Buyer's guides
Buyer's guides
What to look for before you pay, explained with the prices and plan limits we have checked on each vendor's own pricing page.
Business software
How to choose a password manager
Start with what you need to share and on how many devices, then check the renewal price. Bitwarden and Proton Pass have free plans that work on unlimited devices; 1Password and Dashlane offer 14-day trials instead. Family plans cover 5 to 10 people, and business plans are priced per user, often with a minimum.
Free plans: the limits that catch people out
Free plans are useful for trying software, but most stop short in one of a few ways: no commercial rights, the vendor's branding on your work, a cap on contacts, seats or minutes, or limits that only appear after you sign up. Here are the catches, quoted from each pricing page.
How email marketing pricing scales with your list
Most email platforms charge by the number of contacts, so the price climbs as your list grows. At 10,000 contacts, the cheapest monthly plans on beehiiv, GetResponse and Mailchimp ran from $79 to $139 a month. systeme.io works differently: a flat price per plan, with a contact cap.
Website builders
Website builder or WordPress: costs, AI tools and trade-offs
A builder like Wix or Squarespace is one subscription with hosting included and less to maintain. WordPress is free software, so you pay for hosting and a domain instead, and you get more control and an easier exit. On cheap shared hosting WordPress costs less at first, but renewals narrow the gap.
Web hosting
Shared, cloud or managed WordPress hosting: which do you need?
Shared hosting is cheapest to start and fine for small sites, but prices rise sharply at renewal. Cloud servers like Cloudways cost more up front and host unlimited sites. Managed WordPress hosts cost the most and do the upkeep for you, with plans sized by monthly visits.
What web hosting really costs after the intro price
Most shared hosts advertise a first-term price and renew at three to six times as much. SiteGround's StartUp plan was $2.99 a month for the first year and $17.99 a month after that. Compare three-year totals, not headline prices, and pick the prepaid term with care.