Cheap and Free Web Hosting: Pros, Cons and SA Picks

Free and ultra-cheap hosting can look appealing. But hidden limits can break your site at the worst time. Here’s what to know and how to choose safely.

Table of contents

• Free hosting: what you really get
• When free hosting is okay
• Safer cheap options
• Free domain offers explained
• Alternatives: site builders and nonprofits
• Upgrade path

Free hosting: what you really get

Common trade-offs:

• Ads or branding on your site
• Limited bandwidth/storage, slow shared servers
• No email or capped mailboxes
• No backups, weak security, no SLA

If you must go free, research 000webhost alternatives and check if they include a database and SSL.

When free hosting is okay

• Learning HTML/CSS/PHP
• Personal experiments and prototypes
• Temporary project pages

For any business or ecommerce, choose paid plans with SSL, backups, and support.

Safer cheap options

Look for:

• Free SSL and at least weekly backups
• Email accounts included
• Clear renewal pricing

Compare budget plans in our Hostinger South Africa review and the broader Best Web Hosting in South Africa.

Free domain offers explained

“Free domain for one year” is common on annual plans. Watch renewal fees and TLD restrictions. Consider using a registrar with competitive renewals and manage DNS carefully.

Alternatives: site builders and nonprofits

• Builders: Weebly and Squarespace include hosting; good for portfolios and simple sites.
• Nonprofits: Google for Nonprofits offers credits/tools; for static sites, Firebase Hosting can work for developers.

Upgrade path

Start small, monitor performance, and be ready to upgrade. When traffic grows, move to a better shared, VPS, or cloud plan. Follow our migration checklist: How to Move or Transfer Web Hosting.