Top Web Hosting Comparison for Business Owners

Getting your business online and finding a good web hosting provider isn’t always a piece of cake. After all, you want a server that is reliable without costing an arm and a leg. The level of service you need may vary depending on your proficiency with technology. Fortunately, there are web hosts offering managed plans, virtual private networks and everything in between. Looking at web hosting comparison stats helps you decide which works best for your brand.

According to Internet Live Stats, there are approximately 1.9 billion websites but only a portion are active at any given time. With so many sites comes a plethora of choices for web hosting. Finding the right one takes time, but we’ve gone through dozens to come up with the ones we think are worth looking at for most small businesses.

We dig into each web hosting option and look at whether it is easy to scale up, what kind of support you might receive and overall costs. Our web hosting comparison saves you time and aggravation.

Best Web Hosting Comparison Facts

What facts should you look at when conducting a web hosting comparison? The majority of well-known companies offer similar features with their packages. It’s vital to look at how much space you receive, limits on bandwidth, customer reviews on their service and how easy it is to scale up.

Any web hosting comparison should also consider the costs of doing business with the company and if they reward loyal customers with referral credits or discounts. Since 28% of brands still don’t have a website, you may be ready to get yours online. Check out our favorite options.

Designerly’s Top Web Hosting Comparison List

1. Hostinger

First up on our list of web hosting comparisons is Hostinger. Founded in 2004, they are known for their inexpensive shared hosting plans and hosting centers across three continents. 

As with many cut-rate hosting plans, the rates start low and then increase after the initial term. Hostinger is perfect for companies wishing to scale up as they offer shared hosting, cloud hosting and VPS. 

Features that come with their basic shared plan include:

• Around 30 GB SSD storage
• Free email account 
• Free SSL 
• 100 GB bandwidth 
• Managed WordPress

Their shared hosting plans are perfect for small sites and beginners thanks to the level of support. The drawbacks might include limitations in bandwidth and lack of migration support for those already in possession of a website.

You can scale up with Hostinger to a VPS plan, but only if you’re ready for the level of developer knowledge needed to run your own host. 

Cost: Single shared hosting runs $1.39 per month and then $2.99 per month on renewal. Additional packages offer different rates. 

2. Kinsta

Known for their premium hosted WordPress sites, Kinsta has been around since 2013 and is based in Los Angeles, California. They’ve since added offices in London and Budapest with a choice of server locations in over 15 different countries. 

Kinsta hosting is used by some big names in business, including Tripadvisor, Workforce and Ricoh. Their level of support is much more involved and they’re used to working with those who need a little hand holding. If you’re a beginner in web development, you’ll find Kinsta a good match.

You will pay a bit more for the managed aspects of the service, but you’ll also reduce your own headache and can learn as you go.

Features of the basic Starter plan are:

• One WordPress installation 
• 10 GB disk space 
• Up to 25,000 visits per month 
• Free SSL 
• Staging features
• Free CDN 

Kinsta also offers free migration services to help you move your site to their plans. The only foreseeable problem is with the limits on visitors. If you start gaining a lot of traffic at once, you’ll need to upgrade your plan.

Cost: Starter plan runs $30 per month and meets the needs of most small businesses

3. Bluehost

Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth founded Bluehost in 2003 in Provo, Utah. Today, they serve over two million websites and have a team of 750 employees. Looking at Bluehost through the lens of web hosting comparison to other companies, they are well-established and have the knowledge and experience to keep your sites up and running. 

Business owners who need basic hosting plans will appreciate Bluehost’s inexpensive but feature-rich packages. Those who need to scale up will find that easy with excellent customer support. 

Their basic plan includes: 

• 50 GB SSD storage 
• Custom themes
• Free domain 
• WordPress integration
• Free CDN 
• Website builder  
• Free SSL

They also offer 24/7 support and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Keep in mind the introductory rate goes up after the first year. You do have to pay for a year when you sign up, which is a problem if you decide you don’t like their service. However, many hosting companies require a one-year term to get the best rate.

Cost: $2.95 month for the Basic plan the first year, with a renewal rate of $9.99 per month in year two. 

We like the scalability of Bluehost to meet all your business needs. You can invest in managed WP hosting, scale up in size or go with a VPN. They offer various levels of support, depending upon your individual needs. 

4. TMD Hosting

Next on our list for web hosting comparison is TMD Hosting. While they aren’t number one on our list, they are still a solid service and a good option for those needing more advanced features to develop software or websites. 

In addition to traditional shared hosting, they also offer VPS, WordPress, Cloud and dedicated servers. You’ll like their reseller hosting option if you want to develop sites for clients. For the purposes of web hosting comparison, we’ll look at their basic package under their shared hosting options.

Their Starter plan includes:

• Unlimited SSD space 
• Unlimited bandwidth 
• Free domain Weebly 
• sitebuilder 
• 60-day money back guarantee

As with many other servers, they boast a 99.99% uptime guarantee and claim to have 16 times faster shared hosting.

Cost: $4.95 per month for their Starter plan

They offer 24/7, 365 days a year support. We like the numerous hosting options they offer and how you can scale up your site without having to switch hosting companies. 

5. ScalaHosting

ScalaHosting isn’t as well known, but they’ve been around since 2007 and have over 50,000 customers and 700,000 hosted sites. They offer multiple levels of hosting, so no matter your experience level you can jump right in. 

Their most basic package is called the Mini and includes: 

• 20 GB SSD storage 
• Free domain 
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Free SSL 
• Daily backups for last seven days
• Free CDN 
• Help with migration 

The company offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, 30-day money-back guarantee and free SSL. They also have a high score on TrustPilot, showing how happy their customers are with their service. Scale up to a self-managed VPS, WordPress hosting or fully managed VPS.

Cost: Mini runs $3.95 per month and $6.95 per month on renewal

Choosing the Best Web Host for Your Needs

A web hosting comparison is only as helpful as current facts. In order to find the best company to meet your needs, read the latest reviews and compare features until you find a company you’d like to try. Keep in mind you might be tied in for a year or lose your money, but you can switch hosts at any time if one isn’t working for you. 

We like these because of how easy it is to get started, their low price and their proven excellence. However, there are hundreds of hosting companies out there. Finding one that works for your company is just a process of elimination.