Every cheap hosting plan is advertised with a price that only applies to the first term. The real question is what you pay once that term ends, and that is the number most comparison sites leave out. This guide ranks four well-known hosts on the 3-year true cost: the intro term at the intro price, then renewals at the regular price, for 36 months.
The short version
| Plan | Intro · renewal | 3-year true cost | Includes | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 HostingerPremium | $2.99/morenews $10.99/mo · $107.64 over 3 yrs | $107.64Lowest |
| View plan |
 NamecheapStellar | $2.28/morenews $4.66/mo · $139.20 over 3 yrs | $139.20 |
| View plan |
 BluehostStarter | $3.99/morenews $9.99/mo · $143.64 over 3 yrs | $143.64 |
| View plan |
 SiteGroundStartUp | $2.99/morenews $17.99/mo · $467.64 over 3 yrs | $467.64 |
| View plan |
3-year true cost = intro term at the intro price, then renewals at the renewal price, for 36 months. Prices exclude tax.
Two things stand out. First, the cheapest headline price is not the cheapest plan: SiteGround's StartUp and Hostinger's Premium both start at $2.99 a month, yet one costs over four times the other across three years. Second, the length of the intro term matters as much as the rate. A 48-month term locks the low price in for the whole three-year window; a 12-month term means two years at the renewal rate.
1. Hostinger Premium: lowest 3-year cost
Hostinger's Premium plan wins on the three-year number because the intro price covers a 48-month term. You pay for four years up front, but at $2.99 a month that is $143.52 in total, and the renewal rate of $10.99 a month does not apply until year five. You get a free domain for the first year, free SSL and weekly backups, managed from Hostinger's own hPanel rather than cPanel.
The catch is the commitment. If you only want to pay for a year, the monthly rate is higher and the three-year cost rises accordingly. Check the term on the checkout page before you buy, and read our Hostinger vs Bluehost comparison if you are deciding between the two biggest names.
Up to 75% off Premium web hosting
Premium shared hosting at $2.99/mo on a 48-month term, with a free domain for the first year.
No published expiry Verified Oct 14, 2026
2. Namecheap Stellar: lowest renewal price
Namecheap takes a different approach. Its Stellar plan is cheap in the first year and stays cheap afterwards: the renewal rate is $4.66 a month, the lowest in our catalogue by a wide margin. Over three years that works out close to Hostinger even though the intro term is only twelve months, and you are never locked into a four-year prepayment.
Stellar does not include a free domain, there is no phone support, and the plan is capped at three websites and 20 GB of storage. For a small site that is rarely a problem. If you want unlimited websites, Stellar Plus adds them along with AutoBackup for a small step up in price.
3. Bluehost Starter: the safe WordPress pick
Bluehost is one of the hosts recommended on WordPress.org, and its Starter plan is the easiest route to a working WordPress site for a beginner. The lowest price needs a 36-month term, which conveniently matches the three-year window, so the whole period is billed at $3.99 a month. Renewal is $9.99 a month after that.
You get NVMe storage, a free domain for the first year, free SSL and both phone and chat support. Bluehost does not publish bandwidth figures for its shared plans, so if you expect heavy traffic ask support about limits before you commit.
4. SiteGround StartUp: premium features, premium renewal
SiteGround's StartUp plan has the best managed features of the four: daily backups with 30 days of restore points, Google Cloud infrastructure and data centres on four continents. The reason it ranks last on cost is the renewal: the $2.99 intro only covers a 12-month term, and the regular price is $17.99 a month, roughly six times the intro rate.
If you plan to stay for three years, budget for two of them at the renewal price. If you only need a site for a year, or you value the backups and support enough to pay for them, StartUp is still a solid choice. See SiteGround vs Hostinger for a closer look.
How to read a cheap hosting price
Find the intro term. The small print under the price says 12, 36 or 48 months. The headline rate only applies if you prepay that whole term.
Find the renewal price. It is usually in a footnote or on the checkout page. This is what you pay from the second term on.
Multiply it out. Intro term × intro price, plus the remaining months × renewal price. Our hosting cost calculator does this for any plan.
Check what is included. A free domain is worth roughly $10 to $20 a year; backups and SSL can be paid add-ons elsewhere.
Check the refund window. All four hosts here offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on hosting, so you can test the control panel and support without risk.
