So you need web hosting, and you’re on a budget.

Free web hosting might seem like a good idea…but, there’s a catch: Even the best free web hosting only makes sense for a very narrow scope of websites.

If you are going to run a business or build an online presence you want to grow, I recommend paying for hosting. Some of the best web hosting services start for as little as $4/month.

For the price, you’ll get increased functionality, more reliability, and better customer support. It’s an investment I think is worth it for just about every site. I also have a guide on the best cheap hosting plans, which is much better than many of the free options.

Let’s review the top free web hosts.

1) AccuWebHosting

Free For Life Time Available Server Locations
1 WordPress Websites
2 GB SSD Storage
5 FTP Accounts
25 Email Accounts
10 MySQL Database
Limited Ticket Support

2) Awardspace

1 site, 1GB storage, 5GB bandwidth
No ads
Domain registration
Limited customer support ticketing, live chat, online documentation
Awardspace is well-known for its fantastic free web hosting. For more than a decade, they’ve provided a great hosting service.

They stand out for offering a full gig of storage (more than many others). We personally spoke to a rep at Awardspace and they said they also offer up-to-date versions of PHP and MySQL.

Awardspace also offers the Zacky drag-and-drop website builder, plus an easy-to-use WordPress and Joomla installer.

Note: If your site receives no traffic for 12 months, it will automatically be set to inactive. After two more weeks of notices, it will be deleted.

More Awardspace specs
PHP 7.2, MySQL 5.7, 30MB database storage, 1 email account, no SSL

3) Hostinger

4) Wix

1 site, 500MB storage, 500MB bandwidth
Wix ads
Assigned Wix domain
Drag-and-drop website builder
Wix is one of the best website builders out there. With their builder, they also offer free web hosting.

As such, it’s one of our favorites. In fact, we recommend them to any beginner starting out with a blog or eCommerce store. Their highly intuitive UI makes it easy for anyone to create an attractive website to meet their needs.

On top of that, they also come with 24/7 customer support. That’s downright essential when it comes to hosting a website.

Their offerings are limited when it comes to their free plan though. Expect half the storage and bandwidth of some of the other offerings on this list. You also won’t get a custom domain and your site will have Wix ads throughout it.

Overall, though, it’s a top choice if you’re looking for free hosting.

More Wix specs
Online payments not included, Google Analytics not included. Get started with Wix right now.

5) Byethost

Unlimited sites, storage, and bandwidth
No ads
Domain registration
24/7 customer support and knowledge base
Byethost is by far the most generous free web host with unlimited sites, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and five email accounts. It also provides an automatic SSL on all domains and includes a free site builder with templates.

That said, Byethost is one of the least professional-looking hosts I looked at, with a poorly written website and enough vagueness that I wonder how unlimited its unlimited offerings actually are. Unless you think you need a lot of database space, I recommend going with a different free host.

More Byethost specs
PHP 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 7.0; unlimited database storage; 5 email accounts; self-signed SSL

6) Weebly

Drag-and-drop builder, plus templates
500MB storage
Weebly.com subdomain (yoursite.weebly.com)
Displays Weebly ads
Upgrade for a custom domain, no ads, and eCommerce functionality: starts at $8/month
The free version of Weebly includes ads and a Weebly subdomain. You’ll be limited to 500MB of storage, but will have the full drag-and-drop builder plus templates. You can always start with the free version and upgrade later, though Weebly’s ads are pretty obvious.

7) WordPress.com

Choose from free themes
3GB storage
Unlimited bandwidth
WordPress.com subdomain (yoursite.wordpress.com)
Displays WordPress ads
Upgrade for a custom domain and no ads: starts at $4/month
I love WordPress, but typically recommend people go with WordPress.org, the self-hosted version. The fully hosted version does have a free subdomain plan with free themes, but you’ll be using a subdomain and displaying WordPress ads. To get rid of those elements, it’ll be $4 a month, or about the price of some of the best web hosts. I think it’s better to go the self-hosted route at that point.

8) x10hosting

9) infinityfree

10) freehosting