How to do a Website Hosting Comparison?
Ultimately, the health of your website relies heavily on the hosting provider you use.
But how do you know what the best web hosting services for your site are, or how to compare hosting providers, especially when there are so many to choose from like SiteGround, HostGator, Bluehost, etc?
The decision on which web hosting company you should choose can be tough, especially when all providers promise a 99% uptime, timely support, and unlimited resources.
There must be a way to narrow down the list of reliable providers… right?
In our guide, you will learn how to make an informed buying decision. We will cover everything you need to know about web hosting comparisons. Understanding this will allow you to obtain the right host that best suits your needs.
Web Hosting Comparison Chart
| Host | Top Features | Price | Go To |
|---|---|---|---|
 Siteground | Free site transfer, backup and SSL 30-day money back guarantee Select server location 24/7 support | From $3.95 / month | SiteGround VS… SiteGround Website |
 Bluehost | Free domain 24/7 support WordPress endorsed host 30-day money back guarantee | From $2.95 / month | Bluehost VS… Bluehost Website |
 HostGator | Unlimited disk space 45-day money back guarantee 24/7 support Unlimited bandwidth | From $2.75 / month | Hostgator VS… HostGator Website |
 Inmotion | Free domain 90-day money back guarantee 24/7 support Free website migration | From $6.95 / month | Inmotion VS… Inmotion Website |
 Dreamhost | Website builder included Free backups and SSL 24/7 support 97-day money back guarantee | From $2.95 / month | Dreamhost VS… Dreamhost Website |
 GreenGeeks | Offset with renewable energy Free domain name Free backups Free CDN | From $3.95 / month | GreenGeeks VS… GreenGeeks Website |
 GoDaddy | Unlimited bandwidth Free domain name 45-day money back guarantee 24/7 support | From $3.99 / month | GoDaddy VS… GoDaddy Website |
 WP Engine | Specialized WordPress hosting 90-day money back guarantee SSL and CDN included Free website migration | From $35 / month | WP Engine VS… WP Engine Website |
 A2 Hosting | Free SSL and CDN 24/7 support eCommerce ready Free website migration | From $3.92 / month | A2 Hosting VS… A2 Hosting Website |
 Kinsta | Website staging Managed WordPress hosting solution Free website migration SSL, CDN, and backups included | From $30 / month | Kinsta VS… Kinsta Website |
 FatCow | Free SSL & shopping carts 30-day Money back guarantee Free domain 24/7 support | From $4.08 / month | FatCow VS… FatCow Website |
 A Small Orange | Free .com domain 90-day money back guarantee Unlimited websites SSD drives | From $8 / month | A Small Orange VS… A Small Orange Website |
 Flywheel | Managed WordPress hosting solution Free website transfer Free SSL No overage charges | From $14 / month | Flywheel VS… Flywheel Website |
 HostMonster | 1-click WordPress install Free domain $100 Google Ads & Bing credits 24/7 support | From $4.95 / month | HostMonster VS… HostMonster Website |
 Hostinger | SSD storage 30-day money back guarantee Git support 24/7/365 support | From $0.80 / month | Hostinger VS… Hostinger Website |
 HostPapa | Free domain Unlimited bandwidth Free CDN & SSL 30-day money back guarantee | From $3.95 / month | HostPapa VS… HostPapa Website |
 Hostwinds | Free domain Free dedicated IP Free website transfers Unlimited disk space & bandwidth | From $3.29 / month | Hostwinds VS… Hostwinds Website |
 Interserver | Unlimited SSD storage Free website migration Global caching 24/7 support | From $5 / month | Interserver VS… Interserver Website |
 iPage | Free domain 30-day money back gurantee Free domain transfer 24/7 support | From $1.99 / month | iPage VS… iPage Website |
 Liquid Web | Cloudflare CDN Dedicated IP address DDos Attack Protection Unlimited Sites | From $59 / month | Liquid Web VS… Liquid Web Website |
 Lunarpages | 5 GB storage 50 GB bandwidth 5 email accounts Softaculous Web Scripts | From $3.95 / month | Lunarpages VS… Lunarpages Website |
 Namecheap | 20 GB SSD-Accelerated Disk Space Unmetered bandwidth Choose US or UK Datacenter Free domain | From $2.88 / month | Namecheap VS… Namecheap Website |
 TMDHosting | Unlimited SSD storage Free Domain 60-day money back gurantee Free SSL | From $2.95 / month | TMDHosting VS… TMDHosting Website |
 Eleven2 | Free site transfer 24/7/365 support 60-day money back gurantee Script and App Installer | From $4.17 / month | Eleven2 VS… Eleven2 Website |
 EZ Web Hosting | 24/7 Unlimited Support Unlimited Space Unlimited Email Accounts Unlimited Bandwidth | From $5.95 / month | EZ Web Hosting VS… EZ Web Hosting Website |
 000webhost | Free SSL Security Free Domain Parking FTP and File Manager 1-Click Auto Installer | From $0 / month | 000webhost VS… 000webhost Website |
 1&1 IONOS | Free domain for first year 25 databases (1 GB SSD storage) 100+ GB storage SiteLock malware protection | From $4 / month | 1&1 IONOS VS… 1&1 IONOS Website |
 AvaHost | Unlimited SSD Disk Space Free domain Automatic backup 30-day money back guarantee | From $3.17 / month | AvaHost VS… AvaHost Website |
 Awardspace | Free SSL Unlimited disk space 15,000+ visits monthly 24 х 7 Support | From $0.91 / month | Awardspace VS… Awardspace Website |
 Domain.com | Unmetered bandwidth SiteLock Basic Free SSL by Let’s Encrypt 100+ GB storage | From $3.75 / month | Domain.com VS… Domain.com Website |
 HostMetro | Free site transfer Free Domain Registration Unlimited websites Maximum bandwidth | From $2.95 / month | HostMetro VS… HostMetro Website |
 Beyond Hosting | Fully Managed Dedicated Servers 45-day money back guarantee 24/7 monitoring Daily backups | From $49.99 / month | Beyond Hosting VS… Beyond Hosting Website |
 JustHost | 1-Click WordPress Install Free domain Free SiteLock $100 Google Ads & Bing credits | From $3.95 / month | JustHost VS… JustHost Website |
 MDDHosting | 10+ GB SSD 30-day money back guarantee StorPool Powered cloud Daily off-site backups | From $4 / month | MDDHosting VS… MDDHosting Website |
 MediaTemple | 1-click staging environment 24/7/365 live suport Managed WordPress hosting Automatic WordPress core & security updates | From $20 / month | MediaTemple VS… MediaTemple Website |
 StartLogic | 24×7 Network Monitoring $100 Google Ads & Bing credits Unlimited Storage & Bandwidth Free Online Store | From $2.75 / month | StartLogic VS… StartLogic Website |
 netfirms | Unlimited disk space 24/7 support Unlimited websites $100 Google Ads & Bing credits | From $8.99 / month | netfirms VS… netfirms Website |
 Site5 | Free site migration 45-day money back guarantee Unlimited disk space & bandwidth 99.9% Uptime guarantee | From $6.95 / month | Site5 VS… Site5 Website |
 Web Hosting Hub | Free Private SSL $150 Ad Credits with Bing, Yahoo, and Amazon Unlimited disk space & bandwidth Free Transfers Available See more at | From $4.99 / month | Web Hosting Hub VS… Web Hosting Hub Website |
 VPS.net | Choice of Operating System (OS) Global Data Centers 24/7 support Free SSL See more at | From $5 / month | VPS.net VS… VPS.net Website |
 Westhost | Free Dedicated IP Free Domain Free SSL certificate 24/7 support See more at | From $1.99 / month | Westhost VS… Westhost Website |
 Midphase | Unlimited Web Space & Bandwidth Free domain 30-day money back guarantee 24/7 support See more at | From $3.95 / month | Midphase VS… Midphase Website |
Questions to ask yourself while comparing web hosting services
Take all of this into consideration and envision what you want your website to look like a few years from now. While content is extremely important you need reliable tools to help you deliver that content.
- What are your short-term and long-term website goals?
- What type of website am I building (e-Commerce, blog, etc.)?
- Am I expecting small, medium, or large amounts of traffic?
- Are there specific plugins or apps that I need?
When doing a web hosting services comparison, remember:
The number one thing you need to keep in mind when comparing providers is your hosting needs and what you expect to get from a hosting company. Having a solid idea of your needs from the beginning of the search process is essential to having long-term success.
What should I look for in a web host, anyway?
There is so much to look at when narrowing down your selection to one provider.
In the comparing process, there are some elements you always want to keep in mind. Three things you will always want to compare when it comes down to hosting providers include:
- Speed or “load time”
- Uptime
- Customer support
Our tip: read reviews that back up claims that uptime should be at least 99.94%. We also suggest finding a host who’s customer support team is there for you 24/7.
Here are additional elements that you want to compare and consider when searching for the best provider for your website:
Price
Most likely this will be the first aspect you consider when choosing a hosting provider. While you need to keep the price in mind, it shouldn’t be your deciding factor. As the old adage goes “you get what you pay for” is no exception in the web hosting arena. The cheapest offer isn’t necessarily the one you want to go for since oftentimes they won’t offer some of the features you’ll need or want.
If you rely on your site to make money, having non-outsourced support and quality hardware is important to running a successful business. Things like these cost money and the cheaper options may not offer them to you. Before comparing prices, take a close look at the features that every provider has. Then, compare comparable plans apples to apples.
One other important point to take note of is the low “starting price” that many companies offer. They require you to prepay for a few years in order to get a special promo or entry price. After the promotional period ends, the renewal price can be 2, 3, or even 4 times the initial pricing.
Tech Support
This is a huge factor to consider and compare within all hosting providers. If for any reason your site goes down, you want to get a real, live person on the phone with you. Beyond that, they should be knowledgeable and able to fix the problem or tell you when your site will be back online and running.
Other things you need to consider include:
- Are they available via email, phone, live chat?
- Are they available 24/7?
- Do they outsource support?
Features and Add-Ons
There should be something that makes the hosting provider special. What’s that extra incentive? Why should you look into that company? How will they make your site more appealing to your target audience? Features could include:
- Free domain registration
- Free domain privacy
- Energy saving practices
- Multiple data centers
If you see something that you find important, this is a good indication that you should consider that company.
Niche Hosting Services
Every website hosting provider offers specialties that suit different types of customers. Some target bloggers while others are designed for growing businesses. Before you purchase, investigate the company’s area of expertise. You want to have a good understanding of their strengths or weaknesses, and how their services align with your goals.
Many services offer unlimited hosting which sounds great! This means unlimited amounts of disk storage and bandwidth for the domains that you host. Know that providers do limit your use to what is considered to be reasonable.
If you have a basic website then this will not be a problem, however, if you are running an eCommerce store or driving excessive traffic, there may be a limit imposed to the service and you can be asked to spend more or go elsewhere.
How to Determine Which Host is Best for You
Determining the web hosting plan best for you begins with knowing the type of host that you need. We will briefly explain the main types of web hosting to give you an idea of the right one for you.
There is more than one option when it comes down to web hosting, the most common options being:
- Shared Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
Web hosting reviews are a great way to determine which option is best for you and you can find these right here on our site.
Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting is the best option for beginners because you’ll be hosting your site on the same server as other websites. This is also the best option for those with limited funds or individuals wanting to learn the basics when it comes down to website hosting.
A few pros about this option include:
- Affordable
- Easy to use
Downfalls includes having to share CPU speed, RAM, and hard drive space with others. This means you could encounter slow loading times.
We recommend Bluehost as an excellent shared hosting provider.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for a Virtual Private Server and is a good option if you have a little more money to spend. You’ll notice better performance than shared hosting options. Moreover, this option is perfect for those who get a good amount of traffic to their site.
A few pros about this option include:
- Limits server to 10-20 sites
- More reliable than shared hosting
The biggest downfall is the cost – it costs more than lower-tier solutions.
More Info
- Website Hosting Cost – Learn about all the costs associated with hosting your website online.
- VPS vs shared hosting – Think its time to upgrade from shared hosting? Get the lowdown on key differences with VPS.
Dedicated Hosting
A dedicated web host comes with several benefits and few downfalls. You get your very own server, meaning you don’t have to share with anyone! They do require technical knowledge about setup and server technology and are not the best options for beginners.
A few pros about this option include:
- Since you’re the only one on this server, you don’t have to worry about “bad neighbor” issues
- Ideal for sites with large amounts of traffic
This type of server is not cheap, but it is worth the money if you have a growing site. You can expect to pay anywhere from $50-$350+ a month.
We hope this guide has given you a deeper understanding of web hosting companies and the things you need to look for when comparing them. Now that you know which elements to consider we invite you to compare the best web hosting services currently on the market!
