Jenny-fa

Some of you may have heard about the insane Web hosting deal that I recently snagged. Although DreamHost seems reputable, is well-recommended, and effectually seduced me with their Year-End Blowout Sale, I've heard enough negative reviews to give me pause. Also, as I head to college next year and will be wanting to conserve as much moolah as possible, their pricing (apart from this year's awesome $0.77/month) still leaves something to be desired.

So, what to do? Unless I manage to pull off another mind-blowing discount, I'll most likely pack up shop and move elsewhere. To that end, after much exploring and sifting through reviews, I've compiled a list of what I believe to be worthy, wallet-friendly alternatives, freely available for your viewing pleaure. However, as I have not test-driven these services personally (with the exception of Awardspace), please research these hosts yourself and read the appropriate documentation — terms of service, privacy policies, etc. This list is provided solely for informational purposes, and readers are advised to compare prospective hosts before committing to any purchase.

Below I have highlighted the various hosts, organized alphabetically, as well as pricing, basic features (disk space, bandwidth, domain names, etc.), promotions (if applicable), and additional notes about their terms of service or other aspects of their plans. Ratings are gauged based on the features offered, affordability, and the quality and organization of their Web site.

Several free Web hosting plans for the super-frugal are also included at the bottom, as well as additional Web hosting resources. Feel free to drop a line if you find an error or would like to recommend another Web hosting provider. And may the Force be with you in your Web hosting search.

Table of contents

1. Paid hosting plans
   1. 50Webs
   2. A Small Orange
   3. Awardspace
   4. AYKsolutions
   5. Byet
   6. FatCow
   7. Just Host
   8. NearlyFreeSpeech.NET
   9. Vexxhost
   10. WebhostGIANT
   11. WireNine
2. Free hosting plans
   1. Awardspace
   2. Byet
   3. HelioHost
3. Additional resources
4. Updates

Paid hosting plans

50Webs

Based in: London, United Kingdom
Cheapest plan: Starter (shared hosting)
Price: $3.00 USD/month
Disk space: 250 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 10 GB/month
Domains allowed: 1
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, Perl, Python, SSI, SSH
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 10 subdomains, 5 FTP accounts, 10 e-mail addresses, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 30 day money-back guarantee, 1 hour support response guarantee (see complete details)
Link: www.50webs.com

Comments: A modest service that comes well-recommended on ConsumerSearch.com, with a Web site design that, despite the tiled background, jives well with this design-critical author. Offers impressive support and uptime for its low prices, although domain name hosting will cost an additional $15.00 per year. Upgrade to the Webmaster plan (only $5.00/month), and domain names are free of charge. Free hosting is also an option for the financially disadvantaged. Rating: 3/5

A Small Orange

Based in: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Cheapest plan: Tiny (shared hosting)
Price: $25.00 USD/year (about $2.08/month)
Disk space: 75 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 3 GB/month
Domains allowed: Unlimited
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby on Rails
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: Unlimited subdomains, unlimited FTP accounts, unlimited e-mail addresses, 99.5% uptime guarantee, 30 day money-back guarantee, 2 months free per year on annual plan (see complete details)
Link: www.asmallorange.com

Comments: One of the top user-recommended Web hosts according to Lifehacker. I'd like to see a little more space and bandwidth for the Tiny plan, but the next step up, the Small plan, offers 400 MB of storage and 10 GB of bandwidth for only $5.00 USD/month. Plus the free two months every year customers purchase an annual plan, considerable savings can be made. Domains cost $10.00 each, though, I'm afraid. Rating: 3/5

Awardspace

Based in: Kiel, Germany
Cheapest plan: Basic Hosting Plan (shared hosting)
Price: $3.99 USD/month
Disk space: 60 GB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 1000 GB/month
Domains allowed: 5
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, Perl, CGI, SSI
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 40 subdomains, 20 FTP accounts, 1 free domain, 1000 e-mail accounts, 24/7 customer support (see complete details)
Link: www.awardspace.com

Comments: I'm currently running a site for a nonprofit organization under this plan, and my experience so far has been good. Resources are plenty, pricing is pretty cheap (as far as Web hosting goes), and e-mail queries are answered promptly, mostly within the course of several hours. I have also seen a few, temporary blips in database uptime, but those are always resolved quickly and without lasting damage. As of this writing, Awardspace is currently offering a 20% discount on all plans (coupon code: WINTER), and they even advertised in an e-mail a while back (while they were offering the FALL discount code):

Are you looking for better hosting for your own site? Did you know that if you refer yourself to AWARDSPACE's paid plans, you'll pick a 50% commission?

All you need to do is sign up for our affiliate program here, click on your own affiliate link to go to the site; AWARDSPACE, sign up for a plan and your affiliate account will be credited for the sale!

This is a great way to get great hosting cheap; particularly while we have our special 20% discount coupon code: FALL. For example, a 1 year Basic Hosting Plan will end up costing you under 24 dollars if you also use this coupon code: FALL

- that's less than $1.99 a month

So, there's the potential for a lot of savings here. Not quite as generous as other plans listed on this page, but the only one I can wholeheartedly recommend from experience. Rating: 4/5

AYKsolutions

Based in: Schenectady, New York, USA
Plan: AYKs (shared hosting)
Price: $18.00 USD/year ($1.50 USD/month)
Disk space: 120 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 3 GB/month
Domains allowed: 1
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, CGI, Perl, Python, Tcl, C, C++
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 1 subdomain, 1 FTP account, 2 e-mail accounts, 30 day money-back guarantee, price lock guarantee, 24/7 customer support (see complete details)
Link: www.ayksolutions.com

Comments: The plan featured here is one of their three "budget plans," much cheaper (but more restrictive) than their regular shared hosting plans. This plan isn't even the cheapest of the lot; the AYKxs and AYKxxs plans each cost an obscenely low $14.00 and $10.00 per year, respectively, but have such horribly reduced storage space and bandwidth that I don't know why anyone would even consider them. At any rate, the budget plans are ideal for cheapskates with small sites, while a more generous AYKbronze plan is available for $6.95/month. AYKsolutions also displays explicit information on each of its data centers and even offers a method of measuring download speeds. Nice. Rating: 3/5

Byet

Based in: (Central) Ohio, USA
Price: $35.88 USD/year ($2.99 USD/month)
Disk space: Unlimited
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 250 GB/month
Domains allowed: 20
Hosting environment: Linux, Unix
Scripting: PHP
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 20 subdomains, 1 FTP account, 100 e-mail addresses, 1 free domain name (see complete details)
Link: byethost.com

Comments: Boasts one of the few truly attractive Web site designs on this page, as well as its self-anointed title of "fastest free host in the world" (see this chart with comparisons between other free hosts, including my current host, Awardspace). Rates are impressively low, although there are some subtle caveats — lack of a broader scripting support, the host's policy on domain names (those transferred to or registered by Byet becomes their exclusive property), just to name a few. They build a compelling case for free hosting, though for paid hosting plans, I would still shop around first. Rating: 4/5

FatCow

Based in: Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
Price: $4.83 USD/month (special promotion)
Disk space: Unlimited
Bandwidth/Data transfer: Unlimited
Domains allowed: Unlimited
Hosting environment: Linux?
Scripting: PHP, CGI, Python
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: Unlimited subdomains, unlimited FTP accounts, unlimited e-mail accounts, 1 free domain name, 30 day money-back guarantee, 24/7 phone/e-mail/live chat support (see complete details)
Link: www.fatcow.com

Comments: Like DreamHost, FatCow has personality. Regularly $5.50 USD/month, following the link above will get you to their special promotion page, where the price is reduced to $4.83/month. Attempt to navigate away from the page, and a chat window will pop up, offering another discount of only $3.83/month. FatCow also earns top marks in customer support on many Web hosting directories, as evidenced by their creatively-titled HeiferCratic Oath, which promises exemplary support, a welcome phone call within your first week of signup, and a response time of about/under two minutes from their "friendly Moo Crew." (Another great line: "Great hosting plans. No bull.") And let's not forget the cow mascot thing, whose googly-eyed cuteness will surely induce warm-and-fuzzy feelings. Rating: 4/5

Just Host

Based in: Fareham, United Kingdom
Cheapest plan: JustPlan (shared hosting)
Price: $4.95 USD/month
Disk space: Unlimited
Bandwidth/Data transfer: Unlimited
Domains allowed: Unlimited
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, Perl, Python, CGI, Ruby, Ruby on Rails
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: Unlimited e-mail accounts, free domain for life, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 phone and e-mail support (see complete details)
Link: www.justhost.com

Comments: A Web host after my own heart. Their employee profiles echo those of DreamHost (there's always something reassuring about seeing pictures of young, smiling Brits in front of computer terminals), and their site has a plethora of Web hosting awards on display. A lovely deal, considering the "free domain forever" and the unlimited storage/bandwidth/domain hosting package. I *heart* this host. Definitely one of the top contenders on my list. Rating: 5/5

NearlyFreeSpeech.NET

Based in: Cocoa, Florida, USA (?)
Price: PAY AS YOU GO ($0.01 USD/MB of storage per month, $1.00/GB of bandwidth per month)
Disk space: Unlimited — only charges for what you use
Bandwidth/Data transfer: Unlimited — only charges for what you use
Domains allowed: Unlimited — only charges for what you use
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, CGI, Ruby on Rails, Perl, SSI
Database engines: MySQL, SQLite
Other features: Micro-payments, unrestricted content (see complete details)
Link: nearlyfreespeech.net

Comments: Geez Louise, what a deal! NearlyFreeSpeech is one of the few Web hosting services that allows you to make micro-payments — that is, you only pay for the resources that you actually use. It's prepaid, meaning you make a deposit, and NearlyFreeSpeech subtracts money from your balance for each megabyte or gigabyte of storage/bandwidth used. If your account runs out, your site is shut down temporarily until you make another deposit within 30 days. The host estimates, and I quote,

During the month of July, 2008:

• 27% of our members incurred no hosting costs at all.
• 53% of our members incurred hosting costs totaling between $0.01 and $1.00, inclusive.
• The bandwidth cost of the average site was $0.10.
• The storage cost of the average site was $0.29.
• The average member had 2.2 web sites hosted with us. (But none of our members are average!)

("Hosting costs" include charges for bandwidth, storage, and MySQL.)

For the bandwidth and storage averages, the top 1% consume a very disproportionate amount; if they are excluded, the average falls to $0.02 for bandwidth and $0.09 for storage.

For a more complete overview, check out HostingFu's review. The service also hosts adult and other controversial content that other providers may balk at, and swears in its privacy policy that it will only release your personal information to others when issued a court order. In all, though it lacks features that are "standard" with other hosts, NearlyFreeSpeech presents an extremely compelling choice. And it's incredibly cheap for most customers. Rating: 5/5

Vexxhost

Based in: Montreal, Canada
Cheapest plan: Starter (shared hosting)
Price: $2.55 USD/month
Disk space: 1000 GB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 10000 GB/month
Domains allowed: 10
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, CGI, Ruby on Rails, Perl, SSH, SSI
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 1 free domain name, 24/7 customer support, WordPress support, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 30 day money-back guarantee (see complete details)
Link: vexxhost.com

Comments: The Starter plan looks way too good to be true. Beautiful Web site, beautiful prices, beautiful features, beautiful everything! What does this Web host not have?

Upon further inspection, however, I noticed that their Acceptable Usage Policy contained the following paragraph:

Anime websites are not allowed on our network. If an Anime website is found we will terminate the account. These sites are not allowed on our servers because most of them are illegal, and almost inevitably cause server problems.

Hahahaha! To be fair, I did locate one Vexxhost customer with an illegal anime site (with links to free scanlations, no less), but the Vexxhost crew seems to be unaware of the violation so far. Sadly, people with anime fetishes may have to take their business elsewhere. For everyone else (and Jenny-fa), this host should be their top pick. Rating: 5/5

WebhostGIANT

Based in: Vista, California, USA
Cheapest plan: Economy Plan (shared hosting)
Price: $2.79 USD/month (limited time offer)
Disk space: 25 GB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 1000 GB/month
Domains allowed: 1
Hosting environment: Linux, Windows
Scripting: PHP, Perl, Python, SSI, SSH
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: Unlimited subdomains, unlimited FTP accounts, unlimited e-mail accounts, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 30 day money-back guarantee, low-cost domain names ($7.95 USD/year) (see complete details)
Link: www.webhostgiant.com

Comments: The self-proclaimed "new standard in low cost Web hosting." Well, their lovely, lovely Web site (I'm easily swayed by Web design) certainly bespeaks quality. Both Linux and Windows hosting are available to customers (their "Linux vs. Windows" article breaks down the differences between the two). In addition, their domain name registration/transfer prices are remarkably low — only $7.95 USD/year for the most common domains, such as .com, .net, .org, etc. Also has a community forum that was recently launched in March 2008. Rating: 4/5

WireNine

Based in: Brampton, California, USA
Cheapest plan: Beginner Hosting Plan (shared hosting)
Price: $3.95 USD/month (or $39.95 USD/year, which works out to be only $3.33/month)
Disk space: 1000 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 20 GB/month
Domains allowed: 1
Hosting environment: Apache (Linux?)
Scripting: PHP, CGI, Perl, Python, Ruby on Rails, SSI, SSH
Database engines: MySQL, PostgreSQL
Other features: 25 subdomains, 10 FTP accounts, unlimited e-mail accounts, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 60 day money-back guarantee, 24/7 e-mail and live chat support (see complete details)
Link: www.wirenine.com

Comments: Another great-looking, professional host with a slew of Web hosting awards under its belt. In addition, their 60 day money-back guarantee is the longest of its kind on this page. Domain name registration/transfers are $14.95/year, however (a bit expensive), but the overall annual price tag calculates to be around $55/year, the norm for hosts listed on this page. Rating: 4/5

Free hosting plans

Awardspace

Based in: Kiel, Germany
Plan: Easy Starter Hosting Plan (shared hosting)
Price: FREE
Disk space: 200 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 5 GB/month
Domains allowed: 2
Hosting environment: Linux
Scripting: PHP, Perl, CGI
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 5 subdomains, 1 FTP account, 5 e-mail accounts (see complete details)
Link: www.awardspace.com

Comments: Yes, the same Awardspace listed above also provides free hosting accounts for "test-driving" purposes (which, by the way, currently hosts my blog). I settled on Awardspace two years ago after trying several other free Web hosts with unsatisfactory results. Awardspace is impressive in many respects — fast customer support, a remarkably good-looking control panel, and completely ad-free — and should be more than sufficient for small, personal sites. However, several glaring caveats, like their 500 KB file size limit, file type restrictions, disabled PHP functions, and a "spam blocker" that automatically redirects pages containing a specified "forbidden word" have convinced me to seek a paid plan in the future. Otherwise, a fine service considering its price tag. Rating: 3/5

Byet

Based in: (Central) Ohio, USA
Price: FREE
Disk space: 5500 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 200 GB/month
Domains allowed: 50
Hosting environment: Linux, Unix
Scripting: PHP
Database engines: MySQL
Other features: 50 subdomains, 1 FTP account, unlimited e-mail accounts, 24/7 tech support, all file types supported (see complete details)
Link: byethost.com

Comments: This is bizarre. Unless I'm reading this incorrectly, Byet's free plan actually allows about 30 more domains than its premium plan. Anyway, among its strongest selling points is its extremely fast server speeds (self-proclaimed the "fastest free host in the world" — see this chart), and it has everything one needs and more to run a blog or other personal site. After seeing the deplorable benchmark performance of Awardspace (my current host) in comparison to Byet, I might just transfer myself. Rating: 5/5

HelioHost

Based in: Kirkland, Washington, USA
Price: FREE
Disk space: 250 MB
Bandwidth/Data transfer: 2500 MB (2 GB)/month
Domains allowed: Unlimited
Hosting environment: Apache (presumably Linux?)
Scripting: PHP, ASP.NET, Ruby & Ruby on Rails, Python & Django, Java, Perl, SSI
Database engines: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite
Other features: Unlimited subdomains, unlimited FTP accounts, unlimited e-mail accounts, cPanel (see complete details)
Link: www.heliohost.org

Comments: Of all the free Web hosts I've ever seen, HelioHost truly is the most unbelievable and incomprehensibly generous. Those guys don't seem to be kidding when they say

HelioHost is an industry-leading free webhost. With an extensive feature set and three years of experience under our belt, we are looking to change the entire web hosting industry by offering a plan that beats out even paid webhosts.

The biggest trouble spot I see with this service is the enormous potential for abuse, which might cut down on their offerings in the future. But… why not? The site is well designed, the forum is pretty active, and the whole gamut seems fairly transparent. Truly broke people should having nothing to lose by giving HelioHost a try, though if you ask me, they would be prudent not to count on long-term availability. Rating: 5/5

Additional resources

• WebHostingSearch.com — An independent Web hosting information guide, with reviews, testimonials, advanced search capability and a domain search tool.
• HostSearchr — AJAX-powered Web hosting finder. Also check out their domain name tool and WHOIS lookup.
• HostReview — A Web hosting guide with useful articles on getting started with a Web site. Also check out their Readers' Choice Awards.
• RateMyHost.com — Another Web hosting directory. "Your source for cheap Web hosting."
• Hosting Catalog — In particular look at their listings of budget hosting, which feature some incredible somewhat dubious bargains.
• Web Hosting Talk — "The largest, most influential Web hosting community on the Internet." Discussion forums full of hosting reviews, advice, etc.
• Free Web Hosting — A directory of free Web hosts, ranked by a scientific "features rating" and user-submitted reviews. The best free Web hosting directory in the world. Also note HelioHost and Awardspace's placement on the first page.

Updates

1/10/09: After some more poking around, I added two new hosts, FatCow and WireNine, and removed 50Webs from the free hosting plans due to its utter lack of scripting support.

3/12/09: Added A Small Orange and NearlyFreeSpeech.NET to paid hosting plans.

3/23/09: Added Byet to both paid and free hosting.