WordPress hosting cost: what you pay the first year and every year after

Almost every cheap WordPress host quotes an introductory price that needs a long prepaid term and then roughly triples. Here are both numbers, read on each host's own page.

We.Inc is free to start, no credit card. AI building from $20/mo.

How much does WordPress hosting cost?

Shared WordPress hosting starts at $2.49 to $3.99 a month, but only if you prepay one to four years, and it renews at about $10 to $18 a month for the entry plan. On November 2, 2026 Hostinger listed Premium at $2.49 a month on a 48-month term (renews at $10.99), Bluehost listed Starter at $3.99 on a 36-month term (renews at $9.99), and SiteGround listed StartUp at $3.99 prepaid for 12 months (renews at $17.99).

Managed WordPress hosting, where the host handles speed, caching, backups and security for you, starts around $28 to $35 a month. WP Engine's Essential plan showed $28 a month billed annually, and Kinsta's single-site plans started at $35 a month, or $30 a month billed annually.

Entry WordPress plans: first price vs renewal (US, checked November 2, 2026)

	Intro price	Term for that price	Renews at	Sites
Hostinger Premium	$2.49/mo	48 months	$10.99/mo	3
Bluehost Starter	$3.99/mo	36 months	$9.99/mo	10
SiteGround StartUp	$3.99/mo	12 months	$17.99/mo	1
WP Engine Essential (managed)	$28/mo	Billed annually ($336)	Not shown	Not shown
Kinsta single site (managed)	$35/mo	Monthly ($30/mo billed annually)	Same price	1

Prices as listed on each host's own page on November 2, 2026, in US dollars a month, before tax. Intro prices need the term shown. Confirm on the host's page before you buy.

Pros and cons

Hostinger

Best for: The lowest first bill, if you are happy to prepay four years

Price: Premium $2.49, Unlimited $3.49, Cloud Startup $7.99 a month on 48-month terms; renew at $10.99, $16.99, $25.99; checked Nov 2, 2026

Pros: Lowest intro price we found; Even the renewal price is lower than SiteGround's

Cons: The low price needs a 48-month prepayment; Renewal is over four times the intro price

Bluehost

Best for: Several small sites on one plan with the lowest renewal price

Price: Starter $3.99, Business $6.99, eCommerce Essentials $14.99 a month on 36-month terms; renew at $9.99, $13.99, $21.99; checked Nov 2, 2026

Pros: Lowest renewal price of the shared hosts here; 10 sites on the entry plan

Cons: Intro price needs a 36-month term; Renewal is still two and a half times the intro price

SiteGround

Best for: People who want a one-year commitment rather than three or four

Price: StartUp $3.99, GrowBig $6.69, GoGeek $10.69 a month prepaid for 12 months; renew at $17.99, $29.99, $44.99; checked Nov 2, 2026

Pros: Intro price needs only one year; Unlimited sites from GrowBig

Cons: Highest renewal prices here; StartUp hosts one site only

Kinsta or WP Engine (managed)

Best for: Business sites where downtime or a slow page costs real money

Price: Kinsta from $35 a month ($30 billed annually); WP Engine Essential $28 a month billed annually; checked Nov 2, 2026

Pros: No intro-then-renewal jump on Kinsta's list prices; Host handles caching, backups and updates

Cons: Ten times the price of shared hosting in year one; Plans are capped by monthly visits

We.Inc

Best for: People who want a simple business site and do not need WordPress itself

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $49/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter

Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform

Count the renewal, not the banner price

The banner price is a discount for prepaying. Hostinger's $2.49 needs 48 months up front, and from year five you pay $10.99 a month. SiteGround's StartUp is the shortest commitment at 12 months, but it renews at $17.99, the highest entry renewal of the three.

Over three years, using each host's own prices and assuming you renew at the listed renewal price: Bluehost Starter is $143.64 for the 36-month term; SiteGround StartUp is $47.88 for year one plus $431.76 for the next two years, $479.64 in total; Hostinger Premium stays at $2.49 for all three years, but you prepay its full 48-month term, $119.52 up front. Kinsta's single-site plan billed annually is $1,050 over three years.

Shared or managed: which do you need?

Shared hosting puts your site on a server with many others. It is fine for a brochure site, a blog or a portfolio with modest traffic. Managed WordPress hosting costs ten times more because the host tunes the server for WordPress, runs backups and updates, and supports you when something breaks.

A rough rule: if a slow or offline site for an afternoon would cost you more than the price gap, pay for managed hosting. If not, start on shared hosting and move later; WordPress sites can be migrated between hosts.

Costs the hosting price leaves out

Hosting is one line of a WordPress budget. You will also pay for a domain after any free first year, and premium themes or plugins if you use them, which are often billed yearly. Updates, backups and security are your job on shared hosting unless the plan says otherwise.

If you only need a straightforward business site and are not attached to WordPress, an all-in-one builder bundles hosting, security and updates in one monthly price with no renewal jump.

Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $49 and Max is $99.

Our verdict

For a small site on a budget, Bluehost has the lowest renewal price and Hostinger the lowest total if you are sure you will keep the site four years. Pick SiteGround if you will not commit beyond a year, knowing the renewal is steep. For a business site that earns money, Kinsta's or WP Engine's managed plans cost more but remove the renewal surprise and most of the upkeep.

Who wrote this and how

We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.

Start from a template

Sources

Hostinger: WordPress hosting (Checked Nov 2, 2026)
Bluehost: WordPress hosting (Checked Nov 2, 2026)
SiteGround: WordPress hosting (Checked Nov 2, 2026)
WP Engine: Plans (Checked Nov 2, 2026)
Kinsta: Pricing (Checked Nov 2, 2026)
We.Inc: Pricing (Checked Sept 25, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

How much does WordPress hosting cost per month?

Shared plans started at $2.49 to $3.99 a month on November 2, 2026, with one- to four-year prepaid terms, and renewed at $9.99 to $17.99 for the entry plan. Managed WordPress hosting started at $28 to $35 a month.

Why does WordPress hosting cost more when it renews?

The first price is a discount for prepaying a long term. At renewal the plan goes to its regular price: for example Hostinger Premium goes from $2.49 to $10.99 a month and SiteGround StartUp from $3.99 to $17.99.

What is the cheapest WordPress hosting?

Of the hosts we checked, Hostinger had the lowest intro price ($2.49 a month on 48 months) and Bluehost the lowest renewal price ($9.99 a month for Starter).

Is managed WordPress hosting worth it?

For a site that earns money, often yes: the host handles speed, backups and updates. For a small blog or portfolio, shared hosting is usually enough.

Is WordPress hosting free?

The WordPress software is free, but hosting is not. WordPress.com has a free plan on a wordpress.com address; our WordPress pricing guide covers its paid plans.