8 Best Free Web Hosting Compared in 2024

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Online presence is a must these days. If you are in business, you must be online. But online presence comes with a price. And what if you are a student, an NGO, or simply someone tight on budget, you must be looking for free web hosting. People also use free web hosting to test their websites. If you fall into one of these categories, then your search ends here. We are here with the best free web hosting compared, 202.

But please keep in mind that there are no free lunches. Most free hosts display ads on your site, allow limited traffic, lock you in their platform, upsell their other services to you, and employ many other practices.

Therefore, we recommend you go for some of the almost free hosts like Hostinger. It offers a decent hosting at less than a dollar. At the same time, we should keep in mind that you may earn more by going live with your website.

But if you still want to opt for a free host, here are the top 8 free hosts. Most have website builders, and you can use them to build a website without a single line of code. So, not only do you save your bucks with hosting, but you also can make your website yourself totally free.

 

8 Best Free Web Hosting Compared [2024]

Name Ads Free Storage Bandwidth Domain Website Builder
InfinityFree Yes Unlimited Unlimited No Yes
Byet.Host Yes 5GB Unlimited No Yes
FreeHosting Yes 10GB Unlimited Yes, Paid Yes
GoogieHost Yes 1 GB Unlimited Yes, Paid Yes
000WebHost Yes 300MB 3 GB No Yes
FreeHostia Yes 250MB 6 GB Yes, Paid Yes
FreeHosting Yes 1GB 5 GB Yes, Paid Yes
FreeWebHos Yes 1.5GB Unlimited No No

 

 

#1: InfinityFree.net

InfinityFree is virtually the best free web hosting compared to all other hosting services out there in the market.

The best thing about InfinityFree is that it comes ad-free and not only that, it has a full array of free services that go with it. They come with free SSL, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth. It also lets you install 400+ scripts through one click.

Another best part is that uptime and speed are also decent, if not great. It also offers ten emails and 1 FTP accounts too.

But with that, it has downsides too. The support is only okayish. And when we really look into the terms and conditions of storage and bandwidth, there is much fine print involved.

 

#2: Byet.Host

Byet.Host is a paid-like hosting and also one of the largest free hosts. It claims to have hosted more than a million websites worldwide.

With such a large number of users trusting their websites with Byet.Host, it is sure to be a feature-packed host.

Byet.Host hosting comes with 5GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited SQL/PHP compatibility. Lastly, it offers 24/7 tech support and decent speed, which is definitely a great help.

Support is something InfinityFree lacks in. But that does not mean that Byet.Host does not have its lackings. Byet.Host lacks storage space, which is just 5 GB.

All in all, this free web hosting is excellent if it is a small website you want to host.

 

#3: FreeHosting.com

The third review in our best free web hosting is FreeHosting. FreeHosting offers many features that will remind you of paid hosting. First of all, it is ad-free. It also has a cPanel for back-end control and a site builder to make your job easy. cPanel is a powerful tool and a very rare feature in free web hosts.

Other than that, it has unlimited bandwidth and can support 30k visitors daily. Plus, it also has 350+ scripts that you can load with just a click.

But with boons come the banes. It is one of those hosts that survive by upselling other features to their users. Like the SSL, subdomains, support, and additional databases they offer are all paid. Also, they provide just one email account.

Lastly, the speed and uptime are just okay.

 

#4: GoogieHost

Hey, please do not confuse it with GoogleHost. GoogieHost, although not from Google, has some enticing specs. Even GoogieHost shows no ads. But here is the catch, it does display ads on its cPanel and their own website. But, well, most of the above hosts do that as well. Its revenue model also includes the share of sites upgrading to paid through interserver.net.

So, now time for its most impressive spec. It is the only hosting with cPanel as well as Cloudflare. Also, it offers free SSL and unlimited bandwidth.

But like everything, there are drawbacks too. It offers significantly less storage, just 1 GB, and also only one domain. Other than that, it has just two email accounts, two FTP accounts, and two MySQL Databases.

So, it is a good option for tiny websites. But here comes another catch. Many a time, Google shows connection not secure error while opening cPanel.

 

#5: 000WebHost

000WebHost is a good choice for student projects. This hosting is made available by the popular paid host Hostinger.

We say it is suitable for student projects because it offers significantly less bandwidth and storage. That is 3 GB bandwidth and 300 MB storage. These limits are not enough for even small websites.

Also read: 000webhost Review

But on the brighter side, it has cPanel and website builder for easy construction and maintenance of the website. Again there are no ads either. Also, you can always scale up to paid plans of Hostinger if you feel you are growing.

Some more drawbacks here are there is no free SSL, no subdomains, no email accounts, and no support via tickets.

Thus, it is suitable only for student projects or small websites, not expecting much traffic, as we said earlier.

 

#6: FreeHostia

FreeHostia is another of the best free web hosting. Even they offer an ad-free experience. So, how do they earn money? Well, it is by upgrades or, say, upselling.

Their entirely free plan offers 250 MB of storage and 6 GB of bandwidth. This allowance is indeed a small giveaway, and it will be difficult to run even a small website from these resources. Also, the maximum file size is 50 KB.

You can run five websites from your account, but you have only 1 MySQL Database. And if you want, you can buy an additional database at $1/month. Another alternate is to build a website such that you do not need a database.

Also read: Freehostia Review

But what makes FreeHostia the best is its support. You get support via tickets, and that too lightning fast.

Its uptime and page load speed is also nice. Thus, they form a great host for small websites and test projects by students.

 

#7: FreeHostingNoAds

Well, the name already discloses it all; it is ad-free. This hosting resembles GoogieHost quite a lot. Being a free web host, it offers limited storage and bandwidth but still more than many other hosts. It offers 1 GB storage and 5 GB bandwidth.

Also, it lets you host one domain and three subdomains, which, if not great, are still suitable for student projects.

An interesting thing here is that the hosting is run by the much more popular RunHosting who offers unlimited bandwidth and storage at $2.39/month. Certainly, FreeHostingNoAds is only a slice of Runhosting’s package, but let’s weigh it against its prices. According to us, the provisions are quite good, keeping in mind that they are free.

A drawback here is that it does not offers free SSL, as many of its competitors do.

In the end, the registration process is smooth, but the confirmation mail lands in the junk box. This point is an indicator that some of the sites hosted here are blacklisted.

 

#8: FreeWebHostingArea

FreeWebHostingArea or FreeWHA, as it is nicknamed, is the only hosting in our reviews that shows ads. However, there are no ads on low-traffic websites.

Other than that, FreeWHA is quite generous in its features. It gives away 1.5 GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, 3 MySQL Databases, and one domain. It also lets you take free offsite backups every day or weekly. However, there are no subdomains, email accounts, or FTP accounts. It has all the necessities packed in it and is quite an attractive deal if you ask us.

Apart from showing ads, it also offers an ad removal package at $12/year. This ad-less package packs five MySQL Databases and priority support.

But we would prefer Hostinger if you are paying anyway. Even Hostinger offers shared plans at $0.99/month. But the catch is you have to pay upfront fully for four years. So, if you are not planning to keep your site for long, FreeWHA is decent. But if you plan long innings, go blindly with some ‘almost free’ host like Hostinger.

This review was the last of the best free web hosting reviews and now let’s get geeky and understand a few terms we used above.

 

What Do The Popular Hosting Jargon Mean?

Now that we have seen what makes these free web hosting great. Let’s look into some of the popular hosting jargon and see what the terms mean. This knowledge will help you make an informed decision.

So, let’s start.

 

#1: Bandwidth:

Bandwidth is the amount of data transmitted over a network. Didn’t get it? Well, in simple words, let’s say you are surfing Youtube. Now, when you press a button, a command goes to the server. This is data sent over a network. Again if you play a video, you are streaming data from the server. This is also data traveling over the network.

Also read: Which Ones Are The Best Web Hosting Services In 2024?

So, the amount of data that can travel through a given network at any given time is called speed or bandwidth. Modern servers can have a bandwidth of billions of bits per second, i.e., Gbps ( Gigabytes per second). Trust us; it is a LOT.

In this article, we have seen Bandwidth in GBs. This means that the total size of data transmitted for your site over the network is so and so GB. Let’s say 10 GB, 5GB, or even unlimited.

 

#2: Database:

Think of electronic sheets. It is a collection of data arranged in rows and columns so that when you ask for some data, it can find and provide you with it. You can run complex queries on it and retrieve your desired data.

MySQL Database is a database management system, which empowers you to run these queries on your database. Every website needs one MySQL Database to store and retrieve its data.

 

#3: Domain Name

A domain name is the name of your website like Google.com is a domain name. Please do not confuse it with a URL. https://google.com is a URL.

Thus, just the name of your website is called the domain name. Basically, like yours, your website also needs identification, and the domain name is just that.

 

#4: SSL

While surfing or using the internet, like doing logins, making eCommerce transactions, or doing a social activity, your data is not safe. That is, until and unless the site you are accessing has an SSL enabled.

Have you ever noticed that some websites have a green padlock next to the URL? This green padlock means that they are SSL enabled and are safe.

Many free web hosts give away free SSL. But some either do not have the facility or upsell it.

 

#4: Control Panel

Control Panels like cPanel and hPanel, etc. are a one-point destination for all controls. They can be whatever from managing email accounts and FTP Accounts to installing WordPress and other CMSs to creating subdomains, and a lot more.

Also, this is one of the significant lackings of free hosts. Most do not provide the full facilities. cPanel is the industry standard, while only three of our above free hosts can provide this facility. Others either provide hPanel or some other type of control access.

 

#5: Storage

Lastly, storage is the amount of data stored on your website over a server, such as your website code, pictures, videos, articles, etc. All these take storage space over the server network. Mostly these are kept in SSDs over SAN.

A few of our hosts claim to give unlimited storage, while this may include some fine print. Though, most others mention the limits, which we find more transparent and respectable.

 

What Are The Cons Of Free Hosting?

 

1. Common lapses

A reliable uptime is among the most crucial features a trustworthy web hosting plan must offer. If you’re not aware of the term, it refers to how long you may anticipate your website will be live and available to visitors.

Every web hosting company will eventually need repairs, and some will have outages due to technological issues. However, reputable commercial web hosting companies can typically guarantee an uptime significantly more excellent than free plans.

Every minute your website is down can cost you money if you’re building a company website or intending to monetize it with advertising or affiliate links.

 

2. Combined Branding

Some free web hosting providers will use your website to advertise their products and place advertisements on it. That can involve placing their logo on your website. It may commonly entail including their name in your URL.

This makes it more challenging to convey a distinct and unified brand to your visitors, just like advertisements. Visitors who want to visit your website could find it more difficult to recall your URL and may find it perplexing, making it more difficult to recognize your website as having a distinct identity.

 

3. Quality Of Support

The quality of support you may anticipate from a web hosting company’s employees is impacted if you aren’t a paying customer. Employees that provide customer service must be paid. What time and assistance does the corporation need to give you if it isn’t making much money from you?

Even though some free web hosting plans claim to offer 24/7 customer service, you should have reasonable expectations for the level of assistance you’ll get for free.

 

4. Advertisements

Even though the businesses don’t directly bill you for the services, they still need to recover their costs. One of the most straightforward methods is to display advertisements on your website.

To be completely transparent, you won’t earn any money from these advertisements. The site hosting company will receive any earnings from your website visitors who view and click on those advertisements. You won’t earn anything for it even if your website starts to get enough traction to generate actual cash through those advertisements.

Ads may also deter commercial websites or individuals trying to establish their personal brands online. They make your website appear crowded and divert readers’ attention from what you say. Ads muddle your message and pose a problem if you want to establish a distinct brand.

 

5. Bandwidth Limitations

The amount of bandwidth you have impacts how quickly your website loads. Additionally, the number of visitors who stick around and how highly you rank in the search engines are both significantly impacted by poor page loading times. Broadcasting is particularly crucial on websites with media components like audio, video, or animation, which take more bandwidth to load.

Free web hosting frequently has significant bandwidth restrictions. Therefore, it will get more challenging for your visitors to access your website fast and reliably the more pages, components, and media you add.

 

6. Fewer Pages

The number of web pages you can build under free web hosting services is strictly capped. A plan that allows for a few pages, or perhaps even just one, may be sufficient for folks who only need simple websites.

However, for the majority of websites, you’ll need to be able to expand and produce as many web pages as your site requires over time.

 

7. Several Services Involve Paid Subscriptions.

Many businesses that provide free website hosting do so to entice customers to sign up in the hopes that once they learn the free hosting doesn’t fit their requirements, they’ll upgrade to a paid hosting plan. They believe that by limiting the capabilities offered in the free plan, the customer will eventually realize that they actually require one of the premium plans and then will decide to go with the paid subscription.

 

Why Is Paid Web Hosting A Better Choice?

 

1. Consistency

Web hosting companies that charge a premium can afford to maintain their servers well, give out more consistent performance, strive for better uptime, etc.

Customers can avail of these benefits with a subscription package from a reputable supplier.

 

2. Customer Support

Web hosting businesses that charge for their plans may also afford to set a higher budget for qualified customer support staff. Many companies provide round-the-clock customer service, so you may immediately obtain the required assistance.

 

3. Distinctive Identity

With paid plans, you often obtain a domain name that is exclusively yours, you don’t have to consent to the web hosting business, including adverts of their own, and your name and logo are the only ones displayed on the website.

 

4. Plenty Of Room To Grow

One of the main things free web hosting plans lack is the potential to expand. If your website becomes famous over time or you develop it to have more pages and aspects, what the hosting company offers might function on day one, but they’ll undoubtedly start to fail you in the long term.

Paid plans provide access to more pages, bandwidth, and activity. Additionally, most hosting companies make it simple to switch to a new scheme when the time is right.

 

5. Privacy

Nearly every day, data breaches occur, so choosing a reliable web hosting company is the first step in protecting your website from intruders and safeguarding the information your visitors submit.

Putting your website in the hands of free web hosting companies carries a risk because they won’t spend enough funds as a paid hosting company to install crucial security features and firewalls.

 

6. Beneficial Components

Paid web hosting packages have beneficial features, including social media networking options, SEO tools, e-commerce tools, automated backups, reporting and analytics, and security measures.

 

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, we would like to say that we find InfinityFree the best free host, comparing all of them together. But it lacks good support while a few other hosts like Byet.Host etc. promise a better experience.

A unique feature that you should be on the lookout for is cPanel. And FreeHosting, GoogieHost, and 000WebHost, all offer the cPanel.

Next, FreeHostia is something with less storage and bandwidth but aces in support.

FreeHostingNoAds and FreeWebHostingArea are another two hosts for small projects.

So, folks, this was all in our guide about the best free web hosting. We hope you found it informative and can now zero down to your ideal hosting.

Although we have tried to explain everything, still, if you are buzzing with questions, drop them below. Also, comment below with your favorite free web hosting. We would love to hear from you!