Writer: Christina Lewis
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Alexandra Anderson
Key Takeaways
I like to consider myself a frugal person. I shop second-hand, drive a 2009 Toyota Camry, and I’m still rockin’ the iPhone 12. So, if you’re looking for a free PHP host instead of a paid solution — I get it. Who doesn’t like to save money?
I promise I’m going to share my recommendations for free PHP hosting, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to check out some other options, too. You see, being the frugal person I am, I appreciate the value of a product, not just the price.
My team and I have personally tested some options for you, including 100% free hosts, free trials, and best-value hosts. Here’s what we found:
Best Free PHP Hosts
Alright, here’s the deal with free PHP hosts. Yes, you can host your PHP site on them at no cost, but (and it’s a big but) these plans are pretty limited.
If you’re building a PHP site to test out some new code, or you plan to use it for a simple personal site, then great. There’s no reason you can’t use a free platform for that! However, if you expect a decent amount of traffic or you’re building a professional site, skip to the free trials or paid plans.
I’ve compared some of the top PHP hosts so you can decide which option is right for you:
1. InfinityFree
InfinityFree is a top free hosting provider that supports free PHP and MySQL web applications. I like this hosting platform because it gives you access to features typically reserved for paid plans, including a free SSL certificate, unlimited websites, and no ads.
Pros
Cons
- Limited resources compared to a paid plan
- Doesn’t include a free custom domain name like most paid plans
- Some users complain about slow load times
Just looking at some of InfinityFree’s features makes it clear that this host outperforms most other free services. Plus, the host demonstrates its commitment to providing hosting access to everyone, regardless of their background or budget.
However, it comes with a lot of the usual limitations of free hosting, like slower load times and limited resources.
2. x10Hosting
x10Hosting gives you a limited but no-cost hosting option that comes with enough resources for a low-traffic personal site. It’s an industry veteran in the free web hosting space, so if you decide it’s right for you, you can rest easy knowing it won’t go belly up without notice.
Pros
- Free DirectAdmin control panel
- Lets you create up to 3 email accounts
- No ads on your site
Cons
- Only has .5 GB disk space compared to InfinityFree’s 5 GB
- You’re limited to 2 databases
- Free hosting support is limited to the community forums
If you outgrow the free x10 Basic plan, you can upgrade to x10 Premium for less than $4 a month. The upgrade will get you access to cPanel instead of DirectAdmin, as well as unlimited databases, disk space, email addresses, and domains.
3. FreeHosting
FreeHosting is another smart option for hosting small personal sites or developer test projects. It has twice the amount of disk space as InfinityFree, giving you plenty of space to host your site files. However, I’m surprised it doesn’t offer a free subdomain.
The company says you must purchase a custom domain through them or bring your own, which will add about $10 to $20 in costs each year.
Pros
- 10 GB storage space, twice as much as InfinityFree
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free email account and 1 MySQL database
Cons
- You have to bring your own domain name or purchase one — no free subdomains
- No service for users in Brazil, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, or Vietnam
Despite FreeHosting’s limitations, you may decide it’s the best choice for you if you want the most free disk space and you already have a domain name.
Best Free Trials
If you’re holding out until payday, these free hosting trials can get you started at no cost. I hand-picked Kamatera, Cloudways, and AWS because they’re packed full of developer-friendly features and scalable cloud infrastructure. Take a look:
4. Kamatera: 30-Day Free Trial
Credit card required
Kamatera is a PHP developer’s dream. When I reviewed its server packages, I first noticed how customizable the host is. Kamatera lets you choose your exact server specifications, from operating system to vCPUs, RAM, and SSD storage.
If you prefer browsing prebuilt packages, Kamatera also offers nine preset server configurations for swift setup — these servers deploy in less than 60 seconds.
Kamatera.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Supercharged cloud PHP hosting on Ubuntu
- Optional NGINX with pre-installed PHP-FPM
- Instant scalability via easy-to-use managemt panel
- Optimized server images for Drupal and WordPress
- Enjoy a 30-day FREE trial at signup
- Get started on Kamatera now.
Kamatera gives developers two strong paths to launching and scaling the PHP applications and websites of their dreams. Hit the ground running with a PHP-optimized cloud server image or customize your environment to your exact specifications. 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 |
The best part: Kamatera offers a completely free 30-day trial of its PHP hosting services. As long as your server customizations cost $100 or less, you can deploy your PHP application for free for a whole month.
A PHP developer will appreciate the infrastructure Kamatera has to offer. The host has 24 data centers distributed globally to ensure your PHP application has the best performance and speed.
Check out our full review of Kamatera to see why this hosting company is a performant PHP hosting provider.
5. Cloudways: 3-Day Free Trial
No credit card required
I had to include Cloudways on this list for its developer-friendly features and cloud infrastructure. Though it’s not the cheapest option, you do get hands-on managed support. You can get started for as low as $6.60/month and choose from several major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr, Digital Ocean, and Linode.
Unlike free plans, Cloudways gives you 24/7 customer support and superb scalability. You can start with as little as 1 GB and one core and scale up to 64 GB and 16 cores. Plus, you get integrated caching solutions and SSDs for faster performance.
Cloudways.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.00
- Managed PHP hosting with cloud provider
- Cloud servers preconfigured with PHP 8.3
- PHP-FPM, Apache/NGINX, and MySQL/MariaDB
- FREE CloudwaysCDN and automated backups
- Use code HOSTINGADVICE for 25% OFF
- Get started on Cloudways now.
With Cloudways, customers choose from a handful of established cloud providers and enjoy vertical resource scaling. Deploy unlimited PHP applications with virtually no downtime, and enjoy the freedom of choice at cloud hosting’s finest managed services provider. 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 |
I like that the provider lets you test drive its services risk-free. You can start for free with Cloudways using the signup link above — no credit card required.
In terms of downsides, it’s a little complex for beginners — it doesn’t come with cPanel or Plesk. So, if you’re new to development, you’re probably better off choosing a shared hosting plan like Hostinger, which makes it easy to manage your site through its in-house control panel.
6. Amazon EC2: 12-Month Free Trial
If you’re an experienced developer, AWS Free Tier is worth your attention. Yes, it’s a little more complicated to set up. However, you can get a t2.micro instance with 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM free for a whole year, which should be just right for a low-traffic PHP application.
This setup is highly customizable, meaning you can install any PHP version, database, or Linux operating system. It also integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like Cloudfront and RDS.
I should warn you, though: if you expect a moderate amount of traffic, you’re better off upgrading to a t3.medium instance, at least. The t2.micro isn’t meant to support tons of concurrent users or heavy sites.
Best Value PHP Hosting
If you want to talk about value instead of straight-up cost, a shared hosting plan should be your first consideration.
Here’s the deal: A shared hosting plan is made for low- to moderate-traffic sites. It’s cheap, easy to set up, and comes with a ton of extra freebies.
What’s better, an affordable shared hosting plan comes with significantly more RAM, bandwidth, and security features than free web hosting. Take Hostinger, for example. Its most basic plan comes with 100 GB of SSD storage compared to InfinityFree’s 5GB — and it only costs $1.99/month.
If I’ve sold you on spending a few bucks a month instead of a free plan, here are the hosts worth considering:
7. Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.99
- Support for Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter
- Easy PHP version control makes updating simple
- Access manager lets you work with other devs
- Deploy applications directly from Git repository
- High-performance servers with 99.9% uptime
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Don’t underestimate Hostinger because of the insanely low price tag. The web host has a surprisingly (and refreshingly) thorough list of modern features and technologies, extending all the way to a robust PHP hosting experience. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB SSD – 100 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
8. A2Hosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.99
- Choose your PHP version, from 4.4 to 8.3
- Easy-to-use PHP version switcher in cPanel
- Support for MySQL, MariaDB, and phpMyAdmin
- Advanced security features and FREE HackScan
- FREE SSL security and SSH access
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
Always at the front of the line when it comes to integrating updated versions of popular programming languages and technologies, A2 Hosting is always a strong pick for developers. The hosting company’s ultra-fast SSD servers excel at every level. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | 4 minutes |
9. IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.00
- Powerful servers preconfigured with PHP 8.3
- Latest Zend engine, plus JIT, HTTP/2, and gzip
- Easily change versions in custom control panel
- $1/mo for the first year with no hidden fees
- FREE domain, SSL certificate, and email
- Get started on IONOS now.
Unlimited hosting packages with a strong portfolio of PHP scripts make IONOS a strong choice for PHP hosting services. The provider will start with the most recent stable release but also supports legacy versions of PHP on IONOS Extended Support. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB – Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
10. Bluehost.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.99
- Multiple versions of PHP 8 available
- Code in PHP, with support for MySQL and Ruby
- Customize your PHP version with PHP handlers
- Easily configure the PHP environment with php.ini
- Generate faster responses with FastCGI for PHP
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost is a great option if you’re looking for a PHP-friendly hosting environment. You get your choice of PHP version, which can also be customized and configured to meet your site-building needs. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
11. HostGator.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.29
- FREE PHP configuration plugin included in cPanel
- Set PHP versions for specific domains via MultiPHP
- Support for versions 8.1 and beyond
- Unlimited MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin
- FREE domain and SSL certificate included
- Get started on HostGator now.
HostGator remains a strong web hosting option for both developers and first-time site owners. Whether you’re looking to script something from scratch or just run an effective WordPress site, HostGator will provide all the simplicity and tools you need. Go to full review »
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD – 40 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See More PHP Hosts With the Best Value >>
PHP Host Comparison
| Host | Disk Space | Databases | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| InfinityFree | 5 GB | 400 | FREE forever |
| x10 Hosting | .5 GB | 2 | FREE forever |
| Free Hosting | 10 GB | 1 | FREE forever |
| Kamatera | 20 GB | No hard limits | FREE 30 days then $4.00/month |
| Cloudways | 25 GB | No hard limits | FREE 3 days then $6.60/month |
| AWS | 8 GB | No hard limits | FREE 1 year then $5.50/month |
| Hostinger | 100 GB | Unlimited | $1.99/month |
| A2 Hosting | 100 GB | Unlimited | $1.99/month |
| IONOS | 10 GB | Unlimited | $1.00/month |
| Bluehost | 10 GB | 15 | $1.99/month |
| HostGator | 10 GB | Unlimited | $2.29/month |
What Is PHP?
PHP is an open-source, server-side scripting language that powers the world’s most popular content management system, WordPress. The language is ideal for creating dynamic page content that displays a different output depending on the user’s action.
For example, a site built on WordPress uses PHP to connect your website to a SQL database. When a visitor searches your website for dessert recipes, the PHP code tells your site to go into the database, retrieve all the brownie and cake recipes you have, and display them for your visitor.
Because the language operates on the server, developers can use it to restrict user access. This requires users to log into your website before viewing content. Facebook is a prime example of a website built using PHP, though it has changed over the years.
Some other useful features of PHP include:
- Adding, moving, and deleting SQL database files
- Storing website cookie data
- Collecting online forms
- Creating, opening, reading, writing, deleting, and closing files on the server
- Encrypting data
PHP is a relatively easy language to learn and has an enormous open-source community. Its compatibility with Windows, Linux, and MacOS servers makes it incredibly versatile, too.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Free Web Hosting?
Free plans have their perks, but they also have some drawbacks. Here’s what you need to know.
Pros
- It’s free
- Easy to set up
Cons
- You get very limited RAM and bandwidth
- Some free hosts place ads on your site
- You don’t get a free custom domain name
- The security features aren’t as strong
- You’ll have to deal with lower uptime guarantees
- You generally don’t get any customer support
It’s clear the cons outweigh the pros here. But for some people, this may not be a dealbreaker.
Who Should Use Free Web Hosting?
There’s a time and a place to use free web hosting. If you’re a student working on a school project or a developer testing out some new code, there’s really no reason you need to fork out fists of cash for a supercharged hosting plan.
Here are some scenarios where free hosting may be a good fit:
- Students working on school projects
- Developers learning to code
- Professional portfolio/résumé sites
- Low-traffic personal sites
I should warn you: do not, under any circumstances, use a free hosting plan for your business! Poor performance and intrusive ads make for a crummy user experience.
How Do I Choose a PHP Web Host?
Since PHP is one of the most common scripting languages, you have hundreds of options. But as you may have guessed, some PHP hosting services are better than others.
When you’re shopping for a PHP web hosting provider, there are a few features you’ll want to keep an eye out for to make sure you’re choosing the right host.
- First, check to see whether your provider offers PHP support for the latest version. Using the latest PHP version (8.4 or higher) will ensure your code runs faster and smoother.
- Then, you should compare types of plans, like shared, VPS, cloud, or dedicated. One of the best things about PHP hosting is that you can typically get a high-quality service from a shared hosting plan.
- Explore what features the host has to offer. A shared hosting plan will come with many enticing features for a low monthly price. Customers usually get a free SSL certificate, a free domain, and ample storage and bandwidth to power small to midsize sites. If you plan to power a more extensive website, you could opt for a VPS hosting plan to give you more storage and bandwidth. Plus, a VPS will easily handle large databases full of content for your WordPress blog.
- Finally, look at independent reviews from real customers or from third-party sites like ours. You want to get a feel for what people are saying about the web host.
Make a shortlist of your top three providers and compare them to choose your winner.
Choosing the Right PHP Host for You
There you have it! I’ve shared my top picks for the best free (and cheap) PHP hosts. Now it’s up to you to decide which provider you’ll choose.
Before finalizing your purchase, make sure the web host checks all your boxes. Pay special attention to the provider’s price, storage, user-friendliness, and customer support.
A web host with a money-back guarantee goes far, too. If you’re still undecided, take a look at our in-depth reviews of each web host to learn more.
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