10 Best Web Hosts With Free Site Migration [2024 Update]

There are many reasons why you might choose to switch web hosting providers. Maybe your current hosting plan doesn’t give you enough storage or bandwidth, or maybe its performance is lacking. Or perhaps you’ve simply decided to look for a hosting plan that offers better value for money.

Either way, you’ll need to migrate your website, which can be a risky, stressful, and technical task. Luckily, you don’t need to know how to migrate a website – or even do this task yourself.

All the providers on this list offer free website migrations so you can make the switch hassle-free. In addition, each of these hosts offers either a trial period, a discounted first month, or a money-back guarantee so that you can try it out risk-free.

Overall, my top recommendation for web hosts with free site migration is Hostinger. Not only does the service have a generous migration policy, but it also offers industry-leading low prices and impressive speed.

What We Look For in the Best Web Hosts With Free Site Migrations

The web hosts in this article make migrating your site as easy and as hassle-free as possible. Once you sign up for a plan, in most cases, you can simply initiate the migration process by submitting a request through your account dashboard.

Here are some features I’ve considered when choosing hosts for this list:

• Level of migration services. Free migration services differ. Some hosts have unlimited free migrations, while others offer just one per plan. Such services might also be limited only to migrations of certain site types (for example, WordPress) or site backup file formats (e.g., MySQL or cPanel). In some cases, hosts claim they offer free migration, but it turns out to be a self-service migration tool or plugin. I considered all the above when ranking hosts based on free migration services.
• Performance and reliability. What’s the point in moving to a new provider if performance and reliability are inferior to your current one? All the web hosts in this article have been extensively tested by our team and are among the best-performing services on the market.
• Adequate storage space. If you’ve been adding content to your website for a while, you might find that you’re nearing your storage limit. The hosts in this article offer enough storage for hundreds or thousands of images, which is more than enough for even very large websites.
• Price. Perhaps you’ve realized that your current hosting plan does not offer the right balance between features and price. The hosts here offer the most competitive prices for their respective services and features.
• Money-back guarantees. Migrating your website to a new host can be a daunting experience, especially if you have no prior knowledge of your new chosen host. Most hosts on this list offer either a discounted first month, a money-back guarantee, or a trial period so you can try the service risk-free.

1. Hostinger: Great Performance for the Price, and Super-Easy Site Migrations1

Hostinger makes migrating your site as easy as possible. You can request to have your existing site migrated to Hostinger in about three clicks from within your account dashboard. You don’t have to do anything else.

Switching to Hostinger from either a free host or a different budget provider makes sense. Its track record of reliability and good WordPress performance is largely due to the implemented LiteSpeed web server and related optimizations.

Hostinger’s plans are also among the most affordable on the market – but to get the best price, you’ll have to commit to a longer-term plan, like the 2- or 3-year options. Fortunately, Hostinger also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Features

• WordPress optimization. Aside from the LiteSpeed web server software, Hostinger also offers the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress and an optimized hardware environment for the best possible WordPress performance in this price range.
• Free weekly or daily backups included. Weekly or daily backups are included with all Hostinger hosting plans, depending on which one you purchase. This ensures your data remains safe from corruption or malware attacks.
• 30-day money-back guarantee. This will allow you to try things out risk-free. You’re welcome to cancel and get your money back within 30 days.
• hPanel. Hostinger’s proprietary control panel allows for easy management of your hosting space and your website’s back-end environment. Many people find hPanel easier to use than cPanel.

Read our expert Hostinger review for more features.

2. HostArmada: Best Shared Hosting With Guaranteed Resources1

HostArmada is one of few hosts that include guaranteed minimum resources. Its basic plan alone comes with 2 CPUs and 2GB RAM. The combination of NGINX-based architecture and dedicated resources makes for faster, more consistent performance.

These features, and the fact that its services are cloud-based, make HostArmada slightly more expensive than other hosting options. However, you can get a significant discount with an annual (or 2-3 year) plan. That’s a big commitment, but it’s easier to make since HostArmada offers a 45-day money-back guarantee.

While the performance and resources are excellent, HostArmada also limits you to one migration per hosting plan. However, VPS and dedicated plans are also included in the free migration offer, which is unique. While I would have liked to host more sites with HostArmada, the host fills a well-defined niche. If Hostinger is the best choice to migrate many small sites, this is the best choice to migrate a few high-performing sites.

Features

• Unlimited support. All plans feature 24/7/365 support by phone, ticket, or email.
• Managed security. HostArmada’s team will restore and secure your site if you ever suffer an attack by hackers.
• Outbound spam protection. SpamExperts email protection preserves your reputation and email deliverability.
• Data centers on four continents. Choose between data centers in North America, Europe, Australia, or Asia.

Our expert HostArmada review has more on plans and pricing.

3. Nexcess (Liquid Web): Competitively-Priced Cloud Hosting… With a Small Caveat1

When it comes to cloud hosting, Nexcess’s plans strike an optimal balance between price and higher performance. Nexcess’s cloud hosting infrastructure can scale server resources to accommodate short surges in your website’s traffic flow (unlike shared hosting).

All Nexcess plans come with free website migration at no additional charge. Once you’ve signed up for a plan with resources that accommodate your existing site, you can simply submit a request within your account portal to have the site migrated.

Website migration is just the beginning of Nexcess’s service offering, however. As all its plans are managed, you get extra automation – such as the pre-configured Edge CDN and the Plugin Performance Monitor – and a higher standard of guaranteed customer support. This translates into slightly higher but still competitive prices.

Features

• Single-click site staging. A staging area allows you to test changes on a copy of your website before making them available on your live site. This prevents you from accidentally breaking your live site.
• Nexcess content delivery network (CDN). Nexcess’s Edge CDN, powered by Cloudflare, caches your site’s static content across 285 server locations throughout Europe, the Americas, Middle-East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, making your images and code load faster for site visitors who are further away from your chosen data center.
• Solid Central (formerly iThemes Sync) Solid Central is a premium security plugin for WordPress that monitors 24/7 for any suspicious activity and prevents malicious online attacks. It is included free with all Nexcess Spark+ and higher plans.
• 30-day money-back guarantee. Nexcess offers you the opportunity to try things out risk-free for 30 days to see if the service is right for you. If not, you can get a full refund.

Read our full Nexcess review for more information.

4. InterServer: Fast, Cheap, and Reliable With Generous Resources1

InterServer’s site migration process is similar to Hostinger’s process. Once you purchase a hosting plan, you can simply submit a transfer request form from within your account dashboard.

InterServer’s Standard shared hosting plan offers unlimited features like storage, bandwidth, email accounts, and the number of allowed websites, which makes it a great budget option if you have multiple small sites.

Though its shared hosting plan may be (justifiably, given the generous resource allocations) a bit pricier than the entry-level offerings from other budget hosts, you can commit to a long-term plan of 6 months to 3 years to get InterServer’s best price.

Features

• DirectAdmin control panel option. Both cPanel and DirectAdmin offer an interactive user interface (UI) and configuration functionality, but cPanel is easier to use for beginners. DirectAdmin is a better choice since it uses fewer resources like RAM than cPanel which won’t use up as many of your hardware resources.
• Migration of other CMSs. InterServer also supports the migration of sites using other content management systems, including PrestaShop, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento.
• Inter-Insurance and InterShield Security. InterServer’s proprietary security suite and insurance policy protect your site by preventing any security issues before they arise, and then investigating and fixing them in the unlikely event that they do.
• Unlimited MySQL databases. You’ll need one database for each of the WordPress sites you set up, so unlimited databases will allow you to set up as many websites as you want.

Read our expert InterServer review for more details.

5. Bluehost: Most User-Friendly Hosting for Single Sites1

I found that Bluehost is the best choice for beginners looking for an easy, accessible hosting experience. Not only is the setup process streamlined and simple, but the 24/7 phone and chat support is also helpful. And, if you’re moving from another hosting provider, you can get up to five of your websites and 20 email accounts migrated for free.

Likewise, Bluehost makes it easy to get a robust site up and running without technical know-how or hiring freelancers. Some useful features include malware scans, SEO tools, and regular backups.

However, the host isn’t for you if you’re looking for blazing speeds and advanced infrastructure. Instead, Bluehost is the ideal choice for people with simple needs who can use the entry-level plan to host one site at a low price.

Features

• Free CDN. All Bluehost plans come with Cloudflare CDN, which improves the speed of your Bluehost site around the world. If you purchase SiteLock Security during checkout, you’ll also get access to SiteLock CDN
• Free domain name. Most Bluehost plans let you save on paying for a domain name separately. The majority include a free domain name for your first year.
• E-commerce tools. The Online Store plan comes with e-commerce essentials such as Secure Online Payments.
• Managed WordPress. All web hosting plans feature one-click WP installation, automatic updates, and custom themes.

To learn more about Bluehost, check out our expert review.

6. Kinsta: Unlimited Site Migrations to Best-In-Class WordPress Hosting1

Kinsta offers hosting for WordPress-based sites only – but it is one of the best in the business. Along with its hosting solutions, Kinsta also provides unlimited site migrations.

Kinsta’s service is also fully managed. Server software is configured and optimized for top WordPress performance by Kinsta’s support team. Its made up of expert WordPress and Linux developers and engineers who can help you optimize your website as well.

Sure, Kinsta’s prices are higher than other providers, but this is partially due to the service being managed. Furthermore, Kinsta provides top-tier performance to back up its pricing and marketing claims.

Features

• Google Cloud. Google’s hosting platform can be intimidating, even for experienced web developers. Kinsta uses its own server stack on Google Cloud Platform, making it much more user-friendly with its easy-to-use control panel and knowledgeable support.
• NGINX and Redis Cache add-ons. NGINX and Redis are open-source web server caching software that can be configured to provide a performance advantage over the traditional Apache web server. You can add one or both to your Kinsta plan to improve site loading speeds and performance.
• Extensive professional support. The WordPress experts on the Kinsta support team will help with any aspect of your site’s optimization.
• Global server locations. Hosting your content at a data center that is as near as possible to your target audience helps keep your site loading speeds down and the user experience high. With Kinsta, you can choose from 37 locations worldwide for Managed WordPress hosting or 24 for database or application hosting.

For more on plans and features, visit our expert Kinsta review.

Other Notable Web Hosts Offering Free Site Migration

7. FastComet1

FastComet offers a wide range of hosting services ranging from the typical shared and cloud VPS to more niche plans for SocialEngine and OpenCart. For shared hosting plans, you can get up to 3 free site migrations depending on the plan. VPS and dedicated plans offer even more, with up to 5 free website migrations per account.

However, this host doesn’t just stop at free website migration. It also includes free domain transfers, free hosting to compensate for any unused months at your old host, and express, downtime-free transfers. Notably, it will happily transfer a site from any host.

8. InMotion Hosting1

While its prices are a bit higher than other budget hosting providers, InMotion Hosting’s entry-level Core plan offers 100 GB of storage, which is twice that of Hostinger’s entry-level plan, and can two websites instead of just one. With unlimited bandwidth from InMotion Hosting’s plans, you can accommodate an unlimited amount of text, images, and media to meet the demands of your growing audience

Once you’re ready to move over to InMotion Hosting, you can request a free website migration through your account portal. Depending on your site, you can qualify for a free migration, pay a small fee to have a dedicated team do it for you, or use InMotion Hosting’s detailed documentation to help you facilitate your own transfer.

9. A2 Hosting1

Specifically designed to improve the performance of your WordPress site, A2 Hosting’s A2 Optimized WordPress plugin does this by compressing, caching, and securing your website’s contents. It will work on any shared hosting platform, but there are several benefits for sites hosted with A2 Hosting, including the ability to leverage A2 Hosting’s Turbo Cache to further optimize your site.

A2 Hosting employs the LiteSpeed web server to further improve the performance of your site, but this feature is only available with A2 Hosting’s two most expensive shared hosting plans. You’ll want to keep that in mind if you want to upgrade by moving your site from a provider using a traditional Apache web server setup.

10. GreenGeeks1

Along with its eco-friendly hosting run on renewable energy, GreenGeeks also offers free site migration services. Just like some of the other hosts on this list, it has a migration policy in place. Depending on your type of hosting, you can get up to 30 free migrations per hosting account.

However, this offer is only available for VPS and reseller plans. Its shared hosting plans only include one free site migration, which is sufficient for most site owners. That said, you can also pay for additional site transfers – and GreenGeeks’s rates aren’t bad, ranging from $5 – $15 per site.

Free Site Migration Is a Standard Feature With Reputable Hosting Providers

Finding web hosts that offer free site migration isn’t much of a challenge – they primarily provide this as an incentive to encourage you to switch from another hosting provider. Therefore, my recommendations below primarily focus on other valuable features.

If you’re looking to switch web hosts because you’re currently paying too much, Hostinger is my top recommendation1. It offers one of the best price-performance ratios out there for shared hosting, with WordPress optimization as a bonus.

On the other hand, I recommend HostArmada1 if your current host is a little too slow. You can try the dedicated resources it offers with the security of a 45-day money-back guarantee.

When your site is running poorly on shared hosting, powerful cloud hosting from Nexcess (Liquid Web)1 can help. It can keep your site running smoothly even during traffic surges, and managed support makes the service easy to use.

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FAQ

What is a website migration service?

A website migration service involves a new web host transferring your existing website from your old host on your behalf. All the hosts on our list offer free site migrations. Most web hosting companies who are interested in new business will offer this service but not every one, so be sure to double-check before you swap hosts. And remember to compare hosts as the free migration included can vary in terms of services.

How much does it cost to migrate a website?

  The web hosts on our list offer free website migration services. However, some make the process smoother than others. Some hosts have limitations on the number of migrations they’ll perform for free and what they’re willing to transfer for free, so you should read the terms of service before committing.

How long does a site migration take?

Site migrations from one host to another have no set-in-stone timeframes for completion because it often depends on how complex your website is. The actual migration should only take a couple of hours, with the majority of the time spent ensuring your site works as intended on the new platform. A quick, functional migration is part of the reason why a generous manual migration policy is so good for site owners.

Can I transfer my website from one host to another?

Yes, absolutely, and the hosting providers on our list will do so for free. In most cases, all you need to do is submit a transfer request from your hosting account dashboard after you’ve purchased a plan with a new host.

Many of the hosts I’ve listed above are also featured on our top 10 best web hosts in 2024 list due to their plan features, value, customer support, and more.