If you’re looking for cheap web hosting in the UK, you’ll quickly find hosting companies advertising prices of only a few pounds — or even less — per month. But the price in the biggest writing isn’t always the amount you’ll actually pay.
A hosting plan advertised at £1.49 a month, for example, might require you to pay several years upfront. The price can also rise substantially when the introductory period ends.
So, rather than simply looking for the lowest number, it helps to understand what you’re actually buying.
In this guide, we’ll look at how much cheap web hosting costs in the UK, what to check before signing up and when paying a little more might actually save you money.
What is the cheapest web hosting in the UK?
You can find UK web hosting for just a few pounds a month, and sometimes considerably less when introductory offers are available.
At the time of writing, Hostinger advertises an entry-level web hosting plan at around £1.49 per month when taking a long-term plan. Other providers offer low-cost hosting with different contract lengths, features and renewal prices.
This is why there isn’t one permanent answer to the question of which company offers the cheapest web hosting in the UK. Promotions change, and the provider with the lowest introductory price isn’t necessarily the cheapest over several years.
A better comparison looks at:
- the introductory price;
- how much you have to pay upfront;
- the length of the initial contract;
- the renewal price;
- whether a domain is included;
- whether SSL is included;
- how many websites you can host;
- email accounts and storage; and
- whether backups and other useful features cost extra.
For a beginner creating a relatively simple website, you generally don’t need an expensive hosting package.
Cheap web hosting UK price comparison
Here are a few examples of prices available when we checked in September 2026.
| Provider | Advertised starting price | Important detail |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | From £1.49/month | Lowest price requires a long upfront commitment |
| GoDaddy | From £3.99/month for WordPress hosting | Introductory price applies to the initial term |
| Eco Web Hosting | From £4.49/month | Annual payment option also available |
These aren’t rankings of the “best” hosting companies. Prices and offers also change, so check the provider’s current price before buying.
We currently use Hostinger for our WordPress websites and have used GoDaddy in the past. We haven’t personally tested every hosting company mentioned in this guide, so where we discuss other providers, we’re comparing their published prices and features rather than pretending we’ve used them ourselves.
Why is cheap web hosting advertised by the month?
This catches beginners out surprisingly easily.
A hosting company might advertise:
£1.49/month
That doesn’t necessarily mean £1.49 will leave your bank account every month.
For example, when we checked Hostinger’s cheapest plan, the £1.49 monthly equivalent was based on a 48-month term costing £71.52 upfront.
So there are two different numbers worth considering:
Monthly equivalent: useful for comparing plans.
Amount due today: much more useful for deciding whether you can actually afford the plan.
Always go far enough through the purchasing process to see the total before paying.
Watch the renewal price
This is arguably more important than the introductory price.
Hosting companies often offer substantial discounts to new customers. When the initial term ends, the hosting renews at its normal rate.
For example, the Hostinger plan we found at £1.49 per month was advertised to renew at £7.99 per month.
That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad deal. A heavily discounted four-year introductory period could still work out well.
But you should know about the increase before choosing the host.
When comparing cheap web hosting, ask:
What will this cost me today, and what will it cost me when I renew?
That question is much more useful than simply asking which company has the cheapest headline price.
Is Hostinger cheap?
Hostinger is one of the cheaper hosting providers we’ve found, particularly when you’re willing to buy a longer plan upfront.
It’s also the hosting company we currently use, including for this website.
That matters because there’s a difference between comparing prices on a screen and actually using a hosting service to create and manage websites.
For a beginner, Hostinger can make it relatively inexpensive to get a WordPress website online. Some plans can also include extras such as a domain for the first year, which reduces the initial cost of creating a website.
There is a trade-off, though.
The lowest advertised prices generally require a longer commitment, and renewal can cost considerably more than the introductory rate.
So don’t choose Hostinger simply because you see a very low monthly figure. Look at the full cost of the plan that suits your website.
What about GoDaddy?
We’ve also used GoDaddy in the past.
GoDaddy is one of the biggest names you’ll encounter when looking for domains and web hosting, and it frequently runs introductory offers.
When we checked its UK website, entry-level WordPress hosting was being advertised from around £3.99 per month for the initial term.
As with Hostinger, look beyond the introductory price. Check the contract length, renewal price and exactly what’s included before purchasing.
Our current websites are hosted with Hostinger, so our experience with Hostinger is more recent than our experience with GoDaddy.
What about smaller UK hosting companies?
Cheap hosting isn’t limited to the huge international providers.
For example, Eco Web Hosting appeared prominently when we researched cheap UK web hosting. Its Essential plan was advertised at £4.49 per month or £44.99 when paying annually at the time we checked.
Smaller providers can therefore be worth considering alongside the familiar names.
However, we haven’t personally hosted a website with Eco Web Hosting, so we’re not going to tell you that it’s better or worse than a service we’ve actually used.
Its inclusion here simply shows that there are UK-focused alternatives worth comparing.
How much should web hosting cost?
For a simple first website, you shouldn’t assume that spending more automatically means you’re getting something you need.
Basic shared or WordPress hosting can be enough for many:
- personal websites;
- blogs;
- portfolio websites;
- small business websites; and
- new informational websites.
Your requirements can change as your website grows.
A busy ecommerce site, for example, may eventually need considerably more resources than a small five-page business website.
We’ve covered the numbers in more detail in our guide to how much web hosting costs in the UK.
What is the cheapest way to host a website?
For most beginners who want their own domain and WordPress website, one of the cheapest practical approaches is usually:
Domain + low-cost shared or WordPress hosting + WordPress
WordPress itself is free open-source software. You’re primarily paying for the domain and somewhere for the website to live.
Some hosting packages include a domain for the first year, which can make the initial cost even lower.
This is essentially the approach we’ve used when creating websites ourselves.
You don’t need to start with expensive premium themes, large hosting packages or dozens of paid plugins.
Get the basic website working first.
Can I get web hosting for free?
Free hosting does exist, but “free” usually comes with compromises.
You may have restrictions on storage, traffic, features, support or the domain you can use.
Website builders can also offer free plans where hosting is included, but you may have to use the company’s subdomain or display its branding.
That can be perfectly adequate if you’re experimenting.
If you’re building a website you intend to grow, rank in Google or use for a business, paying a modest amount for your own domain and hosting gives you considerably more control.
Cheap hosting and cheap website builders aren’t the same thing
This distinction is worth understanding.
With traditional web hosting, you’re paying a company to provide the server space and infrastructure your website needs.
You then install or use software such as WordPress to create the website.
A website builder such as Wix packages the website-building software and hosting together.
So when someone searches for the cheapest website builder in the UK, they’re not necessarily looking for the same product as someone searching for cheap web hosting.
Neither approach is automatically better.
The important question is how you want to build and manage your website.
Is cheap web hosting good enough?
Often, yes.
A brand-new website with a small number of visitors generally doesn’t need the same hosting resources as a large ecommerce or publishing website.
Cheap hosting becomes a problem when the low price comes with compromises that matter to you.
Before buying, check things such as:
- storage;
- bandwidth or traffic limits;
- backups;
- SSL certificates;
- customer support;
- email;
- number of websites allowed;
- WordPress support;
- renewal costs.
Don’t pay extra for features you don’t understand simply because the pricing page says they’re better.
But equally, don’t save £10 or £20 a year if doing so removes something your website genuinely needs.
Should I choose monthly or long-term web hosting?
This comes down to certainty versus price.
Long contracts often produce the lowest monthly equivalent. They’re attractive if you’re confident you’ll continue using the hosting.
A shorter contract gives you more flexibility but may cost more per month.
For a beginner experimenting with their very first website, committing to several years purely because the headline monthly figure looks cheaper isn’t automatically the best decision.
Look at the total amount you’re committing, not just the divided monthly figure.
Don’t forget the cost of your domain
Hosting and domains are separate things, even though companies frequently sell them together.
Your domain is the address people use to reach your website.
Your hosting is where the website itself is stored and served from.
Some hosting plans include a domain for the first year. Others don’t.
And even when the first year is free, you’ll normally pay to renew the domain later.
What cheap web hosting would we choose as beginners?
We currently use Hostinger, so it’s the provider we can speak about from the most recent first-hand experience.
Its introductory pricing can make it an inexpensive way to start a WordPress website, particularly if you’re comfortable paying for a longer period upfront.
But that doesn’t mean we’re declaring Hostinger the best web host in the UK.
We haven’t tested every hosting provider, and your priorities may be different from ours.
For a first website, we’d concentrate on finding hosting that:
- supports the platform you want to use;
- provides the essentials your website needs;
- has a total upfront cost you’re comfortable with;
- has a renewal price you’ve checked; and
- doesn’t make you pay for resources you’re unlikely to use.
That’s a more useful way to choose cheap web hosting in the UK than simply selecting whichever company displays the smallest number.
Cheap web hosting can be genuinely cheap
You don’t need expensive hosting to start your first website.
There are UK hosting options available for only a few pounds per month, particularly when introductory offers are taken into account.
Just remember that cheap web hosting isn’t only about the introductory monthly price.
Check the upfront payment, contract length, included features and renewal price.
A £1.49-a-month hosting plan isn’t necessarily cheaper for you than a £4-a-month plan once those differences are taken into account.
If you’re still unsure whether you need hosting at all, read Do I Need Web Hosting for My Website? next.
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