In short
Free WordPress hosting usually means a subdomain instead of your own domain, adverts, tight limits on storage and plugins, and little in the way of backups or support. It is fine for learning and testing, as are local tools such as WP Engine's Local. For a business site, compare managed hosts that include SSL, backups and staging.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.
Free web hosting for a WordPress website: what it usually means
WordPress itself is open-source software that anyone can download and run without paying for it. Hosting is different, because someone has to pay for the server, the storage, the bandwidth and the people who keep it running. Free WordPress hosting services cover that cost in other ways.
Free hosting typically comes in one of these forms:
- A no-cost tier of a hosted website platform, where your site lives on the provider's subdomain and the provider decides which themes and plugins you can use
- A no-cost web hosting account with tight limits on storage, bandwidth and resources, funded by adverts or by upgrades to paid plans
- A trial of a paid hosting plan, which becomes chargeable after the trial period
- A local install on your own computer, which costs nothing but is only visible to you
Each of these can be useful. The question is whether the trade-offs suit what you want the site to do. If you are not sure whether you want a hosted platform or WordPress on your own hosting, our guide to self-hosted WordPress explains the difference.
What you give up: domain, ads, limits, backups and support
The details vary from service to service, but free WordPress hosting tends to limit some or all of the following:
| Area | What free hosting may limit | Why it matters for a business |
|---|---|---|
| Your domain | The site sits on the provider's subdomain, or a custom domain needs a paid upgrade | Your own domain builds trust and keeps your address if you move |
| Adverts | The provider may show its own adverts or branding on your site | Other people's adverts can distract visitors or promote competitors |
| Plugins and themes | Only an approved set, or none you can upload yourself | Forms, booking, shop and SEO features often depend on plugins |
| Storage and bandwidth | Small allowances, with the site limited or paused when they run out | A busy campaign can take the site offline at the worst moment |
| Speed and resources | Shared servers with many other sites, without caching or a CDN | Slow pages lose visitors, especially on mobile |
| Backups | None, or occasional backups you cannot restore yourself | One bad update or hack could lose the site |
| Security | Basic protection, with malware clean-up left to you | A compromised site can damage your reputation |
| Support | Community forums or none | There is nobody to turn to when something breaks |
| Moving away | Limited access to files and the database | Exporting the full site later can take extra work |
None of this makes free hosting bad. It makes it a better fit for some jobs than others. For a public business site, a paid plan that includes these things usually costs less overall than the time spent working around them; our guide to cheap WordPress hosting looks at price versus value.
See WP Engine's managed WordPress plans
WP Engine lists its plans and data centre options on its own UK site.
When free hosting is fine: testing and learning
Free WordPress hosting is a sensible choice when the site is not carrying your business:
- Learning WordPress: getting to know the dashboard, themes, blocks and plugins
- Trying out a theme or plugin before using it on a real site
- A personal or hobby blog where a subdomain and adverts do not matter
- A prototype to show colleagues a layout or idea before you build it properly
- Developer testing: checking an update, a PHP version or some custom code
For most of these, a local install on your own computer is even better than a free online host: it is quicker, private and has no limits beyond your own machine. Some hosts publish local tools for exactly this.
Local WordPress tools: testing on your own computer
A local WordPress tool runs a complete WordPress site on your own computer, at no cost, with no adverts, no storage limits beyond your own disk and nobody else's site sharing the server. It is the quickest way to learn WordPress, try a theme or build a new site before it goes live.
One of our picks, WP Engine, publishes Local, which it says costs nothing to download and use. From the publisher's own site:
| What Local offers | What the publisher says |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Desktop downloads for Mac (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows and Linux (Debian and RPM based) |
| Setting up a site | Automatic WordPress installation in one click, with SSL included |
| Developer tools | Root SSH access, WP-CLI and the ability to swap PHP environments for testing |
| Sharing work | Live Links create persistent URLs so clients and colleagues can see a local site without deploying it |
| Before launch | Tools such as a link checker, an image optimiser and instant reload |
| Going live | Local Connect pushes and pulls sites to and from WP Engine or Flywheel |
You can read more on the Local website (opens in a new tab). A local site is not tied to one host: a local copy can be moved to any host using that host's migration plugin or team.
Once a site is live, a staging environment gives you the same safe place to test changes online. Our guide to WordPress hosting with staging explains how staging works at each kind of host.
Not sure which host to choose?
See the three hosts side by side on the features each one lists.
What managed hosts include as standard
Managed WordPress hosting is paid hosting, but it includes many of the things free hosting leaves out. This is what our three picks list on their own pages:
- SSL certificates on all three, renewing automatically
- Daily backups: Krystal and WP Engine list daily backups, and Cloudways lists automated and on-demand backups
- Staging: Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine list staging on their managed plans
- Caching and a CDN: all three describe built-in caching; WP Engine lists a global CDN on its plans, Krystal a CDN allowance on its Business and Agency managed plans, and Cloudways offers a Cloudflare Enterprise add-on
- Security features such as firewalls, DDoS protection, vulnerability protection or bot protection, which each host describes in its own terms
- Migration help, from plugins to migrations done by the host's own team
- Support by chat, and in some cases by phone or ticket, with hours each host states on its site
For a side-by-side view, see our WordPress hosting comparison. For what paid plans cost and how they are billed, see our WordPress hosting cost guide.
Moving from a free host to managed hosting
If your site has outgrown free hosting, moving it is usually straightforward, though it depends on how much access the free service gives you:
- Check you can access your site's files and database, or export its content; some free platforms only offer a content export.
- Register your own domain, if the site currently sits on a free subdomain.
- Use the new host's migration help: a migration plugin, or its team if your plan includes it.
- If only a content export is possible, import the content into a fresh WordPress install at the new host.
- Check the migrated copy before you switch: pages, forms, images and links.
- Set up redirects from the old address, so visitors and search engines find the new site.
- Point your domain at the new host, making sure email and verification records come across.
Our step-by-step guide to moving a WordPress site to a new host covers each stage.
Next step: compare hosts for a business site
When a site starts bringing in enquiries or sales, it is time to move beyond free hosting:
- Shortlist hosts with a data centre near your visitors, using our WordPress hosting comparison and our picks for UK WordPress hosting
- Check trial and money-back terms on each host's own site, so you can try your own site before committing
- Register your own domain if you do not have one, and keep your DNS and email records in mind for the switch
- Build or test locally in a tool such as Local, then move the site to the host you choose
Plans are bought directly from each host, on its own terms. Our guides to Cloudways, Krystal and WP Engine link to each host's own plans.
Frequently asked questions
Is there genuinely free WordPress hosting?
Yes. WordPress itself costs nothing, and some services host WordPress sites at no charge, usually with a subdomain, adverts, tight limits on plugins and storage, and little support. A local install on your own computer, using a tool such as WP Engine's Local, also costs nothing. Business sites usually need paid hosting for their own domain, backups and support.
Can I run a business website on free WordPress hosting?
You can, but the trade-offs usually matter: a subdomain instead of your own domain, possible adverts, limits on plugins and traffic, few backups and little support. For a site that brings in enquiries or sales, a paid managed plan is usually better value overall.
How can I test WordPress without paying for hosting?
Install it on your own computer. WP Engine's Local runs WordPress locally at no cost, can share a work-in-progress site through a Live Link, and can push a finished site to WP Engine. A local copy can also be moved to another host using that host's migration tools.
Which hosts offer local WordPress tools?
Among the hosts in this guide, WP Engine publishes Local. It runs WordPress on Mac, Windows and Linux, sets up a site with SSL in one click, includes SSH and WP-CLI access, and its Local Connect feature pushes and pulls sites to and from WP Engine. WP Engine says Local costs nothing to download and use.
Do managed WordPress hosts offer trials?
Some do, on their own terms. Krystal says you can try its managed WordPress hosting for 30 days before you pay, and lists a 60-day money-back guarantee on its standard hosting plans. Cloudways lists a Flexible trial without a credit card. Check current terms on each host's site.
Can a new host move my site from free hosting?
Often, yes, if the free service gives access to a standard WordPress installation. Cloudways, for example, says its engineers migrate a first website from any web host, and Krystal's team migrates up to three WordPress sites at no extra cost. If your free platform only offers a content export, the content can be imported into a fresh WordPress install at the new host.
See Cloudways' managed hosting plans
Cloudways lists its cloud providers, server sizes and locations, including London, on its own site.