There is a best web hosting provider for each type of website and application. Picking the right one makes a difference when it comes to value for money, performance, and stability. I've built and hosted websites for large and small businesses over the years and my team of expert developers have decades of experience using a wide range of web hosts for various applications so we can help point you in the right direction.
We've spent 40,000 hours testing 130 web hosting providers on the control panels, tools, site builders, customer support, and speed and stress tests. If you don't want to host your own site you can opt for using one of the best website builders instead but keep in mind that you get less flexibility and value for money and a host like Hostinger has made it so you don't need any technical knowledge at all to take hosting into your own hands.
My top five best web hosting providers
Best web hosting services of 2024
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The best web hosting service for beginners
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | The value is great considering the amount of helpful tools you have and how much it would cost getting a professional to build for you. | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | From signing up to building any type of site, Hostinger has really made it easy | ★★★★★ |
| Features | Hostinger has everything you need in one place (hosting, website builder, domains, email, security). Plus, everything is easy to use. | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | It's not significantly ahead of the competition when it comes to speed but it's pretty fast | ★★★★☆ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Hostinger make making, managing, and hosing a site easy. No learning curve, great support, and nice user interface. |
| Innovation | Hostinger were one of the first to market with a range of AI tools including an AI website builder and AI troubleshooter. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could do better at |
|---|---|
| Pricing | I find some of the aggressive sale prices a little misleading. For example, a .com domain name is $4.99 for the first year but you need to buy it in a 2 year subscription with the second year being a higher than average cost compared to other domain registrars. Over the two years it's cheaper to buy a domain elsewhere even with the discount applied. |
The best shared hosting plan for beginners
The Premium Hosting plan is great for content creators who want to create a visually stunning blog with fast load times to engage their readers and perform well in SEO. The onboarding process is very well streamlined and there is an AI website builder that helps novices make a site with zero technical knowledge. With the Premium Hosting plan, you can create and manage a site, monetize traffic, and retain complete control over the design.
Why it's good for beginners
There is also a large corpus of case studies on how to create sites and boost traffic plus tutorials on how to handle multimedia and why things like SSL are important for your site. All-in-all it's very hard to go wrong with this plan and with the starting price being $2.49 a month and a 30-day money back guarantee there is not much to lose if you're having a go at creating and hosting your first website.
The best webhosting plan for start-up online stores
Hostinger's Business Hosting plan helps you create a professional looking online store with minimal technical know-how. The plan is very similar to the above mentioned Premium Plan but comes with more and faster storage and allows you to have more files for a larger range of product listings and images. There are also daily instead of weekly backups to ensure you won't miss sales should a worst case scenario happen and a CDN to help speed up traffic to customers around the world.
Why it's good for beginners that what to start an online store
If you're concerned about lacking technical skills and not knowing what the best hosting plan is for your site, there are comparison posts and step-by-step guides on which plan is best for your small business and how to launch your first website in 24 hours.
| Feature | Premium | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Number of sites | 100 | 100 |
| Monthly visits | 25,000 | 100,000 |
| Storage | 100 GB SSD | 200 GB NVMe |
| Free | Free | |
| Backups | Weekly | Daily |
| Domain | Free for one year ($9.99 value) | Free for one year ($9.99 value) |
| Security | Malware scanner + other features | Malware scanner + other features |
For a full list of features see Hostinger's website
Testing
Our testing shows that Hostinger is more than capable of hosting the average website on a shared hosting plan. Hostinger score slightly lower than average on LCP which has been said to be linked to how well your site ranks in search results but they're not slow but they do score higher on requests per second which can help a site that has more traffic but is less reliant on search traffic.
Read our full Hostinger review for a more in-depth analysis and full testing scores
The best web hosting for small businesses
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | The value for money is there considering the quality of the hosting and features | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | One click installers and great support make SiteGround easy to use. It's still aimed more at people who are expected to know a little more than the basics but beginners can use them too. | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | SiteGround's daily backups and CDN are essential features and come standard | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | Higher than average | ★★★★☆ |
| Datacenter locations | You can host one site in multiple data center locations around the world from one hosting account. (US: Virginia, Iowa, Texas, California) (Europe: UK, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France) (APAC: Australia, Singapore) | ★★★★★ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| Support | SiteGround's support team go through rigorous training and have received awards for the quality of help. Over 70% of tickets get resolved at first contact. |
| Global commerce | From one control panel you can host one site in multiple data centers around the world under one account. Other hosting providers do not support this feature. |
| Reliability | Backups are stored in a different location as standard across all plans. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could do better at |
|---|---|
| No temporary URL | Not having a temporary URL can cause some unexpected headaches during the testing phase. SiteGround are currently working on this feature but there is currently no ETA. |
The best web hosting plan for small businesses
As a small business owner you want to establish a strong online presence for your business, ensure that your site loads quickly, and is secure because you need to maximize sale opportunities at all costs but how do you do this when you have limited technical knowledge regarding web hosting? SiteGround is the answer.
SiteGround's GrowBig plan is user friendly and has all the tools you need for your businesses such as a reliable email service with free spam protection and webmail. You can also install a shopping cart of your choice and benefit from the speed of Google Cloud's infrastructure which also brings with it green credentials.
Why it's good for small businesses
SiteGround has won multiple awards for their customer service and you can receive this support 24/7 along with an instant AI assistant. SiteGround's client area has all the tools you need in one place including a file manager, site scanner, SuperCacher for speed, and staging environment.
Storage might look a little low compared to other hosts like Hostinger but it's not really comparable because Hostinger and many others require you to reserve some storage for backups not giving you full use of your resources. SiteGround doen't do this and gives you the full storage to use at your own leisure. You'll find this limitation with other hosts too, so be sure to always check the small print.
This will cost you $4.99 a month for the first year and $29.99 a month thereafter. While you get a bigger discount with the 12 month plan, over 24 months you can save more as the whole two years calculates to $299.76 ($12.49) rather than paying for the first year at $4.99 a month and then the second year at the full price.
Key features (GrowBig)
| Feature | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of sites | Unlimited |
| Storage | 20 GB |
| Monthly visits | 100,000 |
| Traffic | Unmetered |
| Domain | Free (one year, value $19.99) |
| Unlimited accounts | |
| CDN | Free |
| Security | WAF |
| Multiple users | Add collaborators |
| Backups | On demand |
| Money-back guarantee | 30-days |
For a full list of features see SiteGround's GrowBig plan
Test results
These test results are from SiteGround's StartUp plan which is one level below the GrowBig plan. We did this because we wanted a fair comparison across a range of plans that are equally resourced with a similar cost. We are currently doing further testing with the GrowBig plan but results take time to come in and when they do, these will be updated.
The results showed us that SiteGround is more than capable of providing fast speeds for websites and maintaining uptime which is critical for online stores. This is especially good because SiteGround offers unlimited websites which if not managed properly can cause disruption. This shows that SiteGround is really responsible with how they allocate resources for customers.
For a more in depth review and metric scores for SiteGround see our full SiteGround review
The best web hosting for blogs and portfolios
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Some of the lowest prices we see for good quality hosting | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | We didn't find anything difficult to use in our testing | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | We cannot give them 5 stars here but this shouldn't be a mark against them | ★★★☆☆ |
| Speed test | Again we cannot score them highly on speed but in this category it's not a defining statistic | ★★★☆☆ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| Price | The monthly price after renewal for the shared plan is very good compared to other hosts. The performance is not as good but better than you expect for the value. There is also a 97-day money back guarantee |
| WordPress | DreamHost have an intuitive WordPress set up process, provide automatic WordPress updates and 24/7 WordPress support. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could do better at |
|---|---|
| Value for money on better resourced plans | In my opinion, when you start to look at DreamHost for anything other than the starter plan there is not as much value there. You really don't need much for a small blog or portfolio but when you start to require larger database sizes and speeds there are other hosts like SiteGround that could be better for you. |
The best plan for blogs and portfolios
Say you're a brilliant designer, photographer, or writer and you want a website to feature your work without taking time away from your creativity and without needing to fork out a decent chunk of money. DreamHost has got you. DreamHost's Shared Hosting plan provides all the essential tools to get a blog or portfolio online and nothing else keeping hosting a site simple and cost effective.
Why it's best
If you have limited technical skills and budget, DreamHost offer an affordable hosting solution that also has a streamlined set up and with tonnes of practical advice you'll be able to create and manage your site with ease. WordPress comes pre-installed so you don't have to figure any of that out and DreamHost's Liftoff website builder is powered by AI. You also get an AI business advisor if you want help and advice on how to make more money from your work.
DreamHost has everything you need that the other hosts provide but they come in at almost half the price at $5.99 a month after renewal! That's because they don't include some features that you probably don't need like email and a CDN for super fast speeds. The first year is even cheaper at $2.59 a month.
| Feature | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of sites | 1 |
| Domain | Free (one year) |
| Site visits | Unlimited |
| WordPress | Pre-installed |
| Website Builder | Powered by AI |
| Storage | 50 GB SSD |
| Support | 24/7 |
| Money-back Guarantee | 97 days |
For a full list of features see DreamHost's Shared Starter plan
Test results
Our test shows that DreamHost takes every so slightly longer to load a page and slightly longer to respond compared to the other hosts but they're half the price and those metrics are not that important for a blog or portfolio. Uptime is great and requests per second are impressive too considering the cost of the plans. There really isn't anything to complain about here.
For a full review of DreamHost and the speed test scores see our DreamHost review
The best for agencies
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | The standard plans are well resourced you get a lot extra thrown in with SPanel | ★★★★☆ |
| Ease of use | There's a 20-30 minute learning curve for SPanel but once you climb it you'll benefit from the features | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | End user chat support in a hosting panel and the ability to request features is a bonus | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | TBC | TBC |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| Reliability | Cloud architecture gives ScalaHosting a super robust hosting package. |
| Speed | For technical SEO and fast page loading in complex builds ScalaHosting have the edge with its experience and architecture. |
| Trust | ScalaHosting is so confident in its products that it offers any anytime moneyback guarantee. So, if my hosting bill was a significant cost, I know where I would spend. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could to better at |
|---|---|
| Documentation | I've occasionally found some out of date content in the documentation and there is a focus on using ScalaHosting products rather than integration. |
The best plans for agencies and agency workers
When you need high-performance websites for better SEO results and pages that load quickly for every customer and client reliably, cloud infrastructure is a solid choice. You also have an agency to run so you don't want to be dealing with server management like regular maintenance, monitoring, hardware setups, and dealing with technical issues. So, leave it to ScalaHosting's managed VPS plans and their seasoned support team.
Why it's best
Custom built servers on enterprise-level hardware with self-healing capabilities, and on demand scaling ensure that you get high-performance all day every day. If you're migrating to ScalaHosting you don't need to worry about that either as they will migrate any number of sites for free.
SPanel is a defining feature of ScalaHosting that is specifically designed for VPS and if you want a feature you can request it through the Cloud Democracy project. If other web masters vote on your request you can see it implemented to help you and others in providing an easier management solution. SPanel also provides end-user live chat support freeing up your time even further to be able to focus on your business. With the Build #2 plan coming in at $44.95 a month for the first year and then $91.95 a month after you're buying more than just hosting for good value
| Feature | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| CPU | 4 cores |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 100 GB NVMe |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered |
| CDN | Cloudflare |
| Support | Apache, NGINX, OpenLiteSpeed, LiteSpeed enterprise, and more |
| Data center locations | US, Europe |
| Apache Logs access | Yes |
| Security | SShield |
| Flexibility | Fully configurable |
For a full list of features and other specifications see ScalaHosting's Managed VPS plans
Test results
In previous tests ScalaHosting performed well but the results do not compare apples to apples as we tested ScalaHosting's most basic Mini plan and those results are not suitable in this context. We have used this plan and are confident that it delivers we just want to wait until the results come in over a longer period of time before we list them officially.
See our full ScalaHosting review for a more in depth analysis and full metric scores.
The best web hosting for WordPress
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | After the first year there are no free backups. It'll be an additional $3.99 a month | ★★★☆☆ |
| Ease of use | Onboarding and setting up a site is easy. I'm not giving 5 stars here because the documentation could be a little more accessible for beginners | ★★★★☆ |
| Features | Bluehost get 5 stars here because of the AI builder tools and wide support for WordPress plugins | ★★★★★ |
| Speed test | OK for the price | ★★★★☆ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| WordPress | Bluehost have gone all-in focusing their business around WordPress and it shows in the amount of features and WordPress academy. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could do better at |
|---|---|
| No free backups | Backups are such an integral part of hosting. To not offer at least free weekly backups is basically forcing you to pay extra each month taking the price considerably higher than other hosts. It also seems unnecessary to not offer them as standard. |
The best WordPress hosting
Pretty much any host on this page is excellent for WordPress hosting but each one has a slightly different take. If you'd like to know more about that you can read what they said when I asked them what makes hosting good for WordPress. Plus, no matter which host you go with, the likelihood is that you'll be using WordPress anyway. So, why are Bluehost recommended as best for WordPress, and why should you choose them over another host?
Why it's good for WordPress
I've singled Bluehost out for WordPress because of the WordPress academy and the years in the WordPress game. Also, they're favoured by WordPress because they give WordPress money to use the rights to the name and support the community. So, it's possible you'll have an easier ride than say, GoDaddy or WP Engine have had when Matthew Mullenweg gets upset.
If you care about your website more than caring about learning the ropes with WordPress then I would try another host (they're all good when it comes to helping you build a site). If you care about really getting into WordPress then go with Bluehost.
Key features (Choice Plus)
| Feature | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of sites | 50 |
| Storage | 50GB NVMe |
| Monthly visits | 200,000 |
| Domain | Free (one year) |
| Free trial | |
| Backups | Free trial |
| CDN | Free |
| Money back guarentee | 30-days |
For a full list of features see SiteGround's GrowBig plan
Test results
Our tests showed that Bluehost had a 100% uptime over the duration of the testing period. The LCP was also impressive showing that the plan was powerful enough to quickly load sites with high quality content. Bluehost also scored just above average managing to handle 15 requests per second so if you're lucky enough to get that popular you'll be OK with Bluehost.
For a more in depth review and metric scores for Bluehost see our full Bluehost review
The best web hosting for developers
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | The value is good if you don't require everything for every project | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | Not exactly built for beginners but the features are not hard to use | ★★★☆☆ |
| Features | There are features for everything at a good price but none stand out as industry leading | ★★★★☆ |
| Speed test | Our site speed was average in our speed test | ★★★☆☆ |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it's good at |
|---|---|
| Knowing what developers need | Namecheap started with just domains and over the years they've created more and more services and features for developers to the point where they're now well known for not just domains but all web hosting services. |
| Price | It feels a bit lazy to put price as a pro for multiple hosts but it's a genuine reason why they're good at what they're specifically offering and Namecheap are very good value if you want to pick and mix services and features. |
| Header Cell - Column 0 | What it could do better at |
|---|---|
| Packaging multiple products and services together | This pick and mix approach is good but it can mean an extra layer of management. If you want a more traditional packaged style of hosting with well proven Namecheap products try Spaceship |
The best web hosting plans for developers
Namecheap started off as solely a domain registrar and over the years they've been adding more and more products and services for developers. On the hosting side, there's shared, reseller, VPS, and dedicated servers all at a price that justify the moniker Namecheap.
And then, if there is a service that's related to hosting Namecheap will do it. For example, SSL, CDNs, 2FA, domain privacy, marketing tools for sites, business email, WordPress and VPS management, and of course, domains.
Why the plans and services are best for developers
This wide range of products and pick-and-mix like options allows you to manage client websites with multiple suppliers providing different levels of functionality for complex to simple builds.
The hosting is cheap. Take the Quasar VPS plan for example, 4 vCPU cores and 6 GB RAM is $15.88 a month after renewal. Keep in mind that the plan is unmanaged and doesn't come with a web panel so there will be additional expenses if you require those things which is why if you've got a bunch of different projects with differing requirements that you want to manage under one roof, Namecheap is the best option.
| Feature | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| CPU | 4 vCPUs |
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Storage | 120 GB SSD RAID 10 |
| Bandwidth | 3000 GB |
| Management | Basic + $10/ month, Complete + $25 / month |
| Web panel | cPanel solo + $130/year |
| OS | AlmaLinux, Ubuntu, Debian |
| Domains | .com $6.49 1st year ($14.98 after) |
| Business email | 5 mail boxes, $5.99/ month |
For a full list of features and plans see Namecheap
Test results
Our tests show that Namecheap is slower than average and the hosting plans can handle fewer requests per second but it's unfair to really compare them to hosts that cost considerably more. These are the results for our shared hosting tests and we're currently doing more with the VPS plans.
See our Namecheap review for more details and the results.
Honourable mentions
These hosts were not picked in my top 5 but that doesn't mean they're not some of the best hosting providers out there. My top five are based on some of the most popular use cases so these are some of the best hosts for some other areas that are more general or on the flip side of that very specific like Minecraft hosting or the best shared plan.