WordPress hosting comparison
Comparison of WordPress hosting features and prices
Opinion
10 min.Read

Real WordPress hosting prices, a comparison and their misleading pricing

marshalleq
By marshalleq

Real WordPress hosting prices, a comparison and their misleading pricing

Overview

In this article, we take our first look at hosting companies. If you’ve ever tried to find a good WordPress hosting company, you’ll know that it can be very confusing.   Not only do you have the quality of brand to consider, you also have a lot of technical jargon, the pricing varies from company to company, and you often find the cost comes out much more than advertised.  This makes comparing hosting companies very difficult.In part one in the series we’ve gone to every shared hosting company we could find and signed up for a shared WordPress hosting plan to see what we got, compared to what was advertised. You’ll see that in some cases this can be extremely different, especially when it comes to actual price vs advertised price.

False / Misleading Advertising

One of the worst attributes of many of these hosting companies is false advertising.  The claim that you can have something for a price, which you find does not exist.  The most common offense here, is claiming a low monthly price which can only be paid for annually, bi-annually, or tri-annually in some cases (that is to say, to get the ‘monthly’ pricing advertised you may find you need to sign up for three years and pay the whole three years in a single payment up front.  So if it was $3.99 per month you may have to pay $3.99×36=$143.64 up front.

Apples with Apples

Another problem is that the plans do not always match.  Of course, it would be normal to expect some variation, however when things like backups and malware protection on varied, (included in some and an extra cost in others) we feel this is not acceptable.  As such all pricing within the below table has been adjusted to include as close to an apple with apples comparison as we can.

How we normalised the pricing and plans

In this comparison, automated backups, online security, anti-hacking and standard WordPress optimised features are considered mandatory, if these are optional extras on the plan, they have been added and the cost accounted for.  If they come with the plan, then the price will reflect this as it will be lower. If the option was not available at all, the hosting company was removed from the comparison altogether.With regard to some companies requiring a 36month sign up to get cheaper pricing, all plans are normalised to 12 months and in US dollars.  So if it is more expensive to sign up for 12 months, this will again be reflected in the 12 month price.  We believe signing up for more than 12 months in the technology industry is a mistake anyway.

How to read the comparison table

There are a number of sites that are using a template or franchise style of setup.  You can see this when you go to the signup page and see that the site is identical to another in it’s layout, right down to the pictures of the people on the servicedesk.  We’ve noted this in the notes column by the ‘Franchise’ label.
  • Advertised monthly price – The price advertised by the hosting company
  • Actual monthly price – The actual normalised price per month if you took a monthly payment option.  (Where NA is given, no monthly option is available)
  • Actual Monthly Price (Second Month+) – The actual monthly price you pay after the first month.  (The first month often applies extra discounts and sometimes extra setup fees).
  • Actual Annual Price (First year) – Same idea as ‘Actual monthly price’
  • Actual Annual Price (Second year+) – Sasme idea as Actual monthly price (Second Month+)
  • SSL – Some of this information was not available, we will update it as it comes to hand.
  • Notes – Any information that didn’t warrant an entire column for it.
[alert color=”EBA132″ icon=”fa-align-right” title=”Please note:”]To scroll the table to the right, click on the table and use the right arrow key on your keyboard. Alternatively, you may be able to achieve this by right scrolling with your mouse if it supports it.[/alert] 
Edit
ProviderWeb Site AddressProductPlanHosting TypeAdvertised Monthly PriceActual Monthly Price (First Month)Actual Monthly Price (Second Month+)Setup Fee for monthly planActual Annual Price (First Year)Actual Annual Price (Second Year+)Free DomainFree EmailSSDCDNStatic IPWebsites AllowedSSL First YearSSL Second YearSSL Pricing PageFeatures PageDisk SpaceBandwidthNotes
Bluehostwww.bluehost.comShared HostingStarterShared3.95N/AN/AN/A119.16137.64YesNoNo5N/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.bluehost.com/hosting-features100GBUnlimited
Bluehostwww.bluehost.comShared HostingPlusShared6.95N/AN/AN/A155.16191.64YesIncludedNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.bluehost.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedExtras $180
Bluehostwww.bluehost.comShared HostingBusiness ProShared14.95N/AN/AN/A$263.28$323.76YesIncludedYesUnlimitedIncludedhttps://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/pricehttps://www.bluehost.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimited
dot5hostingwww.dot5hosting.comHostingIntro OfferShared5.95N/AN/A$0.00$152.30$200.78YesYesUnknownNoNoUnlimitedTBAUnknownhttps://www.dot5hosting.com/dot5/hosting.bmlUnknownUnknownFranchise
dotsterwww.dotster.comLinux HostingBasicShared3.75N/AN/AN/A$100.95$100.95YesYesNoNoNo1N/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.dotster.com/dotster/hosting/UnlimitedUnlimitedNo Support Included
dotsterwww.dotster.comLinux HostingDeluxeShared6.75N/AN/AN/A$136.95$136.95YesYesNoNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.dotster.com/dotster/hosting/UnlimitedUnlimitedNo Support Included
dotsterwww.dotster.comLinux HostingUltraShared13.75N/AN/AN/A$220.95$220.95YesYesNoNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.dotster.com/dotster/hosting/UnlimitedUnlimitedPremium Support Included
Dreamhostwww.dreamhost.comShared HostingWeb HostingShared3.95$10.95$119.40YesYesYesNo5.95 per monthUnlimited$15.00Unknownhttps://www.dreamhost.com/hosting/shared/UnlimitedUnlimited9.95 for premium support
ehostwww.ehost.comUnix PlatformThe One PlanShared5.959.959.9519.95174.29210YesYesNoNoNo1N/AN/Ahttps://www.ehost.com/product/ssl_certificate.bmlhttp://www.ehost.com/product/onePlan.bmlUnlimitedUnlimitedFranchise
entryhostwww.entryhost.comSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehost5.95Same as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostSame as ehostFranchise
Fastcometwww.fastcomet.comWeb HostingSingle WebsiteShared2.952.953.9519.9547.447.4YesYesYesYesNo1N/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.fastcomet.com/compare-shared-package35GB (SSD)UnlimitedOne of the few sites that doesn't require paying for extras to get basics like backups and protection which is reflected quite clearly in the price.
Fastcometwww.fastcomet.comWeb HostingMultiple WebsitesShared5.955.955.9519.9571.471.4YesYesYesYesNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.fastcomet.com/compare-shared-package55GB (SSD)UnlimitedOne of the few sites that doesn't require paying for extras to get basics like backups and protection which is reflected quite clearly in the price.
Fastcometwww.fastcomet.comWeb HostingE-CommerceShared6.956.956.9519.9583.483.4YesYesYesYesYesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownhttp://www.fastcomet.com/compare-ssl-certificateshttp://www.fastcomet.com/compare-shared-packageUnlimited (SSD)UnlimitedOne of the few sites that doesn't require paying for extras to get basics like backups and protection which is reflected quite clearly in the price.
fatcowwww.fatcow.comWordPress BlogWP StarterShared3.75$9.49$15.23$113.90$182.78YesYesNoNoNo1UnknownUnknownhttp://www.fatcow.com/product/ssl_certificate.bmlhttp://www.fatcow.com/wordpress-hosting/UnlimitedUnlimitedFranchise
fatcowwww.fatcow.comWordPress BlogWP EssentialShared6.95$12.69$18.23$152.30$218.78YesYesYesNoNo1UnknownUnknownhttp://www.fatcow.com/product/ssl_certificate.bmlhttp://www.fatcow.com/wordpress-hosting/Unlimited (SSD)UnlimitedFranchise
godaddywww.godaddy.comWordPress Site/BlogBasicShared3.993.99$6.99$0.00$47.88$83.88Yes1 Year Office 365YesNoNo1N/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx10GB (SSD)UnlimitedAdvertises honestly – upfront with pricing, ironically the pricing was appeared more expensive and I did not choose this based on that, yet they're the most honest, Managed Solution
godaddywww.godaddy.comWordPress Site/BlogDeluxeShared5.995.99$8.99$0.00$71.88$107.88Yes1 Year Office 365YesNoNo1N/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx15GB (SSD)UnlimitedAdvertises honestly – upfront with pricing, ironically the pricing was appeared more expensive and I did not choose this based on that, yet they're the most honest, Managed Solution, One Click Staging
godaddywww.godaddy.comWordPress Site/BlogUltimateShared8.99$8.99$14.99$0.00$107.88$179.88Yes1 Year Office 365YesNoYes2Included$69.99https://www.godaddy.com/ssl/ssl-certificates.aspx?countryview=1https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx30GB (SSD)UnlimitedAdvertises honestly – upfront with pricing, ironically the pricing was appeared more expensive and I did not choose this based on that, yet they're the most honest, Managed Solution, One Click Staging
godaddywww.godaddy.comWordPress Site/BlogDeveloperShared14.99$14.99$24.99$0.00$179.88$299.88Yes1 Year Office 365YesNoYes5Included$69.99https://www.godaddy.com/ssl/ssl-certificates.aspx?countryview=1https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx50GB (SSD)UnlimitedAdvertises honestly – upfront with pricing, ironically the pricing was appeared more expensive and I did not choose this based on that, yet they're the most honest, Managed Solution, One Click Staging
Host Gatorwww.hostgator.comUnlimited Web HostingHatchling PlanShared5.56$7.16$8.9566.7283.4NoYesUnknownNot Free1$20.04UnknownOnly available at signuphttps://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspxUnlimitedUnlimited
Host Gatorwww.hostgator.comUnlimited Web HostingBaby PlanShared7.96$7.96$9.95$95.52$119.40NoYesUnknown$2 Per MonthUnlimited$20.04UnknownOnly available at signuphttps://www.hostgator.com/sharedUnlimitedUnlimited
Host Gatorwww.hostgator.comUnlimited Web HostingBusiness PlanShared11.96$11.96$14.95$143.52$179.40NoYesUnknownFreeUnlimitedIncludedUnknownOnly available at signuphttps://www.hostgator.com/sharedUnlimitedUnlimited
hostmonsterwww.hostmonster.comHostingStarterShared3.95N/AN/AN/A$119.16$143.64YesYesNoNoNo1N/AN/AUnknownhttps://www.hostmonster.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimited
hostmonsterwww.hostmonster.comHostingPlusShared6.49N/AN/AN/A$155.16$197.16YesYesNoYesNoUnlimitedN/AN/AUnknownhttps://www.hostmonster.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimited
hostmonsterwww.hostmonster.comHostingBusiness ProShared14.49N/AN/AN/A$173.88$239.40YesYesNoNoYesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownN/Ahttps://www.hostmonster.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimited
hubwww.webhostinghub.comN/ASparkShared1.95N/AN/AN/A$71.88UnknownNoYesNoNoNo2N/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.webhostinghub.com/web-hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedDoesn't have option for site protection, Domain Registration wasn't free – need to check this for all sites.
hubwww.webhostinghub.comN/ANitroShared6.99N/AN/AN/A$119.88UnknownNoYesNoNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.webhostinghub.com/web-hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedDoesn't have option for site protection, Domain Registration wasn't free – need to check this for all sites.
hubwww.webhostinghub.comN/ADynamoShared10.99N/AN/AN/A$167.88UnknownNoYesNoNoYesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownN/Ahttp://www.webhostinghub.com/web-hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedDoesn't have option for site protection, Domain Registration wasn't free – need to check this for all sites.
inmotionwww.inmotionhosting.comBusiness HostingLaunchShared5.99N/AN/AN/A$83.88$107.88YesYesYesNoNo2N/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.inmotionhosting.com/business-hostingUnlimitedUnlimited
inmotionwww.inmotionhosting.comBusiness HostingPowerShared7.99N/AN/AN/A$107.88$131.88YesYesYesNoNo6N/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.inmotionhosting.com/business-hostingUnlimitedUnlimited
inmotionwww.inmotionhosting.comBusiness HostingProShared13.99$17.99$19.99$40.00$177.87$201.87YesYesYesNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.inmotionhosting.com/business-hostingUnlimitedUnlimitedNo Free domain on monthly plan
iPagewww.ipage.comWordPress HostingWP StarterShared3.75$72.65$3.75$0.00$113.90$182.78YesYesYesNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.ipage.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedFranchise
iPagewww.ipage.comWordPress HostingWP EssentialShared6.95$6.95$12.49$0.00$83.40$149.88YesYesYesNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.ipage.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedFranchise
ipowerwww.ipower.comDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageDuplicate of iPageFranchise
justhost.comwww.justhost.comWeb HostingStarterShared2.95$48.45$5.99$0.00$107.16$119.64YesYesNoNoNo1N/AN/Ahttps://my.justhost.com/hosting/help/pricehttp://www.justhost.com/hosting-features100GBUnlimitedThree different prices exist for the same product in the same instance, pricing highly likely to be incorrect
justhost.comwww.justhost.comWeb HostingPlusShared4.95$49.85$14.99$0.00$83.40$119.88YesYesNoYesNoUnlimitedN/AN/Ahttps://my.justhost.com/hosting/help/pricehttp://www.justhost.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedThree different prices exist for the same product in the same instance, pricing highly likely to be incorrect
justhost.comwww.justhost.comWeb HostingBusiness ProShared9.95$53.87$31.98$0.00$203.28$383.76YesYesNoYesYesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownhttps://my.justhost.com/hosting/help/pricehttp://www.justhost.com/hosting-featuresUnlimitedUnlimitedThree different prices exist for the same product in the same instance, pricing highly likely to be incorrect
netfirmswww.netfirms.comWeb HostingAdvantageShared8.99N/AN/AN/A$188.30Unknown2YesNoNoNoUnlimitedN/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.netfirms.com/netfirms/web-hosting/Renewal pricing inconsistent so left out
netfirmswww.netfirms.comWeb HostingPlusShared4.45N/AN/AN/A$128.30Unknown1YesNoNoNoUnlimitedUnknownN/AN/Ahttps://www.netfirms.com/netfirms/web-hosting/Renewal pricing inconsistent so left out
netfirmswww.netfirms.comWeb HostingBusinessShared12.99N/AN/AN/A$248.30Unknown5YesNoNoYesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownUnknownhttps://www.netfirms.com/netfirms/web-hosting/Renewal pricing inconsistent so left out
Network Solutionswww.networksolutions.comWordPress Blog Hosting1 YearShared3.85N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.networksolutions.com/web-hosting/wordpress/index.jsp50GB500GBDoesn't meet minimum requirements
purehostwww.purehost.comWeb HostingPureBusiness HostingSharedN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/Ahttp://www.purehost.com/purehost/hosting.bmlDoesn' meet minimum requirements
Sitegroundwww.siteground.comWeb HostingStartupShared3.95$54.90Unknown$14.95$83.40UnknownYesYesNoIncluded (Non SSL Only)No1N/AN/AN/Ahttps://www.siteground.com/web-hosting.htm10GBUnlimitedSupercacher
Sitegroundwww.siteground.comWeb HostingGrowBigShared7.95$44.90Unknown$24.95$107.40UnknownYesNoNoIncluded (Non SSL Only)YesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownhttps://www.siteground.com/ssl_certificates.htmhttps://www.siteground.com/web-hosting.htm20GBUnlimitedSupercacher
Sitegroundwww.siteground.comWeb HostingGoGeekShared14.95$51.90Unknown$24.95$191.40UnknownYesNoYesIncluded (Non SSL Only)YesUnlimitedIncludedUnknownhttps://www.siteground.com/ssl_certificates.htmhttps://www.siteground.com/web-hosting.htm30GBUnlimitedSupercacher, One Click Staging

Final Word

So there you have it, a lot of work went into this and there are likely to be errors, if you find one, or have a correction to make, please include your insights and opinions in the comments below.Marshalleq

Hot this week

Maker & Embedded

Raspberry Pi Disk Images – Definitive List

3
This page attempts to list all the Raspberry Pi...
Maker & Embedded

Raspberry Pi audio HAT’s (Hardware Attached on Top) – Definitive List

1
Summary Back in July 2014, Raspberry Pi announced the then...

How to check port forwarding is working

1
This guide applies to: Any router or firewall you may have such as: DLink, Asus, TP Link, Linksys, Synology, Apple, Belkin, Buffalo, Cisco, Netgear, TRENDNet, Zyxel (to name…
Media & Home Entertainment

How to set Plex permissions on linux or NAS devices

9
This how to guide will show you how to properly set up Linux file permissions for Plex Media Server.
Tips & Tutorials

How to: Create bootable USB stick on Mac from ISO, dmg or img file

4
This article will enable you to convert an iso, dmg or img file to a bootable usb stick or SD Card on mac OSX using the command line.

Topics

Maker & Embedded

Raspberry Pi 5 Specs and Images Leaked from element14?

1
I'm just posting this here because the irony is,...
Networking & Security

How to set up a free self hosted email server for home in 2020

0
This ‘How To’ article will show you step by step how to set up and install the Zimbra mail server, arguably the best professional mail system you can get as an open source…
Tips & Tutorials

How to set up Taiga with Docker on Ubuntu

0
What is Taiga?Taiga is an awesome agile team management...
Maker & Embedded

Raspberry Pi audio HAT’s (Hardware Attached on Top) – Definitive List

1
Summary Back in July 2014, Raspberry Pi announced the then...

How to check port forwarding is working

1
This guide applies to: Any router or firewall you may have such as: DLink, Asus, TP Link, Linksys, Synology, Apple, Belkin, Buffalo, Cisco, Netgear, TRENDNet, Zyxel (to name…
Maker & Embedded

Raspberry Pi Disk Images – Definitive List

3
This page attempts to list all the Raspberry Pi...
Maker & Embedded

How to set up Roon Audio Bridge on PiCorePlayer with a Raspberry Pi and HiFiBerry Dac + Pro

0
This how to guide will show you how to set up and install Roon Audio Bridge to make a HiFi endpoint on PiCorePlayer receiver using Raspberry Pi hardware and…
Tips & Tutorials

How to export contacts from Mac Contacts to Outlook

0
This how to guide will show you how to export your contacts from Mac OS contacts application, then import them into Microsoft Outlook.

Related Articles

Popular Categories

Media & Home EntertainmentTips & TutorialsNetworking & SecurityStorage & BackupMaker & EmbeddedOpinion
spot_img
Previous article
Howto: Setup VMWare-tools on Sabayon Linux Guest
Howto: Setup VMWare-tools on Sabayon Linux Guest
Next article
ColorMunki Calibration Wizard
Howto: Calibrate Monitor Colour