Best Free Web Hosting Comparison – 2023

Whether you’re looking to start a blog or you want to establish a solid Internet presence for your company, creating a website can be a costly endeavor. I talk to lots of people every week looking for advice on getting their website up and running. One thing that always stands out to me is that most people are unaware of the initial effort or expenses involved.

Not only do you need to purchase the domain, but you also need to host it on a server if you ever want your audience to see your hard work. Depending on the web host you go with and the particular contents of your digital space, you can be spending a lot more on your website than you originally planned.

Luckily, I’ve discovered that there are many ways to cut back on the costs. Free web hosting allows you to get your website up and running in no time. I don’t advise this for everyone, and paying for solid hosting can make a huge difference in the long run. But I do think that free options are great for beginners looking to start things off small and simple.

They can help you stay within your budget as your business grows and you learn more about what it takes to own a website. Free hosting can serve you well until you’re ready to upgrade to an option that offers more features.

In my experience, not all free hosting companies offer the same perks or customer service. I have found that many free services often comes with many sacrifices. To ensure that you don’t run into any problems setting up your free website, it’s important that you do your research and find a host that meets your needs. Here’s a collection of some of the best free web hosting companies I’ve experienced so far, to get you started.

Hostinger.com – Three Months Free – Then $2.99 per month ( 48 month contract )

Hostinger is only free for the first three months, and only if you commit to specific packages. But I think it deserves a place in this list. This company offers a range of affordable hosting services to accommodate a wide range of Internet entrepreneurs. Their most affordable option, the Single Shared Hosting plan, currently costs only $1.99 per month when taken as a 48 month contract. After the initial term, it renews at $3.99 per month.

If you opt for the Premium Web Hosting plan, the first three months are free, and the price is $2.99 after this free term, for all 12, 24 and 48 month contract terms. The 48 month term offers the best value overall, and the cheapest renewal price, at $6.99 per month.

The shared hosting plan is ideal for novice developers looking for a quick and easy way to launch their website. Hostinger offers access to a feature-rich website builder. It’s relatively easy to use, allowing you to create beautifully designed websites without much technical know-how. Once your site is up and running, you can maintain it on an intuitive control panel. It’s not the Linux-based cPanel that you might be used to, but the in-house platform offers plenty of great features to put control at your fingertips.

The areas in which Hostinger stands out is its uptime and speed. This hosting platform rivals some of the most well-reviewed paid hosts in terms of speed. They also guarantee a 99.9 percent uptime, which is quite impressive for their low monthly rate.

The shared hosting plan includes 10 GB of disk space, so you can create a media-rich website without any issues. It also has 100 GB of bandwidth. One great thing about starting off with the almost-free plan is that you can easily migrate to higher tiers whenever you’re ready. Hostinger offers a range of different plans, each with all-new features you can use to help your website grow.

Features: 

• 1 free website
• 50 GB of SSD Storage
• 100 GB of bandwidth
• 99.9 percent uptime guaranteed
• 1 email account
• 24/7 live chat support
• One-click installation of popular CMS
• 1 MySQL database

Or read our more detailed Hostinger Review >>

000WebHost.com

100% Free – But your website will be offline for 1 hour per day…DOH!!!!

With over 10 years in the industry, 000WebHost has gained a great reputation among businesses and individuals across the globe. They offer a free hosting plan that’s quite flexible in terms of features. What I really like about 000WebHost, is that there are no ads whatsoever. 000WebHost doesn’t force you to advertise for them or any other company, so you can create a digital space that’s completely catered to your audience.

When you register with 000WebHost, you have instant access to their website builder. It has hundreds of templates that can be modified with just a few clicks. You don’t need to understand complex coding or even graphic design to build a website that you can be proud of.

The hosting platform supports most of the popular programming languages, such as PHP and MySQL. It’s also one of the only free hosts that offer an AutoInstaller. Instead of struggling to get scripts working on your website, you can install many popular options with just one click. These include scripts from Joomla, WordPress Drupal, and so much more. You can make complex upgrades to your website with a simple click of your mouse.

Features:

• 300 MB of Disk Space
• 3 GB of bandwidth
• 99 percent uptime guarantee
• Ad-free
• Forum-based support
• Script AutoInstaller
• Free website builder
• cPanel

Read our 000webhost review.

Wix.com

Another familiar name in website building, Wix offers free hosting services to those looking to publish a quick, easy, and beautiful site. In my experience, Wix is ideal for smaller websites only, due to the limitations of its free hosting plan. They offer 500 MB of Disk space for your website and 1 TB of bandwidth for traffic. While that may not seem like much, the company’s website builder allows you to do a lot with that limited space.

In fact, the website builder is one of the biggest “selling points” of the free hosting plan. It’s perfect for people who have no programming or design skills. The interface is based entirely on graphic design. All you have to do is drag and drop design components to create a website that looks like it was made by a professional. There are also over 500 modifiable templates to provide some inspiration.

Wix also offers additional features to its hosting plans. For one, the company focuses a lot on security. Websites are hosted on servers that are located around the world. They’re very reliable, providing a 99.9 percent uptime rate. Servers are constantly monitored for safety. In fact, Wix complies with international security standards to keep you and your visitors safe. When you are ready to expand your online offerings, Wix does have many paid plans. Some of these plans include search engine optimization, e-commerce capabilities, and more.

Features:

• 500 MB of Disk space
• 1 TB of bandwidth
• Free Wix subdomain
• 99.9 percent uptime
• Easy website builder
• Free plan can be upgraded with a few clicks

Or read our more detailed Wix Review >>

InfinityFree.net

InifinityFree is one of the newest hosting providers to offer free services. As their name implies, they focus on offering many unlimited features. While most free companies have strict limitations in terms of how much space you can use, InfinityFree does not. They offer unlimited bandwidth and 5 GB disk space, though the host does have its own unique set of restrictions you should go through before publishing your website.

The hosting company is a great place to show off media. The unlimited storage space allows you to implement streaming videos and music without any issues. In fact, InfinityFree encourages this. They do not, however, let you store links for download. Not only does this help to protect your website from possible security issues, but it can also keep other hosted sites on the server performing well.

InfinityFree also offers is peace of mind and convenience. Every free website comes with an SSL certificate so your visitors know that they have a secure connection. There are no forced ads on your finished website wither. While they don’t offer free domains, InfinityFree does provide you with free subdomains. You also get 10 free email accounts, 99.9 percent uptime, and an easy-to-use script installer.

Features:

• 5GB Disk space
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Ad-free
• Forum-based support
• Script Installer
• Free SSL certificate
• 400 MySQL databases
• 10 email accounts
• Full .htaccess support

x10Hosting.com

If you’re looking for a complete hosting option that offers flexibility, take a look at x10hosting. This hosting company has been providing free service for well over a decade. They have developed their services to ensure that you’re getting top-notch care, even if you’re not paying a dime. For example, their cloud services are powered by enterprise systems with solid-state drives.

The equipment is built to last. It’s not some cheap hard drive that takes forever to load. Instead, the servers utilize speedy drives provide you with fast and stable service no matter how complex your website may be.

The hosting platform is designed to be as simple or elaborate as you need it to be. They offer a feature-rich website builder and a range of hosting tools. You’ll have access to the latest cPanel X3 control panel. With this panel, you can make easy upgrades as your website grows.

You also have access to over 150 fully customizable templates for sites of any niche. The selection is great, and many of these templates catch my eye. You can play around with them, and I’ve noticed examples that would sit well will many different projects.

My only concern, is at 500 GB, the initial disk space offering is relatively small. If you plan on using lots of images, this may be an issue at first. However, after your first week, if you are using more than 75% of your disk space allocation, you can request a free upgrade for your storage. In response to a query I had about this, I was informed however, that the cap remains at 500 GB for photo galleries on the free package.

When it comes to scripts, x10hosting has you covered. The platform supports over 300 one-click installs. You can also use third-party packages or implement your own PHP scripts for ultimate flexibility. The hosting company also has the latest versions of PHP, CSS, MySQL, and more.

Features:

• 500 MB Disk space Initially, but free upgrades available if you qualify
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Forum-based support
• One-click script Installer
• No free email account
• MySQL database management tools
• Over 150 fully customizable templates

AwardSpace.com

AwardSpace is a company that’s focused on letting people create free websites quickly. They offer robust tools to help you build a website from scratch in only 30 minutes. Best of all, it’s completely free. The hosting platform offers 1000 MB of disk space and 5 GB bandwidth. It’s also ad-free, so you don’t have to worry about unwanted advertisements on your finished site.

One thing that sets AwardSpace apart from other free options is that they also give you one free domain. It utilizes a dx.am extension. You can also add up to three subdomains, essentially giving you four websites to host. AwardSpace has an intuitive user interface that’s easy to understand. Great extras, such as the web-based file manager, ensure that all your content, scripts, and programming files stay nice and organized.

Speaking of scripts, AwardSpace lets you implement scripts with only one click. The one-click installer works with many popular CMS, such as WordPress and Joomla. If you do come across any issues, you’ll be happy to know that the host has 24/7 customer support. AwardSpace is much more than just a free web host. They also offer various paid tiers.

Once your website starts to get more successful, you can easily upgrade your free plan and take advantage of all the extra features the hosting company has to offer. I’m impressed with the pricing for the premium packages. If you do decide to upgrade, you can get the first 12 months for $2.99 – ($59.88 regular renewal price).

Features:

• 1000 MB Disk space
• 5 GB bandwidth
• Bandwidth tracker
• 24/7 customer support
• One-click script Installer
• 1 free email account
• Free domain name and 3 free subdomains
• Full MySQL database support and PHPmyAdmin

FreeHosting.com

As their name implies, FreeHosting is about providing you with reliable free service and nothing more. This hosting company is very unique in the fact that they’re quite upfront in what they do and do not offer. This can be a breath of fresh air, especially with so many hosting companies providing empty promises.

With FreeHosting, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. The company does not provide free domains, nor can you make changes to how your server performs. The free service plan is also not available to everyone. In fact, the company does not serve clients from a handful of countries.

For the companies and individuals they do serve, FreeHosting offers unmetered bandwidth for one website. Because they are offering free web hosting services, they do have some limitations. Included within their terms of service, you’ll find guidelines on what types of content they deem acceptable. While this may seem a bit cumbersome at first, the limitations play an important role in keeping your website safe and secure.

FreeHosting will remove websites from their servers if they don’t meet their guidelines. This helps to protect your website and ensure that your audience can visit your digital space without any issues. As long as you fit within those guidelines, you can take advantage of a free website builder, convenient cPanel control panel, web applications, and more. You can also get an add-on to improve your site. They’re only billed once, so you can make enhancements without recurring costs.

Features:

• 10 GB of Disk space
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Ticket-based support
• Automatic script Installer
• 1 free email account
• MySQL database server
• PHPmyAdmin

FreeHostia.com

FreeHostia is a unique hosting company that offers a range of services to meet your ever-changing needs. If you’re first getting started, you can benefit greatly from their free cloud hosting plan. Dubbed the “Chocolate” plan, their free service is versatile enough to help you establish a high-quality website without paying a thing. You can host up to five domains with your 250 MB of disk space. When it comes to traffic, FreeHostia gives you 6 GB of bandwidth each month for free.

FreeHostia focuses a lot on providing people like you with reliable service. Their data centers are located in the United States. Each server is installed in a controlled environment to ensure that they provide optimal performance. Even with their free plan, FreeHostia is touting a 99.9 percent uptime rate.

Features of your free hosting account are quite versatile. They have a website builder with a collection of beautifully designed templates that you can modify to meet your needs. There’s also support for a wide range of scripts and programming languages. You can host up to five different domains with the free plan. However, the five domains count towards the overall storage and traffic limitations. Luckily, FreeHostia does offer a few different paid plans whenever you need to make an upgrade.

• 256 MB of Disk space
• 6 GB bandwidth
• Ticket-based support and self troubleshooting
• One-click script installer
• 3 free email account
• Can host up to 5 domains
• MySQL database storage

Byet.Host

This United States-based hosting company offers many great features to help you establish an online presence in only a matter of minutes. Their platform is very easy to use. Instead of the traditional cPanel interface, ByetHost has its own proprietary control panel, called VistaPanel. It’s easy to use by users of any skill level. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned web developer, you won’t have any issues taking control of your website with this control panel. They give you five email accounts and unlimited MySQL databases for your convenience.

When it comes to performance, ByetHost really delivers. The company manages its own hosting network. It’s comprised of powerful servers that are arranged in a grid pattern. The equipment is constantly maintained for good performance. This ensures that your website has a high uptime rate.

ByetHost includes an Automatic Script Installer. It’s compatible with many popular applications, such as WordPress, Mambo, 4Images, and so much more. The hosting company also provides you with PhpMyAdmin, bandwidth statistics, unlimited add-on domains, and free customer support around the clock.

Features:

• 1 GB of Disk space
• 5 GB bandwidth
• Automatic script installer
• 5 email acounts
• Unlimited MySQL database
• In-house VistaPanel control panel
• No forced Ads

Weebly.com

Weebly is one of the most recognizable names when it comes to website building. The company has created a very user-friendly platform that allows you to make sleek and modern websites without the need to worry about complicated programming. To help you get your site seen by the masses, Weebly also offers free web hosting.

The free hosting plan is limited in terms of features. However, you can take advantage of Weebly’s reliable server infrastructure to ensure that your site is performing well for your audience. They offer 500 MB of storage space. Thanks to the intuitive website builder, you can use this space strategically and produce a beautiful website you’ll be proud to show off.

Luckily, Weebly doesn’t have strict limitations for bandwidth. They utilize a shared-hosting technique. While other shared hosting plans may have your website grouped with a small collection of other websites on a single server, Weebly does things a bit different. Your website is served across the entire server system. This helps to prevent performance issues that are caused by other shared sites.

Weebly offers some great perks with the free plan. In addition to unlimited bandwidth, they offer a free subdomain and free SSL security for peace of mind. There’s also search engine optimization to help your website reach its full potential. Once you’re ready, Weebly offers a range of other hosting plans as well.

Features:

• 500 MB of Disk space
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Free Weebly subdomain
• SSL security
• Free SEO
• Works seamlessly with Weebly website builder

Or read our more detailed Weebly Review >>

GoogieHost

To me, GoogieHost stands out as one of the best choices of free web hosting for beginners and small businesses. One of the main reasons I like them, is their generous offering of features.

With unlimited subdomains and FTP accounts, users have the flexibility to create and manage multiple projects. The 1000MB SSD Disk Space is more than enough for small websites, and the free SSL certificate is an added bonus that boosts security and credibility.

I also really like the easy-to-use website builder. GoogieHost’s free website builder is intuitive and straightforward, and you can create a professional-looking website in no time. The drag-and-drop functionality make it accessible even to those with minimal technical skills.

Googiehost are also another of the free web hosting provider that don’t place ads on your website.

Features:

• No Ads
• Free SitePad Builder
• Malware Protection
• Free SSL Certificate
• Direct Admin cPanel
• 1000 MB SSD Storage
• 100 GB Bandwidth
• Cloudflare Protection
• Over 99% Uptime

Is Free Hosting Right For You?

Everyone likes free things, so it’s not uncommon for companies and bloggers to forgo paid hosting options in favor of free alternatives. Unfortunately, many of them realize quite quickly that doing so was a huge mistake.

While free hosting can be a wonderful option for budget-conscious Internet entrepreneurs looking to get started, it’s not a feasible long-term solution to your hosting needs. Free plans are very limited in what they can offer. Oftentimes, the free service comes with a lot of sacrifices. Because you’re not paying for anything, hosting platforms don’t have to provide you with the level of customer service that they would to those who are paying each month. This can lead to many problems, including unreliable service, lost content, and deleted websites.

You can always start your website with a free host and eventually migrate to a paid plan. If you still want to save some money without sacrificing on quality, you can go with more affordable paid plans. Companies are constantly adding new features to their hosting services. As technology advances, the costs of adding more storage space or bandwidth goes down. So, you can easily find new customer discounts or save money by purchasing service for multiple years in advanced.

It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to host a feature-rich website. All you have to do is find a suitable hosting provider that offers the features that are most important to you. They should also be able to provide you and your website visitors with fast, reliable performance.

Why I Always Recommend Paid Hosting

The free hosts that I’ve covered in this guide are the best around when it comes to offering quality free hosting, but they do find it hard keeping up with demand, which means that their service suffers. Often you’ll find your website is offline, slow, unreliable, and unusable from a users’ point of view. This defeats the object of being online. If potential viewers, subscribers, customers can’t access your website properly because your servers are crap, then what’s the point in putting in all that effort to design and populate a website with content?

Another reason why I recommend a paid host is the fact that you have 100% control over your website. With the free services, they own your site. They essentially own your content and can delete your website or online business at a moments notice.

Alternatives To Free Website Hosting

There’s loads of alternatives to free web hosting. Take a look at our Cheap Web Hosting Guide, to see the most competitively priced web hosts for people and businesses on a budget.

I recommend Hostinger for those who don’t want to spend much on hosting but still require decent hosting.