Finding the best web hosting service for your situation is one of the keys to starting a new website, just like choosing the best website builder to build it. There are countless different types of hosting available from hundreds of different hosts, and you will be swamped for choice if you’re not careful.
Here, we’re taking a close look at the best WordPress hosting on the market today. The name basically says it all: WordPress hosting is simply web hosting that’s tailored towards those who want to create a new website with the popular WordPress.org content management system (CMS).
Generally, the best WordPress hosting will come with a range of specialized features. These may include things like WordPress-optimized infrastructure, specialized website builder integrations, and premium plugins and/or templates.
It’s also worth noting that both managed and unmanaged options are available. With unmanaged WordPress hosting, you will need to take care of technical management, security, and most other things yourself. With a managed WordPress hosting subscription, much of this will be done for you.
Below, we outline our favorite WordPress hosts, including a selection of managed and unmanaged options for all experience levels.
The best WordPress hosting available right now
If you’re looking for a budget WordPress hosting solution, it’s hard to look past Hostinger. It’s right up there with our favorite hosts in general, and its WordPress solutions don’t disappoint.
The most basic plan is a little limited, but at just $1.99 a month for a three-year subscription, you won’t find better value for money anywhere. This comes with 30GB of storage, 100GB of bandwidth, support for one site, and a selection of WordPress management features.
Upgrading to one of the more advanced plans will add unlimited bandwidth, increased storage, support for more sites, and a free domain for the first year of your subscription. All plans come with a free SSL certificate, a 99.99% uptime guarantee, and excellent 24/7 support.
In addition, Hostinger’s hPanel control panel is arguably even better than popular options like Plesk and cPanel. The company emphasizes security, with a range of tools designed to protect your site from hackers and data breaches.
On the downside, the slightly basic low-end plans will bother some users. The base plan has no free domain, and you can expect to pay significantly more than the advertised prices for short subscription terms. To learn more about this web host and its services, read our comprehensive Hostinger review.
Bluehost is one of WordPress.org’s recommended hosts, and for good reason. It offers a selection of unmanaged and fully managed WordPress hosting solutions, with options for everyone from complete beginners to advanced users.
Unmanaged plans start at just $3.95 a month for a 36-month subscription (renews at $8.99 a month). This includes 50GB of storage, one website connection, unlimited bandwidth, a selection of custom themes, pre-installed WordPress, and automatic WordPress updates. The two higher-end plans support unlimited website connections with unlimited storage, while the top Choice Plus plan (from $6.95 a month) includes automatic backups for the first year.
The managed WordPress hosting plans are somewhat more expensive, with prices ranging from $9.95 to $27.95 for an initial three-year plan. These only support a single website connection, but all come with daily backups, automatic malware detection and removal, a WordPress-optimized server network, and a suite of other advanced tools.
On the downside, monthly payments aren’t available with either type of WordPress hosting. Unmanaged plans come with a 12-month minimum term, while you will have to pay for at least three months upfront for a managed plan. Prices will also increase significantly after your first term. Read our Bluehost review to find out more.
If you’re looking for an advanced WordPress hosting solution that you can rely on, Liquid Web is hard to look past. It’s far from the cheapest host available, but it offers some of the most powerful hosting we’ve seen.
On the WordPress front, there’s a selection of both managed WordPress and managed WooCommerce options. All are built on the Nexus digital commerce cloud, which has been created with a focus on speed, security, and scalability. The customer service options are excellent, and there’s a 100% uptime guarantee across the board.
The managed WordPress hosting options are designed specifically for those creating standard websites with WordPress.org. The base plan starts at $9.50 a month for the first six months ($19 a month thereafter) and includes one website connection, 15GB of storage, 2TB of bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts. Upgrading to more advanced plans adds support for more sites, along with increased storage and bandwidth.
If you want to build an online store with the WordPress.org and WooCommerce combination, the managed WooCommerce plans could be the right option. They come with a range of ecommerce-specific features, including a beginner-friendly store builder.
On the downside, Liquid Web will be too expensive for some users. There are no budget unmanaged WordPress hosting options, and the limited storage with low-end plans will be a concern for some. Our full Liquid Web review focuses on the company’s products and services in more detail.
DreamHost has long been known as one of the leading WordPress hosting providers. It offers a selection of unmanaged, managed, and ecommerce specific plans for websites of all shapes and sizes.
An unmanaged subscription will get you access to a WordPress website builder, pre-installed WordPress software, free automatic site migrations, and unmetered bandwidth. The cheapest Starter plan comes in at $2.59 a month for a three-year plan, but it only supports one website connection. The Unlimited plan (from $3.95 a month) enables unlimited website connections.
The managed DreamPress subscriptions are even more powerful, adding managed security, automatic updates, and full server optimization. All users will have access to a one-click staging environment, automatic backups, automatic caching, and unlimited email accounts, which is great to see.
There’s also a selection of fully-managed WordPress VPS plans, which are targeted at those creating an online store. These come with unlimited support, a 100% uptime guarantee, and excellent scalability.
On the downside, DreamHost’s native hosting management panel is a little basic and confusing. There’s no free domain, and it’s certainly not the most powerful provider across the board. Learn more about DreamHost in our detailed DreamHost review.
WP Engine is a clear leader when it comes to managed WordPress hosting. It offers a selection of advanced solutions for blogs, online stores, and virtually any other type of website you could want to create. All plans come with full technical management and a range of advanced features, which is great to see.
The base Managed Hosting plans start at $30 a month ($25 with annual payments). These come with automatic site migrations, daily backups, a one-click staging environment, among other things. More advanced options come with more bandwidth, storage, and site connections.
Upgrading to a Managed Hosting Plus plan will give you access to automatic plugin updates, reducing the amount of work you need to do to keep your site online. The Ecommerce Hosting plans add WooCommerce tools, one-click store creation, and an optimized store theme. Lastly, the Secure Hosting options add advanced protection in the form of a firewall, distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, and more.
On the downside, WP Engine is quite expensive compared to many of the alternatives on the market. You do get what you pay for, but there are numerous advanced tools that may just be too confusing and unnecessary for those without significant web development experience.
Kinsta specializes in fully managed WordPress hosting, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of the top-rated providers around. Its plans are a little expensive, but the excellent performance and great advanced features on offer really make it an option worth considering.
It offers a wide range of options for businesses of all sizes. There are 10 plans available, with prices ranging from $30 to $1,500 a month. The base plan supports one WordPress site with up to 25,000 monthly visits and 10GB of SSD storage. Upgrading adds support for more site connections and more server resources.
All plans are built on the Google Cloud Platform, providing leading performance across the board. You will benefit from the integration of a suite of performance-enhancing tools, various staging areas, excellent security, and an attractive native management panel.
On the downside, Kinsta is quite expensive. Storage and bandwidth are a little limited with the low-end plans, and there’s no phone support.
Cloudways offers advanced, highly scalable cloud hosting solutions that are perfect for larger WordPress websites. It provides managed hosting through a choice of five popular cloud networks, including Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Vultr, Linode, and Digital Ocean.
All subscriptions are on a pay-as-you-go basis, which essentially means that you won’t ever have to pay for resources or services that you’re not using. Prices and server resources vary according to the cloud network you choose to base your hosting on. The cheapest plan starts at $10 a month for 1GB of RAM, 25GB of storage, and 1TB of bandwidth on the DigitalOcean network.
There are a few general features that stand out across Cloudways’ product offerings. All users will have access to 24/7/365 support. Proactive server and security monitoring take place across the board, and any issues will be dealt with in a timely manner. You will also benefit from a selection of performance-enhancing, collaboration, and management tools to make your life easier.
However, it’s worth noting that Cloudways isn’t a great option for those without much experience. You will need some technical knowledge to get the most out of it, especially if you plan to create a large and/or advanced site.
