Web Hosting Compared 2026: Shared, VPS, Cloud and Free Static Hosting
Shared hosting runs US$3–6 a month, a VPS about US$5, and static sites can be hosted for free. We break down the price, best fit, and who handles maintenance for four types of hosting, using real bills from the 20 websites we run ourselves.
A host is the computer that stores your website's files and makes them reachable to everyone else. If your domain is the street address, your host is the house.
The most common mistake when choosing hosting is looking only at the monthly price. The real difference iswho handles maintenance: with cheaper plans, maintenance is your job; with pricier plans, you're paying someone else to look after it.
This article compares four types of hosting, with prices in USD, and includes our own real bill: one cloud server running 20 websites for about US$38 a month.
The four types of hosting at a glance
| Type | Approx. per month | Who maintains it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Static hosting (Cloudflare Pages, etc.) | Free | The platform | Company sites, portfolios, campaign pages |
| Shared hosting | US$3–10 | The host maintains the server; you maintain the site | Small WordPress sites, tight budgets |
| VPS (virtual private server) | From US$5 | All on you | Teams with engineers running custom systems |
| Cloud servers (GCP, AWS, etc.) | From about US$6, usage-based | All on you | Growing traffic, flexible scaling |
Each type, in plain language
Static hosting: sites without a back end can be hosted for free
A "static site" is one whose pages are generated before going live, so visitors simply get the files directly—no live database lookups. Most websites that introduce a company, its services, or its work fall into this category.
Services like Cloudflare Pages and GitHub Pages host static sites for free. They're fast, come with built-in HTTPS (the padlock in front of the URL), and leave almost nothing to hack. Cloudflare Pages' free plan allows up to 20,000 files per site—more than a typical company website will ever need.
Two caveats: GitHub Pages' terms don't allow it to host online stores or commercial services, and Vercel's free plan is limited to personal, non-commercial use. For a company website, go with Cloudflare Pages first.
Shared hosting: many sites on one server, the traditional choice
One large server is split among dozens or even hundreds of customers. The host handles hardware, system updates, and backups, and you get a control panel (usually cPanel) to set up your site yourself.
Common entry-level plans in Taiwan work out to about US$3–10 a month when billed annually. International providers often offer first-year discounts, but renewal prices go up—so check the renewal price here too.
The catch is that resources are shared. Take the GoDaddy shared hosting we use: each account gets only 1GB of memory, up to 45 concurrent processes, and 250,000 files. When a neighboring site gets a traffic spike, your site slows down with it.
VPS: a small server of your own
A VPS splits one physical server into several independent virtual servers, each with its own operating system. You get full admin access and can install whatever you want. International providers charge about US$5–6 a month (plus tax where applicable) for a 1GB memory plan.
It's cheap, butsystem updates, security, backups, and who gets up at 3 a.m. when something breaks are all on you. If your company doesn't have an engineer, we don't recommend running your own VPS.
Cloud servers: much like a VPS, but scalable anytime
Servers on Google Cloud (GCP), AWS, and Azure work on the same idea as a VPS. The difference is that you can scale up anytime, pay based on usage, and connect a full suite of services like databases, backups, and monitoring.
Our own setup: one GCP server hosts 20 websites and systems (company sites, LINE bots, booking systems, admin dashboards) for about US$38 a month. That averages out to around US$2 per site per month—but only because someone knows how to run it. Updates, monitoring, backups, and certificate renewals all have to be done in-house.
Three questions to ask before choosing hosting
Question 1: Does your site need a back end?
If it just introduces your company and rarely changes → a static site with free hosting has the lowest long-term cost. If you need memberships, a shopping cart, or want to edit content yourself → shared hosting or a cloud server.
Question 2: Who will maintain it?
No engineer on staff → choose shared hosting, or hand maintenance over to the agency that builds your site. Have an engineer → a VPS or cloud server gives you the most flexibility.
Question 3: Whose name is the hosting account under?
Just like your domain, your hosting should be set up under your own account. It's fine for an agency to manage it, but the account and billing should be yours so you can take everything with you when the engagement ends.
FAQ
Is there free web hosting?
Yes. Static sites can be hosted for free on Cloudflare Pages, including for commercial use. For database-driven sites like WordPress, there's no reliable free option—services advertised as free usually come with ads, traffic limits, or no support for your own domain.
What kind of hosting does WordPress need?
Shared hosting is the most common choice, and most plans offer one-click WordPress installs. If your site has heavy traffic or lots of plugins, a cloud server or dedicated managed WordPress hosting will be more stable.
What's the difference between shared hosting and a VPS?
With shared hosting, many people share one server and the host manages the system for you. A VPS is a (virtual) server of your own—you get the most control, but you also manage the system yourself. In plain terms: shared hosting is like renting a studio apartment; a VPS is like renting an entire floor and fitting it out yourself.
Is hosting in Taiwan or overseas better?
If your audience is in Taiwan, data centers in Taiwan, Japan, or Singapore will be faster than ones in the US. Static sites served on a global network like Cloudflare are fast wherever visitors are, so the question goes away entirely.
Will my website disappear if I switch hosts?
It won't disappear on its own, but it does need to be moved. Move your site files and database to the new host, confirm everything works, then point your domain's DNS to the new host. Cancel the old host only after you've confirmed it's no longer getting traffic—not before.
Don't want to manage hosting yourself?
The company websites we build are static sites on fast, free hosting, so hosting costs are close to zero. Anything that needs a system runs on cloud servers we operate, with monitoring, backups, and certificate renewals included in our maintenance plan. Once your site is built, it's transferred to your name and keeps running even if you don't renew maintenance. Details are on ourweb design services page; for buying a domain, seeour domain buying guide。
Prices are based on public information checked in November 2026, in USD (converted from NT$ at about 32 to 1 where needed). Shared hosting prices reflect typical entry-level plans in Taiwan; actual prices vary by provider, plan, and promotion. Please check each provider's official site before purchasing.