Is Namecheap's Stellar the best deal?

Shared Hosting · $1.98/mo (20 GB SSD)

Competitively priced

Namecheap Stellar is a solid shared-hosting entry point at $1.98/mo intro, but renewal jumps to $3.88/mo and you're locked into shared hosting. A few VPS alternatives offer better long-term value and more control, though they require more technical skill and have their own renewal-price traps.

Cloud VPS (Linux) XS

$2/mo

Only $0.02 more than Namecheap intro, includes 1GB RAM + 10GB NVMe (vs 20GB shared SSD), unlimited traffic, and you own the VPS with root access; renewal trap is similar but you get more control.

Caveat: Intro $2/mo is a 1-year promo; renewal is 2-6x higher (likely $6-12/mo); you lose the free domain and SSL automation of shared hosting.

VPS Hosting NVMe 2

$2.09/mo

Slightly more expensive intro ($2.09/mo) but includes 2GB RAM, 50GB NVMe, and unmetered bandwidth with root SSH access; better specs than Namecheap for only $0.11 more.

Caveat: Renewal jumps steeply to $9.99-$15.99/mo; requires 36-month contract for lowest price; free domain only year one; aggressive upsell prompts at checkout.

Machines Shared CPU 1x 256MB

$2.02/mo

Transparent per-second billing ($0.00000078/s) with no long-term contract lock-in; pay only for what you use, ideal if your site has variable traffic.

Caveat: Only 256MB RAM (much less than Namecheap); extra RAM costs $5/GB/month; stopped machines still charge storage; no published platform SLA; requires containerized deployment model.

Before you switch

Namecheap renewal at $3.88/mo is 96% higher than intro; budget for that when your first year ends.
All VPS alternatives require more technical skill (SSH, server management, security patching) compared to managed shared hosting.
IONOS and Bluehost also have steep renewal increases (2-6x and 4-7x respectively); compare total 2-3 year cost, not just intro price.
If you need a free domain and SSL, Namecheap's first-year bundle is hard to beat; VPS providers charge separately for both after year one.
Fly.io's per-second billing is great for low-traffic sites but can become expensive if you scale; verify region pricing (Amsterdam base rates shown here).

This comparison is generated from publicly listed pricing and may contain errors or omissions. It is not financial or professional advice, and CloudHosting.io is not responsible for decisions made based on it. Pricing, promotions, and specs change frequently and may not reflect current terms, regional availability, taxes, or contract length. Always verify current pricing and terms directly on the provider's site before purchasing or switching.

Comparable plans across providers

Provider	Plan	Price	Specs
Scaleway	Virtual Instances · STARDUST1-S	$0.43/mo	1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU	Visit
IONOS	IONOS CLOUD vCPU Servers · vCPU RAM - per GB	$1.58/mo	Price per GB RAM per hour (building block)	Visit
IONOS	Cloud VPS (Linux) · Cloud VPS XS	$2/mo	1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB NVMe	Visit
Fly.io	Machines (Shared CPU) · shared-cpu-1x - 256MB	$2.02/mo	256 MB RAM, 1 vCPU	Visit
Bluehost	VPS Hosting · NVMe 2	$2.09/mo	2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 50 GB NVMe SSD	Visit

Visit Namecheap

Comparing prices across every provider we track...