How Much Does Web Hosting Cost in 2026?

Shared web hosting at Hostinger and SiteGround costs $2.49 to $7.99 a month on the first term and $10.99 to $44.99 a month after it renews. Over four years, the cheapest plan at each host adds up to $119.52 for Hostinger Premium and $683.52 for SiteGround StartUp. When you ask how much does web hosting cost, the renewal price decides the bill, not the signup price.

Prices were checked on October 13, 2026 on the Hostinger and SiteGround US plan pages. Speed figures come from Website Planet and Cybernews tests, named below. Four-year totals exclude taxes and domain renewals.

How much does web hosting cost by type?

Hostinger’s own guide gives these monthly ranges: shared $2 to $10, VPS $10 to $100, cloud $10 to $200 and dedicated $80 to $500. That is the provider’s claim. The prepaid plans above start below some of those ranges, so the first-term price tells you little about the long-run cost. Our guide on how to choose a web hosting provider shows how to weigh these totals against site limits, backups and email.

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What web hosting costs over four years

Hostinger’s totals are the full 48-month prepaid term. SiteGround is one 12-month intro term plus three 12-month renewals at the renewal price.

StartUp costs $564.00 more than Premium over the same four years, and covers one site where Premium covers three. Per site, Premium works out to $39.84 against $683.52. Between the unlimited-site plans, GrowBig costs $972.00 more than Unlimited.

The cash flow differs too. Premium asks for $119.52 upfront for the 48-month rate, while StartUp asks for $35.88 for its first year and then moves to the renewal price.

Why the renewal price matters more than the signup price

SiteGround StartUp renews at $17.99 a month, about six times its $2.99 intro price. Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99, about 4.4 times its intro price, but only after the 48 months you prepaid.

• Backups: Hostinger Premium includes weekly backups, and Unlimited adds daily ones. SiteGround lists daily backups with 30 days of history on all three shared plans.
• Staging: SiteGround lists staging on GrowBig and GoGeek but not on StartUp.
• Domain and refunds: both list a free domain for the first year and a 30-day refund window.

What a site costs from year five

When the prepaid term ends, the renewal price applies. These are the yearly costs at the renewal prices on each plan page, assuming they stay the same.

Hostinger Unlimited at $203.88 a year costs less than SiteGround StartUp at $215.88, and it covers unlimited sites where StartUp covers one. Move the same site to GoGeek and the yearly bill is $539.88.

What VPS and cloud hosting cost

A VPS or cloud plan gives your site its own share of a server instead of a shared one. The Hostinger VPS page lists the intro price without stating the term, and a renewal term of two years. SiteGround’s cloud page lists monthly prices with no longer terms.

Hostinger KVM 4 lists 4 vCPU and 16 GB of RAM for $12.99 a month. SiteGround Jump Start lists 4 cores and 8 GB for $100 a month. The prices are not like for like, because the pages checked do not state how much server management each plan includes. Compare that before you compare the price.

Cloudways: pay for the resources you use

Cloudways is managed cloud hosting. You choose the cloud provider behind your server and pay for the resources you use. Its pricing page lists plans from $14 a month on DigitalOcean, with a 3-day free trial and no credit card required. At $14 a month, 48 months comes to $672.00, assuming the price stays the same. That is above Hostinger Cloud Startup at $383.52, so it suits a site that has outgrown shared hosting, not a first blog.

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Does the higher price buy more speed?

The two independent tests below disagree, so they do not name a speed winner.

Website Planet measured Hostinger as faster and Cybernews measured SiteGround as faster. Both measured uptime at 99.99% or better. Neither test shows that SiteGround’s higher renewal price buys speed, and neither shows the reverse.

Who should pay for what

• A new blog or one to three sites: Hostinger Premium at $119.52 over four years is the lowest total here. You get weekly backups only.
• Daily backups on many sites: Hostinger Unlimited at $167.52, against $1,139.52 for SiteGround GrowBig, which adds staging.
• One site with daily backups on the cheapest plan: SiteGround StartUp at $683.52, if you accept the $17.99 renewal.
• More power than shared hosting: Hostinger Cloud Startup at $383.52 over four years, or KVM 1 at $11.99 a month after the intro. SiteGround’s cloud plans start at $100 a month.

For plan-by-plan detail, read the Hostinger review or the SiteGround vs Hostinger comparison.

The short answer

For most new sites, how much web hosting costs comes down to Hostinger Premium at $119.52 or Unlimited at $167.52 over four years. Pick SiteGround when daily backups on the cheapest plan matter more than the $564.00 StartUp premium. Thinking of paying nothing at all? See what free hosting gives up first.

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Related reading: best cheap WordPress hosting, Hostinger renewal price, SiteGround alternatives, the SiteGround review, shared vs VPS hosting and does web hosting affect SEO.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay for web hosting monthly?

SiteGround’s cloud plans are billed monthly, starting with Jump Start at $100. The shared plans on both pages are prepaid terms: 12 months at SiteGround and 48 months at Hostinger.

Is a domain included in the price?

Both list a free domain for the first year. Check the domain’s renewal price at checkout, because it is a separate cost after year one. The domain vs hosting breakdown adds that renewal to a four-year total.

Can I get my money back?

Both list a 30-day refund window. Check each host’s terms for what the refund covers before you pay for a 48-month term.

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