6 Best Web Hosts for Nonprofits | Tested in 2024
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Choosing the best web host for a nonprofit website is important for housing an organization that can create wonderful change in the world. We recommend keeping factors like your budget, required features, and the level of support needed in mind when choosing a hosting provider.
In the US alone, there are around 1.5 million* nonprofit organizations. With the most popular non-profit being Feeding America, which helps ensure children get the nutrients they need to live healthily – a wonderful cause which uses cloud hosting!
We’ve carried out plenty of research and we know what matters when it comes to the best non-profit website hosting plans. See our top six below, and absorb our expert insights on each of them:
Web Hosting for Nonprofits: 6 Best Providers
- Bluehost – The most popular web host for nonprofits
- Hostinger – Jam packed features for good value
- InMotion – Best for help and support for nonprofits
- IONOS – Best in testing for value for money
- SiteGround – Best for receiving donations seamlessly
- A2 Hosting – Best for free expert migrations
Nonprofits typically have around 12,708 website visitors every month, so you need a host that can keep up with that. Bluehost is our top-rated web host for nonprofits, offering a great balance of value and features. DreamHost, meanwhile, is the only top-rated nonprofit which offers free shared hosting to nonprofits.
Each provider has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it really does come down to what you’re looking for. Read on as we review each provider in detail, show how they compare side-by-side, and give you a personalized recommendation.
Best Web Hosting for Nonprofits Comparison
To save you countless hours trying to source all the information on hosting prices, how they perform, and what relevant features to nonprofits they’ve all got, we’ve gone and put those hours in ourselves and packaged it into this article. But also this neat table below will give you an overview of the important information.
Bluehost | Hostinger | InMotion | IONOS | SiteGround | A2 Hosting |
Overall rating 4.5 | Overall rating 4.0 | Overall rating 3.9 | Overall rating 3.8 | Overall rating 3.7 | Overall rating 3.6 |
Uptime 99.98% | Uptime 99.99% | Uptime 99.98% | Uptime 99.99% | Uptime 99.99% | Uptime 99.95% |
Money-back guarantee 30 days | Money-back guarantee 30 days | Money-back guarantee 90 days | Money-back guarantee 30 days | Money-back guarantee 30 days | Money-back guarantee 30 days |
Free backups | Free backups | Free backups | Free backups | Free backups | Free backups |
Free domain | Free domain | Free domain | Free domain | Free domain | Free domain |
Free SSL certificate | Free SSL certificate | Free SSL certificate | Free SSL certificate | Free SSL certificate | Free SSL certificate |
Visit Bluehost | Visit Hostinger | Visit InMotion | Visit IONOS | Visit SiteGround | Visit A2 Hosting |
Of course, there are plenty more features to consider, but these all vary depending on what type of hosting you’re after. If you need shared hosting, there are different resource limits to those that come with VPS hosting, and so on.
Confused? Have a quick read of our shared hosting versus VPS hosting guide, to learn what the difference is and which type you should be using.
Let’s dive in and look at our six top providers in more detail.
1. Bluehost
The Most Popular Web Host for Nonprofits
Despite no longer handing out free web hosting to nonprofits, Bluehost still has plenty to offer. Gaining an overall score of 4.5 out of 5, let’s take a look at why it’s a popular choice among our users:
Bluehost
The most popular web host for nonprofits
- Affordable plans
- Fantastic help & support
- Best WordPress host
Paid Plans: $2.95 - $119.99 / month
Pros
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free SSL certificates
- Reliable uptime
Cons
- Limited starting plan
- Pay more for best security features
Bluehost Pricing for Nonprofits
If you’d asked us a few months back, Bluehost would have been first or second for value for money on this list of recommendations. Unfortunately, it’s since discontinued free hosting for nonprofits, knocking it to third best value for money behind IONOS and Hostinger. Don’t let that put you off, though, because Bluehost still offers more than enough to be classed as a great option for nonprofits.
It currently has sales running and has a starting price of $2.95 per month (typically $10.99/month), when you pay for the Basic Plan for a year. Its most expensive shared plan goes up to $13.95 per month on sale (typically $28.99/month), when paid for the year too.
WordPress hosting is where Bluehost has made its name, and it’s what we’d recommend for any nonprofit site that uses the platform. Its managed WordPress hosting prices range from $2.95/month to $13.95/month, and really sets high standards for its competitors to follow with its Online Store plan offering a range of ecommerce plugins worth $450 included.
Bluehost Features
We appreciate that cash is rarely free flowing for nonprofit organizations, so let’s start with what features Bluehost has on its cheaper shared hosting plans.
Overall you don’t get much on the cheapest shared plan, only one website, a little amount of storage and themes, we see this more as a starter springboard to begin building your website. Beyond that though Bluehost offers a free domain (for one year), free backups, an SSL certificate and malware protection.
The big selling point with Bluehost shared hosting is that if a particular website is using a lot of your server’s resource, it will look to temporarily relocate them so your website isn’t affected. Alongside the good uptime, it has between 10 – 100 GB SSD storage, which is decent for small to medium websites.
When it comes to managed WordPress hosting, Bluehost is one of the best! You get one-click installs and automated software updates. You can also host as many websites as you please – perfect for charities with multiple sites. Unmetered bandwidth and unlimited storage help top off what is a very comprehensive service.
Who Is Bluehost For?
Ideally we recommend Bluehost’s WordPress Online Store plan to those looking to create a medium nonprofit website. It offers a great way to sell items for a good cause and it comes with neat perks like:
- That $450 worth of plugins we mentioned
- Unlimited products to add
- Ability to do bookings and appointments
- Secure online payments
- Gift cards
- Customer accounts
- Shipping labels
- Product filtering
You can even get exclusive store themes that you couldn’t get on the more expensive pro plan. This seemed the most popular plan, and we’d agree after testing it ourselves.
Bluehost Nonprofits Gallery
2. Hostinger
Jam Packed Features for Good Value
Rolling confidently into second place is Hostinger, with an overall score in testing of 4 out of 5. It comes with slightly better features than Bluehost, although Hostinger is still not quite the feature powerhouse that IONOS is (we’ll talk more about IONOS below). Hostinger also has a great value for money score, which we’ll break down in more detail. But first, here’s a quick look at what Hostinger offers nonprofits:
Hostinger
Jam packed features for good value
- Save 50% on .org domains
- Budget friendly
- Long term commitment
Paid Plans: $2.99 - $109.99 / month
Pros
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free SSL certificate
- 99.99% uptime
Cons
- Only 30GB storage on cheapest plan
- Has the lowest scoring help and support
- Provides its own control panel
Hostinger Pricing for Nonprofits
Hostinger doesn’t offer any kind of bonus for nonprofits, but it does offer 50% off for .org domains which typically are for organizations like nonprofits. Hostinger scores a 3.7 out of 5 for price in our research, which places it second after IONOS in this list for best value for money. That’s because even though there are no discounts for nonprofits, Hostinger still packs in plenty of features for the price.
Hostinger prices start at $2.99 per month, when you pay annually. You also have the option to pay just $1.99 per month if you choose the 48 month plan, which is quite the saving compared to other providers.
Hostinger Features
Hostinger offers nonprofits some good value features including near perfect uptime, 100GB – unlimited bandwidth, free expert migrations and manual migration, automated backups, and DDoS alongside an SSL certificate. What that all means is, you’ll never have to worry about bandwidth and website visitor amounts, you’ll also get some free perks like easily migrating websites and keeping your website backed up and secure from attacks. Not bad at all for the price!
However, there are some key drawbacks to Hostinger. First, there’s no 24/7 help and support, either via phone or community center. You also won’t get the peace of mind that your site hosting is good for the planet, since it links to a green manifesto but hasn’t done much in the way of actually trying to offset its carbon emissions.
Who Is Hostinger For?
If you’re creating a nonprofit website that needs to pack a punch with features, for example a charitable or political nonprofit that needs to tools to withstand plenty of website visitors. But also nonprofits that really want to save money too – those perhaps with smaller budgets.
While IONOS has the best features, we were impressed with Hostinger’s super cheap $1.99 per month plans for 48 months upfront payment, that still offered great tools including 50% off for .org domains.
3. InMotion
Best for Help and Support for Nonprofits
InMotion is one of our top hosting providers, and the added bonus of a discount for nonprofits makes it a worthy winner of the title “best help and support for nonprofits.” Just take a look at how well it performed in our research:
InMotion
Best for help and support for nonprofits
- Unlimited email accounts
- Fantastic WordPress host
Paid Plans: $3.49 - $539.99 / month
Pros
- Best for image heavy nonprofit sites
- Discount for nonprofits (upon request)
- Best support for nonprofits
Cons
- Slightly less uptime of 99.98%
- Monthly visitor cap on shared hosting
- Only cPanel control panel
InMotion Pricing for Nonprofits
With InMotion, you can pick up a shared hosting plan for as little as $3.49 per month as part of the yearly plan. The major downside to InMotion plans is you can’t pay monthly for the cheaper hosting plans, for those who prefer to pay as you go.
If you plan on processing a lot of donation payments, we’d recommend upgrading to VPS hosting. InMotion offers the best photography hosting of any provider, and comes with bulked up security to keep both your and your pledges’ information secure. Plans for VPS hosting are currently on sale and you can get them for between $14.99 per month and $44.99 per month. But we recommend checking out the VPS plans to see what the renewal rates are for these plans as they can go up to $111.99 per month.
InMotion’s prices are joint last for value for money with SiteGround, earning just a 2.4 out 5 for value. But there’s an extra bonus on offer – nonprofits are able to request a discount by getting in touch with InMotion directly.
InMotion Features
Since InMotion is well-known for its shared and VPS hosting, it only seems right that we discuss what comes with both services.
InMotion’s shared hosting works off cPanel – an industry standard, easy-to-use dashboard – with unmetered transfer and unlimited email accounts. All plans have an SSL certificate, a free domain, free backups, and 24/7 support.
The monthly visitor cap is 360,000, which shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re a global charity, or experience a sudden extreme spike in traffic. In short, InMotion’s shared hosting is great – but as with all shared servers, there is a slight security risk.
For greater protection, VPS hosting is the smart choice. InMotion gives you root access, which means you can install your own security software on top of what’s already provided. You also get up to 8GB of RAM, 6TB of bandwidth, 260GB of storage, and unlimited central processing unit (CPU) cores.
Who Is InMotion For?
InMotion is for those just starting in creating a nonprofit website who might need an extra helping hand in setting up. We recommend it for churches, public clinics, hospitals, and amateur sports organizations – all with a relatively good budget backing them.
We’d also recommend the VPS plans in order to gain more security features and move away from sharing a server which could introduce risk.
Further Information
- 9 Best VPS Hosting Providers – Our ranking of the best VPS hosts to choose from
- 8 Best Shared Hosting Providers – The best shared hosting providers, explained
- 6 Best Church Website Builders – See our top-rated website builders for churches
4. IONOS
Best In Testing for Value for Money
IONOS is our dark horse contender for nonprofits, winning for best features and best value for money – IONOS could be what you’re searching for.
IONOS
Best in testing for value for money
- Best nonprofit features
- Best site speed
- Support assistance
Paid Plans: $0.5 - $35 / month
Pros
- Unlimited bandwidth on cheapest plan
- Comes with malware detection
- Has a 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Dated backend experience
- Costs more for Windows users
- No cPanel
IONOS Pricing for Nonprofits
If your nonprofit is looking for high value then IONOS offers cheap hosting while also providing good value. In testing for value it scores 4 out of 5. It performed consistently well across all hosting types, and even came top of the table for price in second place for dedicated hosting. Meaning if your website requires a dedicated server all to itself, IONOS is a good choice for long-term scalability, and might be the provider for you.
IONOS’ shared hosting begins with the Essential plan which costs $4 per month for six months, then prices go up to $6 per month – which is still great value even at the renewal rate. Then you can get even cheaper and more advanced plans with IONOS, including the Plus plan for just $1 per month for six months! That’s really wonderful value as you get more resources for much less.
IONOS Features
IONOS is rated the best features for nonprofits with a score of 4.6 out of 5, defeating every other provider on the list. We’ll talk you through why. IONOS steams ahead in terms of site performance, meaning your website will be running smoothly. IONOS also comes with malware detection to keep your site safe, plus it offers a discounted price for nonprofits, keeping things budget friendly.
On IONOS’ shared plans you can get 99.99% uptime, unlimited bandwidth, automatically stored backups, free domain for a year, free domain extensions, and 10,000 subdomains. Then on its Plus plan you can get 6GB of RAM, unlimited storage, and 25 mailing lists – for $1 for six months, that’s not bad at all.
Who Is IONOS For?
IONOS is the best web host for nonprofits who are creating any educational, environmental, human rights, and humanitarian, or leisure nonprofit; any really that requires a high-performing site that keeps costs low. The thing we like about IONOS is it offers discounts along with already very reasonable prices.
Not to worry about losing out on features either, as you’ll be able to get the Plus plan for only $1 per month.
Further Information
- IONOS Review – Discover the full details in this IONOS review
- Best Cheap Dedicated Hosting – Learn more about the most powerful type of web hosting
5. SiteGround
Best for Receiving Donations Seamlessly
SiteGround makes it easy for websites to host a nonprofit organization that wants to receive donations. It also has a foundation of giving itself, as in the past SiteGround has supported events like do_actions. Which was an annual global hackathon where the WordPress community unites to build websites for local organizations and nonprofits.
SiteGround
Best for receiving donations seamlessly
- Good help and support
- Paid expert migrations
- Smaller storage
Paid Plans: $2.99 - $400 / month
Pros
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free daily backups
- Hack prevention
Cons
- Expensive plans
- Lowest performance in testing
- No free domains
SiteGround Pricing for Nonprofits
Although SiteGround comes in joint last place for value for money along with InMotion, there are some deals to be had recently, promoting up to 80% reduction in prices.
SiteGround’s shared hosting is its strongest product – mostly because it doesn’t offer VPS or dedicated plans. That said, it does offer WooCommerce, cloud, and reseller hosting. Its shared hosting costs between $2.99 per month and $7.99 per month, with the 90% discount. Without a discount, prices range from $14.99 to $39.99 per month.
SiteGround Features
We’re not going to sugarcoat it – SiteGround does have some obvious flaws. Its storage space is limited to between 10GB and 40GB, so if you need a lot of media on your website – as most non-profits do – you may have to invest in an upper-tiered plan. It also has some of the worst performance of any provider we’ve tested, scoring just 0.9 out of 5 for performance.
That said, its fantastic donation setup means you’re able to quickly gain donations to add towards your good cause. SiteGround offers you a free SSL, free CDN (Content Delivery Network), hack prevention, and daily backups – helping you load web pages faster, keep visitors’ data protected, and keep your website files stored safely.
To top it all off, SiteGround has brilliant help and support, the second best after InMotion. So, you won’t be left in the cold should you get stuck with anything technical. The platform is a little pricier than the others on the list, but you can count on SiteGround for a service that’s as smooth as it comes.
Who Is SiteGround For?
SiteGround is not for large nonprofits! It doesn’t come with larger plans like dedicated servers, so we recommend SiteGround for the citizen who wants to create a site to give to a good cause. It’s better for small sites just starting out, and offers a great way to set up donations – so SiteGround is for any nonprofit that wants to raise awareness and money for humans, animals, the environment, and more.
Further Information
- SiteGround Review – Discover the in depth pros and cons for this web host for nonprofits
- SiteGround Pricing – Want to know all the associated costs of this website host? This article has you covered.
6. A2 Hosting
Best for Free Expert Migrations
A2 has great features at low prices, with an extra discount on offer for nonprofits. Here’s how it performed in our nonprofit-focused research:
A2 Hosting
Best for free expert migrations
- Really good security
- Control panel options
- Discounts for nonprofits
Paid Plans: $6.59 - $529.99 / month
Pros
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free shopping cart installation
- 24/7 website security
Cons
- No free domain
- Average uptime 99.9%
- Backups on higher plans
A2 Hosting Pricing for Nonprofits
A2 Hosting has discounted rates for accredited, US-based nonprofits. That is huge news for nonprofits on a budget! To qualify, you’ll need to prove your nonprofit status by providing A2 with all the relevant documentation.
Because its discounts work on a case by case basis, it’s impossible to provide you with an exact amount. However, A2’s shared hosting plans range from $2.99 to $14.99 per month (paid yearly), which is also currently discounted – so you can expect to save some bucks each month from that.
From our research, A2’s biggest strength is its dedicated hosting service. Plans start at $155.99 per month – definitely worth considering if you are creating a larger nonprofit site and need a server all to yourself.
A2 Hosting Features
A2 Hosting’s shared and dedicated hosting services are its better plans, we’ll be focusing on the shared features specifically, which gained a feature score of 4.4 out of 5 in testing.
But before all that, we want to give a shout out to A2 Hosting’s support staff. After undergoing thorough training, they’re more knowledgeable and better equipped to help you than any other provider. Ideal if you’re a bit of a tech novice, and need all the help you can get!
Back to A2 Hosting’s features – shared hosting plans come with unmetered transfer, and an SSL certificate. It’s more limited than InMotion in that there’s no free domain, and backups only come with its top-tiered plan.
Dedicated hosting is where A2 Hosting comes into its own. On the cheapest dedicated A2 Hosting plan (WARP 1), it offers 1TB backup drive, free Cloud Linux OS, site migration, and a whole security suite.
Who Is A2 Hosting For?
If SiteGround was for smaller nonprofit websites, A2 Hosting is for the larger ones! We typically recommend its dedicated plans most, as they offer some decent tools for nonprofits that value security. It’s also got great support for those who aren’t super tech savvy, so ideal for medium businesses looking to expand – with invaluable help along the way.
Further Information
- A2 Hosting Review – See our in-depth research on whether A2 Hosting is the right provider for your nonprofit business.
- Best Cheap Shared Hosting Providers – Discover your options for saving on a shared plan
Best Web Hosting for Nonprofits: Summary
In our research we’ve discovered that the best web host for nonprofits depends on your nonprofit’s size, scalability, budget, and generally what tools you prefer using. We recommend Bluehost for its features and as our popularity winner.
But there are also more budget-friendly and speedily running options like IONOS, or even get yourself a good nonprofit discount with A2 Hosting – which you choose is up to you, either way we commend you for putting your efforts into your nonprofit endeavor.
Recap of The Best 6 Web Hosts for Nonprofits
- Bluehost – The most popular web host for nonprofits
- Hostinger – Jam packed features for good value
- InMotion – Best for help and support for nonprofits
- IONOS – Best in testing for value for money
- SiteGround – Best for receiving donations seamlessly
- A2 Hosting – Best for free expert migrations
Charity is what brings humanity together. We hope this article has brought you closer to your decision, so you can help as many people as possible. Your mission matters – make it count!
Intro statistic: source
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