Web Hosting Prices in Kenya (2024)
- 29/09/2022
- Nescom Technologies
- Web Hosting
Web hosting is the most important aspect when establishing an online presence for your business. It is essential to understand the type and price of web hosting services that fits your needs before you purchase it.
In this article , we will explain the difference between various web hosting types and their corresponding price.
In general, web hosting costs between Ksh 2000 to Ksh 10000 per year for shared web hosting. Other hosting types such as VPS, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers are comparatively more expensive.
Factors that Affect Web Hosting Cost
The cost of web hosting depends on several factors:
- Choice of web hosting company
There are hundreds of web hosting providers in Kenya who offer various hosting and cloud services. Each website hosting company has different prices for their packages.
- Type of Web Hosting
The type of web hosting influences the price that web hosts charge for their services. For instance, shared web hosting which is ideal for small websites and personal blogs is relatively cheaper compared to VPS or dedicated hosting.
- Features of the hosting service
The features included in a hosting plan influences the overall cost. For example, storage capacity, RAM, CPU, etc determines the rate at which a shared hosting plan will be charged.
- Subscription period
The length of subscription directly influences the service rates you will pay for the hosting service. Longer subscription attracts cheaper prices or discounts.
Web Hosting Types and their Costs
There are different types of web hosting to choose from for your website. The popular types of hosting are shared web hosting, VPS, dedicated, cloud and WordPress hosting. The overall cost of web hosting varies from one type of hosting to another
Shared Web Hosting
In shared web hosting, multiple hosting accounts are created on a single web server. This implies that all the server computing resources, such as storage space, bandwidth, RAM and processing power (CPU), are shared among the websites that are hosted on that server.
Shared web hosting is the cheapest type of web hosting in Kenya, although it has its own limitations, such as lower performance and security compared to VPS or dedicated hosting.
Shared web hosting in Kenya prices ranges between Ksh 2000 and Ksh 10000 per year.
The table below shows the price of shared web hosting plans at Nescom
| Hosting Plan | Price | Storage Space |
|---|---|---|
| Starter Hosting Plan | Ksh 2490 / year | 30 GB |
| Premium Hosting Plan | Ksh 3990 / year | 50 GB |
| Business Hosting Plan | Ksh 7980 / year | 100 GB |
Pros of Shared Web Hosting
Cheapest hosting plans – The hosting type has affordable pricing plans which is ideal for beginners
Easy to manage – Each user is given a Cpanel account which makes it easy to self-manage your website, emails and other files.
Scalable hosting plan – You can purchase more hosting resources as your blog or website grows in traffic volumes.
Beginner-friendly – You can get your website up and running without deep technical knowledge
Cons of Shared Web Hosting
Limited server resources
Susceptible to cyber attacks such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
Poor performance of the server and website especially when the resources are strained.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is a type of hosting which is used to power websites with considerably higher traffic such as ecommerce sites and business websites. It uses virtualization technology to mimic dedicated server environment on a shared server. It is therefore a blend of dedicated and shared hosting types.
The cost of VPS hosting in Kenya ranges from Ksh 3000 per month to Ksh 8000 per month depending on server specifications.
Pros of VPS hosting
- Easy to scale
- Better reliability than shared hosting
- Dedicated server resources
- Better Privacy
- Complete control of the hosting environment
Cons of VPS Hosting
- Higher average cost than shared hosting
- Demands technical expertise to run and maintain.
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting means an entire server is allocated to you. Therefore, you have full root access, complete control of the server environment and resources. You can install and customize the operating system and other software as per your requirements.
Dedicated hosting prices at Nescom Kenya ranges from Ksh 8000 per month to Ksh 97000 per month depending on the server configurations.
Pros of Dedicated Hosting
- Ideal for large websites with heavy traffic
- Full control of the server
- Flexibility – easy to customize the server environment
- Enhanced performance
- Better Security
Cons of Dedicated Hosting
- Higher average cost of setup and maintenance
- Requires technical knowledge
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting uses multiple virtual servers to host a website. The network of remote virtual servers form a “cloud” which provides higher reliability and scalability.
The cost of cloud web hosting plans depends on the allocated server resources such as processing power and RAM.
The prices of cloud web hosting services range from Ksh 1000 to Ksh 20000 per month.
Pros of Cloud Hosting
- Scalability – In the event that your website gains more traffic its easier to increase the bandwidth and storage.
- Better performance & faster load speeds
- Higher reliability and uptime – If one server is offline or faulty, the website will still be online
- Affordable service charges
Cons of Cloud Hosting
- Costly than shared hosting
- Limited control as the web host manages the cloud services
- Security vulnerabilities
WordPress Hosting
Managed wordpress hosting is type of hosting optimised for WordPress users. It improved the security and overall performance of websites build with the WordPress content management system.
This special hosting type take care of keeping the wordpress installation up to date and performing routine backups on the server. Some web hosting providers also gives the customers access to WordPress support team.
The price of managed wordpress hosting ranges from Ksh 200 to Ksh 20000 per month depending on the hosting provider.
Pros of WordPress Hosting
- Dedicated support
- Regular updates
- Faster speeds and performance
- Daily backups
- Better security
Cons of WordPress Hosting
- Limited to WordPress CMS only
- Shared resources
- Quite costly than traditional shared hosting
Price Comparison of Web Hosting in Kenya
The table below shows the price of the cheapest hosting plans for the top web hosting service providers in Kenya.
| Hosting Provider | Shared Web Hosting | VPS Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Nescom Kenya | Ksh 2490 / yr | Ksh 3500 / mo |
| Truehost Cloud | Ksh 2500 / yr | Ksh 800 / mo |
| HostPinnacle | Ksh 3500 / yr | Ksh 1400 / mo |
| Kenya Website Experts | ksh 4100 / yr | Ksh 8499 / mo |
| HostAfrica Kenya | Ksh 4620 / yr | Ksh 960 / mo |
| Orawebhost | Ksh 2000 / yr | Ksh 12000 / mo |
| Webhost Kenya | Ksh 2415 / yr | Ksh 1740 / mo |
| Safaricom | Ksh 1500 / yr | – |
| DeepAfrica | Ksh 3364 / yr | Ksh 4673 / mo |
| Hostpoa | Ksh 3000 / yr | Ksh 4673 / mo |
Conclusion
The price of web hosting in Kenya range from Ksh 2000 to Ksh 10000 annually depending on the type of website you are running and your budget. If you have a high traffic blog or ecommerce website which demands more resources it’s recommended to choose VPS or dedicated hosting. However, you need a higher budget as the dedicated servers are expensive.
If your website is not resource-intensive such as personal blog or small business website, you can purchase a shared hosting plan which is the most affordable type of hosting available. Shared web hosting costs as low as Ksh 2000 per year exclusive of domain names, SSL certificates and other overhead costs.