Web Hosting Renewal Prices 2026: What 11 Popular Hosts Really Cost After the Promo

Prices checked 21 October 2026 (Asia/Dhaka) on each host's official pricing page (US view, longest promo term shown). These are published list prices, not lab tests. Prices change often, and local currency and taxes differ. Some links are affiliate links (disclosure).

Renewal price index (entry plans)

*3-year total = intro × promo months (capped at 36) + renewal × remaining months. It assumes you prepay the promo term and excludes taxes, domains and add-ons. Try other horizons in the true cost calculator.

Higher-tier plans renew higher

More hosts we now track

We added six more providers to the price database on 21 Oct 2026. Same rules: official page, longest promo term shown, US view.

*Namecheap's 3-year figure uses the first-year price plus two years at the $55.88 one-year list price. Namecheap also lists a 2-year price ($102.88), so renewing for two years at once can cost less. WP Engine's figure assumes the annual price stays the same, because the plans page does not show a separate renewal rate.

Three things stand out:

1. Namecheap's renewal is the gentlest. Year two costs about twice year one. Most budget hosts in this index charge 3 to 6 times more after the promo.
2. InMotion's promo outlasts year three. On the 36-month term, $4.99/mo covers the whole period, so the 3-year total is just the prepayment. The trade-off is $179.64 up front.
3. Managed WordPress pricing is flat and high. Kinsta and WP Engine skip the promo game, but their entry plans cost more over three years than most shared plans cost over five.

Monthly vs prepaid billing: what you really pay

The headline price nearly always assumes the longest prepaid term. InMotion's official page shows how big the gap gets for one plan (Launch, 21 Oct 2026):

So the monthly price is about 3.4× the 36-month promo rate. Hostinger, Bluehost and HostGator work the same way: the advertised price needs a 36- to 48-month prepay.

When monthly billing is the smarter choice:

• You are testing an idea and may close the site within a year.
• You plan to move to a VPS or managed cloud soon. Prepaying four years of shared hosting you will outgrow in one wastes money.
• Cash flow matters more than the total. A $180 prepayment is a lot for a first project in many countries.

When the long prepay wins: you are confident the site will run for the whole term, it fits on the plan, and you would otherwise pay the renewal rate sooner.

How to find the real renewal price on any host (5 steps)

Hosts show renewal prices in very different places. This routine works on all eleven hosts in our index:

1. Open the official pricing page in a private window, so you do not see a returning-visitor or cart-abandonment price.
2. Switch the term selector to each option (1, 12, 24, 36, 48 months). The intro price changes with the term, and so does the renewal on some hosts.
3. Look for the small print under the price: "renews at", "regular price", "auto-renews at" or a struck-through figure. DreamHost and InMotion print it on the plan card. Others put it in a tooltip or at checkout.
4. Go as far as the checkout summary (you do not need to pay). This is where taxes, setup fees and add-ons that are pre-ticked show up.
5. Write down the date you checked. Prices change often. Every price on this site carries a "checked" date for this reason, and changes are recorded in our price & update log.

If you would rather skip this, the true cost calculator applies each host's promo length and renewal price for you.

Renewals for buyers outside the US

Our index uses the US (USD) view. If you pay from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan or elsewhere, three things can change the renewal bill:

• Regional pricing. Some hosts show different prices per country or currency. Check the price in the currency you will actually be charged in.
• Card charges. Your bank may add a foreign-currency or cross-border fee on top of the host's price. Check your card's terms, because this varies by bank.
• Taxes. VAT or local tax may be added at checkout. Hetzner and Contabo, for example, list VPS prices excluding VAT.

For payment options that work from Bangladesh, see hosting you can pay for from Bangladesh.

What this means for your budget

1. Budget on the renewal number. A $2.99 plan that renews at $17.99 costs more in year two than a $11 plan with no promo.
2. Long prepay locks the intro rate, but you pay it all upfront. Hostinger's 48-month price needs about $120 at checkout.
3. Domains renew separately. The "free domain" usually ends after year one.
4. Add-ons renew too: site backups, security, SEO tools and email upgrades added at checkout often auto-renew at full price.

Host-by-host notes

• Hostinger: lowest 3-year total thanks to the 48-month promo. Renewal jumps sharply on Unlimited and Cloud plans. Review · Visit
• Bluehost: the smallest jump in the group on Starter. Decline extras at checkout. Review · Visit
• HostGator: cheap for 36 months. Its renewals are close to Hostinger's but the panel is older. Review · Visit
• SiteGround: you pay for its support reputation, and the steepest renewals here. Worth it only if you value that support. Review · Visit
• Cloudways: higher start, no surprise later, plus real cloud resources. Review · Visit

How to pay less at renewal

• Set a calendar reminder 30 days before renewal and turn off auto-renew for add-ons you don't use.
• Ask support for a retention offer before cancelling. It often works.
• Compare the cost of moving: many hosts offer free migration. Use the find my host quiz.
• If you've outgrown shared hosting, read VPS vs shared hosting.

Why hosting renewals jump

Shared hosting is a high-volume, low-margin business. Hosts win customers with a deep first-term discount and earn the margin back at renewal, because most site owners never move. That is why the headline price nearly always needs a long prepay (12 to 48 months) and why the "regular" price is listed in small print. The pricing is not hidden, but it is easy to miss. Hostinger, Bluehost, SiteGround and HostGator all show the renewal price on their plan pages or at checkout.

Three things decide what you really pay:

1. The promo term. A longer term keeps the intro rate longer. Hostinger's 48-month term is why it has the lowest 3-year total in our index, even though its jump (4.4×) is not the smallest.
2. The renewal rate. This is what you pay for every year after the promo. Over 5 years it matters more than the intro price.
3. The add-ons you accept. Pre-ticked backups, security scanners and SEO tools are each billed and renewed separately.

Worked example: 1, 3 and 5 years

Using the entry plans in the index above (published prices checked 21 Oct 2026, promo term prepaid):

Two patterns stand out. SiteGround is cheap for one year but the most expensive shared plan over three and five. Cloudways starts highest but never jumps, so by year five it costs less than SiteGround. Run your own horizon in the true cost calculator, or see every plan side by side in the comparison matrix.

VPS renewals work differently

Most developer clouds bill monthly or hourly with no promo and no renewal jump. Examples: DigitalOcean ($12/mo for 2 GB), Vultr ($10/mo for 2 GB) and Hetzner (CX23 €5.99/mo). Hostinger VPS is the exception. Its KVM plans use the shared-hosting model, for example KVM 2 at $8.79/mo on a 24-month term that renews at $14.99/mo. Contabo's lower prices also depend on the term length. If you plan to run an AI agent or n8n for years, compare 3-year totals, not month-one prices. See the VPS & AI-agent hub.

Checklist before you click "Buy"

• Read the renewal price on the official plan page and write it down.
• Choose the term length on purpose. A 12-month term costs more per month but keeps you flexible.
• Untick add-ons you do not need, or know the exact price of each.
• Check what happens to the "free domain" after year one. It renews at the registrar's normal price.
• Note the money-back window (often 30 days). Domains and add-ons are usually non-refundable.
• Put a reminder in your calendar 30 days before renewal.

Sources and update policy

Prices come from each provider's official pricing page and are stored in our central price database. That one database feeds this page, the calculator, the matrix and each provider profile. An automated monitor re-checks the official pages and flags changes for manual verification. Every change is recorded in the public price & update log.