6 Best Web Hosting Providers for Students in 2024

Whether you’re writing a blog, experimenting with code, showcasing a portfolio, or starting an online business, you don’t want to spend a lot on hosting when you’re a student on a budget.

There are several ways you can take advantage of your student status to save money on web hosting. If you need specific features but aren’t sure which hosts offer them, you’ll find all of that information in this article.

I don’t want you to spend more than you have to on things you might not even need.

I’ve tested and compiled a list of six web hosts for students that either cost very little, offer a student discount, or are even entirely free.

What We Look For in the Best Web Hosts for Students

If you’re a student, you’re likely looking to save as much money as possible on hosting while still getting the features that you need. During my testing, I focused mainly on hosts that offer the following features:

• Student (or low) pricing. Many, but not all hosts offer student pricing. Some hosts even offer free services for a certain amount of time, like InterServer.
• Website builders. These can help you get a website up and running in a very short time without needing to know how to code. This is a nice option if you need to showcase a portfolio.
• 24/7 customer support. If you run into any trouble, it’s always helpful to have support available to you at any time. All hosts on this list offer 24/7 support.
• One-click software installation. If you’re planning on using WordPress or another content management system, this feature will help you install it easily.

1. InterServer: Free Standard Web Hosting for Students, for One Year1

InterServer is a great web host for students because you can get the entry-level shared hosting plan for free for one year. That’s pretty impressive, and it’s one of the reasons I chose to give it the number one spot on this list. Its features are pretty impressive as well – you get unlimited storage and data transfer, and you can set up an unlimited number of websites and email addresses.

To get the student plan, you’ll need to provide a ‘.edu’ email address. If you don’t have one but you’re still a student, you can contact support and someone can help you get set up. After your free year is done, you’ll either have to start paying for the Standard plan or a different paid one.

One thing I didn’t like was the wait time to connect to a live chat agent. It could have been out of the ordinary, but I gave up after waiting to connect with someone for over 90 minutes. On the plus side, it does offer 24/7 support in the form of live chat, phone, email, and Facebook Messenger.

Features

• SitePad website builder. A website builder can help you get a nice-looking site up and running quickly. It’s also generally far easier than learning how to code.
• DirectAdmin control panel. A control panel allows you to access your website’s back end if you need to make any changes or customizations.
• Easy WordPress installer. This can help you get a WordPress website up and running within minutes.
• Other apps. There are many apps you can install aside from WordPress, like PrestaShop, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, WHMCS, PHP-Fusion, and more.

Read our expert InterServer review for more details.

2. Kamatera: Cheap Unmanaged Cloud VPS Hosting1

Kamatera is one of the best options for unmanaged cloud VPS hosting because of its relatively low cost compared to other providers. It’s great for those with experience setting up and managing servers – but could be a bit of a challenge for beginners.

Virtual private servers let you experiment more than shared hosting. Shared hosting doesn’t offer the same level of access you might need for your project, app, or website. You get full root and administrator access to your servers which allows you to install and configure your choice of operating system and web server.

It’s risk-free to test things out thanks to the 30-day free trial. And while basic support is available to you 24/7, not all plans offer support for all features.

Features

• Many operating systems. You can choose any of the following operating systems for your server: Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, FreeBSD, Gentoo, OpenSUSE, and Microsoft Windows Server (all versions).
• Customizable server options. With Kamatera, you can customize your servers exactly the way you want, at any time. You can adjust CPU, RAM, SSD storage, and bandwidth.
• Service credits for new accounts. If you’ll be using Kamatera for the first time, you can get a service credit of up to $100 per month, 1TB of storage, and 1TB of traffic.
• No contract or service commitment. Kamatera does not require you to sign up for any particular length of time – you’re free to cancel whenever you wish.

Our expert Kamatera review goes into more detail.

3. InMotion Hosting: Up to 50% Off Your Plan as a Student1

InMotion Hosting is another hosting provider that I like because of the generous student discount you get. Its basic shared hosting plan is best for students who need up to two websites because of its affordable price.

However, I would not recommend the cloud or VPS solutions as they can be significantly more expensive than Kamatera’s. You get the best value from InMotion Hosting with its shared plans.

One standout feature is the 90-day money-back guarantee if your selected hosting plan is not working out for you. 24/7 customer support is also available should you run into any issues.

Features

• Unlimited websites. With all but the Core plan, you can launch an unlimited number of websites. The entry-level Core plan allows for two sites.
• Unlimited bandwidth. All of InMotion Hosting’s plans feature unlimited bandwidth, so you never have to worry about going over your limit.
• Unlimited storage. The most basic Core plan comes with 100GB of SSD storage, but all other shared hosting plans offer unlimited NVMe storage.
• Email hosting included. Not all budget hosts offer email support with your hosting plan. You get 10 email addresses with the entry-level plan, and unlimited addresses with the others.

Check out our InMotion Hosting review for more information.

4. Hostinger: Highly-Rated for Reliability and Performance1

In terms of shared hosting for basic websites, blogs, and portfolios, Hostinger consistently scores highly in our testing. Its plans are very affordable, especially if your site doesn’t need to support a high volume of traffic.

I would have placed Hostinger higher up on this list, but I had to knock off some points. That’s because you only get a 10% discount as a student. It’s not bad – but there are more competitive options out there.

If you plan on using WordPress, Hostinger is also a good option for that since even the most basic Single shared hosting plan offers WordPress acceleration. This comes in the form of LiteSpeed web servers and the LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress plugin.

Features

• hPanel control panel. hPanel is Hostinger’s proprietary control panel and will allow you to manage your website’s back end environment.
• Single-click installer. You can easily install apps like WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, and more.
• 30-day money-back guarantee. Most reputable web hosts offer a money-back guarantee – with Hostinger, you have 30 days to decide whether the service is right for you.
• Git integration. Serious coders can keep track of every change they make using Git on Hostinger’s servers, even with the shared plans.

Our Hostinger review goes into more detail.

5. A2 Hosting: Solid Hosting for Portfolio Websites1

Though A2 Hosting is not the cheapest web host out there, it’s still affordable compared to the competition. Its entry-level Startup plan is perfect for those who need a single website for a basic project, portfolio, or blog.

Something I like about A2 Hosting is that customer support is always helpful, and usually quick to answer your questions. You can reach someone 24/7 via phone, chat, or email in case of any hiccups.

The only thing I don’t really like about A2 Hosting is that it doesn’t offer any student price breaks.

Features

• Unlimited bandwidth. You’ll never have to worry about hitting any limitations, even as your website grows.
• Unlimited email accounts. If you need more than one email account, you can easily set up as many as you need.
• Free website builder. This is a handy feature, and can allow you to set up a great-looking website in a matter of minutes.
• Choice of data center location. A2 Hosting gives you the option to host your site at one of its data centers in the USA, Europe, or Asia, so your site should load more quickly for your intended audience.

Read our expert A2 Hosting review for more details.

6. FastComet: Cheap Hosting for the Most Basic Websites1

FastComet is a good web host for the most basic websites that don’t need to serve a lot of traffic. It was relegated to last place on this list because of its rather low storage limits. You only get 15GB with its basic FastCloud plan whereas many other hosting plans start at 50GB, 100GB, or even offer unlimited storage.

However, if you don’t need to store lots of media like high-resolution images or videos, I think it’s a pretty good option. One redeeming quality is its 45-day money-back guarantee in case you change your mind.

Features

• Open source application support. This is something I haven’t seen anywhere else. If you experience an issue with open source software, even if it isn’t directly hosting-related, FastComet still promises to help you out.
• Free managed website migration. FastComet will help you move your website from another hosting provider as part of your hosting plan.
• Cloudflare CDN support. A content delivery network (CDN) can enable your content to be cached closer to your visitors, offering them faster image loading speeds.
• Step-by-step tutorials. FastComet offers hundreds of pages of lessons and tutorials to help you do exactly what you want with your website and hosting plan.

Check out our FastComet review to learn more.

These are the Best Web Hosts for Students in 2024

If you’re a student, you probably want to set up the website you need at the lowest possible price. Fortunately, you have several options to choose from.

If you’re looking for flat-out free hosting, InterServer is my number one choice1. It’s the only host on this list that offers a free one-year plan for students.

For more advanced hosting, scaling, and customization options, I highly recommend looking at Kamatera1. It’s one of the cheapest options out there for unmanaged cloud/VPS servers.

For WordPress hosting, I recommend Hostinger1 because of its long track record of reliability and performance. In our testing, it consistently scores highly.

Here’s a summary of all the hosts in this article and the features you can expect:

FAQ

How do you host a website on the internet?

To host a website, you will need to purchase a web hosting plan. You can either use the free year of hosting from InterServer if you’re a student or sign up for a cheap-but-good one like the Single shared hosting plan from Hostinger. Alternatively, check out the very latest deals for 2024 on our coupons page.

How can a student host a website for free?

There are not many ways to host a website for free – and I usually don’t recommend any of them because of security risks and performance issues. However, InterServer does offer its main shared web hosting plan for free for one year if you’re a student. That’s something I can stand behind.

Is free web hosting safe?

Yes and no. If you go with a free web hosting plan like InterServer’s student plan, it is a safe and reputable option.

However, I would not recommend any other “always free” hosting providers. There are plenty of budget options available in the list above, and you may also want to compare some of the offerings on our top 10 list of web hosts for 2024.

How much does web hosting cost?

Basic web hosting can cost anywhere from nothing to about three dollars per month, depending on the provider. It also depends on the type of plan you buy – for example, shared hosting like FastComet’s FastCloud plan will be cheaper than dedicated hosting.