Closte vs SiteGround (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Closte grades higher than SiteGround: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Closte grades higher on the free plan. SiteGround grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SiteGround
Shared and WordPress hosting on Google Cloud with its own Site Tools
Which one is for you
Pick Closte if
- Fits if you run WordPress sites with uneven traffic
- Works for developers who use WP-CLI and Composer
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a fixed monthly bill, as CPU, memory and CDN traffic are metered
- Not for you if you host anything but WordPress
- Watch out: it does not host mailboxes, so you need a separate email service
- Watch out: a custom CDN hostname costs about $14.50 a month and DNS about $1 a month
Pick SiteGround if
- Fits if you want daily backups and malware removal without adding plugins
- Works for teams that need many email accounts at your domain, as they aren't capped
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you stay past year one, when StartUp jumps from $2.99 to $17.99 a month
- Tight if you run more than one site, as StartUp hosts one and suits around 10,000 visits
- Skip it if you want staging or on-demand backups on StartUp, since they start on GrowBig
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $24.99, or need priority support, which needs GoGeek at $39.99
- Watch out: the 30-day refund covers new orders; renewals are refunded only under policy conditions
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAClosteFair | 1.8GPASiteGroundWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo base fee is stated: CPU, memory and CDN traffic are metered, so the bill is hard to predict. | CStartUp's first year is $2.99 a month, then it renews at $17.99, so two years cost $251.76, about $10.49 a month. That's past the cheaper quarter of hosts and the dearest of the shared hosts we could price. A 24-month term at $14.99 a month costs more. |
| Free plan and trial | CYou start with no card, and then pay as you go. | FNo free plan and no trial. New shared hosting orders get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't a trial. |
| Features | CWordPress on Google Cloud with backups, staging, WP-CLI and free migration, but WordPress only and no mailboxes. | BEvery plan keeps daily backups, a CDN, SSL that renews itself, daily malware scans with free removal and unlimited email accounts. Staging and on-demand backups wait for GrowBig, but nothing in the core job is missing on StartUp. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and metered billing needs watching. | CNo app store rating to go on. Each site gets its own Site Tools panel, but there's still a domain, email and a site to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, built on Google Cloud CDN and LiteSpeed. | CA web panel only, with WordPress and WooCommerce as the named integrations. There's SSH and WP-CLI for developers, but no API is on record. |
| Best for | pay-as-you-go WordPress hosting | WordPress sites that want daily backups built in |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Closte and SiteGround. How we grade
Where they differ
- Closte also covers page speed.
At a glance
| Closte | SiteGround | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $14.99 per month prepaid for 24 months; 12 months is $2.99 a month in year one |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Start free with no credit card; billing then follows metered usage | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Closte LLC | SiteGround |
| Price read from | closte.com | siteground.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Closte
- Bills vary with usage: CPU is $0.15 per 1000 HPI, memory $0.003 per 1000 MPI, and CDN traffic is billed per GB by region.
- Closte only sends email for WordPress; it does not host mailboxes, so a separate mail service is needed.
- A custom CDN hostname costs about $14.50 a month and DNS about $1 a month.
- It is built for WordPress only.
SiteGround
- The $2.99 a month is for the first year of a 12-month StartUp term only; it then renews at $17.99 a month, and GrowBig and GoGeek at $29.99 and $44.99.
- StartUp hosts one website and suits around 10,000 visits a month; more sites need GrowBig.
- Staging, on-demand backups and faster PHP start on GrowBig, and white-label access and priority support need GoGeek.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers new shared hosting orders; renewals are refunded only under conditions in SiteGround's refund policy.
Key features
Closte
- WordPress on Google Cloud
- Sites run on Google's network with Google Cloud CDN, DNS and HTTP/3, and LiteSpeed caching with managed OPcache and object cache.
- Automated backups and security
- Includes automated backups, malware detection, DDoS protection and a web application firewall.
- Staging environments
- Staging sites are full clones with CDN and backups, hidden from crawlers, and you can have several and push between them.
- Developer tools
- SSH and SFTP, Git and Composer, WP-CLI, custom PHP settings, a log viewer and web-based database tools.
- Free migration
- The vendor says migrations are free and handled by an experienced developer, with data centers on five continents.
SiteGround
- Site Tools panel
- Each site gets its own Site Tools panel for WordPress, email, domains and backups, so access to one site can be shared without exposing the others.
- Daily backups, CDN and SSL
- Every plan keeps daily backups and includes a CDN and SSL certificates that renew by themselves. GrowBig and GoGeek add on-demand backups.
- Malware scans and bot blocking
- Sites are scanned for malware every day with free removal, and an AI anti-bot system and custom firewall rules block attack traffic.
- WordPress services
- Free site migrations, managed automatic updates, WP-CLI and SSH, and an AI agent for WordPress. Staging starts on GrowBig, with Git on GoGeek.
- Unlimited email accounts
- Every hosting plan includes email at your own domain with no cap on accounts, plus webmail and spam protection.
- Website Builder with AI
- A drag-and-drop builder with templates, AI text and image generation and built-in SEO is included alongside WordPress.
Plans
Closte
Pay as you go$0
base fee not stated; billed on metered usage
No fixed plans. Disk is about $0.7 per GB a month, worldwide bandwidth $0.11 per GB and CDN from $0.08 per GB.
SiteGround
StartUp, 1 month$24.99
per month
One website, 10 GB storage and around 10,000 visits a month, paid month to month at the regular rate.
StartUp, 12 months$17.99
per month at renewal, prepaid yearly, after a first year at $2.99
One website and 10 GB storage. The first 12 months cost $2.99 a month, prepaid, then the plan renews at $17.99 a month.
StartUp, 24 months$14.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
One website and 10 GB storage at the lowest regular monthly rate. The sales page shows its first-term discount only on 12-month terms.
GrowBig, 24 months$24.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
Unlimited websites, 50 GB, staging and on-demand backups. On a 12-month term it is $4.99 a month for the first year, then $29.99.
GoGeek, 24 months$39.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
100 GB, staging with Git, white-label access and priority support. On a 12-month term it is $7.99 a month for the first year, then $44.99.
Ways to pay less
Closte
No public discounts listed.
SiteGround
- Other savings
First year of StartUp for $2.99 a month
On a 12-month term the first invoice is $2.99 a month for StartUp, $4.99 for GrowBig and $7.99 for GoGeek, prepaid. Renewals are $17.99, $29.99 and $44.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Closte or SiteGround?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Closte publishes no starting price, and SiteGround starts at $14.99 per month prepaid for 24 months; 12 months is $2.99 a month in year one.
Which has a free plan, Closte or SiteGround?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Closte nor SiteGround has a free plan. Closte has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.