Web hosting costs in South Africa depend on what you are running, how much memory, storage and traffic you need, how well it is backed up, and whether prices include VAT. A small brochure site on shared hosting costs far less than a busy web app, and the sticker price is rarely the whole bill. This guide explains what drives the price, how to work out the real total, and which extras to check before you sign up.
What drives the price of hosting
1. The type of hosting
From least to most expensive, in general:
- Shared web hosting: many sites share one server. Lowest cost, fine for WordPress and small sites.
- App hosting: your app gets dedicated memory and a Git build pipeline.
- VPS: a virtual machine you manage yourself. The raw price can be low, but your time is part of the cost.
- Dedicated servers: a whole machine, priced accordingly.
2. Resources
- RAM: how much your site or app can do at once. Frameworks like Next.js need more than a static site.
- Storage: files, databases and email. NVMe and SSD storage cost more than old spinning disks but are much faster.
- Traffic: the data you send to visitors each month. Some plans cap it, others are unmetered.
- Number of sites, apps or databases included.
3. Backups
Weekly backups kept for a few weeks cost less to provide than daily backups kept for a month. If your site changes often (orders, bookings, blog posts), daily backups are worth paying for.
4. Support and extras
Priority support, team seats, preview deployments and staging environments all push a plan up the price ladder.
5. Server location
Local data centre capacity in South Africa is priced differently from large overseas regions. Local hosting brings faster response times for local visitors and rand billing, which we discuss in South African hosting vs overseas hosting.
How VAT works on hosting
South African VAT is 15%. Hosting companies show prices in one of two ways:
- Excluding VAT, common for business-focused hosts. Add 15% to get what you pay.
- Including VAT, common in consumer-focused marketing.
Always check which one you are looking at. A VAT-registered business can usually claim the VAT back as input tax if it has a valid tax invoice, so a proper VAT invoice matters. See sars.gov.za for official VAT rules, and ask your accountant about your specific situation.
Here is what NewHost app hosting costs with VAT added:
| Plan | Excl. VAT | VAT (15%) | Incl. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | R99.00 | R14.85 | R113.85 |
| Developer | R249.00 | R37.35 | R286.35 |
| Business | R599.00 | R89.85 | R688.85 |
| Agency | R1,499.00 | R224.85 | R1,723.85 |
Paying yearly costs 10x the monthly price, so you get two months free. Starter yearly is R990 excluding VAT (R1,138.50 including VAT).
The other costs to add
Hosting is only one line on the bill. For a typical business website, add:
- Domain name. A .co.za domain is renewed every year. Check both the registration and the renewal price.
- Email. Some web hosting includes mailboxes; otherwise budget for email hosting or a productivity suite per user.
- SSL certificate. Free Let's Encrypt certificates cover most sites. Paid OV or EV certificates are only needed for specific requirements.
- Website build and maintenance. Usually the largest cost, but separate from hosting.
- Premium plugins or themes for WordPress.
- Your time, especially on a self-managed VPS.
Hidden extras to check
Before you sign up, look for these in the terms and plan details:
- Introductory pricing. Is the first year discounted, and what does renewal cost?
- Setup fees.
- Restore fees. Some hosts charge to restore a backup.
- Traffic overage charges when you exceed your allowance.
- Migration fees for moving your site in.
- Domain transfer-out fees or conditions.
- Currency. Overseas hosts bill in dollars, so your cost moves with the exchange rate. We explain this in why hosting billed in rand matters.
- Card fees on foreign transactions.
- Cancellation terms and notice periods.
Working out your real monthly cost
A simple worksheet:
Hosting plan (monthly, or yearly / 12) R ______
Domain (yearly / 12) R ______
Email (per mailbox x mailboxes) R ______
Extras (backups, SSL, add-ons) R ______
Subtotal R ______
VAT at 15% (if prices exclude VAT) R ______
Total per month R ______
Compare providers using the total, not the headline price.
Cheap vs value for money
The lowest price can be the right choice for a hobby site. For a business, the cost of a site that is down, slow or lost without a backup is usually far higher than the difference between plans. Our guide to cheap web hosting in South Africa looks at what budget plans typically leave out.
What you get with NewHost plans
App hosting plans (Next.js, Node.js, Express, Nuxt and static sites), all excluding VAT:
- Starter R99/month: 1 app, 512 MB RAM, 5 GB NVMe, 1 MySQL database, 100 GB traffic, weekly backups kept 4 weeks.
- Developer R249/month: 3 apps, 1 GB RAM each, 20 GB NVMe, 3 databases, 500 GB traffic, branch preview deploys, daily backups kept 7 days.
- Business R599/month: 10 apps, 2 GB RAM each, 50 GB NVMe, unmetered traffic, 10 databases, priority support, 3 team seats, daily backups kept 30 days.
- Agency R1,499/month: 30 apps, 4 GB RAM, 150 GB NVMe, 40 databases, unlimited team seats, daily backups kept 30 days.
Every plan includes free SSL and on-demand backups. Payment is by card or instant EFT, bank EFT with proof of payment, or a prepaid rand wallet, with VAT invoices for every payment. Full details are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does hosting cost for a small business website?
A small WordPress or brochure site usually fits on an entry-level shared hosting plan, which is the lowest-cost option. Add your domain renewal, email and VAT to get the real total, and compare providers on that total.
Is yearly hosting cheaper than monthly?
Often, yes. At NewHost, yearly billing is 10 times the monthly price, so you get two months free. Just check the renewal terms with any provider.
Do hosting prices include VAT?
It depends on the provider. Business hosts often show prices excluding VAT, so add 15%. Look for "excl. VAT" or "incl. VAT" next to the price.
Why is app hosting more expensive than shared hosting?
App hosting gives each app its own memory, a build pipeline from Git and features such as managed databases and preview deploys. Shared hosting spreads a server's resources across many small sites, which keeps the price lower.
See the full price list
Compare every plan on the NewHost pricing page, or contact us for a quote on Windows hosting or a larger set-up.