daily backups
• 100% uptime

Paid Plans: $2.95 - $279 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Unlimited storage and bandwidth
• Free WordPress migrations
• 97-day money-back guarantee

Cons

• No 24/7 or direct phone support
• No industry-standard cPanel
• Disappointing uptime percentage

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DreamHost Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

DreamHost has dramatically improved its value for money, jumping from 3.5 in our pre-2023 ratings to 4.4 out of 5 in our latest research!

DreamHost’s Shared Starter plan starts at just $2.95/month, although you will need to commit to a 12-month term to get that price. This is much less than other providers, though, and if you really want to, you can even opt to pay month-by-month for $4.95 per month – great if you want more flexibility over your subscription!

There’s also the Shared Unlimited plan, which starts at the same discount price of $2.95 per month. It offers unlimited storage and websites for that $2.95 per month introductory price, so it’s the wiser option for getting the most bang for your buck. That said, it’s worth noting that the Shared Unlimited plan renews at the higher price of $12.99 per month once your first year is over.

These renewal fees can be a killer if you don’t expect them, so let us break them down for you:

If you don’t enjoy DreamHost, it offers a 97-day money-back guarantee after you open an account, so you can use and experiment in peace.

DreamHost Shared Hosting Features

DreamHost’s most enticing feature is perhaps that it doesn’t put a limit on how many people can visit your site each month. Although most small websites won’t attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, it’s nice to know you don’t have to worry either way.

It also boasts a fantastic 100% uptime guarantee! Most sites can promise a very good 99% uptime, but never the whole enchilada. DreamHost is so confident in its uptime, that the company will even refund you if your site ever goes down under its watch.

Free backups and domains are another two big selling points, while an SSL certificate and a website builder are nice touches. The main difference between DreamHost and competitors like Bluehost or HostGator is that DreamHost doesn’t use cPanel, an industry-standard dashboard. It does have its own bespoke dashboard, however, which is pretty easy to get to grips with.

Some of the downsides include a lack of phone support and not much variety of plans. Customers can still access DreamHost’s live chat and email 24/7, and it has a knowledge base and community center for queries

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DreamHost has plenty of features, but it doesn't use a cPanel dashboard – instead it uses a custom dashboard

DreamHost has two shared hosting plans

There's no phone support, but you can get in touch through live chat and email

Want to Commit to a Shorter Payment Term?

DreamHost is our cheapest and best value for money hosting provider on this list. What more could you ask for?

Get Started With DreamHost Today

Further Reading

DreamHost Review – Learn all there is to know about this top money-saving provider.

DreamHost Pricing Review – Our in-depth look at DreamHost’s costs.

Best Web Hosting For Students – Check out the budget-friendly, student-oriented hosting providers.

Best for small websites on a budget ($2.99/month)

iPage only offers one shared hosting plan, which is suitable for hosting one site. However, it provides scalable bandwidth, which means there’s no set bandwidth limit. 

iPage

Best for small websites on a budget

Good

4.2

out of 5

• Helps short-term growth
• Low introductory prices
• One data center location

Paid Plans: $2.99 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free domain included
• Unlimited disk space
• 24/7 support

Cons

• DIY website migration only
• No cPanel
• Pay extra for website restore and backup

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iPage Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

iPage is our only nonmover on this list, keeping its second-position spot. This is due to the fact it only offers one shared hosting plan, which starts at $2.99 per month for an annual plan. There is no monthly option with iPage, they all must be paid in yearly totals. Here’s the skinny:

• 12-month contract: $2.99 per month ($35.88 total)
• 24-month contract: $2.49 per month ($59.76 total)
• 36-month contract: $1.99 per month ($71.64 total)

iPage’s discount prices are super affordable, but be sure to check its renewal prices too. If you opt for the 12-month plan, for example, you’ll go from paying $2.99 per month to paying $9.99 per month once your first year is over. Overall, though, it offers great value for money!

iPage Shared Hosting Features

iPage has raised its game when it comes to value for money, jumping from 3.7 in our pre-2023 ratings to a much more impressive 4.2 out of 5 in our latest research. iPage’s shared hosting plan is really great value, offering:

• Unlimited disk space
• Unlimited email accounts
• Unlimited subdomains
• A free domain name
• A free SSL certificate
• Scalable bandwidth

iPage also has great help and support, with phone options plus 24/7 live chat.

There are just a couple of places where iPage is a bit lacking, one of which is the price for backups. For $2.58 a month, you get one daily backup, and for $3.67 a month, you can have five. This is really disappointing when most hosting platforms give you daily automatic backups, like Hostinger.

Also, its one plan is a bit restrictive. While we like the simplicity, it does railroad you into choosing a plan that might not exactly be suited for your needs. A bit of variety in what a hosting platform provides is great, especially for all the different sites it could host.

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Although it features aren't quite as good as other providers, it's a good offering for the price you pay

iPage only offers one shared plan

Choose from three different term lengths – the longer the term, the cheaper the price

Like the Look of iPage's Simple Approach to Hosting?

Its pared-back pricing system makes it a simple and affordable choice, so you’ll get good bang for your buck.

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Further Reading

iPage Review – Dive deeper into what iPage can offer.

1&1 IONOS

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Best for fast loading and site speed ($4/month)

IONOS offers three shared hosting plans, although there is an extra plan available for UK residents. What IONOS does give across all plans is its fast loading and site performance, all for affordable pricing.

IONOS

Best for fast loading and site speed

4

out of 5

Paid Plans: $0.5 - $35 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Best site speed and performance
• 6-day automatic backups
• Great uptime

Cons

• Poor help and support
• Some plans not US available
• $50 set-up fee

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IONOS Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

IONOS offers three shared hosting plans, although there’s an extra one available in the UK. IONOS doesn’t offer free trials but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee when you first begin, and if you decide a bit later than that, then no stress! There’s no cancellation fee!

For us yankees, the Essential plan kicks off with the cheapest price at $4 per month for the first 12 months. The next plan up is the Business plan, which starts at an incredible $0.50 for the first 12 months! Be warned, however, it goes up to $10 per month after your first year.

Finally, the Expert plan comes in at $8 per month for 12 months at the cheapest. If you want to get a run-down of all prices IONOS offers on its plans, fix your eyes down here:

• Essential:
• Monthly contract: $6 per month
• 12-month contract: $4 per month (then renews at $6 per month)

• Business:
• Monthly contract: $1 per month for one month (then costs $10 per month)
• 12-month contract: $0.50 per month (then renews at $10 per month)

• Expert:
• Monthly contract: $16 per month
• 12-month contract: $8 per month (then renews at $16 per month)

All considered IONOS prices are some of the most reasonable we’ve seen! While cheap prices are great, you’re going to want to know what you’re getting for that price. Rest assured, IONOS delivers a range of great features across its plans and has a value for money score in our research of 4 out of 5!

IONOS Shared Hosting Features

IONOS’ best feature is its performance. In a landscape of Toyota Camry’s, IONOS is a Lamborghini Aventador with the fastest load times of all the shared hosting we’ve tested! It scored a 3.9 out of 5 in performance in our research – the best of any web host in this list!

If speed wasn’t enough, IONOS also includes plenty of fantastic features across its plans. With the Essential plan, for only $4 per month, you get one website, 50GB of storage, and a free domain for a year.

The Business plan improves on the Starter by giving you unlimited websites, unlimited storage, and unlimited databases for only $0.50 a month, which by our metric is a pretty great deal!

The Expert plan includes all of the above plus “Maximum CPU and MEM resources”. Across all the plans you get:

• Free domain for a year
• Free Wildcard SSL certificate
• Free professional email
• Daily backup and recovery (up to six days!)
• Free 24/7 support

IONOS is not perfect, however. While we mentioned its support is 24/7, that’s only for its phone service. There are no email or live-chat options for the introverted among us. It does still have a Knowledge Base and community center, however.

Another mark on its card is hidden fines. IONOS includes some hefty charges out of the gate from a quoted cost for migration, a $50 set-up charge, and additional monthly fees for Windows users – up to $60 a month!

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Compared to other cheap hosting providers, IONOS interacts with both Linux and Windows

IONOS has personal consultants you can talk to on the phone 24/7 to guide you on what would be the perfect hosting for you

IONOS’ three plans for US users are great in price and features, but they are subject to increased renewal prices

Is IONOS the Host with the Most?

Its super speedy performance and cheap pricing definitely excite us. See what it can do for you today

Get Started With IONOS Today

Further Reading

1&1 IONOS Review – We’ll take a closer look at IONOS’ overall performance.

Cheapest alternative to Bluehost ($2.99/month)

Hostinger used to top this list but now sits smack bang in the middle. Its cheap selling point has been usurped by other builders, which makes it a slightly lower value choice compared to hosts like DreamHost. Hostinger still has its merits compared to other hosting providers – but its drawbacks are more noticeable now.

Hostinger

Cheap alternative to Bluehost

Good

3.6

out of 5

• Cheap introductory prices
• Good for WordPress users
• Low uptime percentage

Paid Plans: $1.99 - $109.99 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Multilingual customer support
• Up to 200GB backup space
• Offers Linux Hosting

Cons

• No over-the-phone support
• No green hosting
• Low disk space on shared plans

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Hostinger Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

Hostinger has taken a nasty tumble through our research scores. It used to have a 4.1 out of 5 value score for shared hosting pricing but has now dropped to 3.7 out of 5! Why did this happen? Well, sadly it just got overtaken by newer, cheaper upstarts in the hosting game, like IONOS and DreamHost.

Hostinger still offers quite an affordable rate with a lot of good features, but it’s no longer the stallion it used to be.

Hostinger’s shared plans range from $2.99 to $3.99 per month, when you choose a 12-month term. Like most of the providers on this list, Hostinger offers three different shared plans to choose from:

• Single – $2.99/month (renews at $5.99 after 12 months)
• Premium – $2.99/month (renews at $8.99 after 12 months)
• Business – $3.99/month (renews at $11.99 after 12 months)

Each plan gets cheaper as you commit more time to it. To get the cheapest rate available – just $1.99 per month – you’ll need to commit to a four-year plan, which is a pretty long commitment!

Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, like most of the hosting platforms on this list. But less common is Hostinger’s student discount, which could save you 10% on your plan if you’re eligible!

Hostinger Shared Hosting Features

If storage be something ye seek, then Hostinger begins at 50GB for the Single Shared plan and then on to 100GB for the Premium and 200GB for the Business Shared plan. This also correlates to how much storage you get in automated backups for each plan, so you can rest knowing that you’ll never lose a version of your site.

To get unlimited email accounts and bandwidth, you’ll have to upgrade to either the Premium or Business Shared plans. Every Hostinger shared plan comes with at least one email account and 100GB of bandwidth, but on the Premium and Business Shared plans, you also get a free domain and Secure Shell (SSH) access. However, Hostinger lacks a good uptime percentage – at 99.90%, Hostinger’s promise is well behind that of its competitors. And while its existing customer services, from live chat to multilingual options, have been met with rave reviews, Hostinger is behind the times in that it doesn’t currently offer phone support or a Community center.

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Hostinger offers a good set of features on its shared hosting plans

Hostinger offers very cheap starting prices

Hostinger offers four different term lengths, the longest of which is 48 months

Like Hostinger's Cheap Prices?

You can try out all of its varied features from just $2.99 today.

Get Started With Hostinger Today

Further Reading

Hostinger Review – Learn more about Hostinger’s overall ranking.

Hostinger Pricing – Get acquainted with the ins and outs of the market’s cheapest host.

Best Managed WordPress Providers – The top platforms for easy WordPress hosting.

Best for shared hosting ($3.95/month)

With an overall shared hosting score of 4.7 out of 5, HostGator is one of our favorite shared hosting providers. It’s a solid option, providing reliable hosting and great support, but there is a downside of being slightly more expensive than other providers at $3.95 per month, billed annually, so it gets a value score of 3.6 out of 5 for pricing.

HostGator

Best for shared hosting

Good

4.7

out of 5

• Very reliable
• Feature-rich shared plans
• Slightly expensive

Paid Plans: $3.95 - $159.99 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Great support on all channels
• Unlimited storage on all shared plans
• Unmetered bandwidth on all shared plans

Cons

• Dashboard slightly outdated
• Backups cost $2.75/mo
• Only one website on cheapest plan

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HostGator Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

HostGator may be an elegant beast swimming in the hosting watering hole, but it has a huge appetite. Crikey! Unlike other providers, HostGator’s 12-month plan is its cheapest option, the adorably named Hatchling Plan costing $3.95 per month.

There are three shared hosting plans in total, each offering up to a 70% discount for long-term sign-ups. These 12-month plans cost::

• Hatchling Plan – $3.95/month (renews at $8.95/month)
• Baby Plan – $5.00/month (renews at $11.95/month)
• Business Plan – $7.25/month (renews at $16.95/month)

HostGator is generally famed for dedicated hosting, but our research shows that its shared hosting service is the very best on the market.

HostGator Shared Hosting Features

In a while, you hosting crocodiles because HostGator offers a decent selection of shared hosting features. Having unlimited email accounts is a big plus, as is 24/7 dedicated support on both phone and live chat.

HostGator’s biggest draw, however, is its unlimited storage and bandwidth across all of its plans. There aren’t many hosting providers that provide this one their cheapest plans, so HostGator is definitely the one you want for bigger sites.

However, all is not cool in the lagoon. HostGator does not provide its own backups. Instead, it outsources backups to CodeGuard. This will require users to subscribe to another service, starting at $2.75/month.

You can only host one site on HostGator’s Hatchling plan too, but upgrade to the Baby or Business shared hosting packages and the world is your oyster, with unlimited website hosting. There’s also a very generous 45-day money-back guarantee on offer, so you’ve got nothing to lose by giving HostGator a try.

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HostGator is one of the most reliable providers and offers great shared hosting plans

HostGator's knowledge center is useful for answering your questions

Choose from three shared plans, each of which offers unmetered bandwidth and storage

Impressed by HostGator's Features and Price Tag?

HostGator provides quality shared hosting at cost-effective prices. Use one of the top-rated overall providers today and see what you think.

Get Started With HostGator Today

Further Reading

HostGator Review – A closer look at this popular provider.

HostGator Pricing Review – How much does HostGator cost? We’ve analyzed all the factors.

HostGator vs Bluehost – Compare these top providers from all angles, including affordability.

Most trusted by users online ($2.95/month)

Bluehost is the big name in hosting, being the number one recommended host by WordPress. For this prestige, you can expect a load of great features across its four shared hosting plans, as well as a slightly higher price – hence the slightly lower value score of 3.1 out of 5.

Bluehost

Most trusted by users online

Good

4.8

out of 5

• Highest average rating
• Strong features
• WordPress integration

Paid Plans: $2.95 - $119.99 / month

See Pros & Cons

Pros

• Great for WordPress users
• Best customer satisfaction
• Excellent support team

Cons

• Only 50GB storage on cheapest plan
• Lots of additional costs at checkout
• No backups on cheapest plans

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Bluehost Shared Hosting Pricing Breakdown

Similar to HostGator, Bluehost offers a 12-month plan as its cheapest option, costing $2.95 per month. Its 36-month plan, on the other hand, costs $4.95 per month.

There are four shared hosting plans to choose from overall, the most expensive of which retails at $13.95 per month on both 12-month and 36-month terms. The 12-month plans cost:

• Basic – $2.95/month (renews at $9.99/month)
• Plus – $5.45/month (renews at $14.99/month)
• Choice Plus – $5.45/month (renews at $18.99/month)
• Pro – $13.95/month (renews at $28.99/month)

As you can see, Bluehost’s renewal prices are a little more expensive than other shared hosting providers on this list. This is one reason why it scores 3.1 out of 5 for value in our latest research, despite its cheap $2.95 per month starting price.

Bluehost Shared Hosting Features

Bluehost is better known for WordPress hosting, and there are cheaper hosting providers out there. That said, the company really does put a premium on quality. Aside from its brilliant uptime and offering of free backups/domains, there’s also 24/7 support, plus an SSL security certificate. There’s even a full web design and marketing service, although you’ll need to book a consultation and get a quote for that.

The main limitation of Bluehost is storage. You’ll be capped at 10GB on Bluehost’s Basic plan, so it’s not recommended for media-heavy websites. There are also no backups available on the Basic or Plus plans. Upgrade to any other shared hosting plan and you’ll get unlimited storage space, but we wouldn’t recommend it if you’re trying to manage a big site on a budget.

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Need a hand? Head to Bluehost's support resources!

Although not the cheapest, Bluehost's plans offer great value for websites that want to grow

All plans come with SSL certificates, a domain manager, and resource protection.

Bluehost is Our Top Overall Hosting Provider

Thanks to its affordable prices and awesome features, Bluehost is our top overall hosting provider. Click below to register with the best of the bunch today.

Get Started With Bluehost Today

Further Reading

Bluehost Review – Find out more about this feature-rich provider.

Bluehost Pricing Review – Find out how to get the most bang for your buck.

Bluehost vs DreamHost – See how these top providers compare.

In this article, we’ve taken a close look at shared hosting, because it’s the cheapest type available. Sharing a server’s resources with other websites is cost-effective and great for smaller websites, like personal portfolios and blogs.

But if you find that your website is outgrowing a shared server – if you’re starting to upload more content or receive more monthly traffic, for example – then it’s probably time to upgrade to a hosting type with more resources. Fortunately, you don’t have to dive straight off the deep end! There are a few different tiers of web hosting to choose from:

VPS, or Virtual Private Server, hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. You’ll be given your own “virtual” server within a shared server, with more resources specifically allocated to your website. Prices typically range from $10–$90/month. Learn more with our guide to Cheap VPS Hosting.

Dedicated hosting is pricier and more powerful than VPS, because it provides an entire web server solely dedicated to your website and its needs. You’ll have more control over your hosting experience this way, but we don’t recommend starting with a dedicated plan unless you’re running a website that needs a lot of power and security, like a large online store. Prices typically range from $79–$520/month. Learn more with our guide to Cheap Dedicated Hosting.

Cloud hosting is slightly different from the other options. It’s a lot like shared hosting, except your site is stored on multiple servers – which means this is a more flexible option should anything ever go wrong (like if one server were to go down). Because Cloud plans are so flexible, prices typically range all the way from $4–$80/month. Cloud hosting is already a pretty cheap option, and you can learn more about it with our guide to the Best Cloud Hosting.

There you have it – an in-depth look at our top-rated cheap hosting providers. All of the prices we’ve discussed have been based on shared hosting plans, because, as we mentioned, these are usually the cheapest plans hosts offer. There are others out there who offer hosting at similar rates, but they didn’t stack up to this bunch when put through their paces.

To recap, here’s the cream of the shared hosting crop:

While IONOS is the cheapest provider with its promotional $0.50 per month deal, and iPage is also a very budget-friendly option, it is DreamHost that is the best value for money. It’s a cost-effective option for media-heavy websites, or those expecting high traffic.

There’s only one way to know for sure if a provider is best for your site, however, and that’s by trying it out. All six of these providers offer a minimum 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can always give one a whirl to see what you make of it.

And now it’s over to you! Get out there, and find the right host to help you share your website with the world.