Best WordPress hosting in 2022

The best WordPress hosting offers users building a website, whether via the best website builder or one of the best WordPress website builders, with top-performing and platform-specific hosting for their site. The best web hosting services available tend to offer WordPress hosting alongside other hosting types, meaning that you’ll find many options available to you.

It’s worth remembering to look for WordPress-focused tools and features like premium plugins, and specialised site-creation integrations. A key decision is also whether to opt for managed or unmanaged hosting: managed WordPress hosting has the host undertake everything advanced or security-related, while unmanaged puts you in charge of technical management, security, and most other elements.

Below, we’ve taken in-depth studies of the best WordPress hosting providers, across managed and unmanaged hosting, to help you find the right host for your WordPress site.

The 3 best WordPress hosting providers available

Hostinger: top budget WordPress web hosting

Hostinger’s competitively-priced WordPress plans start at £1.99 a month, and all include a free SSL certificate and 24/7, top-level support. More advanced plans include unlimited bandwidth, increased storage, and more. Get the WordPress Starter plan for only £3.99 a month, with our exclusive deal!

Cloudways: scalable, cloud-based WordPress hosting

Cloudways offers advanced, highly scalable, and managed cloud hosting on a pay-as-you-go basis for WordPress sites via Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Vultr, Linode, and DigitalOcean. Top features include 24/7/365 support, proactive monitoring, and collaboration and management tools.

WP Engine: best managed WordPress host

WP Engine offers developers access to powerful managed WordPress hosting, with top features including automated backups, integrated development, and staging environments. High performance levels and sector-leading tools help it lead the way for scalable, flexible site creation.

What are the best WordPress hosting services?

For us, Hostinger is the best WordPress hosting provider currently available. Offering competitive pricing and value-for-money, our leading host across a range of hosting types also provides some unlimited resources on its WordPress plans, as well as automated site migration, top support, and much more.

A wide range of providers push it close though, including cloud hosting provider Cloudways; WordPress specialist WP Engine; eco-friendly host GreenGeeks; expert-led Nexcess (part of Liquid Web); hosting giant Bluehost; privacy leaders DreamHost; and managed hosting-focused Kinsta.

The best WordPress hosting providers, compared

The best WordPress hosting available right now

Hostinger

Best WordPress hosting, all-round

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: From 100GB
• Storage: From 30GB
• Website connections: From one
• Entry price: £1.99 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Excellent security across the board
• Great value for money
• Generous server resources
• Simple management across the board

REASON TO AVOID

• High renewal prices
• No free domain with base plan

Score: 4.5/5

If you’re looking for a budget WordPress hosting solution, it’s hard to look past Hostinger. It’s right up there with our favorite hosts in general, and we found that its WordPress solutions don’t disappoint. 

The most basic plan for a single site is a little limited, but at just £1.99 a month for a three-year subscription, you won’t find better value for money anywhere. This comes with 30GB of storage, 100GB of bandwidth, support for one site, and a selection of WordPress management features. 

Upgrading to one of the more advanced plans will add unlimited bandwidth, increased storage, support for more sites, and a free domain for the first year of your subscription. All plans come with a free SSL certificate, a 99.99% uptime guarantee, and excellent 24/7 support.

In addition, Hostinger’s hPanel control panel is arguably even better than popular options like Plesk and cPanel. The company emphasises security, with a range of tools designed to protect your site from hackers and data breaches. Hostinger supports LiteSpeed too, with a cache plugin pre-installed on all accounts that optimizes WordPress sites for peak performance.

It’s also recently developed and fully automated site migration, with users only needing to provide their WordPress admin panel’s URL, and login credentials for their previous hosting account. Once verified, Hostinger migrates the site with one click, while also removing any malware or outdated plugins to improve site speed. 

On the downside, the slightly basic low-end plans will bother some users. The base plan has no free domain, and you can expect to pay significantly more than the advertised prices for short subscription terms. 

Cloudways

Best WordPress hosting for scalability and large sites

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: From 2GB to 5TB (depending on network)
• Storage: From 25GB to 256GB (depending on network)
• Website connections: Depends on network
• Entry price: £8.41 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Attractive PAYG pricing model
• A selection of different cloud hosting networks
• Excellent performance with even the cheapest plans

REASON TO AVOID

• No domain registration services 
• Sometimes confusing native control panel
• No included email hosting

Score: 4.5/5

Cloudways offers advanced, highly scalable cloud hosting solutions that are perfect for larger WordPress websites. It provides managed hosting through a choice of five popular cloud networks, including Google Cloud, AWS, Vultr, Linode, and DigitalOcean. 

All subscriptions are on a pay-as-you-go basis, which essentially means that you won’t ever have to pay for resources or services that you’re not using. Prices and server resources vary according to the cloud network you choose to base your hosting on. The cheapest plan starts at £8.41 a month for 1GB of RAM, 25GB of storage, and 1TB of bandwidth on the DigitalOcean network. 

We found that there are a few general features that stand out across Cloudways’ product offerings. All users will have access to 24/7/365 support. Proactive server and security monitoring take place across the board, and any issues will be dealt with in a timely manner. You will also benefit from a selection of performance-enhancing, collaboration, and management tools to make your life easier. 

However, it’s worth noting that Cloudways isn’t a great option for those without much experience. You will need some technical knowledge to get the most out of it, especially if you plan to create a large and/or advanced site. 

WP Engine

Best managed WordPress hosting

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: From 50GB
• Storage: From 10GB
• Website connections: From one
• Entry price: £24 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Advanced technical management
• Leading 24/7 support
• Integrated WordPress website builder
• Development and staging environments

REASON TO AVOID

• A little expensive compared to others
• May be overwhelming for beginners
• Limited storage for multiple websites

Score: 4.5/5

WP Engine is a clear leader when it comes to managed WordPress hosting. We found that it offers a selection of advanced solutions for blogs, online stores, and virtually any other type of website you could want to create. All plans come with full technical management and a range of advanced features, which is great to see. 

The base Managed Hosting plans start at £24 a month with annual payments. These come with automatic site migrations, daily backups, a one-click staging environment, among other things. More advanced options come with more bandwidth, storage, and site connections. 

Upgrading to a Managed Hosting Plus plan will give you access to automatic plugin updates, reducing the amount of work you need to do to keep your site online. The Ecommerce Hosting plans add WooCommerce tools, one-click store creation, and an optimised store theme. Lastly, the Secure Hosting options add advanced protection in the form of a firewall, DDoS protection, and more. 

On the downside, WP Engine is quite expensive compared to many of the alternatives on the market. You do get what you pay for, but there are numerous advanced tools that may just be too confusing and unnecessary for those without significant web development experience. 

GreenGeeks

The best eco and unlimited WordPress hosting

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: Unlimited
• Storage: From 50GB
• Website connections: From one (scales up with plans)
• Entry price: £2.48 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Leading eco-friendly hosting services
• Great value for money
• Data centres in the US, Europe, and Canada

REASON TO AVOID

• Complicated price structure
• The support site is a little basic

Score: 4/5

Web hosting is by its very nature not a particularly environmentally-friendly operation, but GreenGeeks aims to change that. It provides a 300% renewable energy match for every hosting plan, including its three WordPress hosting packages, and plants a tree for every new account via One Tree Planted.

These range from £2.48 a month up to £9.15 a month, and all three provide free installation and site migration; unlimited databases and bandwidth; free backups, SSL certificates, and CDNs; automatic WordPress updates; and a free domain name for the first year. The cheapest plan has a restriction on SSD storage of 50GB, but the other two do not.

The host utilises cPanel, offers real-time scanning and automatic nightly backups, and 24/7 live chat support. The downside here is that phone and email support are not 24/7, though we noted that there’s a comprehensive online support center filled with tutorials and guides.

Security and performance-wise, GreenGeeks offers a powerful firewall alongside fully redundant hardware and infrastructure, alongside a choice of data centres across the USA, Canada, and the Netherlands. A 30-day money-back guarantee offers the opportunity to test the service, while a 99.9% uptime guarantee and strong performance in our testing help it to stand out.

Nexcess

Best advanced WordPress hosting

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: From 2TB
• Storage: From 15GB
• Website connections: From one 
• Entry price: £7.79 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Highly advanced managed WordPress hosting
• Great performance across the board
• Generous bandwidth
• Full root server access

REASON TO AVOID

• Somewhat expensive
• No unmanaged options
• Limited storage

Score: 4/5

If you’re looking for an advanced WordPress hosting solution that you can rely on, Nexcess from Liquid Web is hard to look past. It’s far from the cheapest host available, but it offers some of the most powerful hosting we’ve seen. 

On the WordPress front, there’s a selection of both managed WordPress and managed WooCommerce options. All are built on the Nexus digital commerce cloud, which has been created with a focus on speed, security, and scalability. The customer service options are excellent, and there’s a 100% uptime guarantee across the board. 

The managed WordPress hosting options are designed specifically for those creating standard websites with WordPress.org. The base plan starts at £7.79 a month for the first six months (£15.58 a month thereafter) and includes one website connection, 15GB of storage, 2TB of bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts. Upgrading to more advanced plans adds support for more sites, along with increased storage and bandwidth. 

If you want to build an online store with the WordPress.org and WooCommerce combination, the managed WooCommerce plans could be the right option. They come with a range of ecommerce-specific features, including a beginner-friendly store builder. 

On the downside, Nexcess will be too expensive for some users. There are no budget unmanaged WordPress hosting options, and the limited storage with low-end plans will be a concern for some. 

Bluehost

Best overall WordPress hosting

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: Unmetered
• Storage: From 50GB
• Website connections: From one 
• Entry price: £3.95 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Beginner friendly
• Relatively affordable
• Managed and unmanaged options available

REASON TO AVOID

• Deceptive price structure
• Limited advanced features

Score: 3.5/5

Bluehost is one of WordPress’s recommended hosts, and for good reason. It offers a selection of unmanaged and fully managed WordPress hosting solutions, with options for everyone from complete beginners to advanced users. 

Unmanaged plans start at just £3.95 a month for a 36-month subscription (renews at £8.99 a month). This includes 50GB of storage, one website connection, unlimited bandwidth, a selection of custom themes, pre-installed WordPress, and automatic WordPress updates. The two higher-end plans support unlimited website connections with unlimited storage, while the top Choice Plus plan (from £6.97 a month) includes automatic backups for the first year. 

The managed WordPress hosting plans are somewhat more expensive. These only support a single website connection, but all come with daily backups, automatic malware detection and removal, a WordPress-optimised server network, and a suite of other advanced tools. 

On the downside, we noted that monthly payments aren’t available with either type of WordPress hosting. Unmanaged plans come with a 12-month minimum term, while you will have to pay for at least three months upfront for a managed plan. Prices will also increase significantly after your first term. 

DreamHost

Best for a wide selection of WordPress plans

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: Unmetered
• Storage: Unlimited
• Website connections: From one 
• Entry price: £5.73 a month 

REASON TO BUY

• Managed, unmanaged, and WooCommerce options
• Very competitive prices
• WordPress.org recommended host
• 97-day money-back guarantee

REASON TO AVOID

• Sub-standard management panel
• No free domain

Score: 3.5/5

DreamHost has long been known as one of the leading WordPress hosting providers. It offers a selection of unmanaged, managed, and ecommerce specific plans for websites of all shapes and sizes. 

An unmanaged subscription will get you access to a WordPress website builder, pre-installed WordPress software, free automatic site migrations, and unmetered bandwidth. The cheapest Starter plan comes in at £5.73 a month for a three-year plan, but it only supports one website connection. The Unlimited plan (from £10.65 a month) enables unlimited website connections. 

We found that the managed DreamPress subscriptions are even more powerful, adding managed security, automatic updates, and full server optimisation. All users will have access to a one-click staging environment, automatic backups, automatic caching, and unlimited email accounts, which is great to see. 

There’s also a selection of fully-managed WordPress VPS plans, which are targeted at those creating an online store. These come with unlimited support, a 100% uptime guarantee, and excellent scalability. 

On the downside, DreamHost’s native hosting management panel is a little basic and confusing. There’s no free domain, and it’s certainly not the most powerful provider across the board. 

Kinsta

Best hands-off managed WordPress hosting

SPECIFICATIONS

• Bandwidth: From 25,000 visits a month
• Storage: From 10GB
• Website connections: From one 
• Entry price: $30 a month

REASON TO BUY

• Great performance across the board
• Global data center locations
• Beginner-friendly option
• Excellent self-help resource library

REASON TO AVOID

• Quite expensive compared to some alternatives
• Somewhat limited server resources
• No phone support

Score: 3.5/5

Kinsta specialises in fully managed WordPress hosting, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of the top-rated providers around. Its plans are a little expensive, but the excellent performance and great advanced features on offer really make it an option worth considering. 

It offers a wide range of options for businesses of all sizes. There are 10 plans available, with prices ranging from £25 to £1,253 a month. The base plan supports one WordPress site with up to 25,000 monthly visits and 10GB of SSD storage. Upgrading adds support for more site connections and more server resources. 

All plans are built on the Google Cloud Platform, providing leading performance across the board. You will benefit from the integration of a suite of performance-enhancing tools, various staging areas, excellent security, and an attractive native management panel. 

On the downside, Kinsta is quite expensive. Storage and bandwidth are a little limited with the low-end plans, and there’s no phone support. 

WordPress hosting FAQs

What is web hosting?

Web hosting enables you to lease online server space from a provider where you can host your website’s content (such as images, videos, or text). When a user visits your site, the web host’s server loads the resources and content onto the visitor’s device.

Watch our video to learn what you need to know about web hosting, and how to choose the right hosting provider.

What is the difference between WordPress hosting and web hosting?

WordPress hosting is designed specifically as a form of web hosting for WordPress websites, via WordPress.com and WordPress.org. It’s platform-specific hosting optimised for WordPress sites, where as other types of web hosting are designed for use with any type of website.

When it comes to managed vs unmanaged hosting, WordPress hosting mainly offers managed hosting, meaning that providers take charge of updates, advanced tasks, and administration of your site, leaving you to focus on what’s important to you. 

How to choose the best WordPress hosting

WordPress hosting offers specialised solutions with a focus on performance, but be aware that one key feature is its platform-specific focus: you can’t use another CMS like Drupal, Magento, Joomla, Dreamweaver, or Squarespace. Providers usually pre-install the WordPress CMS on your server, so you won’t need to install it: an ideal prospect for those new to web hosting.

If you’re new to it all, managed WordPress hosting is your best option, because you’ll enjoy comprehensive technical support including update installations, security patches, and more to keep your site safe and performing well. You can also access a wide array of third-party app integrations with WordPress, allowing you to fully customise your site as you see fit, from designs to ecommerce like WooCommerce.

Most providers will also offer top performance compared to other types of hosting, because WordPress hosts tend to design their services to enhance WordPress website performance. This covers page load times, uptime, server responses, and more. Specific caching also saves your data in static files, allowing the site to load quicker, and you can also use CDNs if needed.

Customer support depends entirely on the web host, regardless of hosting type, but as mentioned managed WordPress hosting provides you with a team of support agents that will be WordPress experts. Pricing is detailed and ranges wildly from dollars per month all the way up to thousands, depending on the size of your business, the reach of your site, and more.

What it all comes down to is whether you’ve got or want a WordPress website or not. If you do, there’s no better option than going for WordPress hosting, because it’s designed for the CMS and it provides specific tools and features, as well as enhancing your site’s performance, and you can benefit from targeted support.

How we review the best WordPress hosting services

When reviewing the best WordPress hosting services, we take the same approach as we do with the best web hosts. We test both response times and uptimes over a two-week period with a WordPress test site we’ve built; should a builder be included with the plan, we’ll use that. If not, we’ll use another provider to create our site, import it, and then test a different but host-specific tool or feature instead.

We test uptime and response time because these two factors are integral to the performance of your WordPress site. Another key element we test is the web security on offer from the WordPress host, while we also establish how responsive customer support and service staff are to any issues. This is key if you’re signing up to a managed WordPress plan, because you’re paying more for better service.

As mentioned earlier, WordPress hosting pricing can vary wildly depending on what type of site you’ve got. That’s why we examine pricing in detail, and do so as well because web hosting is known for confusing pricing plans that can exponentially increase after your first, discounted term.

Finally, we ensure that we compare the host we’re testing and reviewing to its main competitors, in order to better assist you in finding the right provider for your site’s WordPress hosting needs.