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What We Look For in the Best WordPress Hosts With Free SSL1. Hostinger – Affordable WordPress Hosting and Near-Perfect Performance2. IONOS – Beginner-Friendly Host With a Free Wildcard SSL Certificate3. Scala Hosting – WordPress-Optimized Servers and Strong Security4. InterServer – Unlimited Resources and a Reasonably-Priced Monthly Plan5. InMotion Hosting – Powerful WordPress Tools and AutoSSL6. A2 Hosting – Preinstalled WordPress and Preconfigured SSLConclusion: Focus On Quality and the Features You Need, Not the Free SSL CertificatesFAQ
Short on Time? These Are the Best WordPress Hosts With Free SSL in 2023
- Hostinger – Low-cost and easy-to-use hosting with fast page loading speed
- IONOS – Beginner-friendly host with premium tools for enhancing site performance
- Scala Hosting – Strong security features and an effortless setup process
What We Look For in the Best WordPress Hosts With Free SSL
We tested over a dozen web hosts that offer both WordPress hosting and a free SSL certificate. However, several other factors should be taken into account when choosing the best provider for your project.- WordPress optimization – Quality WordPress hosting should mean more than just a one-click WordPress install. We looked for WordPress-specific optimizations, whether in the choice of web server or in additional tools and plugins.
- Automatic SSL certificate renewal – Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates have 90-day validity, while Sectigo certificates are valid for one year. Whatever the case, it’s best to opt for a host that handles the renewals for you. The providers on our list do.
- Simple SSL installation – You should pick a web host that provides a simple or automatic installation process, as doing this yourself can be time-consuming and complicated.
- Ease of use – If you’re a beginner, you’ll want a web host that ensures a streamlined, intuitive account sign-up and site management experience.
- Premium SSL options – If you’re running a small online shop, off-site payment processing services like PayPal and Stripe Checkout are perfectly safe to use with free SSL. For larger e-commerce sites, premium SSL certificates provide a higher level of security, and can offer your customers a warranty in the event of a security breach.
1. Hostinger – Affordable WordPress Hosting and Near-Perfect Performance

Hostinger WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPriceFree Months
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from Hostinger
Features
- Fast WordPress installation – You can either choose to have WordPress installed during the checkout process or install it yourself via Hostinger’s Auto Installer app. Either way, it requires minimal to no effort.
- LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress – This WordPress acceleration plugin works in tandem with the LiteSpeed web server to provide server-level caching, compression, and content optimization to enhance your site’s performance.
- Custom SSL – If you need a premium SSL certificate for an e-commerce site, Hostinger sells Comodo SSL certificates, or you’re free to purchase one from a 3rd party and install it via hPanel.
- SLA-backed uptime guarantee – Hostinger has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, if your website goes down, the host’s service level agreement (SLA) states you may get a refund for a part of your monthly fee.
Free SSL type | Let’s Encrypt |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Uptime guarantee | 99.9% |
Starting price | $1.99 |
2. IONOS – Beginner-Friendly Host With a Free Wildcard SSL Certificate

1&1 IONOS WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from 1&1 IONOS
Features
- Cloudflare Railgun CDN – Access to this content delivery network is available with IONOS’ top-tier WordPress plan. It can boost your website’s performance by storing and delivering cached versions of your website’s files to site visitors who live further away from your chosen data center in the US or Europe.
- Free email – IONOS includes email hosting in all its plans, which not all hosts do. Depending on the plan you select, you get up to 10 free email addresses. Each email account has 2 GB of storage.
- Full page caching – WordPress sites have to reconstruct web pages every time someone visits them using information from various parts of the database. IONOS’ caching plugin allows constructed pages to be stored on the server in HTML format after they have been visited once, which can speed up loading by 30%.
- Renewable energy-powered servers – Data centers represent a massive energy consumer, but IONOS is committed to using as much renewable energy as possible. In Europe, for instance, its servers are 100% powered by wind turbines.
Free SSL type | DigiCert |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Uptime guarantee | 99.99% |
Starting price | $1.00 |
3. Scala Hosting – WordPress-Optimized Servers and Strong Security

Scala Hosting WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from Scala Hosting
Features
- SPanel – Developed by Scala Hosting as an alternative to cPanel, SPanel is a powerful control panel that allows you to manage your cloud server, domains, email accounts, SSL certificates, backups, and any other hosting-related settings with ease.
- SShield Security Guard – Scala Hosting’s security exceeds the regular features you get with most web hosts. Included in all WordPress plans except the entry-level one, SShield blocks 99.998% of attacks and notifies you if your site is ever compromised. It also features real-time website monitoring and built-in AI which detects suspicious behavior.
- Free SEO analysis – SEO (search engine optimization) is of the utmost importance if you’re trying to build an audience. Scala Hosting analyzes your website and makes suggestions for improvement. You can then use the included SEO tools to optimize your site.
- Free domain name – If you subscribe to one of Scala Hosting’s WordPress plans for at least one year, you get a free domain name with one of five available extensions: .com, .org, .net, .info, and .eu.
Free SSL type | Let’s Encrypt |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Uptime guarantee | 99.9% |
Starting price | $2.95 |

InterServer Web Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Reasonably-priced monthly plan – While you can get a discount if you purchase a longer subscription, InterServer’s rates for monthly plans are not that high. Especially if you take the unlimited resources into account.
- InterProxy caching – InterServer’s proprietary caching tool improves your website’s performance, and together with a CDN, your audience will benefit from faster page loading speed.
- Unlimited resources – InterServer doesn’t limit how many websites you can create or how much bandwidth your websites can use. Within reason, of course.
- 99.9% uptime guarantee – If your website has uptime lower than 99.9% over a month, you may be entitled to a maximum of a 50% refund of your base monthly fee.
Free SSL type | Let’s Encrypt |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Uptime guarantee | 99.9% |
Starting price | $2.50 |
5. InMotion Hosting – Powerful WordPress Tools and AutoSSL

InMotion Hosting WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More detailsFeatures
- BoldGrid – This is a website builder for constructing WordPress websites. You can install it for free via InMotion Hosting’s Auto Installer, and it can help you design a site even if you have no web development experience.
- NVMe SSD storage – It’s included even in InMotion Hosting’s entry-level WordPress plan, and it improves your website’s performance by delivering faster read and write speeds than standard SSDs.
- 90-day money-back guarantee – Most hosts have a 30-day money-back guarantee, but InMotion Hosting went three times over the industry-standard.
- Free domain name – InMotion Hosting offers a free domain name if you opt for an annual or longer plan. The domain name is free for one year. The only downside is that it’s not included in the entry-level plan.
Free SSL type | Let’s Encrypt |
Money-back guarantee | 90 days |
Uptime guarantee | No |
Starting price | $4.99 |
6. A2 Hosting – Preinstalled WordPress and Preconfigured SSL

A2 Hosting WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Perfect uptime – We tested A2 Hosting’s performance and the numbers showed 100% uptime over a few months. The average loading time was good too.
- NVMe SSD storage – Included even in A2 Hosting’s entry-level WordPress plan, NVMe SSD improves your website’s performance because it delivers the fastest response time.
- Patchman Enhanced Security – This is a security tool that scans your WordPress website for outdated apps, malware, and other vulnerabilities. If found, Patchman Enhanced Security fixes the issues without “disturbing” your website.
- SSL certificate upgrades – If you need to increase your website’s level of protection, A2 Hosting has a store that includes most types and variations of SSL certificates. There are 13 options with warranties of up to $2 million USD.
Free SSL type | Sectigo |
Money-back guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee plus a prorated refund up to 90 days |
Uptime guarantee | 99.9% |
Starting price | $11.99 |
Conclusion: Focus On Quality and the Features You Need, Not the Free SSL Certificates
We established that free SSL certificates are easy to come by, so how are you supposed to make a good choice? By looking at the provider’s overall quality of service and the project-specific features it offers – as there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the host you choose should depend on your precise needs. If you’re looking for cheap WordPress hosting, I recommend Hostinger. Its plans include free SSL certificates for all the websites you create. It’s easy to use, and delivers excellent performance. IONOS is a better choice if you’re looking to secure a series of subdomains for a Multisite installation because it includes a free Wildcard SSL in its WordPress plans. It’s also a beginner-friendly option. And lastly, while its WordPress plans deliver great value, for large-scale projects Scala Hosting’s managed VPS gives you more than enough resources to get your e-commerce business off the ground.Here’s a quick recap of our top recommended WordPress hosting providers with free SSL certificates.
Standout feature | SSL type | Money-back guarantee | Starting price | ||
Hostinger | Top performance, low price | Let’s Encrypt | 30 days | $1.99 | |
IONOS | Wildcard SSL, good for Multisite subdomains | DigiCert Wildcard | 30 days | $1.00 | |
Scala Hosting | Superior security features | Let’s Encrypt | 30 days | $2.95 | |
InterServer | Unlimited resources | Let’s Encrypt | 30 days | $2.50 | |
InMotion Hosting | NVMe SSD storage | Let’s Encrypt with AutoSSL | 90 days | $4.99 | |
A2 Hosting | Premium SSL with warranty included with higher-tier WordPress plan | Sectigo | 30 days (prorated refund up to 90 days) | $11.99 |