HostDuel Original Study
The Renewal Trap: shared hosting renews at 3.7× the sign-up price
We analyzed the published promotional and renewal pricing of 21 shared hosting providers. On average, the renewal price is 267% higher than the advertised sign-up price (median 213%). For 20 of 21 hosts, the price you pay in year two is higher — often dramatically — than the price that got you in the door.
Based on HostDuel's dataset of 56 hosting providers · Data as of June 2026
The 10 worst renewal markups
Promotional price vs. the price you actually renew at, for the shared hosts with the steepest jumps. Each bar is scaled to the markup percentage.
The two-year cost shock
Markup percentages hide the real damage. Here are the largest dollar increases between the first year (with promo pricing) and the second year (at full renewal) across the whole dataset.
| Host | Year 1 | Year 2 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel | $0 | $240 | +$240 |
| SiteGround | $35.88 | $215.88 | +$180 |
| IONOS | $12 | $144 | +$132 |
| GreenGeeks | $35.40 | $167.40 | +$132 |
| InMotion Hosting | $57.48 | $179.88 | +$122.40 |
| Shopify | $348 | $468 | +$120 |
| BigCommerce | $348 | $468 | +$120 |
| ChemiCloud | $29.88 | $143.40 | +$113.52 |
Beyond the markup: the hidden fees
Renewal pricing isn't the only place costs hide. Across 56 providers we found:
- 32of 56 hosts include no free domain, adding ~$10–20/year on top of the advertised price.
- ⚠Some hosts charge a fee just to restore your own backup: GoDaddy ($150), GreenGeeks ($25).
- 1still charge a one-time setup fee (Hostinger $4.99).
- 8offer no money-back guarantee at all (the average across the dataset is 26 days).
Key findings (cite this study)
- The average shared-hosting renewal markup is 267% — prices grow to roughly 3.7× the sign-up rate (median 213%), across 21 providers.
- IONOS has the steepest markup at +1100% ($1 → $12/mo).
- The largest year-1 → year-2 cost jump is Vercel at +$240.
- 32 of 56 hosts include no free domain; 8 offer no money-back guarantee.
Source: HostDuel (https://hostduel.com/research/the-renewal-trap), analysis of 56 hosting providers, data as of June 2026. Free to cite with attribution and a link.
How we measured this
Renewal markup is calculated as (renewal − promo) ÷ promousing each host's cheapest published shared-hosting plan. Two-year cost compares the first-year total (promotional pricing plus any setup fee) against the second year at full renewal. All figures come from HostDuel's manually-reviewed dataset and are refreshed monthly — see our methodology.
Want to see what a host will really cost you over time? Try our True-Cost Calculator to rank hosts by their multi-year price, or browse the side-by-side comparisons — every one shows the renewal price, not just the teaser rate.