🏆 Top editorial pick: · Independent scoring, no paid rankings
🛡️ Independent. Renewal-price aware. No paid rankings.

Find the perfect hosting
for your website.

We compare 22 hosting providers across performance, uptime, support, features, security, ease of use, scalability, and real renewal cost — so you get the right fit, not the loudest ad.

22 hosts analysed| Renewal prices checked| 8-factor scoring| 100% independent
What we score
Speed
Uptime
Support
Features
Value
Security
Ease of use
Scalability

What matters most to you?

Pick your priority and we'll show you the best hosts for it.

What kind of hosting do you need?

Click a category to filter the comparison — or read the plain-English explainer for each.

Not sure? Take the 30-second match quiz

Three questions. We'll recommend the right category and top providers.

What's your monthly budget?
What are you building?
How technical are you?

Top hosting picks (June 2026)

Editorial scores out of 100. A different winner for each priority — no single "best" for everyone.

Hosting guides

Plain-English guides for every situation — each with editorial picks and the real 3-year cost.

Popular head-to-head comparisons

The matchups people search most — scored side by side, with the real 3-year cost.

Compare all 22 providers

Sortable. The True 3-Year Cost column shows what you actually pay — intro year plus two renewal years.

Provider Our Score Weighted across 8 factors: Performance 25%, Uptime 20%, Price 20%, Support 15%, Security 10%, Ease 5%, Scalability 3%, Dev 2%. Performance How fast your site loads. Based on TTFB, Core Web Vitals, and CDN. Entry Price Introductory price for the first term. Renewal rates are often higher. Renewal ⚠️ What you pay after the first term. Many providers increase this significantly. True 3-Yr Cost The real cost: 12 months at the intro price + 24 months at renewal. The number nobody else shows. Uptime SLA Guaranteed uptime. 99.9% = ~9 hours downtime per year. Support Best For Visit

New to hosting? Start here

Plain-English explainers. Click to expand the technical detail when you want it.

What is web hosting?

Short version: Web hosting is where your website lives — like renting space on the internet. When someone visits your site, the hosting provider delivers your pages to their browser.

When you buy hosting, you're renting space on a server — a powerful computer that stays online 24/7. Your website files (HTML, images, code) live on that server. When someone types your domain name, the server sends those files to their browser.

Shared hosting is like an apartment building (many sites share one server). VPS is like a townhouse (dedicated space, some sharing). Dedicated is like a single-family home (the whole server is yours).

Shared vs WordPress vs Cloud vs VPS vs Dedicated
TypeBest forProsConsPrice
SharedBeginners, small blogsCheap, easySlower, neighbours affect you$2–15/mo
WordPressWordPress sitesOptimised, often managedWP-only, pricier$10–50/mo
CloudGrowing sitesScalable, pay-as-you-goMore complex$5–50/mo
VPSDevelopers, high trafficDedicated resources, controlNeeds technical knowledge$5–100/mo
DedicatedEnterprise, huge trafficFull control, max performanceExpensive, needs sysadmin$80–500+/mo
What to look for in a hosting provider
  • Uptime — 99.9% minimum. If your site is down, you lose visitors and money.
  • Speed — TTFB under 200ms, Core Web Vitals pass. Slow sites lose rankings.
  • Support — 24/7 live chat or phone for when something breaks.
  • Price — check the renewal price, not just the intro. The cheapest isn't always best.
  • Backups — daily automatic backups, 30-day retention.
  • SSL — free SSL included (Let's Encrypt). Encrypts visitor data.
  • Money-back guarantee — 30 days minimum for a risk-free trial.
⚠️ The renewal price trap — read this before you buy

Introductory prices are discounts to attract new customers. After the first term, you pay the standard (renewal) rate — often 3–8× higher. Hostinger's $2.99 becomes $9.99. SiteGround's $3.99 becomes $14.99.

That's why our table shows the True 3-Year Cost: 12 months at the intro price plus 24 months at renewal. It's the single most honest number when comparing hosts.

→ See the full renewal price comparison

Hosting questions, answered

Simple answers for beginners, with detail for pros.