We love free things and there is no doubt about that. Many web hosting companies offer free WordPress hosting which benefits new bloggers or small business site owners.
If you plan to start a new website but don’t want to invest in it immediately, free WordPress hosting can be a good option.
You may ask – Why do web hosting companies offer free hosting?
Offering free hosting is a marketing tool. Free hosting exists because it gives hosting companies a chance to upsell paid hosting to those who need it.
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Pros of Free WordPress Hosting
- Free of cost
- Best for trying things out and experimenting
- Great for beginners
- Great for testing themes and plugins
- Suitable for personal blogging
As compared to free hostings, paid hostings obviously have more functionality with extra features, more bandwidth, webspace, and traffic limits.
But, if you want to start your website on a zero investment, you can opt for free hosting. Some free web hosting companies offer decent services with 99.9% uptime, great security, and praiseworthy performance. So, it’s all about finding the right hosting company.
Still, be cautious that free hosting comes at a certain cost. Since there is no payment, the hosting companies change the terms and conditions frequently.
Most free hosting providers either make you buy a domain from them or host your site in their subdomain. And you have to compromise on several areas of their services.
Anyway, here is a list of 5 best free WordPress hosting of 2021.
1. WordPress.com
(Free subdomain, 3 GB web storage, JetPack essential, excellent support, automatic updates, and more)
Features of WordPress.com
Disk Space: 3 GB
Monthly Traffic Limit: Unmetered
Subdomains: 1
FTP accounts: 0
WordPress.com is the unrivalled platform in free WordPress hosting. If you are just starting out on WordPress, blogging, or building a website, WordPress.com is a great place to start.
Firstly, you will learn the ins and outs of WordPress, and secondly, no free hosting providers outmatch WordPress.com in terms of performance and reliability.
Although you will have a less hassle of hosting, you will have limited control over your site with WordPress.com. Anyway, such is the case with all free web hosts.
Hosting your website with WordPress.com, you will have zero control over forced ads WordPress.com shows on your website.
WordPress.com includes hundreds of WordPress themes to choose for your website. You will get quick and friendly support, mobile and desktop apps, in-built social sharing options with stats, and so much more with this free WordPress hosting provider.
Pros of WordPress.com
- Free subdomain
- Up to 3 GB web space for free
- Automatic updates and backups
- Excellent support from WordPress experts
- Jetpack essential features
- Free WordPress customizable themes are available
- Easy to upgrade
Cons of WordPress.com
- Forced ads on your website
- No FTP access
- Disallows use of 3rd party WordPress plugins
- No cPanel access
- Site deletion chances if their Terms & Conditions violated
2. AwardSpace
(Ad-free, excellent uptime, spam and virus protection, optimized for performance, and free Zacky Site Builder)
Features of AwardSpace
Disk Space: 1 GB
Domain Hosting: 4
Monthly Traffic Limit: 5 GB
Subdomains: 3
Email Accounts: 1
MySQL Database: 30 MB limit
Ad-free and user-friendly, AwardSpace is an option you should check for free hosting. It comes with a wide range of disk space and bandwidth. You can get as much as 5 GB of bandwidth which is quite amazing in free web hosting.
AwardSpace guarantees 99.9% uptime which free web hosts rarely deliver. Likewise, its online environment is protected from spam and virus. With this hosting, your website gets pretty quick page loading times.
Other features of AwardSpace includes 1 MySQL database and one email. The host uses SMTP and authorizes FTP access too.
Likewise, the 24/7 customer support is another noteworthy feature of AwardSpace. To make your free WordPress hosting easy, AwardSpace has a detailed FAQ section plus WordPress tutorials including videos.
With all these excellent features, Awardspace is one of the best, if not the best, free WordPress hosting providing companies right now.
Pros of AwardSpace
- Ad-free hosting
- 99.9 % uptime guarantee
- A wide range of web space and bandwidth
- Protection from spam and virus
- High-performance optimized
- Web-based file manager
- User-friendly control panel
- Free Zacky site builder with a single-click installer
- Round the clock customer support
Cons of AwardSpace
- Limited MySQL DB
You have to transfer your domain to them or you have to buy a domain name from them.
3. 000Webhost.com
(Widely popular, instant account activation, free subdomain, custom control panel, ad-free, and hundreds of free templates)
Features of 000Webhost
Disk Space: 1 GB
Domain Hosting: 1
Monthly Traffic Limit: 10 GB
Subdomains: 0
Email Accounts: 0
FTP Accounts: 1
MySQL Database: 1
Controversial, yet we found it hard to ignore 000Webhost.com in our list of top free WordPress hosting providers. This is an established name in web hosting. Hostinger owns and operates it.
000Webhost has been around for more than a decade. In this span, it amassed millions of users. Although a huge number of accounts database was stolen in 2015, 000webhost still attracts a large number of WordPress websites.
00Webhost does not provide you support tickets. You have to go through the forums (FAQ and support section) to solve any issue you encounter.
000Webhost offers free web hosting with PHP, MySQL database management, cPanel, and website builder. With all these features, 000Webhost somehow gives you the feel of a paid hosting.
And what’s the best part you ask? 000Webhost does not show any forced ads on your WordPress website.
Pros of 000Webhost
- Instant account activation
- Impressive bandwidth
- Custom control panel
- Free subdomain name
- WordPress Auto Installer
- Above 99% uptime
- An established name
- Uses the latest technologies like PHP7, MySQL, and cPanel
- 2 websites installations
- No ads
- 100 free templates
Cons of 000Webhost
- No one-click install
- Email accounts and subdomains are unavailable
- No control panel
- No support via tickets
- No backups
4. x10Hosting
(Private Cloud hosting, MySQL, great support, latest cPanel version, and no forced ads)
Features of x10Hosting
Disk Space: 100 MB – 2500 MB
Domain Hosting: 2
Monthly Traffic Limit: Unmetered
Email Accounts: 3
FTP Accounts: 3
X10hosting has been around for more than one and half a decade and it is here to stay. This company knows how to provide a hosting service that will be stable and last forever.
X10hosting uses 100% Cloud SSD servers. Expect to get an extremely stable and quick performance from this free hosting.
While hosting your WordPress site with X10hosting, you will benefit from the use of the latest technologies. The host uses the latest version of PHP, MySQL, and cPanel. On top of that, the one-click software installation is another exciting feature you get with this free hosting.
To give you hosting service as valuable as that of paid hosting, x10hosting also offers an easy-to-use website builder. Choose from 150 available templates and customize as you like to give a unique and eye-catching design and layout to your website.
Pros of x10Hosting
- Private cloud hosting
- Uses latest cPanel version
- Advanced MySQL and PHP versions
- No forced ads
- Thankworthy support
Cons of x10Hosting
- The login section does not work at present
5. Byethost
(No ads, cPanel auto-installer, knowledge base forum, and good support)
Features of Byethost
Disk Space: 1 GB
Domain Hosting: 1
Monthly traffic: 50 GB
Subdomains: 7
Email Accounts: 5
FTP Accounts: 1
MySQL Database: 5
Byethost is another free web hosting provider with no ads or pop-ups. It offers an automatic SSL certificate to secure your site and uses top technologies to give you an amazing experience with a cost-free hosting.
Byethost uses the Softaculous script installer which helps you install over 330+ scripts among which one is WordPress. It comes with FTP, PHP5, and MySQL database management.
With Byethost, you get the benefit of the powerful Vista panel to manage your site, add extra domains and subdomains, upload files, run scripts, and do so much more.
On top of all these features, Bytehost offers 24X7 support. Although the support will be limited, you can expect to get your issues solved quickly. In case you want a self-help option, the host has a knowledgebase and video tutorial sections as well.
Pros of Byethost
- cPanel and Softaculous Auto Installer
- No ads or pop-ups
- VistaPanel
- Free forums
- 24/7 support
Cons of Byethost
- Limited support
- No Windows OS
Limitations of Free WordPress Hosting
Now, you know a lot about free WordPress Hosting. We think you should know about what limitations these free WordPress hostings come with.
Since you get what you pay for, the free hosting makes you compromise on the speed, security, and scalability of your site.
With free WordPress hosting services, website owners face:
- Low speed
- No guaranteed uptime and performance
- Poor to almost no customer support
- Inbuilt and inescapable ads
- Vulnerable to attacks
- Less storage
- Issue with scalability
- Unsellable
Almost-free WordPress Hosting
If you are building a professional website or brand, I discourage you to use free hosting. Saving a few dollars on hosting is not worth all the hassles you go through in a free web hosting.
Instead, go for these “ Almost Free” WordPress hosting providers. With these paid hosting, you will get a more reliable infrastructure to host and look after your site.
You will not have to host your site on a subdomain. Your website will not be something like www.yoursite.yourhostingname.com. This looks downright unprofessional and your website won’t get the trust of search engines and visitors.
Spend a couple of dollars a month on a reliable hosting. The host keeps your site well and running and provides security, speed, and all the essentials your site craves.
Paid hosts provide you support whenever you get stuck in an issue. Some hosting even offer you marketing credits.
Your site will look professional, function better, and grow as you work on your website. To round off, you will get a host who takes care of your website.
So, are you not interested in checking a few best low-priced WordPress hosting?
We chose two paid WordPress hosting providers we think you are interested in. These are among the best WordPress hostings in the web hosting industry.
1. SiteGround
(Super-fast loading, top-class security, excellent 24/7 support, Cloudflare CDN, and 30-day money-back guarantee)
Features of SiteGround WordPress Hosting
Disk Space: 10 GB
Domain Hosting: 1 – unlimited
Traffic: 10k – 100k/month
Subdomains: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
FTP Accounts: Unlimited
MySQL Database: Unlimited
SiteGround – a leading web host provides affordable WordPress hosting plans. You can get this hosting at as low as $3.95* per month. The host gives you three managed WordPress Hosting options full of great features.
SiteGround Managed WordPress Hosting Pricing
| StartUp | GrowBig | GoGeek |
|---|---|---|
| $3.95/month* | $5.95/month* | $11.95/month* |
| Regular Price: $11.95/month | Regular Price: $19.95/month | Regular Price: $34.95/month |
| 1 website | Unlimited websites | Unlimited websites |
| 10k traffic/month | 25k traffic/month | 100k traffic/month |
| 10 GB web storage | 20 GB web storage | 30 GB web storage |
| WordPress installation & updates | WordPress installation & updates | WordPress installation & updates |
| Cloudflare CDN | Cloudflare CDN | Cloudflare CDN |
| Daily backups | Daily + advanced on-demand backups | Daily + advanced on-demand backups |
With SiteGround WordPress hosting, you get every feature a free web hosting is short of. You will not have to compromise on the security, uptime, speed, backups, migration of your website. Likewise, you get 24/7 support with this hosting.
SiteGround takes the security of websites pretty seriously. It keeps the WordPress version and plugins versions updated. Likewise, it manages the security of your WordPress website at both server and firewall level, tracks vulnerabilities, and patches against any spam and exploit.
For unmatched WordPress performance, SiteGround comes with unique caching options, PHP & HTTPS setup, application optimizations.
Pros of SiteGround WordPress Hosting
- Automatic WordPress installation and updates
- Excellent WordPress hosting environment with staging, Git integration, SuperCacher, and WP-CLI
- Free domain
- Enhanced security with Firewall
- High-performance with SSD storage, Cloudflare CDN, PHP7.1, & NGINX
- Distributed server for better speed and performance
- Free regular nightly backups
- Free website migration
- 24/7 support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons of SiteGround WordPress Hosting
- Minimum billing cycle of 1 year
- No Google Adwords credits
- Limited storage as compared to other paid hosting plans
- Not great for big brands’ websites
2. Bluehost
Bluehost WordPress Hosting Features
Disk Space: 50 GB – unlimited
Domain Hosting: 1 – unlimited
Bandwidth: Unmetered
Subdomains: 5 – unlimited
Parked domains: 5 – unlimited
Email Accounts: 5 – Unlimited
FTP Accounts: Unlimited
MySQL Database: 20 – Unlimited
Bluehost, a popular name in web hosting offers three shared WordPress hosting plans. For those who want to step a level up from the free hosting, or who are searching for an almost-free WordPress hosting, Bluehost is ultimately an ideal option.
The pricing gets as low as $2.95 per month – you won’t get such a low pricing rate with other well-known hosting companies. Other shared and managed WordPress hosting plans of Bluehost are also quite economical.
Bluehost shared WordPress Hosting Pricing
| Basic | Plus | Choice Plus |
|---|---|---|
| $2.95/month* | $5.45/month* | $5.45/month* |
| 1 WordPress site | Unlimited websites | Unlimited websites |
| 50 GB web storage | Unmetered storage space | Unmetered storage space |
| Free SSL | Free SSL | Free SSL |
| Email accounts: 5 | Email accounts: Unlimited | Email accounts: Unlimited |
With Bluehost WordPress hosting, you will get impressive performance, top-class speed, 99.9% uptime, and quick customer support. Expect none of these benefits with a free WordPress hosts.
Bluehost uses SpamAssassin, Spam Experts, and other defensive measures to protect your site from viruses, malware, DDoS attacks, and other hack threats.
WordPress officially recommends three web hosts; one of them includes Bluehost as well. So, be assured your WordPress website will give you a top-class performance with seamless integration with WordPress, themes, and plugins.
Pros of Bluehost WordPress Hosting
- Unlimited storage, domains, and subdomains in higher-tier plans
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Customized cPanel and WordPress dashboard
- Beginner user-friendly
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL and SiteLock CDN
- Microsoft Office 365 annual subscription
- Staging environment
- Marketing credit of $200
- Hundreds of free and premium WordPress themes
- 24/7, responsive expert support
Cons of Bluehost WordPress Hosting
- Unlimited storage and domain options only in higher-tier plans
- The lowest commitment period of 12 months
- No free migration service
- No Windows-specific features
- Expensive site transfer fee
Conclusion
Wrapping up, we gave you both free and almost-free hosting options to host your WordPress website. If you are a WordPress beginner and want to try out different options, go with a free WordPress hosting.
But, if you want to build a professional website, don’t hesitate to spend a few dollars on a paid hosting plan. These cheap WordPress hosts offer you benefits that free hostings don’t. On top of that, paid hosts offer your website strong security, top speed, and great performance as compared to free hosts.
