Eight hosts, renewal included
What WordPress hosting actually costs at renewal
Every host advertises the first year. The number that decides the next five is the renewal, and it is rarely on the pricing page. All eight are below, introductory price and renewal side by side, ours included, and ours is the same number twice.
Competitor prices are their published entry-plan rates, verified 1 September 2026. Ours come straight from our billing system, so they cannot drift.
Full Feature Comparison
Entry-level WordPress hosting plans. Scroll right on mobile to see all providers.
| Feature |
Ahosting
$2.79same at renewal
|
Bluehost
$3.99then $9.99
|
Hostinger
$2.99then $10.99
|
SiteGround
$2.99then $17.99
|
GoDaddy
$6.99then $14.99
|
Namecheap
$3.24on sale, then $5.74
|
DreamHost
$2.89then $10.99
|
IONOS
$1.00then $12.00
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewal price | $2.79/mo same as intro |
$9.99/mo | $10.99/mo | $17.99/mo | $14.99/mo | $5.74/mo | $10.99/mo | $12.00/mo |
| Free Dedicated IP | ✓ | ✗ | $7.99 plan only | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| LiteSpeed Server | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| cPanel | ✓ | Custom | hPanel | Site Tools | Custom | EasyWP dashboard | Custom | Custom |
| Free Migration | ✓ Expert | Self-service | ✓ | $30 fee | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Backup | Daily | Weekly (basic) | Weekly (basic) | Daily | Daily | Daily | Daily | Daily |
| Staging Tool | ✓ All plans | Higher plans | Business+ | GrowBig+ | Higher plans | ✗ | Higher plans | ✗ |
| AI Website Builder | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free SSL | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
Prices verified 1 September 2026 by Adnan Canturk, Hosting Infrastructure Expert (20+ years). *IONOS $1/mo is a first-year promotional rate, renews at $12/mo. Namecheap EasyWP $3.24/mo is a sale price re-checked 11 September 2026; the standard rate is $5.74/mo and it renews at $5.74/mo. SiteGround $2.99/mo intro renews at $17.99/mo. All prices shown at lowest available billing term. Uptime figures are each provider’s own published SLA commitment, not our measurement of their actual uptime.
Detailed Head-to-Head Comparisons
Want the full picture? Each comparison goes deeper, feature analysis, pricing breakdown, who should choose what, and FAQs.
In-Depth Provider Analysis
A closer look at each competitor, pricing, strengths, weaknesses, and who each host is best for.
Bluehost
Renews $9.99/moThe official WordPress.org recommended host. A solid choice for beginners, but the entry plan lacks a dedicated IP, uses a custom panel instead of cPanel, and only offers weekly backups on basic plans.
- WordPress.org endorsed
- Good beginner onboarding
- Strong brand reliability
- No dedicated IP on entry
- Custom panel, not cPanel
- Weekly backups only (basic)
Hostinger
Renews $10.99/moHostinger's $2.99/mo intro is close to ours and they do use LiteSpeed, a genuine advantage. But the dedicated IP requires their $7.99/mo plan, and renewal prices can spike to $25.99/mo.
- Very low intro pricing
- LiteSpeed on all plans
- Strong global presence
- IP needs $7.99/mo plan
- Renewal up to $25.99/mo
- hPanel, not cPanel
SiteGround
Renews $17.99/moSiteGround's performance and support are genuinely excellent, daily backups, managed WordPress, solid security. The $2.99/mo intro price jumps to $17.99/mo after year one: the steepest renewal hike of any major host.
- Excellent performance
- Daily backups included
- Strong security features
- $17.99/mo renewal, highest
- $30 migration fee
- No dedicated IP, no cPanel
GoDaddy
Renews $14.99/moGoDaddy is the world's largest domain registrar, and their hosting works, but at $6.99/mo it's the most expensive entry in this comparison. No dedicated IP, no LiteSpeed, and no cPanel limit the value proposition.
- Massive brand recognition
- Domain + hosting bundle
- 24/7 phone support
- Most expensive entry ($6.99)
- No dedicated IP or LiteSpeed
- Custom panel, not cPanel
Namecheap
Renews $5.74/moNamecheap EasyWP starts at $3.24/mo for a single site on their current sale, $5.74 without it. They offer cPanel on shared hosting and free migration, but no dedicated IP and no LiteSpeed limit the performance ceiling.
- cPanel available
- Free migration included
- Good domain pricing
- EasyWP: 1 site, $5.74/mo once the sale ends
- No dedicated IP
- No LiteSpeed server
DreamHost
Renews $10.99/moDreamHost has the best money-back guarantee in the industry, 97 days. Renewal pricing is also reasonable. The trade-off: no dedicated IP, no LiteSpeed, and no cPanel on any plan.
- 97-day money-back guarantee
- Reasonable renewal pricing
- Monthly billing available
- No dedicated IP
- No LiteSpeed or cPanel
- Custom panel only
IONOS
Renews $12.00/moIONOS's $1/mo is year one only, after that it's $12/mo. Entry plan supports 1 website only, with no dedicated IP, no LiteSpeed, and no staging tool.
- $1/mo first year promo
- Cheapest first year on the table
- European data center options
- 1 site only on entry plan
- No dedicated IP or LiteSpeed
- No staging tool
Ahosting
Best overall valueThe only provider in this comparison that includes a free dedicated IP, LiteSpeed, cPanel, daily backups, staging, and AI website builder on every plan, starting from $2.79/mo.
- Free dedicated IP, all plans
- LiteSpeed + LSCache
- Staging on entry plan
- cPanel control panel
- No renewal increase ($2.79/mo)
- Need WordPress.org pick (Bluehost)
- Want 97-day MBG (DreamHost)
- European DC priority (IONOS)
Why Ahosting Stands Out
The features that every plan should include, and only Ahosting delivers as standard.
Lower than Bluehost, GoDaddy and Namecheap at the entry tier, with more included in the plan.
The introductory price is the renewal price. SiteGround renews at $17.99/mo, Hostinger at up to $25.99/mo; ours does not move.
Ahosting is the only provider to include free dedicated IP, LiteSpeed, cPanel, daily backups, staging, and AI builder on every plan.
Straight answers
Choosing between them.
What renewal really costs, who includes a dedicated IP, what staging is worth, and where each host is genuinely the better pick.
Reviewed by Adnan Canturk, Founder of Ahosting with 24 years in web hosting. Last updated:
One price, first year and after
The only plan on this table that costs the same in year two
Every host above is cheaper on the first invoice than on the second. WP Bronze is not. You get a free dedicated IP, LiteSpeed, cPanel, daily backups, staging, free expert migration and an AI site builder, and the price you sign up at is the price you renew at.
- Free dedicated IP included
- Free expert migration
- Daily backups and staging
- 30-day money-back period
36-month term. Renews at $2.79/mo, no increase and no setup fee.
Introductory pricing depends on the selected billing term. Renewal pricing and money-back eligibility are shown before checkout and governed by the applicable terms.