How much does website hosting cost in 2026?
Clutch puts hosting at about $2 to $80 a month. Shared plans start near $2.49 a month, but the price you see is usually for the first term, and renewals cost two to four and a half times as much.
Want this done for you? See our website and app development service. Related reading: How much does website maintenance cost? · How much does a small business website cost? · How much does a Shopify store cost?
Key takeaways
- Clutch’s budget guide puts website hosting at $2 to $80 a month, a domain at $0 to $20 a year and SSL at $0 to $1,000 a year.
- Advertised shared hosting prices are first-term prices: the plans we checked renew at roughly two to four and a half times as much.
- Managed WordPress hosting starts at about $28 a month on a yearly plan.
- Compare the renewal price and what is included, not the headline price.
The short answer
Hosting a small business website costs about $2 to $80 a month in 2026. That is the range in Clutch’s website budget guide, updated in May 2026, which also puts a domain name at $0 to $20 a year and an SSL certificate at $0 to $1,000 a year. Many hosts now include SSL for free.
The catch is renewal. The cheapest plans are priced for the first term, often paid up front for one to four years, and then renew at a much higher monthly rate. Our website development care plan, which includes hosting, is covered at the end.
What popular plans cost, and renew at
These prices were read from each host’s US pricing page on 23 October 2026. They change often, so check before you buy.
| Plan | First-term price | Renews at | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49 a month | $10.99 a month | 48 months paid up front ($119.52) |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99 a month | $9.99 a month | 36 months |
| Bluehost Business | $6.99 a month | $13.99 a month | 36 months |
| SiteGround StartUp | $3.99 a month | $17.99 a month | 12 months prepaid |
| SiteGround GrowBig | $6.69 a month | $29.99 a month | 12 months prepaid |
| WP Engine Essential (managed WordPress) | $28 a month | Renewal pricing subject to change | Billed yearly ($336) |
What the price buys
- Shared hosting. Your site shares a server with many others. It is the cheapest option and fine for a small brochure site with modest traffic.
- Managed WordPress hosting. The host looks after server updates, caching and backups for WordPress sites. It costs more, and you still update your own themes and plug-ins unless the plan says otherwise.
- Builder plans. Wix, Squarespace and Shopify include hosting in the monthly plan, so there is no separate hosting bill, but you cannot move the site elsewhere easily.
- Extras. Email accounts, daily backups, malware cleanup and a content delivery network are sometimes included and sometimes sold as add-ons.
What to check before you buy
- The renewal price. Multiply it by twelve. That is what the site will cost each year once the first term ends, and it is the fair number to compare between hosts.
- The term. A low monthly price often means paying one to four years up front. Check whether a shorter term costs more per month.
- Backups. Ask how often they run, how long they are kept and whether restoring one costs extra.
- Email. Some plans include email accounts on your domain; others charge for them separately.
- Who does the updates. On most cheap plans, keeping WordPress, the theme and plug-ins up to date is still your job.
- Moving later. Check whether the host will help you move the site in, and how easily you can take it elsewhere.
For a small business site with a few hundred visitors a day, a shared plan is usually enough. Busy stores, sites with logins and sites that run ads to large audiences benefit from managed hosting, where speed and backups are handled for you.
How the options compare
| Cheap shared hosting | Managed WordPress hosting | Blue Leopard Media care plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | About $2.49 to $6.99 at first, $9.99 to $29.99 on renewal | From about $28 on a yearly plan | $99 |
| Updates and security | You do them | Server side by the host; the rest is usually yours | Included |
| Small edits to the site | You do them | You do them | Included |
| Who you call | The host’s support desk | The host’s support desk | The team that built the site |
Shared and managed hosting figures are from the pricing pages above. What each plan includes varies, so read the plan details.
Where Blue Leopard Media fits
For sites we build, the care plan is $99 a month. It covers hosting, updates and security, and small edits, so there is one bill and one team to call when something needs changing. Websites start at $1,499 for up to six pages and $2,999 for up to twelve pages plus a blog, with GA4, the Google Ads tag and the Meta Pixel set up before launch.
If you would rather host the site yourself, that is fine too: the written quote sets out what we hand over at launch. See the prices.
Frequently asked.
How much does website hosting cost per month?
Clutch puts hosting at $2 to $80 a month. Shared plans start at about $2.49 to $6.99 a month for the first term, and managed WordPress hosting starts at about $28 a month on a yearly plan.
Why does my hosting bill go up after the first year?
Most hosts advertise a first-term price. The plans we checked renew at roughly two to four and a half times that price, for example $3.99 rising to $17.99 a month.
How much does a domain name cost?
Clutch puts a domain at $0 to $20 a year. Some hosts include the first year free with a plan.
Do I need to pay for an SSL certificate?
Often not. Many hosts include a free certificate. Clutch puts paid SSL at up to $1,000 a year, which is usually only needed for special cases.
Keep reading.
How much does website maintenance cost in 2026?
Website maintenance costs about $39 to $99 a month on a care plan in 2026, plus hosting at $2 to $80 a month. What each part costs and what to check.
Read the guide CostsHow much does a small business website cost in 2026?
A small business website costs about $2,000 to $10,000 from a freelancer and $15,000 or more from an agency in 2026. What changes the price, and what it buys.
Read the guide CostsHow much does a Shopify store cost in 2026?
A Shopify store costs $29 to $299 a month on yearly plans, plus card fees from 2.5% + 30¢. A custom build costs $2,000 to $20,000 or more, says Shopify.
Read the guideOne bill for hosting, updates and edits.
Websites from $1,499, and a $99 a month care plan with hosting, updates, security and small edits. A written quote with the pages, features and timeline before any work starts.