The web host you choose to power your WordPress site plays a key role in its speed and performance. However, with so many claiming to offer the fastest WordPress hosting out there, how do you decide which company to use?
In addition to performance, it’s also important to consider the costs and features included with each plan. Trying to research and compare them all can be tedious, so we’ve done a lot of the hard work upfront to make your job easier. 👷
In a previous article we analyzed some of the best WordPress hosting companies, but in this post, we’ll examine seven of the fastest WordPress hosting providers, based on real performance tests that we run every single month. We’ll review the plans offered by each one, including their features and pricing, to help you narrow down your decision. That way you can have your website up and running before March is up. ⚙️ Let’s get started!
A summary of the fastest WordPress hosting companies
Before we dive deep into our list, let’s give you a quick overview of the seven fastest WordPress hosting companies we’ll be comparing. All of the performance data comes from our own speed tests, while the overall rating comes from our survey of hundreds WordPress hosting users.
| Host | Uptime | Speed USA | Speed Paris | Speed Mumbai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsta | 100% | 1.04s | 1.16s | 1.85s |
| Flywheel | 100% | 0.955s | 0.23s 🥇 | 0.26s 🥇 |
| WP Engine | 100% | 0.98s | 1.33s | 2.06s |
| SiteGround | 100% | 1.175s | 0.44s | 2.09s |
| DreamHost | 98.87% | 1.18s | 1.83s | 3.40s |
| InMotion Hosting | 100% | 0.7s 🥇 | 1.27s | 2.72s |
| Bluehost | 100% | 1.225s | 1.50s | 0.64s |
A few important things to mention about these speed tests and the uptime percentages:
- We run these tests every month, so the data you see above is from the previous month’s tests. In this case, that would be December 2023.
- The USA data is an average between the east coast results and west coast results. The full details for both coasts can be found in each of the individual speed test results for any given host.
- To see additional speed test results for London, UK and Sydney, Australia, please check out the full performance data for each hosting company below.
The fastest WordPress hosting companies compared (in full)
1. Kinsta
Kinsta is a WordPress-specific hosting provider that offers a variety of fully-managed plans. Its cloud WordPress hosting is powered exclusively by Google Cloud, which is optimized for speed and performance.
Kinsta’s features include:
- Server-level caching with Nginx Fast_CGI cache
- Free CDN powered by KeyCDN
- A custom MyKinsta dashboard
- Automated daily backups
- Free SSL certificates
- One-click staging environments
- Free migrations
- SSH access
All of these features are included with every Kinsta hosting plan. Kinsta doesn’t have tiered support levels, but offers premium 24/7 support to every customer.
💰 Pricing and plan details
Pricing for Kinsta hosting plans starts at $30.00 per month and includes two months free with annual billing. The Starter Plan provides support for:
- One WordPress install
- 10 GB of disk space
- 25,000 monthly visits
- Free CDN with a 50 GB limit
There are also Pro ($60 per month), Business (starting at $100 per month), and Enterprise (starting at $600 per month) plans. However, there are plenty of tiers in between and above that.
📈 Performance tests
When researching the fastest hosting providers for WordPress, it’s critical to test and analyze page loading speed from different global locations. We use Pingdom to conduct our tests, and we update them every month via a shortcode mechanism. The performance data you see below is based on the most recent test (from the previous month).
| East Coast USA: 0.64s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.76s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.68s ⭐ | London, UK: 0.82s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.60s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 2.72s |
In addition, we also previously performed Load Impact tests. Unlike the loading speed tests, these are not conducted monthly, but based on the last time we did them, Kinsta’s minimum response time was 0.12 seconds, while the maximum response time was just 0.13 seconds. Not too shabby, eh? 🤔
2. Flywheel
Flywheel is another popular, WordPress-specific web host that offers plans and features suitable for everyone, from freelancers to agencies. Aside from being one of the fastest WordPress hosting companies, Flywheel shares a lot of similarities with Kinsta.
It’s powered by Google Cloud, and includes a free CDN and custom dashboard built for WordPress site management. It also uses a custom caching engine, provides nightly backups, and has multiple data centers located across the globe.
⚠️ Note: In 2019, Flywheel was acquired by WP Engine (the next host on our list). Both are still run separately, though.
💰 Pricing and plan details
Flywheel offers an accessible Tiny plan for just $13.00 per month, though it only allows for 5,000 visits per month for a single website.
To raise that, you can move to the $25.00 per month Starter plan. This plan supports one website, 25,000 monthly visits, and 10 GB of disk space.
Flywheel offers two free months if you sign up for an annual plan. There are also Freelance ($96 per month) and Agency ($242 per month) plans.
📈 Performance tests
Flywheel’s consistent performance undoubtedly cements its spot on our list of the fastest WordPress hosting providers. Its page loading speeds from last month were:
| East Coast USA: 0.37s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 1.83s |
| Central USA: 0.58s ⭐ | London, UK: 0.29s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.60s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 0.33s ⭐ |
In terms of the Load Impact test, the last time we put Flywheel through it, the minimum response time was 0.15 seconds, while the maximum was 1.19 seconds.
3. WP Engine
WP Engine is a WordPress-specific host that offers a variety of fully-managed plans, each powered by a reliable architecture built for speed and scalability.
Its managed WordPress plans offer:
- Built-in caching with Varnish and Memcached
- Free SSL certificates
- Built-in CDN
- Quick site installation
- Easy staging (two separate staging environments)
- Performance tracking and diagnostic options
- 24/7 support
💰 Pricing and plan details
WP Engine’s Startup Plan is $20.00 per month. It supports one WordPress site, 25,000 monthly visits, and 10 GB of local storage.
There are also Professional ($33 per month), Growth ($77 per month), and Scale ($193 per month) plans. All plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
You’ll get two months free if you pay for an annual plan.
📈 Performance tests
Curious to know how this provider measures up against some of the other fastest WordPress hosting providers?
WP Engine consistently stays below the recommend two-second mark. However, keep in mind that since we update these numbers every single month, you might stumble upon an off-month here or there. Generally speaking though, WP Engine is a high-performer. Check out last month’s test results below:
| East Coast USA: 0.84s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.76s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.42s ⭐ | London, UK: 1.27s |
| Paris, France: 1.37s | Mumbai, India: 2.07s |
WP Engine also impresses with its ability to maintain quick response times even during spikes of traffic. On the Load Impact test, WP Engine had a minimum response time of 0.51 seconds and a maximum of 0.59 seconds.
4. SiteGround
SiteGround has become an increasingly popular WordPress host. In addition to offering multiple managed WordPress plans that are ideal for those on a budget, SiteGround is one of the few hosts that are officially recommended by WordPress.org.
This provider offers a healthy amount of WordPress-specific features. This includes free WordPress site transfers, one-click installations, and automatic updates.
SiteGround also provides a WordPress SuperCacher. This is a SiteGround-specific feature that implements caching for your WordPress site on multiple levels, in order to promote faster loading times.
💰 Pricing and plan details
SiteGround’s StartUp Plan starts at just $2.99 per month. It’s suitable for up to 10,000 monthly visitors and includes 10 GB of disk space for one WordPress site. You can also sign up for the GrowBig Plan ($4.99 per month) or the GoGeek Plan ($7.99 per month).
Keep in mind that those are promotional prices, so they only apply to your first billing cycle. Try to lock them in for three years if you can afford it.
📈 Performance tests
SiteGround’s loading page speed test results from last month were as follows:
| East Coast USA: 0.94s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 1.47s |
| Central USA: 1.29s | London, UK: 0.43s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.35s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 1.48s |
For the most recent Load Impact test, SiteGround had a minimum response time of 0.74 seconds and a maximum response time of 1.48 seconds. These results confirmed that, regardless of where your site is located, speed shouldn’t be an issue with this provider.
5. DreamHost
DreamHost is a reliable hosting provider that offers budget-friendly shared, VPS, and managed WordPress hosting plans. Plus, there are some notable features that make DreamHost a solid option, aside from it being one of the most affordable yet fastest WordPress hosting companies.
For example, in addition to coming with WordPress pre-installed, DreamHost’s managed WordPress plans include a free subscription to Jetpack premium. You’ll also benefit from enhanced security thanks to dual WordPress-optimized web application firewalls (WAF).
💰 Pricing and plan details
The Basic Plan for DreamHost’s managed WordPress hosting, referred to as DreamPress, starts at $16.95 per month. This includes one site, up to 100,000 monthly visitors, and 30 GB of disk space. It also offers a VPS plan ($13.75 per month).
DreamHost also offers affordable shared plans, though you’ll miss out on the performance of the WordPress-optimized DreamPress plans.
📈 Performance tests
DreamHost page speed results from last month were as follows:
| East Coast USA: 1.87s | West Coast USA: 1.03s |
| Central USA: 0.75s ⭐ | London, UK: 1.48s |
| Paris, France: 2.10s | Mumbai, India: 2.83s |
With a minimum response time of 0.26 seconds and a maximum of 1.26 seconds, the most recent Load Impact tests further emphasize DreamHost’s ability to perform well under pressure without sacrificing speed.
6. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting offers shared, VPS, dedicated, and managed WordPress hosting. Its operational infrastructure includes a WordPress-optimized Stack and free CDN in order to deliver exceptional loading times.
Aside from being one of the most affordable yet fastest WordPress hosting providers, InMotion comes with a plethora of WordPress-specific tools and features. This includes pre-installed WordPress, a drag-and-drop WordPress page builder (BoldGrid), and automatic WordPress plugin and theme updates.
💰 Pricing and plan details
InMotion managed WordPress plans start at just $2.29 per month. This entry-level plan includes one website, 50 GB of disk space, and up to 20,000 monthly visitors. The provider also offers Small Business ($7.99 per month) and Developer ($15.99 per month) plans.
📈 Performance tests
Overall, InMotion usually does well on the loading page speed tests, though it’s performance in different locations can sometimes vary. Below are last month’s Pingdom page speed test results:
| East Coast USA: 0.59s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.81s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.58s ⭐ | London, UK: 0.80s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.84s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 1.80s |
As for the Load Impact tests, InMotion’s minimum response time was 0.27 seconds, and the maximum was 0.84 seconds.
7. Bluehost
Bluehost is a popular and reliable WordPress hosting provider that offers affordable plans. In addition to being optimized for speed and performance, Bluehost’s plans come with a one-click WordPress installation.
Bluehost offers relatively speedy customer service via chat, which is available 24/7. It also leverages robust hardware and makes scaling plans quick and easy.
Other key features include:
- Advanced security features (including malware scans)
- Free CDN and SSL certificates
- VPS WordPress-specific packages
- Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor virtualization technology
Bluehost also offers a custom control panel that can make site management a breeze. This was designed with WordPress users in mind.
💰 Pricing and plan details
Bluehost WordPress hosting plans start at just $1.99 per month. The Basic plan includes one WordPress installation and 50 GB of storage.
A Choice Plus plan is also available ($4.95 per month) as well as an Online Store plan ($9.95 per month), and a Pro plan ($13.95 per month). All plans come with a host of attractive freebies and features. Some of these include a free domain for one year, an SSL certificate, and a CDN.
It’s worth noting that Bluehost does not offer monthly plans. Each plan requires at least a 12-month commitment.
📈 Performance tests
In many of our previous performance tests of Bluehost, they demonstrated relatively fast loading times across the globe. Was that the case last month? Take a look below and see for yourself:
| East Coast USA: 0.86s ⭐ | West Coast USA: 0.71s ⭐ |
| Central USA: 0.64s ⭐ | London, UK: 0.69s ⭐ |
| Paris, France: 0.49s ⭐ | Mumbai, India: 0.43s ⭐ |
As for the most recent Load Impact test, the minimum response time was very good, while the maximum was only a hair above two seconds. Bluehost also demonstrates a consistent and impressive uptime.
Recap of the fastest hosting providers for WordPress in 2024 ✔️
As you saw in the data above, all of these hosts are capable of getting you a fast-loading WordPress site. To finish out, let’s recap the starting price and resources of each host so that you can choose the fastest WordPress hosting for your budget:
| Host | Starting price | Sites | Disk space | Monthly visitors | Overall score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsta | $30.00 | 1 | 10 GB | 25,000 | 9.6 |
| Flywheel | $13.00 | 1 | 10 GB | 25,000 | 9.5 |
| WP Engine | $20.00 | 1 | 10 GB | 25,000 | 9.4 |
| SiteGround | $2.99 | 1 | 10 GB | 10,000 | 9.3 |
| DreamHost | $16.95 | 1 | 30 GB | 100,000 | 9.2 |
| InMotion Hosting | $2.29 | 1 | 40 GB | 20,000 | 8.8 |
| Bluehost | $1.99 | 1 | 50 GB | Unmetered | 8.0 |
Of course, choosing fast WordPress hosting is only one part of the puzzle – you’ll also need to optimize the front-end of your WordPress site. To achieve that, you’ll want to learn about:
Do you have any questions about which host is best for you? Let us know in the comments!
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!