So, you are in need of web hosting, but you are on a tight budget. Free web hosting can seem to be a good idea…However, there is a catch: even the best free web hosting sites are only useful for a small number of websites.
We suggest paying for hosting if you want to run a business or create an online presence that you want to expand. Some of the best web hosting sites have low-cost entry plans.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
AwardSpace — best free hosting to start
Free hosting plan available
- ✓ Drag-and-drop website builder included
- ✓ One-click WordPress and Joomla installer
- ✓ No ads on your site
AtSpace — best for a simple free site
Free plan with no ads
- ✓ Free plan sized for a small site
- ✓ Drag-and-drop builder and WordPress installer
- ✓ Domain registration included
You’ll get more functionality, reliability, and customer service for the same price. For almost every website, we believe it is a worthwhile investment. Some of the cheap hosting plans are superior to many of the sites for free web hosting.
Best Free Web Hosting Sites Comparison
- Awardspace — No ads, a WordPress installer and a drag-and-drop website builder on the free plan, with capped monthly bandwidth.
- Atspace — Almost the same free plan as Awardspace: enough storage for a small personal site, a monthly traffic cap and no ads
- Agilityhoster – A close second. A single site with capped storage and traffic, now with the same drag-and-drop website builder.
- Wix — A free website builder with a beautiful (and simple) interface.
- Freehostia — Room for several small sites and fast replies from support, but the least storage and the smallest database of the free hosts here.
- Byethost — The most storage of the free hosting plans here, unlimited bandwidth and as many add-on domains as you need.
Teachers and students can also get free class blogs from education platforms such as Edublogs.
Let’s take a look at the top six sites for free web hosting.
6 Best Free Web Hosting Sites in 2026
#1. Awardspace Review
- Free plan sized for a small site, with a monthly bandwidth cap
- No advertisements.
- Registration of Domain
- 24/7 customer support, plus a knowledge base and video tutorials
Awardspace is quite known in the space for its free web hosting services. They’ve been providing hosting services for over a decade.
They stand out because the free plan is ad-free and lets you host your own domain plus a few free subdomains, which is plenty for a first blog or a small personal site.
Awardspace also has a drag-and-drop site builder, as well as a simple Joomla and WordPress installer.
You also get an email account and a MySQL database for your site.
#2. Atspace Review
- Free plan sized for a small site, with a monthly traffic cap
- No advertisements.
- Registration of Domain
- Limited customer service, ticketing, live chat, and online documentation
Awardspace and Atspace have very similar free plans: both cap monthly traffic at the same level, include one email account and show no ads on your site.
Atspace also has a drag-and-drop site builder, as well as a Joomla and WordPress installer.
You also get one email account and one small MySQL database.
#3 Agilityhoster Review
- A single site, with storage and monthly traffic on a par with Atspace
- No advertisements.
- Registering of domain
- Customer support around the clock
The free tier from Agilityhoster is close to Atspace’s: one small MySQL database, enough storage for a small site and a single hosted domain. It now includes the Zacky website builder too, so you can build pages without code.
It does, however, come with an easy Joomla and WordPress installer that will get you up and running in no time. If you need to put something up quickly and on the cheap, this is a good choice.
Other specifications include one email address, and there are no ads on your site.
#4. Wix Review
- A single site on a free Wix address
- Wix branding on your site
- Wix domain is assigned
- Website builder with drag-and-drop functionality
Wix is one of the most popular website builders. They also provide free web hosting along with the builder.
As a result, it’s our favorite. We actually recommend it to someone who is just getting started with a blog or an eCommerce shop. Their user-friendly interface makes it simple for everyone to build a beautiful website that meets their needs.
They also have customer service that is available 24/7. When it comes to hosting a website, this is absolutely necessary.
However, the free plan is limited: your site runs on a Wix address instead of your own domain, and it shows Wix branding until you upgrade to a Premium plan.
Google Analytics and online payments are not included.
Overall, if you are searching for free website hosting, it’s a great option.
#5 Freehostia Review
- Room for several small sites, but the least storage of the free hosts here and a monthly traffic cap
- No advertisements.
- Registering of domain
- Customer service is available 24/7, with fast ticket replies and online documentation
Freehostia’s free plan, called Chocolate, runs on its cloud hosting platform.
The Chocolate plan is quite limited: it has the smallest database and the least disk space of the free hosts here, which makes it difficult to host a lot of media on your website.
However, it does come with a free self-signed SSL certificate, a website builder comprising free templates, and a promise of fast replies to support tickets, which is quite rare.
If you have a small enough website, Freehostia’s promise of great customer service is enough to entice you to sign up.
Other specifications include email accounts, one small MySQL database and a self-signed SSL certificate.
#6 Byethost Review
- Unlimited add-on domains and bandwidth, with the most storage of the free plans here
- No advertisements.
- Registering of domain
- A support portal and free hosting tutorials
With unlimited bandwidth, unlimited add-on domains and the most storage of the free plans here, Byethost is one of the most generous providers of free web hosting. It also offers one-click installs of hundreds of apps and free SSL on its subdomains.
As with any “unlimited” offer, we’re not sure how unrestricted its unlimited bandwidth really is. Byethost is the best pick here if you need several sites or a lot of database capacity on one free account.
Other specifications include current PHP and MySQL versions and unlimited MySQL databases.
Free Ecommerce Website Hosting
It’s difficult to sell products on websites with a free hosting plan. If you’re serious about starting a company online, you need to use Shopify. It’s the market leader in the space, and the cost for web hosting is totally worth it.
eCommerce isn’t supported on most free websites, and when it is, the experience is limited.
Square Review
- Basic site layouts and a drag-and-drop builder
- Connecting your own domain needs a paid plan
- Transaction fee: a percentage plus a fixed fee per online sale (see Square’s pricing page)
Square is best known for its POS credit card swipers, which can be found at various outlets. Its free online store has a fair amount of features for selling online.
Square’s free online stores come with basic site layouts and design options.
You might be able to find free online shops. What’s the difference? Without all the functionalities of a complete website, online retailers are just stores. That means there will be no blog or additional content besides the products that they offer.
Free Website Builder With Free Hosting
If you want a free website builder with free hosting and your own domain, look at Ucraft: if you only need a small site, its free plan can get you up and running with a few pages, along with a custom domain.
Using a site builder, in which you can drag-and-drop content and tinker with templates that are customizable, is by far the simplest way for most people to get a website up and running. Most site builders are only free if it is on their subdomain (for example, kissinvestments.wix.com on a Wix subdomain), which can be a deal-breaker for someone trying to run a professional-looking website. It does not appeal to us in the least.
What exactly is a custom domain?
Your URL will change from www.MyCompany.WebHost.com to www.MyCompany.com if you choose a custom domain. If you are serious about your website, you’ll need a custom domain — free subdomains scream, “I did not pay for this,” which is the equivalent of putting up a sign-up that says “BUYERS BE CAREFUL.”
But we have some good news for you. Ucraft’s free plan can link to a custom domain. We suggest only very basic websites that have minimal features to be hosted for free.
If all you need is a simple page — which is the only type of website that can work on a free host anyway — we suggest using a free website builder like Ucraft.
The biggest disadvantage of using a free website builder is the lack of design flexibility. If the Ucraft website builder templates are not quite what you’re looking for, the next best free website hosting choice is to search for a free template you enjoy and combine it with a free web host.
We know we’re trying to drive home the point, but the best web hosting sites are not all that pricy. The basic plans cost only a few dollars a month. In terms of customer service, speed, and security, we believe the price for web hosting is well worth it.
Ucraft Review
- Drag-and-drop website builder, as well as customizable themes (though fonts aren’t editable)
- A small multi-page site
- Allows you to use a custom domain
- A Ucraft watermark on the free site
- Paid plans (billed monthly or yearly) add unlimited pages, no advertising, and more customization (see Ucraft’s pricing page)
- eCommerce capability is available on the higher paid plans
Ucraft offers a free plan for a small multi-page website designed with what it refers to as “elements.” A title, a video, a picture, an image gallery, a text block, or a button are all examples of elements. That allows for a reasonable amount of content — but nothing too flashy.
Free Ucraft website builder templates are available, including a blank page for a fully customized website.
The free Ucraft websites show a Ucraft watermark.
Free Web Hosting With Subdomain Sites
If you don’t mind using a subdomain instead of a custom domain, you have more free hosting options. This is because many great website builders deliver freemium versions of their services when you use a subdomain — for example, kissinvestments.wordpress.com or kissinvestments.wix.com.
A subdomain obviously doesn’t have the professionalism seen in a custom domain, and free versions of any platform or site builder product are usually very restricted. On the other hand, they provide a low-barrier-to-entry solution for getting content out quickly.
Most can be up and running in a matter of minutes. If you plan to build a more serious web presence in the future, starting for free on the service you eventually plan to use means you’ll already have it installed. All you have to do now is upgrade.
The four options below are very similar at the free stage. They all have a variety of free themes or templates, limited storage, an easy-to-use editor, and advertisements for their service in the bottom corner or the footer of the page.
WordPress
- Choose from a variety of free templates
- Subdomain (yourCompany.wordpress.com)
- Shows WordPress advertisements
- Paid plans, billed yearly, add a custom domain and remove advertisements (see WordPress.com’s pricing page)
We like using WordPress, but we prefer WordPress.org, which is the self-hosted version. There is a free plan with themes in the fully hosted version, but it will be with a subdomain and show WordPress advertising. Removing those components requires a paid plan, which is comparable to the cost of some of the best web hosting sites. We believe it is preferable to go with a self-hosted version.
Weebly
- Templates and a drag-and-drop website builder
- Subdomain (yourCompany.weebly.com)
- Shows Square ads
- Paid plans add a custom domain, eCommerce features, and no ads (see Weebly’s pricing page)
Weebly‘s free edition comes with Square ads and a Weebly subdomain, plus the complete drag-and-drop website builder and templates. Though the ads are fairly obvious, you can get started with the free plan and upgrade later.
Wix Free Website Hosting
- Templates and a drag-and-drop website builder
- Subdomain (username.wixsite.com/websiteAddress)
- Shows Wix branding
- Paid plans add a custom domain, eCommerce features, and no advertising (see Wix’s plans page)
Wix’s free plan is similar to Weebly’s: a drag-and-drop website builder and templates are included. However, Wix branding and one of the most convoluted subdomains, username.wixsite.com/websiteAddress, give your free plan away. You can look at starting for free and upgrading later.
Strikingly Review
- Templates and a simple drag-and-drop site builder
- Free sites on a Strikingly subdomain
- Shows Strikingly branding
- Paid plans add a custom domain and online selling (see Strikingly’s pricing page)
Strikingly is a simple site builder with a free plan for basic sites, and its hosting is included, so there is no server to set up.
The catch is that free sites run on a Strikingly subdomain and show Strikingly branding. Selling online needs a paid plan, and even the entry paid plan limits you to a single product, so it’s not the best place to start an eCommerce shop.
The Best Free Web Hosting For Nonprofits And Educators
Free hosting programs for educators and nonprofits change often, and several that hosts used to offer are no longer listed on their sites. Check the provider’s own page before you plan around one.
Best Free Web Hosting For Educators
Teachers and students can still get free class blogs from Edublogs, a WordPress-based platform built for education, with class management tools and privacy controls for students.
Best Free Web Hosting For Nonprofits
We no longer know of a free hosting plan for nonprofits: DreamHost’s nonprofit offer, which we used to recommend here, is no longer listed on its site. Ask hosts directly about nonprofit discounts.
The Cons Of Free Web Hosting
We’re not going to ignore the fact that sites for free web hosting have drawbacks. We used the following six criteria to make our suggestions for the best free host, which is certainly relative to the niche.
Bandwidth And Storage
Bandwidth and storage limitations on sites for free web hosting are common. Your site can be suspended if you exceed your quota, or you may be upgraded automatically to a paid plan. Even though providers such as Byethost advertise unlimited bandwidth, it isn’t infinite. Unlimited bandwidth only lasts till you start adversely affecting the other websites on your server— and most hosts are ambiguous about how much traffic or storage is considered too much. If you start to cause negative effects, your site can be suspended or updated automatically.
Email Hosting
Since one of the most noticeable shortcomings of a free website builder is the lack of free email hosting and a custom email address, our suggestions include these items. (Ucraft website builder does not have email hosting; for a custom email address you can subscribe to Google Workspace, which is priced per user; see Google Workspace’s pricing page.)
For correspondence, an email address linked to your domain name and website is ideal (plus it looks professional on a business card).
However, be aware that your legitimate emails can be marked as spam. What is the reason for this? Sites for free web hosting are an easy medium for spamming activities, and your site could end up on a bad actor’s server. To put it another way, the spam filter has been turned on.
If you’re planning to use your email often or for something substantial, such as for sending newsletters or marketing promotions, we suggest upgrading to email hosting via a service like Google Workspace or a domain registrar such as Namecheap, which offers low-cost email hosting plans billed yearly.
SSL
SSL encryption verifies that a website is safe to send confidential information like credit card information and passwords. They are required for any kind of eCommerce, but Google factors this when determining where a site, eCommerce or not, would appear in search results.
The majority of the sites for free web hosts do not have free SSL certificates; those that do usually have a “self-signed” SSL.
Servers issue self-signed SSLs and not certificate authorities (Let’s Encrypt, Comodo, DigiCert, etc.). They have the same degree of encryption as the standard version, but web browsers can still flag your website and issue visitors with a security alert.
MySQL And PHP
One of the most widely used programming languages is PHP. It’s the foundation for applications like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, as well as a large number of websites. MySQL databases are used by these apps to store data. Your web host must be able to support the most recent versions of both.
The issue is that most hosts do not reveal which version of PHP or MySQL they use. Even if these apps do work, there’s a good chance they’ll load slowly on any free host because a PHP app takes a lot more horsepower from an already burdened server. If you’re concerned about page speed (which you should be; Google takes this into account), we suggest sticking to a basic static HTML/CSS website on a free host.
Another consideration is database limitations. Any piece of software you wish to use on your website necessitates the use of a database to store information. WordPress requires the use of a database. If you are running another application, it might require its own database. The number of databases your website can access, as well as the storage available in each database, are usually lower in sites for free web hosting.
Customer Service
Customer service will be limited, not very helpful, and slow to respond with any free host. That’s the way things operate.
A word of caution on domain privacy and custom domain names: While you can host a website with a custom domain for free, you would still need to buy the domain name from a domain registrar. Many hosting companies have a domain registration division, but you can buy a domain from anywhere and link it to your free web host. Whatever you choose, we suggest investing in domain privacy, which prevents your personal details (such as your physical address and phone number) from being exposed in the public WHOIS database. If you don’t opt out, you’ll get a lot of spam — at least for the time being. (Since the European Union’s GDPR took effect in May 2018, Domain registrars have been “refraining from sending out this information” to prevent liability.) Others are retracting data to prevent being accused of selling personal details to spammers.)
Advertisements
Some sites for free web hosting make money by selling advertising space. We prefer to avoid those hosting providers because no one likes random advertising in between their content, so we went with hosts who fund their free plans through paid hosting plan sales.
FAQs – Best Free Web Hosting Sites
1. Is free web hosting good?
Free web hosting can be a suitable option for specific scenarios such as personal projects or low-traffic websites. However, it typically has limitations in terms of features, storage, and bandwidth.
Free hosting services often display ads on your website, which may be unprofessional. For businesses or ambitious websites, investing in a paid hosting plan is generally recommended for better performance and support.
2. How do I make my own free web host?
Creating your own free web host requires advanced technical expertise, infrastructure, and resources. It involves setting up servers, configuring software, ensuring security, and ongoing maintenance. Due to the complexity and costs involved, it is not a practical option for most individuals or small businesses. Opting for established hosting providers that offer affordable plans is a more feasible approach.
3. Is GoDaddy free to use?
GoDaddy is a well-known domain registrar and web hosting company. While they offer various hosting plans, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers, these services are not available for free.
GoDaddy’s hosting plans have different pricing options based on the features provided. It is essential to review their website to determine the most suitable option and associated costs for your needs.
4. Is Wix 100 percent free?
Wix offers a website builder with a free plan that allows users to create websites using their platform. However, the free plan has limitations such as displaying Wix ads, using a Wix subdomain, limited storage and bandwidth, and fewer advanced features.
Upgrading to one of Wix’s premium paid plans provides access to additional features and removes limitations. The free plan is suitable for individuals or small projects, but a paid plan is recommended for more professional and comprehensive websites.
You might also be interested in checking out the article on how to develop an eCommerce website with Wix.
The Best Free Web Hosting Sites In A Nutshell
If you’re looking at sites for free web hosting, you might prefer the flexibility and convenience of a free site builder. Ucraft is quite impressive with its drag-and-drop themes and connects a custom domain on its free plan. Yes, your design options will be minimal, and Ucraft shows its watermark on free sites. If these are deal-breakers, you’ll almost certainly need to be using paid web hosting service.
Any free host would have the same limitations: restricted bandwidth and storage, limited customer service, and the possibility of spam-flagged emails.
You can choose Awardspace or Atspace for a single small site with no ads, Freehostia if you want room for several small sites and fast support replies (with the least storage), or Byethost if you want the most storage and unlimited bandwidth.
Educators can still get free class blogs from Edublogs. Free hosting for nonprofits is harder to find now, so ask hosts directly about nonprofit discounts.