Yes—Black Friday hosting deals can be substantially cheaper, but the headline discount usually applies only to the initial promotional term. The more useful question is not whether a hosting company advertises “80% off,” but how much you will actually pay over the period you expect to use the service. SiteGround’s own pricing documentation distinguishes introductory prices from renewal prices, and its current promotions are applied automatically rather than through coupon codes.
That distinction matters because a hosting plan advertised at a few dollars per month can revert to a much higher standard rate when the promotional term ends. In other words, Black Friday can produce a genuine first-year saving without necessarily producing the lowest long-term cost. The sensible comparison is the total price for the first term, the renewal price afterward, the length of the commitment and what is actually included.
What a Black Friday hosting discount is actually discounting
Hosting promotions generally reduce the price of an initial subscription rather than permanently reducing the cost of the service.
That is particularly important with annual hosting. A provider might advertise a monthly equivalent, but the customer may have to pay the entire 12-month term upfront. SiteGround, for example, states that its discounted introductory prices and regular renewal prices are different, with the renewal rate shown during signup.
This creates three different prices worth comparing:
- Promotional price: what you pay during the discounted introductory term.
- Standard price: what the service normally costs without the promotion.
- Renewal price: what you are charged when the introductory term expires.
They can be dramatically different.
SiteGround’s published standard shared-hosting rates illustrate the scale of that difference. Its current documentation lists annual standard pricing of $17.99 per month for StartUp, $29.99 for GrowBig and $44.99 for GoGeek.
The promotional price therefore tells only part of the financial story.
What happened during Black Friday 2025?
Historical Black Friday pricing provides a useful reality check because it lets us compare an actual sale with normal pricing rather than relying on predictions about what a future promotion might offer.
During Black Friday 2025, multiple independent reports documented SiteGround’s introductory prices at approximately $1.99 per month for StartUp, $3.99 for GrowBig and $5.99 for GoGeek, against standard rates of $17.99, $29.99 and $44.99 respectively. Reports differed somewhat on the exact promotional period and headline percentage, but they consistently documented substantially reduced first-term prices.
| Example | Promotional monthly equivalent | Standard monthly rate | Approx. first-year hosting cost | Renewal consideration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StartUp, Black Friday 2025 | $1.99 | $17.99 | $23.88 | Standard rate applied after the promotional term |
| GrowBig, Black Friday 2025 | $3.99 | $29.99 | $47.88 | Standard rate applied after the promotional term |
| GoGeek, Black Friday 2025 | $5.99 | $44.99 | $71.88 | Standard rate applied after the promotional term |
| Current standard StartUp example | $17.99 | $17.99 | $215.88 | Longer-term pricing should be checked before purchase |
The Black Friday figures are historical 2025 promotional prices reported during the sale; the standard rates are based on SiteGround’s published pricing. Actual future promotions, terms and eligibility can change.
On the face of it, those Black Friday prices were genuinely cheaper than the standard rates. A customer paying $1.99 rather than $17.99 per month for the initial year was not merely receiving a marketing discount—the cash difference was substantial.
But that does not mean the same price would continue into the second year.
The renewal price is where the real comparison begins
Suppose a hosting plan costs $24 for its first year under a promotion but renews at $216 per year.
The first figure is useful if you need hosting for one year. It is much less informative if you expect to keep the website for five years.
A simple calculation makes the distinction clear:
Five-year cost = promotional first-term cost + subsequent renewal costs
For a long-lived website, the initial discount becomes a smaller part of the overall cost with every renewal.
SiteGround says shared hosting plans are automatically set to renew, while customers receive reminders before renewal. It also says that longer renewal periods can reduce the average monthly price.
That means buyers should look at the renewal figure before completing the order rather than assuming the promotional monthly price represents the ongoing subscription cost.
Are Black Friday deals cheaper than ordinary hosting promotions?
This is where the answer becomes less straightforward.
A Black Friday banner may advertise an enormous percentage discount, but the relevant comparison is the best alternative price available to the same customer at the same time.
Hosting companies run promotions throughout the year. SiteGround itself says it runs different promotions during the year and that the discount is already incorporated into the displayed price.
Consequently, “Black Friday” does not automatically mean “the lowest price you could possibly get.”
The useful question is:
Is the Black Friday introductory price lower than the provider’s other current introductory offers for the same plan and billing period?
Historical evidence suggests that SiteGround has offered very large Black Friday discounts. For example, reports from 2023 documented promotions of up to 83% off, while 2025 reports documented discounts reaching the high-80-percent range depending on the plan and source.
That establishes that Black Friday promotions can be unusually aggressive. It does not, by itself, prove that every Black Friday promotion is the cheapest possible price in every country, currency, plan or billing period.
Why the percentage discount can be misleading
“88% off” sounds more informative than it actually is.
The percentage is calculated against a reference price. If the reference price is the provider’s standard rate, the discount can be mathematically accurate while still failing to answer the question a buyer actually cares about: What will I pay?
For example, an 88% reduction from $17.99 produces a very different number from an 88% reduction from $29.99.
And neither percentage tells you:
- Whether the discount applies for one year or longer
- Whether you must pay the whole term upfront
- What the renewal price will be
- Whether the offer is restricted to new customers
- Whether a domain is included
- Whether optional security or backup products are included
- Whether the price differs by country or currency
- Whether another promotion provides a similar effective cost
The dollar or euro amount, the billing term and the renewal rate are generally more useful than the percentage printed in large type.
The billing term can change the calculation
Hosting companies commonly quote a monthly equivalent for plans that are actually billed for a longer period.
That is not inherently misleading, but it can make comparisons harder.
A plan advertised at $3 per month might mean a $36 annual payment. Another host might advertise $4 per month but offer monthly billing. The second option could therefore cost less upfront even though its advertised monthly rate is higher.
For a fair comparison, convert every offer to the total amount payable for the same period.
If two offers are being compared, use the same:
- Hosting type
- Billing period
- Number of websites
- Storage allocation
- Included services
- Renewal assumptions
Otherwise, the apparent discount can conceal a difference in what is being purchased.
What happens after the first year?
This is the most important question for anyone building a website they expect to keep.
A cheap introductory year can make sense if you use the promotion strategically. But before buying, check the renewal price and decide whether that future cost fits your budget.
SiteGround’s current documentation explicitly says the introductory price is different from the renewal price, and its standard-rate documentation provides examples of the much higher regular rates that can apply after promotional pricing ends.
There are several legitimate ways to approach this.
If you only need hosting for a short project
The introductory price may be the most important number.
A temporary campaign site, test project or short-lived website does not necessarily need to be evaluated over five years.
If you expect to keep the site for years
Calculate the likely multi-year cost before signing up.
A $20 saving in year one is less important if the service subsequently costs hundreds of dollars more over the following years.
If you are willing to switch providers
The introductory discount may still have significant value, but moving hosts later involves time, technical work and potential disruption.
The cheapest theoretical five-year calculation is not automatically the cheapest practical choice if migration becomes necessary.
What about existing customers?
Another common misunderstanding is assuming that an existing customer can simply apply a Black Friday new-customer promotion to an existing hosting subscription.
That should not be assumed.
SiteGround distinguishes between promotional signup pricing and renewal offers. It says existing customers may receive renewal promotions, but these can vary and are presented through the customer’s account or renewal communications.
For an existing customer, the relevant comparison is therefore different:
current renewal offer vs. available upgrade options vs. cost of moving elsewhere
That is more useful than simply looking at the headline Black Friday price offered to new customers.
What should you check before buying?
A Black Friday hosting promotion is worth evaluating as a normal purchasing decision rather than an event that automatically requires immediate action.
Before paying, check:
- Total first-term cost: not just the advertised monthly equivalent.
- Renewal price: particularly if you expect to keep the website.
- Billing period: confirm whether the quoted price requires annual or longer prepayment.
- Eligibility: determine whether the promotion is for new customers, existing customers, upgrades or specific plans.
- Included services: establish whether backups, security tools, domains or other extras are actually included.
- Resource limits: storage and other hosting resources can matter more than the headline discount.
- Cancellation and renewal settings: SiteGround says its hosting plans use automatic recurring billing unless the customer changes the renewal settings.
- Currency and market: the same promotion may not produce identical pricing in every country.
The last point is particularly important for international buyers. A US-dollar price should not automatically be treated as the price a customer will see in another market.
When a Black Friday hosting deal is genuinely useful
There are circumstances in which the promotion itself is particularly valuable.
A new website owner who already knows which hosting service they want can use the sale to reduce the cost of the initial term. Someone planning a website launch around November can also time the purchase around the promotion rather than buying several weeks earlier at a higher introductory rate.
If SiteGround is the provider you have already decided to use, its current SiteGround hosting offers are the appropriate place to check the live introductory price rather than relying on an old Black Friday article or third-party coupon page.
The important distinction is that a good promotional price does not require pretending the renewal price does not exist.
When waiting for Black Friday may not make sense
Waiting can also be unnecessary.
If a website is losing revenue because it needs to launch, if an existing hosting service is failing, or if a current promotion is already close to the historical Black Friday pricing, postponing a purchase solely because of the calendar may not produce meaningful savings.
SiteGround’s own documentation confirms that promotions occur throughout the year.
There is also no guarantee that a future Black Friday sale will reproduce the pricing of a previous year. Promotional rates, eligible plans, included extras, billing terms and geographic availability can all change.
Historical discounts are evidence of what a company has offered—not a promise of what it will offer next.
The number that matters most is not the discount percentage
Black Friday hosting deals are often genuinely cheaper for the initial promotional term. Historical SiteGround promotions show that the difference can be substantial, with first-term prices far below published standard rates.
But “cheaper” needs a time period attached to it.
For a one-year project, the introductory price may dominate the calculation. For a website expected to operate for five or ten years, renewal pricing, billing terms and the cost of changing providers become much more important.
The most reliable way to judge a Black Friday hosting deal is therefore simple: ignore the size of the percentage for a moment and calculate the actual amount you will pay for the first term, then calculate what happens when the promotion expires. If both numbers still make sense for the website you are building, the discount is meaningful. If the deal only looks attractive while the renewal price is ignored, it is a promotion—not necessarily a bargain.