7 Cheapest Portfolio Hosting Plans (Feb. 2024)

The journey to finding the cheapest portfolio hosting plans brings me some bittersweet memories. I’m a web developer who loves writing, so landing my first client was the most beautiful feeling. Yet, somehow, it was the most difficult to accomplish.

When you know a thing or two about design and have a passion for writing, why would you struggle to find clients? Isn’t web design and content writing the perfect match? Yes, it is, but that’s not enough. You need a portfolio to get noticed.

When starting out, you want a platform that allows potential clients to check out your best work. Most people don’t realize that it’s not just about building a portfolio and uploading their best work and sitting back, hoping someone will fall in love with what they do and consider them for a gig.

Sometimes, the smaller details, such as the look and feel of the portfolio itself and the web hosting company it runs on, can ultimately determine whether you land that one opportunity you’ve always wanted to kick-start your career. To further understand this point, I’ll discuss seven of the most affordable portfolio hosting plans and why they deserve a front-row seat in this countdown.

Most people don’t have a lot of money and resources to invest in their portfolios. I was in a similar situation many years ago when I was just starting my small business web design agency.

Back then, I just wanted to showcase my work without spending money on premium themes and expensive hosting plans. That’s one challenge the folks over at Wix understand all too well, in my opinion.

It’s not a coincidence that Wix offers tons of free portfolio designs. This web host understands many people’s pain and frustration when searching for that one contract to kick-start their careers.

Speaking from experience, most people are usually on a shoestring budget when starting their businesses. Thankfully, Wix offers templates for almost every profession under the sun. Whether you’re an artist, a photographer, or you just want to showcase a school project, Wix has tons of templates to choose from, all available for free.

See our full review of Wix >>

1&1 IONOS is not just talk without action; it takes portfolio hosting seriously. One of my favorite things about it is the suite of tools specifically dedicated to making the portfolio creation process easier, better, and faster.

You don’t need to be a tech guru to create the portfolio you and your potential clients will love. Instead, all you have to do is follow the easy three-step setup process, which includes choosing a template that resonates with your niche, adding your content, such as image and text, and personalizing the design to meet your unique style.

1&1 IONOS does not just let you sign up and figure out everything by yourself. Instead, it consists of some of the most interactive features I’ve seen in any portfolio hosting provider.

To give you some perspective, this web host has embraced the world of artificial intelligence and integrated it into its website-building process.

You don’t have to worry about generating text for your portfolio; the AI text suggestion tool can automatically generate content for you. That means you can pay more attention to building a great portfolio website without worrying too much about creating content to go into the web pages you’ve built.

All in all, 1&1 IONOS has tons of features worth exploring, each designed to make the portfolio-building process easy and fun. You can set up appointment calendars, optimize the portfolio for SEO, sync it with your social media accounts, manage everything from your mobile phone, and even add order processing and shipping functionalities. With 1&1 IONOS, the possibilities are endless.

See our full review of 1&1 IONOS >>

I’ve always had fond memories of Web.com. Founded in 1999, this is one of the oldest web hosting companies I know. I stumbled upon it back in 2010 when I was just looking for something affordable to host my portfolio.

But make no mistake; the affordable price is not the reason I included Web.com in this list. Rather, its simplicity is what makes it stand out.

Most people don’t realize that a portfolio is like a digital résumé. And statistics have consistently shown that recruiters (and potential clients) spend just six to seven seconds looking at a résumé. A simple design means your portfolio won’t look too busy in the eyes of your recruiter, and that’s exactly why I like Web.com.

Its templates are built with simplicity in mind so they’re easy to use. Another thing that caught my attention is the desktop and mobile preview feature. You don’t want surprises once you’ve published your portfolio.

Instead, Web.com lets you see how your chosen template will look on different devices before you even decide to publish. This step can make a huge difference, given that at least 60% of people use mobile devices to access the internet.

See our full review of Web.com >>

I’ve always known that SiteGround is a great web host, but I wasn’t sure if it was ideal for portfolio hosting. So I decided to take it for a quick test drive.

Before that, I hadn’t really had a bad experience with SiteGround other than the fact it cost a little bit more than other web hosts I’ve used. But like they say, you get what you pay for.

It would be unfair to list the best portfolio hosts without thinking of WordPress website users. That’s where SiteGround comes in to offer the best WordPress hosting plan for portfolios. With more than 40 stylish WordPress themes to choose from, all available for free, and additional benefits such as free emails to give you a sense of professionalism, SiteGround’s managed hosting is worth every penny.

Last but not least is SiteGround’s award-winning customer service. In 2020 alone, it won two Stevie Awards for customer service.

For context, I’ve never had to wait longer than two minutes to chat with a customer support representative at SiteGround.

You can tell SiteGround takes customer service seriously. I stumbled upon this blog post that shows exactly why the web host offers top-notch customer service.

See our full review of SiteGround >>

Like SiteGroud, Bluehost is one of those web hosting companies endorsed by WordPress. But compared to SiteGround, Bluehost is way cheaper.

I recommend this web host if you’re just starting with WordPress but you are operating on a limited budget. Bluehost has many premium themes to choose from for your portfolio, but you can also settle for the free version if you want to cut costs.

This legendary web host also has a website builder that works a little differently from others I’ve used. Most site builders will have (almost) everything you need to build a website, but they’ll leave you stranded, especially if you’re a beginner. Some of these hosts assume that having a website builder is the true mark of beginner-friendliness. It is to some extent but not entirely.

Think about driving an automatic car versus a stick shift. Everyone knows that automatic cars are easier to drive, but new drivers still need to learn a thing or two before getting behind the wheel. It’s not just a matter of turning on the ignition, switching gears, and driving. You’ll need some help in the beginning.

That’s what makes Bluehost different in the hosting realm. The web builder will ask you questions about the kind of website you want to build and your specific niche. Based on your answers, it will automatically create a full template and let you customize it to align with what you’re looking for. The bottom line is that if you’re a beginner who wants to build an affordable portfolio using WordPress, Bluehost is a great option.

See our full review of Bluehost >>

I love Hostinger because it works great on WordPress, one of my favorite platforms for building a website. But I’d only go in this direction if I intend to market my portfolio to a potential client or recruiter. That’s because it comes with great eCommerce features, such as more than 20 payment options, including order management, and support for up to 500 products.

So, what does eCommerce have to do with your portfolio website? Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

You’ve probably seen those self-proclaimed wealth coaches on YouTube chilling with a bunch of Lamborghinis in the background and begging you to click on the link in the description to unlock your inner millionaire.

The link in the description will likely redirect you to their portfolio and probably a landing page asking you to buy their eBook to learn more about becoming the next millionaire. That’s where the importance of having a web host with eCommerce capabilities comes in (if you plan to sell any product or service on your portfolio).

If that’s the kind of portfolio you want to build or something along those lines, Hostinger ticks all the right boxes. It comes with tons of marketing tools and integrations, a free custom domain, and a professional email.

See our full review of Hostinger >>

BoldGrid wraps up my list of the best portfolio hosting providers. I’ve seen many plugins for building WordPress themes, but very few come close to BoldGrid in terms of customization.

What I love the most about BoldGrid is the fact that it suits both beginners and experts. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t appreciate a highly customizable portfolio builder like BoldGrid given that it offers everything you need to build a custom portfolio. All there is to add is a little bit of creativity. That shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off.

I know many web hosts come with drag-and-drop website builders, but something in particular makes BoldGrid stand out. From my experience, it’s the ease of use and availability of numerous building blocks to create a design that expresses your style and showcases your talent.

The fact that BoldGrid suits WordPress also makes it a great option since the latter is the most popular content management system in the world.

With more than 200 templates to choose from, I’ve never run out of options while using BoldGrid to build portfolios for my clients, and I don’t think you would either.

Other portfolio hosting providers that deserve a shout-out include Journo Portfolio (best for restricting access to your portfolio), A2 Hosting (fastest portfolio website builder), and InMotion Hosting (many templates to choose from).

See our full review of BoldGrid >>

First of all, you can, but I wouldn’t advise you to go that route. Here’s why.

While free portfolio hosting services are usually convenient and cost-effective, the cons outweigh the pros. To begin with, most free hosting services often restrict the amount of storage space, bandwidth, and many other resources you need. So if your portfolio website includes high-resolution images or multimedia content, you may quickly reach these limits. That alone could lead to poor performance and high downtime.

Also, free hosting services won’t give you access to advanced server configurations. Others won’t even allow you to install custom software or plugins. As a result, you won’t really be able to fine-tune your portfolio website to just how you want it to be.

From my experience, many free hosting services I’ve used would assign a subdomain to my website (e.g., your-username.domainname.com). That makes the portfolio’s URL look less professional and makes it more difficult to memorize. It basically dilutes your personal brand and advertises the hosting service more.

A free portfolio host won’t be able to handle sudden traffic spikes or increased resource demands. This is especially true if your portfolio gains popularity. Remember the YouTube video we referenced earlier as an example? So, what happens when the video goes viral, and 10,000 people click on the link in the description per day?

A free portfolio hosting provider won’t handle such a sudden spike in traffic, resulting in slower loading times, potential downtime, or even suspension of service.

Lastly, brace yourself for limited security features when you choose a free hosting provider. Don’t get me wrong; it’ll likely provide basic security measures, such as free SSL certificates, protection against DDoS attacks, or regular backups.

But that’s just a fraction of what you need to keep your portfolio safe on the internet. Regarding advanced security features like malware scanning or firewall customization, don’t expect too much from them.

Instead of free hosting, consider signing up for a shared hosting plan, which is often cheaper and has all the basic features you need to host your portfolio.

See the best shared hosting plans >>

You’ll find many answers to this question, but the most straightforward and realistic is it depends. Most hosting providers will charge between $1 and $5 monthly for a basic plan. Others will charge more for a premium plan if you need additional resources, such as more disk space (storage) and bandwidth.

Making a simple online portfolio isn’t that difficult. All you’ll need is a good hosting provider and simple templates you can use to build the portfolio. Web.com is my personal favorite for simplicity. If you’re looking for the best drag-and-drop web builder to put your portfolio within minutes, I’d go for Wix.

The next steps should be easy once you’ve signed up for the web hosting service. All you’ll need to do is provide a little bit of information about your portfolio, e.g., the niche, and choose the best template for you.

Remember what I mentioned earlier at the beginning of this article? Your portfolio is like your digital résumé. You need something that attracts attention and sends tails wagging at the prospects of working with you.

No one will want to browse your portfolio if it lacks basic design principles. Keep in mind that internet users have a very short attention span, sometimes even less than three seconds. You need a portfolio that will grab their attention from the get-go.

Luckily, with the seven portfolio hosting plans I’ve reviewed above, building a stunning professional portfolio shouldn’t be that much of a problem. And the best part is that you get to save money while doing so.