The intro price is what gets you in the door. The renewal price is what you actually pay. The difference between the two is the most important number on any WordPress hosting comparison, and it's the number most review sites skip.
This post shows the year-by-year cost for four major WordPress hosts, using their publicly listed intro and renewal prices. The point isn't to call any of them out — it's to show the math, plainly, so you can make a real decision.
"Their intro was $3.99. After year 1, it jumped to $17.99. I thought I was getting a deal." — common Hostinger and SiteGround customer, multiple subreddits
Prices as of 2026-06. Always verify on the provider's site before relying on these numbers — renewal pricing does shift.
How to read the table
Intro price: the monthly rate during the initial term (usually 12 or 24 months). This is what the provider advertises most prominently.
Renewal price: the monthly rate after the initial term expires. This is the long-term price.
Total after 4 years: the cumulative cost you'd actually pay if you stayed for 4 years, including the higher renewal price in years 2–4.
WP Engine — flat pricing, no intro discount
WP Engine doesn't run intro pricing. Their plans are flat-rate, billed monthly or annually. The Startup plan is $20/month either way.
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | 4-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup ($20/mo) | $240 | $240 | $240 | $240 | $960 |
| Professional ($41/mo) | $492 | $492 | $492 | $492 | $1,968 |
| Performance ($63/mo) | $756 | $756 | $756 | $756 | $3,024 |
WP Engine's pricing is honest in the sense that there's no surprise — the price you see is the price you pay month after month, indefinitely. The downside is that there's no discount for long-term commitment. The upside is no renewal shock.
Hostinger — aggressive intro, higher renewal
Hostinger's intro pricing is among the lowest in the industry. The renewal prices are higher. The Business plan looks like $3.99/month for the first 12 months, then jumps to $9.99/month.
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | 4-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business ($3.99 → $9.99) | $47.88 | $119.88 | $119.88 | $119.88 | $407.52 |
| Cloud Startup ($9.99 → $19.99, 24-mo intro) | $239.76 | $239.76 | $239.88 | $239.88 | $959.28 |
| Cloud Professional ($14.99 → $29.99, 24-mo intro) | $359.76 | $359.76 | $359.88 | $359.88 | $1,439.28 |
The Business plan is genuinely cheap after intro, even at the renewal price. The Cloud plans are where the renewal catches people — the 24-month intro masks how high the eventual price is.
SiteGround — the renewal that feels like a billing error
SiteGround's renewal prices are the highest jump in the mainstream WordPress hosting market. The StartUp plan goes from $3.99/month to $17.99/month after year 1. The GrowBig plan goes from $5.99/month to $24.99/month.
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | 4-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StartUp ($3.99 → $17.99) | $47.88 | $215.88 | $215.88 | $215.88 | $695.52 |
| GrowBig ($5.99 → $24.99) | $71.88 | $299.88 | $299.88 | $299.88 | $971.52 |
| GoGeek ($7.99 → $39.99) | $95.88 | $479.88 | $479.88 | $479.88 | $1,535.52 |
SiteGround's renewal prices are well-known in the WordPress community and are the source of many of the "they raised my price without warning" complaints on r/webhosting. The intro price is a foot-in-the-door offer; the renewal price is the actual cost.
Kinsta — premium flat pricing, no surprises
Kinsta's pricing is similar to WP Engine's structure — flat monthly rates, no intro discounts. The Starter plan is $35/month.
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | 4-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter ($35/mo) | $420 | $420 | $420 | $420 | $1,680 |
| Pro ($70/mo) | $840 | $840 | $840 | $840 | $3,360 |
| Business 1 ($115/mo) | $1,380 | $1,380 | $1,380 | $1,380 | $5,520 |
Like WP Engine, Kinsta's pricing is honest. You pay the advertised price, year after year, with no surprises. The cost is high; the surprise is zero.
GetHost.One — for comparison
GetHost.One doesn't run a renewal model. There's no intro price and no renewal price. The Solo plan is $249 paid once, and the site stays up as long as GetHost.One operates (with a 5-year minimum guarantee).
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | 4-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo ($249 once) | $249 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $249 |
| Pro ($499 once) | $499 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $499 |
| Expert ($1,099 once) | $1,099 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,099 |
The 4-year cost of GetHost.One Solo is $249. The 4-year cost of WP Engine Startup is $960. The 4-year cost of SiteGround StartUp (after renewal) is $695. The renewal-free model is the entire point.
What "renewal shock" actually feels like
For customers who haven't been through it, the renewal price is abstract — a number on a page. For customers who have been through it, the experience is a real moment. The intro price felt like a deal. The renewal email arrives. The new price is 3x to 5x what you expected. You have two weeks to decide. Switching is annoying (DNS, email, content migration). Most people just pay.
The pattern repeats across the industry because it works. The intro price gets the customer. The renewal price keeps them. The switching cost is the lock-in.
What the math actually says
If you're staying for less than a year, intro pricing wins. The Hostinger Business plan at $3.99/month for 12 months is genuinely the cheapest mainstream WordPress hosting you can buy for that window.
If you're staying for 2+ years, the renewal price dominates. SiteGround StartUp at $17.99/month after year 1 is more expensive than WP Engine Startup at $20/month flat, because the WP Engine price is the same in year 1 and year 5.
If you're staying for 5+ years, the lifetime model is the cheapest by a wide margin. The cumulative cost of any subscription host at year 5 is multiples of a one-time $249 plan.
The math isn't subtle. The challenge is the first-year discount obscures it, and the switching cost makes it expensive to act on.
How to avoid the trap
Three options, depending on how long you actually plan to keep the site:
- Short-term commitment (under 1 year): subscribe to a budget host with aggressive intro pricing. Don't auto-renew. Migrate before the renewal price kicks in.
- Medium-term commitment (1–3 years): pick a flat-price provider (WP Engine, Kinsta) or negotiate an annual rate that locks in for the duration.
- Long-term commitment (3+ years): the lifetime model is the cheapest by a wide margin. GetHost.One Solo at $249 is the simplest version. Pay once, no renewals, 5-year minimum guarantee.
There's no single right answer. The trap is paying for option 1 while planning to keep the site for option 3. That's where the renewal shock lives.
Where to verify
- GetHost.One plans and guarantee
- Why People Doubt Lifetime Hosting — And the 3 Real Risks — the keystone post on lifetime hosting risk
- How GetHost.One Engineered Around the 3 Risks — our engineering response
All prices in this post are as of 2026-06. Always verify on the provider's site before making a decision — renewal pricing does shift, sometimes mid-cycle.