| Rank | Provider | Compare | Starting price | Money-back | Disk space | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Read Review | $3.95/mo | 30 days | 10 GB | Visit Host |
| 2 |  | Read Review | $3.92/mo | 30 days | Unlimited | Visit Host |
| 3 | 
| Read Review | $20.83/mo | 30 days | 10 GB | Visit Host |
| 4 | 
| Read Review | $29.16/mo | 60 days | 10 GB | Visit Host |
| 5 |  | Read Review | $2.75/mo | 30 days | 50 GB | Visit Host |
Disclosure: if you purchase through any links on this web page, I earn referral fees from partners. These fees do not influence my recommendations.
#1: SiteGround prorated refunds
Although SiteGround doesn’t mention pro-rated refunds on their website, two live chat support representatives told me that such refunds are possible.
SiteGround is one of our favorite hosting providers, leading the way with excellent service at an unbeatable price. They made it onto our list of hosts with the cheapest annual plans, and are one of few web hosts with student discounts.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $3.95/mo.
- WP sites allowed: one
- Storage: 10 GB
- Bandwidth: unlimited
- Visitor limit: 10,000/mo.
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: cPanel
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- SiteGround shared hosting review
#2: WPX (WordPress hosting)
Like SiteGround, WPX offers pro-rated refunds unofficially.
Although relatively expensive, the company offers exceptional service and is one of only a couple of reputable hosts with unlimited Inodes.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $20.83/mo.
- Negotiable prices: no
- WP sites allowed: five
- Storage: 10 GB
- Bandwidth: 100 GB
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: custom-built
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- WPX hosting review
#3: A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is unusual in that although they do offer pro-rate refunds, they’ll charge you for used months at their standard monthly rate, even if you purchased hosting at the discounted first-term price.
For example, let’s assume that the discounted first-term price is $4/mo. and that the standard renewal price is $8/mo. If you buy 12 months of hosting (12 * $4 = $48) at the promotional price and decide to cancel after four months, the amount subtracted from your refund will be 4 * $8 = $32 (they’ll use the standard monthly price to make the deduction, not the promotional price), for a refund of $48 – $32 = $18.
A2 is also on our list of web hosts with free backups and backup restorations.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $3.92/mo.
- Negotiable prices: no
- Websites allowed: one
- Storage: unlimited
- Bandwidth: unlimited
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: cPanel
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- A2 shared hosting review
#4: Bluehost
Bluehost offers pro-rated refunds. Simply cancel your subscription and get in touch with their billing department.
Bluehost is particularly attractive for multi-website owners – they offer one of the cheapest hosting plans with unlimited websites around.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $2.75/mo.
- Negotiable prices: only on renewals
- Websites allowed: one
- Storage: 50 GB
- Bandwidth: unlimited
- Free domain: yes
- Control panel: cPanel
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- Bluehost shared hosting review
#5: WP Engine (WordPress hosting)
WP Engine mentions pro-rata refunds publicly on their website. Just keep in mind that their annual plan is set-up so that the last two months of subscription are provided for free, so if you cancel after 10 months of service, you won’t be eligible for any refunds.
WP Engine is also on our list of the best hosts with free malware detection and removal, which is a big plus for webmasters looking for extra security.
A major downside to this provider is their price – see our review for an answer to the question of why is WP Engine so expensive.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $29.16/mo.
- Negotiable prices: no
- WP sites allowed: one
- Storage: 10 GB
- Bandwidth: 50 GB
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: custom-built
- Support: 24/7 live chat
#6: GoDaddy
Officially, GoDaddy doesn’t offer pro-rated refunds. However, when I inquired with their live chat support about a refund for unused months, they said the following:
“Usually, this isn’t possible, but I recommend contacting Billing. They will review and potentially provide a refund, depending on the genuineness of the case.”
Plus, GoDaddy is one of a handful of hosts with negotiable prices.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $5.99/mo.
- WP sites allowed: one
- Storage: 30 GB
- Bandwidth: unlimited
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: cPanel
- Support: 24/7 live chat
#7: IPower
IPower isn’t a particularly popular company, but they’ve performed quite well in our tests and we feel confident recommending them to beginners.
Basic plan highlights:
- Starting price: $3.99/mo.
- Negotiable prices: no
- Websites allowed: one
- Storage: 5 GB
- Bandwidth: 250 GB
- Free domain: no
- Control panel: vDeck
- Support: 24/7 live chat
Do I have to provide a reason when requesting a pro-rated refund?
Not always, but sometimes – yes.
The host’s billing department may want to understand your reasons for canceling. Specifically, they may want to make sure that you weren’t planning on requesting a pro-rated refund from the get-go, thereby abusing their service.
Good reasons for canceling and requesting a refund on your remaining subscription months include:
- Poor support quality, which you can document with a chat transcript or by referencing an email thread or chat conversation
- Frequent problems accessing your website
- Slow website load speeds
- Inability to use some of your hosting account’s features
- Any obvious breach of agreement on the host’s part
What may not be considered a valid reason:
- Wanting to move to a cheaper host
- No longer wanting to host a website
- Requiring a feature that your host doesn’t offer, even though it was clear at sign-up that they did not offer it
How do I request a pro-rated refund?
The process is usually straightforward:
- Cancel your hosting plan from the admin panel
- Contact the host’s billing department via live chat or email
- Explain your reason for canceling and request a pro-rated refund
Your host may try to do whatever they can to retain you as a customer. As a result, they may offer you:
- Significant discounts on future purchases or additional free months for remaining on board
- Expedited help with resolving whatever issue(s) caused you to cancel your hosting account
Will I incur any fees if I request a pro-rata refund?
Beyond charging you for the months of service you used before canceling your package, hosts usually do not make additional deductions.
There are two possible exceptions:
- If you received a free domain while signing up, your host will subtract a fee equal to their standard price of that domain.
- If you were charged a one-time hosting set-up fee (as in the case with many dedicated servers), this fee is unlikely to be refunded.
Are pro-rated refunds available for all types of hosting?
Although money-back guarantees are often restricted to a particular type of hosting (e.g. shared and VPS only), pro-rated refunds are commonly issued for all services offered by the host. These include:
- Shared hosting
- Reseller hosting
- VPS
- Dedicated servers
- Cloud servers
- WordPress hosting
However, hosts’ refund policies change over time. Therefore, if you are planning to host with any of the companies listed above, please contact them via live chat and ask if they provide pro-rate refunds for the type of hosting you are interested in.
What’s the difference between pro-rated refunds and money-back guarantees?
A money-back guarantee is always restricted to a certain duration – usually 30 days. (See our guide to hosts with the longest money-back guarantees for more.)
As long as you cancel before the money-back guarantee expires, you’ll receive a refund on your entire payment.
On the other hand, a pro-rated refund allows you to reclaim a chunk of your payment even after the money-back guarantee expires. You’ll get a refund for all the months you have remaining on your subscription.