The best web hosting services in 2023

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When building a website, the best web hosting is integral. You need hosting for your site to have an online base and source of content, much as you need one of the best website builders: your site can't exist without it.

Knowing what to look for when choosing a web hosting service can be challenging, so make it easier by knowing what type of hosting you require before you search. We've outlined these in our frequently asked questions section.

Our top tips for finding the best web hosting provider include bearing your budget in mind and knowing your intentions for your site. We recommend planning for scalability, in case your site grows in the future; and, whether you're a beginner or an expert, take note of customer support and service levels you'll require. 

To test a host, we build a test site, trial response times and uptimes over a two-week period, analyze user interfaces, features, and tools, investigate how easy it is to set up or import an SSL certificate, and see how responsive customer service and support are, while also evaluating pricing plans in depth.

Read on and see which leading hosts we recommend.

The quick list

Here are our favorite web hosting services. Check out the full reviews for further details. 

The best web hosting services of 2023 

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

Best overall

Hostinger logo

(Image credit: Hostinger)
The best web hosting provider overall

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $1.99 a month
Storage: 50GB
Bandwidth: 100GB
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Auto installer for your favorite web apps
+
Huge knowledge base 
+
Solid performance

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited base plans offer low storage and bandwidth
-
Slow customer support

Hostinger has over 30m customers, and it's easy to see why: its extensive online support base and 24/7 help service complement competitive pricing. Basic shared hosting costs $1.99 a month for the first year, with 50GB of storage. While that isn’t a lot, it’s great for single-page sites and small businesses..

For those wanting more, there's VPS and cloud hosting, ranging from $3.99 to $69.99 a month. Business plans come with more resources and day-to-day backups. It’s worth noting, however, that prices increase greatly after the first year, sometimes by up to 100%.  

Whichever plan you choose, check our Hostinger coupon codes to see if we can save you on those plan costs.

Hostinger's one-click installation settings in its user interface

Hostinger allows for quick and simple one-click installs when it comes to third-party apps and software (Image credit: Hostinger)

Hostinger comes with a one-click auto installer for all your favorite web apps, including WordPress. We found this makes it supremely easy for those starting to build their first website, and it also includes the Zyro website builder, which competes with leading builders across the market. 

We found that the simple, uncluttered interface is user-friendly for all levels of competence, though it's worth noting Hostinger favors those who can undertake their own administrative functions, or have the time to take advantage of its comprehensive range of online support materials.

Read our full Hostinger review.

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Hostinger's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 SinglePremiumBusiness
Cost per month$1.99$2.99$3.99
SSL certificate
Customer support24/7/36524/7/36524/7/365
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

Best for small businesses

ScalaHosting logo

(Image credit: ScalaHosting)

2. ScalaHosting

The best web hosting provider for small businesses

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.95 a month
Storage: 10GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Wide range of hosting options
+
cPanel website management
+
Fast speeds

Reasons to avoid

-
More economical options exist
-
Has had reliability issues in the past

ScalaHosting, with 15 years of experience, offers a diverse range of hosting solutions from shared to custom-managed clusters, catering to various business needs. Its Dallas-based operations provide a stable platform for those new to web hosting.

The shared hosting plans are budget-friendly, starting at $2.95 per month with a three-year commitment. They offer essential features like free domain, SSL, and site migration. The use of NVMe storage is a distinctive advantage that improves site load times.

Screenshot of the ScalaHosting administration panel

Scalahosting's control panel offers simple management of all hosting elements (Image credit: Scalahosting)

ScalaHosting's WordPress hosting mirrors its shared plans in terms of pricing and features, with added WordPress-centric perks. The support team is adept at resolving WordPress-specific issues, so it's a viable option for WordPress newcomers.

The VPS hosting plans are fully configurable and provide more resources compared to shared hosting. The option to host your VPS with Amazon AWS extends flexibility, making ScalaHosting suitable for more resource-intensive projects.

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ScalaHosting's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 MiniStartAdvanced
Cost per month/year*$2.95$5.95$9.95
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee
Free domain

*We’ve listed the introductory prices here. Check the ScalaHosting website for the prices you'll pay after the first term.

Best unlimited hosting

Bluehost logo

(Image credit: Bluehost)
Best unlimited web hosting service

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.75 a month
Storage: 50GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Feature-rich plans and unlimited bandwidth
+
24-hour support through phone and chat
+
Great performance

Reasons to avoid

-
Plans lack customizability
-
Basic website builder

Bluehost maintains a stellar reputation in a crowded field and is our pick for the best VPS hosting and the best unlimited web hosting.

It offers shared, dedicated, managed, and unmanaged WordPress hosting, with shared offering unmetered bandwidth at reasonable prices. Its cheapest plan comes in at $2.75 a month for 36 months and includes 50GB storage, five email accounts, and a free domain.

Bluehost provides 24/7 support through phone and live chat, and while not the most customizable, we found its feature-packed plans to be well-configured and supported. Its strongest selling points are speed and uptime, key for any growing site, and an advanced yet simple dashboard for all levels of competence.

Bluehost's cPanel management interface for hosting

Simple hosting management is available via Bluehost's cPanel management interface (Image credit: Bluehost)

For WordPress hosting, it offers the most support out of the box for WordPress and WooCommerce sites, and is one of only three hosts officially recommended by WordPress. This instills a great deal of confidence, alongside extra features including automatic updates, custom themes, a free domain for the first year, a free SSL certificate, and a free CDN. 

Finally, it has its own website builder for WordPress, the Bluehost WordPress website builder, which allows you to utilize drag-and-drop functionality.

Read our full Bluehost review.

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Bluehost's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 BasicPlusChoice PlusPro
Cost per month$2.75$4.95$4.95$13.95
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

*Monthly payments aren’t available, so prices shown are derived from the price of a one-year subscription term: prices will increase significantly after this initial subscription

Best for high-end configurations

InMotion Hosting logo

(Image credit: InMotion Hosting)
The best web hosting for high-end hardware configurations

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.49 a month
Storage: 100GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Supports multiple websites on the base plan
+
Great tech support
+
Sound hardware configuration

Reasons to avoid

-
Higher-than-average prices
-
Average performance in testing

InMotion Hosting offers a range of solutions but specifically focuses on managed hosting. Shared hosting starts at $2.49 a month, with support for two sites, 10 email addresses, lots of storage, and unlimited bandwidth. InMotion also offers VPS and dedicated servers for $14.99 and $69.99 a month respectively, while managed WordPress hosting starts at $15 a month

Higher prices are backed by additional features and great support, with a site builder from BoldGrid also available for those looking to build and host a site all-in-one. We found that hardware and software offerings are better than those of many rivals, and this is reflected in higher pricing at upper levels.

InMotion Hosting's AMP management interface demonstrated

InMotion Hosting's AMP user interface may be dated, but it's a top option alongside cPanel for hosting management (Image credit: InMotion)

InMotion states that customer support agents can only handle chat, phone, or support email tickets after completing a rigorous internal training program. This means that friendly, responsive staff are highly knowledgeable should you run into any issues. If you don’t mind paying extra for hosting, we found that this top-level customer service is absolutely worth it. 

Read our full InMotion Hosting review.

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InMotion Hosting's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 CoreLaunchPowerPro
Cost per month$2.49$4.99$4.99$12.99
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee✔ (90 days)✔ (90 days)✔ (90 days)✔ (90 days)
Free domain

Most eco-friendly

GreenGeeks logo

(Image credit: GreenGeeks)
The best eco-friendly web hosting service

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.95 a month
Storage: 50GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: No
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Eco-friendly renewable energy plan
+
Unmetered bandwidth and storage
+
Decent value for money

Reasons to avoid

-
No 24/7 support via phone
-
Poorly configured enterprise plans

Data centers are responsible for enough global carbon emissions to rival airlines: GreenGeeks, as its name suggests, is an eco-friendly web host that invests in renewable energy to keep operations carbon neutral.

With its great shared hosting plans, GreenGeeks doesn’t force you to choose between hosting quality and environmental benefit. It also offers WordPress, VPS, and reseller hosting. 

We found that all plans come with unmetered traffic count and storage space, alongside top features such as free site migration, domain registration, and auto installation. A Weebly website builder is also available.

GreenGeeks' webpage for adding or buying a domain name

You can move over or create new domain names when signing up to hosting with GreenGeeks (Image credit: GreenGeeks)

The trade-off comes in the form of after-sales phone support, which isn’t 24/7. However, round-the-clock live chat is available, as well as email support and an online suite of resources can help with less complex issues.

Read our full GreenGeeks review.

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GreenGeeks' shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 LiteProPremium
Cost per month$2.95$4.95$8.95
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

*GreenGeeks offers monthly, annual, biannual, and triannual billing with its shared hosting: monthly prices decrease with longer subscription terms

Best for small sites

SiteGround logo

(Image credit: SiteGround)
The best shared web hosting service for small sites

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.99 a month
Storage: 10GB
Bandwidth: Unmetered (~10,000 visits monthly)
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Unmetered bandwidth
+
Feature-packed shared hosting
+
Lets you choose server locations

Reasons to avoid

-
No dedicated or VPS hosting
-
Prices are relatively higher

SiteGround specializes in shared and cloud hosting, with its three shared plans among the best on the market. Starting at $2.99 a month, the basic plan quickly rockets after the first year to $14.99 a month. While that may seem a disadvantage, all plans are managed, meaning you can expect quality support. 

It also offers managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting, including many features that competitors usually charge for, like managed WordPress installations, migrator tools, daily backups, and staging areas. We found this solid performance is reflected in great speeds and constant uptime, while it also uses a native control panel.

SiteGround's user interface for creating websites

You can create WordPress, WooCommerce, or Weebly sites via your hosting with SiteGround (Image credit: SiteGround)

SiteGround isn't as good for enterprise-scale clients though, given its lack of VPS and dedicated hosting options. However, security features are high-level, including free SSL certificates, 2FA, and DDoS protection. And if you're looking to build a website, SiteGround packages a Weebly builder with every plan.

Read our full SiteGround review.

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SiteGround's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 StartUpGrowBigGoGeek
Cost per month$2.99$4.99$7.99
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

Best cloud web hosting

Cloudways logo

(Image credit: Cloudways)
The best cloud web hosting provider

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: N/A ($11 for cheapest cloud hosting plan)
Storage: 25GB
Bandwidth: 1TB
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Easy to set up
+
Free trial with no credit card
+
Selection of platforms

Reasons to avoid

-
No domain names
-
Email not included

Cloudways, our pick for the best cloud hosting, combines affordable, reliable, and scalable managed hosting with flexible, pay-as-you-go plans and enterprise-focused tools.

It utilizes cloud infrastructure networks, including DigitalOcean, Linode, VULTR, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. Top features we explored include a strong security focus, including dedicated firewalls and DDoS attack protection, alongside two-factor authentication, automatic patching, and advanced bot detection. 

It also integrates with WooCommerce and WordPress, with its Breeze WordPress caching plugin helping reduce page load times. All plans offer 24/7 real-time monitoring, free SSL certificates and site migrations, 24/7 customer support, automatic backups, and unlimited app installations.

Cloudways' user interface

Cloudways' user interface allows for simple management of your servers and hosting (Image credit: Cloudways)

Pricing is more complex, via hourly and monthly payments. It offers a free trial, and the ability to cancel at any time given there are no long-term subscriptions. Prices start at $11 a month for 1GB RAM, a one-core processor, 25GB storage, and 1TB bandwidth. 

With industry-leading performance, highly-configurable hosting, and scalable value-for-money, Cloudways serves as a great middle-ground between beginner-friendly hosts and technically-complex providers. It's ideal for users looking for more power.

Read our comprehensive Cloudways review.

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Cloudways’ cloud hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 DigitalOceanVULTRAWSGoogle Cloud
Cost per monthFrom $11From $13From $38.56From $37.45
SSL certificate
Customer support24/724/724/724/7
Money-back guarantee
Free domain

*Significant discounts are available with longer-term subscriptions, and you may be required to pay more on renewal

Best for WordPress

DreamHost logo

(Image credit: DreamHost)
The best web hosting provider for WordPress

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $2.95 a month
Storage: 50GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: Yes (except live chat)
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Unlimited bandwidth
+
Technically knowledgeable customer support 
+
Awesome performance

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited one-click installations
-
Base plan lacks free email

DreamHost is a veteran in the hosting market, and its customers enjoy great performance, zero downtime, and good speeds across shared, dedicated, cloud, VPS, and managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting. 

Shared hosting starts at $2.95 a month (rising to $6.99 after the first term), with unmetered bandwidth for one site: a better deal is perhaps Shared Unlimited for $2.95 a month (rising to $12.99 after the first term), offering unmetered bandwidth and storage. For WordPress, it offers a free automatic site migration plugin requiring no technical knowledge. 

Technical support is well-versed on a range of subjects and available via phone, chat, and a ticket system, though live chat is not available 24/7. There's also a very useful online knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions.

BoldGrid's website builder homepage

DreamHost offers BoldGrid's website builder as a separate subscription alongside its hosting (Image credit: DreamHost)

In terms of features, its internal control panel wins plaudits from us for ease of use, while its full domain registration portal allows you to manage every aspect from one central dashboard. DreamHost’s excellent 97-day money-back guarantee, which means you can request a full refund at any time in the first three months, is an absolute standout, however. Very few competitors offer anything close.

Read our full DreamHost review.

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DreamHost's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 Shared StarterShared Unlimited
Cost per month*$2.95$2.95
SSL certificate
Customer supportLive chat and emailLive chat and email
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

* Discounted monthly rates

Best budget option

Namecheap logo

(Image credit: Namecheap)
The best budget web hosting provider

Specifications

Lowest-priced shared hosting: $1.48 a month
Storage: 20GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
24/7 support?: Yes
SSL certificate?: Yes

Reasons to buy

+
Low prices
+
30 free email accounts
+
Auto-installer and website builder

Reasons to avoid

-
Inconsistent performance
-
Weak managed hosting

Namecheap is known primarily for domain registration but also offers paid hosting at hugely-attractive prices. It offers shared, WordPress, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting, and its cheapest shared hosting plan, at just $1.48 a month, provides 20GB storage, 30 email accounts, one free domain, and 24/7 support. 

This also comes with unmetered bandwidth and a free website builder. If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is, a little: the price jumps to $4.48 a month from the second year. 

Namecheap's cPanel dashboard in use

Namecheap utilizes the industry-standard cPanel dashboard with its shared hosting (Image credit: Namecheap)

While free domain name registration is a lucrative plus, you can't opt for a .com or .net domain with a starter plan and are restricted to store, .online, .site, etc. For those looking for a more advanced builder, we found that one is available for simpler sites on monthly and annual plans.

Namecheap’s biggest downside however is its low speeds and poor performance. While uptime is indeed 100%, response times are unusually slow. Thankfully, a 30-day free trial provides ample time to judge performance on a case-by-case basis, while live chat and online support mean issues are easy enough to resolve.

Read our full Namecheap review.

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Namecheap's shared hosting plans
Header Cell - Column 0 StellarStellar PlusStellar Business
Cost per month*$1.48$2.38$4.98
SSL certificate
Customer support24/7 (live chat and email)24/7 (live chat and email)24/7 (live chat and email)
Money-back guarantee✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)✔ (30 days)
Free domain

*This price only applies to the first year of your subscription, and renewal prices will be significantly higher

Best cheap domain registration