Best cheap website hosting in 2024

The competitive web hosting market is full of budget-friendly options that offer premium features at attractive prices. This can be ideal if you work with a small business or personal website that doesn't require massive resources, but still needs features like email addresses and security certificates. However, navigating these choices can be tricky, as the feature sets can vary significantly.

To help you find the best value, I've investigated various cheap web hosting providers in the $2-$4 per month range. I've compiled a list of the 7 top options that deliver the most features for your money, focusing on price, including extras like domain registration and SSL certificates, customer support, and overall performance.

7 best cheap web hosting services

1. Bluehost – best cheap hosting overall from $1.99/month
2. Hostinger – beginner-friendly cheap web hosting starting from $2.54/month
3. DreamHost – best cheap WordPress-focused hosting for business starting at $2.59/month
4. A2 Hosting – affordable hosting with performance-driven features from $1.95/month
5. HostGator – cheap and user-friendly web hosting provider for newbies from $3.75/month
6. HostPapa – overall cheapest yearly web hosting for $2.36/month
7. InterServer – cheap month-to-month web hosting provider with reliable uptime for $2.50/month

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What to look for in a cheap web host?

I know it can be complex to choose a web host, especially if you’re only starting – we’ve all been there. Here are some key things to keep in mind to find the perfect fit for your website, without breaking the bank:

• Price and term. While you're looking for a budget option, consider the total cost. Longer plans (usually 1-year or 3-year) are often cheaper per month than short-term ones (monthly plans).
• Features. Make sure the plan includes essentials like enough storage space and bandwidth for your website size. Don't pay for features you won't use, but consider if you'll need email addresses or a free domain name.
• Customer support. Reliable and responsive customer support is crucial in case you encounter issues or have any questions.
• Uptime. Look for a web host with a high uptime guarantee (99.9% or higher). This will guarantee your website is accessible to visitors most of the time.

Cheap website hosting 2024 – detailed list

I reviewed top web hosts to help you make an informed decision about which provider offers cheap web hosting. Aside from that, I also looked at the features, resources, and customer support options they offer, as well as tested their performance.

1. Bluehost – overall the best affordable hosting solution

Visit Bluehost

Bluehost is the best cheap web hosting provider I tested. It offers low-cost web hosting with shared plans’ prices starting at $1.99 per month. The host has one of the most impressive dashboards with tools like staging and two-click Cloudflare CDN integration. Plus, cPanel is there if needed.

Cheapest plans:

• Basic – for $1.99/month, you get 10 websites, 10GB SSD storage, freeCDN, free domain, free SSL, malware scanning and custom WordPress themes. It auto-renews at a regular rate.
• Choice Plus – for $3.99/month, you get 50 websites, 50GB SSD storage, free CDN, free domain, free SSL, malware scanning, free daily website backups and more features. This plan also renews at the regular rate.
• Online store – from $7.45/month, Bluehost provides you with 50 websites, 50GB SSD storage, free CDN, free domain, free SSL, malware scanning, free daily website backups, and store analytics.
• Pro – starting at $9.99/month, you get 100 websites, 100GB SSD storage, free CDN, free domain, free SSL, malware scanning, priority support, free daily website backups, and more advanced features like high-frequency CPUs.

Bluehost also offers a website builder tool along with one for WordPress, similar to Hostinger and Dreamhost. I liked Bluehost's staging tool for WordPress websites, which is unique among other providers. It lets you solve problems or try out updates on a demo site without messing up your real one. That's a great feature that can prevent a ton of headaches when you're building or updating your site.

Performance. We tested Bluehost's web hosting performance by looking at CPU models, encryption/hashing speed, and compression algorithm performance using different commands and scripts. We also use tools like SolarWinds Pingdom and GTmetrix to check how fast pages load, making sure it's consistent everywhere. Throughout our testing, the host kept a 99.9% uptime, even while lacking an official uptime guarantee. The average response time was just as impressive at just 361ms, and the fully loaded time was good, too – 1.8s.

Pricing. The cheapest Bluehost plan starts at $1.99 per month, and then goes up to $7.99 upon renewal. If you need more than one website for your personal or business project, there are other plans available with larger storage and the ability to host more websites for a slightly higher price. It's great that customer support is available 24/7. In our experience, communication with them was quick and effective. Plus, if you're not satisfied with your Bluehost service, you can get a refund within 30 days of signing up.

2. Hostinger – beginner-friendly and affordable web hosting

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Hostinger is a great cheap web host not only because of its affordable prices but also because of the free features included in the plans. For just $2.54 /month, the provider offers speedy performance with all the latest technology. Moreover, Hostinger is simple and easy to use, thus, ideal for those building small to medium-sized websites.

Cheapest plans:

• Premium Hosting – starting from $2.54/month (when opting for 48 months) provides 100 websites, 100 GB SSD storage, free email, free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain. Other period of time prices are $2.78/month (24-month plan), $2.87/month (12-month plans), or $11.99 (1-month plan).
• Business – starting from $3.39/month (when opting for 48 months), you get 100 websites, 200 GB NVMe storage, free email, free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, free domain, free CDN. Other terms include $4.04/month (24-month plan), $4.49/month (12-month plan), $13.99 (1-month plan + there’s a $4.99 setup fee).
• Cloud Startup – for $6.79/month (48-month term), you get 300 websites, 200 GB NVMe storage, free email, free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, free domain, free CDN, dedicated IP, and more. You can also choose other terms – $8.99/month for a 24-month or 12-month period or $24.99 for 1 month.

I found it easy to register a domain, craft a website with its web builder, or switch to WordPress if the latter doesn't suit you. One minor downside I noticed is that you have to pre-pay and renewals are a bit higher, which you wouldn’t have with, for instance, InterServer plans.

Performance. We test web host performance by checking the CPU model using "lscpu" command, measuring encryption/hashing speed with "openssl speed," and assessing compression algorithm performance with a bash script. Additionally, we evaluate page load speed using tools like GTmetrix and SolarWinds Pingdom to ensure consistent performance across different regions.

Uptime, average response time, and loading time are important web hosting measurements. Hostinger promises almost no downtime with a 100% uptime guarantee, though some downtime is natural. During Hostinger Premium plan testing, the average response time was 511ms, faster than the shared hosting average of 600ms. The site's loading time is 0.9s, which is typical compared to other providers. These metrics affect user experience and SEO, making them crucial for a reliable and fast website, and essential for online success.

Pricing. The cheapest Hostinger plan costs $2.54 per month and renews at $7.99. Renewal prices often increase, but you can switch to other plans anytime. Plus, they offer 24/7 customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

3. DreamHost – affordable WordPress-oriented hosting provider

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A WordPress-centered host, DreamHost is also one of the cheapest web hosting providers, with prices starting at $2.59 per month. The provider is well known for its easy-to-use features and a very special 100% uptime guarantee. This makes DreamHost perfect for those looking for reliable hosting for WordPress.

Cheapest plans:

• Starter – for $2.59 per month (3-year plan), you get 1 website limit, 50 GB of SSD storage, unlimited traffic, free SSL, free domain, and a WP website builder. You can choose another period for this plan: $2.95/month (1-year plan) or $4.95 for 1 month. However, its shared hosting allows only 1 website and 50 GB of storage, and a business email comes at an extra cost.
• Unlimited – for $3.95/month (3-year plan), you get unlimited websites, unlimited traffic, free domain, free email, free SSL, and more features. You can also choose to pay $2.95 (1-year plan) or $8.95 monthly.

I found DreamHost to be less feature-rich than Bluehost or Hostinger. However, focusing on usability, DreamHost's interface is simple and user-friendly. Yet, I found their email service occasionally down, which seems to be a common issue among users.

Performance. We measure DreamHosts web host performance by checking CPU models, encryption/hashing speed, and compression algorithm performance using various commands and scripts. Additionally, we assess page load speed with tools like GTmetrix and SolarWinds Pingdom to ensure consistent performance worldwide.

The DreamHost Shared plan boasts nearly perfect uptime with occasional minor downtimes. We found its average response time to be slightly faster than Bluehosts, at 231ms, compared to the market average of 600ms. However, the fully built site loading time is a bit slower at 1.6s, which slightly affects the overall user experience.

Pricing. DreamHost's cheapest plan starts at $2.59 per month, then renews at $6.99. If one WordPress website isn't sufficient, you can opt for the unlimited plan, allowing unlimited websites for $3.95 per month. The good thing is, that DreamHost offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and a generous 97-day money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

4. A2 Hosting – performance-focused hosting for affordable pricing

Visit A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is cheap and mainly known for its performance-driven features like its A2 Optimized software. This makes it the ideal provider for those looking for affordable plans that offer plenty of speed-boosting features. Its shared hosting starts from $1.95 per month.

Once again, long billing terms are unavoidable, and renewals are higher.

Cheapest plans:

• Startup – from $2.99/month (1-year plan), you get 1 website, 100GB SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, and 5 databases. This is pretty good compared to providers like Bluehost or Dreamhost. You can opt for other periods: $4.99/month (36-month plan), $5.99/month (24-month plan), or $11.99 monthly.
• Drive –starting from $5.99/month (12-month plan), you get unlimited storage and websites, unmetered bandwidth, unlimited databases, and free automated backup. If you choose other paying periods, here are the prices: $5.99/month (36-month plan), $7.99/month (24-month plan), or $12.99 monthly.
• Turbo Boost – from $6.99/month (12-month plan), you get to enjoy unlimited websites and NVMe storage, unmetered bandwidth, unlimited databases, free automated backup, and NVMe AMD EPYC Server with LiteSpeed Web Server. You can opt for a 36-month plan and also pay $6.99/month, a 24-month plan for $9.99/month, or pay $19.99 monthly.
• Turbo Max – from $14.99/month (12-month plan), you get the same as the Turbo Boost plan but with fewer users on servers, 5 times more resources, and it’s up to 20 times faster. You can also choose a 36-month plan and pay $14.99/month, a 24-month plan for $16.99/month, or $24.99 monthly.

A2 Hosting's interface and cPanel might look a bit outdated, but they get the job done. It's somewhat easy to use but not very beginner-friendly due to its old-fashioned feel. During our several months testing of A2 Hosting, we found that all domains purchased through them are automatically added to your account, but it's cheaper to buy them elsewhere and add them manually. I also tried their website builder but found Bluehost's drag-and-drop builder to be much more intuitive.

Performance. If we compare A2 Hosting to Bluehost, A2 Hosting's Startup plan has nearly flawless uptime, with occasional small downtimes. Its average response time is almost the same as the market average of 600ms. However, the time it takes for a fully built site to load is a bit faster at 1.4 seconds compared to our top provider, Bluehost.

Pricing. A2 Hosting pricing starts at $1.95 per month, then $12.99 per month after renewal. A2 Hosting offers support via a 24/7 ticketing system, phone, and live chat. And if you’re not satisfied with their services, you can cancel your subscription and get a refund withing your first 30 days of signing up.

5. HostGator – inexpensive and user-friendly hosting

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HostGator is another very popular cheap web host provider that focuses on both personal and small business users. With its cheapest plan costing just $3.75 per month, the host is the perfect entry into the hosting world for newbies. Plus, the provider also makes itself an attractive option with its easy-to-use interface and other beginner-friendly features.

Cheapest plans:

• Hatchling – from $3.75/month (3-year plan), you get 1 website, 10GB SSD storage, free email, free domain, and more. You also get a free domain, SSL, website builder for up to 6 pages, and a server-level firewall included. You can also choose a 12-month billing cycle with a $4.95/month price or a $12.95 monthly price.
• Baby – starting from $4.50/month (3-year plan), you’ll get 5 websites, 40GB SSD storage, free email, free domain, and more. You can go for a 12-month plan for $6/month or pay $13.95 monthly.
• Business – from $6.25/month (3-year plan), you can get advanced features for small businesses and more resources than with a Baby plan. You can opt for a 12-month plan and pay $8.25/month or pay $18.95 monthly.
• Pro – starting from $13.95/month (3-year plan), you get access to unlimited websites, unlimited SSD storage, free email, free domain, Cloudflare CDN, dedicated IP, and more. If you opt for a 1-year plan, you pay $18.95/month or $34.99 monthly.

At first glance, HostGator seemed pretty similar to A2 Hosting (like the old-fashioned cPanel). However, as I delved deeper into it, I noticed a lot of upsells, especially when trying to install WordPress or use marketing tools, which felt a bit intrusive. Managing your website and adjusting hosting settings isn't difficult, but the starter plan might not be enough if you want to create a larger website with more traffic, as the company lacks support for modern security protocols and login security. Thus, I recommend it for beginners, who search for great customer support and cost-effective prices.

Performance. When we tested HostGator, we found its results to be quite similar to A2 Hosting (that's why Redditors often compare them side to side). Compared to A2 Hosting, HostGator's Hatchling plan has nearly perfect uptime, with occasional brief downtimes. Its average response time is almost identical to the market average of 600ms. However, the time it takes for a fully built site to load is 1.2 seconds.

Pricing. HostGator's cheapest plan costs $3.75 per month, then goes up to $9.99 after renewal. The great thing is, they offer exceptional customer support through 24/7 live chat and phone. I tested their competence by contacting them via live chat and got instant help. Plus, there's always a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind about HostGator services.

6. HostPapa – overall cheapest yearly web hosting for $2.36/month

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HostPapa is the cheapest entry on the list, and it sure has a lot to offer. It landed on my best list by including very generous server resources even with its cheapest plan. Plus, the rest is covered – you get a domain, SSL, email accounts, and cPanel control panel. All these features for $2.36 per month.

Cheapest plans:

• Start – starting from $2.36/month (3-year subscription), you’ll get 1 website, 100GB SSD storage, 10 email accounts, free domain, and free SSL. You can opt for a 24-month plan for $3.16/month, a 12-month plan for $3.96/month, a 6-month plan for $5.95/month, a 3-month plan for $6.95/month, or $8.95 monthly.
• Plus – starting from $4.76/month (3-year plan), you get 10 websites, 100GB SSD storage, 100 email accounts, free domain, free SSL, website staging, and more. Other period prices are: $5.56/month (24-month plan), $6.36/month (12-month plan), $8.95/month (6-month plan), $9.95/month (3 month-plan), or $10.95 monthly.
• Pro – from $4.76/month (3-year plan), you get unlimited websites, unlimited SSD storage, unlimited email accounts, free domain, free Wildcard SSL, website staging, and more. You can also subscribe for 24 months for $5.56/month, 12 months for $6.36/month, 6 months for $8.95/month, 3 months for $9.95/month, or pay $10.95 monthly.
• Ultra – from $10.36/month (3-year plan), you get unlimited websites, unlimited SSD storage, unlimited email accounts, free domain, free Wildcard SSL, website staging, 4x more server resources, and more. You can opt for a 24-month plan for $11.16/month, a 12-month plan for $11.96/month, a 6-month plan for $15.95/month, a 3-month plan for $16.95/month, or pay $17.95 monthly.

All of HostPapa's hosting management is done through cPanel, but they use their customized version. This tells a lot about how easy and functional the provider is. If tasks like adding a domain, installing SSL, setting up WordPress, or creating an email account only take a couple of minutes, then everything works well, and it's easy to navigate. I also appreciate that HostPapa provides video tutorials and a knowledge base to guide users.

Performance. When testing the Start plan, we discovered that HostPapa is highly reliable, yet the speed department could use a bit of help. The provider demonstrated a perfect 99.9% uptime, while its average response time took 1.19s. More so, the fully built site loading time was 1.5s.

Pricing. HostPapa's pricing begins at $2.36 per month, but it increases to $12.99 after renewal, which is a bit expensive. However, they offer various support channels with polite and knowledgeable agents ready to assist you. Additionally, HostPapa provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.

7. InterServer – budget-friendly month-to-month hosting

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InterServer has made a name for itself by offering cheap high-quality hosting. The provider has only one shared hosting plan, which costs anywhere from $2.50 per month. Both businesses and personal projects would work well with the provider.

Cheapest plans:

• Standard –starting from $2.50/month (pay-as-you-go plan), you get 1 CPU core and 2GB SSD storage.
• Boost 2 – starting from $9.95/month (pay-as-you-go plan), InterServer provides you get 2 CPU cores and 4GB SSD storage.
• Boost 4 – starting from $19.95/month (pay-as-you-go plan), you get 4 CPU cores and 8GB SSD storage.

InterServer was exceptionally easy to use for me. When you buy a domain, it's automatically activated, and SSL certificates are pre-installed. Installing WordPress or any other content management system is also a breeze with the Softaculous installer in cPanel. However, I noticed that the top menu bar isn't very useful, mostly listing purchase services. The essential buttons you'd use are Billing, Settings, and Support.

InterServer uses cPanel, which is beginner-friendly with built-in explanations for most tools. Plus, I liked that there are plenty of tutorials in the knowledge base, so you won't get lost. However, I noticed that some users report it as outdated.

Performance. While the InterServer host is very reliable in terms of uptime, its server responsiveness and site loading time could be much better. The average response time when testing Standard plan was 662ms, which is slower than the market average.

Pricing. The cheapest InterServer plan costs $2.50per month, and after renewal, it's $7. You can reach customer support anytime through live chat, phone, email, and even Messenger. However, I noticed it’s not as modern as, for example, Bluehost. Plus, InterServer offers a money-back guarantee within 30 days after signing up.

Best cheap hosting providers compared

• Now that I've explored what to look for in a budget-friendly web host, let's dive into the comparison of the top options and break down the key features of each provider to help you find the best fit for your website's needs:

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Our methodology for ranking best cheap web hosts

Using our website hosting testing methodology, we tested 48 web hosts to find out which cheapest solutions are worth your money. We ended up with 7 best hosts, which we further dissected in terms of their popularity, reputation, and features offered in their cheapest hosting plans. Here’s a closer look to the process of the web hosts tests:

1. For testing purposes, we hosted a blog website with several pages and kept an eye on it for 2 months.
2. In our assessment, we checked technical details like hosting uptime, speed, and features using tools like GTmetrix. We also tested how easy they were to use and how effective their customer support was. Then, we compared their pricing to see if they offered good value for money.
3. We ranked the web hosts from 1 to 7, with 1 being the most cost-effective host and 7 being the least cost-effective host, taking into account all the factors mentioned above.

To put it into perspective, price wasn’t our only criteria – we took into consideration other aspects like striking a balance between features, performance, and value for money to make sure to provide you with the best recommendations.

Expert comment

Aurelija Tomkevičiūtė

Tech copywriter and security expert

When it comes to web hosting, rock-bottom prices can be tempting, but be cautious. Truly reliable security features and responsive customer support are key. I've seen data breach scares with super cheap providers – their customer support was too slow and unprofessional. Choose a provider with a strong security record and uptime – peace of mind is worth a bit more per month.

For my money, Bluehost strikes the right balance between affordability and features for budget-minded website owners. Their plans are competitively priced, especially for beginners, but they definitely don't skimp on essentials. I get good server uptime, decent speeds, and a free SSL certificate, which is crucial for security.

Cheap web hosting: final recommendations

While budget-friendly options abound in the web hosting world, remember – you get what you pay for. Some ultra-cheap providers might skimp on security features or uptime guarantees, potentially harming your website's performance and reputation.

Here's where focusing on value becomes key. Don't just chase the absolute lowest price. Look for a provider that strikes a balance between affordability and essential features. This includes prioritizing high uptime (ideally 99.99%), robust security measures (including free SSL certificates), and adequate resources (storage, bandwidth) to handle your website's traffic.

While Hostpapa boasts the lowest monthly cost on my list ($2.36/month), my pick for best price-to-value goes to Bluehost. Its plans start at $1.99/month and offer a feature-rich package, including a free domain, SSL certificate, ample storage, website backups, and a user-friendly interface. This combination makes Bluehost a strong choice for launching a small to medium website without sacrificing essential features or security.

Other specific cheap hosting solutions

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