Hosting | Key Features | Free Domain | Discount Link |
---|---|---|---|
Bluehost | ✓ Affordable prices ✓ Free CDN + SSL ✓ Free website migration ✓ Great 24/7 customer support ✓ Recommended by WordPress ✓ 30-day money-back guarantee | Yes | Get Started |
DreamHost | ✓ Free SSL certificate ✓ Fast SSD storage ✓ 24/7 in-house expert support ✓ Recommended by WordPress ✓ 97-day money-back (Shared hosting) | Yes | Get Started |
HostGator | ✓ Reliable web hosting ✓ Free SSL + business email ✓ Free site transfers ✓ 24/7 customer support ✓ 45-day money-back guarantee | Yes | Get Started |
GoDaddy | ✓ Superior loading speed ✓ Award-winning support and security ✓ World’s top domain name registrar ✓ Responsive customer service ✓ 30-day money-back guarantee | Yes (Annual Plan) | Get Started |
HostArmada | ✓ Free website migration ✓ Free SSL + daily backup ✓ Free web server caches ✓ 24/7 reliable customer support ✓ 45-day money-back policy | Yes | Get Started |
Do you want to start a blog or online store on a budget? You’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of the best web hosting providers that offer free domain names, so you can get your website up and running without breaking the bank.
While starting an online store or a WordPress blog, a domain name and web hosting plan are two of the necessary things you need. Typically, most people will purchase the domain name and hosting plan individually, spending more money.
There’s a hack to save money on your next domain purchase! And that’s exactly what I’m going to share with you today.
A few high-quality hosting companies offer free domain registration when you purchase their hosting plan for a year or more. They do this to market there product, and usually when people start an online business, they don’t change hosting often. With this tactic, there’s no catch, and you save $10 – $15.
Sounds interesting, right?
To help you save money on domain purchases, this article will show you the top five web hosting companies that offer free domain name registration. But before diving deep, let’s look at some essential things about the free domain name offer.
Important Things You Should Know About the Free Domain Offer
- Understand the idea: The hosting providers will only give you a free domain name when you purchase any of their hosting plans. Most of the hosting offers this when you buy hosting for one year or more. If you are starting now, you should check my guide on how to save money on hosting.
- No cancellations/refunds: While most of the hosting companies here offer 30-60 days refund, but domain name can’t be refunded. So even if you cancel hosting, you will be paying the domain name fees which is roughly $10, and this is only in case you end up asking for refund. Since these hosting companies are tried and tested by us, most of our users are happy users of these hosting companies.
- You’ll get only selected extensions: The most popular extensions you can get are .com, .net, .org, .info, and so on. So, ensure the domain extension you need is available with the offer.
- Renews at the standard rate: The free domain name registration is only available for the first year. You should renew it at the standard rate from the second year and afterward.
Best Web Hosting Companies that Offers Free Domain Name
In a nutshell, the companies are:
Below, I will explain what makes each platform different and unique. So based on your preference and requirements, you can choose a platform.
Without any further ado, let’s get into the list.
1. Bluehost – Trusted by Millions
Bluehost is be the first web hosting provider that I recommend. I use Bluehost for a couple of my side projects, and it is one of the best platforms for hosting WordPress websites. The platform is also recommended by WordPress, which makes it even better.
When you purchase any of the Bluehost shared or managed WordPress hosting plans, you will get access to a free domain for a year! Besides free domain registration, Bluehost will also reward their customer with a $150 credit for first-time AdWord users in the US. With the credits, you can boost your ad campaign and get more potential customers.
To help you protect your online business from threats, they will offer you a malware-scanning option. If any of the theme files or WordPress core files get affected, the scanner will notify you regarding the case, and you can take appropriate action.
You can also use the in-built backup feature to protect your hard work from hackers. After purchasing the hosting plan, you’ll get instant access to the backup feature. When you start using the in-built backups feature, you do not need a dedicated WordPress backup plugin.
Finally, if you are running a WooCommerce store and need to enhance the user experience and conversions, Bluehost got something unique. Their online store hosting plans will give you access to plugins worth more than $450. It is an excellent start to creating a stunning online store without any hassle.
Notable Features
- Free domain name registration
- Google AdWord credits
- Malware scanner
- Daily backups
- Free dedicated IP address
- Free CDN
Pricing
Their most popular shared hosting plans are:
Hosting Plan | Price | Renewal Price |
---|---|---|
Basic | $2.95/month | $10.99/month |
Choice Plus | $5.45/month | $19.99/month |
Online Store | $9.95/month | $24.95/month |
Pro | $13.95/month | $28.99/month |
Every subscription comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you are unhappy with their hosting platform, you can claim a full refund.
Here are a few hand-picked guides related to Bluehost that you should check out:
2. DreamHost – Endorsed by WordPress
If you are ready to use another web hosting company recommended by WordPress, check out DreamHost. DreamHost comes with performance optimization in mind. So your website or online store will load faster. Also, with every 1-year or 3-year web hosting subscription, you will get a free domain name!
There are no issues if you haven’t decided on a domain name when purchasing the hosting plan. You can claim the free domain within the first three months after buying their hosting plan. This will give you the freedom to take advantage of the free domain offer if you haven’t decided on a domain name yet.
Apart from all of the above, DreamHost would be an ideal solution for hosting WordPress websites. Since their hosting environment comes with WordPress pre-installed, you don’t need to spend time on the CMS installation.
Another thing you will love in DreamHost is the auto-migration tool. If you have already launched a WordPress website and need to move it to the DreamHost servers without losing any data, the auto-migration tool will be helpful. They also have a whopping 97-day money-back guarantee. So if you are uncomfortable with the service, you can claim a complete refund within the first 97 days of purchase.
Overall, it is one of the best WordPress hosting companies in the market that offers cutting-edge features with a free domain name.
Notable Dreamhost Features
- Free domain of your choice
- SSL certificate to boost the security
- SSD storage to optimize the speed
- Drag and drop website builder
- Free business email
- Unlimited traffic
Pricing
You won’t get access to the free domain offer if you use their monthly contract. Their one-year or three-year subscription offers you free domain name registration. And they will cost you:
Hosting Plan | Price | Renewal Price |
---|---|---|
Shared Starter | $2.95/month | $6.99/month |
Shared Unlimited | $2.95/month | $12.99/month |
Since their 97-day money-back guarantee protects you, feel free to explore the platform.
3. HostGator – Unlimited Hosting
If you prefer a powerful web hosting platform for your business, check out HostGator. HostGator offers unlimited hosting bandwidth and storage for an unbeatable price. And if you sign up for their shared, WordPress, or cloud hosting, you can get a domain name for absolutely free!
Since all their hosting plans come with unmetered bandwidth, you can focus on building a successful business without worrying about the traffic you get. On top of that, if you plan to build a WordPress website or WooCommerce store, their one-click WordPress installation feature will be helpful.
With the hosting purchase, HostGator will also throw a $500 AdWords and a $100 Microsoft ad credit to get more clicks and reach. This will be a good option when you are spending money to gain more attention from people. Regarding the website’s speed and performance, they use SSD drives for the servers.
Plus, the integration with Cloudflare is another helpful feature offered by HostGator. With Cloudflare, you can improve your website’s speed and security without any hassle. The hosting plan will also give you access to a free SSL certificate. But if you prefer, you can upgrade the certificate and protect your subdomains too.
Finally, HostGator is also famous for its in-house SEO tools. It is one of the best web hosting companies you should look into to start a website or an online store.
Notable Features
- Quality support via chat, phone
- Free domain registration with every shared hosting
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unlimited business emails
- Advertising credits
- SEO tools
Pricing
HostGator offers three shared hosting plans:
Hosting Plan | Price | Renewal Price |
---|---|---|
Hatchling | $2.75/month | $7.99/month |
Baby | $3.50/month | $12.99/month |
eCommerce | $5.25/month | $16.99/month |
Their 30-day money-back guarantee will protect you.
HostGator related tutorials:
4. GoDaddy – Localized services and support
If you need to use web hosting from a reputable company, check out GoDaddy. GoDaddy offers premium web hosting services for the best price. The read and write speeds would be super fast since they use NVMe drives in the hosting servers. The upgraded NVME drives make your website load faster under every condition.
When you purchase their hosting for one year or more, they will give you a free domain name for the first year. All the plans come with an unlimited bandwidth option. To keep your blog or online business professional, you will get access to a business email for the first year. You can use professional email for business purposes and stand out from the crowd.
Also see: How to create free business email using ZohoMail (Tutorial)
On top of that, they will also ensure to upgrade their servers to match the latest version of PHP. This way, you can enjoy the latest features without compromising security or speed. GoDaddy will also issue SSL certificates for every website you host on their servers. The SSL certificates won’t cost a dime and will be renewed automatically.
Finally, they also have an excellent support team. So if you need help with anything technical or non-technical, the support team got you covered.
Notable Features
- NVMe storage drives for better performance
- Secured hosting
- Daily backups
- DNS management
- Latest PHP available
- One-click WordPress installation
Pricing
GoDaddy offers four shared hosting packages.
Hosting Plan | Price | Renewal Price |
---|---|---|
Starter | $4.99/month | $4.99/month |
Economy | $5.99/month | $9.99/month |
Deluxe | $7.99/month | $13.99/month |
Ultimate | $12.99/month | $17.99/month |
If you are unhappy with their service, you can get a complete refund within the first 30 days.
5. HostArmada – Last but not the least
When you prefer web hosting optimized for both speed and security, I recommend HostArmada. With HostArmada’s cloud WordPress hosting, you will get access to free domain registration. On top of the free domain registration, you can also get free SSL, website migration, custom caching technology, backups, and so on.
Since the platform offers free website migrations, you can easily import your existing WordPress website’s data to HostArmada without losing any files. Their specialized team handles the task, so you do not need to worry about anything. Regarding the website’s performance, HostArmada’s servers use NGINX and LiteSpeed.
You can create unlimited business emails, FTP accounts, and subdomains through the control panel. HostArmada also supports multiple PHP versions. You can upgrade/downgrade the PHP version of your server from the dashboard.
Regarding security, HostArmada’s servers are protected with a WAF and IP Firewall. Plus, they will also add malware scanning and removal with every hosting plan. The platform will automatically find malware and get rid of them before they cause any issues.
On top of all the features mentioned above, their in-built backup feature is another thing you will love. They will generate daily backups of your website and keep it for 7-21 days. When you need to restore the backup, you can directly complete the process from the dashboard.
Notable Features
- Powered by NGINX/LiteSpeed servers
- Free Web Application Firewall protection
- Automated malware scan and removal
- Custom caching solution
- Reliable customer support team
- Free website migration
Also check out: HostArmada vs. Bluehost
Pricing
HostArmada comes with three cloud WordPress hosting plans. When paid annually, they will cost you the following:
Hosting Plan | Price | Renewal Price |
---|---|---|
Start Dock | $3.89/month | $12.95/month |
Web Warp | $5.93/month | $19.75/month |
Speed Reaper | $6.92/month | $23.05/month |
They do have a 45-day money-back policy. So if you are uncomfortable with the hosting platform, get a complete refund within the first 45 days.
FAQS
Now, let’s quickly check out some popular, frequently asked questions related to web hosting with free domain names.
A .com domain will cost anywhere between $10 and $15 these days for one year of registration. However, it depends on the registrar you are going with and the add-ons (if you have selected any).
So many free web hosting providers offer free domains while you use their platform. But the domains they are offering won’t be any top-level extensions. So, you won’t be able to get .com, .net, and .org domains with a free web hosting provider.
If you are okay with using a subdomain, you can choose any free hosting platform.
The domain names are free for the first year. From the second year onward, you need to renew it manually. So, you won’t be able to grab a deal where you can get a free .com domain for a lifetime.
Conclusion
While starting your first blog or if you are on a budget, getting a free domain name with hosting can reduce your expenses. Quality web hosting providers like Bluehost, DreamHost, HostGator, HostArmada, and GoDaddy makes the process clear and straightforward.
These hosting companies offer cutting-edge features for an affordable price. So, according to your budget and the features required, you can pick a hosting partner. Check out our guide on choosing the right web hosting partner for more information.
Do you know any other reliable web hosting company that offers free domain registration?
Let us know in the comments.
Some companies are offering domains for as low as Rs99 or Rs125 for the first year. However, there is always the fine print. The low priced domains do not come with privacy protection, which has to be purchased separately for around Rs250, taking the effective price to Rs349 or Rs375 as the case maybe.
Blue host is one of the reliable hosting based on my experience, it allows me to do all the activities which I want do in my blog without any restriction.
Thanx for your beginner’s guide Harsh, because of which I opted for Blue host.