GreenGeeks vs SiteGround
We give GreenGeeks a 2.0 GPA and SiteGround a 1.8, out of 4.0. GreenGeeks grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GreenGeeks
Shared, WordPress and VPS hosting with a renewable energy match
SiteGround
Shared and WordPress hosting on Google Cloud with its own Site Tools
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAGreenGeeksFair | 1.8GPASiteGroundWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BLite's first year is $2.95 a month prepaid, then $13.95, so two years cost $202.80, about $8.45 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of hosts. Only 12-month terms are shown, so there's no longer deal to stretch the low price. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial. The 30-day money-back guarantee covers new services only, and it isn't a trial. | FNo free plan and no trial. New shared hosting orders get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't a trial. |
| Features | BLiteSpeed with a free CDN, daily backups, staging, WP-CLI and Git, free malware cleanups, migrations of site and email done by hand, a first-year domain and a 150-app installer. Nothing in the core job is missing. | 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 app store rating to go on. Migrations are done for you, but it's cPanel, so there's still a site, domain and email to set up. | CNo app store rating to go on. Each site gets its own Site Tools panel, which is tidy, but there's still a domain, email and a site to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web panel only. The named integrations are cPanel and the apps it installs, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, SitePad and Weebly, with no API on record. | 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 | cPanel hosting with a renewable energy match | 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: GreenGeeks and SiteGround. How we grade
Price against what you get
GreenGeeks starts at $2.95 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SiteGround starts at $14.99 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and GreenGeeks starts $12.04 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than GreenGeeks for less, and none scores higher than SiteGround for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- GreenGeeks starts at $13.95 per month at renewal (Lite), after a first year at $2.95 a month. SiteGround starts at $14.99 per month prepaid for 24 months; 12 months is $2.99 a month in year one.
At a glance
| GreenGeeks | SiteGround | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $13.95 per month at renewal (Lite), after a first year at $2.95 a month | $14.99 per month prepaid for 24 months; 12 months is $2.99 a month in year one |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | GreenGeeks | SiteGround |
| Price read from | greengeeks.com | siteground.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
GreenGeeks
- Small business sites and blogs that want cPanel shared hosting
- Buyers who want their host's energy use offset by renewables
- Sites that may later move to a fully managed VPS with the same company
SiteGround
- WordPress sites that want daily backups and staging without plugins
- Agencies handing clients white-label access on GoGeek
- Small businesses that want email at their domain on the hosting plan
Worth knowing
GreenGeeks
- The advertised $2.95 a month is for the first 12 months, prepaid; Lite then renews at $13.95 a month, Pro at $18.95 and Premium at $30.95.
- The pricing page shows only 12-month terms, and the free domain covers the first year only.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers new services, not renewals, and auto-renewal must be turned off at least 5 business days before.
- Lite hosts a single website; more than one site needs Pro or higher.
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
GreenGeeks
- LiteSpeed caching and CDN
- Sites run on LiteSpeed with LSCache and Redis, HTTP/3 and current PHP versions, and a free CDN can be switched on in one click.
- Security and malware cleanup
- A firewall that uses AI to spot attacks and network-level DDoS protection guard every account, and hacked sites are cleaned free, with some limits.
- WordPress tools
- Automatic WordPress updates, staging, WP-CLI, Git and SSH, with daily backups and on-demand backups on some plans.
- Free migration and domain
- Specialists move an existing site and its email across by hand, and a domain registration or transfer is free for the first year.
- Site builders and app installer
- A one-click installer covers more than 150 apps such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal, and SitePad and Weebly are offered for drag-and-drop sites.
- Renewable energy match
- GreenGeeks matches three times its energy use with renewable energy credits through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and plants trees with One Tree Planted.
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
GreenGeeks
Lite, 12 months$13.95
per month at renewal, after a first year at $2.95 a month
1 website, 25 GB and unmetered traffic. The first 12 months cost $2.95 a month, prepaid, then the plan renews at $13.95 a month.
Pro, 12 months$18.95
per month at renewal, after a first year at $4.95 a month
Unlimited websites and 50 GB. The first 12 months cost $4.95 a month, prepaid, then $18.95 a month.
Premium, 12 months$30.95
per month at renewal, after a first year at $8.95 a month
Unlimited websites and 100 GB for busier sites and stores. The first 12 months cost $8.95 a month, prepaid, then $30.95 a month.
VPS 4 GB$69.95
per month for 4 vCPU and 4 GB RAM
Fully managed VPS with 75 GB SSD, cPanel and free migration. 8 GB is $129.95 a month and 16 GB $179.95.
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
GreenGeeks
- Other savings
First year of Lite for $2.95 a month
On a 12-month term the first year is $2.95 a month for Lite, $4.95 for Pro and $8.95 for Premium, prepaid. They renew at $13.95, $18.95 and $30.95 a month.
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.
