Web Hosting Prices – Let’s Compare the Best Providers

Whether you are looking to start your online business or you just want to share your thoughts through your blog, opting for web hosting is important. Choosing the right provider, though, is not an easy task, especially for beginners. Looking through all offers, features, differences may become overwhelming. But how can you be sure that the great cheap hosting provider you have found is really worth investing in? A lot of brands lure you in with cheap prices and then, unfortunately, underdeliver on their promises. That’s why we decided to make your life a bit easier and compiled this extensive web hosting prices comparison list. We’ve included our favourite providers on the market who have proven themselves to be trustworthy. Let’s begin!

Starting with the basics

Which one to choose according to my needs

When starting your search it’s urgent to evaluate your needs in order to make the best choice. Budget, goals of your business and even the level of your technical knowledge are all important factors to consider. There are few different types of hosting to choose from:

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the cheapest option on the market. With this type of hosting you share your space and resources on the server with other users. Therefore, there are a lot of limitations when opting for it. It is most suitable for beginners, small businesses and personal blogs.

VPS Hosting

A step up from shared hosting, VPS gives you a lot of the perks of dedicated servers but in a shared space and lower price. In simple words – you share a server with other users but each has dedicated resources. Once your needs surpass the shared hosting, it’s best to step up to VPS.

Dedicated Hosting

The most expensive and most advanced type of hosting. Using a dedicated server gives you the advantage to use the entire physical server for yourself. This is the most secure type of hosting. Also, it is best suited for advanced users and large businesses as it requires some technical knowledge to set up and maintain.

Cloud hosting

Gaining more and more popularity, cloud hosting focuses mainly on flexibility. Similar to VPS it is a virtual environment. Moreover, instead of a single server your data is split into multiple servers in different physical locations. This grants you with really high uptime, speed and response time for your website.

Let’s look at some basic metrics

When on a hunt for your perfect provider there are other important things besides web hosting prices. Let’s take a quick look into the most basic ones.

Some details for our top picks

1. IONOS

2. iPage

3. Hostinger

4. InMotion

5. Interserver

6. Dreamhost

7. Hostgator

8. Bluehost

Disclaimer: Tech-Recipes partners with Bluehost and may earn commission should you make any purchases through this link. Our opinion, however, is based on independent research, testing and honest impressions.

9. GreenGeeks

10. A2 Hosting

11. SiteGround

12. AccuWeb

13. GoDaddy

What to look out for before choosing your provider?

Pricing

The most important part of course. Before you choose, make sure you start with a good web hosting prices comparison. This way you can be sure you’ll find a provider that best fits your budget. An important aspect of this is to definitely check out the renewal prices. More often than not the renewal price is different and a lot higher than the initial offer. If you are not prepared this might come as quite the unpleasant surprise. Considering this beforehand will spare you the shock and help you make your choice.

Type of hosting

It’s good to look into the types of hosting each provider offers, even if you are already set on one. This will ensure you can always upgrade or downgrade if needed. Starting with the cheapest plan is a great choice when you’re still in the beginning of your journey. However, as your business grows you will soon find the resources don’t suffice anymore. In that case scaling up will be swift, instead of starting a brand new search.

Free Trial

Free trial is a great way to test the features your provider offers you and decide if it suits you. You are able to quickly evaluate what is available and can decide to continue your subscription or not. The length of a free trial goes between 3 and 30 days – it varies a lot from provider to provider. Not many offer one but when they do it is always recommended to give it a try.

Money-back guarantee

Money-back guarantees are another great way to get a taste of the service and still save your money if you are not satisfied with it. A standard in the industry is to provide a 30-day guarantee. Of course, it depends on the hosting provider as some are quite generous with it, others limit you depending on the plan you choose.

Security

Good security is crucial to have in a web hosting service. SSL encryption is a must, as well as DDoS protection, malware detection and regular backups – these are just some of the basics. It’s important not to overlook them while you aim to keep both yourself and your customers safe. There are, of course, things you can do yourself to increase your level of security. Always choose a strong password and make sure to change it regularly. 2-factor authentication further adds an extra layer of protection. Also, make sure you keep up to date with all updates.

Performance

Make sure your host can guarantee you high uptime and sufficient speed. It is quite important as a slow-loading website might discourage your visitors and you may even lose potential customers. Choose a provider with at least 99% uptime guarantee.

Support

Having sufficient customer support is truly amazing. Whenever you run into a snag – and it happens even to the best – your host’s professional team should resolve your issue right away. Furthermore, relying on 24/7 security is really reassuring and can definitely give you a peace of mind.

General features

• Storage – having sufficient storage is an important part of your hosting plan. Your needs for storage space will differ depending on your project. It is one thing to set up a blog and another to operate an online store or maybe set up a gaming server.
• Bandwidth – if you expect to attract a lot of traffic to your website you would definitely need higher bandwidth.
• RAM – it ensures the smooth operation of your project. Of course, the higher RAM you need, the more expensive it gets. Choose it according to the type of files you will host. A simple blog does not need
• OS – it is great to have a choice between Linux OS and Windows OS, depending on your preferences and purpose.

How much should web hosting cost?

Well, when it comes to web hosting prices, there is not a set amount that you should strive for. However, there are some limits for the different types. Let’s discuss them quickly.

Shared Hosting

As we mentioned before, this is the most affordable type of hosting. Prices can go as low as $0,50 per month. They usually vary between $2 and $15.

VPS Hosting

Here costs may go between $4 and $90, depending on the resources included. The more CPU, the higher the price is. Prices also differ whether you choose managed or unmanaged service as managed ones are a lot more expensive.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated server prices usually start around $80 and can go to the whopping $800 per month. Sometimes it can even go up to $1000.This is the most expensive service but as you use all resources for yourself, it is understandable. As with VPS, managed and unmanaged servers greatly vary in price.

Cloud Hosting

Most cloud hosting providers implement the “pay-as-you-go” model. This basically means that you pay only for the resources you use. This can make cloud hosting quite affordable. We can say it varies between $5 and $300, depending on your needs and the resources included. 

Can I host for free?

Well, yes you can. When looking through web hosting prices, you often strive for the lowest possible offer. And when the price is zero it may look quite alluring. However, you should be really careful with that. Most of the free providers come with a lot of limits and may even be unsafe to use. You will often end up with slow speed, less storage and the worst part – bad security practices. As we already mentioned above, there are some security basics you should not overlook. Doing so may result in your sensitive data being compromised.

There are some good sides to starting with a free plan, though. It can be a great way for a complete beginner to get familiar with the service. Moreover, you can get to know the tricks and secrets and better understand your needs. Once you are ready you can easily move to an amazing paid plan with a ton more features. The best part is that with free web hosting you are not bound by a contract and you can easily make the switch. If you want to find some trustworthy free web hosts – read more here.

Ready to begin!

Well, there we have it. Starting your online business will not be an easy task if you go into it unprepared. Therefore, we have discussed the best web hosting prices as well as the most important aspects of choosing the right provider for your business. Now, you are definitely ready to begin your journey.

A few final words of advice – do not get lured into big promises and be careful who you trust with your data. Furthermore, make no compromises on security, compare offers, read reviews – gather as much information as you can. Starting with a good web hosting prices comparison will set you on the right path. Eventually, you will find the best one that will fit your budget. Just make sure you don’t overlook other important aspects of your hosting plan in favour of said price.

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