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12 Best Free Website Hosting Compared
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Looking for a free web hosting service to start your website? We get emails
from readers on a regular basis asking if there’s a way to get free website
hosting. And the answer is YES. We all love free things in life, but it’s important
to remember not all free things are created equal. In this article, we will
compare the best free (and almost free) website hosting services with their
pros and cons.

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Building a website has become the most important way to get your message
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Most people simply want something quick, easy, and free. Errors Online Store

There are tons of free website hosting companies in the market. But as a smart
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consumer, you should know that there is no such thing as free lunch.

There is always a catch.

Running a website hosting service costs a lot of money. Useful WordPress Guides

The companies offering free website hosting need to make money somehow, 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins
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hosting. We have 36 reasons why free websites are bad idea, specially for Self Hosted WordPress.org vs. Free
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But what if you’re on a small budget?
Beginners

Maybe you’re a non-profit who is looking for free WordPress hosting or maybe 24 Must Have WordPress Plugins for
you want free website hosting for students. Don’t worry, we have a solution for Business Websites

you in this article.

As the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners, it is our job to
highlight the fine-prints, so you’re making the RIGHT decision.
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Every free website hosting company in our list guarantees that you can keep
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Majority of these shared hosting companies will give you a free domain, free
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That’s basically “almost free” considering you will make a lot more money from domain.
your website.

Paying this small amount gives you access to expert support and overall better
service. Most importantly, it gives you complete control and ownership of your
website.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best almost-free website
hosting companies first. After that, we will look at the best free website hosting
companies.

Best Value “Almost-Free” Website Hosting

These providers are highly-reputed and are a great place for small businesses
to start their website.

Some of them are even officially recommended by WordPress, WPBeginner,

and other large organizations because they have demonstrated high level of
quality and service.

If you are serious about your website, then we recommend you to start your
website with one of these 5 providers.

1. Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world. They are an
officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.

They have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a free domain name, free SSL
certificate, and 63% discount on web hosting. Basically, you can get started for
$2.75 per month.

Their hosting plans include free branded email addresses, unlimited disk
space, free SSL certificate, 1-click WordPress install, and more.

To learn more about Bluehost, see our complete Bluehost review where we
evaluated their hosting performance, features, and services.

2. SiteGround

Siteground is another great alternative to free website hosting. They are

known for their awesome support and blazingly fast performance. SiteGround
is also an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.

They are offering WPBeginner users 60% discount on hosting. Basically, you’ll
be able to get started for $3.95 per month.

SiteGround’s hosting plans come with a website builder, 1-click installer for
WordPress and Joomla, unlimited email addresses, and more.

SiteGround have a special offer for Teachers and Students. You can get
Student Web Hosting for only $1.99 per month.

Teachers can use SiteGround to enroll in a free hosting plan for educators.

For more details, see our thorough SiteGround review where we ran actual
tests to measure their performance and uptime.

3. HostGator

HostGator is one of the top hosting service providers in the market. They have
been around since 2002 and gradually grew to become one of the largest
hosting companies in the world.

Their incredible growth can be credited to their low-price, reliable web

hosting, and quality customer service.

Their hatchling plan starts from $2.64 / month. Each plan includes unlimited
email addresses, free HTTPS / SSL, unmetered bandwidth and diskspace.

Our founder and CEO, Syed Balkhi, is a HostGator customer since 2007.
WPBeginner itself is hosted with HostGator’s dedicated server and we are
very happy with their performance.

For more details, see our HostGator review with pros and cons, and detailed
performance tests.

4. DreamHost

DreamHost is one of the oldest web hosting companies, started in 1997. They
currently host more than 1.5 million websites.

Their starter plan costs $2.59 per month. It includes a free domain name, free
domain privacy, free SSL, unlimited emails, 1-click installers for popular website
builders, and more.

To learn more, see our complete DreamHost review where we evaluated their
services, support, and performance.

5. Just Host

Just Host is another low-cost alternative to the free website hosting

companies. They offer shared hosting plans perfect for creating a starter
website.

You can basically get started for $3.95 per month. Each plan comes with a free
domain name, unlimited email addresses, multiple websites, and 1-click install
for to CMS software like WordPress.

To learn more, take a look at our complete Just Host review with pros and
cons.

Best Free Hosting Sites

While free is tempting, it’s always limited when it comes to website hosting.
With that in mind, we have hand-picked the best free website hosting sites that
you can use to get started.

These hosting sites are 100% free for you to use.

If you’re a serious about your website, we strongly recommend you to read

our comprehensive guide on how to choose the best WordPress hosting
before making your final decision.

With that said, here are the best free hosting companies in the world.

6. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a popular free hosting platform that offers a unique flavor of

WordPress. Not to be confused with the WordPress.org, which is home of the
well-known self-hosted website builder, WordPress.

WordPress.com offer a free website hosting plan which gives you a

WordPress.com subdomain (i.e. yourwebsite.wordpress.com ), 3 GB storage,
and access to free templates for your website.

This free plan displays ads on your website. You can upgrade to their paid
plans to get rid of ads, use a custom domain name, and access additional
features. At which point any of the “almost free hosting” services we
mentioned above are the better option.

To learn more, see our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org with

pros and cons of both platforms.

7. Wix

Wix is another fully-hosted website builder that offers free website hosting.

Like most free hosting services, it is supported by displaying ads and Wix.com
branding on your free website. You can get rid of it by upgrading to their paid
plans.

The free plan will give you a Wix.com subdomain, access to website
templates, 500 MB of storage and 500 MB of bandwidth.

For more details, see our comparison of Wix vs WordPress where we break
down the pros and cons of both platforms.

8. Weebly

Weebly is another popular free website builder that you can use. It comes with
an intuitive drag and drop builder and ready-made templates to create a
website.

Their free plan includes a Weebly subdomain, 500 MB of storage, and displays
Weebly ads. You can upgrade to their paid plans to get rid of ads, get more
storage, and unlock features.

You may want to see our detailed comparison of Weebly vs WordPress which
shows the advantages and disadvantages of both website platforms.

9. GoDaddy Website Builder

GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain name registrar and a popular hosting
company.

They offer GoDaddy website builder which is a drag and drop website builder
with ready-made templates. It is available as a 30-day free trial after which you
can upgrade to one of their paid plans starting from $5.99 per month.

It is cheap and very easy to use. However, once your website grows you may
find GoDaddy Website Builder to be quite limited in features. It is also difficult
to move GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress or any other website
platform.

Also see our list of the best GoDaddy website builder alternative.

10. Squarespace

Squarespace is a popular website builder platform that requires no technical

skills. It offers beautiful professional templates and an intuitive drag and drop
interface.

They offer a restricted 14-day free website hosting trial. This gives you access
to their website builder so you can try its features. Your website will not be
public unless you subscribe to a paid plan.

Paid plans start at $12 per month. Each plan comes with a free custom domain,
unlimited bandwidth, storage, and ready-made website templates.

To learn more, see our article on Squarespace vs WordPress with pros and
cons and feature comparisons.

11. Google Cloud Hosting

Google offers a wide variety of free website hosting solutions for small
businesses and students. It comes with all the powerful features that you can
expect from a top-class company like Google.

Since their plans are based on pay-per-use, it’s an easy place for students to
get started. Google offers $300 free credit for new customers which is
sufficient to last you for a whole year, if you’re just looking for a free website
hosting for test sites.

You can use Google Cloud to host any type of website, and they even offer
WordPress on Google Compute Engine.

12. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services also known as AWS powers some of the most popular
websites in the world. While it’s not easy to use for small businesses, it’s a
great platform for students and developers who’re just getting started.

Amazon offers 12 months free and always free products on their AWS Free
Tier which is by far one of the best free website hosting for testing sites.

Students can use Amazon’s powerful platform to learn and master their
development skills.

We hope this article helped you find the best free website hosting service for
your next project. You may also want to checkout our guide on how to create a
free business email address in 5 minutes.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for
WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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About the Editorial Staff

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LEAVE A REPLY
32 COMMENTS 

SHAILESH S B
Aug 22, 2020 at 4:31 am

Hi

I have a domain name that I have already purchased from go Daddy. Can I
host my website on any hosting provider? Or do I need to go with GoDaddy
itself?

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Aug 24, 2020 at 1:58 pm

You can host your site with a different hosting provider.

 Reply

DARREN LEWIS
Jun 17, 2020 at 6:45 am

Excellent article.
I was looking at building a site, I haven’t built one since 98 so I’m thinking it
would be easier.
Thanks.

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Jun 17, 2020 at 9:03 am

We hope our guides can help make the process even easier for you
when you’re creating your site

 Reply

JIM
Jun 2, 2020 at 3:09 pm

is there any you can connect a domain to?

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Jun 3, 2020 at 8:52 am

You can connect a domain to most if not all of these options.

 Reply

JOHNWALDECK
Mar 24, 2020 at 2:15 pm

That was a great overview, and its appreciated. You helped me make some
decisions on my next steps. Thank you!

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Mar 25, 2020 at 8:34 am

You’re welcome, glad our guide could help you

 Reply

SARAD MISHRA
Sep 7, 2019 at 4:09 am

Great interesting blog…. Web Hosting is very useful for readers. I’m glad I
came up with your site thanks for sharing this article.

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Sep 9, 2019 at 9:25 am

Glad you found our article helpful

 Reply

ERICA BURESH
Jul 28, 2019 at 2:50 pm

I rarely leave comments but wanted to take the time to thank you for writing
a wonderful article filled with valuable information. I am getting ready to start
a new era and venture in my life and consolidating my blogs. I appreciate the
comparisons of the various sites that you shared with us today.

With all the information accessible

I get overwhelmed and frustrated. There is just enough years in our life to
absorb the information offered online. Regardless, I wanted to thank you for
sharing your knowledge and look forward to reading more articles from you
in the future. Best of luck!

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Jul 29, 2019 at 12:00 pm

Thank you for your comment, glad our content can help clear up any
confusion and help you feel in control of your site

 Reply

RAJESH GODHANIYA
Jul 22, 2019 at 2:34 am

such a great article about web hosting companies. keep sharing. I use
Bluehost from last 2 years and it provides great services

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Jul 22, 2019 at 1:27 pm

Thank you, glad you like our content

 Reply

RAKIB ISLAM
Feb 15, 2019 at 3:46 am

change the title free webhost

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Feb 15, 2019 at 10:45 am

We’ve had multiple users request our recommendations for free web
hosts which is why the article has the title that it does

 Reply

AFTAB HUSSAIN
Dec 17, 2018 at 3:05 am

Its is really a very good article for the beginners. Appreciated

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:06 am

Thanks Aftab

 Reply

SHANKHA KAMLEY
Dec 16, 2018 at 11:13 pm

How about inmotionhosting? Aren’t they good???

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:09 am

Hi Shanka, they’re definitely a good provider, but they have recently

raised their prices. So it doesn’t quite fit this category.

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Dec 17, 2018 at 4:05 pm

Hi Shankha,

They are good and one of our recommended WordPress hosting

providers.

 Reply

SALMAN KHAN
Dec 16, 2018 at 2:59 am

Thank you for such good information, as a student it is very helpful and
amazing…

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:06 am

Thanks Salman, glad you found it helpful

 Reply

WPBEGINNER SUPPORT
Dec 17, 2018 at 4:24 pm

Hey Salman,

We are glad you found this information helpful.

 Reply

USMAN MALIK
Dec 15, 2018 at 6:19 pm

This blog helps me very much to know the disadvantages of free hostings.
Sir i am very thankful to you for describing everything in simple words.

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:10 am

Thanks Usman. Glad you found it helpful

 Reply

THOMAS
Dec 14, 2018 at 4:01 pm

Lightsail from Amazon is also an option.

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:06 am

Thanks Thomas. Yes, we linked to the Amazon page in general which

lists all the free services. Lightsail is definitely good.

 Reply

TIM
Dec 14, 2018 at 11:40 am

How in the world is Squarespace free when there is a monthly or annual

price to use their hosting? And it’s kind of weird for a site about WordPress
to consider companies where you cannot use WordPress.

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:12 am

Tim, Squarespace offers a free trial account. We do our best to

recommend WordPress, and that’s always our #1 choice. However we
understand that some people may want to use another platform when
they’re starting out, and that’s ok too.

We want to do our best to educate them and then offer an easy way to
switch to WordPress through our tutorials.

 Reply

NAA
Dec 14, 2018 at 8:21 am

The list you mentioned are very popular and expensive. However, Can you
please tell me what are the best VPS or Dedicated Hosting Website in cheap
price.

 Reply

EDITORIAL STAFF
Dec 17, 2018 at 7:09 am

HostGator offers fairly cheap VPS servers that are also pretty decent
quality.

SiteGround hosting for students is very affordable in our list.

Also look into Amazon which offers a lot of free resources for those
who’re just starting out.

 Reply

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