The May 2008 Cheap Web Hosting Report

Example frontpage image Below are the top general purpose cheap web hosts selected for May 2008. All of the following hosting plans include a web control panel, a cgi-bin directory, php, perl, and at least 1 mysql database. Hosts with Windows hosting plans include some version of ASP and at least 1 Access or MSSQL database (but may not include a mysql database). Many offer a number of additional features. Our Cheap Web Hosting Report (CWHR) Ratings are derived from customer reviews, uptime reports (for the web host's own web site), and our evaluation of features offered versus prices -- including limitations on feature use that may be hidden away in the host's Terms of Service and/or Acceptable Use Policy. CWHR ratings are re-evaluated monthly, with a major re-evaluation of customer ratings every three months.

Top General Purpose Cheap Web Hosts for May 2008

The following hosts current have very high CHWR Ratings (8.6 or higher out of 10) and should be among the first you consider, unless you have special needs for hosting.

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
#1 - Dreamhost
Discount Code¹: CWHR2008A
   ("00" is zero zero)		 1m: $10.95
1y: $9.95
2y: $8.95		 1m: $49.95
1y: Free
2y: Free		 5000 GB 500 GB Unlimited 9.5
Special Features:unlimited shell/ftp/email accounts, php4/php5, cgi/fastcgi, unlimited mysql databases, ruby-on-rails, zend optimizer, Frontpage available, subversion, mysql 5, host unlimited domains and sub-domains, custom DNS, 1 free domain name. Bandwidth allotment grows by 40 GB every week. Disk space allotment grows by 2 GB every week. Excellent customer support (with public customer forum). Many affordable addons (e.g. Doubled Disk Space, Doubled Bandwidth, Unique IP, etc.) are available. This site hosts with Dreamhost: read why.
#2 - Easy CGI 1m: $9.95
1y: $7.96		 Free 3500 GB 350 GB 1 9.4
Special Features: Easy CGI is the only Web Host specializing in Windows servers to ever make our top general hosting list. Easy CGI provides hosting on Windows 2003 servers. ASP.net 2.0/php4/cgi/50 mysql databases, unlimited Ms Access databases, .NET Framework 3.0, Persits AspUpload/AspEmail/AspJpeg, ServerObjects AspHTTP, Frontpage available. Uptime guarantee. Public customer forum.
#3 - LunarPages 3m: $9.95
1y: $7.95
2y: $6.95		 3m: $30.00
1y: Free
2y: Free		 15000 GB 1500 GB Unlimited 8.9
Special Features: php4/cgi/unlimited mysql/postgre database, ruby-on-rails, Frontpage available, host 1 domain and unlimited sub-domains, Fantastico script library. JSP and ASP available for additional charge. Public customer forum.
#4 - HostGator 1m: $9.95 Free 6000 GB 600 GB Unlimited 9.4
Special Features: php/cgi/unlimited mysql databases, Frontpage available, Soholaunch web site designer, host unlimited domains and sub-domains, Fantasico script installer.
#5 - BlueHost 1y: $7.95
2y: $6.95		 free 15000 GB 1500 GB Unlimited 9.2
Special Features: php/cgi/50 mysql/50 postgreSQL databases, Frontpage ready, 2500 mail boxes, unlimited subdomains, 1 free domain registration, Fantasico script installer.
#6 - Host Monster 1y: $7.95
2y: $6.95		 Free 15000 GB 1500 GB Unlimited 9.0
Special Features: php/cgi/100 mysql/100 postgreSQL databases, Frontpage available, Ruby on Rails, unlimited mailboxes, Spam Assassin, Fantasico script installer.
#7 - ImHosted 1m: $9.95
3m: $9.25
1y: $7.95
2y: $6.95		 Free 20000 GB 2500 GB Unlimited 8.7
Special Features: php/cgi/mysql databases, Frontpage available, host 1 domain and unlimited sub-domains, Frontpage available, Fantasico script installer.

Honorable Mention

The following web hosts have good CHWR Ratings (6.0 to 8.5) and might also be worthy of consideration:

Special Needs Cheap Web Hosting

If you have special hosting needs, one of the following cheap web hosting solutions may meet those needs better than one of the above plans. While the following companies generally do not offer as much bandwidth and disk space as the Top Cheap Web Hosts we listed above, they provide more than enough of both for most sites and their special features, if you need them, will more than make up the difference. Also, more and more top hosting companies are branching out into special needs hosting, so you will now often see names you recognize from our list of top rated hosts.

Ultra-Cheap Personal Web Hosting

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
Host Gator 1y: $6.95 1y: Free 3000 GB 350 GB 1 9.1
InMotion 2y: $3.00 2y: free 1000 GB 100 GB 1 8.8

Comments: Ultra-cheap plans often lack features like databases and usage statics and have other limitations which make them most suitable for personal and family web sites. If you just need to display pictures and text and don't need scripting and other fancy features, an ultra-cheap plan can get you on the web without the annoying ads you have to put up with on a free hosting site. The features offered with the above plans vary greatly, therefore you will need to carefully check and compare plans to find the one right for your needs.

Fewer Content Restrictions

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
#1 - Dreamhost
Discount Code¹: CWHR2008A
   ("00" is zero zero)		 1m: $10.95
1y: $9.95
2y: $8.95		 1m: $49.95
1y: Free
2y: Free		 5000 GB 500 GB Unlimited 9.5
Special Features: unlimited shell/ftp/email accounts, php4/php5, cgi/fastcgi, unlimited mysql databases, ruby-on-rails, zend optimizer, Frontpage available, subversion, mysql 5, host unlimited domains and sub-domains, custom DNS, 1 free domain name. Bandwidth allotment grows by 40 GB every week. Disk space allotment grows by 2 GB every week. Excellent customer support (with public customer forum). Many affordable addons (e.g. Doubled Disk Space, Doubled Bandwidth, Unique IP, etc.) are available. This site hosts with Dreamhost: read why.

Comments: In an effort to avoid arguments and complaints, most web hosting companies are fairly restrictive on questionable content -- to the point that some will terminate a site for displaying a picture of a classical (but bare breasted) statue from ancient Greece. Dreamhost not only has an excellent, cheap web hosting package (currently, Dreamhost has the second highest CWHR Rating) but is far more liberal than most web hosts on acceptable site content. Basically, if your content is legal in the US, Dreamhost will probably have no problems hosting it.

Windows Hosting

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
Easy CGI 1m: $9.95
1y: $7.96		 1m: Free
1y: Free		 3500 GB 350 GB 1 9.4
Special Features: Easy CGI provides hosting on Windows 2003 servers. ASP.net 2.0/php4/cgi/50 mysql databases, unlimited Ms Access databases, .NET Framework 3.0, Persits AspUpload/AspEmail/AspJpeg, ServerObjects AspHTTP, Frontpage available. Uptime guarantee. Public customer forum.

Comments: Easy CGI has earned the Windows Hosting spot again by upgrading its disk space and bandwidth offering to be more in line with the industry, by providing more ASP and .NET features (which are what people use Windows Hosting for), and by improving their customer service. Using Windows 2003 Server really puts Easy CGI at the forefront of low host windows hosts. Heck, they've improved so much they've made our general hosting top list -- the first windows server host to do so.

Virtual Private Server Hosting (Root Access)

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
Lunar Pages 1m: $44.95
1y: $39.95		 1y: $30.00
1y: Free		 1000 GB 20 GB umlimited 8.9
Special Features: CentOs 4.2, Plesk Control Panel (Up to 10 domains free), many optional features available

Comments: Lunar Pages uses special technology to provide each account on a server with its own virtual server. You have your own Apache web server, your own email servers, your own database server, etc. These types of accounts can be more stable and provide better control, but -- just like dedicated servers -- are best used by Unix experts who understand the ins and outs of running servers. Note: the CWHR Rating is based mainly on reports from customers using Lunar Pages's regular shared hosting.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Web Host Price* Setup** Bandwidth Disk Space Domains CWHR
Rating
ServerPronto 1m: $29.95 1m: $69.00 200 GB 40 GB unlimited Not Rated
Special Features: AMD 2000+ cpu, 256 MB DDR RAM, 40 GB hard drive

Comments: A dedicated server gives your site its own physical computer as a server. The upside is that you have full root access so you can install whatever software you want on it and have very few restrictions on scripts (even if they hog CPU time). The downside is that you have to maintain the system yourself. ServerPronto has some of the most affordable dedicated server prices we have seen (and they often have sales that cut the price of the setup fee), although there are many options that can increase the monthly price or the setup fee. Windows and Windows 2003 dedicated servers are also available at higher prices.

Important Notes

We check this information at least once every two weeks. Web hosting companies, however, can change their pricing and plans at any time. If there are any changes or errors with the cheap web hosting information listed above, please let us know at: reporteditor "at" frugalwebmaster.net.

Footnotes:

¹ Discount Codes provide a discounted price and/or additional features. These codes function when listed but may expire at any time. Please inform us of any that have expired and we will remove them ASAP.

* The prices we list are the monthly price based on the shortest prepayment period offered (1m = one month, 3m = three months, 6m = six months) and for annual pre-payment (1y = annual rate)

** The setup fees we list are for the shortest prepayment period offered and for the annual pre-payment plan.

Looking for more hosting options?
See a list of some of the other hosting companies we watch here. If you are looking for even less expensive hosting, you can look at our list of ultra-cheap hosts (although these tend to have major drawbacks).

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