Best Cheap Web Hosting Services To Save Money in 2025

Based on our testing, IONOS is the best cheap web hosting service for most users. It starts at just $1.00/mo and achieved 100% uptime in our tests.

We also recommend ScalaHosting for users who want good customer support, an easy-to-use control panel, and a simple website setup process. If good security is a focus, then UltaHost is a great pick for small businesses.

You don’t have to break the bank to find a good web hosting service in 2025. Our top picks get you daily backups, SSL certificates, and high uptime guarantees for less than the cost of a Netflix subscription. Keep reading to learn more about each of the budget hosting providers we’ve selected.

The best cheap web hosting services

Compare the best budget web hosting services

Best for	Best for budget-conscious beginners	Best for great support	Best for strong security protocols
Star rating	4.7 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.8 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Starting price	$1.00/mo	$11.95/mo	$3.50/mo
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 30 days
Uptime guarantee	99.99%	99.99%	100%
Monthly visits	Unlimited	Unlimited	10,000 - 100,000
Number of websites	1 - unlimited	1 - unlimited	1 - unlimited
Storage	10 GB - unlimited	10 GB - 2 TB	30 GB - 110 GB
Free SSL certificate	On all plans	On all plans	On all plans
Free domain for a year	On all plans	Starting with tier 2 plan	On all annual plans
Learn more	Get IONOS Read IONOS Web Hosting Review	Get ScalaHosting Read ScalaHosting Review	Get UltaHost Read UltaHost Review

IONOS: Best for budget-conscious beginners

What we liked

Very affordable introductory pricing: To start with, we were very impressed by IONOS’ pricing. You can get a hosting plan for as little as $1.00/mo, with the introductory pricing offer. You also get a free domain and daily backups, which you’d have to pay extra for with many other web hosting companies.

Solid performance: IONOS achieved a great 99.6/100 average performance score in our speed tests. It also recorded 100% uptime with an average server response time of just 311 ms.

Beginner-friendly navigation: IONOS has a clean UI, with clear explanations for first-time users and installation support for a variety of content management systems. It even has an AI website builder to help you get a WordPress site up and running as quickly as possible.

What we didn’t like

Constant upselling: Though the IONOS UI is clean and navigable, it is cluttered with too many upselling prompts and promotions, which can be distracting and annoying.

Slow internal page loading: While it didn’t affect our front-end experience, IONOS is sometimes slow when loading its dashboard pages. This can be a hindrance for new users who are trying to get a site launched quickly.

Test results

IONOS delivered solid results across all our performance tests. It received an average performance score of 99.6/100, with a First Contentful Paint (FCP) of 0.46 seconds and a Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) of 0.53 seconds.

In addition, we sent 250 user requests within a single minute to test how quickly the server responded; there were no failures, with an average request rate of 397 ms.

During our testing period, Uptime Robot recorded a perfect 100% uptime. Overall, we found IONOS to be extremely dependable, despite its rock-bottom pricing.

Star rating summary

IONOS is one of the oldest web hosting services that’s still around. It’s got a very solid reputation, offers great value across every type of hosting, and has a clean interface that makes things easier for beginners. If there’s one thing the company could improve, it would be the excessive upselling offers in the UI.

ScalaHosting: Best for great support

What we liked

Proprietary control panel: ScalaHosting offers a choice between its proprietary SPanel and standard cPanel management with all its plans. SPanel is clean, modern, and much less cluttered than cPanel, making it a good choice for web hosting novices. You can also fully customize your experience with the platform’s configuration options.

Exceptionally responsive support system: ScalaHosting’s response time for chat support averages at less than 1 minute, making it one of the most easily accessible customer service channels we’ve tested. We found the agents to be informed, helpful, and able to quickly solve even the most technical issues.

AI website builder: ScalaHosting’s new AI WordPress website builder lets you build a functional site in a matter of minutes. We also tested it with a traditional WordPress installation along with Elementor, which works just as smoothly.

What we didn’t like

Unfamiliar management UI: SPanel may be modern, but it’s still a new interface to get used to. Because of this, it could take a little while for some users to find features like staging environments and malware scanning.

Lacks DDoS protection and 2FA on shared plans: ScalaHosting offers impressive malware protection and firewall blocking, but features like DDoS protection and 2-factor authentication are missing from its shared hosting plans.

Test results

ScalaHosting performed extremely well in our speed tests, achieving a 99.33/100 score for a standard WordPress site built using Elementor and a score of 98.33/100 for a site created using the AI builder.

In terms of uptime, we received an average response time of 665 ms with a perfect 100% uptime during our monitoring. Even with a peak request rate of 250 users in one minute, there were no failures recorded by Loader.io.

Star rating summary

We rate ScalaHosting as the best budget hosting service if you’re planning to eventually upgrade to VPS servers. The price scaling is reasonable, and the performance with shared plans is excellent for the price. That said, we would like to see a couple more security features.

UltaHost: Best for strong security protocols

What we liked

Lots of security features: UltaHost comes packed with security features. cBitNinja malware protection, DDoS protection, and web application firewall (WAF) functionality all come as standard with your hosting plan, protecting you from intruders and malicious traffic. Setup is easy because everything is preconfigured to work for most users.

Clean dashboard: UltaHost’s hosting management UI is well structured, with clearly labeled sections for domains, websites, billing, and support. Every page also includes a Talk to Us button that provides quick access to live chat.

Unlimited website migrations: If you’re switching to UltaHost from another web hosting provider, the company takes care of the entire website transfer for you for free. An expert team will deal with all the technical aspects, and you can sit back and hit publish once the process is complete.

What we didn’t like

Monthly visitor limits: Unlike IONOS, UltaHost has monthly caps on traffic with shared and WordPress hosting plans. These limits can become restrictive, forcing you to upgrade your plan or move to another hosting type.

Not a major player: UltaHost is a newer hosting service, having been launched in 2018, so it doesn’t have the same reputation as providers like IONOS or Bluehost. That said, it’s been growing steadily thanks to its competitive features.

Test results

UltaHost maintained a 100% uptime record throughout our testing period. During stress testing, it was able to handle 250 user requests with no timeouts or network failures.

It also achieved a perfect 100/100 score in speed tests, with its FCP and LCP scores both coming in at 0.3 ms.

Star rating summary

If you’re focused on budget hosting with strong security, UltaHost’s plans are tough to beat. It might not have the same reputation as more established players in the industry, and it does have some traffic limitations, but for most small businesses, the pros will outweigh the cons.

Hidden costs of cheap hosting plans

Budget hosting typically starts at $1/mo to $3/mo with introductory pricing offers, but it will generally jump to $6/mo to $20/mo on renewal.

Web hosting promotions attract new users who are hesitant to invest in web hosting, so factor in renewal costs to avoid unpleasant surprises. It’s also worth looking for plans with at least a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can change your mind if things aren’t working out.

There are a few other hidden web hosting costs that can add to your subscription expenses, however. Here are some examples:

• Domain registration and renewal can cost $15/yr to $25/yr if it’s not included free with your hosting plan. Most web hosts offer a free domain only for the first year, so you’ll pay the full price on renewal.
• Email hosting may require a separate subscription. This cost will likely depend on the number of email accounts you need. If you want to use an email provider like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, that can add even more to your subscription costs.
• SSL certificates, which enable users to access your site via a secure, encrypted connection, are often provided for free, but if they’re not, you’ll need to pay for them.
• Website migration services are something you’ll either need to pay for or handle yourself if they’re not included. Many providers do offer support, but they may have limits on the number of sites you can migrate for free, unless you use an automated tool.
• Some web hosts also charge extra for things like dedicated IP addresses, CDN services, DDoS protection, and WAF features.

Bottom line: The best affordable web hosting service

IONOS is the best budget web hosting service for most users, with shared hosting plans starting at just $1.00/mo. It offers great performance and a beginner-friendly interface, which is extremely helpful for those new to website management and the web hosting industry.

That said, ScalaHosting has great support and is a good option if you want to upgrade to VPS servers anytime soon. UltaHost also deserves consideration if you particularly value security, with features like malware protection, firewalls, and DDoS protection included.

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