Ask someone if they’re familiar working with a CMS (content managing system), and they’re likely to say that they’ve worked on a WordPress system. The open-source software has been the engine behind a wide variety of sites — everything from one-person blogging operations to established media names like Rolling Stone — for the better part of two decades.
It’s popular with customers because it lets you build a professional custom website using a variety of templates, plug-ins and widgets. The “catch” is that anyone outside of a hobbyist will likely want to host a WordPress site on their own domain — and that means seeking a WordPress host. Similar to choosing a web hosting service in general, finding the right WordPress host can make your life a lot easier. (You may also want to look into a website builder to help you actually create your site on WordPress.)
Choosing a WordPress hosting service can be daunting — there are so many options that all promise the best customer support, little downtime and a great price, all of which are key for operating your site, whether it’s for business or personal use.
Here, we’re taking a close look at some of the best WordPress hosting services available, including DreamHost, A2Hosting, GoDaddy Web Hosting and more. We’re focusing on commercial WordPress hosting companies that offer virtual private servers, shared hosting and many web hosting services, along with a variety of annual and monthly plans.
How we chose
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It’s important to note that we didn’t explicitly “test” the providers on this list. Instead, we compiled a competitive overview based on a variety of factors, including third-party ratings and features offered by the providers. We’ve also weighted the rankings of these businesses by the Better Business Bureau and TrustPilot. With that data in hand, we split them into three tiers:
Best WordPress hosting providers (top tier): These vendors all have a rating of A or higher from the Better Business Bureau, and a rating of 3.8 or higher out of 5 from TrustPilot. With the exception of three vendors with between 300 to 400 pieces of user feedback, all of the TrustPilot rankings are based on at least one thousand user reviews. All of the vendors listed in our top picks also say they offer 24/7 support and 99% site uptime or better.
WordPress hosts worth checking out (middle tier): These vendors all have A+ BBB ratings, but not enough TrustPilot reviews for us to consider that rating as impactful, whether it’s positive or negative.
Other WordPress hosting options (third tier): Two of these vendors — MochaHost and Liquid Web Hosting — currently have F ratings from the BBB. Others have TrustPilot ratings below 3.5, though in three cases, that’s from fewer than 500 users.
Important caveats you should keep in mind: The Better Business Bureau does not rate companies outside of North America, and to be BBB Accredited, companies need to pay a fee to the organization. TrustPilot, meanwhile, also offers a paid tier that provides companies more interaction with their user ratings. It also removed 2.2 million fake reviews in 2020.
Something else to note: WordPress.org explicitly endorses three hosting sites: Bluehost, DreamHost and SiteGround. The first is not currently on our tier-one list due to a low TrustPilot rating, but may be worth checking out for WordPress specifically. It’s also worth noting that, as of April 2020, WordPress cofounder Matt Mullenweg is engaged with a serious war of words with CEO Avishai Abrahami of the website builder Wix. (Note that Mullenweg was a CNET employee in the early 2000s.)
Many of the providers on this list offer similar features but in different packages and price points; once you figure out what type of plan is best for you (for example, one with a certain amount of storage, or with email included) you can more easily compare the options.
If you want more advice on what to keep in mind while shopping for a web hosting solution, the different types of web hosting available and tips on speeding up your website, make sure you scroll to the bottom of this page.
A note on pricing: We’ve made every effort to verify that the prices listed here were accurate at the time of last publication. However, prices in this category are subject to frequent fluctuations and they’re consistently subject to special offers and limited deals. Furthermore, many of the prices listed here reflect the monthly rates if you prepay for 12 months of service or more. Please click through to the vendors in question to verify current pricing at any given time.
WordPress hosting providers, compared
| Basics | DreamHost | SiteGround | GreenGeeks | GoDaddy Web Hosting | IONOS | HostPapa | Hostinger | A2Hosting | Hostwinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price for WordPress hosting | $2.59/month | $7/month | $2.49/month | $1/month | $1/month | $4/month | $2/month | $3/month | $5/month |
| Uptime promise | 100% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% | 99.90% |
| 24/7 customer service | Live chat; email; phone during certain hours | Live chat; support tickets; phone support | Live chat; email; phone during certain hours | Phone; live chat | 24/7 phone support; live chat | Live chat; support tickets; phone support | Live chat; support tickets | Phone; live chat | Live chat; support tickets |
| Money-back guarantee | 97 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | None |
| Better Business Bureau rating | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | A+ | None (located outside North America) | A+ | A |
| Better Business Bureau accreditation | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes |
| TrustPilot rating | 4.7/5 | 4.7/5 | 4.1/5 | 4.1/5 | 4.1/5 | 4.1/5 | 4.4/5 | 3.9/5 | 3.9/5 |
Best WordPress hosting providers
DreamHost
With an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and 4.7 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot, DreamHost is one of our most recommended WordPress hosting providers for several reasons. Its server and database software is built to be compatible with WordPress for seamless integration. It also offers automatic WordPress updates, easy one-click installs and the proper configurations from the start to help your site run at top speed. DreamHost has provided more than 750,000 WordPress installations, according to its website.
DreamHost offers three different WordPress-specific tiers, with different plans within each tier: basic, managed WordPress hosting and virtual private servers for WordPress hosting, giving you different options depending on your needs. It also has a dedicated in-house WordPress customer support team, and 24/7 email and chat support. As noted, DreamHost is recommended by WordPress.
Other things we like about Dreamhost: It offers free shared website and email hosting to 501(c)(3) nonprofits. For all others, the pricing is pretty transparent — there are no hidden gotchas in the rates. Plus, it provides a 97-day money back guarantee, one of the most generous offers available.
SiteGround
- Basic managed WordPress hosting starting at $7 a month
- Unlimited managed WordPress hosting starting at $10 a month
- Unlimited managed WordPress hosting with additional features starting at $15 a month
SiteGround has an A+ rating from the BBB and 4.7 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot. It sits in the middle ground between a consumer web hosting provider and one that caters to enterprise businesses. If you’ve got a small business with more complex WordPress needs than a typical small business, SiteGround is an ideal solution — and if your business ends up expanding, the service has options to grow with you.
You’ve got three different tiers of WordPress hosting plans to choose from: StartUp (one website and 10GB of web space), GrowBig (unlimited websites, 20GB of web space and features like on-demand backup copies and PHP) and GoGeek (unlimited websites, 40GB of web space and several other features, like priority support). SiteGround differs from some other services in that it sets limits on bandwidth and storage up front, whereas most others claim to be unlimited but have rules in the fine print. You’ll also get a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 100% renewable energy match. As noted, SiteGround is recommended by WordPress.
As is the case with most other services, if you want to get the lowest price, you’ll have to pay for a year of service in advance. After that year, the price will go up. Support includes 24/7 live chat and phone access, and tickets that are answered in an average of 15 minutes.
GreenGeeks
- Basic WordPress hosting starting at $2.49 a month
- Unlimited WordPress hosting starting at $5 a month
- Unlimited WordPress hosting plus free dedicated IP starting at $9 a month
GreenGeeks has an A+ rating from the BBB and 4.1 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot. If you’ve ever been worried about the tremendous amount of power large data centers consume, you might want to check out this service. The “green” in the company’s name reflects the Green Geeks’ commitment to the environment. It purchases three times the energy it actually uses in wind energy credits, essentially putting energy back into the economy. The company does this through a form of renewable energy certificates, which, while complicated, means that it’s not just energy neutral, it’s actually helping fuel the green energy economy.
Even though it’s green, GreenGeeks still offers a lot of power for your WordPress websites. Like other sites, it offers three plans, but with a large amount of web space: Lite (one website and 50GB of web space), Pro (unlimited websites and unlimited web space) and Premium (unlimited websites and web space, plus free premium SSL). All offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
GreenGeeks also offers live chat and email support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It also has phone support most hours of the day. It’s also one of the more developer-friendly web hosting providers, too, with multiple PHP versions and Git preinstalled.
GoDaddy
- Basic WordPress hosting starting at $1 a month for CNET readers
- WordPress ecommerce hosting starting at $16 a month
GoDaddy has an A+ rating from the BBB and 4.1 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot. While the site is perhaps best known for purchasing domain names, it also offers a variety of WordPress hosting plans. Its basic plan starts at just $1 a month and includes a free SSL Certificate. Or, for larger sites, you can upgrade to the Deluxe plan for $10 a month (with SEO optimization features and 75GB of storage), or the Ultimate plan for $13 a month (with online marketing, unlimited storage and security features).
For those who are running larger online shops, GoDaddy also has a WordPress eCommerce plan for $16 a month with no transaction fees, WooCommerce extensions, appointment scheduling and real-time shipping rates.
Each plan comes with free business email for the first year. As is the case with many web hosting services, these prices will go up after you renew your service. Make sure you read all the fine print.
GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone support and live chat support as well.
- Business WordPress hosting starting at $1 a month
- WordPress Pro (with cloud server) starting at $18 a month
IONOS from 1&1 has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a TrustPilot score of 4.1 out of 5. It’s targeted toward small and medium businesses, with a focus on taking your first steps online or scaling up. IONOS has three typical WordPress plans: Essential for $3 a month (25GB of storage and 10 email accounts), Business for $1 a month (100GB of storage and 100 email accounts) or Unlimited for $8 a month (unlimited storage and email). All plans come with a managed option. Or, you’ll find three more WordPress Pro plans, for those who need more intensive support, speed and a dedicated cloud server.
As is the case with many other services, the prices listed go up after a year (for example, Essential goes up to $4 a month and Business goes up to $8 a month).
HostPapa
HostPapa has an A+ BBB rating and a 4.1 out of 5 TrustPilot rating. It’s a small business-focused hosting service that also offers free domain transfer. HostPapa has three WordPress plans: Starter for $4 a month (100GB of storage and 100 email accounts), Business (unlimited storage and email) and Business Pro (unlimited storage and email plus enhanced performance, security and speed). It also offers free WordPress migration.
Hostinger
Hostinger is based in Lithuania, so it does not have a BBB page (that organization only focuses on US-based businesses). However, it does have a TrustPilot rating of 4.4 out of 5 with more than 2,000 reviews.
Hostinger offers four managed WordPress hosting plans: Single WordPress for $2 a month (30GB of storage and one email account), WordPress Starter for $3 a month (100GB of storage and 100 email accounts), Business WordPress for $8 a month (300GB of storage and 100 email accounts) and WordPress Pro for $11.59 a month (all of the above plus additional features for small and medium businesses). Like most other services, these prices go up upon renewal.
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting has an A+ rating from the BBB and 3.9 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot. You can choose between four shared WordPress hosting plans (ranging in price from $3 a month to $15 a month) or three managed WordPress hosting plans which include faster load times and more security and support (ranging in price from $13 a month to $44 a month).
Customer support is also strong: A2 Hosting’s Guru Grew support team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year by phone, email, online chat or ticket.
Like most web hosting providers, the published pricing is a bit misleading: The shared hosting price tag of $3 a month is only available if you sign up for the three-year plan and pay upfront. It offers a 30-day money back guarantee or a prorated refund for unused service after that point.
HostWinds
Hostwinds has an A rating from the BBB and a 3.9 out of 5 stars from TrustPilot. It offers three WordPress hosting sites, ranging in price from $5.24 a month to $8.24 a month. All plans offer unlimited bandwidth, disk space, email accounts, dedicated IPs and SSL certificates. Other perks include free WordPress site migration, and use of the Weebly site builder.
Additional WordPress hosting options worth checking out
The following WordPress hosts have slightly lower or fewer TrustPilot ratings than the ones above, but almost all are still highly rated with the BBB.
WebHostingPad
WebHosingPad has an A+ BBB rating, but just a handful of reviews on TrustPilot. Its “all-inclusive” website hosting plan starts at $2 a month and includes free SSL certificates, a free website builder by Weebly, one-click install WordPress, a free domain and a 30-day money-back guarantee. It also offers unlimited websites, domains and email. WebHostingPad offers fewer services than some of the other providers, but the all-inclusive approach may be appealing if you want a simple way to get started building and hosting a site.
AccuWeb Hosting
AccuWeb Hosting has an A+ rating from the BBB and 4 out of 5 stars from TrustPilot, but again, fewer than 100 reviews. It stands out due to the wide array of hosting options it offers, including several different managed and unmanaged Windows and Linux hosting plans. AccuWeb Hosting also breaks down what’s included in each plan more clearly than some of the other providers.
Web Hosting Hub
Web Hosting Hub has an A+ BBB rating, but it has yet to have a quorum of user reviews on TrustPilot. One standout feature is full service web design for an extra fee, so you don’t have to build your site yourself.
WP Engine Web Hosting
WP Engine Web Hosting has a A BBB rating and a 3.4 out of 5 TrustPilot rating (but with fewer than 200 reviews). As the name suggests, it’s a WordPress hosting option that works with several large brands, including Yelp, Marriott and Etsy.
GlowHost
GlowHost has an A+ BBB rating, but just a small handful of TrustPilot reviews. If you want to give it a try, the service offers a 91-day money-back guarantee.
Other WordPress hosting options
The following WordPress hosts have more mixed reviews and either a low BBB or TrustPilot rating. Reminder that we haven’t tested them ourselves, but would recommend doing more research before signing up. And again, Bluehost is one of only three hosting sites that WordPress.org explicitly endorses, so may be worth checking out for this purpose.
- Bluehost: A+ BBB rating, 2.6 TrustPilot rating
- HostGator: A+ BBB rating, 3.3 TrustPilot rating
- InMotion Hosting: A+ BBB rating, 3.3 TrustPilot rating (fewer than 500 reviews)
- iPage: A+ BBB rating, 1.4 TrustPilot rating (fewer than 500 reviews)
- Liquid Web Hosting: F BBB rating, 4.5 TrustPilot rating (fewer than 500 reviews)
- MochaHost: F BBB rating, 4.4 TrustPilot rating
Planning your WordPress hosting purchase
Now that you’ve got a lay of the land for what types of web hosting services are out there, here are a few tips for when it comes to actually choosing a plan.
Be wary of the ‘starting price’
Despite the fact that most WordPress hosting services typically list a low starting price, this price will usually require you to pay up front for two to three years of service — so it’s not really, say, $3 a month, but $72 in advance for two years. And once that promotional period is over, the price to renew your service can end up being way higher.
Switching providers? Look for free site migrations
If your WordPress hosting agreement is about to run out and the price is going to go up, you may want to transfer your site to another hosting provider to take advantage of their introductory deal. Look for those providers that offer free or low-cost site migrations to do so.
One more note about migration services: While these are useful, they’re often automated, which means not everything may migrate over, and you may have to make some changes. Make sure you research how it will work for you before you sign up.
Read the fine print on ‘unlimited’ services
While many web hosting services offer what they call “unlimited” or unmetered service for a certain amount of bandwidth, disk storage and websites you use, make sure you read the terms of service. Most actually do include a definition with a limit for use. But if you’re running a fairly basic site and aren’t trying to take advantage of the system, you should be fine.
Make sure you know the difference between web hosting and web building services
Many web hosting services also offer a drag-and-drop website builder, helping you get your site up and running. But make sure you read the fine print: Using one of these website builders will often lock you into the web hosting service, too. The builders may also be proprietary to the service, making it difficult to move your site to another service if you want to do so later on.