If you’re building a website on a budget, shared web hosting services are a popular option that won’t break the bank. Shared plans are the cheapest type of web hosting on the market and are well-suited to beginners and small business owners.
However, with hundreds of plans available, it can be hard to know which will best suit your needs.
Below you’ll discover the top companies offering shared web hosting services right now. During my career so far I have reviewed over 1,000 web hosting plans and have picked out the market leaders that deliver the best value and performance. No matter your needs, you’ll find the perfect option from the list below.
Table Of Contents
SiteGround
Shared and Cloud hosting
Hostinger
Shared hosting
Ionos
Shared and Dedicated server hosting
1. SiteGround (Editor’s Choice)
SiteGround has quickly become a fast favorite for anyone who needs shared hosting services with a balance between affordability and performance.
Founded in 2004, SiteGround now hosts over 2 million websites and operates with over 500 full-time staff, including a team of dedicated security experts.
SiteGround lives and breathes state-of-the-art security, and it goes above and beyond for all customers, even those on the lowest-cost shared plans.
So it’s also no surprise why WordPress.org recommends SiteGround as one of the leading web hosting companies in today’s market.
Add to this mix SiteGround’s dedication to delivering quality customer support that responds in less than 5 minutes (based on our seven years of experience working with them), and you’ve got a decent shared hosting service for just about anyone!
Pricing & Features
We’ve awarded Siteground the title of the best web hosting for security due to the range of features it includes with all its web hosting plans.
Uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to deliver state-of-the-art cloud services- Official WordPress partner
- Excellent support team
- Decent storage with 10GB – 40GB available on shared plans
- No limits on monthly visitors
- Free SSL certificates on all plans
- Beginner friendly with a range of 1-click install features
- Free CDN built by SiteGround
- Enhanced security built by SiteGround’s in-house team
- Free, daily automated backups on all plans
Uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to deliver state-of-the-art cloud servicesWhat impressed us the most in our research is that SiteGround has maintained a steadfast dedication to top-notch security since it started.
Never compromising on quality for the sake of competing with cheaper web hosts.
As far as pricing goes, there are cheaper options out there. However, SiteGround offers a decent balance between affordability and quality.
| Web Hosting Plan | Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features Included |
| StartUp | $2.99/month | $14.99/month | 1 website, 10GB storage & unmetered traffic. |
| GrowBig | $4.99/month | $24.99/month | Unlimited sites, 20GB storage & unmetered traffic. |
| GoGeek | $7.99/month | $39.99/month | Unlimited sites, 40GB storage & unmetered traffic. |
- Excellent security + backups
- Uses Google’s C2 Cloud Platform
- 24/7 outstanding customer support
- Beginner-friendly custom dashboard
- Amazing uptime
- Decent global speed performance
- Officially recommended by WordPress
- Free SSL certificates
- Expensive renewals
- No free domain or other business services
- Limited storage on shared plans
Expensive renewalsWhen it comes to value for money, it’s pretty hard to overlook the amount of value SiteGround delivers in each of it’s feature-packed web hosting packages.
That’s why in our opinion, SiteGround is best suited to anyone on a budget who also wants decent performance, security, and support. This is the place to go if you want to host your website with a reputable company.
2. Hostinger
In all the tests we’ve run looking for the best web host in different countries, Hostinger is consistently at the top of our list.
Not only does it price match local providers, but it also offers some of the fastest web hosting.
For instance, in our search for the best hosting in Malaysia, Hostinger had the lowest-priced shared hosting package (yes, even cheaper than all the other local providers) and decent performance that beat most local providers.
So, if you’re on a tight budget and want to reach global audiences, Hostinger’s shared hosting plans are worth looking into.
Pricing & Features
Offering cheap web hosting is one thing. Whether it offers value is another. When it comes to Hostinger, it offers both!
Let’s look at its features and pricing for all shared plans.
- From 50GB SSD storage on the cheapest plans (that’s over 5x what most web hosting companies offer for similar prices.
- Unlimited SSL certificates available
- hPanel: Unlike other web hosts that use cPanel, Hostinger uses its own intuitive control panel called hPanel.
- Global servers: Hostinger has servers located worldwide, delivering great performance worldwide.
- High-speed SSD storage improving your website performance
- 99.9% uptime guarantee, which matches the industry benchmark
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
- 24/7 customer support to answer your queries and provide help.
| Plans | Promotional Price | Renewal Price | Features |
| Single Shared | $1.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 1 website, 50GB SSD storage, and ~ 10,000 monthly visits. |
| Premium Shared | $2.99/mo | $12.49/mo | 100 websites, 100GB storage and ~25,000 monthly visits. |
| Business Shared | $3.99/mo | $16.99/mo | 100 websites, 200GB storage and ~100,000 monthly visits. |
- Low-cost plans to get started
- Great deals if you buy many years in advance
- Beginner friendly
- Flexible pricing options
- Great performance in many regions around the world
- 24/7 multi-lingual live chat support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free site migration service
- More resources on cheapest plans than other local providers offer
- You may quickly outgrow Hostinger’s plans
- Support responses could be better
- Lots of pop-ups and upsells
- No traditional cPanel; Hostinger uses its custom hPanel
Hostinger never disappoints as far as performance and affordability are concerned.
It’s made a positive impression on our review team as it consistently shows up in our lists of the best web hosting companies worldwide.
We recommend checking out their web hosting services if you’re on a tight budget but still want a decent service.
3. Ionos
Ionos (previously known as 1&1) currently manages domain and web hosting needs for over 8 million people worldwide. It is also a web host that has earned its reputation for being cheap by offering some of the most affordable shared hosting services around.
Of all the shared hosting packages we reviewed, Ionos has the most affordable plan starting at only $0.50/month.
The renewal price is 20 times higher at $10/month, but you get unlimited websites, storage, and traffic for this amount — making it one of the best value-for-money packages!
Pricing & Features
Ionos’ shared web hosting features include:
- Great unlimited web hosting plans
- Free 24/7 customer support
- Excellent uptime in our tests
- Free domain name with cheap hosting
- Free SSL certificate available
- Free professional email
- Daily backup and recovery
| Hosting Plan | Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features |
| Essential | $4/month | $6/month | 1 website, 10GB storage, 10 databases. |
| Business | $0.50/month | $10/month | Unlimited websites, storage, and databases. |
| Expert | $8/month | $16/month | Unlimited websites, storage, and databases. Plus malware protection, CDN, and site analytics. |
| Hosting Plan | Performance Level | Website Visitors | Memory |
| Essential | 1 of 5 | Up to 100 visitors/minute | 384 MB PHP memory, up to 512 MB RAM |
| Business | 2 of 5 | Up to 200 visitors/minute | 768 MB PHP memory, up to 6 GB RAM |
| Expert | 5 of 5 | Up to 500 visitors/minute | 896 MB PHP memory, up to 19 GB RAM |
- Reputation built over decades
- Affordable & excellent value for money
- Great unlimited plans
- Decent uptime & reliability
- Acceptable loading speed
- Intuitive & beginner friendly
- Limited customer support
- Can’t sign up from everywhere
- No free website transfers
Ionos is well-suited to anyone looking for great deals on unlimited hosting. Its Business plan, in particular, offers some of the best value for money that we’ve seen in the web hosting space.
4. Hostwinds
After reviewing and researching as many hosting companies as we have, it can be pretty difficult to be surprised by something unexpected. However, Hostwinds is one of the few companies we reviewed that pleasantly surprised our reviewers.
You can read the details of how and why in our full Hostwinds review.
In short, Hostwinds is a newer and smaller web hosting company than industry giants like GoDaddy. It’s used this to its advantage offering higher quality services and delivering unparalleled performance.
Instead of churning out more low-cost, low-quality web hosting services, Hostwinds runs its own data centers and owns its IT infrastructure, giving it 100% control over the quality it delivers.
Pricing & Features
Hostwinds offers Linux-based shared hosting services that are affordably priced. Although their website is light on the details of what these plans include, you can bank on receiving:
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited domains on the “Ultimate” plan
- Free website migrations
- SSD storage
- Unlimited email accounts
- Free dedicated IP address
But, in our book, Hostwinds’ most defining feature is its 99.9999% uptime guarantee. Sounds too good to be true, right?
We thought the same, which is why we ran extensive tests to see if Hostwinds puts its money where its mouth is.
Lo and behold, in the 12 months between September 2020 and August 2021, Hostwinds experienced a solid record of 100% uptime every single month without fail!
Since then, it has continued to surpass the industry benchmark and most other competitors.
| Hostwinds Shared Plan Prices | Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features |
| Lowest Tier (Basic Plan) | $5.24/month | $6.99/month | Unlimited storage and bandwidth for one domain. |
| Middle Tier (Advanced Plan) | $6.74/month | $8.99/month | Unlimited storage and bandwidth for four domains. |
| Highest Tier (Ultimate Plan) | $8.24/month | $10.99/month | Unlimited storage and bandwidth for unlimited domains. |
- Fantastic uptime
- Decent speed scores in our tests
- Great customer service
- Reasonably affordable
- Free unlimited email accounts
- Unlimited disk space
- Unlimited bandwidth and disk space on all shared plans
- Free daily backups are not included in out-of-the-box hosting plans
- Tends to lack some security features other hosting companies include in all plans
- Only 72-hour money-back window
- Not 100% beginner-friendly
If you’re after reliable web hosting, Hostwinds is worth checking out. We also recommend it for affordable agency hosting services, as their reseller plans deliver amazing value!
5. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting has developed a reputation around its performance-optimized shared hosting plans.
It prioritizes the speed and performance of its servers and offers upgraded options with its “Turbo” plans. All Turbo plans are on the fastest servers, which use NVMe storage disks. These are up to 25x faster than traditional disks.
In our tests, here’s how A2’s performance measures up.
| A2 Hosting | Best Practice | |
| Time to First Byte (TTFB) | 194 ms | 100 to 300 ms |
| First Contentful Paint (FCP) | 639 ms | < 1.8 seconds |
So if you’re looking for affordable and speedy hosting services, you can’t go past A2!
Pricing & Features
Here’s a quick snapshot of A2 Hosting’s features:
- Websites: From 1 to unlimited
- Storage: 100GB SSD – Unlimited NVMe
- Free site migrations
- Backups: Free and automatic on all but the lowest plan
- Free SSL: On all plans
- 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
It also offers three tiers of additional feature sets which it has named Key, Growth and Turbo features.
| Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Disk Space | |
| Startup | $2.99/mo | $10.99/mo | 100 GB SSD, 1 website plus all Key features. |
| Drive | $5.99/mo | $12.99/mo | Unlimited websites and SSD storage, all Key features, and additional Growth features. |
| Turbo Boost | $6.99/mo | $20.99/mo | Unlimited websites and NVMe storage. Plus, all Key, Growth, and Turbo features. |
| Turbo Max | $12.99/mo | $25.99/mo | Everything in Turbo Boost plus 5x more resources. |
- Initial affordability is great for getting started
- Decent out-of-the-box optimizations on higher plans
- Improved uptime in recent years
- Turbo plans are up to 20x faster than traditional servers
- Money-back guarantee available
- High renewal rates
- Guru support can be a little slow at times
If loading speed and performance are essential to you (and you’re on a budget), A2’s turbo-optimized shared hosting plans are worth checking out.
6. Dreamhost
DreamHost is one of the last big, independently owned, and operated web hosting companies available.
With over 1.5 million websites hosted and some of the most affordable prices available, there’s no doubt that DreamHost is one of the best-shared hosting providers around.
Not to mention it is also officially recommended by WordPress[1].
Add to this its dedication to delivering top-notch services, and it’s looking like a recipe for success right there!
Pricing & Features
When looking at DreamHost’s shared hosting plans, it’s important to note that first looks can be deceiving. To secure the best pricing, you need to pay for either one or three years in advance.
| DreamHost Pricing: Shared Hosting | Starter Plan | Shared Unlimited |
| Monthly Pricing | $4.95/mo | $8.95/mo |
| Yearly Pricing | $2.95/mo | $2.95/mo |
| 3-Year Pricing | $2.59/mo | $3.95/mo |
| Renewal Pricing | $5.99/mo | $10.99/mo |
Both plans include the following features:
- Free domain name
- Free, automatic WordPress site migrations
- Pre-installed WordPress
- Fast SSD storage on all plans
- Free, pre-installed SSL certificates
- 100% uptime guarantee
- Automated daily backups
- 24/7 ticket support
- Custom, user-friendly control panel
- Free domain privacy included
- 97-day money-back guarantee
Free domain nameThe biggest differences between the two plans come down to the number of websites you can host and the storage space available.
On the Shared Starter plan, you can only host one website, five subdomains, and six databases. You also have a limited amount of storage which is capped at 50GB.
However, per its name, the Shared unlimited plan gives you unlimited access to all of these features and more.
If you’re after DreamHost’s best value-for-money shared web hosting service, we recommend checking out the Shared Unlimited plan and signing up for three years.
As the name suggests, you get unlimited everything:
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered traffic & visits
- Unmetered (unlimited) bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited subdomains
- Unlimited FTP, SFTP & Shell users
- Unlimited MySQL databases
By opting in for the 3-year plan, you can reduce your costs from $299 to only $142.20 for the entire term.
Not to mention, compared with the Starter plan, it’s only an extra $1.36 per month to have no limits at all. That’s the definition of great value right there, folks!
- Fairly cheap pricing
- Loads of “unlimited” features
- A good variety of options for hosting packages
- Decent security measures
- Free, automated daily backups
- 97-day money-back guarantee
- Excellent support (as rated by users)
- Official recommended WP web host
- Month-to-month hosting you can cancel anytime
- Easy to use, intuitive control panel (it’s custom)
- Slower performance than competitors
- Uptime does not always meet the guarantee
- Server reliability has been declining in recent years
- Free website migrations are only offered as a DIY option
- Limited live chat support
- Over-priced, under-resourced dedicated servers
DreamHost is ideal for beginners and small business owners on a budget. However, if you’re looking for top-notch performance, we suggest looking at one of our other suggestions above.
7. FastComet
Similar to Hostinger, FastComet has shown up in many of our tests for the best-performing web hosting providers around the world.
So far, it’s at the top of our list for the best web hosting in Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, and even Nepal.
What sets FastComet apart, however, is its cloud server infrastructure. FastComet’s global reach is powered by 11 enterprise-grade data centers and 200 global CDN access points. A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is crucial for expanding your website’s reach around the world.
From shared cloud hosting to VPS and dedicated server hosting, FastComet has a range of options well suited to projects of any scale!
Pricing & Features
FastComet offers a range of value-packed features with each plan. Its shared hosting plans are its most popular and, at a minimum, include:
- 15 GB to 35 GB SSD storage
- Free website transfers
- Free domain transfers
- Daily backups
- Free CDN (Cloudflare)
- Free SSL certificates
- Plus more
| FastComet’s Plans | Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features |
| FastCloud | $2.49/mo | From $9.95/mo | 15GB storage, 1x website and ~25,000 visits per month. |
| FastCloud Plus | $3.70/mo | From $14.95/mo | 25GB storage, unlimited websites and ~50,000 visits per month. |
| FastCloud Extra | $4.99/mo | From $19.95/mo | 35GB storage, unlimited websites, and ~100,000 visits per month. |
- Excellent speed and performance
- Average uptime over 99.98% in all our tests over recent years
- Free domain and website transfer
- Fast and efficient customer support
- Reasonable storage in all price plans (min 15GB on shared plans)
- Easy to set up, even for beginners
- Free domain included in all plans
- 11 data centers to help you target customers around the world
- IP address not dedicated in shared hosting
- No VPS or dedicated server hosting
FastComet is a great option for anyone who wants affordable cloud hosting with excellent global reach and performance.
8. InMotion
InMotion Hosting has a range of shared hosting plans with unlimited resources available. Instead of only reserving the unlimited features for the highest tiers, InMotion includes them in almost all of its shared and WordPress hosting plans.
Most shared hosting plans offered by other companies tier up in price according to the number of resources available.
InMotion takes a different approach, however. The price point variation with each plan simply correlates to each server’s performance instead of the limited resources available.
Let’s take a closer look at the features and pricing of all its shared plans.
Pricing & Features
Except for the smallest pricing plan, the biggest difference between InMotion’s shared plans comes down to the level of optimized performance available on your account.
| Features | Core | Launch | Power | Pro |
| Websites | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 100GB SSD | Unlimited NVMe | Unlimited NVMe | Unlimited NVMe |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Email Addresses | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Speed & Performance | 2x Regular | 6x UltraStack | 12x UltraStack | 20x UltraStack |
All of InMotion’s shared plans include a free domain name and a free SSL certificate for each domain. Essential security features are also a standard inclusion on all plans.
- Hack & malware protection
- DDoS protection
- Automatic backups
- Website builder
- Marketing tools
However, the more expensive plans also include additional security features and dedicated support backed by a service level agreement (SLA).
- Free domain name
- Free migrations for WordPress sites
- Free SSL certificates
- Unlimited websites & emails supported
- Unlimited monthly bandwidth available
- Dedicated IP addresses
- Root access available on all plans
- Loads of extra features you can’t always find with other companies
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Free website transfers
- Relatively expensive after initial discounts
- No Windows hosting, only Linux
- Free backups aren’t always included (though they’re quite inexpensive)
If you are looking for web hosting with no limits on how many websites you can host, storage or bandwidth, InMotion is ideal for you!
9. GoDaddy
If you’re looking for a shared hosting plan that includes additional services and products, GoDaddy may just be for you. It is a firm favorite among small business owners due to the ease of bundling in extra services like emails and domain name registration.
Founded in 1997 in Arizona, GoDaddy also powers over 2.5 million websites. With 7000+ employees on its roster, it is one of the world’s biggest hosting companies.
Pricing & Features
When looking at GoDaddy’s pricing and features, it’s worth noting that cheaper options are available elsewhere and offer better value for money.
| Plan | Promo Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features |
| Economy | $5.99/mo | $8.99/mo | 1 website, 25GB storage, 10 databases, and unmetered bandwidth. |
| Deluxe | $7.99/mo | $11.99/mo | 10 websites, 50GB storage, 25 databases, and unmetered bandwidth. |
| Middle Ultimate | $12.99/mo | $16.99/mo | 25 websites, 75GB storage, 50 databases and unmetered bandwidth. |
| Maximum | $19.99/mo | $24.99/mo | 50 websites, 100GB storage, 100 databases and unmetered bandwidth. |
GoDaddy doesn’t try to compete on price. What it offers instead is convenience. It allows small business owners and beginners to get started with website hosting and have a convenient dashboard for all their website needs.
No matter if you need help building a website, registering a domain, setting up hosting, or establishing your business emails. GoDaddy is an all-in-one platform that allows you to do all this and more.
It comes at a hefty price, though. GoDaddy’s services have consistently been above average compared to the industry benchmarks. But for some people, the convenience offered will be worth the additional costs.
- Beginner-friendly
- Great all-in-one solution for all your website needs
- International server locations
- Free domain name with hosting
- Poor uptime
- Poor server reliability
- Aggressive upsell tactics
GoDaddy is best suited to small business owners who are looking for an all-in-one solution to manage every aspect of their website.
From domains to hosting to website marketing, GoDaddy offers beginner-friendly services for each of these and more!
10. BlueHost
Bluehost is the sixth most popular web host. With over 2 million websites hosted, it has made a name by offering “cheap and reliable” hosting.
Founded in 2003 in Utah, it now powers over 2 million websites. Since opening its doors, Bluehost has been on an upward trend with no signs of slowing down and is now one of WordPress’s top 3 recommended hosts[2].
So if you run a WordPress site, it’s worth looking into these guys for website hosting.
Pricing & Features
Thanks to their incredible affordability, Bluehost’s shared hosting plans are their most popular. The prices are among the lowest on the market, and all plans come with a free domain name.
| Plan | Promotional Pricing | Renewal Pricing | Features |
| Basic Tier | $2.95/month | $9.99/month | 1 website and 10GB SSD storage. |
| Plus Tier | $5.45/month | $13.99/month | Unlimited websites and 20GB SSD storage. |
| Choice Plus Tier | $5.45/month | $18.99/month | Unlimited websites and 40GB SSD storage. |
| Pro Tier | $13.95/month | $28.99/month | Unlimited websites and 100GB SSD storage. |
Besides the lowest tier, all other shared plans give you access to unlimited domains hosted along with unlimited storage and additional bonuses suitable for most small business websites.
- Beginner-friendly
- Free SSL certificate and some security features
- Offers unlimited SSD storage
- Free domain with most plans
- Low prices
- Historically has had good uptime and server reliability
- Recommended host for WordPress websites
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- General speed performance needs improvement
- There are better backup policies on the market
- Limited server locations
- Customer support could use improvement
Bluehost is great for beginners. Whether you run a WordPress site, an online store, or a portfolio of affiliate websites, Bluehost has a range of beginner-friendly features to help you get started today.
Shared web hosting allows multiple people to share the resources of a server to host their website files. It’s the most popular type of hosting on the market due to its affordability.
Although being the most cost-effective type of hosting, it can also be the least secure, and you cannot customize your server’s specifications to your needs.
However, the best hosts don’t feel like they’re shared because they go above and beyond to deliver a superb experience and use superior technology.
Having put over 1,000 hosting plans to the test from hundreds of web hosting providers worldwide, here’s our list of the ten best shared hosting providers this year.
Choosing the best web host comes down to understanding the features your website will need and which hosting company can deliver them to you.
However, there are also a few core tenets a decent web host must provide no matter what.
These include:
- Speed: Servers that are optimized to deliver the best speed performance for your website are important. They affect both your website’s ability to rank in search engines and to deliver an excellent user experience too.
- Uptime: Uptime is a metric that alludes to how reliable and stable your server infrastructure is. The fewer downtime events, the better.
- Ease of Use: If you struggle to use the interface or navigate a dashboard to perform essential functions, that’s a problem. A good web host should make it easy for you to access everything you need as efficiently as possible.
- Customer Support: If anything goes wrong, the worst that can happen is that you’re left hanging by a customer support team that is slow to respond or unable to help you fix your issue. For us, poor customer support is one of the biggest deal breakers.
We’ve looked at all of the above (and more) to bring you our list of the best web hosting companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shared hosting is a perfect choice for many website owners. It is the most affordable hosting option, and many hosting providers offer decent features to help get you started.
However, suppose your website project requires more advanced security features, better performance, or state-of-the-art servers. In that case, you may consider upgrading to a VPS hosting plan or getting a dedicated hosting server instead.
The difference between Shared Hosting and Managed Hosting is that Shared Hosting refers to multiple websites utilizing the same server resources, leading to lower costs but potentially reduced performance, while Managed Hosting involves dedicated resources for your site and comprehensive support services, offering enhanced performance and control, albeit at a higher cost.
To conclude, the list provided here encompasses the leading shared hosting services currently available, each with unique strengths.
If optimum security and performance are your priorities, we recommend SiteGround based on our firsthand experience of its exceptional service and reliable infrastructure.
Also, do keep in mind that the perfect hosting provider for your needs will depend on the specific requirements of your website, so take the time to assess those thoroughly before making your choice.
Our #1 Recommendation: Siteground
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