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Top 7 Best Cheap WordPress Hosting Services – Compared (2024)

Looking for the best value WordPress hosting? Whether you’re managing a personal website or even one for a small business, being on a budget doesn’t mean you have to forgo fast and reliable web hosting.

For most folk, there’s really no need to pay for an expensive hosting plan you’re unlikely to make full use of — after all, managed WordPress hosting isn’t for everyone.

Read on for some of the cheapest WordPress hosting plans from leading companies that won’t require you to compromise on performance, support or features.

Best Cheap WordPress Hosting Plans at a Glance

Before we get to the details of each host and what they’re offering, here’s an overview of these plans in an easy-to-compare format:

HostCheapest PlanFree Domain# of Websites
A2 HostingFrom $1.99 a monthN1
DreamHostFrom $2.59 a monthY1
HostGatorFrom $2.75 a monthY1
BluehostFrom $2.95 a monthY1
SiteGroundFrom $4.99 a monthN1
GoDaddyFrom $5.99 a monthY1
InMotion HostingFrom $5.99 a monthY2

There is one slight catch with these cheap web hosts. The prices listed above and elsewhere in this guide are only available if you pay for at least 12 months (and sometimes longer) upfront.

If you choose to pay monthly, you’ll be charged a higher rate. However, all of the hosts covered here have at least a 30-day money-back guarantee in place, which lets you try them risk-free.

Also, it’s important to be aware that these companies regularly run promotions and discounts. Because of this, the title of the best value WordPress hosting provider can change regularly.

How to Choose the Best Budget Web Host

When it comes to finding the cheapest WordPress hosting, monthly fees aren’t the only costs to consider. Extras, such as a free domain name and an SSL certificate, can also help to bring costs down.

Upfront Payments and Introductory Discounts

Before you make a decision, find out how many months you’ll need to pay upfront to access the best deals — and don’t forget to check the amount you’ll be paying when renewing your subscription after any introductory discounts have run their course.

What Does Unlimited Mean?

Many of the best cheap hosting plains include unlimited bandwidth, and some also include unlimited storage or webspace.

Choosing one of these plans could save you from having to upgrade too soon, but be sure to read the small print from each host to find out exactly what they mean by unlimited. For example, SiteGround recommend their entry-level plan for sites that receive fewer than 10,000 unique visits a month.

However, for anyone just starting out, these entry-level plans should be more than adequate.

If you’re migrating an existing website or have any questions, use the live chat service to contact any hosts you’re interested in to find out whether your current traffic and storage requirements would work with their cheapest plan.

Do I Need a Domain Name?

A domain name gives your website an address, such as WinningWP.com. Although most hosts will provide you with a temporary domain name, it won’t be very memorable, nor will it be related to the topic of your website. Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you register one for your website.

Some of the cheapest web hosts do provide you with a free domain name registration when you pay for a year or more of hosting upfront, but not all of them do.

Also, domains need to be reregistered or renewed each year. Some hosts charge more than you’d pay elsewhere for this renewal. Therefore, it may be better value to register your domain with a third-party service.

To help you with this, we’ve created some useful guides on domains, such as Should I Register A Domain Name With My Web Hosting Company? and Where’s the Best Place to Buy/Register a Brand New Website Domain Name?

Nice-but-Not-Essential Extras

Some features, such as automatic backups and WordPress software updates, as well as website migrations, are nice extras. However, if they’re not provided by the cheapest web host you’re interested in, they are things you can take care of and implement yourself relatively easily with the right tools.

So, now you know what to look for when searching for cheap WordPress hosting, here’s a more in-depth look at the best value plans available today.

Best Cheap WordPress Hosting Plans in Detail

These affordable plans have more to offer than just the highlights covered earlier. Read on to find out exactly what you get for your money at the budget end of the web hosting spectrum.

(Listed in order of minimum-price-per-month first.)

A2 Hosting

In terms of brand recognition, A2 Hosting aren’t up there with the big names in web hosting, such as Bluehost, GoDaddy and HostGator. However, they do have a well-regarded and very competitively priced WordPress hosting service.

The free SSL certificate, generous storage allowance, and site transfer service on the entry-level Startup plan help to give A2 Hosting a slight edge over some of the competition in this collection. However, the lack of a free domain registration means you’ll have to factor in this cost when deciding whether or not A2 Hosting matches your budget.

As well as the live chat and telephone support channels, the shared plans also include email ticket support — something that isn’t always available on the entry-level plans from other hosts.

What the $1.99 A2 Hosting Startup Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • 100 GB of storage.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • One-click WordPress installation and automatic updates.
  • Free website migration to A2 Hosting.
  • Compatibility with CloudFlare CDN free service.
  • 25 email accounts.
  • Five MySQL databases.
  • cPanel control panel and Softaculous one-click installer.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee.
  • 24/7 telephone, live chat and email ticket support.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee.

Don’t let the lack of brand name recognition put you off — A2 Hosting have a good reputation in the industry and receive positive feedback from users. As well as their cheap web hosting services, A2 Hosting also specialize in offering higher-end VPS, dedicated server and cloud hosting packages for when your website outgrows the entry-level plans.


DreamHost

The entry-level DreamHost shared hosting plans are advertised as being suitable for most websites — including blogs, business sites and portfolios. Considering these plans have fast storage, unlimited bandwidth, daily automatic backups, and many other useful features, this claim sounds accurate.

The entry-level DreamHost shared plan starts at $2.59 a month, making it one of the cheapest options in this collection. As the DreamHost Shared Starter plan includes a free domain name and SSL certificate, with WordPress coming pre-installed, you should have everything needed to get your site up and running as quickly as possible. Not only that, but it’s great value, too. There’s also a 100% uptime money-back guarantee in place, which isn’t common at this price point.

What the $2.59 DreamHost Shared Starter Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free domain name.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • 50 GB of storage.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • WordPress optionally pre-installed with automatic updates.
  • WordPress website migration plugin.
  • Daily website backups.
  • Six MySQL databases.
  • DreamHost Control Panel.
  • 100% uptime guarantee.
  • Live chat and email ticket support, as well as telephone call-back support.
  • 97-day money-back guarantee.

It’s worth mentioning that, at the time of writing, the DreamHost Shared Unlimited plan that lets you host an unlimited number of websites is available for $2.95 a month. However, it does renew at a higher rate than the Shared Starter plan.

If you outgrow DreamHost shared hosting, but are happy with their overall service, you can upgrade to their premium DreamPress managed WordPress hosting plans for higher performance servers and more features.


HostGator

HostGator Web Hosting

The HostGator plans cover the full spectrum, from shared packages and reseller plans to cloud hosting and custom dedicated servers. However, it’s the great-value $2.75-a-month Hatchling plan we’re interested in for this guide.

The unlimited storage and bandwidth allocations are certainly eye-catching, while the ability to contact the support staff via live chat, email and telephone is appealing as well.

What the $2.75 HostGator Hatchling Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free domain name.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • Unlimited storage.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • One-click WordPress installation.
  • Free website and domain transfers.
  • Basic automatic and instant manual backups via cPanel.
  • Unlimited email accounts.
  • Unlimited MySQL databases.
  • cPanel control panel.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee.
  • 24/7 telephone and live chat support.
  • 45-day money-back guarantee.

If you’d like to host more than one website with HostGator, you can upgrade to either of their other two affordable shared plans, Baby and Business. Those who need more performance and features, such as daily automatic backups and malware removal, may want to consider the competitively priced HostGator managed WordPress hosting service.


Bluehost

Bluehost Web Hosting

Bluehost are one of the biggest names in web hosting — and, with prices starting from $2.95 a month, it’s not hard to see why.

WordPress users should appreciate having this software pre-installed and updated automatically, but you may miss the automated daily backup service that some other hosts in this price range offer.

What the $2.95 Bluehost Basic Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free domain name registration.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • 50 GB of storage space.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • Optional WordPress preinstallation and automatic updates.
  • Free WordPress website migration to Bluehost.
  • SiteLock CDN.
  • Five email accounts.
  • Unlimited MySQL databases.
  • cPanel control panel and Softaculous one-click installer.
  • 24/7 telephone and live chat support.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee.

For an extra $2 a month, you can upgrade to the Choice Plus plan, which lets you host multiple websites and includes daily automatic backups.


SiteGround

SiteGround Web Hosting

SiteGround have built a very strong reputation in the hosting industry since their launch in 2004. With their cheapest plan available for $4.99 a month, SiteGround are more expensive than the lowest-priced options in this collection.

However, as the SiteGround infrastructure is built on the Google Cloud Platform, you should enjoy fast load times if you sign up with this host. The plans also include daily automatic backups, a staging tool and lots of optimization features to increase the performance of your site.

What the $4.99 SiteGround StartUp Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • 10 GB of storage.
  • Unmetered bandwidth, but recommended for sites that receive up to around 10,000 visits a month.
  • One-click WordPress installation and automatic updates.
  • WordPress website migration plugin.
  • Compatibility with CloudFlare CDN free service.
  • Automatic daily website backup creation.
  • Unlimited email accounts.
  • Unlimited MySQL databases.
  • Custom control panel and one-click installer.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee.
  • 24/7 telephone, live chat and email ticket support.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee.

If your website starts getting more popular, or if you need to host multiple sites, it only costs $3 more a month to upgrade to the next plan. SiteGround offer a full range of hosting services, so you’ll never have to worry about moving to another host as your website gets bigger or receives more visitors.

If you like the sound of SiteGround, but you aren’t sure if you can justify their slightly higher prices, read our comparison of Bluehost, GoDaddy and SiteGround to see if they’re worth the extra expense.


GoDaddy

GoDaddy Web Hosting

At $5.99, the entry-level GoDaddy Economy hosting plan is more expensive than some of the other options here, but extras such as the free domain registration help to make it more affordable.

You can also install more than 150 free apps on your hosting account — including WordPress — in just a few clicks. You can also set up daily automatic website backups via cPanel. The generous 100 GB storage allowance shouldn’t be overlooked either, especially if you want to host videos on your account.

What the $5.99 GoDaddy Economy Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for one website.
  • Free domain name registration.
  • 100 GB of storage.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • One-click WordPress installation.
  • One year free of Microsoft Office 365 email service.
  • 10 MySQL databases.
  • cPanel control panel and Softaculous one-click installer.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee.
  • 24/7 telephone and live chat support.
  • 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you use WordPress, it’s well worth exploring the different types of hosting from GoDaddy to ensure you’re not missing out on any features you’ll appreciate — even if they will cost you a few dollars more each year.


InMotion Hosting

InMotion Web Hosting

Although at the expensive end of the cheap hosting spectrum, InMotion Hosting do let you host two websites on their entry-level plan. You also get a free domain name registration, an SSL certificate and website migration to help you to save a bit extra and spend less time getting started.

You also get longer to try out InMotion Hosting risk-free than nearly all of the other cheap hosts out there, thanks to their 90-day money-back guarantee.

What the $5.99 InMotion Hosting Launch Plan Includes:

  • Hosting for two websites.
  • Free domain name registration.
  • Free SSL certificate.
  • 50 GB of storage.
  • Unlimited bandwidth.
  • One-click WordPress installation.
  • Website migration service.
  • Ten email accounts.
  • Three MySQL databases.
  • cPanel control panel and Softaculous one-click installer.
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee.
  • 24/7 telephone, live chat and email ticket support.
  • 90-day money-back guarantee.

If you need to find a home for two websites, then the entry-level $5.99 Launch plan from InMotion Hosting means you can still get a great deal without upgrading to a more expensive plan, as is the case with other hosts in this guide.


Final Thoughts

A2 Hosting currently offer the cheapest web hosting, with prices starting from $1.99 a month to host one website. If you need to host multiple websites, then the $2.95-a-month Shared Unlimited plan from DreamHost, which supports unlimited websites and gives you unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth to work with, is currently the best-value option.

Knowing you’ve found the cheapest deal possible on web hosting can be very satisfying, but it’s important not to compromise too heavily in other areas.

Pingdom Bluehost, SiteGround, GoDaddy test results compared
Results from seven days of load time testing with Pingdom (read the full comparison).

For example, paying around $2 extra a month for the $4.99 SiteGround StartUp plan, compared with the lower-priced plans from some other companies, gives you access to much faster loading times. In one of our tests, the SiteGround StartUp plan outperformed the cheaper entry-level plans from Bluehost and GoDaddy when it came to website loading times, performance under stress and uptime.

If you’re still not sure which type of hosting you need, be sure to check out our guide to choosing the best WordPress hosting.

Related Reading:

Used/using any of the above? Thoughts on each?

By Joe Fylan

Joe is an experienced WordPress user who enjoys sharing the tips and knowledge he's picked up from using this fantastic platform for many years. You can find out more about Joe on his website.
Comments (policy)
  1. Anthony Ferrara says:

    Bluehost is my favorite hosting service for hosting WordPress sites. Using it for almost 4 years and very much satisfied with their service. Nice to see this in your list but I think it deserve the position over at lest DreamHost and HostGator if you think it not deserve the first position!

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