WordPress hosting is one of the most popular ways to build a low-cost, high-performance site. For marketing reasons, many hosting providers are selling services that are "optimized" specifically for WordPress in order to make money from beginner users.
But which of these services are actually good options for low-cost WordPress hosting?
In fact, you can call it what you want – shared hosting or WordPress hosting – it’s usually the same. Both services are hosted in the same environment and provide similar server resources.
Some hosting providers optimize their services to make them great and affordable options for WordPress. So, we tested some cheap WordPress hosting providers to see if they’re really better for WordPress or just a marketing strategy.
4 best cheap WordPress hosting services
1. SiteGround – low-cost WordPress hosting with optimization tools
Features: | WordPress staging, caching, Ultrafast PHP, backups |
Uptime: | 99.99% |
Speed: | 217ms |
Best for: | Smaller business-oriented websites |
SiteGround is one of the top WordPress hosting providers and is also known for its performance-oriented features. It offers a great value for money with its affordable plans and speed-optimized tools.
SiteGround's plans start at just 2.99/month and are ideal if you're looking for a managed
WordPress host that can help you scale your site.
SiteGround provides helpful WordPress started and migrator plugins to help you get your website up and running quickly. We found the interface to be very user-friendly and easy to use.
The SiteGround native panel offers a wide range of features, such as domain registration, security, and more, and you can easily customize it to fit your needs.
WordPress Hosting Plans,Daily backups,SSL certificates,Integrated caching,Email accounts SiteGround’s speed and performance are second to none. In our 2 months of testing on a fully-built WordPress site, SiteGround maintained a 99.99% uptime and an average response time of 217ms.
SiteGround hosts WordPress sites in the following countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as Spain, Australia and Singapore.
Uptime: | 99.99% |
Average response time: | 217ms |
Fully built site loading time: | 1.1s |
Pricing : SiteGround offers three WordPress hosting plans ranging from $2.00/month for the StartUp plan to $2,999/month for the Enterprise plan. Like other leading providers, SiteGround also offers a 30-days money-back policy.
Overall, SiteGround offers a great speed and price package for WordPress hosting. It is user-friendly, offers WordPress-specific features, and offers competitive prices.
Pros
- Good value for money.
- WordPress focused features set.
- Easy to use WordPress Oriented Control panel.
Cons
- Free Domain not included
- Shared Hosting Platform
2. Bluehost – best WordPress hosting for beginners
Features: | WordPress plugin collection, updates, free domain, SSL, WordPress staging |
Uptime: | 99.99% |
Speed: | 361ms |
Best for: | Cheap small WordPress site hosting |
Bluehost is one of the most well-known names in the hosting world. It provides a range of affordable shared hosting solutions that are perfect for WordPress. For just 2.95/month, you get access to a platform that is solely focused on WordPress. The higher WordPress plans at Bluehost offer multi-site administration, smooth updates, high-performance, and a wide range of plugin collections.
The platform also includes a staging tool, which lets you make changes to your demo version before launching it.
Bluehost is an easy-to-use platform that combines cPanel with a custom dashboard. With the native interface, you can easily install WordPress and add domains. You can also manage security settings and more with the help of the dashboard.
All of Bluehost's shared WordPress plans offer unlimited bandwidth, SSL certificates, and a complimentary CDN. Even the cheapest plan comes with a free domain.
Bluehost does not provide any official uptime guarantee. However, our 2-month testing showed that the uptime was 99.99%. The average response time was also impressive at 361ms. Please note that the host is located in the USA only.
Uptime: | 99.99% |
Average response time: | 361ms |
Fully built site loading time: | 1.8s |
Pricing : All in all, Bluehost focuses on user experience and features, which makes it a great choice for beginners. We highly recommend using Bluehost for your personal blog, portfolio, or small business site.
How much does Bluehost WordPress hosting cost?
Bluehost's shared WordPress hosting plans start at $2.99/month. Plus, you can get your money back within 30 days.
If you're looking for a more comprehensive solution, you can also choose from Bluehost's managed WordPress Pro plans, which start at $19/month.
Pros
- Functional and user-focused dashboard
- WordPress staging included
- Free domain and SLL Certificate
- Server are in the US only
- No Official up time Guarantee
3. FlyWheel Managed WordPress Hosting Best for small business
Features: | WordPress staging, caching, Ultrafast PHP, backups |
Uptime: | 99.99% |
Speed: | 217ms |
Best for: | Smaller business-oriented websites |
Tools such as staging and caching can be managed with a single click. The other services can also be managed with just a few clicks. There is no need for complex knowledge as technical work is done in backend by the provider. This is what we call managed.
However, I have been seeing a lot of negative reviews for Flywheel lately. People saying that Flywheel limits them, that it is always down, or that the support is almost useless.
This is not how I felt about Flywheel just a few years ago. What changed? I know that Flywheel was acquired by another major WordPress provider WP Engine. Is that what is holding this cheeky company back from being the best it can be?
I wanted to see how Flywheel hosting redeemed itself, so I took it upon myself to evaluate its services. I looked at the pricing and user experience, I looked at performance, I looked at security, I looked at support, and I looked at all the features available. It’s going to be a long one, so you can skip directly to the verdict.
Pricing : Flywheel offers 4 hosting plans:
Flywheel Growth Suite: $242/year
Flywheel Hosting Plan: $13/month
Flywheel Grow Suite: $242 / year
Flywheel 14-Day Free Trial
Flywheel Custom Plan: $299/year
4. Kinsta Wordpress Hosting
Kinsta stands out among other hosting providers in that it doesn't run its own servers. Instead, it offers managed WordPress hosting on Google's enterprise level network. It's not just for WordPress, though; Kinsta also offers application as well as database hosting. It doesn't come with a ton of optional extras like most shared hosts, but I like that Kinsta places a lot of emphasis on features that provide you with more control and better hosting experiences.
Kinsta isn't cheap, though. It's not the cheapest out there, either. That's why I spent over two weeks testing and researching Kinsta, trying to figure out if it was worth the price or if I should go with a cheaper option and treat myself to dinner with the rest of the money.
The verdict? It's definitely worth it.
This is a great option for small- to medium-sized businesses, if you want to offer high-end hosting to your web development clients, or if you have more ambitious goals for your personal website. However, for smaller passion projects, it may be too much to handle.
The Kinsta service is available in the following languages: Danish, Swedish, Portuguese, Japan , Italian, German ,French ,English and Dutch.
Pricing : Kinsta is very expensive. It has 10 different WordPress hosting plans. Even the basic WordPress hosting plan, Starter, costs ₹ 1912 per month, which is a bit less if you pay yearly. This is more than the mid-range plans of most of the other hosts, even after renewals.
Conclusion
You don't have to break the bank to get the best WordPress hosting. Many providers offer affordable yet high-end WordPress hosting services. They offer a wide range of WordPress-focused features, excellent performance, and easy-to-manage administration.
If you don't want to compromise on quality but still want to stay within your budget, then our top pick is Hostinger. Starting from just $1.00/month, you get 99.99 percent uptime, amazing support, easy-to-use, and plenty of WordPress enhancing features.