Most hosting companies will charge you separately for domain registration. That cost adds up over time, and for anyone starting a website on a budget, those extra fees matter. Some providers bundle a free domain with their hosting plans, which removes one line item from your expenses during the first year.

The question becomes which provider gives you the best overall package. A free domain means nothing if the server crawls along at slow speeds or drops offline during peak traffic. Performance, uptime, storage, and support all factor into the equation. 

We looked at 9 hosting providers that include free domain registration and ranked them based on what actually matters to someone building a website that needs to load fast and stay online.

1. GreenGeeks Leads the Pack

GreenGeeks earns the top spot through a combination of speed, reliability, and infrastructure that supports fast loading times. The Lite plan runs $2.95 per month during promotional periods and includes one website with 25 GB of SSD storage. That storage sits on solid-state drives, which means faster read and write speeds compared to traditional hard drives.

GreenGeeks operates 6 data centers spread across North America, Europe, and Asia. Two sit in the United States, two in Canada, one in the Netherlands, and one in Singapore. This geographic spread lets you host your website closer to your target audience, which reduces latency and improves load times for visitors.

All shared hosting plans come with a free CDN, free SSL certificate, and daily backups. The CDN distributes your content across multiple servers worldwide, so a visitor in Tokyo pulls data from a nearby node rather than waiting for a response from a server in Chicago.

Testing data shows fully loaded page times typically fall between 1.2 to 2 seconds. No downtime was recorded during testing periods, which aligns with the 99.9% uptime guarantee the company provides.

2. Bluehost Holds Steady

Bluehost prices its basic plan at $2.09 per month and includes a free domain for the first year. The company has been around since 2003 and hosts millions of websites. Storage on the entry plan sits at 10 GB, which works for small sites but fills up quickly if you run a media heavy blog or portfolio.

The uptime guarantee matches the industry standard at 99.9%. WordPress users get one click installation, and the interface stays relatively simple for beginners setting up their first site.

3. Hostinger Competes on Price

Hostinger offers aggressive pricing at $1.99 per month when you commit to 48 months upfront. The catch comes at renewal, when the rate jumps to $10.99 per month. That long term commitment might work for someone confident they will keep the same site running for four years. Storage on their entry tier reaches 50 GB, which beats several competitors at similar price points. The free domain covers the first year, and the company operates data centers in seven locations worldwide.

4. DreamHost Adds Privacy Protection

DreamHost bundles something most competitors charge extra for free domain privacy protection. When you register a domain, your personal information normally appears in public WHOIS databases. DreamHost hides that data at no additional cost. Annual plans include the free domain for one year. The company guarantees 100% uptime, a bolder claim than the standard 99.9% most providers advertise. Storage reaches 50 GB on shared plans.

5. SiteGround Skips the Free Domain

SiteGround earns a spot on this list despite not offering a free domain with hosting purchases. The company focuses heavily on performance and customer support, which explains why many users pay the extra domain registration fee. Starting prices sit at $2.99 per month with 10 GB of storage. The company operates six data centers and provides strong support for WordPress sites.

6. IONOS Wins on Entry Price

IONOS drops prices to $1 per month for new customers, which undercuts nearly everyone else in the market. The free domain registration lasts one year, and the company runs ten data centers globally. Storage on the basic plan reaches only 10 GB. The low entry price attracts budget-conscious buyers, though renewal rates climb higher after the first term ends.

7. Namecheap Started as a Registrar

Namecheap built its reputation selling domain names before expanding into hosting. The company prices shared hosting at $1.98 per month with a free domain for the first year. Storage sits at 20 GB on the entry tier. The company operates two data centers, which limits options for hosting close to specific geographic regions.

8. InMotion Offers More Storage

InMotion Hosting starts at $2.99 per month and includes 100 GB of storage on shared plans. That generous allocation suits websites with larger media libraries or multiple projects under one account. The free domain covers the first year. The company operates two data centers in the United States, which works well for sites targeting North American audiences but leaves international visitors with longer load times.

9. HostPapa Rounds Out the List

HostPapa matches GreenGeeks on entry pricing at $2.95 per month and includes a free domain for one year. Storage reaches 100 GB, and the company runs four data centers. The service focuses on small businesses and provides phone support, which some buyers prefer over chat or ticket based help systems.

The Final Verdict: GreenGeeks Wins

After examining all 9 providers, GreenGeeks delivers the strongest overall package for anyone who prioritizes website performance. 

• The combination of tested page load times between 1.2 to 2 seconds, six strategically placed data centers, and included features like CDN, SSL, and daily backups creates a hosting environment built for speed and stability.
• The 99.9% uptime guarantee comes with actual performance data to back it up. SSD storage arrays handle data requests faster than traditional drives, and the multi-continent data center network means you can position your site closer to your visitors.
• At $2.95 per month with a free domain covering extensions like .com, .net, and .org, the entry point stays competitive. Some providers charge less per month, but they often require longer commitments or hit you with steep renewal rates.

For someone building a website that needs to load quickly and stay online consistently, GreenGeeks gives you infrastructure that performs without requiring a larger budget. The free domain saves you roughly $15 to $20 during your first year, and the hosting itself delivers the speed and reliability that search engines and visitors both reward.