Every hosting review site quotes the advertised price. We start with the renewal price, the resource ceiling and the company that owns the brand — because those three decide what you pay and none of them appear at checkout.
We run no speed tests of our own. Every figure here comes from a named source with its date, or it does not get published.
The Hosts Most People Compare
| Host | Rating | Renewal price |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | ⭐ 4.2 | $10.99/mo after 48 months |
| InterServer | ⭐ 4.1 | $2.50/mo, never changes |
| Cloudways | ⭐ 4.1 | $14.00/mo, never changes |
| WP Engine | ⭐ 4.1 | $35.00/mo after 12 months |
| Kinsta | ⭐ 4.1 | $35.00/mo, never changes |
Ranked by our score, not by price. Bluehost renews cheaper than the host above it and still places fourth, because renewal price is one of five criteria rather than the whole judgment. Which hosts appear here is based on what readers actually compare — here is how we choose.
Three Things We Found That Nobody Prints
One host states its file limit four different ways. Bluehost’s own documentation gives 50,000 as a soft cap, 200,000 in its acceptable use policy, 1,000,000 as the terms-of-service line, and a fourth phrasing on the pricing page. Another host publishes no figure at all. → What “unlimited” hosting actually means
The WordPress.org recommendation carries an affiliate parameter. The page listing recommended hosts calls its own selection arbitrary, names contribution to WordPress as its first criterion, and states that some listed hosts return part of your fee. → What the official list actually promises
A renewal multiplier means nothing without its term. One host multiplies by six from a twelve-month base; another multiplies by two and a half from thirty-six. Comparing those figures directly is the most common error in this category. → Every renewal price, with its term
Start Here
If you are buying your first hosting, read what three years actually costs before you read any review. The same plan can cost $143.64 or $335.64 depending on a term selector most buyers never open. → What web hosting costs over three years
If you already have hosting and the bill went up, the increase is published and predictable. → Hosting renewal prices
If your shortlist has two names on it, check whether they share an owner first. Newfold Digital’s own boilerplate names eight brands, and two of them regularly appear on the same comparison. → Who owns your web host
Reviews
Each host is scored on speed, uptime, support, price and ease of use. Every performance figure is attributed to a named testing project with its measurement window, because a number without a window is not evidence.
- Hostinger Review — 4.2
- Cloudways Review — 4.1
- Kinsta Review — 4.1
- Bluehost Review — 4.0
- SiteGround Review — 3.9
Comparisons
Head-to-head comparisons covering every pair among them. Each one prices both plans across the same thirty-six months, because that is where the storefront ranking and the actual ranking stop agreeing.
What Hosting Costs
The pages that give this site its reason to exist: renewal multipliers with their terms, the add-ons that renew separately, the resource ceilings published in help articles rather than on pricing pages.
How We Work
We do not run our own tests. No speed benchmarks, no uptime monitoring, no support timing. Every performance figure on this site is attributed to a named project with its window stated, and where two projects disagree we publish both rather than averaging them.
We say when we could not verify something. Where a figure could not be confirmed, the page says so instead of filling the gap.
We disclose our own conflicts. This site runs on Hostinger, which we review. It runs on Yoast SEO, which belongs to the company that owns Bluehost, which we also review. Both facts are on our About page, along with the five criteria behind every score.
Our ratings do not follow commissions. Kinsta pays roughly eight times what Bluehost pays per sale. Kinsta scores 4.1 and Bluehost scores 4.0.