Where is the cheapest place to stay?
 

What is the cheapest place or area to stay between San Francisco and Palo Alto or Mountain View that has parking? I prefer not to sleep in the rental car nor in a no name motel with criminal activity. Would it be airbnb?

Oh, I see some not so bad $110-130 hotels in the Comfort Inn / Choice hotel website, one in Redwood City. That is not bad, in my opinion.

Hotel prices vary wildly depending on day of week/season/existence of conventions, festivals/fairs or other large events. So there's no simple answer. Places that are crazy expensive during the week in Silicon Valley are often much cheaper on Fri./Sat. nights, for example. (By "cheaper," I mean in the $100 - $200 range as opposed to $300 - $400 and up) Example: earlier this year (late March 2018) I booked a Saturday night at the Creekside Inn in Palo Alto (a pretty nice place, has undergone lots of remodeling/upgrades) for right around $100 + tax. On the other hand, some touristy areas are often more expensive on weekends than on weekdays (think Napa/Sonoma, Half Moon Bay, Monterey/Carmel, etc.).

But you didn't give us your dates or even an idea of the season/time of year/weekday vs. weekend....

echoing Kathy's post
 

If you give us dates etc we can be more helpful. And SFO often has deals depending on day of the week etc.

While they don't usually have parking, local hostels are low-priced; find your own parking and the combined cost can be low. San Francisco Hostels Listing - All Hostels in San Francisco at Hostels.com

They have a nice town center there. I like the idea.