Web Hosting Renewal Rates: We Checked 20 Hosts So You Don’t Get Surprised

Most people pick a hosting plan based on the advertised price. That’s the number on the sales page, the number in the comparison table, the number that makes shared hosting look like an obvious deal.

What almost nobody checks — until it’s too late — is the renewal rate. The price you pay after your first contract ends.

We checked it for 20 of the most popular shared hosting providers. What we found should be part of every hosting decision.

The Data: 20 Hosts, Intro vs. Renewal

We checked the entry-level shared hosting plan for each provider, recording the 12-month promotional price and the renewal price for the same plan. All prices are per month based on annual billing.

Renewal Cost = 24 months at renewal rate (months 13–36), not including your discounted first year. Sorted by multiplier, highest to lowest.

Most and Least Transparent Pricing

What This Means in Real Money

The multiplier alone doesn’t tell the full story. Here’s what the 3-year true cost looks like for the most advertised hosts — comparing what you might expect to pay based on the headline price versus what you actually pay once renewal kicks in after month 12.

SiteGround — advertised at $2.99/month. Expected 3-year cost at that rate: around $107. True 3-year cost including renewal at $17.99/month: $467.64. That is $360 more than the advertised rate implied.

Hostinger — one of the most heavily advertised budget hosts. $3.99/month intro, $10.99/month at renewal. Renewal cost (months 13–36): $263.76 — more than double what the headline price suggests.

Bluehost — $4.99/month intro, $11.99/month at renewal. Renewal cost (months 13–36): $287.76.

Namecheap — one of the most transparent on this list. Advertised at $2.28/month, renews at $4.66/month. Renewal cost (months 13–36): $111.84. The gap is real but manageable.

Why This Happens

Hosting companies operate in an extremely competitive market where the first-click price is the primary purchase driver. Lower intro rates win the comparison table, win the Google search, and win the sale.

Once you’re set up — your domain is pointed, your site is live, your email is configured — switching hosts requires time and carries risk. The hosting company knows this. The renewal rate reflects the cost of that switching friction, not the cost of the service.

This isn’t illegal or even unusual across subscription industries. But it is rarely disclosed prominently, and most customers discover it for the first time when the renewal invoice hits their card.

How to Use This Data Before You Buy

Step 1: Find the renewal rate before you sign up. It is usually in the terms of service, the checkout page fine print, or the FAQ. If you cannot find it easily, ask their live chat directly. They are required to disclose it.

Step 2: Calculate the true 3-year cost. Use the intro rate for months 1–12, then the renewal rate for months 13–36. That is your real budget number.

Step 3: Use the multipliers from the table above as a starting point when evaluating any plan. A host with a 5x renewal multiplier may still be worth it if you plan to migrate after year one. A host with a 2x multiplier is far easier to budget for long-term.

Step 4: Run the numbers in our free calculator before you commit. Enter the advertised price, set the renewal multiplier from this table, and see the real 3-year total before you sign up.