The Best Cheap Web Hosting of 2024

Hostinger is one of the best hosting companies for people starting with a website and seeking low prices. Its beginner-friendly interface, low hosting rate, and reliable uptime make it the go-to provider for shared hosting.

Hostinger isn’t the cheapest option on this list (IONOS has a nearly unbeatable introductory rate). But it has one of the most affordable paid plans on this list and offers the most bang for your buck. It's one of our favorite hosting providers of 2023 for a good reason — what it does, it does well. Hostinger offers multiple hosting plans, from entry-level optionsfor beginners to virtual private server (VPS) solutions for small business hosting.

Most plans even qualify for a free domain name for the first year of service, a great addition for those just getting started. All hosting packages also come with a free shared SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt SSL that will provide your site with significant security. It also ensures your site follows best security practices, which Google confirms is important for proper search engine optimization (SEO).

No matter the plan you pick, Hostinger is a rock-solid option for hosting your next project at an affordable rate.

Who is Hostinger best for?

Hostinger is great for various users, though business owners may be particularly drawn to it. Small businesses and entrepreneurs will find a highly-polished, affordable service, with excellent options for scaling as your business grows.

Recent updates to Hostinger

While Hostinger has been around for over a decade, it is still committed to continuous improvement with new technology and features to meet your needs. It added improved WordPress migration, so it’s easier to import your site from another service and update WordPress security.

Hostinger pricing

You have plenty of choices when looking for a plan with Hostinger. Choose the Single Web Host plan for only $1.99 per month, with one website, 50GB of storage, 100GB of bandwidth, and weekly backups. For $2.99 per month, the Premium plan offers double the storage, more websites, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain. The last tier caters to Businesses and runs for $3.99 per month, doubling the amount of storage and offering you daily backups.

DreamHost is one of the oldest and most reliable hosting services. Offering top-class hosting packages at bargain prices, it is an excellent choice for everyone from small businesses to large e-commerce websites.

DreamHost offers a unique guarantee of 100% uptime, immediately setting it apart from other providers. It can’t guarantee your site will never go down, but it offers some compensation for downtime — you’ll receive credit for a free day of service on your next renewal for each hour your site is down. Furthermore, with shared hosting, you can request a full refund within 97 days of subscribing if you have any issues.

DreamHost also provides several other digital services, including WordPress design, Google Workspace subscriptions, marketing, and website management. All DreamHost subscriptions come with live chat support and 24/7 customer service through support tickets.

DreamHost provides its customers with top-of-the-line hosting plans at bargain prices. Regardless of the hosting plan, you can access excellent features, including pre-installed WordPress and a free domain for one year. The most affordable hosting plan costs only $4.95 monthly and supports one website.

Who is DreamHost best for?

I think DreamHost is a great choice for most: from small businesses to large e-commerce websites. It also has hosting plans that fit personal website builders’ needs. It’s particularly good for those just trying out shared hosting, as you’ll have a full 97-day money-back guarantee.

Recent updates to DreamHost

DreamHost continuously upgrades its services. Many changes were made to the websites section of DreamHost, including a new tech stack, the ability to change domains, WordPress Migrations feature, and Domain Name System (DNS) Propagation Check to evaluate DNS status. DreamHost also revamped its user interface (UI) and redesigned the control panel.

DreamHost pricing

DreamHost’s lowest price plan is its “Shared” one, which includes shared hosting for entry-level websites at $4.95 per month. If you outgrow this plan, though, there are plenty of ways to increase your service at a reasonable rate.

IONOS excels in innovation, reliability, and user experience. No matter which IONOS web hosting plan you choose, you’ll get great features, including a free domain name for one year. But the introductory rate will probably get you through the door.

While some other cheap hosting providers offer lower prices than IONOS over the long haul, you can’t beat its $1 per month introductory offer on the Business subscription. This mid-tier option comes with unlimited storage, databases, and domains, plus professional email and a free domain for just one year.

No matter which IONOS web hosting plan you choose, you will get great features, including a free WordPress guide and a no-cost domain name for one year. Those just starting out can opt for one of the MyWebsite packages, which comes with free hosting, plenty of templates, and an intuitive editor that’s seamless to operate.

IONOS has also recently revamped its WordPress hosting service with a new emphasis on providing an isolated environment for increased speed and security.

Who is IONOS best for?

After extensive testing I found IONOS is ideal for fledgling companies, providing a good balance between cost-effectiveness and dependability. Plus, it’s super easy to scale when ready.

Recent updates to IONOS

IONOS just revamped its WordPress hosting service with a new emphasis on providing an isolated environment for increased speed and security. It is also developing a new feature that will simplify importing pre-existing projects.

IONOS pricing

Like most services, IONOS offers a one-year introductory rate at all levels. However, unlike most others, the mid-tier “Business” plan is the cheapest, which is only $1 a month for the first year. You can still opt for the “Essential” plan, though you’ll pay $4 monthly for less storage, websites, and hosting resources. 

Bluehost, a popular web hosting company, has millions of sites running on its servers. This company has provided hosting at an affordable price since 2003. Bluehost continues to innovate and expand to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers. 

It’s often difficult to predict how different hosting providers will work, but Bluehost stands out from others due to its strong overall performance across the board. Consumers report reliable uptime, fast speeds, and relatively few slowdowns. In our testing and research, we found that Bluehost servers had an average uptime of 99.854% over the past 30 days, with an all-time uptime over 99.94%.

Additionally, my testing showed Bluehost averaged time to first byte (TTFB) of 22 ms, which means your site will load quickly. This is just the speed at which Bluehost’s servers and CDN integration will respond to a web request. Your site’s load times will also depend significantly on how you make your site and what you include.

Another key advantage for Bluehost over other hosting providers is the platform’s offer of up to $150 in Google Ads credit through a matching program. Unfortunately, the Bluehost website doesn’t provide any additional details for this service other than that it’s only valid for new Google Ads customers in the U.S.

Who is Bluehost best for?

After extensive testing and a review, I found it a capable hosting option for individuals, small businesses, bloggers, and others needing a reliable website. Bluehost makes it easy to create and manage a site with its diverse tools, templates, and WooCommerce options, so it’s easy for those new to running websites. 

Recent updates to Bluehost

Bluehost is constantly innovating and upgrading its systems. For example, Bluehost started offering an advanced new site migration tool for WordPress sites and a full marketplace for great site templates. 

Bluehost pricing

Bluehost has options at many different price points. The basic shared hosting account starts at $2.95 per month. If you need a dedicated server, on the other hand, you can pay up to $119.99 per month for the top-end option. 

Hostwinds may be one of the lesser-known providers on this list, but its service is still excellent. It caters to the small-scale audience, and the no-nonsense plans and pricing mean you’ll know exactly what you’re getting before you pay.

You’ll pay a little more with Hostwinds. But all its website hosting plans (shared, business, and reseller) offer unlimited bandwidth and storage even at the base levels. Each plan has three price points: one, four, and unlimited domains. Having unlimited storage and bandwidth is great because it's often difficult to guess how much of these things you’ll need when starting out. Most (other) hosting providers use these factors to create different pricing tiers, but Hostwinds makes everything unlimited from the start.

The business plan adds features like SSD disks, CloudFlare, constant monitoring, and the LiteSpeed HTTP server (a highly customized version of Apache). For virtual private server (VPS) hosting and dedicated, choices are similarly precise: Do you want managed or unmanaged, Linux or Windows, and how many servers do you want? It’s all laid out clearly, and selecting an option takes you to a customization page with your option filled in for you.

Who is Hostwinds best for?

After putting it through its paces, I think that Hostwinds will work well for those in the market for small-scale focused hosting. This includes SMBs, individuals, or entrepreneurs.

Recent updates to Hostwinds

Hostwinds is constantly working to improve its services. It has made some quality-of-life improvements to the cPanel. The provider also removed a lot of outdated legacy equipment, making room for better and more reliable systems.

Hostwinds pricing

There are a ton of plan options with Hostwinds — which can be great if you’re looking for something incredibly specific, but can also be a little overwhelming. The lowest-priced hosting plan starts at $5.24 per month but is geared toward those who might resell the plan. A more traditional shared hosting plan runs for $6.99 per month.