At one of our SEO training courses, somebody asked:
"We have three websites and currently pay £150 + VAT per website per year for hosting. Is this expensive?"
It is a great question because the answer is:
It depends what you are getting for your money.
Many business owners compare hosting packages based purely on price, but hosting is a bit like car insurance. Two providers may charge the same amount while offering completely different levels of service, performance and support.
In 2026, the hosting market is more varied than ever. Some businesses pay less than £50 per year, while others spend thousands of pounds each month on cloud infrastructure.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
When comparing hosting costs, it is important to understand what is included.
Typical Hosting Components
| Feature | Budget Hosting | Business Hosting | Managed Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Storage | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSL Certificate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email Accounts | Sometimes | Usually | Usually |
| Backups | Limited | Regular | Managed |
| Security Monitoring | Limited | Basic | Advanced |
| Technical Support | Basic | Standard | Priority |
| Software Updates | Usually self-managed | Sometimes | Often included |
| Performance Optimisation | Rare | Limited | Usually included |
Two hosting packages might both cost £150 per year, but one may include backups, security monitoring and support, while the other simply provides server space.
The Real Cost of Cheap Hosting
Many businesses choose the lowest-priced package available.
That can work perfectly well for:
- Small brochure websites
- Personal blogs
- Hobby projects
- Startup businesses
However, problems often arise when websites become important business assets.
A website generating enquiries, sales or bookings can quickly become expensive if it experiences:
- Downtime
- Slow performance
- Security breaches
- Lost emails
- Failed backups
In these situations, paying slightly more for reliable hosting can be a sensible investment.
How Hosting Has Changed Since 2013
When this question was originally asked, hosting was often divided into three categories:
Hosting Comparison
| Hosting Type | Typical 2013 Cost | Typical 2026 Cost | Suitable For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | £30-£60 per year | £30-£100 per year | Small websites |
| VPS Hosting | £100-£300 per year | £100-£600 per year | Growing businesses |
| Dedicated Server | £360+ per year | £800+ per year | High traffic websites |
| Cloud Hosting | Relatively new | Highly popular | Scalable business sites |
| Managed WordPress Hosting | Rare | Common | WordPress websites |
Cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure have transformed the hosting industry, allowing businesses to scale resources as required rather than purchasing physical servers.
Does Better Hosting Improve SEO?
Not directly.
Google does not rank websites based on how much they spend on hosting.
However, hosting can influence factors that affect SEO, including:
- Website speed
- Core Web Vitals
- Reliability
- User experience
- Crawlability
Google's guidance consistently focuses on providing a positive experience for users. Slow, unreliable websites can create problems for both visitors and search engines.
Hosting and SEO
| Factor | Impact on SEO |
|---|---|
| Fast loading pages | Positive |
| Reliable uptime | Positive |
| Strong security | Positive |
| HTTPS support | Essential |
| Frequent downtime | Negative |
| Slow server response | Negative |
| Poor Core Web Vitals | Negative |
This does not mean you need the most expensive hosting package available. It simply means your hosting should support a fast, reliable website.
Questions to Ask Your Hosting Provider
Before deciding whether £150 per website is expensive, ask:
- Are backups included?
- Is SSL included?
- Is technical support available?
- Are software updates included?
- What uptime guarantee is provided?
- Is malware monitoring included?
- How quickly are support requests answered?
- Is email hosting included?
The answers to these questions are often more important than the headline price.
What Would I Expect to Pay in 2026?
For a typical small business website:
| Website Type | Typical Annual Cost |
|---|---|
| Basic Shared Hosting | £30 - £100 |
| Business Hosting | £100 - £300 |
| Managed WordPress Hosting | £150 - £500 |
| VPS Hosting | £150 - £1,000+ |
| Cloud Hosting | Highly variable |
Based on current market conditions, £150 per year per website is not automatically expensive. In fact, if support, maintenance, backups and security services are included, it may represent good value.
The Bigger Question
Instead of asking:
"Is £150 per website expensive?"
A better question might be:
"What am I getting for £150 per website?"
If your website is secure, reliable, fast and generating business enquiries, then the hosting cost is usually a small part of the overall value equation.
Final Thoughts
Hosting should be viewed as an investment rather than a commodity.
The cheapest package is not always the best value, and the most expensive package is not always necessary.
For most businesses, the goal is to find hosting that provides the right balance of performance, reliability, security and support.
In 2026, £150 per website per year sits comfortably within the range of what many businesses pay for quality hosting. Whether it represents good value depends entirely on what is included and how important the website is to the success of the business.