Cheap Hosting Guide 2024 – What’s The Best Budget Hosting Provider?

Nowadays it’s easier than ever to find a web hosting provider – Google can help you find anything. However, to find web hosting companies that won’t break the bank while at the same time provide you with high-quality service, a polite support team and satisfactory site performance is way more difficult.

Still, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. That’s why guides such as ours are written and posted on a daily basis – to help webmasters on the lookout for cheaper hosting options such as yourself. And if you’re just starting out, you’re probably in favor of low price hosting. And no one can blame you because let’s face it – spending a fortune on a hosting provider doesn’t leave you with enough to invest in more important website features.

So, in our guide we’ll review cheap web hosting providers and what you can expect to get, but before we do so, let’s go back to some web hosting essentials.

What’s Web Hosting?

It’s what every website needs. Website hosting represents the physical location of your website on the Internet – it’s responsible for safely storing all your site information, videos, images, content, and so on. It’s basically where all your website files live.

All websites are hosted (or stored), on a special type of computers known as servers. So, when someone enters your domain name in their Internet browser, this domain name is translated inthe the IP address of your hosting company’s computer – and you’re allowed access to the particular website. Most web hosting companies function as domain name registrars too – so if you haven’t already purchased and/or registered one, they can help you do so.

The web hosting provider is responsible for maintaining the server where all your website data is stored. Depending on the hosting plan you’re on you will either have a server on your own (a dedicated server, for instance), or you’ll share it with other  websites. It also looks after potential website issues, making sure your website is up and running at all times.

However, if something goes wrong, and you’re experiencing website issues, the website hosting provider is the company that ought to help you solve those issues.

Each website hosting company offers different types of hosting services, different pricing plans as well as a variety of packages based on a variety of features and resources. Their function is to provide your website with the best possible hosting option.

Web Hosting Stats & Facts

The web hosting market is constantly changing, with numbers continuously increasing. Web hosting has paved the way to running a successful online business, by enabling webmasters to make their website accessible on the Internet.

To illustrate this through numbers and facts, we’ve selected what we consider to be the most useful (and fun!) web hosting statistics taken from a Finances Online article:

• As of May 2019, the total number of domains hosted worldwide is 154,608,076, while the total number of web hosting services providers is 338,561
• The global web hosting services market is predicted to reach a market valuation of $76.2 billion by 2023
• the size of the global dedicated web hosting market is predicted to reach $6.53 billion by 2020; the shared web hosting market is currently at $18.7 billion worldwide
• As of May 2019, an average of 1.6 billion websites worldwide are online at the same time on a daily basis
• 66% say website performance influences how they perceive a business, 35% are less likely to buy from a poorly performing website, and 33% create a negative impression of a business with a low-quality website
• For shared hosting, the fees to pay range from $3 – $10 per month
• Increasing the loading time from 8 seconds to 2 seconds results in a 74% increase in conversion rate
• The cheapest web hosts today are Bluehost and GoDaddy, mainly because these providers have the most users in their below $5 subscription plan

Types of Web Hosting

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most basic type of hosting (and the most affordable one, so you’ll see it pop up frequently when we review actual web hosting providers later on). We’ll focus on explaining who cheap hosting is great for (the next bigger section below), so this is where this hosting falls into too.

In short, shared hosting is for those on a budget, and/or newbie webmasters. It’s basically suitable for every entry-level website, as it comes with basic features, yet it manages to satisfy the website needs at that moment.

Usually shared hosting plans don’t require any prior technical knowledge or particular skills, so in that respect it doesn’t seem to pose any serious challenges. However, what might pose a challenge is the fact that shared hosting comes with sharing a server with other websites. And this alone doesn’t have to cause any issues, however, you need to be aware of the so-called bad neighbor effect. This means that there’s a possibility for the server to become overburdened as so many websites share it at the same time (for example, one website might have a traffic spike).

This, in turn, might affect your site’s load time (or even go down). And as everything is interconnected, this might influence your search engine ranking.

Still, this exists as a mere possibility – it’s highly unlikely that it will cause continuous trouble. After all, shared hosting remains the best cheap hosting option for many webmasters, and as such it attracts those who are just starting out.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting

VPS hosting – more advanced than shared hosting, yet not sophisticated as the dedicated server hosting. Those using VPS hosting enjoy greater flexibility than shared hosting, as they get much more options, resources and flexibility, however, they still don’t enjoy all the perks of a dedicated server.

In simple words, a VPS server is a server that’s running within another server. There's one physical server that hosts multiple other ones, however, each of those servers is isolated from the rest.

It’s great for webmasters who want to have more control over their website, but still can’t commit to a more advanced hosting solution – such as the dedicated one, for instance.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is called this way because your hosting provider is the one managing your website. Usually it’s for those who want to have their hardware management handled by their host – or any technical issues for that matter.

If you opt for managed hosting, you still don’t get full control over your server, as you hand most of the responsibilities to your host.  Managed hosting is very similar to having a PA (personal assistant) – you focus on your main responsibilities, and you leave all the rest to be handled by your host.

Additionally, as the server is most of the time located in the host’s environment (not in the customer’s as many might think) it’s only natural that your company will look after the overall infrastructure setup.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is the most expensive hosting, and if your website still hasn’t found its place in the sun there’s no need for you to consider it. Not only is it the least affordable option, it comes with a special, dedicated server (it’s called dedicated as the server is fully dedicated to your site), and more advanced features.

It’s suitable for large websites, eCommerce, very famous bloggers who have been producing content for quite a while, and so on. Hence, dedicated hosting is for those sites experiencing high traffic, and aims at providing the best possible user experience.

Yet, it’s good to know that dedicated hosting requires a higher level of technical knowledge, and a greater commitment because it has much more practical aspects needed to be addressed on a constant basis. However, this isn’t a bad thing – it simply means that your website has expanded and reached a higher level, and so it naturally needs more looking after.

And that’s why this type of hosting is such a high-end one – it offers much faster custom support, higher level security features, and most importantly it handles traffic spikes better than the other types of hosting.

Qualities of a Cheap Website Hosting Provider

This purpose of this section is to help you get a general idea of what qualities you should look for in a cheap hosting provider. After all, opting for an affordable hosting doesn’t mean you shouldn't have a set of solid criteria or that it’s acceptable to settle even for less than the basic features.

That’s why we’ve outlined what we consider you should take into account when picking a cheap hosting provider

• First of all, look for high-quality, cheap hosting companies. There are many such companies out there (check out guides such as ours that outline well-known hosting companies). Read reviews as well.

• Look for companies that offer a free domain (at least for the first year). Or, in case they don’t, but you still think the other features are satisfactory, make sure they sell cheap domains.

• Whenever you find hosting companies that include email accounts within their hosting packages, take it as a good sign.

• Basic security features are a must. If you don’t feel your site and server as well as your  website data are secure, you’ve got a big problem.

• There has to be enough bandwidth and storage space to support small business websites, or bloggers. Most companies might offer unlimited bandwidth, but some may not, and that’s okay for entry-level websites that are going through the initial stages of site development.

• Aim at the best possible uptime you can. The industry standard is estimated at 99.99%. If you want to know how much uptime you’re paying for, make sure you check out our user-friendly uptime calculator.

• Don’t neglect the importance of customer support. Even affordable deals deserve to come with a knowledgeable and reliable customer service team. Nowadays most hosting providers offer 24/7 customer support. However, make sure you opt for a hosting that proves to support this in practice too.

• Look for extras. Do you get free SSL certification? Free subdomains? Free site migration?

Why and When Should You Consider Cheap Hosting?

Before you opt for a cheap hosting solution make sure that that’s what you really need. Affordable hosting deals might indeed be attractive, however, if your website needs lie elsewhere don’t neglect your site’s signaling this. If you feel you tick at least a few of the statements below, you’re in the right place, and cheap web hosting is what’s best for your website at this moment.

• You’re on a tight budget
• You’re afraid of making a larger hosting investment
• You don’t have a long-term website plan at the moment
• You have very low site traffic
• You’re just starting a new blog
• You’re looking for the most economical hosting option
• You’re running a small business site
• You want to try a new side project and see where it goes
• You’re running a micro-niche website where expansion is fairly limited
• Sharing a server with multiple other sites doesn't bother you

Finally, never impose limits on yourself (nor on your website). Most website hosting providers offer scaling, so in case your business takes off, your site starts having traffic spikes and much more visitors, you can always upgrade your hosting plan (obviously this will cost you more, but ultimately witnessing your website undergoing expansion is a great thing).

Best Cheap Website Hosting Providers

Cheap web hosting doesn’t mean low-quality hosting. In fact, some of the best hosting providers out there are known to have affordable prices and to be running a very successful business website. For instance, did you know that GoDaddy  controls 6.6% of the global brand’s market share? And it’s on our list, as you’ll see below.

Before we continue with our in-depth review about the best cheap hosting providers and what each hosting offers, let us briefly remind you to keep in mind your site’s needs, as they’re different for anyone. So, what catches your attention or puts you off in these reviews will be different for everyone.

And before we finally get to the meat of it, let us briefly mention a comment or two about the actual pricing. While we’re committed to conveying accurate information, please be aware that the actual hosting providers might change their prices every now and then, offer promotional deals, or add extra pricing options. They might add or exclude certain features that were initially included too. So, do remember to always check their original websites for more info!

Bluehost

Probably one of the leading web hosting providers, Bluehost hosts more than 2 million websites, and it’s been in the hosting game for almost two decades. So, if you’re running an online business you must have come across it at some point (or have even considered it).

In fact, even the leading CMS (content management system) WordPress, never fails to recommend Bluehost as the best web hosting solution. That being said, Bluehost isn’t the cheapest web hosting option. Then why are you recommending it here?, you might ask. Well, we believe it offers great value for money, and what you get is better than most cheap hostings.

Bluehost offers shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting. They have WordPress hosting too. Each web hosting option comes with a few sub-plans so fit webmasters’ specific needs.

Cheapest pricing plan

For example, the shared hosting has four specific plans (Basic, Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro). While the Choice Plus plan is that one Bluehost recommends, the Basic shared hosting plan is the cheapest plan Bluehost offers. It costs only $2.68 per month.

For this price you get one free domain for the first year, 5 parked domains, and 25 sub-domains, 50GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth and a free SSL certificate.

However, the downside is that to secure this price you have to commit to a 36-month hosting contract. And all Bluehost hosting plans come with this initial term of 36 months. Plus, after the initial sign up period Bluehost renews at $7.99 per month. Yet, if you’re serious about developing your website and making your business thrive, this isn’t such an expensive investment.

Still, if you end up deciding you’d like to use their services for less than 12 months (and don’t sign up for the 36-month contract alternative) the cheapest plan will cost you $4.95 per month.

Features that come with each hosting plan:

• Industry-standard uptime (99.99%)
• 24/7 customer support
• scalability
• extras (such as one-click installations, integrated security measures, and so on)
• easy-to-use control panel
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Extra services and add-ons:

• Dedicated IP: $5.99 per month
• Premium SSL Certificates: Starting at $49.99 per year
• SpamExperts Mail Filtering: $2.99 a month per domain name
• Office 365: Starting at $59.88 (essentials)
• Privacy: $14.88 Domain Privacy per domain per year
• SiteLock: Starting at $23.88 per domain per year
• SEO Tools: Starting at $71.40 per year
• Codeguard Basic: $35.88 per year
• Expired Account Reactivations: $30.00

Cons

Besides the 36-month contract that may bother some webmasters as well as the renewal price that seems to jump after this initial period, a further issue we’d like to mention in our hosting review is that site migrations from another host aren’t included in the signup pricing plan, which means you’ll have to pay an additional fee.

HostGator

Trusted by many webmasters, HostGator is definitely among the leaders when it comes to web hosting services. It hosts more than 10 million websites. We always recommend it because even the most basic hosting plan offers you a very solid uptime and more than satisfactory site performance, especially if you’re just starting out.

HostGator’s uptime guarantee is a very stable 99.99% and it's a very user-friendly host.

The Cheapest Hosting Plan

HostGator’s cheapest hosting plan is the Hatchling Plan and it starts from $2.75 per month (but to secure this price you have to sign up for a 36-month initial contract, and this applies to the other hosting plans too). Otherwise, you’d have to pay $10.95 per month.

The Hatchling Plan comes with unlimited bandwidth, a free domain name, free SSL certificate as well as free WordPress/cPanel website transfer.

Features that come with each hosting plan:

• unlimited sub-domains, FTP accounts, and email accounts
• one-click installations
• free HostGator Website Builder which includes over 100+ mobile-friendly templates and an image library
• 24/7/365 Premium support via phone and live chat
• online support portal with over 500+ video tutorials and 680+ help articles
• free Website Transfer, domain transfer, MYSQL Transfer, script transfer
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• $100 Google Adwords offer
• $100 Bing Ads credit

Cons

Although HostGator has pretty decent speed, at times it seems to be inconsistent (so you’ll probably notice a lag) and this might be an issue for some. Also, after the initial contract period is over, your pricing will increase (or more precise, it’s $6.95 per month). Finally, while HostGator indeed offers some great free hosting features (such as free SSL certification, unlimited sub-domains, and email accounts), some add-ons might be yours for an extra fee (such as higher security level, or Gmail integration).

GoDaddy

Reported as the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world in 2013, GoDaddy rightfully earned its place on our cheap web hosting list.

It offers a solid uptime – 99.97%, and there’s an equally solid page loading speed. Plus, even the cheapest hosting plan promises high site performance.

The Cheapest Hosting Plan

GoDaddy’s most budget-friendly hosting is definitely the shared one. It’s realized through four different packages (Economy, Deluxe, Ultimate, and Maximum). The Economy one is the cheapest option.

You can sign up for it for $5.99 per month, however, the plan requires an annual/multi-year purchase paid in advance. And the renewal price is $8.99 per month. These pricing conditions apply for all the plans, not just the Economy one, so don’t think that if you opt for a more expensive plan you can skip this paying in advance.

The Economy plan offers basic resources for entry-level websites. It comes with a free domain name, 100GB disk space, unlimited bandwidth. There’s also a free office 365 email included (this applies only for the first year).

Features that come with each hosting plan:

• 1-click install of 125+ free applications. (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
• 1-click purchase of additional resources (CPU, RAM, I/O, etc.)
• 1 GB database storage (MySQL Linux)
• 24/7 security monitoring and DDoS protection
• 1-click setup for GoDaddy registered domains
• flexible, easy-to-use control panel

Linux and Windows hosting plans

It’s good to know that GoDaddy offers both Windows-based plans as well as Linux-based ones.

Both have their own pros and cons.

Windows hosting uses hardware based on the Microsoft Windows server operating system. Obviously, for those already familiar with  Windows on their computers/laptops would prefer to stick with it. Plus, it seems to be a fairly easy-to-use hosting, and comes with less complications regarding installation of extra features. As the Windows hosting is backed by Microsoft, consider you’ll get regular updates to keep your hosting safer and bug-free (this is a great benefit that comes with Windows-based hosting).

Linux hosting, on the other hand, seems intimidating to many, simply because they haven't been exposed to it as much as they’ve been to Windows. Linunx hosting runs the open-source Linux operating system, and instead of having the classic pointing and clicking program, it comes with a command-line interface. It’s quite popular among mobile and game developers.

Before opting for their hosting, webmasters usually come to the understanding that Linux servers are appreciated for their continuous stability and security. Linux hosting calls for rebooting only now and then, which means that even demanding updates can be installed with very little downtime (sometimes even no downtime at all).

One of the biggest differences between Windows and Linux hosting servers lies in their log-in system. As we’ve already mentioned, Linux users get to enjoy the command-line interface, whereas Windows users use the well-known point-and-click interface.

Plus, some features are only suitable for Linux-based hosting, whereas others for Windows-based hosting. For instance, the .NET programming languages are available only with Windows-based hosting. Below we’ll see in greater details what’s being included with Linux hosting plans, and what comes with the Windows hosting.

Linux hosting  plan include:

• cPanel
• access to all the hosting features and settings you need with this industry-standard control panel
• CloudLinux
• keeping your site online with truly balanced CPU, RAM and Disk IO limits
• resources on-demand
• get more CPU, RAM, EntryProcesses and I/O with just a click
• cage FS
• protecting your content 24/7 with this virtualized file system
• free applications
• installation of over 125 applications on your website with just a click

 Windows Hosting plans include:

• all plans utilize Windows® Server 2012 R2
• 1-click install of popular applications (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
• 200MB MSSQL database storage
• 24/7 security monitoring and DDoS protection
• 1-click setup for GoDaddy registered domains
• flexible, easy-to-use control panel

Finally, if any of this sounds intimidating or confusing, you can always consult a web developer before making a decision. Remember, if these hosting plans sound way too confusing, and you want something that you can manage on your own, consider opting for a website builder such as WordPress (plus, you can always check out GoDaddy’s managed WordPress hosting – of course, it wouldn’t be as cheap as the options we’ve discussed, but it’s good to know it exists as an alternative).

Cons

Finally, when it comes to having GoDaddy as your web hosting provider, you have to understand there are always a lot of upsells (for starters, you don’t get free SSL certification, site migrations, backups, and so on as you do with most hosting providers out there).

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is great for newbie bloggers who are just starting out and finding their place in the online business world. It offers great speed thanks to their high-speed SwiftServer platform even if you opt for shared hosting.

Plus, even on their official website a2hosting.com,  it’s officially stated that they’re faster than competing web hosting services (of course, reading this you would probably take it with a grain of salt, however, as they seem to limit the number of people on a shared server and use turbo servers, which is 20x faster by the way, and although they turbo-server option doesn’t come with every plan, we’d dare say we trust their overall approach).

Another great thing is that you can choose among multiple data centre locations (Europe, Asia, and the US). The fact their data centres are spread across the three continents, allows you to choose the option that’s the closest to your location. This can have a positive impact on your site’s speed and overall performance.

The Cheapest Hosting Plan

A2 Hosting’s cheapest plan is placed under shared hosting, and it's called the Startup plan. It’s great for first time bloggers, small businesses, and developing startups, hence the name. In short, it’s suitable for a single website.

The Startup plan is quite affordable ($2.96 per month), and it comes with 100GB SSD storage, free, and the best thing: you can get your money back whenever you want. This, of course, applies to the rest of the plans as well.

If you want to build a new site, you can use A2 SiteBuilder that includes easy drag and drop editing, completely free and creative themes, as well as fast website publishing. However, if you simply want to move your already existing site to A2 Hosting, you can enjoy the free site migration option and do so without any hidden or extra costs. Plus, you get help from their expert site migration team.

Features that come with each hosting plan:

• unlimited email accounts
• unlimited transfer
• 24/7/365 phone, live chat, and email support
• easy cPanel control panel
• 99.99$ uptime commitment
• free SSL certificate
• free CloudFlare CDN
• free website builder
• website staging
• choice of data center location

Cons

When it comes to A2 Hosting, one of its downsides is that you’re allowed to host only one domain on your hosting account, so there’s no space for any side projects, for instance. Finally, although their customer service is overall great, their response time via chat can be a bit slow at times, which can understandably be a cause for frustration if you’re dealing with an urgent site problem.

Hostinger

If you’re looking for a super affordable web hosting option, Hostinger is definitely the hosting provider to check out. Even with their low pricing strategy, they have a great uptime, and high-quality support team. Plus, Hostinger has data centres in seven locations worldwide: Brazil, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Hostinger is suitable for small businesses who are still trying to make a name for themselves, or bloggers wanting to build their first website, but obviously don’t want to spend a fortune on web hosting. Their hosting is very easy-to-use and no prior technical knowledge is required. However, if you stumble upon any kind of difficulty they have a customer team at your disposal along with many online guides to assist you in resolving your issue.

They also offer a free site migration if you’re a first-time customer.

The Cheapest Hosting Plan

When you first take a look at the prices Hostinger has, you might think you’ll end up with low-quality web hosting and equally bad site performance. That can’t be further from the truth though.

Hostinger’s cheapest plan called Single Shared Hosting is only $0.99 per month, and the renewal price is $2.15 per month. It includes one website, one email account, and limited bandwidth (up to 100GB). Hostinger has fast servers, and comes with pretty advanced features if we take into consideration how affordable its pricing plans are.

Features that come with each hosting plan:

• free SSL certificate
• DNS management
• access manager
• 24/7/365 customer support
• Github integration
• Cloudflare protected servers
• WordPress acceleration
• LiteSpeed cache
• powerful control panel
• 99.99% uptime guarantee
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

Although Hostinger has one of the most budget-friendly hosting plans we’ve ever come across, its renewal prices increase after the initial period is over. Also, there’s no SSH server access (but if you’re a beginner, you probably won’t need it anyway).

Web Hosting Hub.

At $3.95 a month, Web Hosting Hub is an absolute bargain. For less than a cup of coffee (Starbucks is daylight robbery, people!) you'll get incredible web hosting and all of this good stuff:

• Free domain name for new customers.
• Unlimited everything! (disk space, bandwidth, databases, awesomeness)
• Help available to you 24/7.
• $150 advertising vouchers for Google.
• 90 day money back guarantee.

By the way, that $3.95 is a bit of a discount exclusively to Site Beginner readers. You're welcome.

Top hosting pick! My #1 pick for anybody starting out is definitely Web Hosting Hub. The deal is awesome, the price is right, and the support staff are great if you need them.

InMotion Hosting.

InMotion are actually the parent company of the Web Hosting Hub brand above. They are a little more business focused and are perfect for when you need a little more oomph. Site Beginner is actually hosting on one of their VPS servers and I am very happy with the service. (They didn't pay me to say that either!)

What I really love about InMotion is that they take a regular backup of your account. As someone who has experimented on live sites and lost a ton of work in the process this is worth its weight in gold. Gold, I tells ya!

The hosting I use! Did I mention I use InMotion Hosting for Site Beginner? Cool. You get incredibly affordable business class hosting, from a solid company, and the back up thing is truly epic. What more could you want?

I recommend both the $5.95 Launch package or their VPS-2000 if you want lightening quick performance. Like me.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, each hosting review showed us what each hosting provider can(not) provide your website with. They are all high-quality web hosting companies, and have been around long enough to have an excellent reputation.

And although most hosting plans come with more or less the same features, server resources, security features and/or starter plan, they have their fair share of hosting differences too. It’s up to you to identify which hosting provider is the right match for your current website. After all, no one said running a business website was easy or cheap, but opting for an affordable hosting provider might be just what your current budget will be grateful for in the long-turn.