Affiliate disclosure
Plain-English version, because the whole point of this site is to stop hiding things from you.
TrueHostCost is free to use. We keep it running through affiliate commissions: if you click certain links to a hosting company and then sign up, that company may pay us a commission. It costs you nothing extra, and it never changes the price you pay.
The rule we hold ourselves to
There are zero affiliate links on the renewal-cost calculator itself. The calculator's only job is to show you the real number. We only place affiliate links in two clearly-labeled spots: the “find a host” recommender (and only on results where a paid host is genuinely the right call) and the comparison table. Wherever we show a paid recommendation, we show an honest non-affiliate alternative right next to it.
Why so strict about it? Because most “best web hosting” sites are paid by the same hosts whose renewal prices we're exposing. That conflict is exactly why nobody publishes the real long-term cost. We'd rather you trust the numbers than maximize our commissions.
Which companies pay us
When live, our affiliate partners may include managed-hosting providers such as Kinsta and Cloudways. We recommend them only for the users who actually fit them (people who have outgrown cheap shared hosting or need speed/support), not as a default answer for everyone.
Our promise
- We never adjust the calculator's math to favor a paying host.
- We label affiliate links and show non-affiliate alternatives.
- If a cheaper or free option is genuinely better for you, we say so — even when it earns us nothing.
This disclosure follows the U.S. FTC's guidance on endorsements and affiliate relationships. Questions? hello@truehostcost.cloud.