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The popularity of free web hosting has surged in recent years due to the high costs of running a successful website. Many people look to cut expenses, and free web hosting seems like an attractive option.
However, free web hosting often comes with significant drawbacks. Providers may impose strict limits on bandwidth, storage capacity, server speed, and uptime, which can render your website practically unusable.
But don't worry—we've done the research for you. In this review, we compare various free hosting options to help you find the best fit for your needs.
InfinityFree
With 200,000 customers, InfinityFree is a relatively small player in the web hosting market. Despite their size, they have earned a reputation as the most feature-rich free web host available. While their service does have some issues, this reputation is well-deserved.
Features
InfinityFree offers the following features:
- Free SSL certificate with all plans (a valuable bonus)
- No front-end ads
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- 10 email accounts
- 1 FTP account
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage space
- 400 MySQL databases
These features provide significant value for a free service.
Limitations
However, a closer look at their terms of service and acceptable use policies reveals some important limitations.
- Unlimited Bandwidth and Storage: The advertised "unlimited" bandwidth and storage come with hidden restrictions. The types of content and files you can upload are limited and vaguely defined, and the actual amount of "unlimited" bandwidth provided is questionable.
- Penalties for Non-Compliance: If you violate these limitations, your website and data may be suspended or deleted.
Despite these drawbacks, InfinityFree generally maintains good uptime.
In summary, InfinityFree offers a substantial range of features for a free service, but users should be aware of the significant limitations and potential risks outlined in their terms of service.
AwardSpace
Free web hosting often seems too good to be true, and sometimes it is. AwardSpace, with over 2.5 million customers and 15 years in the web hosting business, has established itself as a leading free hosting provider.
Features
Some of AwardSpace's notable features include:
- - 100% ad-free hosting
- - MySQL database access
- - 24/7 customer service (a significant benefit)
- - One-click CMS (WordPress/Joomla) installation
- - 99% uptime guarantee
On the surface, these features seem impressive. However, there are important limitations to consider.
Limitations
- Disk Space and Bandwidth: Free users are restricted to 1 GB of disk space and 5 GB of bandwidth. This makes your site little more than a demonstration of AwardSpace’s premium hosting services.
- Data Privacy: There are concerning clauses in their terms of service that suggest they may sell your data to third-party vendors.
- Downtime: The biggest issue with AwardSpace is their downtime. On average, users experience more than an hour of downtime per week, which can be problematic for any serious webmaster.
Despite some appealing features, these limitations significantly impact the viability of AwardSpace's free hosting for more demanding or professional use.
FreeHosting
FreeHosting.com, a European company with nearly a decade in the web hosting business and 15,000 customers, has experienced significant growth. However, popularity does not always equate to performance.
Features
FreeHosting.com offers several features:
- Unmetered bandwidth (provided your website adheres to their stringent acceptable use policy)
- Multilingual cPanel
- 10 GB of disk space
- One email account
- One MySQL database
These features make FreeHosting.com appear to be a solid free hosting option.
Limitations
However, there are significant drawbacks:
- Slow Load Times: With load times often around 2 seconds, FreeHosting.com has some of the slowest performance metrics.
- Uptime Issues: The service has poor uptime, with frequent outages and lengthy downtimes.
- Customer Complaints: There are numerous reports of websites being deleted and unresponsive customer service.
Despite the appealing features, these limitations make FreeHosting.com unreliable and challenging to use effectively.
FreeHostia distinguishes itself with unique plan names, like their “ Chocolate ” web hosting, and load-balanced server clusters designed to improve load times. However, these features don't necessarily translate to better hosting quality.
Features
FreeHostia offers:
- 3 free email accounts
- Hosting for up to 5 domains (rare in free web hosting)
Their customer service has received many positive reviews, but these advantages are overshadowed by significant drawbacks.
Limitations
- Storage and Bandwidth: FreeHostia’s free hosting plan comes with only 250MB of storage and 6GB of bandwidth. This limited capacity makes it difficult to build anything more than a very basic site with minimal content.
- Performance Issues: The uptime is unreliable and the server speeds are very slow, leading to frequent downtime and sluggish website performance.
Due to these severe limitations, FreeHostia might be suitable for a simple test site or a low-traffic blog, but even that could be challenging given the performance issues.
" Zero-cost web hosting with PHP, MySQL, cPanel, and no ads! " That's the marketing slogan of 000WebHost.com, a partner company of Hostinger and one of the top-rated free web hosts globally. However, if this sounds too good to be true, it often is.
Features
000WebHost offers:
- Impressive speeds for a free shared host
- A no-ads policy for a cleaner user experience
While these features are appealing, they don't offset the significant drawbacks.
Limitations
- Uptime Issues: The most frustrating issue with 000WebHost is its unreliable uptime. With an average uptime of only 99.70%, users can expect at least an hour of downtime every other week. This can result in lost traffic and sales.
- Bandwidth and Storage: The service is limited to 10GB of bandwidth and 1GB of disk space, which restricts the amount of content you can host.
- Customer Support: There is no email or live chat customer support, which can be problematic when encountering issues.
Despite the fast speeds and no-ads experience, the poor uptime and severe limitations make it difficult to recommend 000WebHost unless absolutely necessary.
GoogieHost
FREE WEB HOSTING LIKE NEVER BEFORE!
GoogieHost is one of the most popular free hosting providers, offering a variety of features that make it a strong contender in the free hosting market.
Features
- Free Web Hosting: Host your website without any cost.
- Free Zyro Builder: Easily create and design your website with the Zyro website builder.
- User-Friendly cPanel: Manage your hosting with an intuitive control panel.
- Free Sub-Domain Name: Get a sub-domain name at no extra charge.
- Softaculous Auto Installer: Quickly install popular web applications like WordPress, Joomla, and more.
- 24/7 Support: Access customer support at any time for assistance.
Limitations
- Storage and Bandwidth: The free plan offers limited storage and bandwidth, which may not be sufficient for larger websites with significant traffic.
- Performance Issues: Users might experience slower loading times and lower performance compared to premium hosting services.
- Advertisements: Despite being free, some users have reported seeing ads on their websites, which can detract from the user experience.
- Support Limitations: While support is available 24/7, free users may experience longer response times and limited access to more advanced support options.
- Limited Features: Certain advanced features and customization options are only available through their paid plans, limiting the flexibility of the free hosting service.
GoogieHost provides valuable free hosting services, but users should be aware of these limitations when considering their options.
Comparison of Free Web Hosting Providers
|
Feature |
InfinityFree |
AwardSpace |
FreeHosting |
FreeHostia |
000WebHost |
GoogieHost |
Hostinger |
|
Disk Space |
Unlimited |
1GB |
10GB |
250MB |
5GB |
1000MB SSD |
1GB |
|
Bandwidth |
Unlimited |
5GB |
Unmetered |
6GB |
10GB |
100GB |
5GB |
|
Websites |
400 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
Single |
1 |
|
Support |
Forum/Knowledge Base |
Live Chat 24/7 |
Tickets |
FAQ/Tickets |
Forum/Knowledge Base |
Chat/Ticket |
Forum/Knowledge Base |
|
cPanel Hosting |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
-N/A- |
|
Cloud Linux |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
Yes |
-N/A- |
Yes |
-N/A- |
|
Website Builder |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Sub Domains |
Yes |
Yes |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Free SSL |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Auto-Installer |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
No Ads |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Cloud Flare |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
-N/A- |
Yes |
-N/A- |
Given these features and limitations, I always suggest GoogieHost for a comprehensive and reliable free hosting experience.
