6 Best Free Web Hosting Services in 2022
9/26/2022
Having free web hosting sounds too good to be true, and in most cases, it is. Offering a web hosting service is not cheap, and rest assured that responsible companies do not do it out of kindness or love of art.
What free web hosting services are looking for is usually to generate revenue with mandatory advertising, or to sell you endless add-ons until you give in and pay for a paid subscription. Often, the quality of their service matters little to them and, in the worst case, it is all a scam to get your data.
For this reason, I recommend that you go for an "almost free" option: a paid web hosting service whose prices are so low that they fit even the tightest budgets. Without a doubt, you will have a much better experience if you pay even a few euros per month.
Here are the web hosting services with the best value for money, as well as a selection of the most reliable free alternatives in case you still prefer them. Read on to find out which is the right hosting service for your needs.
What we look for in the best free web hosting options
When we test the different free hosting, what we look for is the following:
Wix is our top-ranked website builder, and for good reason. This tool offers more than 900 website templates to choose from, and all of them are fully customizable. You will be able to create a professional looking web page using a simple drag and drop tool, without having to know anything about coding.
Additionally, Wix offers web hosting bundled with its website builder tool. Wix offers a plan that is free forever , but it does have some serious drawbacks. For example, you will not be able to use a custom domain name, you will have advertising on your website, and the amount of storage and bandwidth will be severely limited.
If you subscribe to a premium plan from Wix, you will enjoy a much better offer . The Combo is affordable, has no required advertising, better resource limits, and gives you a free domain name for one year. If you are serious about creating your website, it is your best bet.
Benefits
Before opting for a free web hosting service, you should at least consider Hostinger's incredibly affordable plans . For just Rp 29,848 per month, you can enjoy a complete hosting service that includes an easy-to-use control panel, 24-hour support and automatic weekly backups.
Furthermore, Hostinger offers premium performance. During our tests, it managed to load websites much faster than any other affordable hosting service. It was also much more reliable than most, with hardly any downtime in two months. Without a doubt, that speed and reliability is much better than what a free hosting service could offer, and it also beats most of those that are affordable.
Of course, Hostinger is not perfect. Their customer support agents sometimes take up to an hour to answer a basic question; Still, it's a minor problem when you consider that many free hosting services lack customer support.
Benefits
1&1 IONOS is an interesting option that focuses heavily on offering low starting prices and flexible resources. And when I say low prices, I mean it: the Business IONOS costs just Rp 7,500 per month if you commit to a subscription for one year.
This plan also gives you unlimited websites, storage, databases and traffic. All this is protected by daily automatic backups and replication in multiple data centers to guarantee that the content of your website is safe.
Therefore, you will be able to get access to all these premium features for a small fee, which would never be possible with a free service. And where is the catch? As it turns out, 1&1's great IONOS prices are only possible during the first year of hosting. When you renew the service, the cost will increase considerably. In the long run, it ends up being much more expensive than Hostinger.
Benefits
FreeHosting stands out for its relatively high resource limits . The unlimited bandwidth and 10 GB of storage is much better than many other free web hosting services.
Unlike many free web hosting providers, FreeHosting does not provide you with a subdomain (eg freehosting.com/yourusername). It has their advantages and disadvantages. Your website will look more professional with your own domain name, but domain names cost money.
Unless you already have a domain name hosted elsewhere, you'll need to pay a fee to get started. While domain names are usually not expensive, IONOS by 1&1 offers you a free domain for one year with its affordable Business plan. In fact, it's cheaper to sign up for this plan than buying a domain separately, and you'll also get decent web hosting included.
Benefits
If you're looking for a free web hosting service that offers good performance, CloudLinux-based hosting standard Of course, you can't expect it to compare to other paid options like Hostinger, but GoogieHost beats most free web hosting services.
Like many other free services, GoogieHost uses subdomains. However, if you have your own domain, you can connect it.
Since you can only host one website for free, GoogieHost does checks to make sure you're not trying to cheat the system, so you'll often have to wait a while before your free account is approved. If they think you have multiple accounts, you will be banned from the platform and you will lose your website.
Benefits
AwardSpace allows you to run a total of four websites with a single free account, but three of them can only be subdomains. This gives you the option of hosting websites that are sections of your main website or complementary to it.
You will also benefit from the automatic protection of a firewall that will keep your website safe from malicious attacks. Although a nice addition, AwardSpace's free plan lacks one essential security measure: an SSL certificate. Unfortunately, it is only included in the paid plans.
With AwardSpace, you are restricted to just three CMS options, which is a huge limitation. Considering the other free hosting options on our list, we think they could do better.
Benefits
While there are good free web hosting options on the market, by paying just a small fee you can enjoy a much better service. Although free services can be good for personal projects or prototypes, if you are looking for reliable services to host a certain audience on your website, I recommend you to opt for an affordable and quality web hosting service.
Haven't you decided yet? My opinion is the following:
If you really need a free option, I recommend Wix . It is one of the best website builders on the market, and it is easy to use and flexible enough to allow you to create a unique website. The free plan has certain limitations, but you can subscribe to a paid plan at any time as your website grows.
If you want the cheapest option in the long run, I recommend Hostinger . This service has much lower initial prices than the competition, and they remain so even after renewing the subscription. Therefore, Hostinger is one of the most affordable options you will find. Best of all, it offers impressive performance that rivals other more expensive services.
If you are looking for flexible web hosting, opt for IONOS from 1&1 . Their Business shared hosting plan is even cheaper than Hostinger's starter plan, and unlimited resources mean you have no restrictions as your website develops and grows. But watch out for renewal fees!
Here's a handy comparison chart to help you make your decision:
FAQ
What is the best free web hosting service?
My first choice is Wix. Its free plan allows you to access its extensive collection of templates and all the functions of creating and editing web pages. Your only limits will be storage and bandwidth. Although you will be forced to display ads on your website, you will have reliable performance, which is better than what most free web hosting services offer. You can read more about Wix in the description I detailed above . That said, if you're serious about your website, free hosting probably won't cut it, and the last thing you want is a website that's always down or takes forever to load. Right now the cheapest Hostinger plans start at Rp 29848 per month, so there is really no need to have low-quality hosting.
What free web hosting services are looking for is usually to generate revenue with mandatory advertising, or to sell you endless add-ons until you give in and pay for a paid subscription. Often, the quality of their service matters little to them and, in the worst case, it is all a scam to get your data.
For this reason, I recommend that you go for an "almost free" option: a paid web hosting service whose prices are so low that they fit even the tightest budgets. Without a doubt, you will have a much better experience if you pay even a few euros per month.
Here are the web hosting services with the best value for money, as well as a selection of the most reliable free alternatives in case you still prefer them. Read on to find out which is the right hosting service for your needs.
What we look for in the best free web hosting options
When we test the different free hosting, what we look for is the following:
- Reliability. Finding a web hosting service on the Internet can seem like walking through a jungle full of predators: there are many options, but some just want to scam you. I have personally tested the free hosting services below so you can rest assured that they are totally legitimate.
- Enough storage and bandwidth for a simple web. You need to make sure that you have enough storage space and that your website will not suffer downtime due to insufficient bandwidth.
- Installation of WordPress and other CMS. website builders are good for some purposes, but your website may need more. Your free web hosting provider should offer easy installation of more advanced applications, WordPress in particular.
- Easy to manage dashboards. What you are looking for is a hosting that facilitates the management of your files and other aspects of your web space, using a control panel such as cPanel.
Wix is our top-ranked website builder, and for good reason. This tool offers more than 900 website templates to choose from, and all of them are fully customizable. You will be able to create a professional looking web page using a simple drag and drop tool, without having to know anything about coding.
Additionally, Wix offers web hosting bundled with its website builder tool. Wix offers a plan that is free forever , but it does have some serious drawbacks. For example, you will not be able to use a custom domain name, you will have advertising on your website, and the amount of storage and bandwidth will be severely limited.
If you subscribe to a premium plan from Wix, you will enjoy a much better offer . The Combo is affordable, has no required advertising, better resource limits, and gives you a free domain name for one year. If you are serious about creating your website, it is your best bet.
Benefits
- Freedom to place the elements of your website as you wish. other tools for creating web pages often restrict your creativity with certain guidelines and grids. Instead, Wix allows you to place text, images, and other elements wherever you want so you can create a completely unique website.
- Wix AppMarket. There are over 250 apps available on the Wix App Market, allowing you to easily extend the functionality of your website. You can add virtual storefronts, marketing tools, and various types of social media widgets.
- Easy SEO. Wix Seo Wiz shows you how to optimize your website for search engines. What it does is generate a simple list of steps you can take to ensure your site appears in Google searches.
- Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI). Wix ADI is a free feature that gives you an even easier way to build a website. Just by answering a few questions about the type of website you want to create, the features it needs, etc., Wix will automatically generate a functional website for you in a few minutes.
Before opting for a free web hosting service, you should at least consider Hostinger's incredibly affordable plans . For just Rp 29,848 per month, you can enjoy a complete hosting service that includes an easy-to-use control panel, 24-hour support and automatic weekly backups.
Furthermore, Hostinger offers premium performance. During our tests, it managed to load websites much faster than any other affordable hosting service. It was also much more reliable than most, with hardly any downtime in two months. Without a doubt, that speed and reliability is much better than what a free hosting service could offer, and it also beats most of those that are affordable.
Of course, Hostinger is not perfect. Their customer support agents sometimes take up to an hour to answer a basic question; Still, it's a minor problem when you consider that many free hosting services lack customer support.
Benefits
- Platform optimized for WordPress. Hostinger uses the LiteSpeed web server, which provides a nice speed boost. It's especially good for WordPress websites, and it works with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to optimize your content for best performance.
- Strict security. Unlike many free web hosting services, Hostinger takes your security seriously. You'll be protected from DDoS and other attacks by a combination of firewalls and anti-malware technologies like BitNinja and Imunify360.
- Advanced plans with excellent value for money. Hostinger's Premium Shared Hosting plan only costs a few dollars more, and gives you a free domain name for a year and additional advertising credits. It's an even better deal than the entry-level plan.
- Extensive information base. While Hostinger's customer support can be slow to respond, the platform offers an extensive database of highly detailed information with easy-to-follow tutorials and guides. So much so that even beginners shouldn't have a problem following them.
1&1 IONOS is an interesting option that focuses heavily on offering low starting prices and flexible resources. And when I say low prices, I mean it: the Business IONOS costs just Rp 7,500 per month if you commit to a subscription for one year.
This plan also gives you unlimited websites, storage, databases and traffic. All this is protected by daily automatic backups and replication in multiple data centers to guarantee that the content of your website is safe.
Therefore, you will be able to get access to all these premium features for a small fee, which would never be possible with a free service. And where is the catch? As it turns out, 1&1's great IONOS prices are only possible during the first year of hosting. When you renew the service, the cost will increase considerably. In the long run, it ends up being much more expensive than Hostinger.
Benefits
- Buildable performance. As with most web hosting services, if you want to increase the loading speed of your website, you will have to subscribe to a different hosting plan. IONOS by 1&1 allows you to boost your performance for a small additional fee so you can avoid paying for extra features and resources you don't need.
- Free domain name. even the cheapest IONOS plan from 1&1 comes with a free domain name for one year. You'll have to pay full price as soon as the first year is up, but it's just a small annual fee.
- Personal adviser. All customers are assigned a Customer Support Agent who will be your primary point of contact. These advisers will be happy to give you advice on all things web hosting, which can be very helpful for beginners.
- Manage your hosting wherever you go. IONOS by 1&1 offers a mobile app that allows you to manage your website(s) wherever you are. In addition, it is very easy to use.
FreeHosting stands out for its relatively high resource limits . The unlimited bandwidth and 10 GB of storage is much better than many other free web hosting services.
Unlike many free web hosting providers, FreeHosting does not provide you with a subdomain (eg freehosting.com/yourusername). It has their advantages and disadvantages. Your website will look more professional with your own domain name, but domain names cost money.
Unless you already have a domain name hosted elsewhere, you'll need to pay a fee to get started. While domain names are usually not expensive, IONOS by 1&1 offers you a free domain for one year with its affordable Business plan. In fact, it's cheaper to sign up for this plan than buying a domain separately, and you'll also get decent web hosting included.
Benefits
- cPanel. the famous cPanel comes included with the free plan, which allows you to modify the configuration of your hosting space. It also includes Softaculous, an application installation wizard that allows you to easily install more than 480 applications.
- Apache/PHP configuration. FreeHosting comes with all PHP features enabled. You can also configure Apache to fit your needs.
- Premium features available. Notably, FreeHosting allows you to purchase premium features for one-time fees. It includes, for example, access to SSH, subdomains, SSL and much more.
- Free email account. Your plan includes a single email address like yourname@yourdomain.com , and you have the option to purchase more as needed.
If you're looking for a free web hosting service that offers good performance, CloudLinux-based hosting standard Of course, you can't expect it to compare to other paid options like Hostinger, but GoogieHost beats most free web hosting services.
Like many other free services, GoogieHost uses subdomains. However, if you have your own domain, you can connect it.
Since you can only host one website for free, GoogieHost does checks to make sure you're not trying to cheat the system, so you'll often have to wait a while before your free account is approved. If they think you have multiple accounts, you will be banned from the platform and you will lose your website.
Benefits
- LiteSpeed web servers. Just like Hostinger, GoogieHost uses LiteSpeed web servers to offer better performance. That allows WordPress websites to take advantage of the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, which increases speed.
- NVMe SSD storage. GoogieHost offers 1 GB of NVMe SSD storage, which provides better performance than regular SSDs.
- Free SSL certificate. you will get a free SSL certificate to protect your website. Your visitor data will be safe and search engines will recognize your website as trustworthy, which will slightly increase your search results.
- Cloudflare CDN. the free plan also offers access to Cloudflare's global content network (CDN). This helps your website load faster for international visitors and also provides some protection against DDoS attacks.
AwardSpace allows you to run a total of four websites with a single free account, but three of them can only be subdomains. This gives you the option of hosting websites that are sections of your main website or complementary to it.
You will also benefit from the automatic protection of a firewall that will keep your website safe from malicious attacks. Although a nice addition, AwardSpace's free plan lacks one essential security measure: an SSL certificate. Unfortunately, it is only included in the paid plans.
With AwardSpace, you are restricted to just three CMS options, which is a huge limitation. Considering the other free hosting options on our list, we think they could do better.
Benefits
- Instant activation of your account. AwardSpace offers an easy registration process. With just a few clicks, you can create your account and create your website.
- Network 50 GBit. even if you have a fairly low bandwidth limit (5 GB per month), you will enjoy the same 50 Gbit network as paying customers. That can mean an improvement in network performance compared to other free web hosting services.
- Easy to use control panel. If cPanel seems a bit complicated to you, you will be happy to know that AwardSpace has its own control panel that will surely be easier for you to use. Plus, the dashboard is customizable and allows you to pin your most used features in one easy-to-access location.
- Protection against spam and malware. you will get an email address connected to your domain with anti-virus and anti-spam protection forever.
While there are good free web hosting options on the market, by paying just a small fee you can enjoy a much better service. Although free services can be good for personal projects or prototypes, if you are looking for reliable services to host a certain audience on your website, I recommend you to opt for an affordable and quality web hosting service.
Haven't you decided yet? My opinion is the following:
If you really need a free option, I recommend Wix . It is one of the best website builders on the market, and it is easy to use and flexible enough to allow you to create a unique website. The free plan has certain limitations, but you can subscribe to a paid plan at any time as your website grows.
If you want the cheapest option in the long run, I recommend Hostinger . This service has much lower initial prices than the competition, and they remain so even after renewing the subscription. Therefore, Hostinger is one of the most affordable options you will find. Best of all, it offers impressive performance that rivals other more expensive services.
If you are looking for flexible web hosting, opt for IONOS from 1&1 . Their Business shared hosting plan is even cheaper than Hostinger's starter plan, and unlimited resources mean you have no restrictions as your website develops and grows. But watch out for renewal fees!
Here's a handy comparison chart to help you make your decision:
FAQ
What is the best free web hosting service?
My first choice is Wix. Its free plan allows you to access its extensive collection of templates and all the functions of creating and editing web pages. Your only limits will be storage and bandwidth. Although you will be forced to display ads on your website, you will have reliable performance, which is better than what most free web hosting services offer. You can read more about Wix in the description I detailed above . That said, if you're serious about your website, free hosting probably won't cut it, and the last thing you want is a website that's always down or takes forever to load. Right now the cheapest Hostinger plans start at Rp 29848 per month, so there is really no need to have low-quality hosting.
Is free hosting safe?
Some free hosts offer very basic security features, but in most cases, you'll have to switch to a paid plan just to get an SSL certificate. If you plan to have sensitive data on your website, free hosting is not your best option. Hostinger offers a range of powerful security features (including a free SSL certificate) at an incredibly affordable price. You can find out more in my review above .
Do I have to pay for web hosting?
Although you can get basic web hosting for free, free hosts really can't compare to what you'd get from a paid service. A paid hosting plan will give you much better performance and reliability, and you won't have to deal with constant downtime or annoying ads on your website. You can also connect your own domain name instead of settling for an awkward subdomain (most web hosts will even include a free domain name for your first year). To get started, check out our list of the best web hosting services right now .
Does it really matter where you host your website?
Yes. If you opt for a bad web hosting service, you may experience slow load times, a lack of proper security, and long downtime on your website. Therefore, it is very important to choose a good web hosting service carefully. If all of this is new to you, I recommend checking out our complete guide to creating a website in 2022 . This guide explains everything you need, from choosing a quality web hosting service to starting to create your website design.
