WordPress hosting prices are easy to compare badly. One vendor shows $2.99 with an asterisk that expires into $25. Another shows $40 with concierge plugin updates. WPHost shows plan shapes: site counts, storage, and which operations features unlock. This page is the literal menu — and an explicit list of what your invoice does not buy.
Sibling article cheap WordPress hosting is about buyer psychology versus coupon hosts. Here we stay on numbers, inclusions, and exclusions.
The plans (exact)
| Plan | Monthly price | Sites | Storage | Notable extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $9 | 1 | 2 GB | PHP 8.4, MySQL, HTTPS, deploys, logs |
| Pro | $30 | 3 | 10 GB | Staging, cron-capable tier |
| Scale | $65 | 10 | 30 GB | More room for freelancers / small stables |
| Business | $130 | 30 | 100 GB | Teams |
Trial is short — on the order of one day — then paid. There is no nonprofit coupon. Annual marketing discounts are not part of this document; treat the table as the honest sticker.
All plans are WordPress-capable PHP hosting: you upload a zip of WordPress (no one-click installer today), provision MySQL, finish the browser installer, attach a domain when ready.
What every plan includes
- PHP 8.4 runtime suitable for current WordPress.
- Optional MySQL provisioning from the dashboard.
- Preview HTTPS immediately; custom-domain certificates after DNS verifies.
- Deployments with history that can restore previous files.
- Logs and per-site environment variables.
- A host that does not pretend to be WordPress.com.
You still install themes/plugins and click updates in wp-admin. No automatic plugin/core update agent.
What Pro adds (worth $30 for many)
Staging — persistent copy for testing. Not a fantasy one-click clone of production MySQL; you copy the database if you need real content — staging.
More sites and disk — three origins, 10 GB. Useful when a brochure site sprouts a campaign microsite, or a freelancer keeps their own site plus two clients.
Cron — real schedules instead of hoping traffic hits wp-cron. Stores, memberships, and scheduled posts care.
What Scale and Business add
Scale ($65) — ten sites, 30 GB. The “I accidentally became my friends’ IT department” tier.
Business ($130) — thirty sites, 100 GB, teams. Agencies and small product studios stop sharing one login. GitHub connections remain per-person; team seats ≠ merged git identity magic — agencies.
What is NOT included (read this twice)
Email hosting. No mailboxes. MX belongs at Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Fastmail, etc.
cPanel. Not shipped. Not required for WordPress — without cPanel.
Built-in CDN product. Bring your own edge if you need it.
One-click WordPress installer. Zip + MySQL + browser installer.
Automatic plugin/core updates. You update in wp-admin.
Scheduled full-site WordPress backups as a host product. Deploy history restores files. Use UpdraftPlus or similar for database-inclusive backups — SSL and backups.
Checkout SLA / PCI product / Elasticsearch for WooCommerce. Woo can run; we do not sell commerce theater — Woo.
Nonprofit or education coupons. Public pricing only — nonprofits.
Concierge content or theme support. Infrastructure managed, CMS yours — managed.
How to choose without a sales call
One brochure or blog, modest media. Starter $9. Watch the 2 GB ceiling if you upload RAW-ish JPEGs — image-heavy.
You break production when testing plugins. Pro $30 for staging.
Multiple clients or properties. Count sites: 3 / 10 / 30. Do not run five client stores on Starter by hacking directories — buy Scale or Business.
Several humans need dashboard access. Business teams.
You need the host to update Elementor every Tuesday. Wrong catalog — buy a concierge WP host. Our pillar says when not to use us: WordPress hosting guide.
Cost compared to “free” and DIY
WordPress.org software is free; hosting is not. A $5 VPS looks cheaper until you count hours patching PHP and wrestling certificates. Concierge managed WordPress at $40–$100+ per *site* looks expensive until you count staff who refuse to touch updates. WPHost targets the middle: predictable PHP hosting priced by capacity, not by fear.
Domains are separate. Email is separate. Premium themes are separate. Budget them explicitly or they ambush you in month two.
Migration and overlap billing
Moving from another host? Expect a short double-bill while DNS settles — cheaper than rushing cancel. Migration mechanics: migrate. DNS/MX focus: transfer.
Price versus value checklist
Ask of any WordPress host’s price:
- What PHP version?
- Who runs plugin updates?
- What exactly is a “backup”?
- Is staging files-only or full content clone?
- What happens after the intro coupon?
- Is email secretly required on-platform?
Our answers: 8.4; you; file deploy history + your backup plugin; staging persistent, DB copy yours; short trial then the table above; email elsewhere.
Upgrades without drama
Growing from Starter to Pro is usually about staging and site count, not a secret performance gate. Growing into Scale/Business is roster math. Before you upgrade for “speed,” profile plugins and images — fast. Before you upgrade for disk, resize and offload — image-heavy.
Reading the price ladder without upsell poetry
| Plan | Monthly | Sites | Storage | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $9 | 1 | 2 GB | Honest floor |
| Pro | $30 | 3 | 10 GB | Staging + cron territory |
| Scale | $65 | 10 | 30 GB | Multi-property |
| Business | $130 | 30 | 100 GB | Teams |
You are paying for PHP 8.4 WordPress hosting capacity, HTTPS, MySQL provisioning, and deploys. You are not paying for Softaculous, auto plugin updates, email inboxes, a built-in CDN, or a full-site WordPress backup appliance. Deploy history restores files. Database backups remain your plugin’s job.
The trial is ~1 day on purpose. Build locally or on preview quickly; then pay to stay online. Nonprofits pay the same ladder — no coupon theater.
Hidden costs that are not our line items
Themes, premium plugins, SMTP/ESP, domain renewals, freelancer maintenance retainers, and Cloudflare (optional) sit elsewhere. A $9 host with a $200/year plugin stack is still a $9 host. Compare renewals on coupon land carefully before calling WPHost expensive.
Estimating media before you buy
Rough math: average web image 200 KB × 5,000 images ≈ 1 GB, plus thumbnails. Photographers and magazines should sketch this before choosing Starter. The plan table is capacity, not a dare — image-heavy.
FAQ
Is $9 the real price or an intro rate?
Starter is $9/mo on the public plan table used here — not a teaser that silently becomes something else in this documentation. Trial ~1 day.
Do you charge per site above the plan limit?
Plans include a site count. Need more sites? Upgrade (Pro 3, Scale 10, Business 30). Do not expect silent unlimited.
Is storage only for uploads?
It is plan storage for the site files including wp-content. Media libraries dominate. Offload if you outgrow the tier.
Why is Business $130 if I only need teams on one site?
You may not. Teams unlock on Business alongside higher site/storage caps. If you need one site and collaboration, weigh whether sharing carefully controlled wp-admin roles is enough on a lower plan — or whether Business’s seat model is worth it for your org.
Where do I see cheap-host comparisons?
Cheap WordPress hosting — written to critique unlimited coupons, not to re-list this table.