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Web hosting is necessary if you want a flexible, online platform for blogging or selling products. But what if you want to start small? Go with shared hosting. The category has services with relatively lightweight resources, but they make up for it with low-cost rates (it's the cheapest web hosting you can commit to besides free hosting). Confused about where to start? We'll help streamline your search. We've tested web hosting services for more than a decade, and update our reviews as the companies add or remove features. We've selected 10 web hosting services for this list, all excellent. Read on to see our top picks, followed by the key factors to consider when shopping for shared web hosting.
Our Top Tested Picks
HostGator Web Hosting
InMotion Hosting
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- Best Hosting
- Best VPS Hosting
- Best Dedicated Hosting
- Best WordPress Hosting
- Best Cloud Hosting
Best for Customer Support
Ionos Web Hosting
- Excellent cloud hosting packages
- linux- or Windows-based servers
- Easy-to-use website creation tools
- Many hosting plans for various budgets and needs
- Lacks reseller hosting plans
- Sparse email options
Ionos excels at cloud-based hosting, but its shared plans are quite good, too. They come in many tiers, with services that are ideal for personal or business use. The downside? Limited email. You get a single mailbox, regardless of the shared plan you choose. The upside? Expert customer service that includes email, web chat, and phone support.
Webmasters who value customer service will be pleased with Ionos' various support options, particularly the company's phone squad. If your business doesn’t need numerous email accounts, Ionos is an excellent choice for shared hosting.
Best for Low-Cost Web Hosting
DreamHost Web Hosting
- Excellent cloud hosting offerings
- Extensive domain-management tools
- Unlimited data transfers per month with many plans
- Generous shared hosting money-back guarantee
- You must pay for email with the Shared Starter plan
- No telephone support
- Not all plans have Windows-based servers
Shared hosting isn’t as powerful as other server types, but it can satisfy a wide range of business needs, in addition to being relatively inexpensive. DreamHost offers solid shared hosting solutions for clients of all types, and these plans are quite wallet friendly. Selecting a server is straightforward: DreamHost provides pricing comparisons with easy to understand values that make browsing convenient for individuals and small businesses.
DreamHost is a value-friendly service, particularly in regards to its shared hosting tiers. This is great if you're looking to save some money in these economically uncertain times. The packages come with unlimited monthly data transfers, but some plans lack email options.
Best for linux- or Windows-Based Hosting
HostGator Web Hosting
- Numerous feature-rich hosting plans
- Excellent shared hosting offerings
- Useful site-building software and e-commerce tools
- Helpful 24/7 customer service
- Outstanding uptime
- Not all plans have a Windows Server option
- No longer offers cloud hosting
HostGator is a top-tier, feature-stacked web hosting service that offers rich cloud, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated server packages. However, HostGator’s shared servers are particularly robust, with cost-effective linux and Windows options.
Small businesses and startups that need Windows Server options (the operating system isn't a common one in the shared hosting space). With HostGator, you also get 24/7 telephone support, live web chat support, and a robust online portal packed with reference articles and tutorials.
Best for a Free Website Builder
Hostwinds Web Hosting
- Terrific uptime in testing
- Excellent reseller and VPS hosting plans
- Good customer service
- Minecraft server hosting
- Not every plan has a Windows server option
- Short money-back guarantee window
For affordable servers at excellent rates, look no further than Hostwinds. This web host has three, great shared hosting plans, each of which comes with unlimited monthly data transfers, storage, and email. Hostwinds' shared servers are quite scalable, so you can buy into a higher tier package if your business grows beyond your starter plan.
In addition to an excellent feature set, Hostwinds has shared hosting plans that include the Weebly website builder. This is excellent if you want to establish a website, as Weebly is a well-rounded tool for the task. If you’re a hands-on sort of person, Hostwinds’ selection is well worth considering.
Best for Growing Small Businesses
InMotion Hosting
- Wide variety of feature-packed plans
- Unlimited data transfers with all dedicated, shared, and WordPress tiers
- Easy-to-use website-building software
- Lengthy money-back guarantee
- Lacks Windows servers
The flexible InMotion hosting has a great feature set that's ideal for both personal users and business users. The web host offers reasonable prices and well-rounded options for shared, VPS, dedicated, reseller, and WordPress plans. To sweeten the pot, InMotion's shared plans all feature unlimited email, storage, and monthly data transfers.
Competition in the web hosting space is fierce, so must companies offer appealing perks to attract potential clients and stand out from the pack. InMotion’s unlimited email, storage, and monthly data transfers make the service an excellent choice for small, growing businesses. After all, you don't want to worry about hitting caps as your company expands.
Best for Office 365 Users
GoDaddy Web Hosting
- Top-notch uptime
- linux- and Windows-based servers
- Email tightly integrated into Microsoft apps
- Helpful, 24/7 customer support
- Useful website-builder software
- Lacks cloud hosting
- Doesn't offer much default email
As a customer, sometimes it’s more convenient to get all your needs met by a single service rather than shop around for the cheapest deal. GoDaddy is one of the world’s most popular domain name sellers, but it offers excellent hosting options, too. They include attractive and useful features, such as tight integration with Microsoft Office 365.
Fantastic customer service and expert Microsoft Office 365 integration make GoDaddy an appealing choice for businesses centered on office work. In addition, GoDaddy offers domain services, so it’s a fine one-stop-shop for both domain and hosting solutions.
Best for Reliable Uptime
FatCow Web Hosting
- A wide array of hosting types
- Strong uptime
- Excellent customer service
- No Windows-based servers
Don’t let the name fool you: FatCow is a high-quality shared and WordPress hosting option. Its services fall just shy of our Editors’ Choice picks, but it's a highly recommended host thanks to its low cost and generous features. Even better, FatCow delivers reliable, top-notch uptime.
Anyone who doesn't want to worry about extended website downtime. Uptime is an essential hosting aspect, since clients or customers will be unable to find your company or access your products or services if the site's down. FatCow lets you avoid that nightmare scenario.
Best for Unlimited SSL Certificates
Hostinger Web Hosting
- Unlimited data transfers with the cloud, shared, and WordPress plans
- AI tools
- Gaming servers
- Includes the Hostinger Website Builder
- Helpful customer service
- Lacks dedicated web hosting
- Not every plan has a Windows option
- No phone support
Hostinger is a highly versatile web host that combines excellent uptime, great customer service, and a mix of traditional and cloud-based hosting. The company is constantly expanding and evolving its services to match or exceed competitors. It recently expanded its bundled SSL certificates to include all plans, which is excellent for businesses looking for an extra level of security.
With such a high degree of flexibility and customization, and free, unlimited SSL certificates, Hostinger is a fine shared hosting choice for businesses handling online transactions. Hostinger also has excellent online support, so you’re always a few keystrokes away from help.
Best for a Strong Money-Back Guarantee
Hosting.com
- Robust WordPress hosting plans
- Unlimited data transfers with most plans
- Excellent, 24/7 customer support
- Good money-back guarantee
- Easy service cancellation
- No Windows server options
- Lacks cloud and dedicated server plans
Hosting.com has a well-rounded web hosting catalog, making it a fantastic choice when hunting for quality servers. It excels at WordPress hosting, but its shared servers feature a strong money-back guarantee.
All the web hosting services we recommend offer a money-back guarantee, but Hosting.com is quite generous by offering a prorated refund if you decide to cancel after 30 days. This makes Hosting.com an excellent choice for novice webmasters since the money-back guarantee makes commitment easy and painless.
Best for Cloud Hosting
AccuWeb Hosting
- Great budget-friendly shared hosting options
- Excellent dedicated hosting plans
- Offers a choice of linux or Windows servers
- Helpful customer service
- Limited email accounts with some plans
A helping hand is always welcome when working on a website's backend. AccuWeb’s shared hosting packages are managed, meaning someone is monitoring your site for you whenever you are not. These shared hosting plans are surprisingly robust, featuring both SSD and cloud storage options.
When it comes to shared hosting options, AccuWeb ranks as one of the best we've tested. Not only do you get a choice of SSD or cloud servers, but you can select either a linux or Windows operating system (this is uncommon with shared hosting). If you need a web host with a high degree of flexibility at the shared hosting level, AccuWeb is worth a look.
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The Best Shared Hosting Services for 2025 Compare Specs
AccuWeb Hosting
AccuWeb Hosting
What Is Shared Hosting?
Unlike a dedicated hosting server that powers a single site, a shared web hosting server houses multiple sites. The upside to shared hosting? It's cheap web hosting. In fact, it's sometimes free web hosting. Shared web hosting is extremely wallet-friendly; you can host a website on a shared server for under $10 per month in most cases. Dedicated hosting, however, can cost hundreds of dollars per month.
The downside to shared hosting? Potential website instability, as your site shares server CPU resources with other sites. For example, if you're sharing a server and one of the sites on that server has a traffic spike, your pages might load slowly—or not at all. Still, shared web hosting is a super-affordable way to get a site up and running.
That said, not all shared hosting plans are created equal. Sure, all web hosting companies let you store files on their servers, but they offer varying monthly data transfers, storage, and other features. Even how you pay (month-to-month vs. annual payments) can be radically different, too. Most shared web hosts offer plans representing their low-, medium-, and top-tier products.
Naturally, you'll pay more for an upper-level service but get more features. Web hosts typically offer a discount if you sign up for a multi-month plan.
Is Shared Hosting Good?
Many shared web hosts offer unlimited monthly data transfers and storage, so other factors may help you decide which service is best for your business. Note, however, that if you rely on "unlimited" anything, read the small print to ensure there aren't any gotchas. Make sure your definition of unlimited matches the hosting service's.
Then there's the operating system question. Do you need Windows servers? linux servers? It's best to shop around. Regarding server operating systems, linux is typically the default option. Still, some services offer a choice of linux or Windows hosting. If you have specific server-side applications requiring Windows, such as SQL Server or a custom application written in .NET, you must ensure your web host has Windows hosting. But don't let the idea of a linux host intimidate you. For more information, check out linux vs. Windows: How to Pick the Best Server OS for Your Website.
Nowadays, most web hosts offer a graphical interface or a control panel to simplify server administration and website management. You'll click easily identifiable icons instead of typing at the command line.
You may not find some specs while browsing a web host's site. For instance, many web hosts don't list the amount of RAM their shared hosting plans offer. In such instances, you can safely assume that the RAM total is less than 1GB. A few web hosting services offer premium shared plans with 1GB of RAM or slightly more. If you want dependable-under-pressure performance without spending hundreds of dollars per month, look into virtual private server (VPS) hosting. Signing up for a VPS plan gives your future site significant computer resources.
You'll also want a web host with responsive 24/7 customer support. Forums, knowledge bases, and tutorials are useful tools, but there's nothing like getting another human being on the horn (or at least in a web chat).
On the other hand, if you want to start a web hosting company without the associated frustrations, check out reseller hosting.
Shared Hosting vs. WordPress Hosting
An alternate form of shared web hosting is WordPress hosting. This option is for people who want to build their sites on the back of the popular WordPress content management system (CMS), but don't want to bother with backend stuff, such as updating the apps, plug-ins, and CMS, and enabling automatic backups. Managed WordPress plans typically have security features to protect the CMS from ne'er-do-wells.
Some web hosts offer managed WordPress as just one of their many hosting packages. Others specialize in WordPress hosting and don't offer additional hosting plans.
Which Is the Best Shared Hosting Service?
Starting a website isn't easy, but our chart gives you a solid foundation to begin your journey. Ready to select a great shared web hosting service? Click the links for our in-depth reviews of the category's best services.
If you're just getting started with web hosting, make sure to check out our primers, How to Create a Website and How to Register a Domain Name for Your Website. The Best Courses for Learning How to Build Websites is another informative starting point.
Jeffrey L. Wilson contributed to this article.
