The web hosting industry is competitive, with champs and lemons covering a stunning price spectrum. One host that’s been on our radar for some time now is SiteGround. While a reputable host, the brand has also stood out for its pricing – in less-than-wonderful ways.
This is significant since SiteGround plans cover a wide range of services. They offer everything from shared hosting to dedicated WordPress, WooCommerce, Cloud hosting, and reseller hosting plans.
Is this host worth the price? Let’s take a closer look.
Understanding SiteGround Pricing
SiteGround hosting plans follow most of the industry and are structured with multiple tiers. These tiers move along two main segments. The first is the type of plan, such as shared or Cloud hosting. The second sees the plans move up following features and resource allocation.
Let’s take a look at two of their more significant product lines, shared and cloud hosting.
SiteGround Shared Hosting Plans
Shared hosting is often the entry-level choice for individuals and small businesses due to its affordability and simplicity. SiteGround’s shared hosting includes features such as daily backups, free SSL, and a user-friendly interface. It also provides 24/7 customer support and high uptime reliability.
| Features | Startup | GrowBig | GrowGeek |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Space | 10GB | 20GB | 40GB |
| Website | 1 | unlimited | unlimited |
| Monthly Visits/mo | 10,000 | 100,000 | 400,000 |
| SuperCacher | None | Yes, with Memcached option | Yes, with Memcached option |
| Staging | None | Yes | Yes, with Git integration |
SiteGround Shared Hosting Signup & Renewal Prices
People used to flock to SiteGround for its quality shared hosting plans. With high-quality offerings and top-notch customer support, it was one of the best options for newbies.
Unfortunately, SiteGround has increased its pricing several times in recent years, much to the dismay of customers. Additionally, the attractive introductory prices for their shared hosting plans are limited to the first year. A significant price hike kicks in after the first year, with rates almost quadrupling. Although this is a common strategy in the hosting industry, the gap is ridiculously significant in SiteGround’s case.
| Plans | Starting Price | Renewal Price | Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup | $3.99 | $17.99 | $14.00 (350%) |
| GrowBig | $6.69 | $29.99 | $23.30 (348%) |
| GrowGeek | $10.69 | $44.99 | $34.30 (320%) |
SiteGround Cloud Hosting Plans
For those needing more power and flexibility, SiteGround’s Cloud hosting offers scalable resources and advanced features for high-traffic websites, growing businesses, and developers who need a scalable and powerful hosting environment.
Unlike its shared hosting plans, SiteGround’s Cloud hosting plans are billed monthly and are not subject to renewal price hikes. The company offers four Cloud hosting plans, from Jump Start at $100/month to Super Power at $400/month. Thanks to Google Cloud, these prices are beyond reach for some customers.
| Features | JumpStart | Business | Business Plus | Super Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price/month | $100 | $200 | $300 | $400 |
| CPU Cores | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB | 16GB | 20GB |
| SSD Space | 40GB | 80GB | 120GB | 160GB |
| Data Transfer | 5TB | 5TB | 5TB | 5TB |
SiteGround Price Comparison vs Other Hosts
SiteGround is much pricier than other big names in web hosting. At first glance, this rings untrue due to the cheap introductory pricing on their shared hosting page. However, its significantly higher renewal prices can be an apocalyptic shock if you’re unprepared for them.
Let’s consider some alternatives and compare their prices.
vs Cloudways
Let’s look at Cloudways, a top-notch and reputable Cloud hosting provider. They provide managed Cloud hosting solutions with several providers, such as Digital Ocean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud. Unlike at SiteGround, you are not stuck with the sole option of using Google.
| Digital Ocean DO 8GB | SiteGround Jump Start | |
|---|---|---|
| Price/mo | $88.00 | $100.00 |
| CPU | 4 | 4 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB |
| SSD Space | 160GB | 40GB |
Take a look at the comparison table above. With SiteGround, you’ll pay $100/month, but with Cloudways, you spend $88/month and get more storage space at $88/month – cheaper! That said, SiteGround is more affordable if you insist on using the Google Cloud Platform.
If you’re a first-timer with Cloud hosting, Cloudways offers a super-compelling option of staying cheap and scaling as you grow. It’s also highly usable. We use Cloudways for most of our sites and find it fast and super-reliable.
vs Bluehost
| Bluehost Basic | SiteGround Startup | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price/mo | $4.95 | $3.99 |
| Renewal Price/mo | $9.99 | $17.99 |
| Websites | 10 | 1 |
| Email Accounts | Free for 3 months | Unlimited |
| Free Domain | Yes | None |
BlueHost offers monthly, yearly, and 3-year commitment plans. For BlueHost Basic, you can commit to three years at $4.95/month, after which the renewal rate is $9.99/month (3-year term).
With Bluehost, since you can commit to three years at $4.95/month, there is no price change after the first year. Although SiteGround starts you off at a lower $3.99/month, you’ll be slapped with an increase to $17.99/month after the first year finishes – that’s a 350% jump!
Bluehost’s Basic plan offers free email for only three months. However, the plan supports up to ten websites, compared to SiteGround’s single website for the Startup plan. Additionally, you get a free domain for a year with Bluehost.
vs Dreamhost
| Dreamhost Shared Unlimited | SiteGround Startup | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price/mo | $3.95 | $3.99 |
| Renewal Price/mo | $10.99 | $17.99 |
| Web Space | unlimited | 10GB |
| Website | unlimited | 1 |
| Free CDN | None | Yes |
| Managed WordPress | None | Yes |
| Money-back guarantee | 97 days | 30 days |
| Free Domain | Yes | None |
DreamHost is another well-established web hosting provider that provides shared, WordPress, VPS, Cloud hosting, and more. It has structured its shared hosting plans into Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited.
It also offers a 97-day money-back guarantee, one of the longest ever known in the industry. Let’s see how Dreamhost pricing compares to SiteGround.
Dreamhost offers monthly, yearly, and 3-year commitment plans. For their Shared Unlimited plan, you can commit to three years at $3.95/month, after which the renewal rate is $10.99/month (a lot more cost-effective).
I chose to compare Dreamhost’s Shared Unlimited plan because this higher-tiered plan is even cheaper than SiteGround’s Startup plan!
Although Dreamhost’s Shared Unlimited plan offers many goodies, such as unlimited web space, websites, and a free domain for the first year, it does not come with managed WordPress service and a CDN. If you don’t need managed WordPress hosting and are just kickstarting your website journey, consider Dreamhost.
Is SiteGround Worth the High Price Tag?
In 2018, SiteGround implemented a notable price hike that significantly impacted its user base. The increase saw the regular prices for their shared hosting plans rise substantially after the initial promotional period.
For instance, the basic Startup plan’s renewal rate jumped from the introductory $3.95/mo to $11.95/mo in 2018. Today, the renewal price is even higher at $17.99/mo, nearly quadrupling the cost.
This sharp increase drew considerable attention and criticism from customers who had initially been attracted by the lower, introductory rates.
Higher Price Tag, Less Features
In addition to its higher price tag, SiteGround falls short in terms of included features compared to some competitors.
Notably, SiteGround does not offer a free domain name registration with its hosting plans. This means you must purchase a domain name separately if you do not already own one, adding an extra cost to your hosting expenses. In contrast, many other web hosts, such as BlueHost and DreamHost, include a free domain name for the first year as part of their hosting packages.
SiteGround’s decision to forgo this benefit may make their plans less attractive, especially for newcomers looking to minimize initial costs.
On a separate note, SiteGround has discontinued cPanel and replaced it with its revamped Client Area and Site Tools. Much of this (we guess) is due to cPanel changing its licensing structure and increasing fees several times over a short period.
The irony is that SiteGround has increased its prices despite eliminating the fees customers would have to pay for cPanel.
Why The Significant Price Hikes? Official Statement
The official explanation from SiteGround is that new features have been added (on top of moving to the Google Cloud Platform in 2020), and their goal is to provide a fully-featured hosting service to all.
Such new features are to enhance your website performance, security, and user experience, and among them are as follows:
- Free CDN (SiteGround CDN on all hosting plans)
- Free unlimited email accounts
- Unlimited databases
- Managed WordPress
- Unique SuperCacher technology with Memcached option
- Advanced security measures – custom firewall and AI anti-bot system
Final Thoughts
SiteGround’s hosting plans offer a blend of performance and features that cater to a wide range of hosting needs. It was favored by all until it kept increasing rates since 2018.
The hike in renewal prices, which can reach around a 350% increase after the first-year discounted introductory pricing, has become unreasonably steep. This substantial jump in cost has frustrated many users, especially those on a tight budget or seeking long-term affordability.
While SiteGround attempts to justify these price hikes by adopting the latest technologies and improvements, this may not provide substantial value to all users. The enhancements might benefit some advanced users, but for the average customer or small business, the high renewal costs outweigh the benefits.
In conclusion, despite SiteGround’s reputation for quality, there are many other options available that offer similar features at more competitive prices. The idiom “there are other fish in the sea” resonates strongly in this context, urging potential customers to explore alternative hosting providers that deliver better value for their money.
