WordPress Hosting Renewal Prices After the Intro Term
Hostinger's Premium plan costs $2.49 a month on a 48-month term and renews at $10.99 a month, about 4.4 times as much. SiteGround's StartUp plan goes from $2.99 to $17.99 a month. Kinsta, WP Engine and Cloudways do not state a separate renewal price on the pages I read. Every figure is from the host's own page, read on October 30 and 31, 2026.
Alston AntonyUpdated
Price by plan
First year is what you pay in the first 12 months. Renewal is the cost of 12 months at the price the vendor lists for renewal. Every row links to the vendor's own pricing page and shows the date we checked it. All amounts are in USD.
| Product | Plan and billing term | First year or prepaid term | Renewal, per year | Included | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HostingerHosting | Premium48 months, paid upfront$2.49 a month for 48 months is $119.52 today. The page says: Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term. Twelve months at $10.99 is $131.88; a renewal for the same 48-month term is 48 times $10.99, or $527.52. Prices are listed without VAT. | $119.52Paid upfront for 48 months, not 12 | $131.88 | 3 websites, 20 GB SSD storage, free weekly backups, CDN, priority 24/7 support | Pricing page | |
| SiteGroundHosting | StartUp12 months, prepaid$2.99 a month prepaid for 12 months works out to $35.88. The page says: Renews at $17.99/mo. Prepaid for 12 months. Twelve months at $17.99 is $215.88. This is the US view; SiteGround's EU page shows 2.99 euros renewing at 15.99 euros. | $35.88 | $215.88 | Pricing page | ||
| BluehostHosting | Starter36-month term$3.99 a month for 36 months works out to $143.64; the page does not state the upfront total. It says: Renews at $9.99/mo. Twelve months at $9.99 is $119.88. VAT and GST are not included. Read with the US region and the USD selector on October 31, 2026. | $143.64Paid upfront for 36 months, not 12 | $119.88 | 10 websites, 10 GB NVMe SSD storage, weekly backups, staging site, 24/7 chat support, no phone support | Pricing page | |
| KinstaHosting | Business, Single 20GBAnnual billing, first month $0The page says: Pay $0 today, $350 after the first month, with annual billing described as two months free compared to paying monthly. It does not state a separate renewal price. Prices exclude tax. | $350 | Not stated by the vendor | 1 WordPress install, 20GB bandwidth a month, 10GB storage, 125GB CDN bandwidth, 14 days of backups, 24/7 human support | Pricing page | |
| WP EngineHosting | EssentialBilled annuallyUSD view: $28.00 a month, Pay $336.00 today. The page defaulted to pounds in my browser and showed dollars after the currency selector was set to USD. It says: Product renewal pricing subject to change, and does not state a renewal price. | $336 | Not stated by the vendor | Pricing page | ||
| CloudwaysHosting | Flexible, DigitalOcean Standard, MicroPay as you go, hourly, capped at the monthly price$11 a month, billed at $0.0164 an hour and capped at the monthly price, so twelve months is at most $132. The page states no intro term and no renewal price. Prices exclude applicable taxes. | $132 | Not stated by the vendor | Pricing page |
How much each price rises at renewal
The last column divides the renewal price by the intro price, both per month as the host states them. It is only worked out where the host states both.
| Host and plan | Intro price | Term the intro price needs | Renewal price | Renewal divided by intro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49 | 48 months, paid upfront | $10.99 | 4.4 times |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99 | 36 months | $9.99 | 2.5 times |
| SiteGround StartUp | $2.99 | 12 months, prepaid | $17.99 | 6.0 times |
| Kinsta Business Single 20GB | First month $0 | Annual billing | Not stated separately | Not worked out |
| WP Engine Essential | $28.00 a month, billed annually | Annual billing | Not stated | Not worked out |
| Cloudways Flexible Micro | $11 a month, capped | None, pay as you go | No intro or renewal split stated | Not applicable |
How intro pricing works on these pages
Hostinger shows a different intro price for each term and the same renewal price under all of them: $3.99 a month for 12 months, $3.49 for 24 and $2.49 for 48, each renewing at $10.99 a month for the same term. A longer first term lowers the intro price shown, and the page does not show it lowering the renewal price.
Hostinger's monthly rate is the total plan price divided by the number of months, and all plans are paid upfront, so the figure at checkout is the whole term at once.
SiteGround's knowledge base says new signups may get a discount for the initial period and that a 24-month period has a lower monthly rate than a 1-month or 12-month period. Its StartUp rates table, updated October 12, 2026, lists $17.99 a month for 12 months and $14.99 for 24 months (15.99 and 13.99 euros on the euro table), and says all prices exclude VAT or GST.
Bluehost's offer terms say all plans renew automatically at the then-current regular rate unless canceled before renewal.
Ways to lower a renewal, from the hosts' own pages
SiteGround's refund page says shared hosting has a full refund within 30 days of activation, and that a renewal can be refunded if cancellation is requested within 30 days and the renewal term has not started.
- SiteGround: its renewal help page says that if you renew for a longer period you benefit from a lower average monthly price.
- Kinsta: its pricing page says annual billing gives two months free compared to paying monthly, and that plan changes can be made at any time with billing prorated. Neither is described as a renewal option.
- Hostinger, Bluehost, WP Engine and Cloudways: the pages I read do not describe a way to lower a renewal.
How I checked
Every price comes from the host's own pricing or help page, read on October 30 and 31, 2026. Nothing was estimated or converted, and nothing was purchased for this page. Where a page does not state a renewal price, the table says so.
Bluehost was re-read on October 31, 2026 through a US-region read after a captcha blocked my first browser read, and the figures matched: $3.99 a month on a 36-month term, renewing at $9.99, USD, VAT and GST not included.
Bluehost shows Monthly and 1 Year tabs next to the 3 Years tab. Only the 36-month price was in the page text I read, so this page quotes that one and does not state the monthly or 12-month Bluehost prices.
Questions
Why is my hosting renewal higher than what I first paid?
Hostinger's page, for example, shows an intro price per term and the line Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term. The intro price applies to the first term; the renewal price is the one that follows.
Does a longer term lower my renewal?
On Hostinger's page the renewal price is the same under the 12, 24 and 48-month terms, so a longer first term lowers the intro price shown, not the renewal price. SiteGround's help page says renewing for a longer period gives a lower average monthly price.
Do Kinsta, WP Engine and Cloudways have an intro price?
Kinsta shows a first month at $0 and then its listed price. WP Engine shows its annual price and says renewal pricing is subject to change. Cloudways bills hourly and caps at a monthly price. None of the three pages states a separate renewal price.