Guide · Websites
How much does website hosting cost in Australia?
Published hosting prices from Australian and global providers, the gap between intro and renewal rates, and the extras that add to a small business's bill.
Hosting is the rent a website pays to stay online. For most small service businesses it’s one of the smaller digital costs, but advertised prices can be hard to compare: many are introductory, depend on paying years in advance, or leave out things you’ll need anyway.
We checked the published prices of several providers on 29 September 2026. Prices change often, so treat these as a snapshot and check the provider’s page before you buy. Unless a provider says otherwise, the pages don’t state whether GST is included.
What hosting a small business website involves
For a typical brochure website (a home page, services, about and contact pages, maybe a blog), you’re paying for some or all of these:
- Hosting: the server space your website runs on.
- A domain name: such as yourbusiness.com.au, renewed separately.
- An SSL certificate: the padlock that makes your site load over https.
- Backups: copies of your site you can restore if something breaks.
- Email: often bought separately from a provider such as Microsoft 365.
Website builders such as Shopify bundle hosting into one plan price. With traditional hosting, you pick a plan and install software such as WordPress yourself, or your web developer does it.
Hosting prices
Shared hosting, where your site shares a server with others, is the usual starting point for a small business site. The table also includes one of Hostinger’s cloud plans.
| Provider | Plan | Advertised price | Standard (“was”) or renewal price | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VentraIP | Business Hosting Entry | $5.50/month | $11.00/month | 50% off the first invoice, for up to 1 year |
| VentraIP | Business Hosting Growth | $11.50/month | $23.00/month | Same discount terms |
| Hostinger | Premium | A$4.39/month | Renews at A$15.89/month | 48 months paid upfront (A$210.72), prices listed without VAT |
| Hostinger | Cloud Startup | A$11.59/month | Renews at A$37.59/month | 48 months paid upfront (A$556.32) |
| Digital Pacific | Business Basic | $14.66/month | $22.55/month paid monthly | $14.66 is the rate when you prepay 3 years ($527.59) |
All prices as published on the providers’ Australian pages on 29 September 2026.
Two patterns stand out.
The first-year price is usually not the real price. VentraIP’s footnote says its discount “applies to the first invoice of new hosting purchases for up to 1 year only”. On its annual billing, the Entry plan is $66 for the first year, then $132 a year at the standard rate. Hostinger’s Premium plan renews at A$15.89 a month, more than three times its A$4.39 intro rate.
Prepaying lowers the monthly rate, but locks you in. Digital Pacific’s Business Basic plan costs $22.55 a month paid monthly, $18.94 a month paid annually and $14.66 a month over three years. Hostinger’s lowest prices need 48 months paid upfront. VentraIP advertises “No Lock-In Contract” and a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Hostinger says its prices are “listed without VAT”. On our reading, Australian customers should check at checkout whether GST is added.
Managed WordPress hosting
Managed WordPress plans are set up specifically for WordPress sites. VentraIP’s WordPress plan is advertised at $9.25 a month, down from $18.50, with the same first-invoice discount terms. Paid annually, that’s $111 for the first year and $222 a year after that.
Website builders that include hosting
If you use a website builder, hosting is part of the plan.
| Shopify plan | Paid monthly | Paid yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $56 AUD/month | $42 AUD/month |
| Grow | $149 AUD/month | $114 AUD/month |
| Advanced | $575 AUD/month | $431 AUD/month |
Shopify Australia pricing page, checked 29 September 2026.
Shopify says it “includes secure commerce hosting” with unlimited bandwidth and a free TLS/SSL certificate. It’s built for online selling, so the plans cost more than basic hosting, but they include the online store and payments tools. Card payments cost extra, from 1.7% plus 30 cents on the Basic plan.
We also checked Squarespace and Wix. Both showed us US dollar prices rather than Australian ones, so we haven’t quoted them here.
The extras that add to the bill
Domain name. A .com.au domain is renewed separately from hosting. VentraIP lists .com.au at $22.95 a year at its standard price, with an intro offer of $9.95 for the first year. Digital Pacific’s domain price page lists .com.au at $39.90 for two years. Hostinger includes a free domain for the first year on plans of a year or longer, except its Single plan. Our guide to .au domain renewals and transfers covers the rules for keeping one.
SSL certificate. Every hosting provider we checked includes a free SSL certificate. VentraIP and Digital Pacific use Let’s Encrypt. On our reading, a small business website on these hosts shouldn’t need to pay for a separate SSL certificate.
Backups. VentraIP says it runs hourly backups across all plans. Hostinger includes weekly backups on its Premium plan and daily backups on higher plans. Digital Pacific runs automated backups but charges $40 for each restore.
Email. Business email is often a separate cost. Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs A$10.50 per user a month on an annual subscription, or A$12.60 per user a month on a monthly subscription. Microsoft says these prices don’t include GST. Hostinger’s Premium plan includes two mailboxes per website, free for the first year.
A content delivery network (CDN). Cloudflare’s Free plan costs nothing, though Cloudflare describes it as being “for personal or hobby projects that aren’t business-critical”.
What a year might cost
On our reading of the published prices, a small business running a basic website with shared hosting could expect a first-year bill along these lines. This example is illustrative, not a quote.
| Item | First year | Following years |
|---|---|---|
| VentraIP Business Hosting Entry, paid annually | $66 | $132 |
| .com.au domain at VentraIP | $9.95 | $22.95 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic, 2 users, annual (excludes GST) | A$252 | A$252 |
Illustrative example based on prices published on 29 September 2026. It leaves out web design, maintenance and any paid plugins.
That’s about $328 in the first year and $407 a year after that, including email for two people before GST. Hosting itself is the smaller part.
What to check before you sign up
- The renewal price, not just the intro price. Look for “renews at”, “was” prices or footnotes.
- The prepayment term. A low monthly rate that needs three or four years paid upfront ties up cash and makes switching harder.
- Whether GST is included. Some pages state prices without it.
- Backup and restore terms. Check how often backups run and whether restoring one costs extra.
- Who holds the account. If a web developer buys hosting for you, make sure the account and domain are in your business’s name, or ask them to transfer them to you. If you do switch hosts later, our guide to moving your website to a new host without losing Google rankings covers the steps.
Checklist
- Find your hosting renewal date and price. Check the provider’s account page or last invoice, and compare the renewal price with the intro price you signed up at.
- Check the prepayment term before you buy. Note how many months the advertised price requires you to pay upfront.
- Confirm whether GST is included. Check at checkout if the provider’s page doesn’t say.
- Check how often your host backs up your site. Ask whether restoring a backup costs extra.
- Check your site loads over https. Before paying for an SSL certificate, check whether your hosting plan already includes a free one.
- Put the hosting account and domain in your business’s name. Ask your web developer to transfer them if they’re in theirs.
- Add up hosting, domain and email. Budget for the renewal year, not just the first.
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Sources 9 sources
- VentraIP: Business Hosting (prices checked 29 September 2026)
- VentraIP: WordPress Hosting
- VentraIP: Domain name pricing
- Hostinger Australia: Web hosting
- Digital Pacific: Business web hosting
- Digital Pacific: Domain name prices
- Shopify Australia: Pricing
- Microsoft Australia: Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- Cloudflare: Plans