Which Is The Best Budget Web Host? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Last week, our poll asked you all how long you have been a MakeUseOf Reader. We’re happy to find that most of you consider yourselves permanent fixtures, while many more of you are well on the way to becoming one. Thanks!

We tallied a total of 378 votes for the poll: 37% have read MakeUseOf for 1-2 years; 18% have read MUO 6mths-1 year; 16% have been MUO readers 3-6mths; 12% have been here 2-3 years; 10% are new MUO readers of less than 3mths; 4% are long term readers of 3-4 years; 2% of readers have been here since the blog launched; while a handful (.8%) of people thought they’d fill out the poll after visiting MUO for the first time.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.


As you can see, most people reading MakeUseOf have been reading the blog for a while.

This week’s poll question is: Which Is The Best Budget Web Host?

We know there’s some great web hosts out there. However, most everyday people are looking to find the best host they can within a modest budget. Let’s find out which of these are the best!

Please feel free to add your favourite hosts to the comments, as well as sharing your horror stories and praise for the ones we’ve mentioned!


MakeUseOf Recommends

Angela Alcorn

Ange is an Internet Studies & Journalism graduate who spends way too much time messing with social networks (see AngelaAlcorn.com or @smange).

The comments were closed because the article is more than 180 days old.

If you have any questions related to stuff mentioned in the article or need help with any computer issue, just ask it on MakeUseOf Answers.

Hide 21 Comments

  • pceasies November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I got 2 free years of Dreamhost through the Geocities closing promotion. It’s been working great for some rarely visited sites and has good enough uptime. Haven’t had any problems with support either.

    Promo codes: pceasies.com/websites/dreamhost-promotional-codes/

    What about these?
    A Small Orange
    Nearly Free Speech.net
    Dreamhost
    1&1 (although I’ve heard it’s terrible)
    Host Gator

    Reviews: http://www.whoishostingthis.com/hosti...

    Also Host Monster is on the list twice.

    | Like
  • MJ November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I use Siteground.com and they have a $10/yr for friends. Pretty nice except that now they seem to have a Premium only tech support so unless I pay, I won’t be getting any troubleshooting support from them which sucks.

    | Like
  • Daikokuzyuu November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    What about nearly free speech .net?

    | Like
  • Dustin Harper November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I have to say I’ve been with Made2Own for a while now (6 years or so), and they have been absolutely amazing. Great, FAST, support. They’ll help you with anything if they can. Fast servers. Great people working there. I found out about them after my last host went under, and they offered a discount to sign up coming from there on HardForum.

    | Like
  • Ajay Chahar November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    Look at webfaction.com

    Excellent service and top notch performance!

    | Like
  • pceasies November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I got 2 free years of Dreamhost through the Geocities closing promotion. It’s been working great for some rarely visited sites and has good enough uptime. Haven’t had any problems with support either.Promo codes: pceasies.com/websites/dreamhost-promotional-codes/

    What about these?
    A Small Orange
    Nearly Free Speech.net
    Dreamhost
    1&1 (although I’ve heard it’s terrible)
    Host Gator

    Reviews: http://www.whoishostingthis.com/hosting-reviews/

    Also Host Monster is on the list twice.

    | Like
  • MJ November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I use Siteground.com and they have a $10/yr for friends. Pretty nice except that now they seem to have a Premium only tech support so unless I pay, I won’t be getting any troubleshooting support from them which sucks.

    | Like
  • Josh Gunderson November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I’ve used 1&1′s cheapest hosting for years with little problem.

    | Like
  • Ajay Chahar November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    Look at webfaction.com

    Excellent service and top notch performance!

    | Like
  • Jack Cola November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I would have to say Ventra IP for webhosting and NameCheap for domains

    | Like
  • Anonymous November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I have a number of (modest) sites on webhostingpad and have had no problems with them. I haven’t tried ipage or webhostinghub, but it’s hard to beat webhostingpad’s prices.

    | Like
  • Stephen Mitchell November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I’ve been using 000WebHost for about three months. I know they’re free so not technically budget, but their free accounts aren’t advertising supported and they include features like 2 MySQL databases, PHP Sendmail and cron jobs which make them more than adequate for small low traffic sites. Their server reliability seems good, and they have a forum and support ticket system, both of which appear to give quick technical support (although I haven’t needed to use either yet).

    | Like
  • pratYk November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I’m really surprised that the list did not include DreamHost ..

    good support, good uptime, a great feature set …

    | Like
  • Dean Pugh November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I have used about 4 different hosts in the last 8 years, keep having to change after problems of with Companies going bust. I currently use A2 Hosting, which I have found reasonably priced, have not had any problems so far and they are quick to answer any support tickets. I have used them for over 2 years now.

    A promo code is http://www.a2hosting.com/2119….

    I have recommended them to many people and run all my sites from here.

    | Like
  • pratYk November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I’m really surprised that the list did not include DreamHost ..

    good support, good uptime, a great feature set …

    | Like
  • Dean Pugh November 8, 2010
    0 likes

    I have used about 4 different hosts in the last 8 years, keep having to change after problems of with Companies going bust. I currently use A2 Hosting, which I have found reasonably priced, have not had any problems so far and they are quick to answer any support tickets. I have used them for over 2 years now.

    A promo code is http://www.a2hosting.com/2119.html

    I have recommended them to many people and run all my sites from here.

    | Like
  • MonkeyDead Studios November 9, 2010
    0 likes

    Shameless plug time, I offer affordable hosting for students and freelances to host portfolios (and other things) – http://www.monkeydeadhosting.c

    | Like
  • John Hartley November 10, 2010
    0 likes

    I’ve used UCVhost.com for several small projects. Very cheap rates.

    | Like
  • groovyspecs November 10, 2010
    0 likes

    I’ve been using FatCow for about a year now with no issues. Reasonable pricing, good service and very little trouble. They do have a premium support option, but their regular support has been brilliant and they’ve managed to answer all my support questions.

    | Like
  • John Hartley November 10, 2010
    0 likes

    I’ve used UCVhost.com for several small projects. Very cheap rates.

    | Like
  • Clash November 11, 2010
    0 likes

    I used to use Zymic. Now I use X10Hosting. Both are very good and FREE! The only reason I switched to x10hosting was that I kept on messing up on my Drupal installations. So, I decided to try FreeHostia. It attracted me because of its ONE-CLICK INSTALLS. I didn’t sign up because it asked for personal info. Then, I tried x10, and loved it! It has free web hosting + free cPanel, free one-click auto-install with Softaculous and/or Fantastico, and more! Plus, you can double all the features, such as 2 MySQL Databases, 2 sub-domains, and etc., for a one-time payment of $4.95. So if you pay $4.95, you get 4 MySQL Databases, 4 sub-domains, and etc. It is awesome! It even has comparison charts on their website. They make everything so easy for you! I love the hosting, and I will always use it. I recommend you to use it too! Find it and use it at: X10Hosting.com. Yup, that is: http://www.x10hosting.com/.

    | Like