Cost vs Value: What Does the Cost of a Web Hosting Mean?

There is great variation in the prices charged by different web hosts. Some charge less than a dollar a month, while others charge upwards of ten dollars for the same period. This disparity can be quite confusing for (especially new) website owners as it raises the question: what does the cost of each plan mean? This article tries to shed some light on that.

Different Hosting Plans

There are two major web hosting plans: dedicated hosting and shared hosting. Dedicated hosting is sometimes referred to as managed hosting because you get to manage the server on your own. In shared hosting, the hosting service provider manages the server that hosts your website alongside others.

Now, logically, a shared server costs less than a dedicated server. The same way you share the computer resources with other website owners is how you share the cost. But there is more than that.

Space and Storage

When you buy a hosting package, you are allocated storage space. This is where all your website’s data is stored. Visitors coming to your website are served from this space when they make requests. The more disk space you are allocated, the higher the cost of your package. That explains why two shared plans may have different prices.

The Hosting Company

Just like retail brands, hosting companies have their value and pricing. There are big brands that serve a lot of companies and have earned many users’ trust. Because of the size of their brand, these companies can charge significantly higher prices than their counterparts without risking losing clients. Conversely, some big companies may offer cheaper rates to small package buyers because they are already getting economies of scale from the volume of customers that they are handling.

It is safe to say, thus, that the cost of a hosting plan is not the sole measure of its suitability.