Can I pay monthly for web hosting? 🤔 If that question has been on your mind, the answer is “yes”. If you’re looking for a month-to-month web hosting plan, with no contract or commitment, then you’ve landed on the right page.
Not many of us want to be locked into two or three-year hosting deals, or pay the whole amount in one lump sum on sign up, as many hosting companies demand. That’s why we have put together this list of the best month-to-month web hosting providers for you to peruse.
We’ll look at nine month-to-month web hosting providers:
- The first two of these hosts are cheap, costing just under $5 per month with month-to-month billing.
- The middle four are aptly priced in the middle-of-the-road range, with prices up to $15 per month.
- The final three are priced in the $20 to $30 range.
Let’s get started with the first one, or feel free to use the table of contents to skip ahead to a particular host you might be interested in.
Best cheap month-to-month hosting
1. Namecheap ($4.48 per month)
Namecheap is a popular domain name registrar which has recently been making waves in the hosting arena. Offering a range of shared, managed WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans, Namecheap is an affordable option that also offers a number of impressive features.
⚙️ Top features
- Free site migration
- Free SSL certificate
- One-click WordPress install
- Manual and automatic backups (plan dependent)
- 24/7 Support
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 0.85s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.49s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.61s ⭐ | London, UK: 1.51s |
| Paris, France: 1.57s | Mumbai, India: 2.54s |
Loading speed refers to the time it takes for a webpage to fully display after a user initiates a request by either clicking on a link or typing in the address of the webpage directly in their browser. We perform thorough tests on each month-to-month web hosting service listed here and update their average loading times on a monthly basis.
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 99.97% |
Uptime, the measure of how consistently a website remains live and uninterrupted, takes on added significance in month-to-month hosting. It reflects a hosting provider’s ability to maintain reliable service amidst potentially frequent changes in user demands and resource allocations. Our comprehensive monthly evaluations not only focus on loading speeds but also rigorously assess the uptime of these hosting services.
💰 Month-to-month pricing
Namecheap offers a wide assortment of plans, and the option of month-to-month payments are available on every package.
The entry-level shared hosting package Stellar costs just $4.48 per month on the month-to-month option. Compare this to $1.58 if you chose to pay up front for the year. On a percentage basis, that’s a pretty big difference, but as an actual dollar amount, it’s still relatively small and you get the freedom to cancel your contract at any time.
If you’re interested in managed WordPress hosting, you will find prices starting from just $6.88 per month (versus $2.91 per month if you paid up front for the year).
It is important to note that Namecheap does run a selection of promotions (e.g., 50% off shared hosting if you sign up for a year), but these discounts are generally not available if you only commit to month-to-month payments. However, as Namecheap prices are extremely low anyway, this shouldn’t matter too much.
2. DreamHost ($4.95 per month)
DreamHost is another budget hosting company that currently hosts over 1.5 million websites. Not only does DreamHost provide a selection of shared, managed, and cloud hosting packages, you will find all of DreamHost’s plans can be purchased on a month-to-month basis, with no contract or commitment.
👉 Like what you see? Read our in-depth DreamHost review for a deeper dive.
⚙️ Top features
- Pre-installed WordPress
- Free website migration (managed WordPress plans only)
- Automatic backups
- 100% uptime guarantee
- 97-day money-back guarantee (shared hosting plans only)
As you can see, DreamHost provides some useful features and tools. But how does its pricing work out?
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 3.53s | West Coast USA: 0.97s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 1.11s | London, UK: 1.72s |
| Paris, France: 1.88s | Mumbai, India: 3.21s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 99.40% | 100.00% ⭐ | 99.95% |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
DreamHost offers two shared hosting plans, with the entry-level Shared Starter package costing $4.95 per month on the month-to-month option. Compare that to $2.95 per month if you paid up front for a year. Similar to Namecheap, the difference is pretty significant percentage-wise, but dollar-wise it’s still an excellent value. The extra two dollars per month can be well worth it, knowing that you have the option to cancel whenever you want.
If you are looking for managed WordPress hosting, you can expect prices to start at $19.95 per month for the DreamPress plan. That’s if you choose to pay month-to-month of course. If you pay upfront for the whole year, however, the cost averages out to $16.95 per month.
Best middle priced month-to-month hosting
3. Hostinger ($9.99 per month + one-time $4.99 setup fee)
Hostinger is another popular hosting company, currently providing services to over 29 million customers, in 178 countries. Offering a range of hosting options, including shared, cloud, and VPS hosting, Hostinger also provides numerous tools like its purpose-built website builder.
👉 Looking good so far? Read our full Hostinger review for a more detailed look.
⚙️ Top features
- One-click WordPress installation
- Unmetered bandwidth (excluding the entry-level shared plan)
- Easy website builder
- Free SSL certificate (plan dependent)
- Backups
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
So, how much can you expect to pay with Hostinger if you opt for one of its month-to-month web hosting payment plans?
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 1.16s | West Coast USA: 1.76s |
| Central USA: 1.61s | London, UK: 0.35s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.51s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 1.71s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 99.99% |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
Hostinger offers a range of discount prices. However, these are not available if you want to pay on a month-by-month basis.
For month-to-month payments, shared hosting starts at $9.99 a month (plus the $4.99 set up fee). For cloud hosting packages, expect to pay upwards of $24.99 per month with month-to-month billing. Hostinger does waive the one-time $4.99 set up fee on the cloud hosting package if you want to pay monthly.
4. GreenGeeks ($11.95 per month)
GreenGeeks is an eco-friendly web hosting provider known for its commitment to sustainability. The company operates carbon-neutral data centers powered by renewable energy. Offering various hosting plans with features like unlimited bandwidth, free domain registration, and robust security, GreenGeeks caters to users seeking high-performance hosting while minimizing environmental impact.
👉 Read our complete GreenGeeks review for WordPress to get a deeper overview.
⚙️ Top features
- Unlimited databases
- SSL certificate
- Nightly backups
- Built-in caching
- Content delivery network
- One-click WordPress installation
- Unmetered transfer
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 2.12s | West Coast USA: 1.47s |
| Central USA: 1.46s | London, UK: 0.57s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.66s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 1.50s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
While GreenGeeks’ pricing comes with one of the cheapest offers on this list if you purchase yearly subscriptions, the monthly subscription gets a bit expensive. So, for their most basic plan, you pay a $11.95 monthly rate.
In contrast, if you choose to pay for one year, the month-to-month pricing will end up being $2.95. This translates into around $35 in total versus a total of $143 if you choose to pay monthly for a full year.
So it’s obvious that, if you’re looking for a long-term web hosting service, you might want to go with GreenGeeks’ annual plan instead of a month-to-month payment. You can get your money back after 30 days if you’re not happy with their services.
One interesting thing about GreenGeeks’ pricing model is that only the annual plan comes with this huge drop in prices. If you go with a two-year or three-year subscription, the monthly rate remains the same – $11.95. So the most beneficial offer for you, if you are considering GreenGeeks, would be the one-year subscription.
Of course, keep in mind that the renewal price is $10.95 per month after the first year.
5. A2 Hosting ($11.99 per month)
A2 Hosting is an independently owned hosting company that provides a personal touch. Owning their own data centers in the US, Europe, and Asia, A2 Hosting boasts secure servers and customer choice over where websites are hosted.
👉 Read our complete A2 Hosting review to get a deeper overview.
⚙️ Top features
- Free site migration
- Automatic backups (plan dependent)
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Free SSL certificate
- Free Website Builder (shared plans only)
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 0.70s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.94s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 1.16s | London, UK: 1.17s |
| Paris, France: 1.19s | Mumbai, India: 2.16s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 99.93% | 100.00% ⭐ |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
If you want to use month-to-month pricing, you’ll pay $11.99 per month for A2 Hosting’s cheapest offering. That’s a pretty significant difference compared to if you paid for the year up front, which would average out to only $2.99 per month.
Unlike Namecheap and Dreamhost, A2 really does incentivize you to opt for their annual plan. The month-to-month plan is quadruple the price! That doesn’t make it the best month-to-month web hosting option from a price perspective, but if you really like what A2 has to offer, you can also use the one month as a trial period. If you like it after that first month, then you can always switch to the annual plan to take advantage of the savings.
If you’re interested in managed WordPress hosting, the good news is that the price difference between month-to-month and annual isn’t quite as extreme as it is on the shared hosting plans. It starts at $23.99 per month (versus $17.99 per month on the annual option).
6. Flywheel ($15 per month)
Flywheel is a streamlined managed WordPress hosting platform renowned for its user-friendly interface and optimized performance. It simplifies site management by handling technical aspects like server maintenance, security, and backups.
With features such as automatic updates, staging sites, and collaborative tools, Flywheel is an ideal choice for designers, agencies, and freelancers seeking hassle-free WordPress hosting with a focus on speed and security.
👉 Read our complete Flywheel review to learn more about this hosting service.
⚙️ Top features
- Custom built for WordPress
- WordPress security: nightly backups, plugin alerts, malware cleanup
- Optimized performance
- SSH gateway
- 24/7 live chat support
- SSL certificate
- One-click staging sites
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 1.32s | West Coast USA: 2.39s |
| Central USA: 0.36s ⭐ | London, UK: 0.31s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.29s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 0.38s ⭐ |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
With the cheapest Flywheel plan, you pay $15 per month. If you sign up for the annual plan, you get a discount, meaning that the monthly price will be reduced to $13 per month. This is the equivalent of gaining two months free.
With the second cheapest Flywheel plan, you get four months free if you sign up for a year ($20 per month), so the discount is bigger compared to the month-to-month payment ($30 per month).
Best premium month-to-month web hosting provider
7. SiteGround ($19.99 per month)
SiteGround is a big player in the hosting game and provides an array of hosting types, plans, tools, and features. They also offer month-to-month web hosting payment plans for their shared hosting packages.
👉 If you’re interested in learning more, read our full SiteGround review.
⚙️ Top features
- Free daily backups
- Free WordPress install
- WordPress autoupdates
- WordPress advanced security
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate
- SSD storage
- WordPress special cache
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 0.95s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 1.47s |
| Central USA: 1.35s | London, UK: 0.40s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.48s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 1.90s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 99.93% | 100.00% ⭐ | 99.99% |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
SiteGround has the widest gap between their month-to-month pricing and what you’ll pay on the annual plan. It’s to the point where if you plan on using the month-to-month option for anything other than a one month trial period, then you might as well buy a year.
Let’s break it down:
For a single month of hosting on SiteGround’s entry-level, month-to-month option, you’ll be charged $19.99 for that one month. In comparison, for the annual pricing on that same plan, you’ll be asked to fork over $35.88 in total – as in for the entire year. That comes out to a measly $2.99 per month.
If you do the quick math, paying for two months of month-to-month hosting costs more than the entire first year on the annual plan. So realistically, the month-to-month option with SiteGround is really meant to be used as a taste test, more so than an ongoing hosting method.
8. WP Engine ($30 per month)
WP Engine is a high-end managed WordPress hosting company, with clients ranging from small businesses to large global enterprises. Currently providing hosting to over 120,000 customers in 140 countries, WP Engine is renowned for its top-level hosting service.
👉 Read our in-depth WP Engine review for a more detailed look.
⚙️ Top features
- Free site migration
- 35+ free StudioPress themes
- Distributed global CDN
- Free staging environments
- Free SSL certificate
- 24/7/365 expert WordPress support
WP Engine offers an array of professional WordPress services and features, ensuring full support for your growing business.
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 0.99s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.46s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.62s ⭐ | London, UK: 1.36s |
| Paris, France: 1.93s | Mumbai, India: 2.08s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
WP Engine provides transparent pricing from the outset. Their entry level hosting plan starts at $30 per month. However, they offer a $6 discount for the first month, reducing your payment to $24. If you continue on a month-to-month basis after the initial month, you will pay the standard rate of $30 per month. In comparison, that same plan on the annual contract averages out to $20 per month.
There are also some good cheaper WP Engine alternatives if $30 per month is out of your budget.
9. Kinsta ($35 per month)
Kinsta is a top-tier managed WordPress hosting service leveraging the Google Cloud Platform for performance and scalability. Known for its user-friendly dashboard and advanced features like daily backups, staging environments, and robust security measures, Kinsta offers optimized speed through technologies like Nginx and PHP 8.
With a focus on quality support, it’s a prime choice for businesses and developers seeking high-performance managed WordPress hosting.
👉 Read our in-depth Kinsta review for a more detailed look at its WordPress-specific services.
⚙️ Top features
- Cloudflare integration for DDoS protection, CDN, SSL certificates, caching, and wildcard support
- Built on Google Cloud Platform
- In-house application monitoring tool
- REST API to create new sites, restart PHP, clear cache, collect site details, and more
- Staging environments
- Automatic daily backups
📈 Performance
| East Coast USA: 0.69s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 1.23s |
| Central USA: 0.62s ⭐ | London, UK: 1.23s |
| Paris, France: 1.26s | Mumbai, India: 2.35s |
| January 2024 | February 2024 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ | 100.00% ⭐ |
💰 Month-to-month pricing
Since Kinsta is the most expensive web host on this list, your pockets would be happier with the annual plans because you get major discounts if you buy in bulk.
For example, for Kinsta’s most basic pricing plan, you pay $35 per month (if you choose to pay month by month). For the same plan, you will pay $24 per month if you choose the yearly subscription (it’s the equivalent of saving four months of regular monthly payment).
When you upgrade to a higher tier plan, the more expensive it gets to support the monthly bill, so you would probably prefer to sign up for an annual subscription instead to save hundreds of dollars.
Final thoughts on month-to-month web hosting payment plans
If you don’t want to get locked into paying for years upfront, there are plenty of great month-to-month hosting providers, as evidenced by this post.
If you’re looking for the absolute cheapest month-to-month web hosting, Namecheap is the clear winner at just $4.48 per month. On the other hand, if you want something more premium, WP Engine and Kinsta are two good options.
We recommend you to also check our list of the cheapest WordPress hosting services that offer the best value for money.
Once you decide on your monthly web hosting provider, you’ll probably want to start working on building your website.
To help you with that, check out our detailed guides on how to make a website or start a blog.
Any questions about the hosting providers mentioned in this article? Please feel free to ask away in the comments below…
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!