What Is the Cheapest Web Hosting? The Real Number and What It Hides

Cover for the article: cheapest web hosting

The cheapest plan in our table right now is $2.28/mo. But the lowest number is not always the lowest cost — we show the arithmetic, and when cheap turns expensive.

The cheapest hosting plan in our table right now is Namecheap's Stellar at $2.28/mo, followed by Hostinger Premium at $2.99, then Hosting.com's Starter at $3.49.

But before buying the cheapest, read the next section — it will save you several times the difference.

Prices on this page are read from our table the moment you open it, not typed into the text. Check the comparison page for the latest figures before buying.

The cheapest plans today

PlanPer monthSitesStorage
Namecheap Stellar$2.28320 GB
Hostinger Premium$2.99320 GB
Namecheap Stellar Plus$2.98UnlimitedUnmetered
Hosting.com Starter$3.491Unmetered
Hostinger Unlimited$3.99Unlimited50 GB

Why the cheapest is not always the lowest cost

Three reasons, all numbers rather than opinions.

1) The renewal price

The biggest one. The advertised figure covers the first term only, and then the bill rises:

PlanYou pay todayAfter renewalMultiple
Premium$2.99$10.993.7×
Unlimited$3.99$16.994.3×
InMotion Launch$4.79$14.993.1×

Premium costs $143.52 for four full years, then $131.88 for year five alone — that single year nearly equals the first four combined.

The rule: cost it over five years, not one. Rankings shuffle considerably at that horizon.

2) The price is paid entirely upfront

"$2.99/mo" is not a monthly bill; it is a total divided. Longer terms give the lowest monthly rate but demand more money today:

TermPer monthYou pay today
1 monthEGP 319EGP 319
1 year$3.99$47.88
2 years$3.49$83.76
4 years$2.99$143.52

So if cash flow is a constraint, a shorter term costs more per month but far less right now.

3) What the cheap plan leaves out

The cheapest plan usually lacks things you discover late:

  • One site onlyHosting.com's Starter is the example
  • Weekly rather than daily backupsPremium backs up weekly
  • Limited storage — 20 GB gets tight after two years of publishing with images
  • Higher density — cheap plans pack more accounts onto one server

When is cheap the right call?

In clear cases:

  • Your first site, when you do not yet know whether you will continue. Pay less and learn.
  • A static brochure site taking no orders or comments, where weekly backups are fine.
  • A trial project you want to launch with minimum risk.

In all of these, look for the money-back window: thirty days at most providers, and ninety at InMotion — the longest on our list, which makes trying close to risk-free.

And when does cheap turn expensive?

  • A shop taking orders — weekly backups can cost you a week of sales
  • A site with real traffic — a cheap plan will be slow, and slow loses visitors
  • Several sites — two cheap plans cost more than one uncapped plan

Practical advice worth more than the price gap

  1. Buy the longest term you can live with — the monthly gap between one year and four is large
  2. Set a calendar reminder a month before renewal — that is when you negotiate or move
  3. Use a coupon — the coupons page shows what is live now
  4. Do not buy what you do not need — upgrading later beats reclaiming money you already spent

In short

The cheapest number today is $2.28/mo. The lowest five-year cost may be an entirely different plan — and the renewal table above is what settles it.

Start at the comparison page and filter by your budget, or ask us to buy it for you if you would rather someone verified the numbers on your behalf.

Related questions: What is web hosting? · Which is the best hosting company? · What is the cheapest hosting? · Cheapest hosting in Egypt · How do I find who hosts a site? · Hosting contract terms

Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. They cost you nothing extra, and nobody buys a ranking here with them — how we work.

Disclosure: we may earn a commission when you buy through some links on this site, at no extra cost to you.

Ready to pick your host?

Compare prices and discounts from every provider on one page.

Start comparing