A hosting plan advertised at a low monthly price is usually the price for the first term. What you pay when it renews can be quite different, and by then your site and your email address are tied to the provider.
Compare three years, not one
Add up what each option costs over three years: the first-term price, plus two renewals, plus any extras you actually need. A cheap first year with an expensive renewal can lose to a plainer plan that costs about the same every year.
- Write down the first-term price and how long that term is.
- Find the renewal price. It is often in the fine print or the checkout summary.
- Add extras you will really use, such as email, backups, a privacy service or an SSL certificate.
- Multiply it out and compare the totals.
Watch the term length
Hosting plans are often cheapest when you pay for several years upfront. That can be a good deal if you are sure about the provider, but it is a commitment. If the site is new, a shorter term with a money-back window costs a little more and keeps you flexible. Check the length of any refund period before you buy.
Domains have their own pricing
Domain prices are charged per year and vary a lot by extension. First-year promotions are common. Look at the renewal rate for the exact name you want before you register it, and remember the name renews every year for as long as you keep it.
Check what is bundled and what is not
- Whether a free domain is free only for the first year
- Whether email, SSL and backups are included or sold separately
- Whether domain privacy is included
- Whether prices change if you move to a bigger plan
Keep the domain separate from the host
Registering your domain in its own account, for example with Namecheap, gives you the freedom to move hosts without losing your address. It also means a hosting price rise never holds your domain hostage.
A quick way to decide
If the site is new, small and low-risk, a budget host such as Hostinger is a sensible start as long as you have read the renewal terms. If it has outgrown shared hosting, managed cloud hosting such as Cloudways bills by server size and usage, so estimate that cost first. Our comparisons walk through each: Hostinger vs Namecheap and Cloudways vs Hostinger.
For the full sequence, see our guide to the tool stack for launching a side project.
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