Looking for a free web hosting service? Then you’re in the right place.
In this article, we’ll show you some of the best free web hosting services on the market.
Before we dive in and start comparing the free web hosting services, let’s examine whether free hosting is the right solution for your site, how it would affect your online presence, and what’s the catch with it.
Choosing a Free Web Hosting Service
People usually choose a free web hosting service when they’re on a tight budget and don’t want to spend a dime on web hosting. Not to mention, if something’s free, then there’s always a catch and free web hosting is no different.
Before you choose a free web hosting service, let’s debunk one of the most persistent myths about website hosting: web hosting is expensive.
Is Hosting a Website Really Expensive?
A lot of people choose a free web hosting service because they think hosting a website is expensive and won’t fit into their budget.
The reality is, when you’re starting out, you can choose a reliable cheap hosting service for as low as $2 to $4 per month. Some of these cheap hosting companies even offer a free domain name, SSL, and a nearly 100% uptime guarantee.
That means, for just $2, you’ll get everything you need to build your site from the ground up. These cheap hosting services even ensure that your website will always remain online thanks to their excellent uptime guarantees.
In a nutshell, even if you’re under a tight budget, you can find a web hosting plan that’s affordable and meets your requirements.
Free Web Hosting – What’s the Catch?
Hosting a website certainly costs money. So how can a web hosting company offer their services for free without going bankrupt? Are there any downsides to choosing a free web hosting service?
- Ads: To make money, web hosting companies often show their ads on your website’s footer. To remove the ads, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan.
- Limit your traffic: A free web hosting service often limits your traffic, which holds you back from growing your business.
- Lock in: A free web hosting company often makes it really hard to move your website to other platforms.
Honestly, you’d be better off building your site using a cheap hosting service when you’re just starting out. We believe that using a free web hosting service is a bad idea unless you’re creating a test site.
That said, let’s take a look at some of the best almost-free website hosting companies first. Then, if you’re still not convinced, we’ll show you the best free web hosting companies.
Top 5 Almost-Free Web Hosting Companies
1. Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the best cheap hosting services available on the market. It’s also officially recommended by WordPress.org. With every new web hosting account, you’ll get a free domain name, free SSL, and an over 60% discount on web hosting.
Currently, Bluehost hosts over 2 million websites worldwide. You’d not like to miss these comparisons between:
- Bluehost vs HostGator
- Bluehost vs WP Engine
- Bluehost vs Dreamhost
- Bluehost vs iPage
- Bluehost vs InMotion hosting
- Bluehost vs GreenGeeks
- Bluehost vs A2 Hosting
- Bluehost vs Liquid Web
We’ve negotiated an exclusive deal with Bluehost for IsItWP users, so you’d only have to pay $2.75 per month.
Read our complete Bluehost review.
Get started with Bluehost today!
2. SiteGround
If you want a web hosting service that doesn’t compromise on speed of your site, then SiteGround could be your best choice.
SiteGround is a feature-packed web hosting service that gives you everything you need to get your site up and running. Just like Bluehost, they’re also an officially recommended web hosting provider by WordPress.org. Don’t miss these comparisons between,
- SiteGround vs HostGator
- SiteGround vs GreenGeeks
- SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting
- SiteGround vs WPEngine
- SiteGround vs A2Hosting
- SiteGround vs DreamHost
- SiteGround vs iPage
- SiteGround vs Liquid Web
SiteGround offers a cheap web hosting plan for as low as $3.95 per month.
Read our complete SiteGround review.
Get started with SiteGround today!
3. HostGator
HostGator rocks the cheap hosting space with their affordable starter plans and easy setup. HostGator powers over 2 million domain names all around the globe.
You can try out their service risk-free for 45 days and, if you’re not fully satisfied, you can get a complete refund. HostGator’s award-winning support team is available 24/7 via live chat, telephone, or email. Check out these comparisons between:
- HostGator vs DreamHost
- HostGator vs. GreenGeeks
- HostGator vs InMotion Hosting
- HostGator vs WP Engine
- HostGator vs iPage
- HostGator vs Liquid Web
- HostGator vs A2 Hosting
With HostGator, you can start your website for $2.78 per month which is a great deal.
Read our complete HostGator review.
Get started with HostGator today!
4. DreamHost
DreamHost is a leading web hosting service that has grown and maintained a successful hosting business for the last 18 years.
With their cheap hosting plans, you’ll get a free domain name, free SSL encryption with Let’s Encrypt, 1-click WordPress installer, and more.
With DreamHost, you can save up to 47% on WordPress hosting. Their hosting plans start at $2.59 per month.
Read our complete DreamHost review.
Get started with DreamHost today!
5. iPage
iPage is probably the cheapest (yet still reliable) hosting service in the shared hosting vertical. iPage gives you everything you need to build your site from scratch, such as a website builder with thousands of free templates, a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and $200 worth of ad credits.
You can sign up for iPage for as low as $1.99 per month.
Read our complete iPage review.
Best Completely Free Hosting Sites
6. Wix
Wix is a free website builder that allows you to quickly start a site from the ground up. The best thing about Wix is that you don’t have to learn any of the technicalities of hosting your website. You can simply sign up for Wix and start building the site you’ve always wanted with its drag and drop builder.
The free plan doesn’t allow you to use a custom domain name such as IsItWP.com or WPBeginner.com. This is what your site URL will look like: https://username.wixsite.com/sitename
To connect a custom domain name, you’ll have to upgrade to a premium account.
Read our complete Wix review and see how Wix is different from WordPress.
7. Weebly
Weebly is another popular free website builder, which is now a part of the Square product suite. Whether you want to build a site or an online store, Weebly makes it super easy to kick it off in minutes.
The free Weebly plan enables you to build a basic website. Your free site will be hosted on a weebly.com subdomain. Your site will also have a Weebly link in the footer.
For advanced features like a custom domain setup, eCommerce store, site stats, and email marketing, you can upgrade to a premium plan.
Read our Get started with Weebly today!
8. WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a free blogging platform that helps you easily build a blog or a site from the ground up. Unlike other free website builders, WordPress.com offers 3 GB of storage space, dozens of free themes, and all the other essential features you can think of.
The free site will be hosted on a WordPress.com subdomain, and will be highly optimized for search engines.
Their premium plan lets you connect a custom domain and even integrate a storefront with your WordPress.com site.
Get started with WordPress.com today!
9. Google Sites
Google Sites is a part of GSuite and enables you to create a highly customizable website by collaborating with your team members. As Wikipedia says: it’s a structured wiki and web page creation tool offered by Google.
With a standard Google account, you can create as many Google Sites as you want for free. The only catch is that your site will be under Google’s domain and your site address will look like: sites.google.com/view/yoursite
To use a custom domain name, you can sign up for a GSuite account.
Get started with GSuite and Google Sites today!
10. Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud Platform is one of the best free hosting solutions available on the market.
With Google Cloud Platform, you can host your website for a free trial that lasts for 12 months. They also offer an Always Free tier, which provides limited access to many common GCP resources.
However, keep in mind that Google asks for your credit card information when signing up to verify your identity and distinguish actual customers from robots.
Get started with Google Cloud Platform!
11. Amazon Web Services
If you want to host a static website on a free web hosting service, then you might want to check out Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS offers a few different types of free plans such as Always Free and 12-months free accounts.
The free AWS account might be a good solution for users who want to explore their platform and master their technical skills.
We hope this guide helped you find the best free web hosting service for your site.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also want to check out our article on starting a website and the difference between shared vs VPS vs dedicated hosting.
