Most web hosting providers promote a base fee that looks inexpensive at first glance.
In practice, businesses often pay significantly more once essential add-ons,
services, and ongoing management are factored in.
This tool takes those hidden or secondary costs into account and presents a
side-by-side comparison so you can see what website hosting realistically costs over time.
Who This Tool Is For
This calculator is useful for:
- Business owners comparing hosting providers
- Companies budgeting for a new website or migration
- Decision-makers who want predictable monthly costs
- Agencies and developers explaining hosting differences to clients
- Anyone surprised by “unexpected” hosting fees
If you care about uptime, performance, support, and long-term cost — not just the
cheapest starting price — this tool is for you.
Why This Calculator Is Useful
Most hosting comparisons stop at the advertised price. This often leads to
underestimated budgets and misleading comparisons between plans that appear
similar but include very different services.
This calculator helps by:
- Normalising costs across web hosting providers
- Showing what is included vs what is charged separately
- Making ongoing operational costs visible
- Comparing monthly, yearly, and multi-year impact
The goal is not to “win” a comparison, but to make the trade-offs clear.
Worked Example: How Costs Add Up
Below is a simplified example showing how an advertised web hosting price can differ
from the real monthly and long-term cost once essential items are included.
Monthly web hosting cost comparison
| Provider |
Advertised |
Real cost |
| New Perspective Design |
R 389 |
R 389 |
| GoDaddy |
R 249 |
R 1180 |
| Afrihost |
R 249 |
R 775 |
| 1Grid |
R 199 |
R 920 |
Annual projection
|
New Perspective Design |
GoDaddy |
Afrihost |
1Grid |
| 12 months |
R 4668 |
R 14154 |
R 9294 |
R 11034 |
| 24 months |
R 9336 |
R 28308 |
R 18588 |
R 22068 |
| 36 months |
R 14004 |
R 42462 |
R 27882 |
R 33102 |
Web hosting cost breakdown
|
New Perspective Design |
GoDaddy |
Afrihost |
1Grid |
| Base hosting |
R 389 |
R 249 |
R 249 |
R 199 |
| Email |
Included |
R 405 |
Included |
R 195 |
| SSL |
Included |
R 26 |
R 26 |
R 26 |
| Management |
Included |
R 500 |
R 500 |
R 500 |
| Total |
R 389 |
R 1180 |
R 775 |
R 920 |
SSL amortised from R279/year. Management included at R500/month.
What Each Input Means
Hosting Tier (10 / 20 / 30 GB)
Represents storage allocation. Larger or media-heavy sites typically require
higher tiers.
Email Accounts
Reflects how many email mailboxes your business needs.
I Manage My Own Site/ Server
Excludes management costs.
Performance / Risk Penalty (Optional)
Estimates the potential business impact of slow performance or downtime.
What the Results Show
Advertised Price
The headline price promoted by the provider.
Estimated Real Cost
Monthly cost including hosting, email, SSL (amortised), and management.
“Included” vs “R0”
“Included” means the cost is bundled.
Annual & Multi-Year Projections
Small monthly differences compound quickly.
Cost Breakdown Section
Each number is shown line-by-line.
About the Performance / Risk Penalty
This is not a guaranteed cost.
Final Note
This calculator does not declare a “best” provider.
Cheap web hosting is only cheap if it stays cheap.
