Current Hosting Deals (2026)
The honest version: hosting "deals" are mostly first-term discounts and signup credits, not permanent prices. Below are Cloudways and Hostinger offers, which may earn us a commission on qualifying purchases, and Hetzner standard pricing, which earns us nothing. Each has its terms explained. The two at the bottom we earn nothing on, listed because the credit is genuinely useful.
Standard pricing; referral-credit program discontinued
Hetzner's official FAQ says the referral-credit program has been discontinued. We promise no signup credit. Its CX23 was EUR 5.49/mo per the provider pricing checked 2026-09-29; this is standard pricing, not a referral promotion.
The catch: No referral credit applies through our link, and we earn nothing from Hetzner signups. Prices and tax vary; confirm on the provider page. Hetzner raised prices in June 2026, including the entry shared plan from CX22 at EUR 4.50 to CX23 at EUR 5.49. It is still the cheapest serious option 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 at $11/mo. On 2026-09-29 its pricing page advertised 30% off the first 3 months on all plans; promos rotate, so confirm the current one 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 for the first year. On 2026-09-29 its VPS page listed KVM 1 (4 GB RAM, 1 vCPU) at $6.49/mo and KVM 2 (8 GB RAM, 2 vCPU) at $8.99/mo, and shared Premium hosting from $2.99/mo on a 48-month term. Best fit for a first VPS or a one-bill hosting plus domain setup.
The catch: Prices are first-term and paid upfront. Renewal is much higher: KVM 1 renews at $11.99/mo, KVM 2 at $14.99/mo and shared Premium at $10.99/mo. The free domain is only free for the first year, so 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 have often received a $200, 60-day free credit (not re-checked on 2026-09-29). 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 has run new-account credit promos (often $100 to $250, time-limited; not re-checked on 2026-09-29). 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.
- Verify signup-credit eligibility. Hetzner's referral-credit program is discontinued. Any DigitalOcean credit must be checked on its own current terms.
- 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.
Cloudways and Hostinger links above are affiliate links; Hetzner is unpaid. See our disclosure. Hetzner, Cloudways and Hostinger prices re-checked 2026-09-29; they change often, so confirm on the provider page before buying.