Current Hosting Deals (2026)
The honest version: hosting "deals" are mostly first-term discounts and signup credits, not permanent prices. Below are the three offers we actually use, with the catch on each one spelled out. We earn a commission on these three. The two at the bottom we earn nothing on, listed because the credit is genuinely useful.
EUR 20 account credit for new signups
Hetzner runs a referral program, not a coupon. New accounts get EUR 20 in credit, which covers roughly four months of a CX22 (EUR 4.50/mo). No promo code needed, the credit applies through the referral link.
The catch: The credit is one time and applies to the account, not per server. Renewal is full price (which is still the cheapest here).
Free trial, no credit card, then pay as you go
Cloudways lets you launch a managed server and test it free for three days with no card. Pricing is hourly/monthly pay-as-you-go after that, starting around $11/mo on DigitalOcean infrastructure. Promo codes for the first months rotate, the current one is shown at checkout.
The catch: After the trial you pay for what you provision. There is no long lock-in, but there is also no permanent free tier.
First-term discount + free domain in year one
Hostinger discounts the first term heavily on longer commitments and bundles a free domain registration in year one. The KVM 2 VPS lands near $5.99/mo on a multi-year first term. Best fit for a first VPS or a one-bill hosting plus domain setup.
The catch: Renewal is roughly double the first-term price, and the free domain is only free for year one (renewal about $14.99/yr). Register the domain elsewhere if you want at-cost renewals.
Deals we do not earn from (but are worth knowing)
We list these because the credit is real and useful, even though we get no commission.
DigitalOcean
New accounts frequently get a $200, 60-day free credit. We earn nothing on DigitalOcean, but if you want to trial managed hosting on it, do it through Cloudways and keep the flexibility.
Visit DigitalOcean (no affiliate link)Vultr
Vultr runs new-account credit promos (often $100 to $250, time-limited). Good for short-lived test instances. We do not earn a commission here.
Visit Vultr (no affiliate link)How to not get burned by a hosting deal
- Check the renewal price, not the promo. Most hosts advertise the first term and quietly double the price on renewal. Budget for the renewal number.
- Signup credit is one time. Hetzner and DigitalOcean credits run out. They lower the cost of trying, not the long-run cost.
- Free domains renew at retail. A year-one free domain often renews near $15. Register at a cost-price registrar if you care.
- Annual prepay is the real discount. The largest, most durable savings come from committing to a year, not from a coupon code.
Not sure which one fits?
Start with the full comparison and pick by your use case, not by the biggest banner.
Deal links above are affiliate links for Hetzner, Cloudways, and Hostinger. See our disclosure. Prices verified 2026-06-14 and change often, confirm on the provider page before buying.