If you're in the market for web hosting, one of the first questions you're going to ask is how much will this cost me? Website hosting prices in the UK can vary widely depending on the type of hosting you choose and other factors, such as whether domain names and/or SSL certificates are included in your plan. This means you can spend anything from a couple of pounds to hundreds of pounds per month.
If price is your main concern, then a shared hosting package will be your best bet, being the most affordable option at around £3-£15 per month. On the other end of the spectrum, if you're hosting some big projects or very busy websites, you'll want to look at a dedicated server. These are on the more pricey side at around £70-£400 per month, but for good reason.
But what if you're somewhere in the middle? You can find web hosting packages at any price between the ranges listed above, all offering different features, resources and perks. We're going to talk you through the different types of web hosting in detail, what they can do, who they're suited to, and of course, how much they cost. All to help you make the best decision for your project, whether you’re looking for cheap web hosting or a more expensive option with powerful features.
All pricing accurate as of April 2025
What factors affect the cost of web hosting?
Website hosting prices in the UK (and globally) can vary hugely depending on several factors. These can include:
- The type of web hosting plan/server you choose. Perhaps the most important factor affecting cost is the type of web hosting plan you choose, with shared web hosting plans only costing a few pounds a month and dedicated hosting plans potentially costing hundreds of pounds per month. It’s vital that you choose a server that fits your resource needs (e.g., as a small blog owner or a global business owner).
- The web hosting provider you choose. Many hosting companies offer multiple types of hosting, and they may offer very different prices for these packages depending on their unique features, resource allocations, and service-level agreements (SLAs). You must compare multiple providers during your research to get the best deal for you.
- The length of your hosting plan. Some providers will offer better prices for longer subscription periods. If you do your research and are sure about the provider and plan you’ve chosen, you can potentially make big monthly savings with a longer-term hosting plan.
- The features and benefits on offer. Naturally, choosing a hosting package with more features and add-ons will mean higher monthly costs. For example, a hosting plan with multiple free domain names will cost more than a hosting plan without domain registration included. Similarly, you’ll have to pay more for plans with more computing resources (such as more RAM and CPU).
- Managed vs unmanaged hosting. Some providers offer managed hosting, which means they’ll manage your server for you (such as by installing updates and monitoring performance) for an extra cost. Unmanaged hosting doesn’t offer this service but is typically a lot cheaper.
The cost of different types of web hosting
As stated, the cost of your web hosting will depend entirely on the package you choose – this is potentially the most influential factor affecting website hosting prices. Depending on the scale and needs of your project, you may only need an affordable web hosting solution, or you may need to invest in something more serious. We're going to talk you through all of the different types of web hosting and their associated costs below, detailing typical UK website hosting prices and our industry-leading deals here at Fasthosts.
1. Shared hosting
This is the most economical and popular type of plan, and the one that most people begin with.
With a shared hosting plan, your website will be on a server that’s shared with multiple other tenants. Resources such as bandwidth, storage and processing power are shared between tenants, which means that your website speeds could be affected by neighbours using more than their fair share. Plus, your data won’t be as private and secure as it would be in an isolated server environment, although reputable hosting providers should offer standard security measures to counteract these risks.
Although it’s not the most powerful type of hosting, shared web hosting is more than sufficient for many users who need to sustain a low-traffic website such as a blog. For many people with smaller projects that are less demanding, sacrificing features for lower costs is well worth it.
Shared hosting cost
Here at Fasthosts, our cheapest shared Web Hosting plan starts at just £5.75 per month, and our advanced Pro plan is £20.50 per month for amazing features like 500 GB SSD storage, 5 free domain names and the ability to host up to 100 websites! Plus, we always have fantastic deals for new customers. Get our Start web hosting plan for just £1 per month for the first 3 months, or get our more advanced Scale package for an incredible 49p per month for the first 6 months! You really can’t beat these deals.
2. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting
VPS hosting is often seen as a stepping stone for those who need a website with more power and security than shared hosting, but can’t quite stomach the price of a dedicated server. Normally, this is when a smaller project has started to outgrow the resources that are available on a shared hosting server and requires more from its server.
The key difference compared to shared hosting is that, through a process called ‘virtualisation’, many of the benefits of having your server are emulated, even though in reality you’re still sharing a server with other tenants. The advantage of a VPS is that there's no competition for resources, which results in better performance for your website.
The higher performance garnered from a VPS – even a cheap VPS – is a must-have for some users, as their website needs to be able to handle higher traffic. There’s also the added benefit of better security. While no hosting plan is completely invincible to hackers, a VPS is definitely on the more secure end of the spectrum. This is because each VPS is its own, independent, virtualised environment, making it similar to a dedicated server in that your files, software, and dedicated operating system are detached from other tenants on the physical server.
The benefits of higher performance, better security and affordability make VPS hosting a tempting option, especially for those using an ecommerce website to sell online.
VPS hosting cost
Here at Fasthosts, a cheap VPS plan starts from just £3 per month (£2 per month for the first 6 months) if you only need enough power for a small project. Other VPS plans tend to be a bit more expensive, but this is definitely worth it if you want fantastic performance for more demanding websites or applications. For example, you can get up to 24 GB RAM and 12 vCPU with our VPS 12 plan for £46 per month (£28 per month for the first 6 months), and we have a wide range of other plans in between to suit all budgets and resource requirements.
3. Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting is a top-tier hosting plan. One of the benefits of dedicated servers is that you’ll have an entire server and all of its resources ‘dedicated’ to you, and only you, and that explains its premium price tag.
But if you're willing and able to deal with the price, it's well worth it because you’ll have access to a server with less downtime and more power than anything else out there. Like most plans with hosting providers, the power and features that you have are completely scalable, and depending on what configuration you pick, this will dictate what you pay. Security-wise, you’ll also be in the clear. Because the server isn’t shared with anyone, you eliminate the possibility of sharing a server with tons of tenants – and your website being infiltrated this way.
The general rule of thumb is that medium to large businesses (500 people or more) that deal with a lot of data or have highly sensitive information should consider a dedicated server. Although the prices are inevitably higher, we often find that projects which need servers have sufficient traffic going to their site to make their money back and more.
Dedicated hosting cost
Ready to get top-of-the-line performance with a dedicated server? Check out our dedicated hosting plans starting at £80 per month (or £40 with the 50% discount) for an Intel server and £70 (£35 with 50% discount) for an AMD server, increasing to up to £440 per month for the highest-quality servers for large-scale projects. Plus, don’t forget that new customers will get 50% off this price for the first month!
4. WordPress hosting
To put it simply, WordPress hosting is hosting that’s specifically optimised for WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). This is the main differentiator compared to regular web hosting plans, which aren’t tailored to a certain CMS. Because this type of hosting uses a platform designed for WordPress websites, you’ll get the highest levels of performance and tech support, as well as access to a range of benefits, such as tools and services tailored to WordPress websites.
WordPress hosting cost
Here at Fasthosts, you can get started with our basic Launch plan for as little as £1 per month for the first six months (then increasing to £6 per month). If you need more power, our Business, Pro and Agency plans are £11 per month, £24 per month and £40 per month respectively – and new customers can get our Business package for only 49p per month for the first 6 months!
5. Bare Metal hosting
Bare Metal servers are similar to a dedicated server, in the sense that it is a physical server devoted to a single user. When it comes to Bare Metal vs dedicated servers, however, unlike the latter, Bare Metal servers can provide an array of advanced tools and features, with the added bonus of down-to-the-minute billing that you’d normally get with cloud servers. Plus, you can virtualise your server with Hyper-V and Windows Server Datacenter, or set up isolated VMs and operate them in parallel on a single system, each with their own OS!
And if you already own a cloud server or two, with a Bare Metal server, you can take on heavier loads and work together with your other virtual machines too.
Bare Metal hosting cost
We offer a huge range of Bare Metal servers with prices between £40 and £720 per month. This means you can get the exact Bare Metal hosting plan you need according to your resource requirements and budget, no matter whether you’re running a smaller business or a very large organisation with demanding data storage needs.
6. Cloud hosting
Cloud server hosting works using virtualisation to split a physical server into multiple virtual machines called cloud servers, which then connect to a single network for hosting a website.
This type of hosting is the most flexible of them all in terms of pricing. A small server configuration with 1GB of RAM, 25GB SSD storage and 1 CPU core is going to be the cheapest. As you increase the amount of storage, bandwidth, CPU cores, and memory for the server, the costs will start to increase. With a cloud server, you only pay for what you use with down-to-the-minute billing, and you can easily scale resources up and down to meet fluctuating requirements.
Because of its pricing flexibility, cloud hosting can be a great fit for both small and large businesses. For small businesses, it offers an opportunity to integrate innovative cloud technology, unlimited scalability and uninterrupted access to apps and data via the internet, at affordable prices. For bigger businesses, it can be scaled up to run even the most resource-intensive tasks such as industrial networking, IT infrastructure and software development.
Thanks to its scalability, cloud hosting can cost anywhere from a few pounds per month to tens or hundreds of pounds for plans with huge amounts of resources and storage. This means you have total freedom and flexibility to choose the type of plan that’s right for you, offering the resources you need within your budget. And since you only pay for what you use, this can be a great choice for businesses with fluctuating resource needs that don’t want to be tied to expensive monthly costs outside of their busy periods.
Other costs of web hosting to consider
So there you have it, the low-down on the costs of each type of web hosting, to help you weigh up your options in a balanced way. It’s worth keeping in mind as a general rule that across any type of hosting plan you choose, as your web hosting plan increases in features and specifications, it will also increase in price.
However, the initial cost of your web hosting plan isn’t the only thing you need to consider when you decide to create a website. When looking at website hosting prices in the UK or elsewhere, make sure you add this total to a range of additional costs, including domain name registration, SSL certificates and marketing tools, to get a more accurate estimate of your overall website costs.
But what are these additional costs? Let’s take a closer look below.
1. Domain name
Your domain name is your website’s unique address, and it’s essential that you have one so people can remember your brand and visit your site. In most cases, domain names need to be renewed annually, so you need to factor this cost into your overall website hosting and maintenance budget.
Some domain names may cost more than others too, depending on their popularity. Plus, some gTLDs (generic top-level domains) like .com or .co.uk can be more expensive than some lesser-known or newer domains because they’re always in demand. On the other hand, some niche domains can get very pricey because of their clear association with a specific industry (like .bar and .car), which makes them desirable.
As you can see by our current domain offers on the Fasthosts website, newer domains like .pro and .uk (not to be confused with .co.uk) are slightly cheaper than .com, which is the traditional choice for most websites. Therefore, you can potentially reduce domain costs by having a look at alternative domain extensions that would work well for your site.
2. SSL certificates
To protect your website and make it secure, especially if you have an e-commerce site, an SSL certificate is essential to ensure activity on your website is encrypted. This will both protect you and your customers’ data and help you rank better in search engine results. Fortunately, our Web Hosting packages come with a free SSL certificate, so you don’t have to worry about getting one separately.
Many hosting providers offer free SSL certificates, but if you don’t have one, you may need to purchase one from a certificate authority (CA). The prices for an SSL certificate can vary hugely, so we would always recommend choosing a web hosting provider that offers them for free as part of your hosting plan.
3. Website themes
How your website looks may factor into your costs to run a website. Website themes involve the layout, colours, graphics, and branding, and you can find both free themes and premium themes on platforms like WordPress. Costs can also vary based on whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, with custom themes from a professional costing much more money (e.g. thousands of pounds). We have a ton of pre-made themes you can pick from with our Website Builder (only £1 per month for the first 3 months), which also allows you to drag and drop specific elements suited to your taste.
4. Extensions
Extensions improve your website's functionality by offering features such as pop-up messages, enhanced security and other UX and UI features. Different website platforms provide both free and paid extensions. For instance, WordPress has numerous plugins available, with many being free and suitable for small to medium-sized sites. As your site expands, you can invest in premium plugins like MonsterInsights, WPForms and much more – premium plugins usually cost around £40 to hundreds of pounds per year depending on the plugin and whether you choose a personal or business package.
Plus, if you run an ecommerce store, you may be inclined to invest in your ecommerce platform by opting for your chosen platform’s premium plugins. Extensions, plugins and add-ons vary per platform, but it’s worth checking out the most popular ones such as WooCommerce vs PrestaShop, PrestaShop vs OpenCart and more.
5. Marketing tools
For your business to grow, you need to drive traffic to your website with marketing tools to get to where you want to be. They help you reach more people, grow your audience, and more importantly – make more sales. You'll need particular tools for things like social media ads, email newsletters, and boosting your website's visibility.
Now, these tools aren't always free. The total cost depends on what tools you need, but most new to established businesses spend triple digits, particularly if paid adverts are involved.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. SEO tools
To make your website easier to find on search engines, you'll need an SEO tool like Moz, Semrush or Ahrefs – all of which range from limited free options to around £159+. These tools help you research the best keywords to use, how to link effectively, and how to fix issues on your webpage.
2. Email marketing
Email newsletters are a great way to keep your customers in the loop. One such example is Mailchimp – a tool that helps you send out all kinds of mailers. You can try the standard package for free for 14 days, but you'll have to start paying at least £15 a month after this (or more if you have more than 500 email contacts).
3. Meta advertising
If you want to grow your audience, you may want to consider targeted social media ads through Meta – a platform that owns Facebook and Instagram (among others). It’s utilised to hyper-target audiences with different offers, goals, copy, imagery and more. Costs can vary according to your paid ads budget.
Frequently asked questions about website hosting prices
What’s the average cost of hosting a website?
There isn’t really an average cost because there are so many factors to consider. For smaller websites, a typical shared hosting plan will cost around £3-£15 per month, and you’ll need to add domain registration costs (roughly £10-£15 per year) and other costs like website building on top of this if applicable. For larger websites, VPS hosting and dedicated hosting plans can cost tens or hundreds of pounds per month due to the greater security and resource allocation on offer.
Can I host a website for free?
There are plenty of free web hosting options available, but they’re incredibly limited, and it’s important to have a reliable website that doesn’t exceed bandwidth, storage or other issues that would involve eventually upgrading. Some may even limit your domain name, by appending their own web hosting name. An example of this is “johnsmith.wordpress.com” – as you can see, it doesn’t scream “professional”. Plus, you’ll also be limited in terms of bandwidth, email forwarding addresses and storage, among many other features.
What is the best way to build a website?
Besides using a free option, the best way to build your own website is to use a website builder. We offer both a Website Builder and Ecommerce Website Builder, so the package you choose depends on what kind of site you want to build. Our website builder plans start at just £1 per month (for the first three months) and offer instant setup wizards, pre-built templates, drag-and-drop editing tools, and AI features to help you build a website with ease – no coding needed!
What features should be included in a web hosting plan?
What you can get for your money can vary a lot between providers, but at minimum, you should ensure the price includes the resources you need, standard security measures (such as firewall management or DDoS protection) and uptime guarantees in your SLA. We would also recommend choosing a hosting provider that includes free SSL certificates and domain names in your hosting plans – like us!
How do I save money on web hosting?
To save as much money as possible, make sure you shop around and do your research instead of choosing the first hosting plan you come across. Make a list of the features you actually need, and use this to narrow down your top contenders. Only choose a hosting provider that offers exactly what you need within your budget – avoid unnecessary extra features and plans that don’t suit the expected growth of your website. Choosing a scalable hosting provider – like Fasthosts – is a fantastic idea, as you can easily start with a smaller plan and only upgrade it when you actually need to.
Should I pay for hosting monthly or annually?
This depends on your needs and budget. You can often make savings with a longer-term subscription, which may involve annual rather than monthly payments, but this is only a good idea if you’re sure your chosen plan will be right for your website for a long period of time. If you expect your resource needs to fluctuate, you may be better off with monthly payments on a scalable hosting plan that you’re not locked into.
How do I choose a web hosting provider?
There are many hosting plans and providers to choose from, so to help with your search, make sure you only consider providers that offer the following benefits and features:
- Different types of hosting plans, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting and more – do they offer the type of plan/server you’re looking for?
- Over 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Scalable hosting packages to make it easy to upgrade when you need
- 24/7 support
- Transparent pricing
- Excellent customer reviews
- Secure data centres
Fasthosts offers everything you need from a hosting provider and more! If you've still got any questions about our range of web hosting solutions, have a chat with our sales team today.
