How Much Does It Cost To Start A Blog In 2024 Including Domain and Hosting?
Are you thinking of starting a blog? Do you want to know how much does it cost to start a blog on WordPress in 2024? Today let me clarify all your doubts about the costs involved in starting a blog.
When I say ‘blog’ here, I am not talking about the free blogs that many beginners launch on platforms like blogspot.com. What I am talking about is the one that is similar to my blog. A blog that you own and which can be turned into a real business eventually. Let’s get started.
What Is The Right Type of Blog To Start?
There are mainly two types of blogs that can be started today. The first category is the one where you can start a FREE blog on platforms like Blogspot.com or WordPress.com. And the second category consists of blogs that are called self hosted blogs. These blogs require monetary investment at your end and are hosted on paid servers called web hosting platforms.
Please read the new 5000+ words step by step guide we created that shows you how to start a blog from scratch.
The Difference Between Free Blogs And Self Hosted Blogs
Free Blogs
- These blogs are free to get started.
- You don’t own these blogs.
- As these blogs are hosted on third-party servers they have an extension at the end of the website/blog name. For example, if I start a free blog on blogspot.com with the name smart webpreneur, it will look like smartwebpreneur.blogspot.com. Similarly, if I start a free blog on WordPress.com with the name smart webpreneur, it will read smartwebpreneur.wordpress.com. I think you got my point here.
- These blogs look unprofessional and are very risky. Even if you buy your own domain name and connect it to blogspot.com, you won’t be having control over the content of your blog. They can shut you down without any prior notice or without any clarifications.
- Monetizing restrictions: Especially if you start a free blog on WordPress.com, you won’t be able to monetize your blog with Google Adsense. This may change in the future. But as of now, these restrictions are in place.
- Lacking customization options.
Self Hosted Blogs
- You need money to get started with a self-hosted blog.
- They look professional.
- You completely own the content on your blog.
- You are free to monetize your blog however you want.
- Extensive customization options: You can use custom themes, plugins, etc. to increase the functionality and appearance of your blog.
Which Is Better?
No doubts there. Whether you want to make money from your blog or build your brand, self hosted blogs are the way forward. They do cost you a tiny investment but its definitely worth it.
Now let’s look at the costs involved in starting a blog.
Costs Involved In Starting A Self Hosted Blog
To start a self-hosted blog you need to have these two things. A domain name and a web hosting package.
Domain Name
A domain name is the name of your website. It is the URL, typing which in the browser, your readers can access your website/blog. For example, smartwebpreneur.com is the domain name of this website. The service I use for registering domain names for my websites, blogs, and other web properties is NameCheap. NameCheap offers great domain services at very competitive rates.
If you want to buy a domain name from NameCheap, it will cost you less than $9/year, at the time of writing this article. This also includes free privacy protection. Privacy protection is a service offered by domain registrars that hides all your personal information from the public on the WHOIS directory.
If you decide to buy a domain name from GoDaddy{dot}com, it may cost you somewhere around $11.99 for 1st year. Also, it doesn’t include free privacy protection. You may have to pay an extra $9.99/domain per year.
That’s costly when compared to NameCheap. That’s why I recommend NameCheap for domain registration. You can read this article about how to register a domain name at NameCheap for further instructions regarding this.
Web Hosting Services
Web hosting service broadly refers to the service that provides us with big computer servers to host our website/blog files. These servers almost never shut down. It is these servers that make our websites and blogs always available to our readers.
So choosing a good web hosting program for your blog/website is really important. We can’t afford to choose a web host just because it is cheap. We also have to look at its average uptime, server speeds, server location, customer support, and many other factors.
The web hosting services I recommend for beginners are the following.
- WPX Managed WordPress Hosting
- NameCheap Stellar Business Shared Hosting Plan
- HostGator Shared Hosting Plans
WPX hosting is a great choice for you if you don’t mind spending a little extra for your web hosting needs. I have written a detailed WPX hosting review based on my experience with them. They are really good. WPX hosting will cost you $24.99/month if you choose the monthly billing cycle and $20.83/month if you choose the yearly billing cycle. These rates are for the starter level ‘business plan’, where you can host up to 5 of your websites.
NameCheap Stellar Business plan is a shared hosting plan provided by NameCheap. It costs $4.44/month if you choose the yearly billing cycle and $8.88/month if you choose the monthly billing cycle. With the NameCheap stellar business plan, you can host unlimited websites. You also get 50 GB SSD, disc space.
HostGator is a very popular web hosting company among bloggers and internet marketers. They have been in the web hosting business for a very long time. Their shared hosting plans are very good for people who are just getting started. HostGator offers three types of shared hosting plans.
The hatchling plan, the baby plan, and the business plan. The BABY plan that supports unlimited websites will cost you $11.95 per month for the monthly billing cycle and $8.95 per month for the yearly billing cycle. Here is an article that shows how to start a WordPress blog on HostGator.
Now let’s total the costs involved and find out how much does it cost to start a blog in 2024.

How Much Does It Really Cost To Start A Blog?
Cost For Starting A Blog With WPX Hosting And NameCheap
If you register the domain name at NameCheap, it will cost $9/year. If you choose the WPX hosting monthly plan it will cost you $24.99/month. So the total comes up to $33.99 for the first month, followed by $24.99 every month. So for less than $34, you can start a new blog with WPX hosting using a domain registered at NameCheap.
If you choose the yearly plan for the WPX hosting, you get to pay $249.99 upfront. However, by doing this you get 2 months of free hosting every year. Check out the WPX hosting coupon code for a 50% discount on your first payment in monthly plans.
NameCheap Stellar Hosting Along With NameCheap Domain
This combination will cost you less than $18 to start a blog if you choose the monthly payment plan for the NameCheap Stellar Hosting. This $18 investment also includes your domain registration charges.
If you choose the yearly payment option, you get to pay only $52.88 for the hosting expenses of a whole year. You can also get a free .website domain with the yearly hosting plan.
Starting A Blog With HostGator Shared Hosting
If you register a domain name at Namecheap and get the HostGator BABY shared hosting plan, with a monthly billing cycle, you may have to invest around $21 to start a blog. For the same shared hosting plan with a yearly billing cycle, the investment may be around $114 per year.
Billing Period | WPX Hosting With Namecheap Domain | NameCheap Stellar Business Hosting With Namecheap Domain | Hostgator Baby Shared Hosting With Namecheap Domain |
Monthly Billing Cycle | $33.99 for the first month which reduces to $21.50 With the WPX coupon code. $24.99 following months. | $18 for the first month. $8.88 the following months. | $21 for the first month, followed by $11.95 every month |
Yearly Billing Cycle | $258 per year | $52.88 per year | $114 per year |
Other Expenses Involved In Running A Profitable Blog
In fact, you need only the domain name and a web hosting package to start a blog. But as your blog begins to grow and starts attracting visitors, you will need a few extra tools to grow your business and increase your revenue. Some of the important tools you must have are the following.
- Professional Themes And Plugins
- Email Marketing Tool
- Page Builder
If you are interested to check out the list of tools and services that I use to run many of my blogs please visit the online marketing tools page. This list includes amazing themes, software, services and more.
I am sure this article answers your question of how much does it cost to start a blog. If you are still in doubt please don’t hesitate to contact me.