20 Best Free Website Hosting Services Tested in 2025

Is free website hosting any good? Well, “free” sounds like a fair price, but it might not always be the best choice in the long run…and there are some tradeoffs. Let me explain:

Most importantly of all, free hosting is great for side projects and hobbies. But for serious, long-term websites, affordable or premium web hosting services are usually better. These paid services tend to offer more reliability, security, and support.

You can get web hosting for free, but there’s a catch

Free hosting sounds good, but it rarely stays simple over the long haul.

There are two main kinds of free hosts:

• Some offer hosting as a way to push you toward a paid plan.
• Others give it away because hosting isn’t their main product. It’s just a bonus on top of something else they sell.

With the first type, the deal is clear: you get free hosting, and they get a chance to market to you.

With the second, the hosting stays free only if you handle the setup yourself. That usually means configuring servers or making your site static. Companies save money by leaving the technical work to you.

This can work if you know your way around the tech. But if you don’t, you’ll likely spend hours fixing problems instead of running your site. Support is also limited, often just forums or documentation.

So while free hosting cuts costs, it demands time and skills. If you’re not prepared to handle the setup and maintenance yourself, you might want to consider investing in a paid hosting plan that offers more support and easier setup options. Again, please consider Bluehost for that. It’s our favorite host – affordable and powerful enough to handle all new websites starting from scratch.

Types of free website hosting services

All-in-one website platforms with free plans

Granted, this part of the list might be a bit out of the left field, especially if it’s not what you’ve been expecting to see. However, these all-in-one website platforms are often actually the best way for most people to build a site for free and have it hosted. Particularly if you’re a beginner to all this and want to DIY all, this is going to be the path for you.

The specific platforms that I’m listing below follow the “freemium” business model. In other words, they will deliver part of their features for free, as long as you don’t go over your assigned quota and as long as you’re also willing to live with some of the inconvenience of the arrangement.

Wix

Wix is one of the most popular website platforms on the web (it’s either Wix or Squarespace as top 1 and 2 when it comes to features), and the top such solution that has a free plan. It can be ideal for beginners or those on a tight budget.

The free plan allows you to create and launch a basic website, plus you get to use Wix’s tools and ready-made designs to do so. Wix is an all-in-one tool, meaning that all you need to do to get started is visit Wix.com, sign up (no credit card is required), and then follow the guided steps.

Now, this free plan isn’t actually advertised on their site at all. It appears there’s no such thing, actually, and especially if you look at the pricing page. However, if you do sign up by clicking on the “Start for free” button, you can actually stay on that free plan indefinitely.

Wix provides over 800 themes to choose from. Though an important thing to know is that while you can customize various design elements, switching the main theme after launch can be challenging. The Wix panel is also pretty crowded, which can slow you down a bit if you just want to launch a free website quickly.

The free plan gives you a website address based on a subdomain, which isn’t very attractive (accountname.wixsite.com/sitename). It also places ads on every page, offers up to 500 MB of storage and 1 GB of bandwidth. Free users have limited customer support, and there’s no possibility to collect payments or use Google Analytics on the free plan.

Wix’s free plan can still be perfect for new websites and users who value quick setup above everything else. Plus, if you ever want to expand – add an ecommerce store or other advanced features – then you can always upgrade to one of Wix’s paid plans, which start at $17.00 / month.

Weebly

Weebly is a versatile website builder overall and a strong alternative to Wix when it comes to the features offered and the free plan limitations. For example, you’re allowed to showcase portfolios and sell products on the free plan (though there are transaction fees). On the other hand, though, you can only have up to five pages on your free website.

If you find the Wix interface a bit too confusing or dislike Wix’s ad in the top bar of your site, Weebly might be a better fit for you. The platform features a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for beginners to create and customize their websites.

Weebly also comes with a variety of design options and customizations, allowing you to choose from a wide range of modern themes that can be tailored to your specific needs. You can further enhance your site’s appearance with features such as photo galleries, slideshows, social media icons, newsletter subscription boxes, built-in analytics, and more.

The free plan allows you to host your blog under a SITE.weebly.com subdomain. Before making your blog public, you need to verify your user information. Overall, Weebly offers a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for anyone looking to start a blog, showcase their portfolio, or even sell products online without incurring initial costs. Then, of course, if you ever need more, the paid tiers start at $12.00 / month.

Jimdo

Jimdo is another user-friendly website builder – similar to Wix – that offers a free plan for creating and hosting websites. It provides 500 MB of storage and 2 GB of bandwidth, which should be suitable for small websites and personal projects. Free websites are hosted under a SITE.jimdosite.com subdomain, giving you a semi-professional-looking web address – at least better than Wix’s.

The platform features modern templates with basic customization options. Jimdo includes essential features such as contact forms, social media integration, and basic SEO tools to help optimize your site for search engines. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for beginners and those with limited technical skills to create and manage their websites.

Strikingly

Strikingly offers a free plan designed for users who want to create multiple websites without any upfront costs (this is quite unique compared to the other options above). With the free plan, you can build unlimited free sites, each hosted under a SITE.strikingly.com subdomain. This plan provides 5 GB of monthly bandwidth and 500 MB of total storage per site.

Each site can have up to five pages, which is not a lot but can still be enough for a small experimental project. Additionally, the free plan includes a simple store feature, enabling you to sell one product per site. This is a great option for those looking to dip their toes into ecommerce without a financial commitment.

Strikingly’s free plan also allows you to invite collaborators, plus you have access to 24/7 support, ensuring that help is available whenever you need it.

Overall, Strikingly’s free plan is ideal for individuals and small businesses seeking a straightforward and cost-effective way to establish an online presence, with the flexibility to create multiple sites and the support to help you succeed.

Dev-friendly hosting that’s free

If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty under the hood of a website, so to speak, then there are many more options available for you out there.

Particularly, it turns out that multiple platforms specializing in hosting web applications or providing computing infrastructure or cloud tools also offer free hosting that’s available publicly. The catch is, of course, that it’s not as simple as signing up with an email and building your site with drag and drop (like on Wix, for example).

You need to do a lot more legwork here, but it is well worth it. The results are awesome when it comes to the final performance and reliability of your site. They are not great, however, for ongoing site updates or figuring out stuff when anything goes wrong.

Let’s take these platforms one by one and explain how this works:

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages is a free service offered by GitHub. It allows you to host static websites directly from a GitHub repository. If you’re fairly comfortable hosting websites the standard way – i.e., by uploading files to a server – then GitHub Pages provides a more streamlined alternative where everything is coordinated through the GitHub repo, along with version control to simplify the process of managing and updating your site.

It works with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. After pushing files to your repo and chosen branch, GitHub builds and serves the site. The default address of a site like that looks like https://username.github.io/repository-name/. If your repository is named after the username, the site appears at https://username.github.io/. Updates are automatic, so each new push refreshes the site. A custom domain can also be connected for a personal address.

Plus, you do get the whole power of GitHub behind a site like that. Meaning, you can easily track changes, collaborate with others, and even revert to previous versions of your site if needed.

My favorite use of GitHub Pages is to roll out simple static websites to it. The process goes like this:

• Start by creating a repository and uploading all your static website files to it (index.html, CSS, JS, images, what have you).
• The repository needs to be Public if you want to be able to use Pages for free.
• Go to Settings → Pages. From there, choose “Deploy from a branch” and then pick the branch you want (if you’re not sure, go with main). Click Save.
• GitHub will build and deploy your site automatically.

See the official quickstart guide here.

Additionally, you can also hook up the whole thing to a custom domain name, which makes it appear like a fully-fledged site instead of something that’s being hosted for free.

While the setup process may seem complex initially, especially if you’re new to GitHub, the results are a performant static site.

In the end, hosting a static site on GitHub Pages is a powerful way to create a custom publication without recurring costs. However, it requires some technical know-how to get started and manage. Lastly, be mindful of the limitations of this free plan; specifically, the maximum size for a GitHub repository (including the history) is 1 GB, and GitHub Pages sites have a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB / month and a limit of 100,000 requests / hour.

Vercel

Quite similarly to how we did things with GitHub Pages, you can also host your website projects on Vercel’s Hobby plan – the free one.

Now, I said “projects” and not just “static websites” because Vercel is capable of lots of cool things. It’s impressively generous and powerful for something that you can use entirely for free.

For starters, it can handle a wide range of modern frontend and full-stack frameworks. This includes things like React (via Next.js), Angular, Vue, SvelteKit, Astro, and more. Backend logic can also run as serverless functions in Node.js, Go, Python, Ruby, or via Edge runtime.

Then, there are additional features such as web analytics, observability stats, firewall plus loads of built in integrations, for example for Open Graph.

When it comes to the quotas, you get to use up:

• 4 CPU-hrs of active CPU work
• 360 GB-hrs of provisioned memory
• 1M edge requests
• 100K web analytics events
• 100 GB fast data transfer
• 10 GB of fast origin transfer

It even shows you how much of your quota you’ve used so far:

Let’s be frank, this is more than 99% of new projects will need. You are very unlikely to ever have to upgrade to a paid plan, actually.

Okay, so how to make it all work and roll out a website project to Vercel?

Real simple, actually:

• Start at GitHub. Create a repo for your project, put all the required files there – just as we did in the previous method (with GitHub Pages).
• Sign up to Vercel and pick the Hobby plan. Provide all the info needed.
• In the Vercel panel, either click on “Add New…” or “Import Git Repository” depending on the part of the dashboard you’re in.
• Connect your Vercel account with GitHub and set the permissions so that Vercel sees the repo that you want to deploy. Just click on Import to get the project fetched. Vercel automatically detects and deploys static assets, with zero-configuration for most frameworks.
• Just click on the main Deploy button to get it all done. Only takes a couple of seconds.

Then, after you roll out, you can also hook up a custom domain to your project. And, listen to that, this ability is free as well. What more can you ask for? Vercel is my personal favorite when it comes to free website hosting options if I’m honest.

Bonus; There’s actually a way to host a WordPress site on Vercel for free – not just a static HTML site. You can do it by using something called ServerlessWP. Here’s a walkthrough on how to get it done from start to finish:

Cloudflare Pages

Cloudflare Pages is a solution that’s very similar to GitHub Pages – at least for the purpose for which we’re going to use it here. It’s a platform designed for hosting static websites, using Cloudflare’s own global network for fast, secure, and reliable delivery. It also integrates with Git repositories, in case you want to ensure continuous deployment and somewhat easier updates. A key perk when it comes to Cloudflare Pages, though, is that it provides this website hosting entirely for free.

Now, technically, you can host the same static site with GitHub Pages, Vercel, and Cloudflare Pages, but there are some differences in how the final site operates:

• GitHub Pages has limitations on custom plugins and build processes, often requiring users to build sites locally for custom configurations. Cloudflare Pages, however, allows for custom build commands and environment variables, supporting modern development workflows and preview deployments.
• Performance-wise, GitHub Pages serves sites through GitHub’s infrastructure, which, while reliable, may not be as globally distributed as a dedicated CDN. Cloudflare Pages leverages Cloudflare’s own extensive global CDN, ensuring faster load times by serving content from servers closest to the visitor.

Overall, Cloudflare Pages offers more flexibility, enhanced performance through its CDN, and a robust set of features for advanced configurations and security options.

On the other hand, if you just want to launch a simple static site on Cloudflare Pages, then the process can be pretty simple. Plus, you can use a local installation of WordPress to be your donor site. What you can do is: (1) create your WP site locally and then turn it static, (2) ZIP your site, (3) sign up to Cloudflare and go to the Workers and Pages menu, (4) upload your website and deploy it.

This is literally it. Cloudflare will make your site available under SITE-NAME.pages.dev. Of course, you can also hook up a custom domain name.

If you’re interested, here’s a full video tutorial on how to get a static WordPress site deployed to Cloudflare Pages from start to finish:

Classic free website hosting offers (available in 2025)

These hosting companies offer traditional/classic web hosting accounts that just happen to be free. In other words, you get access to a server and a user panel, plus you can install a website, customize its settings, and so on.

InfinityFree

InfinityFree is a free website hosting service that promises to provide 5GB of disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and 99.9% uptime. It supports the latest PHP and MySQL versions, offers free subdomains, and includes a free SSL certificate. Key features include no ads on your site, a simple control panel, and a script installer – so that you can launch a site on WordPress, for example.

However, not all users might enjoy the experience. Some report that the backend is cluttered with ads and links to paid third-party tools (so while there are no ads on the site itself, there are tons in your panel). Issues like file managers not functioning properly and non-existent support can be problematic for everyday use, too.

InfinityFree can be ideal for hobbyists, students, and small projects. However, it may require patience and technical know-how to navigate the challenges it comes with, so you should be aware of those before launching any serious site using the platform.

Important details:

• 5 GB disk space
• Unlimited bandwidth
• You can bring your own domain
• Free SSL
• PHP 8.3
• MySQL 8.0 / MariaDB 11.4
• 400 MySQL databases
• Free DNS service

InfinityFree is powered by iFastNet, which also offers premium hosting. The cheapest plan starts at $5.99 a month and includes six free domains (interesting!), unlimited disk space, and more features.

Other free web hosts

Initially, I wanted to give you a larger list of recommendations of classic free hosting. However, it turns out that the company above is the only one with a good(ish) reputation and a good balance of positive reviews online. There was also 000webhost some time back, but that one got discontinued by its parent company – Hostinger.

For the rest of the free hosts, though, it’s a mixed bag really, and the reviews are much less positive.

However, I still want to give you a list of more options, but please do take them with a grain of salt. I’d still recommend testing out the two free hosts above first ☝️, and then going down the list only if you find yourself not liking something about the ones above.

With that disclaimer out of the way, here are some additional companies that also offer free hosting:

Creative methods to host a site for free

This is the most mysteriously sounding category of the ones I want to cover here, but it’s also perhaps the most fun! I was really amazed when I discovered some of these methods and all the possibilities they open, but at the same time, you’ll need to keep an open mind since many of them are not what you’d call “a traditional website.” In other words, they will let you host “very specific kinds of websites” for free.

Notion

Notion is a very popular tool nowadays, though it’s not that known for its website abilities. In short, it’s an all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, task management, database creation, and collaboration tools. It was designed to help individuals and teams organize their work and streamline their productivity.

For personal use, it can help you manage your tasks, plan projects, and organize daily life with features like to-do lists and calendars. In team settings, it’s quite useful for project management and collaboration. Students and educators benefit from Notion by organizing study materials, taking notes, and managing schedules. There are also some great implementations of Notion as a CRM, a company wiki, and loads of other uses.

Then, among those more original use cases, Notion can also serve as your website platform and free hosting all in one place.

Natively in Notion, you can take any page and make it public on the web. Granted, this is only a single page (not a whole site yet). You can also choose whether your page should be visible on Google or not, which is a key feature for most real websites. The best part is that you don’t have to settle for single-page hosting. There’s a very active community around Notion, with loads of third-party tools that make Notion much more powerful.

For example, platforms like Super.so or Potion.so allow you to portion off a section of your Notion workspace and have it published to the web as a standalone website. Basically, you can create a hub in Notion, add individual pages, link it all through some menus and normal links, and then have it deployed to the web as a whole standalone website. And, as you would expect at this point, both Super and Potion come with free plans. Check it out.

Substack

Substack is most known for being a newsletter platform. As in, it’s where authors can share their content, and readers can subscribe to get that content delivered to their inboxes. However, Substack can also function effectively as a website engine, along with free hosting. This dual capability makes it an excellent choice for writers looking to establish an online presence without technical hassle.

The platform is designed for simplicity, making it accessible even for those who aren’t tech-savvy. The interface is straightforward, with a clear navigation menu and easy-to-find content publication options.

As a website, Substack supports text, images, videos, code blocks, LaTeX for technical writing, and polls. Recently, Substack has added features like micro-blogging with “Notes,” podcasting options, and a chat feature for real-time conversations with readers.

I’m saying all this here to highlight that for the right kind of user, opting for a free Substack “site + newsletter” combo might be all they’ll ever need.

Even monetizing a Substack is possible. The platform includes features like “pledges” to gauge your audience’s willingness to pay for your content.

Of course, however, there are some limitations on what you can do with a website like that. Most notably, the design options are minimal, focusing on functionality over aesthetic flexibility. URLs follow a standard structure, and while you can use a custom domain, it requires a one-time fee.

Overall, Substack is ideal for writers who want to focus on content creation without worrying about web design. It offers a robust set of tools to grow and monetize your audience, all for free or with minimal costs, making it a powerful platform for both newsletters and websites.

Conclusion – how to pick a free host

As you’ve seen, there are quite a lot of options if you’re in need of some free hosting for your website!

And quite surprisingly, most of them are not crappy at all, as long as you’re willing to get your hands dirty doing some basic (or less basic) config. The biggest surprise for me personally is how efficient platforms like Cloudflare Pages can be, even for pro-level applications. I’m curious what your favorite is from the list above.

Here’s a quick summary of what each of the platforms covered above is and what they’re best used for:

That’s it! We’ve covered tons of different platforms in this post, all of which allow you to host a website for free. I hope you’ve found your ideal fit here on this list!