Cheapest web hosting by three-year cost, not intro price

Measured by what you pay over three years, the cheapest entry-level shared hosting plans we track are Hosting.com Starter ($89.64 on a 36-month term), DreamHost Launch ($95.52 prepaid for four years) and Namecheap Stellar ($101.00 with a 2-year term plus one renewal year). The intro price is a poor guide: SiteGround’s StartUp starts at $3.99 a month, but three years of it cost $479.64, because it renews at $17.99 a month after the first year. All figures are US-dollar list prices as of October 2026.

How we worked it out: we took each host’s entry plan and added up the cheapest documented way to cover 36 months, using the prices AskGPU lists on its tool pages (checked October 17 to 25, 2026) and, where a host’s page could be read on October 26, 2026, confirming them there. We haven’t hosted sites with these companies ourselves. Prices exclude tax, and domain renewals after the free first year are not included.

Why the intro price misleads

Shared hosting is sold on a monthly figure that only applies under three conditions: you pay the whole term upfront, you pick the term the price is quoted for, and you are a new customer. When the term ends, the plan renews at a much higher “regular” rate.

The gap between intro and renewal rates differs a lot between hosts, as AskGPU’s data shows:

Host, entry plan	Intro price	Term the price needs	Renews at
Hosting.com Starter	$1.99/mo	48 months ($95.49 upfront); 36 months is $2.49/mo	$13.99/mo
DreamHost Launch	$2.89/mo	1 year; 4-year term is $1.99/mo	$10.99/mo (1-year); $7.99/mo (4-year)
Namecheap Stellar	$2.28/mo	Yearly billing; 2-year term is $1.88/mo	$55.88/yr (about $4.66/mo)
HostGator Hatchling	$3.75/mo	36 months ($135.00 upfront)	$10.99/mo
Bluehost Starter	$3.99/mo	36 months	$9.99/mo
InMotion Launch	$4.79/mo	12 months ($57.48); 36 months is $4.99/mo ($179.64)	$14.99/mo (12-month); $13.99/mo (36-month)
GreenGeeks Lite	$2.95/mo	12 months, prepaid	$13.95/mo
SiteGround StartUp	$3.99/mo	12 months, prepaid	$17.99/mo

GreenGeeks’ page, read October 26, 2026, states it plainly: “Pre-paid for 12 months. Renews at $13.95/month.” DreamHost’s page confirms the 1-year and 4-year prices and renewals above, and adds that “the full term plus taxes” is charged at checkout.

Hostinger is left out of the totals. Its web hosting page showed a different 48-month upfront total on October 26 than the one in our data, so we’ve flagged it for our monthly price check. See current plans on our Hostinger page.

Three-year cost of each entry plan, ranked

Here is the cheapest documented way to cover 36 months on each host’s entry plan.

Rank	Host, entry plan	Route	Three-year cost
1	Hosting.com Starter	36-month term at $2.49/mo	$89.64
2	DreamHost Launch	4-year term at $1.99/mo (covers a fourth year too)	$95.52
3	Namecheap Stellar	2-year term at $1.88/mo, then 1 year at $55.88	$101.00
4	HostGator Hatchling	36-month term	$135.00
5	Bluehost Starter	36-month term at $3.99/mo	$143.64
6	InMotion Launch	36-month term at $4.99/mo	$179.64
7	GreenGeeks Lite	12 months at $2.95/mo, then 24 months at $13.95/mo	$370.20
8	SiteGround StartUp	12 months at $3.99/mo, then 24 months at $17.99/mo	$479.64

The arithmetic for each:

• Hosting.com: 36 × $2.49 = $89.64.
• DreamHost: 48 × $1.99 = $95.52, paid once, which covers four years.
• Namecheap: (24 × $1.88) + $55.88 = $45.12 + $55.88 = $101.00.
• HostGator: $135.00 upfront for 36 months, per HostGator’s price data.
• Bluehost: 36 × $3.99 = $143.64.
• InMotion: 36 × $4.99 = $179.64.
• GreenGeeks: (12 × $2.95) + (24 × $13.95) = $35.40 + $334.80 = $370.20.
• SiteGround: (12 × $3.99) + (24 × $17.99) = $47.88 + $431.76 = $479.64.

GreenGeeks and SiteGround offer only a 12-month intro price on their plan cards, so years two and three fall at the renewal rate. That one fact moves them from the middle of the intro-price list to the bottom of the three-year list.

What if you don’t want to prepay three years?

Long terms are cheapest, but they tie up cash and lock you in. If you pay one year at a time, the three-year cost looks different:

Host, entry plan	Year 1	Years 2 and 3	Three-year cost
Namecheap Stellar	$27.36 (12 × $2.28)	$111.76 (2 × $55.88)	$139.12
DreamHost Launch	$34.68 (12 × $2.89)	$263.76 (24 × $10.99)	$298.44
GreenGeeks Lite	$35.40	$334.80	$370.20
InMotion Launch	$57.48	$359.76 (24 × $14.99)	$417.24
SiteGround StartUp	$47.88	$431.76	$479.64

Namecheap comes out cheapest by a wide margin on a year-by-year basis, because its renewal ($55.88 a year) is the lowest in our data. Namecheap’s renewal prices come from its May 2026 pricing notice, and our data notes that discounts don’t apply to renewals.

Hosting.com, HostGator and Bluehost aren’t in this table because our data doesn’t list a 12-month price for their entry plans.

What the cheapest plans leave out

A low three-year cost can come with tight limits. These are the entry-plan limits from the hosts’ pages and our data:

Host, entry plan	Websites	Storage	Backups	Email
Hosting.com Starter	5	15 GB NVMe	Daily	Included (no mailbox count listed)
DreamHost Launch	25	25 GB NVMe SSD	Daily	Free for 3 months, then billed separately
Namecheap Stellar	Not in our data	20 GB SSD	AutoBackup is listed on Stellar Plus and Business	Not in our data
HostGator Hatchling	10	10 GB SSD	“Courtesy” backups, frequency not stated	POP3 email included
Bluehost Starter	Not in our data	10 GB NVMe SSD	Weekly	Not in our data
InMotion Launch	Not in our data	100 GB NVMe	Not in our data	Not in our data
GreenGeeks Lite	1	25 GB	Not listed on the plan cards	Not listed on the plan cards
SiteGround StartUp	1	10 GB	Not in our data	Not in our data

A few points stand out:

• One-site plans. GreenGeeks Lite and SiteGround StartUp allow a single website. If you plan a second site, the next plan up renews at $18.95 a month (GreenGeeks Pro) or $29.99 (SiteGround GrowBig).
• Traffic sizing. SiteGround’s FAQ sizes StartUp at about 10,000 visits a month; Bluehost calls Starter “ideal for 40K visits/mo”; DreamHost estimates 40,000 for Launch and says visits are estimates, not hard caps.
• Storage. InMotion’s 100 GB on its entry plan is the largest here; Bluehost Starter, HostGator Hatchling and SiteGround StartUp have 10 GB.

Worked example: a small business site over three years

A bakery wants one WordPress site, a free first-year domain and the lowest total spend without moving hosts. Comparing two plans that look similar on day one:

• SiteGround StartUp, $3.99 a month: $47.88 for year one, then $17.99 × 24 = $431.76. Total: $479.64.
• Bluehost Starter, $3.99 a month: 36 × $3.99 = $143.64, paid upfront.

Same headline price, a $335.99 difference over three years ($479.64 − $143.64). The trade-off is that Bluehost wants all $143.64 on day one, while SiteGround’s first bill is $47.88.

If the same bakery is happy to prepay four years, DreamHost Launch costs $95.52 once and covers year four too, with 25 sites allowed and daily backups.

What to watch for

• Renewal shock after year one or year three. Every plan here renews at roughly two to seven times its intro price. Put the renewal date in your calendar.
• Domain costs. Most of these hosts include a domain for the first year only. DreamHost says domain renewal is billed separately. HostGator charges a non-refundable $17.99 domain fee if you cancel within the first year.
• Refund limits. Most hosts here offer 30 days; InMotion offers 90. HostGator’s guarantee excludes monthly terms and renewals, and Namecheap’s excludes accounts that began with its free trial.
• Email that expires. DreamHost’s email is free for three months, and HostGator’s Pro Email trial lasts one month, then costs $2.99 a month. Budget for separate business email if you need it.
• Taxes. DreamHost adds taxes at checkout; the prices here are before tax.
• Long-term lock-in. A 36- or 48-month prepayment is cheapest only if you stay. Check the host’s refund terms before paying four years upfront.

Which should you choose?

• Lowest total, happy to prepay three years: Hosting.com Starter ($89.64), with five sites and daily backups. See our Hosting.com page.
• Lowest total over four years, or several small sites: DreamHost Launch on the 4-year term ($95.52), with 25 sites and daily backups. See our DreamHost page.
• You want to pay one year at a time: Namecheap Stellar ($139.12 over three years), with the lowest renewal in our data and a 30-day free trial.
• You need lots of storage: InMotion Launch, 100 GB for $179.64 over 36 months, with a 90-day money-back guarantee.
• You’re weighing SiteGround or GreenGeeks: check their renewal prices first; they are the most expensive to keep here.

For more on each host, see our web hosting hub, Hostinger alternatives and Bluehost alternatives.

Sources

• DreamHost: Web hosting plans, read October 26, 2026
• GreenGeeks: Shared hosting, read October 26, 2026
• Hostinger: Web hosting, read October 26, 2026
• HostGator: Web hosting, read October 26, 2026 (plan limits and domain terms; prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 18, 2026)
• Hosting.com: Hosting, read October 26, 2026 (plan limits; prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 18, 2026)
• Bluehost: Shared hosting (prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 17, 2026)
• SiteGround: Web hosting (prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 18, 2026)
• InMotion Hosting: Shared hosting (prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 18, 2026)
• Namecheap: Shared hosting (prices from AskGPU’s data, checked October 18, 2026)