Best Blog Hosting: 6 Platforms Compared for WordPress Blogs

In this article, we’re going to dig deeper into what makes the best blog hosting. Then we’ll compare six of our favorite WordPress web hosts and help you choose the best fit for your blog. Let’s get to work!

Six of the best blog hosting providers (IN A NUTSHELL)

If you’re in a hurry and want the quick version of our findings of the best hosting providers for blogs, check out this summary table:

There’s enough information here to make a decision. Even so, we recommend you take a closer look at any web host you’re interested in, which you can do in the next section.

Best blog hosting providers (FULL COMPARISON)

Keep in mind – we’re not introducing each web host in any particular order. As such, feel free to skip ahead to any web host that caught your eye in the table above. For the full context, though, we recommend you check out what we have to say about each of them.

1. WP Engine

WP Engine is one of a handful of managed hosting providers for WordPress users. It’s known for offering high performance, and most of its plans are geared towards WordPress developers.

The downside here is that prices are a bit steep. WP Engine’s Starter plan costs $20, which is far more expensive than most other blog hosts. Plus, you only get access to WP Engine’s best features through its higher tiers.

⚙️ Key features:

• WordPress pre-installed
• Access to over 35 premium themes from StudioPress that WP Engine now owns
• Access to staging, production, and development environments
• Integrated CDN
• Automated Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates
• Automated backups

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• Startup ($20): 1 website / 10 GB of storage / 50 GB of bandwidth
• Growth ($95): 10 websites / 20 GB of storage / 200 GB of bandwidth
• Scale ($241): 30 websites / 50 GB of storage / 500 GB of bandwidth
• Custom: on a case-by-case basis

👍 Pros:

• A very developer-friendly web host with access to powerful functionality
• Came in second within our ranking of the fastest WordPress web hosts
• Ten different server locations, distributed around the US, Europe, and Asia

👎 Cons:

• Requires development experience to take advantage of the full range of features
• A lot of features, such as Multisite support and automatic plugin updates, are billed as add-ons
• Starting costs are very steep for small websites

🤔 Is this the best blog hosting for you?

WP Engine is a solid choice for any blog – as long as you have the budget. The Startup plan only supports a single website, and it can be overkill for a small blog. Even so, if you have experience with website development, you know you’re paying for a great set of features.

2. SiteGround

SiteGround offers several different types of plans, including regular shared hosting and cloud hosting, WooCommerce specific options, and managed WordPress hosting. This gives it a flexibility that other hosts may fail to live up to.

Its managed WordPress plans are a bit of an oddity because they’re remarkably low-cost. However, that’s no barrier to a stellar experience – you get access to a lot of advanced functionality, and it makes SiteGround a very attractive proposition for blogs.

⚙️ Key features:

• WordPress pre-installed
• Bundled-in theme collection and customizable WordPress installation
• Automatic core and plugin updates
• Integrated CDN
• Free SSL certificate
• Automated backups

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• StartUp ($1.99): 1 website / 10 GB of storage / up to 10,000 visits per month
• GrowBig ($3.99): unlimited websites / 20 GB of storage / up to 25,000 visits per month
• GoGeek ($5.99): unlimited websites / 30 GB of storage / up to 100,000 visits per month

All of the plans above include CDN integration out of the box.

👍 Pros:

• The fastest WordPress web host according to our tests
• Very budget-friendly option
• You essentially get access to managed WordPress functionality at low prices
• Server locations in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Singapore

👎 Cons:

• Doesn’t offer a month-by-month payment option

🤔 Is this the best web host for you?

In our experience, SiteGround is an easy recommendation. It offers excellent performance and enough features for any blog to reach its full potential. However, there’s a downside, similar to a lot of other budget blog hosting options. The only reason they’re able to offer such low prices is because monthly billing is absent – you’ll have to pay for at least a year of hosting upfront. For example, for the StartUp plan it’ll cost you $1.99 * 12 upfront.

3. A2 Hosting

In a nutshell, A2 Hosting offers practically every type of hosting plan you’ll need to use as a site owner. They’ve got WooCommerce plans, Virtual Private Servers (VPSs), and much more on offer.

When it comes to blog hosting, you’ll find multiple low-cost WordPress specific plans on offer. It’s a very beginner-friendly web host and it boasts excellent performance, which is an attention-grabbing aspect that can’t be ignored.

⚙️ Key features:

• Bundled-in theme collection
• Free SSL certificate
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Access to in-house WordPress optimization plugins

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• Lite ($2.99): 1 website / 100 GB of storage / unlimited bandwidth
• Drive ($5.99): unlimited websites / unlimited storage / unlimited bandwidth
• Turbo Boost ($6.99): same as above, plus you get up to 20x better performance
• Turbo Max ($14.99): same as above, plus 5x more server resources

👍 Pros:

• One of the cheapest web hosts in the field
• They offer plans for most other popular blogging platforms, including Ghost, b2evolution, Jekyll, and more
• Server locations in the US, the UK, Canada, France, and Australia

👎 Cons:

• Performance is nowhere as good as advertised with the starting plans
• Month-by-month payment options are considerably more expensive

🤔 Is this the best web host for you?

A2 Hosting is tough to narrow down. It offers a cost-effective option for small blogs requiring less functionality than more advanced sites. This is fine, but you don’t get the blazing fast performance promised unless you purchase the Turbo plan.

However, A2 Hosting does provide a month-by-month payment option – although expect to shell out around three times the advertised price. To get the promotional rates, you’ll have to lock yourself into a 24- or 36-month long contract.

For the performance and features you get, you’re better off signing an extended contract with another web host. On the other hand, if you want a month-by-month option that offers the necessary features you need for your blog, A2 Hosting can be a good choice.

4. Hostinger

Low-cost hosting is nothing new these days. However, Hostinger plays the budget-hosting game on a whole different level than most other providers.

The WordPress hosting plans on offer start at a crazy $1.99 per month. As you can imagine, this is likely the cheapest host currently on the market, and you’d be forgiven for sensing a catch. Putting that aside for now, Hostinger usually markets its plans towards users with little hosting experience and small blogs.

⚙️ Key features:

• 100 GB of bandwidth
• WordPress-optimized setups for faster loading times

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• Single WordPress Hosting ($1.99): 1 website / 10 GB of storage / 100 GB of bandwidth
• Premium WordPress Hosting ($2.15): 100 websites / 20 GB of storage / unlimited bandwidth / free domain
• Business WordPress Hosting ($3.45): 100 websites / 30 GB of storage / unlimited bandwidth / a free domain

👍 Pros:

• The lowest prices you’re going to find when it comes to blog hosting
• Servers in the US, Asia, and Europe

👎 Cons:

• You’re not getting any more features than the competition at this price point
• For the best prices, you have to lock yourself into a long contract

🤔 Is this the best web host for you?

Hostinger offers surprisingly good performance given the price you’ll pay. It’s not in the same tier as WP Engine or SiteGround, but it puts up an excellent fight across its entire set of plans.

Speaking of price, you only get the ridiculously low rate if you sign up for a 48-month contract. Even so, the Single WordPress Hosting plan only costs a total of $38.40 for four years of hosting, which is insane.

If you don’t mind the lack of extra features, Hostinger is a great blog web host you can stick with long-term, for dirt cheap prices.

5. Bluehost

You can’t talk about budget web hosting options without mentioning Bluehost. They offer a broad collection of hosting plans, including some explicitly geared towards WordPress users.

WordPress hosting plans start at $2.75 per month, and for the price, the experience is geared toward beginners. As such, Bluehost takes care of setting up WordPress for you, and it provides an excellent suite of advanced functionality.

⚙️ Key features:

• Bundled collection of WordPress themes (ranging in the hundreds)
• Free SSL certificate
• Automatic WordPress updates
• Access to a staging environment

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• Basic ($2.75): 1 website / 50 GB of storage / unlimited bandwidth
• Plus ($5.45): unlimited websites / unlimited storage / unlimited bandwidth / a free domain
• Choice Plus ($5.45): unlimited websites / unlimited storage / unlimited bandwidth / a free domain

All of Bluehost’s WordPress plans include free domain registration.

👍 Pros:

• Very beginner-friendly web host
• Came in third within our rankings for the fastest WordPress web hosts
• Access to staging functionality

👎 Cons:

• As usual, you only get the best deal if you sign up for a lengthy contract

🤔 Is this the best web host for you?

Bluehost is an excellent option if you want cheap blog hosting that delivers decent performance and provides advanced functionality. This makes it perfect for small to medium blogs, whether you’re new to WordPress or already have some experience with the platform.

As far as costs go, Bluehost drives its Choice Plus plan hard, which is a decent bargain at $5.45, even if it comes with a 36-month contract. Even so, unless you want to run more than one blog, there’s no reason not to go with the cheaper Basic plan.

6. Kinsta

We’ve talked about a lot of budget blog web hosts so far, so let’s wrap things up with something different. Kinsta is a managed WordPress platform that offers an extensive range of plans and includes lots of advanced functionality.

Right off the bat, we can tell you Kinsta is not cheap. It’s a service that targets businesses, agencies, and developers – with prices to match. To give you an idea, their Starter plan costs $29.17 a month, and prices go up sharply.

⚙️ Key features:

• Daily backups
• Free malware cleanup
• Access to staging functionality
• Integrated CDN
• Free SSL certificate
• Supports around 25,000 visits per month on its Starter plan

💸 Cost and pricing plans (per month):

• Starter ($29.17): 1 website / 10 GB of storage / up to 25,000 visits
• Pro ($60): 2 websites / 20 GB of storage / up to 40,000 visits
• Business 1 ($100): 5 websites / 30 GB of storage / up to 250,000 visits

Kinsta offers a lot more plans that target enterprise websites, all the way up to $1,500 per month, but you get the picture. All the plans above also include free CDN integration.

👍 Pros:

• Access to functionality such as staging websites and SSH access
• Highly scalable, with a massive selection of plans
• You get to choose from 20 server locations

👎 Cons:

• Not on the cheap end of hosting providers

🤔 Is this the best web host for you?

Kinsta is an exciting web host from a cost perspective. As a provider, it’s overkill for a small blog. However, once your blog starts to scale, you’ll be thankful for the broad range of plans they offer. Plus, they provide month-by-month payments, which is great news considering your initial outlay.

You may also be interested in:

• 5 of the Best Reseller Hosting Providers for WordPress Compared
• WP Engine vs Pagely vs Synthesis vs Flywheel vs GoDaddy WordPress Hosting
• Shared vs Managed WordPress Hosting: The Key Differences and How to Make Your Decision

The characteristics of the best blog hosting providers

Some of the most popular websites in the world are, at their core, simple blogs. Take TechCrunch, for example, or even Vogue’s international website. Both of those blogs (and about 43% of the web) are powered by WordPress. If this is your first time launching a blog, here are some features you should be on the lookout for, to save you time and money:

Pre-installed WordPress:

Some web hosts enable you to hit the ground running by setting up WordPress for you.

Advanced support for WordPress users:

If you ever stumble upon any problems with your server, you want to be able to receive professional help.

Free domain name:

You’re going to be paying for hosting anyway, so a free domain name for the first year could be a great benefit to you.

International servers:

Where your website is hosted will impact its loading times. You’ll want data-centers located around the world, so you can pick whichever one’s the closest to your audience.

Excellent page loading times:

Loading time is particularly important for blogs. The thing is simple; if your site takes more than mere two seconds to load, people won’t wait to see it.

Integrated Content Delivery Network (CDN):

This essentially loads your site into the cloud, and distributes its files via the closest server to the user. As such, you can cut down loading times across the board and better handle heavy traffic.

Access to premium plugins and themes:

In particular, look for options that offer you bundled themes and plugins, since they could enable you to save a lot of money and setup time.

This sounds like a lot to consider, but hosting is an incredibly competitive field and it works out to your advantage. As such, most reputable blog hosts offer these features and more – often at very low prices.

How to narrow down these best blog hosting providers

Whether your blog is a hobby or the first step to a booming business, you need to consider your choice of web host carefully. If everything goes well, you’ll be using the same provider for years to come.

The great news is, there are plenty of fantastic web-hosting providers that offer top-notch services for blogs at reasonable prices. Let’s go over some of our top picks:

Do you have any questions about what we think are the best blog hosting providers? Let us know in the comments section below!

Layout, presentation and editing by Karol K.

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, we’ll receive a commission. No worries though, you’ll still pay the standard amount so there’s no cost on your part.