What term is the price on?
The longest one the host sells. The $2.99 on Hostinger’s plan card is the 48-month price; the $2.95 on HostPapa’s and ScalaHosting’s cards is the 36-month price; Bluehost’s page shows only the 36-month term. Some hosts show every term in a selector; others show one term and leave the rest to the checkout. When we read the pages on 13 October 2026, the cheapest plans on the ten hosts we review were priced on terms of 12, 36 and 48 months, and the up-front cost at the headline price ran from $23.88 (FastComet, 12 months at $1.99) to $143.52 (Hostinger, 48 months at $2.99).
Our pricing tables show every term the host sells with the total, because the total is the number you will see on your card statement.
What is the renewal price?
The price after the first term, and the one you pay for most of the plan’s life. On the ten hosts it runs from $8.99 (HostPapa Essentials) to $17.99 (SiteGround StartUp) for the cheapest plan, against introductory prices of $1.99 to $4.99. The multiple matters: Hosting.com’s Starter goes from $1.99 to $13.99, seven times; FastComet’s from $1.99 to $9.95, five times; Bluehost’s from $3.99 to $9.99, two and a half times.
Hosts print the renewal somewhere. SiteGround and Bluehost print it beside the intro price; HostPapa keeps a separate renewal pricing page; others put it in the checkout or the terms. If you cannot find it, that is the answer to “should I buy this”.
What does “free” cost next year?
Usually the standard rate. Free domains at Hostinger, SiteGround, Hosting.com, Bluehost and HostPapa are for the first year, after which the domain renews at the host’s fee; Flashcloud’s stays free while the plan is active, for eligible extensions. Hostinger’s mailboxes are free for the first year. HostPapa’s backups are free for the first year and a paid add-on afterwards, priced on the renewal pricing page. InMotion’s backups are an add-on from day one.
The pattern to look for is “first year” or “for the first term” in small text under the feature. It is honest; it is just easy to miss.
What are you paying per site?
The renewal divided by what you will use. A $17.99 renewal for one site and 10 GB is a different price from a $11.99 renewal for unlimited sites and 50 GB, even though the first plan’s headline is lower. For one site, the single-site plans win; for three or more, the second tier at most hosts is cheaper per site than the first. Our multiple websites list does this arithmetic for all ten hosts.
What does the refund window exclude?
Domains, almost always; add-ons, usually; monthly-term products at Bluehost; and at HostPapa, a non-refundable domain fee if you cancel in the first term. The window is 30 days at most of the hosts we review and 90 at InMotion, and two hosts refund unused time afterwards (ScalaHosting at any time, Flashcloud for complete unused months). On a 48-month term, the refund window is the only brake on a $143 decision; on a 12-month term it matters less.
A worked example
Take a one-site plan at $2.99 a month on a 48-month term, renewing at $10.99, with a free first-year domain that renews at $15. Up front: $143.52. Years five and six: $131.88 a year plus $15 for the domain. Six-year total: about $437, or $6.07 a month averaged. The same six years on a plan at $3.99 on a 12-month term renewing at $9.99 with a domain that stays free: $47.88 in year one, then $119.88 a year, about $647 in total, or $8.99 a month. The first plan is cheaper over six years and costs three times as much on day one, with a 30-day window to change your mind. That is the trade; the price page does not make it for you.