Writer: Christina Lewis
Editor: Austin Lang
Reviewer: Lynn Cadet
If you’ve found yourself here, you may be a newbie in the web hosting space who’s just searching for a free home for their first website to live. That was me several years ago, and while my free plan wasn’t particularly great, it got the job done.
I’ve had my fair share of experience with free hosting for simple HTML sites, and here’s what I’ve learned:
- Free hosting can be a fine solution if you have no budget and just want to put a small site online.
- A free trial is an option if you want to test a platform before you pay.
- If you need decent performance, security, or something to support a business site, it’s worth it to pay for a cheap shared hosting plan.
The providers on this list meet my criteria for reliability and function for small static web pages. If you’re looking for a web hosting service that doesn’t require deep pockets, or any pockets at all, check out my top picks.
-
Navigate This Article:
Best Free Hosts
Being in the web hosting space, I see a lot of professionals hate on free web hosting. And I get why. I mean, free hosting often comes with a lot of headaches like slow speeds, strict file size limits, and crummy ads.
But here’s the thing: free hosting isn’t right for everyone.
If you’re a developer working on a professional site, or you run a business, skip the free hosting plans and jump to my list of paid plans with free trials instead.
However, if you’re looking for a free solution for personal projects, read on!
1. Cloudflare Pages
Cloudflare Pages is a one-stop shop for developers who need free static web hosting for small personal projects and learning. This service’s free option is one of the most feature-rich I’ve seen.
Few free services offer unlimited bandwidth like Cloudflare does, which is a significant differentiator. It also supports edge and serverless functions, A/B testing, and two-factor authentication.
The Cloudflare Pages platform commits to managing your HTML website’s speed, scalability, and security so you can focus on creating amazing content.
But, if that’s not enough to convince you, Cloudflare is 100% carbon neutral with sustainable edge computing services and energy-efficient features.
| Who Should Use It | Who Should Avoid It |
|---|---|
| Developers with limited budgets who need hosting for a personal project | Professional organizations or companies |
| Students who are learning to code | People who need a website builder |
2. GitHub Pages
GitHub Pages is the holy grail of free web hosting for HTML sites.
If you’re a web developer, you probably already know that GitHub is one of the leading collaboration platforms for students and web development professionals worldwide. More than 150 million contributors use GitHub’s collaboration and version control platform.
The tool is free to access and deploy your code to a remote repository for sharing with classmates, instructors, and other developers — all you need is an email account to sign up.
If you want to see your staged changes in a live environment (i.e., if you want to host your site), you can use GitHub Pages. It’s easy to deploy your static website, plus you can customize your domain name to your liking, so you’re not stuck with the default GitHub.io extension.
| Who Should Use It | Who Should Avoid It |
|---|---|
| Developers who are collaborating on a project | People building sites for professional or business use |
| Web development students | People who need a website builder |
| People building personal sites who know how to code |
3. Netlify
My first experience with Netlify was in grad school when I used it to host a website I made for a project. As a student, it was just what I needed.
However, if you don’t know how to code, you’ll find it difficult to use since — like Github Pages and Cloudflare Pages — it doesn’t have a drag-and-drop website builder.
Netlify has some nice collaboration features as well. It lets you deploy a live preview of your site to others so they can leave feedback. This feedback then syncs back to your pull request.
Once you build your site, you can use the Visual Editor to make content updates, saving you time.
| Who Should Use It | Who Should Avoid It |
|---|---|
| Developers working on personal single-page web applications | Someone who wants unlimited bandwidth |
| Web development students | People who don’t know basic code |
| Developers working on prototypes |
4. InfinityFree
InfinityFree is a go-to free hosting service for people who want a simple, no-frills approach to free web hosting. As a perk, it also supports PHP and MySQL if you want to beef up your HTML site with more interactive functionality.
It’s 99.9% uptime guarantee is on par with the web hosting industry’s standard, which is pretty impressive given many free services only guarantee 99%. Remember those crummy ads I mentioned before? You won’t get those on your site with InfinityFree either.
You’re probably wondering, “What’s the catch?” Well, it is a free service after all, so there will be some downsides. First off, it only includes 5GB of storage for your website. For comparison, Hostinger’s cheapest plan only costs $2.49 a month and includes 100GB.
You also won’t get a free custom domain name, but this is standard across every free hosting plan I’ve seen. Even with its downsides, it’s a pretty decent option for free HTML sites.
| Who Should Use It | Who Should Avoid It |
|---|---|
| People who want free hosting for personal projects | People with large storage needs |
| Those who want to build a website without any coding experience | Those who expect to get a decent amount of web traffic |
5. GoogieHost
GoogieHost may have a silly name, but don’t let that fool you: these folks are serious about free web hosting. Like InfinityFree, GoogieHost never places ads on your website.
The web host includes a free subdomain, two FTP accounts, two MySQL databases, and a website builder. It also includes some decent security features, like spam protection and free SSL certificates, which I appreciate.
However, GoogieHost has a few more downsides than other free services. To start, it only has a 99% uptime guarantee, which is lower than the 99.9% industry standard. It also only offers 1GB of storage, while InfinityFree has five.
GoogieHost isn’t my first choice for free web hosting; however, it has some redeeming features I think make it worth your attention.
| Who Should Use It | Who Should Avoid It |
|---|---|
| People who don’t have any coding experience | Developers working on professional projects |
| Those who want a free business email | Companies and organizations with large storage needs |
| People who are concerned about uptime |
Best Free Trials
As I mentioned, sometimes it’s better to invest in quality web hosting than use an entirely free plan.
If you have bigger plans for your static website than to use it for practice or a small personal project, I highly suggest checking out some inexpensive hosts that offer free trials.
While this type of hosting isn’t entirely free in the long run, it’s very affordable and will give your website enough speed and bandwidth to succeed.
6. Kamatera.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Customize your cloud environment for FREE
- Work with a dedicated account manager
- Dozens of Windows & Linux OS choices
- Complimentary live chat support open 24/7
- Launch in less than 60 seconds
- Get started on Kamatera now.
That’s right, Kamatera gives new customers FREE access to high-quality VPS hosting for 30 days. Upgrade your bargain-basement shared hosting to a cloud server configured to your exact specifications for no cost. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-day FREE trial | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD | New or Transfer | 3 minutes |
7. Cloudways.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Try managed cloud hosting for FREE for 3 days
- Optimize costs with custom server configurations
- Scale server resources up and down as needed
- FREE SSL certificates, site migrations, and CDN
- Use code HOSTINGADVICE for 25% OFF
- Get started on Cloudways now.
Cloudways doesn’t offer a dollars-per-month shared hosting plan. But the company still brings a significant bargain to the table, thanks to a (short) free trial. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-day FREE trial | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD | New or Transfer | 8 minutes |
8. Wix.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Start designing for FREE
- FREE domain with most plans
- Drag-and-drop templates, specific to industry
- Exhaustive knowledgebase of articles
- Huge app market available
- Get started on Wix now.
Wix is known as a web-leading site builder service that’s one of the most affordable — because getting started is absolutely free and about as easy as processes get. You can log in via Facebook or your Gmail account and be editing your new web property within minutes. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-day FREE trial | 2 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
9. GoDaddy.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Get started for FREE, no credit-card required
- Easy-to-use interface with tons of customization
- GoDaddy InSight™ provides tailored action plans
- 99.9% uptime with an award-winning support team
- Built-in marketing tools and expertise
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
GoDaddy uses a custom website builder and easy access to dozens of content management systems to offer a user-friendly site-building solution to customers. Most of GoDaddy’s hosting plans include these options at no additional cost. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | New or Transfer | 5 minutes |
What Is an HTML Site?
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the building block of almost 95% of websites. This static coding language tells the browser what information to display on a user’s screen. This language is static because of its limited capabilities.
Aside from creating simple navigation menus, check boxes, and forms, the language is primarily used to display information. But HTML is often supplemented with other coding languages, such as JavaScript and PHP, to add functionality and interactivity.
It’s worth noting that all the free hosting services I’ve mentioned support these other languages too.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Free Web Hosting?
To most people, free hosting probably sounds like a great idea. Who wants to pay for a website when they don’t have to? While I totally get that train of thought, there are some unfortunate hang-ups you should be aware of before you pull the trigger on a free plan.
The main issue with free hosting is that it’s not suitable for professional use — for example, companies, organizations, or developers working on client projects. These folks should always, always opt for a paid plan over a free one.
Here’s a table to shed some light on the benefits and drawbacks of free hosting:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It’s free! | Less bandwidth and storage, making it impossible to host midsize to large sites |
| Many free plans have some similar features to paid ones, such as free SSL certificates, website builders, and control panels | Won’t include the best hardware, such as NVMe SSDs, which can lead to slower performance |
| Doesn’t often adhere to industry-standard uptime | |
| Often places ads on your site | |
| Doesn’t provide a custom domain name | |
| Won’t have the best security features, such as malware and DDoS protection | |
| Poor customer support |
As you can see, the pros column looks mighty light compared to the cons column. Now, there are a few instances when these cons don’t really matter, and they are:
- If you’re a student working on a school project.
- If you’re a developer testing an application or learning new skills.
- If you’re building a personal website.
However, for everyone else, paid hosting is the way to go.
Free website hosting is a no-cost option for website owners on a budget. This service is ideal for students, developers working on personal projects, or website owners who need a simple site to showcase their brand.
For more information on cheap hosts instead of free ones, check out some of our top picks.
What Are the Different Types of Hosting?
There are four main types of web hosting: shared, VPS, cloud, and dedicated. When it comes to the free hosting plans I discussed, all of these plans are going to be hosted on shared servers (unless it’s a free trial).
Here’s a rundown of the main hosting types so you have an idea of what to expect:
Shared Hosting
Think of shared hosting as renting a room in a house. The house is the server, and your room is the amount of space you have dedicated to your site. While you get your own separate room, you still share the same utilities and common areas.
This makes it a cheap option, but also means you have limited space and resources.
Shared hosting is usually the best option for first-timers. It’s supremely user friendly and includes a ton of free features that make owning a website easy. If you’re building a website for the first time, this is what you should choose.
Who it’s for: Shared hosting is perfect for first-time website owners and people who don’t know how to code. It works well for small to midsize sites.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. It takes one physical machine and virtually divides it up into a bunch of smaller, more isolated servers.
It’s like renting an apartment unit in a big building. You’re all under the same roof, but you have your own dedicated space and utilities.
You get a lot more control with a VPS, including something called root access. This lets you make changes to your server, like its settings and operating system. VPSes can support a lot more traffic than shared servers, so they’re great for high-traffic web applications.
You also get better security features with a VPS, since you’re isolated from other users on the server.
Who it’s for: Web developers and companies with IT departments can take advantage of VPSes to support midsize to large websites
Cloud Hosting
You’ve most definitely heard of the cloud, and you probably use it to store pictures and documents all the time. Cloud hosting is similar to other cloud-based services, like Google Drive and iCloud.
With cloud hosting, your website is connected to a whole network of cloud servers. If one of these servers goes down unexpectedly, the others automatically take over so your site stays online.
Cloud hosting has built-in scalability, making it really popular with high-traffic sites. However, it operates on a pay-as-you-go pricing model instead of monthly like shared hosting. So your bill may fluctuate month-to-month.
Who it’s for: Cloud hosting is the best choice if you need something with supreme scalability for a medium- to high-traffic web application. It’s popular for eCommerce sites and businesses.
Dedicated Hosting
The final boss of web servers, dedicated hosting gives you access to an entire server for your website.
You can compare a dedicated server to owning your own home. You don’t have to share your space with anyone — but you’re also on the hook for a pretty hefty bill each month.
Dedicated servers offer the most control and customization than any other server type. You can choose your operating system, security setting, backups — you name it. They’re popular choices for companies that must follow HIPAA and PCI compliance.
Who it’s for: Large organizations with big budgets, such as healthcare and banking.
Is Free Website Hosting Secure?
In an ideal world, a free web host may skimp on fancy features but should never sacrifice security to save money. Unfortunately, there are some platforms out there that don’t offer the best security features. That’s just the reality of free services.
While most free plans aren’t as secure as dedicated or VPS hosting, they should offer many of the basic security features as shared hosting. The free services I shared all provide free SSL certificates.
If security is on your mind, you may be better off checking out our list of the most secure web hosting providers.
To Pay or Not to Pay?
If you’ve made it this far, you’re well aware of the pros and cons of free hosting, so I won’t harp on you anymore. I’ll just leave you with this: when deciding which plan is right for you, think about where you want your site to be a year from now, and choose a web host that will support you in getting there.
HostingAdvice.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation from many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). HostingAdvice.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.
Our site is committed to publishing independent, accurate content guided by strict editorial guidelines. Before articles and reviews are published on our site, they undergo a thorough review process performed by a team of independent editors and subject-matter experts to ensure the content’s accuracy, timeliness, and impartiality. Our editorial team is separate and independent of our site’s advertisers, and the opinions they express on our site are their own. To read more about our team members and their editorial backgrounds, please visit our site’s About page.
