How Much Does It Cost to Host a Website?
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Compare Prices From the Top Web Hosting Providers
So, how much does it cost to host a website? Shared hosting (the cheapest kind) costs $2.49 – $15/month, and dedicated hosting (the most expensive kind) costs $80 – $730/month.
But there are a lot of options in between. There are several different types of hosting to choose from, and many different variables at play. We’ll go through the cost of each of the five most popular types of hosting in detail.
By the end of this article you can expect to know:
- Which type of hosting you need (if you don’t already know)
- How much this type of hosting will cost
- Which are the cheapest providers
Let’s get started.
Web Hosting Costs Explained
Website hosting costs can vary, with prices starting as low as $2.49 per month and escalating all the way up to $729 – or even higher. The cost depends on a variety of factors, such as the type of website you have, how many monthly visitors you expect to have, and whether you need extra services such as automated backups and an email account.
Knowing the kind of website you want to run – or currently run – makes it easier to figure out what sort of hosting you need. You’ll also need to figure out the level of service you require.
A simple WordPress blog, for example, can start with a low-priced shared hosting service. Once that blog gains a high amount of popularity, however, it will inevitably require a more robust type of hosting with unlimited bandwidth limits or storage.
There are five types of hosting we’re going to discuss in this article, as they are the most commonly used by website owners.
This is beginner level web hosting. If you have a very low traffic website with a static page, or a WordPress blog, then this is the best option. Shared hosting is often the cheapest form of web hosting, but also the least robust, as your website is one of numerous sites sharing the resources of a single server.
In our research we found InMotion to offer the best shared hosting plans, which start at $2.49 per month.
Virtual private server hosting, or VPS hosting, is the next step up from shared hosting. The big difference is that for all intents and purposes, it appears as though you’re running your own server. In reality, your website is still one of several websites sharing a single server, but there are fewer websites sharing resources – meaning your site’s performance should be better.
We recommend InMotion’s VPS hosting plans, as they came top in our research – its prices range between $17.99 to $84.99 per month (based on a six month subscription).
With dedicated hosting, you are paying for your own server. Typically, these services are tiered based on how powerful your server will be, as well as whether the web host manages the service or the business manages it in-house. Not every dedicated hosting provider offers managed services, although some do.
HostGator provides impressive uptime and unmetered bandwidth on all its dedicated hosting plans. Its prices range from $119 to $149 per month.
You’ve probably heard talk of “the cloud,” a nebulous term meant to describe online services like Dropbox or OneDrive. What it actually means is a cluster of servers working together, so that a web service never goes down (or goes down very infrequently). Cloud hosting, then, is a group of servers working together to keep your website up and running. If one server goes down, another picks up the slack, and so on. As you might imagine, cloud hosting doesn’t come cheap – but if you can’t afford even a few hours of down time, it might be the best option for you.
We recommend A2 Hosting’s cloud hosting plans, which start at just $5 per month and come with root access, plus an anytime money-back guarantee.
Before we start, let’s be clear about one thing: you can run a WordPress site on pretty much any web hosting service. Managed WordPress hosting is not about running a WordPress site per se – it’s about getting a service that’s tuned to meet the needs of WordPress sites. That includes key features like 24/7 support and automated backups, or other items you may not get with regular shared hosting.
Bluehost is hands down the best WordPress host, with automatic WordPress installation and updates available from just $2.95 per month.
That’s the breakdown of all our web hosting services. Before we get into the specifics of web hosting costs, keep in mind that as your web hosting plan increases in features, it will usually increase in cost.
Take a look at our top-rated web host Bluehost as an example. Bluehost’s shared hosting plans range from $2.95 to $13.95 per month, and you unlock more features the more you pay. The key is to find the plan that fits your budget and provides you with the features you need.
If you start on Bluehost’s cheapest Basic shared plan for $2.95 per month, you can use it for one website, you’re allowed one domain, and you get 50GB storage. In contrast, Bluehost’s higher tiered shared plans, such as $13.95 per month Pro plan, allow unlimited websites and domains, and give you unlimited storage – plus extra features such as spam experts, domain privacy, and a dedicated IP address.
How Much Does Website Hosting Cost?
Now let’s take a closer look at the costs of different types of hosting. A lot of the pricing you’ll see here is initial promotional pricing, where you pay a specific price for a certain amount of months or years of service. Once your promotional period is over, your monthly cost may go up.
Shared Hosting
$2.49 – $15 per month
Shared hosting is where most people start their web hosting journey.
Of the top five shared hosting providers, InMotion offers the cheapest shared hosting plan at just $2.49/month (an exclusive plan only for Website Builder Expert users!). DreamHost comes in a close second with $2.59, while Bluehost and A2 Hosting’s top tier shared hosting plans are both at the pricer end, costing $13.95/month and $14.99/month respectively.
| Host | Entry Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Highest Plan | Subscription length for price shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InMotion | $2.49 | $4.99 | $12.99 | 3 years |
| Dreamhost | $2.59 | - | $5.95 | 3 years |
| HostGator | $2.75 | $3.95 | $5.95 | 3 years |
| Bluehost | $2.95 | $5.45 | $13.95 | 3 years |
| A2 Hosting | $2.99 | $4.99 | $14.99 | 3 years |
Find out more
- Discover the Best Shared Hosting Services in our well-researched list
VPS Hosting
$20 – $80 per month
VPS hosting is the next step up from shared web hosting when traffic starts to increase on a website.
Of our top five VPS hosting providers, InMotion offers the cheapest VPS hosting plan at $17.99/month – this is an exclusive discounted price just for our readers to enjoy. Bluehost and HostGator follow close behind InMotion at $18.99 and $19.95/month each for their entry-level VPS plans, while iPage offers the priciest top-tier VPS plan, at $79.99/month. On average Bluehost is cheapest across the three plans.
| Host | Entry Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Highest Plan | Subscription length for price shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InMotion | $17.99 | $64.99 | $84.99 | 6 months |
| Bluehost | $18.99 | $29.99 | $59.99 | 3 years |
| HostGator | $19.95 | $29.95 | $39.95 | 3 years |
| iPage | $19.99 | $47.99 | $79.99 | 1 month |
| A2 Hosting | $25 | $35 | $50 | 2 years |
Find out more
- Compare the Best VPS Hosting Providers to make sure you pick the perfect host for your needs
Dedicated Hosting
$80 – $300 per month
If you’ve decided to pay for your own server, traffic must be getting pretty serious, and your needs are outgrowing the lower tiered hosting plans.
Dedicated hosting is the most variably priced kind. Of our top five dedicated hosting providers, the cheapest plan comes from Bluehost at $79.99/month. Mid-tier plans are priced between $99.99/month and $207/month. The most expensive plan is A2 Hosting’s $290.49/month top tier plan.
| Host | Entry Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Highest Plan | Subscription length for price shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | $79.99 | $99.99 | $119.99 | 3 years |
| HostGator | $89.98 | $119.89 | $139.99 | 3 years |
| iPage | $119.99 | $151.99 | $191.99 | 1 month |
| InMotion | $139.99 | $189.99 | $259.99 | 1 year |
| A2 Hosting | $141.09 | $207.49 | $290.49 | 12 months |
Find out more
- Which providers are the most powerful? Find out in our review of the Best Dedicated Server Hosting
Cloud Hosting
$4.50 – $240 per month
Cloud hosting is what you turn to when downtime could prove fatal to your business. This form of hosting makes sure there’s always a server on hand, ready to provide your website to the world.
Cloud hosting is relatively inexpensive. Of our top five providers, the most affordable plan comes from DreamHost at just $4.50/month. There can be quite a variation in what you get with a cloud hosting plan, and this is reflected in the cost; HostGator’s most expensive cloud hosting plan costs just $9.95/month, while SiteGround’s is $240/month.
| Host | Entry Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Highest Plan | Subscription length for price shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreamhost | $4.50 | $12 | $48 | 1 month |
| HostGator | $4.95 | $6.57 | $9.95 | 3 years |
| A2 Hosting | $5 | $10 | $15 | 3 years |
| InMotion | $5 | $30 | $160 | 1 month |
| SiteGround | $80 | $160 | $240 | 1 month |
Find out more
- Looking for flexible hosting? We run through the Best Cloud Hosting Providers in our carefully researched list
WordPress Hosting
$4.99 – $830 per month
These plans are for those who need dedicated and specialized services designed just for WordPress sites and blogs.
Again, there can be quite a difference in what you get from one WordPress hosting plan to another, and this is reflected in the price. Of our top five WordPress hosting providers, InMotion actually offers the cheapest plan at $4.99/month. WPEngine’s top tier plan is the priciest at $828/month.
It’s worth noting these prices reflect managed WordPress plans, rather than basic (and cheaper) shared WordPress hosting.
| Host | Entry Plan | Mid-Tier Plan | Highest Plan | Subscription length for price shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InMotion | $4.99 | $7.99 | $10.99 | 3 years |
| SiteGround | $6.99 | $9.99 | $14.99 | 1 year |
| A2 Hosting | $11.99 | $18.99 | $36.98 | 3 years |
| Bluehost | $19.95 | $29.95 | $49.95 | 3 years |
| WPEngine | $25 | $241 | $828 | 1 year |
Find out more
- Give your WordPress site the best chance of success by checking out our review of the Best WordPress Hosts
Extra Web Hosting Costs to Consider
A hosting package is one thing, but there are often some “hidden” fees that you may not really think about until you’re already up and running. Beyond the hosting package, you need to own a domain name, for example. Sometimes your domain name registration is included in your hosting package, while other times, you turn to a domain registrar.
Here’s a breakdown of a few of the extra costs you should consider.
Domain Name Registration
Typically costs $10 to $15 per year
When you run a website, you need a domain name. This is the web address that you put on your business cards, shopping bags, and other company marketing materials. Most people opt for a .com domain name, but you can also choose from .net, .biz, or country-specific suffixes such as .ca or .us.
Domain name registration has some extra fees of its own, such as privacy protection, which keeps your name and address out of public WHOIS listings.
It’s also worth pointing out that keeping your domain name registration with your web hosting provider is not always the best choice. If you should ever want to leave your web host, having your domain registered with services such as Domain.com or GoDaddy makes that easier, as you’ll avoid the hassle (and potential cost) of transferring your domain to a new registrar.
Discover your options with our ranking of the 6 best domain name registrars.
Office 365 or G Suite
Adding business email and productivity suites typically costs $6 to $15 per month
Not all hosts provide this service, but a number of them allow you to purchase business accounts for G Suite or Office 365 at good prices. The end result is that you can have your business email in Gmail or Outlook.com.
SSL Certificates
Vary from free to $450 per year, with the average price around $50
When you have an SSL certificate, your website gets that little green lock in the URL bar of a browser. This is a must have for any webpage handling financial transactions, or where users need to login to the website. Many websites choose to use SSL even when they’re just simple pages displaying information, because Google often favors sites using SSL over those that don’t.
These days, most web hosts provide free SSL certificates with their mid- to high-tier plans; however, keep in mind that if you have the technical know-how to deal with the command line, you can get a free SSL certificate via Let’s Encrypt.
SiteLock
Typically costs about $24 per year
Not all web hosts offer SiteLock added security as part of their services, but those that do usually charge about $2 per month. SiteLock offers features such as daily malware scans, web application firewalls, and DDoS attack protection. Whether SiteLock is worth the money is something of a debate online, but we won’t get into that here. Some web hosts also offer SiteLock services for free as part of their packages.
Automated Site Backup and Restore Services
Website backups with web hosts are often free, but may cost $2 per month or more
Just like your PC at home, it pays to have your website files copied to another location that is not your web host server in case the worst happens. Some plans include backups for free, while others won’t charge to save the backup, but may charge you a restoration fee should your data disappear.
Keep in mind that you could backup the site yourself, but that usually takes a little bit of technical know-how. You’ll also need to manage your backups to make sure they’re working and copying correctly.
Cost to Switch Web Hosts
For many different reasons, you may want to migrate your website to a different web hosting provider, but how much will that set you back?
If you have the required skills (and time to spare), you can switch hosting providers yourself at no cost. However, we’re sure that most of you simply don’t have the time to migrate your whole website to another server among your other tasks. Thankfully, you can pay your new host to do all the legwork for you.
Typically, migrating your website to another host will cost between $150 and $400, depending on the host, and the number of files, extensions, and images your website contains.
Bluehost’s Free Switching Service
Worried about hosting transfer costs? Bluehost will complete the transfer for you, for free!
As long as you already have a WordPress website, and you’ve signed up to a Bluehost plan, you won’t need to pay a dollar for switching hosts.
How Much Does It Cost to Host a Website: Summary
Now you know how much web hosting should cost, based on the type of hosting you require, from the services we recommend. There are certainly a wide range of pricing options, with hosting costing from as little as $2.49 to more than $700 per month.
If you opt for a higher priced plan, or for a whole lot of years at a lower price, many web hosts offer a limited time money-back guarantee. These often last between 30 and 90 days. That way you can try out the service, and if you don’t like it, you can walk away without losing your investment.
To review, here are the five types of web hosting we looked at, along with their price ranges:
Cost to Host a Website:
- Shared Hosting: $2.49 – $15 per month
- VPS Hosting: $20 – $80 per month
- Dedicated Hosting: $80 – $300 per month
- Cloud Hosting: $4.50 – $240 per month
- WordPress Hosting: $4.99 – $830 per month
The important issue to remember with web hosting is that the type of website you’re running will often dictate the type of web hosting you need.
Beginner sites in almost all categories should go with shared hosting. VPS, Dedicated, and Cloud hosting are for more active websites, with the latter being more important for websites that can’t afford any downtime. WordPress hosting, meanwhile, is specifically for WordPress-based sites that want the specialized support and features which managed WordPress hosting services provide.
Once you’ve got your hosting plan picked out, don’t forget to consider those extras we discussed. You’ll be on your way to running an active and well-maintained website in no time.
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