Website Hosting Cost: What You Actually Pay Over Three to Five Years

Key takeaways

• The headline price is a long-term deal. Hostinger's page shows $2.49 a month for Premium, but only on a 48-month term. Bluehost shows $3.99 a month for Starter on a 36-month term.
• Renewal is the real price. Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99 a month and Bluehost Starter at $9.99 a month, so the monthly figure you saw is not the one you live with.
• A basic site needs a basic plan. Both hosts' cheapest plans run a small business website. Bigger plans buy more sites, more storage and more backups, not a faster brochure site.
• Static hosting can be free. Cloudflare says requests to static assets are free and unlimited, and storing them costs nothing extra. That suits a hand-coded site, though someone has to maintain it.
• Builders bundle hosting into the plan. On Webflow, Framer, Wix or Squarespace you do not buy a separate host, so compare the plan, not the hosting line.
• Hosting is only one line. A domain, email, backups, updates and support sit on top of it.

What hosting is, in one minute

Hosting is the computer that stores your site's files and sends them to visitors. There are four routes: shared hosting (many sites on one server), managed WordPress hosting (shared hosting where the host looks after updates and backups), static hosting (plain files on a global network) and builder hosting (included in a platform's plan).

This guide covers the first three with figures from the host's own pages. For the fourth, our guides to Webflow plans, Wix costs and Framer costs read each maker's page.

Shared hosting: the plan prices we read

We read the pricing pages of Hostinger and Bluehost on 1 November 2026, in the US view, in US dollars. Neither page names every term, so the table shows only the term each page displayed. Bluehost says VAT and GST are not included.

The totals are the monthly price times the number of months, worked out by us. Hostinger's own page shows $119.52, $167.52 and $383.52 as the totals due, which match. Sources: Hostinger web hosting, Hostinger pricing and Bluehost shared hosting.

Both hosts include a free domain for the first year on these plans, free SSL and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Bluehost adds that a non-refundable domain fee is deducted from a refund if the plan came with a free domain. Its WordPress hosting page also says refunds apply only to credit card payments and do not apply to monthly terms. Read the refund terms before you buy, not after.

Hostinger's Unlimited plan is subject to a fair usage policy, so look for it before you rely on the word.

Three years and five years, worked out

Here is the part the ads skip. We took the cheapest plan from each host and added up what it costs if you keep it. The first term is the price shown, and after that we use the renewal price from the same page. This is our sum, not a quote, and it assumes the renewal price does not change.

For Hostinger, 4 years is the 48-month term alone, and year 5 adds one year at the renewal price. For Bluehost, 3 years is the 36-month term, year 4 adds $119.88, and year 5 adds another $119.88. The sums: $143.64 plus $119.88 is $263.52, and plus another $119.88 is $383.40.

Two things follow. A plan that looks like $2.49 a month averages $4.19 over five years ($251.40 divided by 60 months), and the Bluehost plan averages $6.39 ($383.40 divided by 60). And Hostinger Premium's monthly price more than quadruples at renewal ($2.49 to $10.99), so decide before you pay whether you will renew or move.

What a shared plan does not include

Hosting is the line on the invoice, but a working site has more lines.

Bluehost's page also contradicts itself on backups (tables say weekly, one FAQ says daily), so ask support in writing and keep the answer.

For the running cost after launch, see our guide to website maintenance cost. For the question of who applies PHP and software updates on each type of plan, see who patches PHP on managed and shared hosting.

Managed WordPress: what the extra money buys

Bluehost's WordPress hosting page lists the same three prices as its shared page, and adds what comes with them: automatic managed WordPress updates, weekly backups, a free CDN, a staging site, malware scanning and a web application firewall. Phone support and free domain privacy for the first year start on the Business plan.

So the difference between shared and managed is not always the price. It is who does the work. A host that updates WordPress for you saves hours, but you still have to know what is automatic. Ask:

1. Does the host update WordPress core, themes and plugins, or only core?
2. Where are backups kept and for how long?
3. Is there a staging site, and does it cost extra?
4. What happens when an update breaks the site?

Our guide to backing up WordPress before a PHP update covers the backup question. Our WordPress website cost guide prices the rest of a WordPress site.

Free static hosting on Cloudflare

A static site is a folder of finished HTML, CSS, JavaScript and image files. There is no database to run and nothing to patch on the server, which is why it can be hosted so cheaply.

Cloudflare's Workers pricing page, which covers static assets, says "Requests to static assets are free and unlimited." Its static assets billing page adds that there is no additional cost for storing them. We read both on 1 November 2026. A Worker that runs code is different: the Free plan allows 100,000 requests a day, and the Paid plan has a minimum of $5 a month with 10 million requests included. A plain static site does not run a Worker for each visit, so those limits apply only if you add server code.

Cloudflare's pages we read give no file count or size limit, so check its Platform Limits page if your site has thousands of files. Sources: Workers pricing and static assets billing.

The catch is the work. Free hosting does not come with a visual editor, a form handler or a person to call. Someone has to edit files, run a deploy and watch for errors. For a real example of the trade, read what we learned moving amariq.com from Webflow to a static site. A landing page is the best fit; see our landing page cost guide.

When the cheapest plan is the wrong plan

Keep a cheap shared plan if your site is small, your traffic is steady, and you are happy to do the updates or pay someone for them.

Move up when:

• the site slows down at busy times
• you run more than a few sites and the entry plan caps them
• a missed update would cost you real money, and you want the host to take that job
• you need a staging copy to test changes safely

Look at a builder plan if you want to edit visually without plugins; see Squarespace, Webflow and Framer and our website speed guide.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Prices change, so check each host's page for the price in your own country before you buy.

How we help at Amariq

Hosting is one of the first questions on a new project, and the right answer depends on who will edit the site afterwards. We build and look after sites on Webflow, Framer, WordPress and Shopify, and also on Wix, Squarespace and custom builds, so we can set a plan beside the others without pushing one. Our fees come from the scope, never from the hour. Once you have paid the final amount, the design, copy and code belong to you. If you want the hosting set up in your own name, see our WordPress development and Webflow maintenance pages.

Frequently asked questions

How much does website hosting cost per month?

On the pages we read, entry shared plans were shown at $2.49 a month on Hostinger (48-month term) and $3.99 on Bluehost (36-month term). After the first term they renew at $10.99 and $9.99 a month. Static files on Cloudflare cost nothing to serve, according to its pricing docs.

Why does my hosting price go up after the first term?

The low price is an introductory price for a long term. Hostinger Premium goes from $2.49 to $10.99 a month, and Bluehost Starter from $3.99 to $9.99, on the pages we read. Put the renewal date in your calendar.

Is a free domain really free?

It is free for the first year on the plans above. Bluehost says a non-refundable domain fee is deducted from a refund, and its free domain must be redeemed within 90 days of purchase. After the first year the domain renews at the registrar's price.

Do I need hosting if I use Webflow, Wix or Squarespace?

No. Those platforms host your site as part of their plans. You pay the plan, and you can compare it in our guides to Webflow and Wix pricing.

Can I host a website for free?

A static site can be hosted free on Cloudflare, since it says static asset requests are free and unlimited. A WordPress site needs a server that runs PHP and a database, so it needs a paid plan. Free hosting also means you do the maintenance.

What is the difference between shared and managed WordPress hosting?

On shared hosting you share a server and usually look after the site software yourself. On managed WordPress hosting the host handles updates, backups and security to a stated extent. Bluehost's page lists automatic updates and weekly backups on its WordPress plans.

Should I buy hosting for four years to get the lowest price?

Only if you are sure about the site and the host. The long term gives the lowest monthly price, but the refund window is 30 days, so the rest of the money is committed. Work out the five-year cost, as in the table above, before you decide.