Best free web hosting sites for 2025
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.
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Free web hosting is a great way to save costs and experiment with website development, especially for beginners. It’s also ideal for small personal projects, temporary sites, or those that don’t require extensive resources or high traffic. Essentially, you can build a website without any financial commitment.
Many hosting providers recognize the demand for minimal solutions and offer free plans with basic security, resources, and essential features. With no upfront costs, free web hosting provides a practical and risk-free way to establish an online presence.
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To create this list of the best free web hosting providers, the in-house Cybernews research team and I first reviewed 58 providers and narrowed it down to the 7 best options. These finalists were then thoroughly tested using a hands-on approach to ensure they offer reliable and free hosting services worth your attention in 2025.
Best free web hosting 2025 – shortlist
- Wix – the best free website hosting provider in 2025
- Cloudflare Pages – versatile free hosting for tech-savvy users
- GitHub Pages – free hosting for static websites directly from a repository
- Hostinger – the best web hosting provider with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Bluehost – the best WordPress-oriented web hosting
- Google Sites – excellent free web hosting for beginners
- FreeHosting.com – resource-rich hosting provider with a free plan
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.
Top free web hosting services – detailed list
Reliable free hosting that gives you enough resources and keeps your website running is hard to find. Meanwhile, it’s clear that the best paid web hosting services can 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. Wix – the best web hosting provider with a free plan
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| Best deal: | Get Wix and save 50% |
Wix is the best truly free web hosting provider, offering a plan with a great website builder at no charge. Wix hosting is designed to be simple and user-friendly, ideal for individuals or small businesses looking to create and manage a website without much technical expertise.
My experience with Wix – 5/5
As noted in the Wix review, it is best known for its excellent website builder rather than traditional web hosting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Wix’s free plan includes 500MB of cloud storage and 500MB of bandwidth. From my experience, these resources are just enough for hosting small projects.
What I liked most about Wix hosting is its fully managed and optimized approach. Everything is handled directly from the dashboard, so I didn’t have to deal with a separate hosting panel or having to tweak server settings myself. While testing Wix, I could focus on building my site while the provider took care of the rest, making the entire web hosting experience seamless.
However, the free plan includes frequent ads, which is a major drawback to consider. I personally do not have the patience to deal with ads since they frequently interrupt important processes. Also, you must pay for a unique domain name if you don’t want to use Wix’s subdomain.
From what I could gather, Wix is ideal for beginners due to its ease of use and intuitive management. The free plan is sufficient if you need to host a simple website. However, upgrading to Wix's paid plan is necessary for more complex websites or greater flexibility and scalability.
2. Cloudflare Pages – free web hosting ideal for developers
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| Best deal: | N/A |
Cloudflare Pages is a great choice for those seeking flexibility and versatility. It best suits developers who are comfortable with more complex static site tools and Git. Cloudflare Pages allows seamless HTML, CSS, and JavaScript deployment without managing servers or infrastructure.
My experience with Cloudflare Pages – 4.7/5
Cloudflare Pages has a straightforward interface. I was able to deploy a simple static HTML page almost instantly. The hosting provider’s documentation is detailed and provides insightful guidance, which made my website setting up process smooth and effortless.
Cloudflare Pages prioritizes speed and efficiency with direct integration with Git. In turn, I could push updates seamlessly, and changes were reflected almost immediately. The global CDN also made a noticeable difference in load times, ensuring that the site loaded quickly regardless of my target audience.
That said, I experienced some limitations. Unlike traditional web hosting or CMS platforms, Cloudflare Pages doesn’t include built-in support for databases, forms, or user authentication. For someone used to drag-and-drop website builders, this felt restrictive.
From what I have experienced, Cloudflare Pages is best for tech-savvy users who know how their way around Git and static site generators. Nonetheless, considering it’s free of charge, Cloudflare Pages is an excellent choice for a fast, secure, and scalable solution for static websites.
3. GitHub Pages – excellent free site hosting directly from a repository
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| Best deal: | N/A |
GitHub Pages offers free site hosting directly from a GitHub repository with seamless deployment. It supports custom domains, HTTPS, and Jekyll integration, making it ideal for portfolios and project sites. With automatic updates and no hosting costs, it’s a simple and efficient solution for static websites.
My experience with GitHub Pages – 4.5/5
GitHub Pages offers a streamlined way to host static websites directly from a GitHub repository. With seamless Git integration, I could effortlessly push updates, and changes were deployed automatically. While testing GitHub Pages, I successfully used a custom domain and leveraged GitHub’s version control system.
Additionally, GitHub Pages provides 1GB of storage, 100GB of bandwidth, and a 10-build-per-hour limit, offering more generous resources than Wix. That said, I encountered some notable limitations. Unlike traditional hosting services, GitHub Pages only supports static content. Simply put, there’s no built-in database, backend processing, or dynamic functionality.
Another drawback is the requirement to host sites in a public repository, which raised privacy concerns for me. In turn, since all hosted websites are public, GitHub Pages’ terms of service explicitly state that it is not intended for commercial businesses, e-commerce platforms, or SaaS applications.
4. Hostinger – the best web host with a 30-day money-back guarantee
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| Best deal: | Get up to 77% OFF Hostinger + free months |
Hostinger is Cybernews’ top web hosting pick for 2025, though it does not offer free hosting. However, it provides a generous 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try the #1 hosting provider risk-free. It’s most known for excellent performance, user-friendliness, and comprehensive features.
Most importantly, you can leverage Hostinger’s generous referral program to turn your premium web hosting expenses into profit. Hostinger offers a 20% commission for each successful referral. Additionally, your friends and family receive a 20% discount when you refer them to Hostinger. This allows you to fully cover your hosting costs, essentially making Hostinger free, while also generating significant profits.
My experience with Hostinger – 4.5/5
From the start, I was most impressed by Hostinger’s hPanel. It makes hosting management intuitive and beginner-friendly, with minimal technical knowledge required. During Hostinger testing, the clean hPanel interface simplified tasks like domain setup, file management, and performance monitoring.
What I like the most about Hostinger is its integration of AI tools. A standout feature worth mentioning is Kodee AI, which helped me troubleshoot and fix domain-pointing issues directly within hPanel. I also tested its AI writer, image generator, SEO assistant, and heatmaps. The AI tools helped me get my site up and running in mere minutes, saving me a lot of time.
While Hostinger offers excellent tools, its lower-tier plans have resource limitations, which may affect the performance of larger websites. Also, some advanced features require upgrades. The biggest drawback is the lack of a free trial or plan. This means that you must have the funds and make a purchase to host a website or gain access to Hostinger’s tools.
From my experience, Hostinger is an excellent choice for both beginner and advanced users looking for AI-enhanced, user-friendly hosting without a steep learning curve.
5. Bluehost – the top choice for WordPress-focused web hosting
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| Best deal: | Get up to 83% OFF Bluehost |
Bluehost is officially endorsed by WordPress.org, making it the top choice for WordPress-oriented web hosting. Bluehost stands out for its easy setup, custom dashboard, and optimized performance, ensuring a smooth hosting experience. Although it does not offer a free plan or a trial, Bluehost provides a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try the hosting services risk-free.
Furthermore, like Hostinger, Bluehost has a referral program that can help you get excellent hosting services for free. For each successful referral, Bluehost rewards you with a $50 Visa prepaid card. This allows you to access Bluehost’s premium hosting while earning a profit instead of incurring costs.
My experience with Bluehost – 4.3/5
Bluehost offers a streamlined hosting management experience with a simple interface. As noted in the Bluehost review, hosting tasks are primarily managed through the dashboard, while more advanced features require navigating cPanel. Overall, the experience felt fairly standard compared to other web hosting providers.
One of Bluehost’s biggest advantages is its official recommendation by WordPress.org, which translates into a WordPress-friendly hosting environment. The platform includes a custom WordPress plugin that simplifies installation and management. While testing Bluehost, I focused on building a WordPress-based website. Hence, I particularly appreciated the 1-click WordPress installation, custom WordPress dashboard, and automatic updates, which streamlined my website’s setup process.
A major downside I noticed was the inconsistency in customer support. When I encountered incorrect domain settings, I reached out for assistance. However, I was repeatedly transferred between 3 different agents, none of whom could resolve the issue. Ultimately, I had to figure out a solution myself.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Bluehost does not offer free hosting since there is no free plan or trial. However, it provides a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it a risk-free option for testing before committing to a long-term plan. Luckily, the customer support team was more helpful in quickly issuing me a refund than assisting me in resolving my domain-related issues.
6. Google Sites – excellent free web hosting option for beginners
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| Best deal: | N/A |
Google Sites is one of the easiest ways to create and host a website for free. It provides a drag-and-drop interface that requires no coding or technical knowledge, making it perfect for beginners. With seamless integration with Google services, you can easily embed documents, calendars, and images without additional setup.
My experience with Google Sites – 4.2/5
Google Sites is a simple, no-cost website host integrated within Google Workspace, making it ideal for users without much web development experience. It offers free hosting on a Google-provided domain. Alternatively, Google Workspace users can connect custom domains via DNS settings.
Unlike traditional hosting solutions, Google Sites does not support external static pages or custom code, limiting flexibility. As someone who prefers versatility in web hosting providers, I found that restrictive. Also, I was disappointed to learn that there’s no separate control panel. Instead, the site management happens within the Google Workspace interface.
From my experience, Google Sites functions more as a web builder than a hosting platform. While it’s user-friendly, I realized it lacks advanced customization and feels restrictive compared to platforms like Wix.
7. FreeHosting.com – a free feature-packed hosting provider
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| Best deal: | Get Freehosting for just $7.99/month! |
FreeHosting.com offers one of the most feature-rich free hosting plans, making it a great choice for those seeking robust functionality at no cost. With 10GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, a MySQL database, and an email account, it provides more resources than many other free hosting services on the list.
My experience with FreeHosting.com – 4/5
FreeHosting.com’s free plan offers a generous 10GB of disk space and unlimited bandwidth. From my experience, FreeHosting.com’s recourses provide a viable option for small personal projects or testing web hosting if you’re new to it. FreeHosting.com also supports 1 website, 1 email account, and a MySQL database. However, I was disappointed that it lacks subdomain support and domain aliases.
During the FreeHosting.com evaluation, I discovered that all processes are managed through DirectAdmin, a modern and user-friendly control panel. It also includes an online site builder with 170+ templates and Softaculous for 1-click installation of an impressive 350+ applications. That said, SSL certificates are not included and must be purchased separately, which is usually a drawback for me when choosing a web hosting provider.
From my point of view, the setup experience was quick and straightforward, and I personally prefer DirectAdmin over cPanel. However, I encountered some issues where the hosted domain status did not update properly, even after applying DNS changes. Nonetheless, it’s notable that minor hiccups should be expected when it comes to free hosting.
Best free web hosting providers comparison
As you can see, free web hosting services come with their own advantages and limitations, making the choice highly dependent on your specific needs. To help you decide, see the table below for a detailed comparison of the best free web hosting providers, highlighting their key features, limitations, and ideal use cases.
| Brand | Rating | Free SSL | Free custom domain | Uptime guarantee | Free version | Money-back guarantee | Starting monthly price |
| Wix | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 99.9% | ✅ Yes | 14 days | From $14.50/month | |
| Cloudflare Pages | N/A | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 100% | ✅ Yes | N/A | Free |
| GitHub Pages | N/A | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 99.9% | ✅ Yes | N/A | Free |
| Hostinger | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 99.9% | ❌ No | 30 days | From $2.78/month | |
| Bluehost | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 99.9% | ❌ No | 30 days | From $1.99/month | |
| Google Sites | N/A | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 99.9% | ✅ Yes | N/A | Free |
| FreeHosting.com | ❌ No | ❌ No | 99.9% | ✅ Yes | 30 days | From $7.99/month |
How we tested free web hosting services
To compile the list of best free and cheap web hosting services, I conducted research based on our testing methodology with the help of our research team. We reviewed 58 hosting providers and picked the ones offering free hosting. Then, I ended up with 7 providers and tested them further in this order:
- Price (25%). We ensured that each provider is truly free and allows website creation at no cost. Additionally, we evaluated pricing to determine whether upgrading from a free plan is worthwhile or if the service remains valuable after a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Setup and performance (25%). We created basic websites and tested the hosting performance by measuring traffic handling, uptime, and server response time. In terms of 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.
- Feature evaluation (20%). We compared free hosting providers based on storage, bandwidth, and the absence of ads, focusing on those that offered more than the bare minimum. We also evaluated the availability and range of features provided at no extra cost, looking at what users could access without upgrading to a paid plan.
- Interface and usability (15%). We prioritized platforms with clean, modern, and easy-to-navigate interfaces, avoiding those with outdated or confusing designs.
- Customer support and security (15%). We tested support responsiveness and security features, including SSL, DDoS protection, and firewalls, ensuring robust protection and helpful customer service.
Despite these restrictions, free hosting services are worth trying if your goal is to get familiar with website hosting. This way, you can evaluate various features standard among hosting services without committing to a paid subscription.
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.
Free host vs paid: key differences
To compare paid and free hosting providers, I asked our research team to do some testing. We decided to compare Bluehost, the best-paid hosting provider, with ProFreeHost – a randomly chosen free hosting provider, which isn't included on my list.
The goal was to compare the results of stress, speed, and uptime tests under similar conditions. Below are screenshots of the test results.
The page load test shows how fast a fully built WordPress website can load when tested in different locations. The largest contentful paint (LCP) is the main indicator of this site-loading speed. In this test, Bluehost achieved an impressive LCP of around 1.8 seconds, indicating fast loading times. In contrast, ProFreeHost lagged behind with an LCP of approximately 3.8 seconds, highlighting slower performance.
Stress test
In this test, I wanted to see how well these providers can handle increased traffic on the site – this is called stress testing. Our research team sent 50 virtual users (VUs) to both sites hosted by Bluehost and ProFreeHost and monitored the server response time and request handling.
Both providers handled this test well. However, Bluehost handled increased traffic better.
| ProFreeHost | Bluehost | |
| Price | Free | Paid |
| Storage | 5GB, HDD | 10GB, SSD |
| Websites | 1 | 10 |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Security | Unreliable | All basics included, option to upgrade |
| Speed test LCP result | 3.8s | 1.8s |
As expected, Bluehost outperforms ProFreeHost in terms of website performance. More importantly, free hosting providers offer fewer features and security. ProFreeHost provides limited resources such as storage, bandwidth, and processing power, which can impact performance as your site grows. It also includes intrusive ads, restricts customization, and lacks essential security features like SSL certificates and advanced firewalls, leaving your site vulnerable to threats. In contrast, paid hosting provides enhanced security, greater flexibility, and more features to support a variety of use cases.
Video review
Best free web hosting picks we recommend in a video format:
Bottom line
While paid web hosting can be expensive, there are alternatives at no cost. Free web hosting is a great budget-friendly option if you don’t need many resources or advanced features and simply want to explore and try web development or create a small, temporary website without focusing much on branding.
After testing 7 providers, I ranked the best free web hosting services based on performance, features, usability, and security. All finalists are strong contenders, but Wix stands out as the best free web hosting service. It offers excellent performance, user-friendliness, and ample resources for small projects.
FAQs
Is free web hosting reliable?
Whether free web hosting is reliable depends on the provider. However, free web hosting usually isn’t as reliable as paid hosts. Free hosts often give you very limited storage, bandwidth, and server power. This means you can’t expect to run a resource-heavy or high-traffic website without encountering performance issues.
Is free web hosting really free?
No, free web hosting is not actually free. Most of the time, the "free" option comes with hidden costs in terms of performance, support, and limitations. Also, free hosting providers may collect your data or show ads on your site for monetization purposes.
Is free hosting suitable for a business website?
No, free hosting is not suitable for a business website. While it can be a good starting point for simple, low-traffic sites or personal projects, it isn’t ideal for serious businesses. That’s because free web hosting often comes with limitations or trade-offs, such as ads on your site, poor performance, and a lack of security.
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