6 Best WordPress Hosting With Free SSL To Secure Sites in 2025

The last thing you want is for your WordPress site visitors to see a “not secure” message with a warning in their browsers when they land on your homepage. All you need to prevent that is an SSL certificate, and most reputable web hosts include free SSL certificates in their hosting plans.

While you should have a premium SSL certificate if you are processing payments or collecting customer information directly on your website, free SSL certificates are useful and effective for many sites. Free SSL adds https:// to the front of your web address and a padlock icon. Even better, it encrypts data for an extra layer of security, improves your ranking in search engine results, and signals to visitors that they can trust your site.

However, free SSL is not the only factor that makes a host with free SSL worthy of your money. We’ve tested almost every host in the industry for WordPress-specific features, solid performance, and superior overall value.

My top choice is Hostinger, which includes managed WordPress hosting with in-house solutions, excellent loading speeds and uptime, and budget-friendly prices. Read on to find out more about Hostinger and our other top WordPress hosts offering free SSLs.

What We Look For in the Best WordPress Hosts With Free SSL

I tested over a dozen web hosts that offer both WordPress hosting and a free SSL certificate. However, several other factors should be taken into account when choosing the best provider for your project.

• Simple SSL installation. You should pick a web host that provides a simple or automatic installation process, as doing this yourself can be time-consuming and complicated.
• Automatic SSL certificate renewal. Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates have a 90-day validity, while Sectigo certificates are valid for one year. Whatever the case, it’s best to opt for a host that handles the renewals for you. The web hosting providers on our list do.
• WordPress optimization. Quality WordPress hosting should mean more than just a one-click WordPress install. I looked for hosts with WordPress-specific optimizations, including advanced web server software and WordPress plans rich with additional tools and plugins.
• Ease of use. If you’re a beginner, you’ll want a web host that ensures a streamlined, intuitive account signup and site management experience. All the hosts on my list offer an extremely user-friendly experience.
• Premium SSL options. For a small online shop, off-site payment processing services like PayPal and Stripe Checkout are perfectly safe to use with free SSL. For larger e-commerce sites, premium SSL certificates provide a higher level of security, and can offer your customers a warranty in the event of a security breach.

1. Hostinger: Affordable WordPress Hosting and Near-Perfect Performance

If you’re on a budget, Hostinger’s four managed WordPress plans are cheap but all offer excellent value for money. And thanks to its easy-to-use hPanel dashboard, these plans are an excellent option for beginners as well.

Hostinger includes unlimited free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates in all shared and WordPress plans. This means that Hostinger automatically installs an SSL certificate on any new websites you create. This doesn’t require any effort on your part, and the certificates become active in just a few minutes. Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates are valid for only 90 days, but Hostinger renews the SSL certificate free of charge, so you can literally forget about it.

Hostinger is also one of the best-performing shared hosting providers we’ve ever tested with a 0.8s average page loading time – which is very good for shared hosting – and 100% uptime.

Features

• Value-packed WordPress hosting plans. Hostinger’s plans may be cheap, but you can’t call the host stingy when it comes to resources. Even on its budget plan, you’ll get 100 GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, weekly backups, free email, and more. You can host up to 100 WordPress sites on a single plan.
• LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress. This WordPress acceleration plugin works in tandem with the LiteSpeed web server to provide server-level caching, compression, and content optimization to enhance your site’s performance.
• Custom SSL. If you need a premium SSL certificate for an e-commerce site, Hostinger sells Comodo SSL certificates, or you’re free to purchase one from a third party and install it via hPanel.
• SLA-backed uptime guarantee. Hostinger has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, if your website goes down, the host’s service level agreement (SLA) states you may get a refund for a part of your monthly fee.

Check out our full Hostinger review for more WordPress features.

2. IONOS: Beginner-Friendly Host With a Free Wildcard SSL Certificate

IONOS offers affordable WordPress hosting starting at just $1.00. Creating an account is easy even if you have zero experience, and installing WordPress is just as uncomplicated. A tool called the Setup Assistant helps you select a theme and plugins based on your answers to a few questions regarding your project.

All WordPress plans include a free Wildcard SSL certificate from DigiCert, which secures one domain and an unlimited number of subdomains under the main one. IONOS allows WordPress Multisite installation, so you can secure your entire network of subdomain-based websites with one SSL certificate.

If you purchase an IONOS WordPress plan for at least a year, you’re given a free domain name even if you opt for the entry-level plan. There are nine available domain extensions, and domain privacy is included in the package.

Features

• Full page caching. WordPress sites reconstruct web pages using information from various parts of the database. Once a visitor requests a page, IONOS’ caching plugin stores these constructed pages in HTML format on the server for subsequent requests, which can speed up loading by 30%.
• Specialized e-commerce hosting plans. If you want to sell through WordPress, IONOS offers affordable WooCommerce plans with free SSL and a ton of other benefits, including an AI setup assistant, managed updates, and a free WooCommerce Shipping integration.
• Free email. IONOS includes email hosting in all its plans, which not all hosts do. Depending on the plan you select, you get up to 10 free email addresses. Each email account has 2 GB of storage.
• Renewable energy-powered servers. Data centers represent a massive energy consumer, but IONOS is committed to using as much renewable energy as possible. In Europe, for instance, its servers are 100% powered by wind turbines.

To find out more about its plans, see our full IONOS review.

InterServer: Unlimited Resources and Strong Security Features

InterServer’s one-size-fits-all web hosting plan starts at $2.50/month and makes things easy for you because you don’t have to compare plans and make a choice, but it still offers all the resources you need to run a successful WordPress site. While the web hosting plan isn’t specific to WordPress, installing WordPress is quick and easy because the host uses cPanel, meaning you have access to numerous one-click installs via the Softaculous Installer.

InterServer includes a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate in its plan. You can easily install it via cPanel. Click on the Let’s Encrypt SSL link at the bottom of your control panel, go to the list of domains on your account, and then choose the domain you want to install the certificate on. It takes just a few seconds. Also, the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates installed via cPanel renew automatically.

Its advanced proprietary security solution, InterShield, includes an automatic virus scanner and machine-learning firewall. It also scans inbound IP addresses in real-time to detect bad agents and suspicious activity and will clean up compromised sites. This comes free for all plans, although you’ll have to pay extra for other features like site backups.

Features

• Reasonably-priced monthly plan. While you can get a discount if you purchase a longer subscription, InterServer’s rates for monthly plans are not that high – especially if you take the unlimited resources into account.
• InterProxy caching. InterServer’s proprietary caching tool improves your website’s performance and, together with a CDN, your audience will benefit from faster page loading speeds.
• Unlimited resources. InterServer doesn’t limit how many websites you can create or how much bandwidth your websites can use. This is all within reason, of course.
• 99.9% uptime guarantee. If your website has uptime lower than 99.9% over a month, you may be entitled to a maximum of a 50% refund of your base monthly fee.

For more security benefits, see our expert InterServer review.

4. HostArmada: Cloud-Based WordPress Hosting With Free SSL and Superior Customer Support

Not everyone is a tech-savvy, experienced WordPress master. And even those of us who’ve published a site or two can sometimes run into trouble and need a helping hand. Not only does HostArmada offer fully managed WordPress hosting at reasonable prices, its excellent customer support team is ready 24/7 to come to my rescue.

Superior customer service isn’t always a given, especially in the budget hosting world. Even some of our top-rated hosts, including Hostinger, can offer inconsistent support. This makes HostArmada’s highly regarded support system a true standout. This high-level support makes HostArmada an excellent choice if you’re new to WordPress.

Your Let’s Encrypt SSLs are automatically installed on all your domains as soon as you point them to HostArmada’s nameservers. Your SSLs will also cover all your domains as long as you remain a HostArmada customer. However, if you’re looking for a premium SSL solution, you’ll need to pay for and bring in your own third-party certificate.

Features

• Optimized WordPress platform. HostArmada uses an optimized WordPress setup that includes built-in caching. This ensures excellent loading speeds and other performance benchmarks for your WordPress site without any technical input on your part.
• Free daily backups. Daily backups make restoring your site simple and stress-free if it’s ever compromised or corrupted. You can quickly roll back to a previous working version and get back online with all your data intact.
• Free site migrations. If you have a WordPress site up and running, HostArmada offers free “white glove” site migrations. This means it’ll handle the entire process for you.
• Global data centers. HostAramda has over 20 data centers scattered across the globe, including 8 in North America, 7 in Europe, and another 7 in Asia and Australia. No matter where you are, your site is close to your audience.

See our full HostArmada customer service interaction in our expert review.

5. A2 Hosting: Optimized WordPress Installation With Free and Paid SSL Options

A standout feature of A2 Hosting’s WordPress plans is the A2 Optimized WordPress installation option, which enables the A2 Optimized plugin with preconfigured settings to speed up your site on A2 Hosting’s servers. Without it, manual optimization would take you a lot longer.

Sectigo SSL certificates are included with all A2 Hosting’s WordPress plans. These certificates are identical to Let’s Encrypt certificates. They’re added to your site automatically, and are preprogrammed to renew. Additionally, if you opt for A2 Hosting’s top-tier WordPress plan, you get a free premium RapidSSL certificate. It adds a site seal and a $10,000 warranty for your customers in the event of a security breach.

While A2 Hosting has budget plans, I suggest you sign up for its WordPress Turbo plans for better performance. These plans perform better because they guarantee resources like RAM and provide NVMe storage and optimized caching solutions for faster loading speeds. The unmanaged plans are on the affordable side, but expect to pay much more for managed plans.

Features

• SSL certificate upgrades. If you need to increase your website’s level of protection, A2 Hosting has a store that includes most types and variations of SSL certificates. There are 13 options with warranties of up to $2 million USD.
• Perfect uptime. We conducted performance testing on A2 Hosting, and the results indicated a consistent 100% uptime over a span of several months. Additionally, the average loading time demonstrated satisfactory performance.
• NVMe SSD storage. Included even in A2 Hosting’s entry-level managed WordPress plan, NVMe SSD improves your website’s performance because it delivers faster response time over SSD.
• Patchman enhanced security. This is a security tool that scans your WordPress website for outdated apps, malware, and other vulnerabilities. If found, Patchman Enhanced Security fixes the issues without “disturbing” your website.

Read our full A2 Hosting review for more pros and cons.

6. ScalaHosting: Powerful VPS WordPress Plans With Free SSL

ScalaHosting offers shared WordPress plans that are easy to set up and suitable for beginners. The prices are nearly similar to Hostinger’s plans. Although ScalaHosting doesn’t offer as many resources, it makes up for this with a range of security features, including in-house real-time malware protection and automated backups.
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All WordPress plans come with unlimited free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt. You can easily install these via ScalaHosting’s SPanel control panel. Search for SSL certificates in the main menu, then click on the Actions button you see on the right side of the page. A drop-down menu will appear with an option to Install free SSL. Select this to have the SSL certificate installed and activated instantly. Renewal is automatic.

For a large-scale project, you may prefer ScalaHosting’s managed VPS WordPress plans with free SSL. If you want to build a large online store, this plan is a great place to start. Also, to build more trust and provide a warranty for your customers, ScalaHosting offers several paid SSL certificates from GeoTrust and Symantec. Just keep in mind that if you go for these premium options, you’ll have to pay premium prices.

Features

• SPanel. Developed by ScalaHosting as an alternative to cPanel, SPanel is a powerful control panel that allows you to manage your cloud server, domains, email accounts, SSL certificates, backups, and any other hosting-related settings with ease.
• SShield Security Guard. ScalaHosting’s security exceeds the regular features you get with most web hosts. Included in all WordPress plans except the entry-level one, SShield blocks 99.998% of attacks and notifies you if your site is ever compromised. It also features real-time website monitoring and built-in AI which detects suspicious behavior.
• Free SEO analysis. SEO (search engine optimization) is of the utmost importance if you’re trying to build an audience. ScalaHosting analyzes your website and makes suggestions for improvement. You can then use the included SEO tools to optimize your site.
• Free domain name. If you subscribe to one of ScalaHosting’s WordPress plans for at least one year, you get a free domain name with one of five available extensions: .com, .org, .net, .info, and .eu.

Check out our full ScalaHosting review to learn more.

My Best Advice: Focus On Quality and the Features You Need, Not the Free SSL Certificates

I established that free SSL certificates are easy to come by, so how are you supposed to make a good choice? As there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the host you choose should depend on the web hosting provider’s overall quality of service and the WordPress-specific features it offers.

If you’re looking for cheap but value-packed WordPress hosting, I recommend Hostinger. Its plans include free SSL certificates for all the websites you create. It’s easy to use, and delivers excellent performance.

IONOS is a better choice if you’re looking to secure a series of subdomains for a WordPress Multisite installation because it includes a free Wildcard SSL in its WordPress plans. It’s also a beginner-friendly option.

And lastly, if you’re looking for a scalable solution, InterServer’s web hosting plan offers unlimited resources and a proprietary security suite. It’s a great option to ensure your website can grow without limits.

FAQ

Are free SSL certificates safe?

Free SSL certificates are just as safe as paid SSLs as they both encrypt information being sent through online forms. The difference is that paid SSL certificates often provide a warranty and are backed by larger companies – and higher fees, of course.

Should I pay for SSL?

A paid SSL certificate is worth it if you have a large-scale e-commerce site because it offers a higher level of security and lets your visitors know that they are entitled to compensation in the event that the SSL certificate is somehow compromised. That way, they are more inclined to provide you with the personal and financial details required to make a purchase on your site.

How do I get free SSL for my WordPress site?

In most cases, if the host offers a free SSL certificate with its WordPress plan, the host will automatically issue and install the SSL certificate. Otherwise, it’s a simple extra step when you set up your WordPress website. If you’re a complete beginner to websites and hosting, you may want to check out our guide on how to build a website in 2025.

Does WordPress include free SSL?

WordPress is a CMS (content management system) and can’t generate an SSL certificate. However, most web hosts offer free SSL certificates with their WordPress plans. In fact, all the hosts on our list of the best web host services in 2025 include a free SSL certificate.

Why is an SSL certificate important for my WordPress website?

SSL certificates are data files stored on your website’s server that authenticate the site’s identity and hold the website’s public security key. This key is one part of the data encryption system that ensures any data shared between your site and its visitors remains private. You can check the legitimacy of any site’s SSL certificate by using our free SSL checker tool.