PriceWorld Pricing intelligence
FILE PW-HOST-SITEGROUND As read 2026-02-19
S SiteGround Filed subject · web hosting

The renewal dossier · PW-HOST-SITEGROUND

What SiteGround really costs over three years.

The advertised $2.99/mo is the introductory hook. This dossier leads with the number you actually pay — the three-year total on the StartUp plan — and the recorded renewal jump waiting inside that window. Every figure is a dated reading from 2026-02-19, not a live quote.

This record is Source-backed · 2026-02-19 A dated reading, not live 2 dimensions pending
Terms of this record
Subject plan
StartUp · 12-month intro term
True cost
The 3-year total at the recorded rates — the headline, not the promo.
Renewal jump
Promo → standard rate, and the multiple between them.
Tier
Source-backed (read at the provider, dated) or modeled (a projection).
Correction
A reported figure opens a claim; it never edits the record on its own.

Figures are recorded readings from the PriceWorld hosting dataset, dated 2026-02-19 — not a live feed, not monitored, not promised-current. The $215.88 full-year-at-renewal figure is a modeled projection of the recorded renewal rate, not a source-backed reading. Confirm the current price with SiteGround before you buy.

Got a SiteGround renewal quote of your own? Read it before you pay Phase-1 preview — we normalize your quote to a monthly-equivalent you confirm; the verdict and benchmark aren't live yet.

The answer on file

What does SiteGround really cost in 2026 — after the promo ends?

SiteGround's StartUp plan advertises $2.99/mo, but that is a 12-month introductory rate: the recorded renewal is $17.99/mo — a +502% step that lands in year 2. At the recorded rates the three-year total is $467.64, as read 2026-02-19. Dated readings, not live quotes; confirm at SiteGround before you buy.

As read 2026-02-19 Dated reading — not a live quote Confirm at SiteGround before you buy

The three numbers that decide it

Read cost-first: what the intro term really costs per month, the total across three years, and the size of the jump waiting at renewal. The first two are the calm figures; the third is the alert.

  • True monthly · year 1 $2.99/mo The effective intro rate, billed across the 12-month term. Source-backed
  • True 3-year cost $467.64 Intro for 12 months, then the renewal rate for the rest of the window. Source-backed
  • Renewal jump · year 2 ×6.02 $2.99 → $17.99/mo (+502%) once the term lapses. Recorded increase

Folder F · Plan ledger

Every plan on file, read the same way

Each plan is entered with its intro reading, its standard renewal, the step between them, the three-year total at the recorded rates, and when the renewal step actually lands. The subject plan is shaded; the renewal column is the one to watch.

SiteGround plans · intro, renewal, the renewal step, the 3-year total, and when the step lands — recorded 2026-02-19
Plan Term Intro /mo Renews /mo Step 3-yr total Step lands
StartUp · subject plan 12-mo $2.99 $17.99 ×6.02 $467.64 within 3 yrs · mo 13+
GrowBig 12-mo $4.99 $29.99 ×6.01 $779.64 within 3 yrs · mo 13+
GoGeek 12-mo $7.99 $44.99 ×5.63 $1175.64 within 3 yrs · mo 13+

Each three-year total applies the plan's intro rate through its own promo term, then the recorded renewal rate for any remaining months of the window. Where a plan's term spans the full three years, its 3-year total is entirely at the intro rate and the renewal step is shown in the “Step lands” column as a later event. Taxes, fees, and pre-selected add-ons are not included.

Folder G · Cost over time

What each year actually costs

The cost recorded in each year, not a running total. A modeled “full year at the renewal rate” column shows where the standard rate sits — set apart in ink, labelled modeled, never beside a source-backed tag.

Cost in each year at the recorded rates · years 1–3 source-backed · the renewal-rate column is a modeled projection
Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 3-yr total Full yr at renewal (modeled)
StartUp $35.88 $215.88 $215.88 $467.64 $215.88
GrowBig $59.88 $359.88 $359.88 $779.64 $359.88
GoGeek $95.88 $539.88 $539.88 $1175.64 $539.88

Years 1–3 are source-backed at 2026-02-19. The final column is modeled — twelve months at the recorded renewal rate — to show where the standard rate sits. It is set in ink, labelled modeled, and is never the headline figure and never carries a source-backed tag.

Folder H · Risk & evidence

The audited basis, dimension by dimension

A rubric output across 7 weighted dimensions — not buying advice. Cost dimensions lead; each line carries its 1–5 score, its published weight, the raw figure it was bucketed from, its provenance tier, and the dated reading it was read at. Pending lines are held, never dressed up as confirmed.

True Monthly Cost (Yr 1) 15% weight
$2.99/mo · yr-1 = $35.88
Source-backed as read 2026-02-19 Cited source ↗

Promo at $2.99/mo × 12 months = $35.88 year 1.

Renewal Price Multiplier 20% weight
$2.99 → $17.99/mo · ×6.02
Source-backed as read 2026-02-19 Cited source ↗
Total Cost of Ownership (3yr) 20% weight
$467.64 over 3 yr
Source-backed as read 2026-02-19 Cited source ↗
Performance (TTFB) 15% weight
280 ms TTFB
Pending review no source-backed reading on file
Included Features 10% weight
5 of 8 features on file
Source-backed as read 2026-02-19 Cited source ↗

Staging and SSH available on GrowBig plan and above. No free domain on any plan.

Uptime 10% weight
99.99% uptime
Pending review no source-backed reading on file
Migration / Exit Cost 10% weight
4 of 5 exit factors present
Source-backed as read 2026-02-19 Cited source ↗

Uses Site Tools (custom panel) since 2019, but provides full file access. Monthly billing available but more expensive.

Scores are integer rubric buckets (1–5), combined with the published weights into the composite above (3.2, Average). Performance and uptime are held pending — they cannot bear headline weight. A score is a dated reading, not buying advice and not a freshness promise.

Folder I · File notes

Case notes on the record

Best support in the industry, but highest renewal shock. Worth it if you value help.

Case note · suited to Users who value premium support and performance

Noted in its favor

  • Excellent support
  • Great performance
  • No pre-selected add-ons

Flagged as risk

  • 464% renewal increase on GoGeek
  • Highest renewal prices
  • Limited storage

Folder C · Provenance

How this file is built, and how it is corrected

One recorded reading, no backfilled history, an explicit evidence gate, and a correction path that opens a claim rather than editing the record.

One recorded reading

The figures come from PriceWorld's hosting price dataset, read for the US catalog and dated 2026-02-19. It is a point-in-time reading held as a dated reference, not a live feed.

No backfilled history

The record begins at the first reading. There is no continuous price history before it; an earlier promotional figure is the prior reading this one supersedes, not a tracked timeline.

An explicit evidence gate

Cost dimensions are source-backed and headline-eligible; performance and uptime stay pending review and are not promoted to headline claims until a reviewed, source-backed reading is supplied.

Corrections open a claim

Seen a different price? It opens a pending claim, weighed against a source. It never moves the $467.64 headline or the renewal jump on its own.

The correction chain of custody

  1. 01 Anyone

    A correction is filed, with evidence

    A reader or the provider submits a figure backed by something checkable — a cart total, a price page, a screenshot. This opens a pending item against this record.

    Filed
  2. 02 PriceWorld

    Held for review

    The claim is weighed against the source. While open it is marked needs-review; it does not change the published figure above.

    Under review
  3. 03 The record

    Closed by a source-backed reading

    If a source-backed reading confirms the change, the figure is updated, re-dated, and logged. If it cannot be confirmed, the record stands and the item is closed with a note.

    Closed on file

The rule: a report is weighed, not applied. A claim can never move the canonical figure on its own — only a source-backed reading closes a correction.

Open a file action

These actions work on the record itself — none of them reads your account, watches live, or moves a figure on its own.

Prices, scores, weights and the as-read date are real values from the PriceWorld hosting dataset and the SiteGround score record, read 2026-02-19. The full-year-at-renewal cost is a modeled projection of the recorded renewal rate; the correction copy is documented method copy. Nothing here is presented as live, monitored, cheapest, best, or promised-current. Confirm the current price with SiteGround before you buy.

Questions on file

Straight answers, from the recorded figures

Each answer reads only from this file — the dated readings above, never a live quote. Confirm the current price at SiteGround before you buy.

Why did my SiteGround bill go up at renewal?

Because the advertised price is an introductory rate. On the recorded SiteGround file, StartUp reads $2.99/mo for the first 12 months and steps to $17.99/mo at renewal — a +502% increase (6.02× the intro). Dated readings from 2026-02-19, not live quotes.

What is SiteGround's renewal price after the intro term?

$17.99/mo on the StartUp plan, as read 2026-02-19. The intro rate of $2.99/mo covers the first 12 months; the renewal is the standing rate you keep paying after that.

What does SiteGround StartUp cost over three years?

$467.64 at the recorded rates — the 12-month intro at $2.99/mo, then renewal at $17.99/mo for the rest of the window. A modeled sum of dated readings, not a quoted total; the cost timeline above breaks it down year by year.

When does the SiteGround price increase actually hit?

In year 2, at month 13 — the recorded 12-month intro term ends and the $17.99/mo renewal rate starts, inside the three-year window this dossier prices. As read 2026-02-19.

How does SiteGround's renewal jump compare with other hosts?

Every hosting file on PriceWorld leads with the same pair — the intro rate and the recorded renewal it steps to. Some hosts on file renew at the price they advertise; others step up substantially. The hosting ledger lines the recorded pairs up side by side.