| Plan/month | Cycle | Discount | Years | Sites | Domain/yr | SSL/yr | Mailboxes | Email/box | Backups | CDN | Support | Extra GB | $/GB | Included GB | Expected GB | Overage/GB | Tax | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.99 | Yearly | 15% | 3 | 3 | 12.00 | 0.00 | 5 | 1.50 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 10.00 | 20 | 0.15 | 1000 | 1200 | 0.02 | 8% | 3% |
- Effective hosting monthly = Plan monthly × (1 − discount%).
- Monthly add-ons = email + backups + CDN + support + (extra GB × $/GB) + max(0, expected − included) × overage.
- Annual fixed = domain/year + SSL/year.
- Year y total = [(hosting + add-ons) × 12 + annual fixed] × (1 + increase%)^(y−1) − credits.
- Term total = one-time fees + Σ(year totals). Tax is applied after summing.
- Average monthly = total with tax ÷ (years × 12). Per-site = average monthly ÷ websites.
- Enter the plan’s monthly list price and pick your billing cycle.
- Add discounts, one-time fees, and optional credits (free months or promo).
- Fill in domain/SSL, email, backups, CDN, and support add-ons.
- Estimate storage and bandwidth to capture overage charges.
- Set tax and annual increase to reflect real renewals.
- Click Calculate to see totals above the form, then export CSV or PDF.
Baseline Monthly Components
A realistic hosting budget blends recurring charges and fixed renewals. For a $12.99 plan, a 15% cycle discount reduces hosting to $11.04 monthly. Add-ons often exceed the plan: 5 mailboxes at $1.50 add $7.50, backups $3, CDN $2, support $10, plus 20 GB extra storage at $0.15 adds $3. Total add-ons: $25.50 per month.
Bandwidth And Storage Sensitivity
Overage is the silent swing factor. If your plan includes 1,000 GB and you expect 1,200 GB, the 200 GB overage at $0.02 adds $4 monthly. At $0.05, the same usage adds $10. That difference becomes $72 per year. Storage pricing varies too; $0.10–$0.25 per GB can change costs by $24–$60 annually for 20 GB.
Cycle Discounts Versus Cash Flow
Longer cycles can lower rates but increase upfront exposure. A 20% discount on a $15 plan saves $3 monthly, or $36 per year, yet a yearly invoice may be $144 before add-ons. Use the first-invoice estimate to compare “cheap monthly” marketing against the cash you must pay today.
Renewal Escalation Over Multiple Years
Renewal increases compound. With a 3% annual increase, a $30 monthly recurring bundle becomes about $30.90 in Year 2 and $31.83 in Year 3. Over a three-year term, compounding adds roughly 6.1% above a flat-price assumption. Include tax, commonly 5%–20%, after summing term costs for a truer total.
Per Site Budgeting Benchmarks
Multi-site plans look efficient only when measured per site. If the blended average is $45 monthly and you host 3 sites, the per-site cost is $15. Track this number when adding staging sites, landing pages, or client sites. Pair the per-site figure with a target margin, for example 30% for agencies, to set pricing confidently. For ecommerce, budget 10%–25% extra for security scanning or a WAF, typically $5–$25 monthly, depending on traffic and compliance needs.
1) Does the cycle discount reduce every charge?
No. The discount applies only to the hosting plan’s monthly rate. Add-ons, domain, SSL, taxes, and one-time fees are kept separate so you can see what actually drives the total.
2) How are free months and promo credits applied?
Free months reduce Year 1 recurring charges, and you can choose whether they also offset add-ons. Promo credit is deducted after free-month value, capped so totals never go below zero.
3) Why include an annual increase percentage?
Many providers raise renewal prices. The calculator compounds your recurring bundle by the increase rate each year, helping you compare a “first year deal” against a longer-term budget.
4) How is bandwidth overage estimated?
Overage GB equals max(0, expected bandwidth minus included bandwidth). The calculator multiplies that overage by the per-GB fee to estimate an additional monthly charge.
5) What is the difference between first invoice and average monthly?
First invoice reflects upfront billing cycle length, selected prepay options, domain/SSL timing, and credits. Average monthly spreads the full term total with tax across all months for a stable planning number.
6) If my plan includes a domain or SSL, what should I enter?
Set the domain and SSL annual costs to 0. If they are free only for the first year, enter the renewal-year amounts and reduce Year 1 using promo credit or free months to model the deal.