Every cheap host advertises a price around $3 a month. That price almost always needs you to pay one to four years up front, and the renewal is two to six times higher.
So the real question isn’t “which host is cheapest?” It’s “what will I pay in year two, and what do I get for it?” Here are the 6 we’d look at for a small business, with intro and renewal prices from each host’s own pricing page.
| Host | Intro price | To get that price | Renews at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99 a month | Pay 36 months | $9.99 a month | See plans |
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49 a month | Pay 48 months ($119.52) | $10.99 a month | Details |
| SiteGround StartUp | $2.99 a month | Pay 12 months | $17.99 a month | Details |
| DreamHost Launch | $2.89 a month | First year, yearly plan | $10.99 a month | Details |
| GoDaddy Economy | $5.99 a month | Pay 36 months | $11.99 a month | Details |
| Shopify Basic | $29 a month | Pay yearly | $39 a month if paid monthly | Try it |
The 6 best web hosting platforms for small businesses
1.Bluehost
Best for beginners on WordPress
- What it is
- Shared web hosting with WordPress set up for you.
- What it does for you
- Gets a small business site and domain online without hiring a developer. Starter covers up to 10 websites.
- What it costs
- Starter is $3.99 a month on a 36 month term, then $9.99 a month. Business is $6.99 (renews at $13.99). The domain is free for the first year.
- The catch
- You pay three years up front for that price, and the domain is only free for the first year.
Worth it? Yes if you want WordPress without the setup headache and plan to keep the site for years.
2.Hostinger
Lowest intro price
- What it is
- Budget web hosting with an AI site builder included.
- What it does for you
- Hosts up to 3 websites on Premium, with free weekly backups and a domain free for the first year.
- What it costs
- Premium is $2.49 a month on a 48 month plan, so $119.52 up front, then $10.99 a month. Business is $3.49 a month (renews at $16.99). 30 day money back guarantee.
- The catch
- The best price locks you in for four years. Shorter terms cost more.
Worth it? Yes if you want the lowest total cost and don’t mind paying for four years at once.
3.SiteGround
Best support and backups
- What it is
- WordPress friendly hosting that leans on support and backups.
- What it does for you
- Runs your site with free daily backups and 24/7 support from real people.
- What it costs
- StartUp is $2.99 a month prepaid for 12 months, then $17.99 a month. GrowBig is $4.99 (renews at $29.99).
- The catch
- The renewal price is the highest here by a mile. Year two costs six times year one.
Worth it? Only if daily backups and fast support matter more to you than price.
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4.DreamHost
Best for more than one site
- What it is
- A web host with plans for everything from one small site to a VPS.
- What it does for you
- Launch hosts up to 25 websites with 25 GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth.
- What it costs
- Launch is $2.89 a month for the first year, then $10.99 a month.
- The catch
- The discount only lasts one year, so year two is the real price.
Worth it? Yes if you run a few small sites and want a fair renewal price without a four year commitment.
5.GoDaddy
Best if your domain is already there
- What it is
- A big domain registrar that also sells hosting.
- What it does for you
- Hosts one website on Economy with 25 GB of storage, cPanel, a free domain, free email and a free SSL certificate for a year.
- What it costs
- Economy is $5.99 a month for the first 3 year term, then $11.99 a month.
- The catch
- It costs more than the others up front, and the SSL certificate is only free for the first year.
Worth it? Only if your domain already lives at GoDaddy and you want everything in one account.
6.Shopify
Best if you sell products
- What it is
- A hosted online store. No separate web host needed.
- What it does for you
- Runs your whole store: product pages, checkout, payments and hosting in one monthly bill.
- What it costs
- Basic is $29 a month paid yearly, or $39 month to month. Shopify’s page shows 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months. Online card rates start at 2.9% + 30 cents.
- The catch
- It costs more than shared hosting, and apps and themes add up.
Worth it? Yes if your business is an online store. Building one on cheap hosting yourself is rarely worth the time.
Every host on this list sells a few kinds of hosting. Here’s the short version.
Shared hosting puts your site on a server with lots of other sites. It’s the cheap option, and it’s plenty for a small business site that gets normal traffic.
VPS gives you a walled off slice of a server. More power and more control, more money and more setup.
Cloud hosting spreads your site across a network of servers, which helps with traffic spikes.
Dedicated servers are a whole machine for one site. If you need one, you already know it.
Start on shared. Move up only when your site is actually slow because of traffic, not because a sales page told you to.
How to pick a web host
Add up the first three years, including renewal. That’s your real cost. A $2.49 plan that renews at $10.99 can beat a $2.99 plan that renews at $17.99 by a lot.
Skip the checkout add-ons. Hosts push extra security, backup and SEO packages at checkout. Most small sites don’t need them, and WordPress plugins cover a lot of it for free.
Keep your domain where you can find it. Note where it’s registered and when it renews. Losing a domain because a card expired is a painful way to start over.
New to all this? Here’s how to start a WordPress site step by step, and these tools for entrepreneurs cover the rest of what a small business needs online.
FAQ
What is the cheapest web hosting for a small business?
Hostinger Premium has the lowest intro price at $2.49 a month, but only on a 48 month plan ($119.52 up front). It renews at $10.99 a month. DreamHost Launch is $2.89 a month for the first year, then $10.99.
Is Bluehost good for small businesses?
For a WordPress site, yes. Starter is $3.99 a month on a 36 month term and covers up to 10 websites. It renews at $9.99 a month.
Why does web hosting renew at a higher price?
The intro price is a discount for prepaying. When the term ends, you pay the regular rate, which is two to six times higher on the hosts above.
Do I need web hosting if I use Shopify?
No. Shopify hosts your store as part of the plan. Basic is $29 a month paid yearly or $39 month to month.
Next step
Starting the business itself on a budget? Read how to start a startup with no money, or see the rest of the business advice.
Sources (6)
Prices come from each company’s own pricing page. Intro prices change often, so check the checkout page before you pay.
- Bluehost. Shared hosting plans. bluehost.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Hostinger. Web hosting. hostinger.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- SiteGround. Web hosting. siteground.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- DreamHost. Hosting plans. dreamhost.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- GoDaddy. Web hosting. godaddy.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Shopify. Pricing. shopify.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
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