Writer: Alexandra Anderson
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Cristian Lopez
Hosting is not a one-size-fits-all solution, especially when it comes to identifying the best web hosting for churches. As I’ve sampled various denominations, taken part in worship services of all sizes, and ventured on missions trips, I’ve learned that each religious institution is as unique as the individuals who walk through its doors.
Whether you’re looking specifically for Christian hosting services or serve a different type of congregation, a church needs an online presence. Your church’s website is where potential new members will read up on your pastor’s teachings before trying out a Sunday service or where parents will find information about Vacation Bible School or youth group meetings.
And it all begins with your web host. Here, we’ll cover the most affordable and reliable hosting plans, as well as options for design and how to snag additional savings. Click the links below to skip ahead, or scroll on!
Best “Almost-Free” Hosting Services for Your Church
As is the case with many not-for-profit organizations, most churches operate on modest budgets. Any surplus funds are allocated to missions and day-to-day operational needs. Fortunately, web hosting is not a tremendous financial burden; it’s hardly even an inconvenience. Most feature-rich shared server hosting plans can be had for as little as $3 per month. While it’s tempting to sign up for the first free offer you find in search results, we have a few words of wisdom to share regarding the difference between free and “almost-free” hosting options.
We understand price is likely a major factor in choosing the host that powers your church’s online presence. We’ve taken that into account when recommending the best hosting services overall. In addition to low price points, our favorite hosts pack dedicated support, reliable hardware, domain and email essentials, and design and marketing tools into affordable shared hosting bundles. Read through our reviews of the most affordable, yet reliable, hosting providers below to determine which company best matches your needs.
1. Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Unlimited everything, from storage to databases
- FREE site builder & WP performance upgrades
- FREE daily or weekly backups
- Custom control panel and auto-installation scripts
- SSH access & unlimited FREE SSL certificates
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB SSD - 100 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
2. ScalaHosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.95
- 1-click install for WordPress, Drupal and 400 others
- Unlimited email accounts, databases & bandwidth
- 24/7 tech support for beginners and pros alike
- 12-month or 36-month plan at $2.95 /month
- Anytime unconditional money-back guarantee
- Get started on ScalaHosting now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD - 50 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 6 minutes |
3. DreamHost.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.59
- Automated malware scans
- Unlimited domain hosting
- Unlimited email accounts with POP/IMAP/SMTP
- FREE eCommerce store tools and PCI compliance
- Streamlined proprietary control panel
- Get started on DreamHost now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See more cheap hosting reviews »
Discounted and Free Hosting for Churches
For reasons we’ve discussed ad nauseum in other posts, you should proceed with caution when considering a 100% free hosting package. These companies almost always force your site to display their advertising, allegedly free domain names are actually subdomains of the host (e.g., YourChurchName.YourWebHost.com instead of YourChurchName.com), and the perfect storm of cheap hardware and limited server resources can subject your website to unwanted downtime.
But, for this audience, there’s good news! A few select hosting providers, including DreamHost, offer free web hosting for US-based churches and nonprofits. Once you do some digging, you should be able to find other trustworthy providers that offer highly discounted hosting for churches.
For the best of both worlds, try coupling one of the “almost-free” hosts above with a handy-dandy coupon! We’ve worked out special arrangements with many of the most trusted hosts, allowing us to offer reduced rates on popular plans. Click to activate the promotions below, or see other active deals on our hosting coupons page.
Basic Hosting
63% Off Basic Hosting
Was $7.99. Our Price: $2.95/month
Special pricing for our visitors. No promo code needed.
Basic Hosting
79% Off Basic Hosting
Was $10.99. Our Price: $2.29/month
Special pricing for our visitors. No promo code needed.
Basic Hosting
75% Off Basic Hosting
Was $7.99. Our Price: $1.99/month
Special pricing for our visitors. No promo code needed.
Basic Hosting
83% Off Basic Hosting
Was $17.99. Our Price: $2.99/month
Special pricing for our visitors. No promo code needed.
Top “Website Builder” Hosting Services for Churches
Once you have your hosting covered, there’s the matter of actually designing and building the website for your church, charity, nonprofit, or ministry-based organization. Online tutorials abound for building a site using a drag-and-drop site builder, such as Weebly, a content management system (CMS), such as WordPress, or bare-bones HTML and CSS coding. However, we’ve simplified matters by pointing you toward the easiest-to-use site builder and WordPress plans. See our recommendations for each below.
WordPress: Best for Churches, Organizations, and Charities
The software that began as a simple blogging tool, WordPress has grown to dominate the internet. It currently owns a 69% stake in the CMS market, powering more websites than any other platform. The software is completely open-source, meaning anyone can modify its underlying codebase to meet individual needs, and a community of volunteer developers contribute to its growth and evolution.
As the WordPress community has grown, so has the repository of compatible tools. Themes, or website design templates, give you a starting place on the design front. And plugins, or optional software that can be installed, allow you to add all manner of functionalities to your WordPress site. Because of its ease of use, extensibility, and the range of add-on options available, WordPress is the route we recommend to most hosting customers, including churches and nonprofit organizations of all sizes. See our favorite WordPress hosting plans below.
5. Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Officially endorsed by WordPress.org
- Managed WordPress hosting & free site migration
- 1-click WP install, PHP 7+, HTTP/2, and LiteSpeed
- All-in-one security protections from BitNinja
- No price markup for WordPress services
- Daily backups, FREE SSL certificates, and AI Tools
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB SSD - 200 GB NVMe | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
6. SiteGround.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.99
- WordPress performance optimizations
- FREE migration plugin or automated installation
- Pre-installed Git, 3 caching levels, and FREE CDN
- FREE WP setup wizard, staging, and auto-updates
- Fast, 24/7 support via custom chat system
- Get started on SiteGround now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD | FREE (1 Year) | 6 minutes |
7. DreamHost.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.59
- WordPress hosting for up to unlimited sites
- FREE WordPress website migration
- Fully managed hosting with DreamPress plan
- NEW WordPress website builder tool
- Built-in traffic analytics and business advisor
- Get started on DreamHost now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
See more WordPress hosting reviews »
Builders: Best for Christian Counselors, Life Coaches, and Small Nonprofits
WordPress is easy enough to learn — that last one being the key word. You must be willing to do some reading, research, and trial and error. And, we get it, not everyone has the time to make friends with finicky software (or cares enough when there are easier options).
For a more transparent site-building experience — where what you see in the editing window on your computer is what you get when visitors come to your published site — try a website builder. These intuitive environments allow you to visually design webpages using templates, and you can drag and drop photos, text boxes, and other content into place. It’s more closely akin to designing a PowerPoint slide and clicking a button to publish it to the web.
If you’re a solo or small operation (e.g., a life coach, counselor, or missions group), you may be in this boat. Small- to medium-sized churches might find happiness with this option as well.
Many of the best hosts (see any familiar faces?) include a site builder tool for free as part of their hosting bundles. We took the liberty of outlining the best site builder hosting plans available:
8. Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Drag-and-drop design from custom tools
- FREE access to hundreds of specialized templates
- Built-in eCommerce and payment processing
- Easily switch among widescreen, desktop, tablet, and mobile previews
- Support for 31 languages and 99.9% uptime
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB SSD - 100 GB NVMe SSD | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
9. Wix.com
Monthly Starting Price $17.00
- No coding skills needed with drag-and-drop builder
- 100s of templates with niche-specific designs
- Add features via the App Market and Wix Events
- Easily create ecommerce functionality easily
- Great way to build small sites on a budget
- Get started on Wix now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-day FREE trial | 2 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
10. BoldGrid.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.49
- Fotolia and Flickr image databases
- Pre-built and customizable content with GridBlocks
- Responsive themes with tablet and mobile editing
- Generates clean, efficient, and compliant HTML
- SEO, gallery, and forms plugins
- Get started on BoldGrid now.
Laura Bernheim
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 90 GB SSD - Unlimited SD | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
See more website builder hosting reviews »
Build a Beautiful Online Presence That Furthers Your Mission
Whether you’re representing a small congregation or an internationally known religious organization, we want you to find a solid web hosting foundation. Key features to look for include uptime guarantees, site design options (e.g., one-click WordPress installations, free site builders, etc.), and 24/7 support. For more on what to look for in a hosting provider, head on over here. And if you run into any trouble, give us a shout in the comments. Godspeed (pun intended)!
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