The best web hosting providers in the world, ranked and tested
Choosing the right web hosting is the foundation for any successful online business. From Amazon to your barber next door, entire businesses have lived or faltered because of poor website choices.
Especially as crafting good websites is no longer considered to be a job only HTML aficionados do. Web hosting is now solidly mainstream and we're here to help you find your perfect fit.
Are you a neophyte yearning to produce your first website for a budding audience? Or maybe a seasoned veteran researching the world's best web hosting providers to use as the ideal platform for the next big thing? Either way, you've come to the best resource on the web for choosing the perfect web hosting service.
So whether you are in the market for cheap hosting, shared hosting, website builders or WordPress hosting providers, we have got you covered with impartial recommendations and expert advice.
We reviewed (and re-reviewed) more than 120 web hosting providers as of June 2019. If you want to buy web hosting from a service provider, these are the five most important things to remember:
Web hosting: 5 must-know tips before you get started
1. You almost always get what you paid for: If your website is primarily a hobby on the side then that shouldn't matter. However, as an essential business tool, it is often false economy to go for the cheapest deal (or a free one) on offer especially as...
2. Beware of pricing tricks: .... the overwhelming majority of web hosting vendors offer low prices at the beginning of their contracts but then jack up the pricing after the introductory period ends. That can be 24, 36 or even 60 months after signing up. Always look for the total cost of ownership.
3. Just how trustworthy is the provider: Just about anyone can pretend to be a real web host and just be reselling someone else’s products. So, look to see how long they’ve been around, do they have a contact address, who owns them, are they making realistic promises on the website etc. Google is your friend.
4. Know your limits: How comfortable are you with creating your own website? Do you need external help to understand the numerous ramifications (including legal and commercial ones) that publishing one entails?
5. Consider website builders: You don't need web hosting to get online and website builders offer an interesting and compelling alternative. However you cannot migrate your content easily if you want to leave because of their proprietary nature.
1. Bluehost – Best Uptime Hosting ($2.75/mo)
Bluehost Pros:
+ Best Uptime (99.99%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.41ms)
+ Cheap “Intro” Cost ($2.75/mo)
+ Easy to Use and Signup
+ Fast Support (Live Chat and Phone)
+ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
+ Best Uptime (99.99%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.41ms)
+ Cheap “Intro” Cost ($2.75/mo)
+ Easy to Use and Signup
+ Fast Support (Live Chat and Phone)
+ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Bluehost Cons:
– No Free Site Migrations
– No Free Site Migrations
Bluehost is our top-rated web hosting company because their last 16-month uptime and speed is very strong – 99.99% and 0.41ms respectively.
Their 3-year introductory price is $2.75/mo and that comes with features like free domain name, website builder and one-click install for WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. So for starters (someone without a website), this is probably the best option. They also have a 30-day money back guarantee.
They use their built-in admin panel (along with cPanel) that makes setting up and managing websites very simple and straightforward.
While their bandwidth is unmetered, the maximum storage varies from 50GB to unlimited – depending on which plan you choose. We recommend getting the prime plan for the most value.
SSL certificate (HTTPS://) is included for free on all plans as well as email accounts. You can let Bluehost transfer your existing website to their hosting environment, but this will cost $149 per website.
2. InMotion – Best WordPress Support ($3.95/mo)
InMotion Pros:
+ Very Good Uptime (99.99%)
+ Fast and Knowledgeable Support
+ High-Performance WordPress Hosting
+ Free Site Migration
+ Easy to Use, includes cPanel
+ Very Good Uptime (99.99%)
+ Fast and Knowledgeable Support
+ High-Performance WordPress Hosting
+ Free Site Migration
+ Easy to Use, includes cPanel
SiteGround Cons:
– fixed number of websites allowed per account
I consider InMotion Hosting the standard for excellence in business web hosting. They have continually provided outstanding web hosting for my websites. And recent upgrades have made their business hosting plans even better. InMotion Hosting combines robust hardware, advanced technology, and professional customer support with all of their business hosting packages.
3. HostGator Cloud – Most Unlimited Hosting ($2.99/mo)
HostGator Cloud Pros:
+ Good Uptime (99.98%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.43ms)
+ FREE Site Migration (1)
+ No Bandwidth/Storage Limit
+ Unlimited Email Accounts
+ Free SSL Included
+ Good Uptime (99.98%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.43ms)
+ FREE Site Migration (1)
+ No Bandwidth/Storage Limit
+ Unlimited Email Accounts
+ Free SSL Included
HostGator Cloud Cons:
– Higher Renewal Cost
– Higher Renewal Cost
HostGator cloud hosting offers their users unlimited bandwidth, storage space, and email accounts.
On top of that, they have free site migration if you decide to transfer your website from another host without the hassle. Their last 16-month performance stats aren’t bad either, 432ms load time and 99.98% uptime.
They’re one of the fastest hosts we’ve reviewed, their servers are perfect for WordPress websites. Most of their data centers are based in the US, but the host does well to serve European clients too.
Before you sign up, be sure with the higher renewal prices that start right after your billing period ends. For example, the $2.99 is for the first 1-6 months, then the price jumps to $9.95 – $14.95/mo.
They do have fast and efficient live chat, SSL certificate is included as well as daily backups.
If you need a scalable hosting, HostGator Cloud is probably your best option.
4. Hostinger – Cheapest Web Hosting ($0.80/mo)
Hostinger Pros:
+ Fast Load Time (0.37ms)
+ Cheapest Plan ($0.80/mo)
+ Datacenters in 7 Regions
+ FREE Domain Name (1 year)
+ Uptime Guarantee
+ 30 Days Money Back
+ Fast Load Time (0.37ms)
+ Cheapest Plan ($0.80/mo)
+ Datacenters in 7 Regions
+ FREE Domain Name (1 year)
+ Uptime Guarantee
+ 30 Days Money Back
Hostinger Cons:
– SSL Not Included
– SSL Not Included
Hostinger is one of the cheapest hosting providers that costs only $0.80/mo when choosing their longest (48 months) subscription.
They have data centers and servers across the world in seven different regions.
While being one of the cheapest, they still manage to achieve a just “okay” uptime of 99.91%. If we were to count only the last 15-months instead of 16-months, then their uptime would be a solid 99.97%. Their average page load time is very fast though, only 0.37ms.
Bandwidth and databases are unlimited unless you choose the “Single Web Hosting” plan. With the latter you’ll be limited to 10GB of disk space, 100GB of bandwidth, one MySQL database, and one email account.
Unfortunately, not everything is cheap. The important add-ons which aren’t included in the basic plans are priority support and SSL certificate which will set you back some more money.
Similarly to Bluehost, they too offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all the hosting plans.
5. GoDaddy – Most Popular Web Host ($3.66/mo)
GoDaddy Pros:
+ Good Uptime (99.97%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.52ms)
+ Many Great Features
+ Well Known Brand
+ Good Uptime (99.97%)
+ Fast Load Time (0.52ms)
+ Many Great Features
+ Well Known Brand
GoDaddy Cons:
– Unreliable Support
– Emails, Backups and SSL Cost Extra
– Unreliable Support
– Emails, Backups and SSL Cost Extra
GoDaddy’s brand is easily one of the most well-known domain registrar and hosting provider on the market.
But is their reputation well deserved when it comes to performance and delivering fast page speed?
While their page loading speed is relatively fast, just above 500ms, their uptime isn’t ideal – 99.97%.
A glance at what they offer – a 99.99% uptime guarantee, 100GB of website storage (a lot), unmetered bandwidth and free trial for their website builder, seems like a too good deal.
But when you look at the sheer number of highly pried upsells and sneaky marketing tricks (like charging for site backups, SSL certificates, email accounts, and more), it becomes harder and harder to give credence to the brand’s reputation.
In addition to the many shameless money grabs present inside of GoDaddy’s pricing structure, the inefficacy of their customer support team and lack of compelling freebies (like the industry standard SSL certificate and unlimited email accounts) makes us hard pressed to recommend them above any of the aforementioned hosts.
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