| Metric | Shared | VPS |
|---|---|---|
| Total period cost | $2,750.24 | $1,181.94 |
| Effective monthly cost | $229.19 | $98.50 |
| Monthly hosting (after tax) | $26.69 | $38.75 |
| Downtime cost / month | $200.00 | $56.00 |
| Break-even (months) | 0.11 | |
| Recommendation | Shared | |
This calculator estimates total ownership using a consistent cost model for both options.
- Extra Sites Cost = max(0, Sites − IncludedSites) × ExtraSiteFee
- Storage Overage = max(0, StorageGB − IncludedStorageGB) × StorageOverageFee
- Bandwidth Overage = max(0, BandwidthGB − IncludedBandwidthGB) × BandwidthOverageFee
- Monthly Core Charges = Base + Add-ons + Overages + ExtraSitesCost
- Discounted Monthly = MonthlyCore × (1 − DiscountRate/100)
- Monthly With Tax = DiscountedMonthly × (1 + TaxRate/100)
- Downtime Monthly Cost = DowntimeHoursPerMonth × DowntimeCostPerHour
- Total Period Cost = (MonthlyWithTax + DowntimeMonthlyCost) × Months + (SetupFee + MigrationFee)
- Effective Monthly = TotalPeriodCost ÷ Months
- Break-even solves when SharedTotal(m) = VPSTotal(m), using monthly and fixed costs.
- Enter workload needs: visits, bandwidth, storage, and number of sites.
- Add financial context: taxes, discounts, and downtime cost per hour.
- Fill Shared plan pricing, included limits, and expected downtime hours.
- Fill VPS pricing plus add-ons like managed service and control panel.
- Click Calculate to view totals above the form.
- Use Download CSV or Download PDF for reporting.
- Adjust one field at a time to compare scenarios confidently.
Tip: If downtime is hard to estimate, start with your provider’s SLA and past incidents.
Cost Drivers That Usually Dominate
Monthly price is only the first layer. This calculator separates core hosting fees from add-ons, overages, and fixed one-time costs. For example, a $29/month plan with a 12% tax becomes $32.48, and a 10% discount brings it back to $29.23. Setup and migration fees matter most on short commitments; spread over 6 months, a $120 migration adds $20/month to the effective rate.
When Shared Hosting Wins
Shared plans tend to outperform when your workload stays within included limits: one or two sites, predictable bandwidth, and modest storage. If included storage is 20 GB and you use 18 GB, overage is zero, keeping your monthly core charges stable. Shared can also be financially attractive when management time is scarce and you rely on provider-managed updates without paying for a managed VPS tier.
When VPS Becomes the Better Economic Fit
A VPS usually wins as soon as you repeatedly pay for “hidden” shared costs: extra sites, bandwidth bursts, and performance upgrades. If you host 6 sites but the shared plan includes 2, an extra-site fee of $3 adds $12/month immediately. Add a control panel and managed support to VPS only if they replace real labor; the calculator lets you price these as explicit add-ons rather than assumptions.
Downtime as a Hidden Line Item
Availability affects total cost even when invoices look cheap. The model converts downtime into money using downtime hours per month × cost per hour. If your store loses $150/hour and shared averages 2 hours monthly, that is $300/month on top of hosting. Reducing downtime to 0.3 hours on VPS cuts this to $45/month, often outweighing a higher base fee.
Interpreting Effective Monthly and Break-even
Effective monthly cost divides total period cost by the number of months, so fixed fees and recurring charges become comparable across options. Break-even is the month where the cumulative totals match; before it, one option is cheaper, after it the other is. Use sensitivity testing: adjust traffic, overage fees, and downtime assumptions to see which variable flips the recommendation first.
Document results for budget approvals.
1) What should I use for downtime cost per hour?
Use your best estimate of revenue or productivity lost per hour, plus any SLA penalties. If unsure, start conservative (e.g., average hourly gross profit) and run a second scenario at double that value.
2) Does this compare performance, or only price?
It is primarily a cost model, but it includes workload inputs and downtime to reflect operational impact. Use the notes field to record performance assumptions and compare multiple saved exports.
3) How is break-even calculated here?
Break-even is the month where cumulative Shared total equals cumulative VPS total, using each option’s fixed fees and monthly charges. If monthly costs are identical, break-even is not shown because totals never cross.
4) Where do control panel and managed support fit?
Add them as VPS add-ons so the comparison stays transparent. If you need the same service on shared hosting, place that cost in Shared add-ons to keep the model balanced.
5) Can I compare annual billing plans?
Yes. Convert annual prices to monthly equivalents (annual ÷ 12) and enter the commitment length in months. If a provider charges an upfront fee, put it in setup or migration to reflect timing.
6) Is this suitable for e-commerce or client sites?
Yes, especially because downtime cost can dominate hosting fees. For client sites, set downtime cost per hour to the contract value at risk, and include extra site fees so multi-site shared plans are evaluated fairly.