Best free web hosting sites for 2024
Through independent research and testing, our team of experts offers transparent and thorough reviews of web hosting providers. We use the same testing criteria for all providers to offer a fair and unbiased assessment of each hosting service.
Our in-depth articles include feedback about our hands-on hosting experience and other crucial information for potential customers.
Learn moreFree web hosting is definitely a possibility, and it might be tempting – no one wants to spend money if you can get it for free. However, the absence of a subscription means other drawbacks, such as fewer customization options, slower performance, and lower customer support priority. In short, using free web hosting leads to a low-quality website.
Thankfully, you can reap the benefits of costless hosting and build a solid website using a cheap provider offering a 30-day money-back guarantee. This route allows you to see what the best hosting services provide without committing to a long-term plan. And if your needs aren’t met, simply get a refund, although we doubt that will be necessary with a top-quality provider like DreamHost.
In this article, we’ll outline the 7 best hosting services that are entirely free or provide risk-free trials. We tested 55 providers before deciding the ones below are the most worthy of your attention.
Best free web hosting 2024
- Google Sites – best completely free hosting provider in 2024
- Bluehost – the most affordable WordPress host
- Freehosting.com – fast and resource-rich free host
- DreamHost – user-friendly hosting with a 97-day money-back guarantee
- Hostinger – the best and cheapest web hosting provider
- HostGator – easy-to-use web hosting with extra security
- HostPapa – affordable hosting service with loads of storage
Our in-house research team and expert writers work hand in hand to regularly test hosting services and provide accurate and fact-checked information. Discover the ins and outs of how we test and evaluate website hosting providers.
Is free web hosting a good option?
Free web hosting is an alright option if you’re familiar with the various limitations free services entail. Additionally, it’s vital to choose a reliable provider to avoid security and privacy issues. Once that’s taken care of, you can begin reviewing potential options based on the features they offer:
- Performance. Free hosting will yield lower uptime percentages, extended page load times, and slower response times than premium providers. Additionally, you’ll have fewer server location options for hosting your website.
- Resource limits. The most noticeable difference between paid and free hosting services is the severe resource limit. This includes minimal website storage and even bandwidth. That means you’ll have limited options for posting lengthy videos and high-resolution images.
- Ads on your website. Since you’re not paying a subscription, the hosting provider will likely monetize your site using ads.
Despite these restrictions, free hosting services are worth trying if your goal is to get familiar with website hosting. You’ll be able to evaluate various features standard among hosting services without committing to a paid subscription.
New to hosting? Learn these definitions:
- Bandwidth – how much web traffic your website can manage.
- Storage – how large your website can be. SSD storage leads to faster loading times than with hard drives.
- Uptime – the time your website will be online and available to everyone.
Best free web hosting services reviewed for 2024
Reliable free hosting that will give you enough resources and keep your website running is hard to find. Meanwhile, it’s clear that the best paid web hosting services will ensure excellent performance and allow you to build the website of your dreams.
We tested numerous free hosting providers based on what their free plans offer, performance, and security. Here is a list of the 7 best free web hosts we uncovered:
1. Google Sites – best free web hosting provider in 2024
Features | Modern control panel, no ads, integration with other Google services |
Uptime | 99.99% |
Best for | Learning web development |
Google Sites is one of the best options for completely free website hosting, offering an easy-to-use platform for creating and hosting simple websites. As part of the Google Workspace suite, it combines a user-friendly website builder with built-in hosting, all at no cost. Whether you’re looking to build a personal portfolio, a small business website, or an internal team page, Google Sites provides a no-frills, reliable solution for those who want to get online without paying for hosting.
Features. Google Sites offers all the essentials to get started with creating and hosting a website for free, making it a great option for beginners and small projects. Here’s what you get with Google Sites:
- 15GB Storage. Linked to your Google Drive storage, offering ample space for basic website needs.
- Unlimited websites. With a Google account, you can create as many websites as you need at no extra cost.
- Custom domain support. Use a free sites.google.com subdomain or connect your own custom domain without extra costs.
- Free SSL. Every site gets automatic SSL encryption for secure browsing, with no setup required.
Naturally, there are some drawbacks, too. For example, you won’t get a free domain, and the provider doesn’t include email accounts.
Performance. Thanks to Google’s infrastructure, Google Sites provides reliable 99.9% uptime and decent performance for simple websites. Google’s servers are highly reliable, so you won’t need to worry about frequent downtimes or slow loading speeds. While it doesn't offer the advanced performance optimization tools of paid hosting services, Google Sites delivers a solid, dependable platform for basic websites.
All things considered, if you’re looking for the best free website hosting, Google Sites is it. While its resources are limited, its smooth hosting experience makes it a solid provider.
2. Bluehost – budget-friendly WordPress host with free options
Features | Unlimited bandwidth, free domain, free SSL |
Uptime | 99.99% |
Loading time | 361ms |
Best for | Cheap WordPress hosting |
Bluehost is another premium hosting provider and also the cheapest option if you’re looking for an affordable and functional WordPress hosting solution. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee (hence, it's not free per se), meaning you'll be able to use it for free for a month, get reliable performance, a staging tool, and sufficient security measures.
Features. Bluehost is another premium web hosting option with a risk-free 30-day trial. It offers solid features explicitly geared towards WordPress hosting. Naturally, the details vary based on the plan you decide to try. Here’s what you get with the starting package:
- 1 website. As expected, one Bluehost account normally supports only one WordPress website. Pricier plans can increase that number to 5.
- 10GB SSD storage. The starting storage space is only 10GB, which isn’t impressive compared to Hostinger and DreamHost.
- Free domain. All premium Bluehost plans include a free domain for the first year.
- Free SSL. Security is covered with free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates.
As you can see, the Basic Bluehost plan is relatively barren compared to what DreamHost and Hostinger provide. Still, it’s a worthy option if you’re sure you need free WordPress hosting.
Performance. During our 2 months of testing, Bluehost stayed up 99.99% of the time. The average response time was 361ms, which is overall pretty good compared to other paid hosting providers. Free hosting, however, comes nowhere near these numbers.
Bluehost's cheapest plans start at $1.99/month. You can also use the 30-day money-back guarantee to try it out first and commit later. If you end up not liking it, you can always ask for a refund within a month.
To learn more, read our Bluehost web hosting review.
3. Freehosting.com – fast free web hosting with unlimited bandwidth
Features | 10GB storage, email, customer support |
Uptime | 99.81% |
Loading time | 314ms |
Best for | Learning web design and development |
Freehosting.com is a free hosting veteran that has a few tricks up its sleeves to charm users. This includes free hosting no ads, unmetered bandwidth, some freebies, and an easy user experience.
Features. Freehosting.com is a worthy alternative to 000webhost if you need significantly more storage space and bandwidth. But it’s vital to note that this upgrade comes at the price of security, which can be pretty detrimental. On the other hand, the service is quite versatile because it supports paid add-ons, allowing you to upgrade your site while hosting it for free.
- 10GB storage. Freehosting.com offers a generous 10GB of storage. However, the provider doesn’t state whether it’s SSD, meaning most likely it uses regular hard drives.
- Unlimited bandwidth. The service offers unmetered bandwidth, which is perfect if you expect numerous visitors.
- 1 website without subdomains. One Freehosting.com account supports only one website without any additional subdomains. Moreover, you won’t get a free domain.
- 1 email account. Another upside over 000webhost is the inclusion of an email account.
While data limits are practically non-existent with Freehosting.com, the poor performance and lack of security features make it a questionable choice. At the same time, you can fix these drawbacks using paid add-ons without compromising free hosting.
Performance. In just one week of testing, Freehosting.com was down 11 times for 19 minutes in total. That's a 99.81% total uptime result. Response times, on the other hand, were quite good. It averaged 314ms, which is quite fast. Also, there are also no performance guarantees. The provider's terms of service state that it doesn’t guarantee that its service will be uninterrupted or error-free.
Altogether, Freehosting.com is not the worst choice if you'd like to use classic web hosting for free. Random errors and poor uptime should be anticipated, but the resources are quite good.
If you want to learn more, visit our Freehosting.com review.
4. DreamHost – user-friendly web hosting with extended money-back guarantee
Features | Free SSL, daily backups, WordPress website builder |
Uptime | 99.99% |
Loading time | 231ms |
Best for | Free web hosting alternative |
DreamHost is a relatively cheap web hosting provider best suited for those who are yet to dabble in hosting their own website. It’s also not free per se but comes with a 97-day money-back guarantee enabling you to build and work on your site for free for over 3 months.
Features. Since DreamHost isn’t exactly free, it offers a much more impressive feature package, albeit for a limited time. However, 97 days is plenty of time to thoroughly test the following features included in the starter package.
- 1 website and free domain. The cheapest DreamHost plan offers one website and a free domain if you commit to at least an annual plan.
- Unlimited bandwidth. You won’t have to worry about exceeding traffic limits while using DreamHost.
- 50GB of SSD storage. Customers gain a massive amount of SSD storage space, accommodating almost any website goal.
- Free SSL. Website security is handled with free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates on all domains.
- 100% uptime guarantee. DreamHost employs multiple data center locations, redundant cooling, emergency generators, and constant monitoring to guarantee 100% uptime.
Overall, DreamHost is our third nominee as it offers the most comprehensive free trial package for an extensive period. It’s the best choice if you’re unsatisfied with the performance of completely free hosting providers.
Performance. During the 2 months of monitoring, DreamHost had only a 1-minute outage, which results in 99.99% uptime. The server response time is also one of the fastest that we’ve seen – 231ms.
The starting price for DreamHost is from $2.59/month. It also offers the longest money-back guarantee of all hosting providers – you can try it risk-free for 97 days.
For more information, check out our DreamHost review.
5. Hostinger – cheapest web hosting provider with premium features
Features | Free SSL, weekly backups, SSD storage, LiteSpeed web server |
Uptime | 100% |
Loading time | 511ms |
Best for | Free web hosting alternative |
Before opting for a completely free provider, you should check out Hostinger. Hostinger is the cheapest and the best web hosting provider that you can find. With it, you get amazing performance, ease of use, essential security measures, and helpful 24/7 support – you can use it for free for 30 days.
Features. The features you get from the month-long Hostinger trial depend on your chosen plan. For example, here are some perks you get from the cheapest option.
- 1 website. The most affordable plan supports only one website per account, while the second tier increases the number to 100.
- 50GB SSD storage. You’ll have no trouble housing a massive site using Hostinger and its 50GB SSD storage. Subsequent plans go up to 200GB NVMe storage.
- Weekly backups. Your website will be well-protected against data loss using weekly backups, which store your data for up to 7 weeks.
- 1 email account. The starting plan grants one email account while upgrading supports up to 100.
- Unlimited free SSL. All plans include unlimited Let’s Encrypt free SSL certificates for your website.
Overall, the Hostinger feature arsenal is comprehensive but ranked below DreamHost due to the shorter free trial period. However, 30 days is enough to test everything this highly-regarded hosting provider offers.
Performance. Hostinger is up 100% of the time, and the response time is 511ms. That's not the top response time result, but it's well above the average. Additionally, Hostinger has 8 data center locations, so you can bring your website close to your target audience and get better page load time. Moreover, all plans are powered by the LiteSpeed web server and pre-configured caching.
Hostinger’s prices start at $1.66/month/month. Ease of use, reliability, performance, and customer support that's always available, makes Hostinger the best choice if you’re looking for something cheap. And if along the way you decide that it is not for you, you can always use the 30-day money-back guarantee.
For more information, read our Hostinger review.
6. HostGator – easy-to-use web hosting with freebies
Features | Free SSL, unlimited bandwidth and storage |
Uptime | >99.99% |
Loading time | 525ms |
Best for | Affordable and easy-to-use host for small sites |
HostGator is another extremely affordable hosting provider best suited for small and medium size sites. It offers unlimited bandwidth, satisfactory security features, and acceptable uptime. We’re featuring HostGator in our best free hosting options list, as it gives you an opportunity to launch a site from scratch completely for free with its 30-day money refund.
Features. HostGator offers a handful of plans with alligator-themed names that vary in the included features. Here’s what customers gain when testing the Hatchling plan:
- 1 website. As is tradition, the cheapest plan supports only one website. Upgrading to the priciest Business plan increases the number to three.
- 10GB SSD storage. HostGator grants an adequate 10GB of SSD storage on the starting plan. Unfortunately, opting for the ultimate plan does not yield a significant increase (only 40GB).
- Unmetered bandwidth. No need to worry about potential performance issues when you are bombarded by visitors, thanks to unmetered bandwidth.
- Free domain. All HostGator plans include a free domain for the first subscription year.
- Free SSL. Another perk among all plans is free SSL, which is also limited to the first subscription year.
- Malware scanning. HostGator goes the extra mile and includes malware scanning for added website security.
Overall, HostGator gains the edge as an extra-secure free trial hosting option. However, the low storage space and small number of website support make the provider less suitable for loftier goals.
Performance. HostGator showed pretty good performance during our 2 months of testing. The uptime was >99.99%, and the server response time averaged 525ms. These results are quite satisfactory for any paid hosting service.
The pricing for HostGator starts at $2.99/month, which is quite affordable when it comes to paid hosting. Additionally, you can always use the 30-day money-back guarantee to try the service without any risks.
Read our HostGator review to learn more.
7. HostPapa – feature-rich website hosting with free options available
Features | Free SSL, 100GB storage, 10 email addresses |
Uptime | 100% |
Loading time | 434ms |
Best for | Small and medium size websites |
HostPapa is another web hosting that enables you to launch your site for free with its money-back guarantee. It might not be the cheapest premium host, but it is also not the most expensive website hosting provider. Its advantages lie in consistent 100% uptime, easy setup, and plenty of features for a small website.
Features. HostPapa is worth considering if you want to try a hosting service that provides expansive storage on the cheapest plan. Naturally, you’ll also gain the essentials for basic security and performance.
- 1 website. HostPapa’s Start plan supports only one website. On the other hand, the priciest plans permit hosting unlimited websites.
- 10 email addresses. You can set up multiple inboxes with HostPapa’s starting plan.
- 100GB SSD storage. HostPapa stands out from the rest with its massive 100GB SSD storage included in the starting plan.
- Free domain. No need to worry about purchasing a domain because the starting plan includes one for free.
- SSL certificate. All your connections will be encrypted and secure on one domain.
- Core features. HostPapa’s core features include cPanel, 24/7 support, easy WordPress installation, and more.
HostPapa’s features are impressive, with storage space being the most attractive aspect. You can see whether that’s enough for you using the risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Performance. During our two weeks of testing, HostPapa showed a perfect 100% uptime. However, it does not have the fastest response time, which is around 434ms. Nevertheless, it is still not as slow as completely free website hosts are.
The pricing for HostPapa starts at $2.36/month, which is neither very cheap nor very expensive. If you have some money to spare – HostPapa is a reliable and feature-rich website host. And the best part is that it also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
For more details, read our HostPapa review.
How we tested free web hosting services
To compile our list of free and cheap web hosting services, we conducted extensive research and testing. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of our testing process:
- Initial setup. We began by setting up a standard website on each hosting platform under consideration. This involved creating a basic website structure, installing any necessary software or content management systems, and configuring settings to ensure a fair comparison.
- Performance assessment. To evaluate the performance of these hosting providers, we simulated real-world usage by employing virtual users. These virtual users interacted with the websites hosted on each platform, assessing how well they handled traffic, requests, and resource use.
- Monitoring and recording. Over a two-week testing period, we continuously monitored and recorded several key metrics, including uptime (we tracked the availability of each website, ensuring that it remained accessible to users. Providers achieving at least 99.80% uptime were considered for inclusion in our list). We also looked at server response time and measured the speed, responsiveness of the hosting servers to determine how quickly websites loaded and responded to user requests.
We also looked at other criteria that helped us to determine the best free web hosting providers:
- Free features. Free website hosts tend to offer very limited features and resources. We looked for those providers that offer more than the bare minimum – enough storage and bandwidth to launch at least a small, minimalistic website. We also made sure that neither provider on our list displays ads on your site.
- Performance. Over a two-week testing period, we monitored and recorded the uptime and server response time of all our free hosting providers. The ones that showed at least 99.80% uptime were selected.
- Interface. We chose the free hosting services based on how easy they are to use. A clean, organized, and modern interface is where it’s all at – anything with outdated or confusing design is simply unacceptable.
- Customer support. Timely and helpful support is a staple with premium providers, but not always the case with free ones. We investigated all support options and even reached out to some providers to assess their customer support quality.
- Security. Free hosting services tend to offer the bare minimum in terms of security, so we looked for providers that offer more than that – including free SSL, DDoS protection, and firewalls.
Free host vs paid: key differences
As expected, paid hosts have shown better website performance and provide more resources than free hosting options. Additionally, paid hosting offers better security, flexibility, and more features for various use cases. Meanwhile, free web hosts are primarily suitable for getting familiar with a service or launching an utterly bare-bones site.
Overall, paid hosts are a superior option in all cases. However, free hosting can still be used for small projects or trying a service before opting for a paid plan.
Free hosting | Paid hosting | |
Price | Free | Paid |
Storage | Minimal, HDD | Flexible, SSD |
Websites | 1 or 2 | Flexible |
Bandwidth | Limited | Unlimited |
Security | Unreliable | Basics always included, option to upgrade |
Performance | Unreliable | Usually guaranteed 99% uptime |
Get 000webhost | Get Bluehost |
Hosting a website for free on your own
Hosting providers exist for a reason – they make it much easier to launch a website and take the arduous job of maintaining the server, keeping up the performance, and supporting you along the way. Nevertheless, there is always the possibility to host a website on your own – and the best part about it is that you don’t need to buy or sign up for anything – no hosting provider, free or paid, will have your data or control over your site.
You can host a website on your own in several ways: use your own personal device as a server, or use online repositories such as GitHub. Either way, hosting a website on your own will require some technical expertise, and is not as easy as just clicking a few buttons with a paid hosting provider.
How to create a free server for web hosting?
The steps for creating a server for web hosting will vary depending on which operating system you use. Most often, hosting servers are set up with Linux, but it is possible to do it with Windows and macOS, too. Below is a general guide on how to create a server for web hosting on your device:
- Install Apache, PHP, and MySQL. You can either do that manually or use an installation program
- Create an HTML page and configure MySQL databases
- Configure DNS – this involves setting up Apache so it accepts requests for your domain. Check with your ISP provider on how to configure DNS correctly
- Edit your host files to include your domain name
- Visit your website by typing your domain name into the browser
Video review
Best free web hosting picks we recommend in a video format:
Bottom line
Our exhaustive testing has revealed the top contenders for free web hosting in 2024. For those seeking cost-effective solutions, Google Sites stands as a clear winner, offering impressive features and uptime reliability. However, if you're willing to invest in premium hosting, Bluehost shines with excellence, providing exceptional performance and customer support.
Whether you're building a personal blog, a small business website, or a digital portfolio, our recommendations for the best free web hosting providers in 2024 ensure you have the tools and reliability needed to bring your online presence to life.
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FAQs
Is free web hosting reliable?
No, free web hosting usually isn’t as reliable as paid hosts. For starters, free hosts may collect your data or show ads on your site for monetization purposes. However, reliable free providers are still a worthy option if you aim to set up a simple website to familiarize yourself with website hosting.
Can I get free hosting and a domain?
Free hosting and domain is rarely possible, none of the providers here has such a deal. However, many hosts offer free subdomain hosting. You can choose a desired name for your site, but it will look something like this: desiredname.freehosting.com.
Can I use free hosting for selling online?
Yes, you can use free hosting for selling online as long as you can host WordPress and install WooCommerce on your paid plan. Yet, it’s extremely likely to cause many problems and potentially ruin the seller/buyer relationship. If your online store is always down or very slow, the buyers will simply go to more professional sites.
Can I host a website for free?
Yes, you can host a website for free by either using a free hosting service or setting up a host server on your own. Setting up a server on your own device requires some technical knowledge but has virtually no limits while using a free hosting service is easier, but the resources will be limited.
Is Hostinger a free hosting provider?
Hostinger itself is not a free-of-charge hosting provider but is very close to it with the starting price of $1.66/month. However, you can get your free server web hosting by picking 000webhost, which is powered by Hostinger.
What is the best free web hosting provider?
The best free web hosting provider is Google Sites. It offers a generous amount of storage space and bandwidth, as well as a variety of features that make it easy to create and manage a website. However, if you’re looking for a more reliable and feature-rich web hosting provider, we recommend Bluehost. It offers paid web hosting plans perfect for businesses of all sizes.
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