Most people know Namecheap as the place they bought a domain name. But it sells web hosting too, and that's what this review is about. Namecheap has been around since 2001, it's based in Phoenix, Arizona, and its cheapest hosting plan costs less than a cup of coffee each month. So, here is our honest Namecheap hosting review for 2026, written after going through its shared, WordPress, VPS and dedicated plans.
We checked every plan page on 9 November 2026. Shared hosting starts at $2.28/mo on a yearly plan, after a free 30-day trial, and dedicated servers start at $37.66/mo for the first year. But one thing upfront. We didn't buy a plan or run speed tests for this review, so any speed or uptime claim below is Namecheap's, and I'll say so.
I've been using WordPress since 2014, and I run several eCommerce sites of my own on it. When I look at a cheap host, I skip straight to the renewal price. And honestly, that's where Namecheap surprised me. Let's have a look.
All prices in this review are in US dollars, as shown on namecheap.com on 9 November 2026. Taxes are extra, and the intro discounts don't apply to renewals.
Namecheap Hosting at a Glance
| Best for | bloggers and small sites on a tight budget who don't want a big bill in year two |
| Starting price | $2.28/mo on a yearly plan (Stellar), after a 30-day free trial |
| Renewal price | $55.88 a year for Stellar, which works out to about $4.66/mo |
| What it sells | Shared hosting, EasyWP (managed WordPress), VPS and dedicated servers |
| Data centers | US, UK, the Netherlands and Singapore |
| Uptime promise | 100% on shared hosting |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and tickets |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days, but not if you started with the free trial |
| Our rating | 4.0 out of 5 |
Namecheap Hosting Review: The Goods
Namecheap gets a lot right for very little money. Here's what stood out when we went through it.
The Renewal Price Stays Low
This is the big one. Stellar costs $2.28 a month for the first year. When it renews, you pay $55.88 for the next year, which is about $4.66 a month. That's double the intro price, sure. But look at what other budget hosts charge at renewal. DreamHost's Launch plan goes to $10.99 after a 1-year term, Hosting.com's Starter goes to $13.99, and InMotion's Launch goes to $14.99.
If you do the math, two years of Stellar costs about $83 in total. On a 1-year plan, DreamHost, Hosting.com and InMotion each charge more than that for the second year alone.
You Can Try It Free for 30 Days
Right now, Namecheap lets you try any shared plan free for 30 days. It's one trial per account, and Namecheap calls it a limited-time offer. That's a nice way to set up WordPress, poke around cPanel and see if you like it before you pay anything.
Unlimited Sites From Stellar Plus Up
Stellar lets you host 3 websites with 20 GB of storage. Step up to Stellar Plus, which is $2.98 a month for the first year, and you get unlimited websites, unmetered storage and unlimited mailboxes. For someone running a few small blogs, that's a lot for the money. Just know that "unmetered" storage still has to follow Namecheap's fair-use rules.
Backups and Security Without Paying Extra
Every shared plan gets backups twice a week, and Stellar Plus and Business add AutoBackup on top. You also get Imunify360, a security tool with a malware scanner and firewall, plus free SSL that's set up for you. Free migration from another cPanel host is included too.
Four Data Center Locations
When you sign up, you pick a data center in the US, the UK, the Netherlands or Singapore. If most of your visitors are in the US, pick the US. Namecheap says its UK, Netherlands and Singapore data centers run on 100% renewable power, if that matters to you.
A Real Managed WordPress Option
If you don't want to deal with cPanel at all, there's EasyWP. It's Namecheap's own managed WordPress hosting, where each site runs in its own container and Namecheap handles updates, caching and backups. The Starter plan is $3.24 a month on a yearly plan and renews at $5.74.
Namecheap Hosting Review: The Bads
Now, cheap hosting always comes with some trade-offs. Here's what you should know.
SSD, Not NVMe, on Shared Plans
Namecheap's shared plans run on regular SSD storage. That's fine for a small blog, but some of the hosts we've reviewed lately, like InMotion and DreamHost, use faster NVMe drives on their cheapest plans. Namecheap's VPS and EasyWP plans do use NVMe.
The Free Trial and the Refund Don't Mix
Here's a catch. The 30-day money-back guarantee only works if you sign up without the free trial. So, it's one or the other. If you take the trial and then pay, you can't ask for your money back later.
Stellar Is Small
The cheapest plan gives you 3 websites, 20 GB and 30 mailboxes. That's plenty for one blog, but if you plan to grow, Stellar Plus is the better pick for just 70 cents more a month in year one.
Support Is Mostly Chat
Support is 24/7 by live chat and tickets. We didn't see a phone line for hosting support. For most WordPress questions, chat is fine, but some people really prefer to talk to someone.
EasyWP Has a Few Strings Attached
On EasyWP, free SSL from Let's Encrypt only works with domains registered at Namecheap for now. Namecheap says support for outside domains is coming. Some plugins are blocked, and you don't need caching plugins because EasyWP does its own caching.
Namecheap Hosting Plans
Namecheap sells four kinds of hosting. Here's what each one costs and what you get.
Shared Hosting
These are the cPanel plans most people start with, and they're good for blogs, portfolios and small business sites. All three include unmetered bandwidth, free SSL, Imunify360, AI for WordPress and the Sitejet AI website builder.
Stellar vs Stellar Plus vs Stellar Business
| Features | Stellar | Stellar Plus | Stellar Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly plan, first year | $2.28/mo | $2.98/mo | $4.98/mo |
| Renews (per year) | $55.88 | $85.44 | $128.88 |
| Websites | 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 20 GB SSD | Unmetered SSD | 50 GB |
| Buy plan | ORDER | ORDER | ORDER |
Paying for two years? Then the first-term price gets even lower: $1.88 for Stellar, $2.28 for Plus and $4.48 for Business. And if you go month to month, there's no discount at all, so you pay $5.88, $7.88 or $11.88. Stellar Business also gets Cloud Storage in the US data center, which Namecheap says spreads your data across servers for extra safety.
EasyWP (Managed WordPress)
EasyWP runs on Namecheap's own cloud, and every plan comes with a CDN, SSL, automatic backups, WordPress auto updates and a web application firewall.
- EasyWP Starter is $3.24 a month on a yearly plan, then $5.74, with 10 GB of NVMe storage and a 99.9% uptime promise.
- EasyWP Turbo is $5.16, then $9.57, with 50 GB, twice the CPU, a free domain and business email.
- EasyWP Supersonic is $6.57, then $11.57, with 100 GB, four times the CPU, 99.99% uptime and priority support.
Want to test it first? The monthly Starter plan is free for 30 days, then $9.88 a month.
VPS Hosting
Need your own server? The smallest VPS, Spark, is $3.88 a month on a yearly plan and then $4.88. That gets you 1 CPU core, 1 GB of RAM and 20 GB of storage, which is enough for a tiny site or a test box. Pulsar is $6.88 with 2 cores and 2 GB. Quasar, at $12.88, gives you 4 cores and 6 GB.
Out of the box, the server is all yours to look after, with full root access. Don't want that job? Namecheap will do it for $10 a month (Basic) or $25 a month (Complete). From Pulsar up, you can also add cPanel or Webuzo, and Webuzo starts at $2.88 a month.
Dedicated Servers
The cheapest dedicated server is an older 4-core Xeon E3-1230 v5 box with 8 GB of RAM and a 480 GB SSD. On a yearly plan, you pay $451.88 for the first year, so about $37.66 a month. After that, it's $763.88 a year. All the dedicated servers we saw are in Phoenix, Arizona.
Features of Namecheap Hosting
- 30-day free trial on shared hosting (limited time)
- Low renewal prices on shared plans
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Backups twice a week, plus AutoBackup on higher plans
- Imunify360 security
- Free SSL, set up for you
- Free cPanel-to-cPanel migration
- cPanel with two-factor login
- Data centers in the US, UK, Netherlands and Singapore
- 100% uptime guarantee on shared hosting
- 24/7 live chat support
Overall Advantages of Namecheap Hosting
- Some of the lowest renewal prices we've seen
- Free 30-day trial
- Unlimited sites from Stellar Plus up
- Backups and Imunify360 included
- Four data center locations
- Cheap managed WordPress with EasyWP
Overall Disadvantages of Namecheap Hosting
- SSD rather than NVMe on shared plans
- No refund if you start with the free trial
- Stellar is limited to 3 sites and 20 GB
- Support is chat and tickets only
- EasyWP's free SSL needs a Namecheap domain for now
Namecheap vs Hostinger
These two often come up when people look for cheap hosting. Here's how their entry plans compare, using our Hostinger review and our hosting comparison:
- Intro price: Hostinger's Premium is $2.49 a month on a 4-year term. Namecheap's Stellar is $2.28 on just a 1-year plan.
- Renewal: Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99 a month, while Stellar renews at about $4.66.
- Sites and storage: both give you 3 websites and 20 GB.
- Backups: weekly at Hostinger on Premium, twice a week at Namecheap.
- Commitment: Hostinger wants 4 years upfront ($119.52) for that price. At Namecheap, you pay for one year, about $27.
So, on price alone, Namecheap wins, especially after year one. Hostinger has its own extras, though, so it's still worth comparing what each plan includes. Want to see what each one costs over several years? Our true cost calculator does the math.
Who Should Choose Namecheap Hosting?
- I'd pick Namecheap if I wanted a cheap host for a blog or small site and didn't want the price to triple in year two.
- People with a few small sites will get a lot from Stellar Plus, with unlimited websites.
- Anyone who already has their domains at Namecheap will find it easy to keep everything in one account.
- I'd skip it if I needed phone support, the fastest storage, or a host for a big online store.
Namecheap Hosting FAQs
Is Namecheap hosting good for WordPress?
Yes, for small sites. On the shared plans, you can put WordPress on your site in one click with Softaculous. Or you can go with EasyWP, and Namecheap will look after the updates, caching and backups for you.
How much does Namecheap hosting cost after the first year?
Stellar costs $2.28 a month in year one on a yearly plan, then $55.88 a year after that, which is about $4.66 a month. Stellar Plus renews at $85.44 a year.
Does Namecheap have a free trial for hosting?
Yes, right now the shared plans have a free 30-day trial, one per account. Just remember you can't use the 30-day money-back guarantee if you start with the trial.
Where are Namecheap's data centers?
For shared hosting, you can pick the US, the UK, the Netherlands or Singapore. The dedicated servers we saw are all in Phoenix, Arizona.
What is EasyWP?
EasyWP is Namecheap's managed WordPress hosting. It starts at $3.24 a month on a yearly plan, renews at $5.74, and each site runs in its own container on Namecheap's cloud.
Conclusion: Our Namecheap Hosting Review Verdict
Namecheap is one of the best budget picks in 2026 if you care about what you'll pay after the first year. Stellar renews at about $4.66 a month, Stellar Plus gives you unlimited sites, and backups and security are included. If you read our Hostinger review, you'll see Hostinger wants a 4-year commitment for its lowest price, while Namecheap costs a lot less from year two on. Just remember the trial-or-refund rule, and don't expect phone support.
We think this Namecheap hosting review helped you understand what you get and what you pay. Are you using Namecheap hosting, or thinking about it? Don't forget to leave your feedback in the comment area below.
Our verdict
Namecheap Hosting
Cheap shared hosting with some of the lowest renewal prices we've seen (Stellar renews at about $4.66 a month), backups twice a week, Imunify360 and four data center locations. Shared plans use SSD rather than NVMe, support is chat and tickets, and the free trial rules out a refund.
- Performance3.5
- Ease of use4
- Features4
- Support3.5
- Value for money5
Pros
- Low renewal prices on shared plans
- Free 30-day trial
- Unlimited sites from Stellar Plus up
- Backups and Imunify360 included
- Four data center locations
Cons
- SSD rather than NVMe on shared plans
- No refund if you start with the free trial
- Stellar limited to 3 sites and 20 GB
- Support is chat and tickets only
