SiteGround has a formidable reputation in web hosting but recent price hikes have prompted some to look towards cheaper alternatives. With plans now starting at close to double in price, users might consider a range of options.
On one end, there may be a temptation to move towards cheaper hosting to reduce prices to manageable levels. However, there is also the consideration of moving towards more specialized categories of hosting at comparable prices.
Today we’ll look at a mix of solutions made possible by SiteGround’s increase in pricing. These include a mix of cheaper shared hosting solutions, and a look towards VPS and Managed WordPress hosting as well.
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1. A2 Hosting
Website: https://www.a2hosting.com/
With over 20 years of experience in web hosting, A2 Hosting has nearly perfected its role in the business. They have almost everything down to pat, from a streamlined product range to optimal server speed. Don’t worry about the price, just pick a plan and go – there’s lots of room to scale.
Why A2 Hosting as an Alternative to SiteGround?
While you may think this sounds what most other providers market, reading the finer detail will reveal the A2 Hosting advantage. From any anytime money-back guarantee to seldom-found features on shared hosting plans, there is a lot to exclaim about here.
A2 Hosting plan prices vary a lot which means you get to choose how much you pay for what you’re getting. Either way, you’ll be getting solid, reliable performance on a trusted platform. The alternative is to fork out a lot more for a plan at SiteGround.
Learn more from our A2 Hosting review.
A2 Hosting Pricing
With shared hosting starting at $2.99/mo, A2 Hosting prices seem quite run-of-the-mill. Yet this provider has a good range of solutions and prices scale up very quickly. Their Managed VPS plan prices kick-off at nearly $40/mo.
at A2 Hosting is by no means what I would think of as a source of budget-friendly hosting. Yet their plan prices.
2. Hostinger
Website: https://www.hostinger.com/
Hostinger is what I consider to be the king of budget hosting. Their entry-level, single-web hosting plan is quite limited but at $1.39, offers a proposition in value. Still, if you’re looking for more there is an upwards trajectory and you can move on to the better solutions on the same platform.
Why Hostinger as an Alternative to SiteGround?
They are also a fairly innovative host, coming up with a range of solutions like the Zyro website builder. Still new, this feature comes along for free. In fact, if you go for the website building package, you can even host a starter site for free on their Zyro platform.
Learn more from our Hostinger review.
Hostinger Pricing
With an entry price starting from $1.39/mo, users who need highly cost-effective yet scalable plans can find a good home with Hostinger. Perhaps not on the same performance scale as SiteGround, but still good and at a fraction of the price.
3. GreenGeeks
Website: https://www.greengeeks.com/
One of GreenGeeks' biggest draws is that it's an environmentally responsible platform. Data centers consume a massive amount of energy and GreenGeeks pays that back to the environment in the form of renewable energy credits.
Why GreenGeek?
Surprisingly, this hasn’t led to them increasing prices but in fact, making very affordable plans available to their users. For those who want to move to a green hosting company that offers a cost-effective solution – GreenGeeks is a good choice.
Read our comprehensive GreenGeeks review to find out more.
GreenGeeks Pricing
GreenGeeks shared hosting starts from $2.95/mo. For those looking for greater scalability though, do be aware that GreenGeeks is pretty much capped at high-end VPS plans.
4. TMDHosting
Website: https://www.tmdhosting.com/
TMDHosting currently offers three shared hosting plan levels which are extremely well-priced. Starter, Business, and Professional plans all include a free domain name, unmetered storage and bandwidth, and more.
Why TMDHosting an Alternative to SiteGround?
The Starter – which is their cheapest plan, offers single CPU core use along with 1GB of RAM. While not a lot, it’s still more than enough for low traffic volume sites to run reliably. The only main thing to note is that the cheapest plan doesn’t allow add-on domains.
Learn more in our TMDHosting review.
TMDHosting Pricing
TMDHosting shared hosting starts from $2.95/mo. The pricing is also now significantly lower than SiteGround. Reputation-wise, they also make a good alternative for those hoping to control cost.
5. Bluehost
Website: https://www.bluehost.com/
One of Bluehost’s best features is its reliable and friendly customer support. With its speedy response through live chat and extensive knowledge base, Bluehost exceeds regular customer service expectations.
Why Bluehost A Budget Option to SiteGround?
Bluehost limits their most basic shared plan to 50GB of storage space, which is already pretty good. If you need more, simply moving up a tier will give you unmetered amounts. Site owners can also leverage on their web design and marketing services – for a fee.
Bluehost Pricing
Their starting price of only $2.95 in shared hosting is less than half the price of SiteGround’s cheapest plan at the moment. Learn more details about BlueHost pricing in our review.
VPS Hosting Alternatives to SiteGround?
Now that SiteGround plans start at $6.99/mo, there are some VPS hosting plans that you can look towards that are even cheaper, or at the very least, more cost effective for similar pricing.
Possible options include:
6. ScalaHosting
Website: https://www.scalahosting.com/
ScalaHosting’s pricing structure is simple – there are three plans available for both shared and VPS hosting, with advanced plans including better resources and more features. The price of shared plans is pretty much in line with the industry average but VPS hosting here is impressive.
Why ScalaHosting?
The key imperative for looking at Scala VPS is their innovative take on cPanel. As the prices of licensing for that increased, ScalaHosting came up with their own SPanel alternative. This has made them the go-to choice for those seeking to escape the cPanel trap.
Read our in-depth ScalaHosting review to find out more.
ScalaHosting Pricing
ScalaHosting’s Managed Cloud VPS plans start at $9.95/mo – just a few dollars over what SiteGround wants for shared hosting. This makes them an interesting migration choice for those who are considering upgrading plans anyway.
7. Interserver
Website: https://www.interserver.net/
Interserver has over 19 years of experience in the web hosting business. It offers everything from shared hosting to reseller plans. Their VPS plans are interesting because they start at the remarkably low price of $6/mo.
Why Interserver an Alternative to SiteGround?
Of course, at that price you can’t expect all the bells and whistles but the cheapest Mercedes is still a solid car. Having said that, the price is still lower than what SiteGround now charges for their entry-level shared hosting plan.
Find out more from our Interserver review.
Interserver Pricing
Interserver VPS starts from $6/mo. If you move on to Interserver from SiteGround, you’re essentially getting an upgrade for a lower price. Managing the VPS environment may be a bit of a challenge for newbies, but you’ll have to learn eventually, right?
8. InMotion Hosting
Website: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/
InMotion is another host with a solid reputation but in their case, we mostly look towards the breathtaking scope of plans available. Even if you don’t take into consideration what else is available, VPS here is simply stunning.
InMotion Hosting = Biggest SiteGround Competitor?
At the lowest end you get unmanaged VPS for just $5/mo. That stretches to managed VPS plans that seem more like dedicated servers. In any case, what I’m trying to say is that this is yet another example of how low a buy-in you can get with VPS.
Read our InMotion Hosting review.
InMotion Hosting Pricing
Even better is that there is a clear scalability of resources within VPS itself that you can look towards here. InMotion VPS starts from $5/mo.
Switching to Managed WordPress Hosting from SiteGround
If you’re running WordPress, you might also consider moving to a host that offers dedicated environments for this. Admittedly, the choices in this range are significantly higher, but you will benefit from everything ranging from high server speed to specialized support for WordPress.
9. WP Engine
Website: https://wpengine.com/
WP Engine starts at $25/mo which is still significantly higher than SiteGround’s new shared hosting prices – close to triple in fact. However they are also a stalwart when it comes to WordPress hosting, supporting more than 120,000 customers in 140 countries.
Why WP Engine?
For those who are getting serious about their WordPress sites and want to grow their volume, WP Engine offers high-performance hosting environments. These are specifically optimized for WordPress websites right down to the support team level.
Here's the in-depth review of WP Engine.
WP Engine Pricing
WP Engine is a strong contender for anyone who needs more than what regular shared hosting web hosts can deliver. Their Managed Cloud WordPress plan starts from $25/mo.
10. Kinsta
Website: https://kinsta.com/
When it comes to Managed Cloud WordPress providers, Kinsta is an easily recognized brand. With them you get access to a ton of great features such as automatic website backups, security monitoring, and an easy-to-use staging environment.
Why Kinsta over Siteground?
More importantly, their support staff are extremely helpful and especially trained in WordPress to offer what is likely to be the best dedicated support money can buy. This comes at a cost and Kinsta is significantly more expensive than SiteGround shared hosting.
Read our comprehensive review of Kinsta.
Kinsta Pricing
However, if you are looking for dedication to WordPress, powerful speed performance, and aren’t afraid to splurge on it – Kinsta is the way to go.
Kinsta Managed Cloud WordPress plan starts from $30/mo
11. FlyWheel
Website: https://getflywheel.com/
Flywheel makes it easy to build a website from the ground up through its free demo sites and one-click staging features, which could be highly valuable for beginners. Overall, they deliver the speed and other mechanics needed to keep WordPress sites running smoothly.
Why FlyWheel?
Considering them as an alternative to SiteGround, there are two points of focus I’d call attention to. The first is pricing – although FlyWheel starts at almost double the entry level plan on SiteGround, this is a dedicated and specialized environment, not shared hosting.
Secondly, FlyWheel has interesting features for freelancers and developers. They offer a client billing transfer function that you can use to easily build then move everything with to your own clients.
FlyWheel Pricing
FlyWheel Managed WordPress Hosting plan starts from $11.25/mo.
Conclusion: Is SiteGround Still the Right Choice?
As you can see from this list, SiteGround’s new pricing has put it in the cross hairs of many competitors. Users now have lots more to think about when considering them as a host. At the lower end, there are many cheaper options.
Also read – How much to pay for a web host
Alternatively, the move towards a better category of hosting doesn’t seem to be priced as far away as it used to be. Still, at the end of the day, reliability matters and SiteGround remains well anchored.
For those who want to look for alternatives, there are many. If you’re adventurous and want to try something new – go for it. My advice as always is not to simply look at price, but to carefully assess your own needs as well.
