Web Hosting Plans Comparison: Types, Prices, Limits
Most UK hosting comparison tables only show disk space, bandwidth and a teaser price. Those three numbers rarely decide whether a plan will run a small business site without drama. I compare the plan types, the renewal prices you should actually budget, the limits spec sheets hide, and when wrapping hosting into a monthly website plan is the more honest buy.
The plan types you are actually comparing
Hosts sell dozens of named packages. Almost all sit in six buckets. Compare the bucket first, then the extras.
Shared puts hundreds of sites on one machine. You get a control panel, PHP, a database and often a mailbox. Fine for a brochure site with a few hundred visits a day. Poor for a busy booking calendar, a large shop or a heavy page builder. Advertised 50GB or "unlimited" storage is rarely the real cap. CPU, RAM and inode limits are.
VPS reserves CPU, RAM and storage so other customers matter less. Unmanaged VPS is cheap because you patch the server, firewall and PHP. If nobody can do that, buy managed VPS or skip this tier.
Managed WordPress adds caching, core updates and often a staging copy. You still choose plugins and write pages. You pay to reduce breakage, not to remove all work.
Website builders fold hosting into the subscription. Easy until you leave, when you usually get HTML, not a working WordPress site. Dedicated and large cloud accounts suit high turnover or a developer on staff. Most small UK businesses never need them.
Realistic UK prices after the intro year
Ignore the £2.99 headline. Price renewal, in pounds, plus VAT if you cannot reclaim it. First-year shared at £3 to £7 is common; year two often lands in the shared band below. Compare 24-month totals, not month one.
| Plan type | Typical monthly after intro | You still handle | Sensible fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared | £8-£18 | Updates, security, most backups | Brochure site, low traffic |
| Managed WordPress | £15-£45 | Content and plugin choices | WordPress with less breakage |
| VPS, unmanaged | £10-£30 | The whole server | Developers, unusual apps |
| VPS, managed | £25-£60 | The application | Growing sites and shops |
| Builder subscription | £12-£30 | Content inside their tools | Simple or short-term sites |
| Dedicated | £80+ | Depends on the contract | High traffic, special rules |
Bands are for one site. Add £5 to £12 per user per month for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace if you skip the host's basic mail. Daily backups with 30-day keep usually add a few pounds if they are not included. A domain in your own registrar account is about £8 to £15 a year for .co.uk. SSL is free on serious plans. Do not let bundled mailboxes hide a high renewal.
What the comparison tables leave out
Review-site speed tests use empty installs. Your theme, images and plugins decide load time more than a turbo label. Storage only matters if you host video or thousands of product photos. A normal service site is a few gigabytes.
What actually knocks a site over:
- PHP workers or entry processes: too few and you get 504 errors when several people use a form at once
- Inodes: every file and email counts. "Unlimited" plans still cap these, often at 200,000 to 500,000
- CPU seconds per day on shared machines, after which you are throttled
- Outbound email blocks that stop contact forms
- Backups you cannot restore yourself, or restores that take two days and a paid ticket
Prefer a UK or nearby EU data centre for UK visitors and simpler GDPR. Test support before you pay. "24/7" is often a chatbot. If you need a human in UK afternoon hours, ring the number on a weekday and see what happens.
How to compare two plans in half an hour
- Write down what the site must do: brochure, blog, bookings, shop or membership.
- Estimate traffic honestly. A local trades site might see 30 visits a day.
- Cost each plan over 24 months, including domain, email and backup add-ons. Divide by 24.
- Read the resource limits page, not the marketing grid.
- Confirm you can download files and the database and restore them elsewhere.
- Send one support question. Time the reply.
- Check the renewal price after checkout, not only on the sales page.
If two plans are within a few pounds at that 24-month rate, pick clearer limits, UK support hours and a backup you can download.
Hosting on its own, or inside a website plan
You either buy hosting yourself or it is wrapped into a monthly website fee.
A one-off website build plus a hosting account you control keeps invoices separate. You can change host later if the domain is in your own registrar account. You also handle updates, monitoring and downtime, or you pay someone when it breaks. The hosting cost is the band in the table. The build is a separate project fee.
A pay-monthly website plan uses a setup fee, then a monthly amount that includes hosting, updates and ongoing management. That suits you if there is no lump sum, or if you want the technical side genuinely hands-off. You are paying for time and responsibility, not just disk space. I offer both routes. Figures sit on arlowebstudio.com with the scope of the site, not in this table.
Neither is automatically cheaper over five years. Add renewal rates, plugin licences and your time at what you earn per hour.
When the cheap plan is the wrong plan
Stay on a lower shared tier for a handful of pages, local traffic and someone who will install updates. Move up for WooCommerce, booking peaks or a page builder that eats PHP workers.
Do not buy a VPS to future-proof five pages. You pay for idle RAM and still need WordPress updates. Do not run card payments on a £3 shared account. Downtime costs more than the extra hosting.
Avoid 24-month intro terms you have not tested. Leaving early can cost the remaining months. Month-to-month at a higher rate wins if you might redesign or move.
Pick by situation, not by the homepage grid
- Five to ten pages, low traffic, someone will update plugins: mid-range UK shared or entry managed WordPress at renewal price, with daily backups.
- Shop or booking-heavy WordPress: managed WordPress or managed VPS, with staging and UK support.
- No appetite for hosting, plugins or updates: a pay-monthly website plan that includes hosting, or a builder if you accept lock-in.
- Custom software: managed VPS with a developer, not a cheap shared box.
Compare type, two-year cost, real resource limits, restores you control, and who is awake when it breaks. That beats any spec sheet that leads on unlimited storage.
Frequently asked questions
Is cheap shared hosting enough for a small business site?
For a few pages and light traffic, a mid-range shared plan priced at renewal is often enough. It is not enough for a shop, peak bookings or a heavy page builder. Budget the renewal and the backup add-on, not the first-year teaser.
Should I buy hosting before the website is designed?
You can wait. Platform choice should drive the host: WordPress needs PHP and a database, while a builder includes hosting. Do register the domain in your own account as soon as you have the name, so you are not tied to the host's registrar.
Do I need a VPS?
Not for a typical brochure or small WordPress site. Consider a VPS when traffic stays high, you run custom software, or shared limits keep throttling you. If you cannot administer a server, pay for managed VPS or stay on managed WordPress.
Is website builder hosting the same as a hosting plan?
No. You are renting a site inside their software. Shared, VPS and managed WordPress plans let you put your own CMS or code on the server and move it later if you keep backups and the domain.
Is annual billing better than monthly?
Annual is cheaper if you already trust the host and will stay. Monthly costs more per month but lets you leave after a bad month. Do not commit to 24 months on an untested intro rate.
What should I budget per month for hosting in the UK?
Plan on £10-£25 a month for a normal site once intro discounts end, plus proper mailboxes if you need them. Shops and busy booking sites should plan £20-£50. That is hosting only, not design or updates.