Depending on where your business and your target audience are based, there are many options to choose from. If you are looking for the best web hosting provider in South Africa, the following list will help you make the right choice.
Top 10 Best Web Hosting Providers in South Africa 2023
There are many web hosting providers with data centers and servers in South Africa. South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa. The official language of this country is English, which is why all of the web hosting providers mentioned in our list offer customer support in English. On our list, we included the eight best web hosting providers in South Africa. We analyzed various factors, such as uptime, customer support, pricing plans, page loading speed, and more. If you are looking for the best web hosting in South Africa, this list will help you make the right decision. For consistency, all the prices given below are in US dollars.
BlueHost – Best Cheap Hosting
BlueHost offers shared and dedicated cloud hosting, which makes it stand out from the rest of the web hosting providers. After it was one of the top web hosts in the world, it was sold to a different company and has faced its fair share of challenges. BlueHost is trying to make a comeback so we will wait and see what happens. BlueHost is useful as they are advertised, as a cloud host, so you know what to expect from them. They can be a great option for companies that are small but looking to expand in the future, or for big businesses.
Pros
Offer shared, cloud, WP, VPS, and dedicated hosting High disk space
Cons
Since being sold, quality has gone downhill
Customer Support
Quality – Good Channels – Phone, live chat, tickets Hours – 24/7
Refund Policy
Money-Back Guarantee Policy – Yes Number of Days – 30 days
Speed
OK
Space
50 GB
Uptime
99.98%
Pricing Plans
$3.60 starting price
Website
SiteGround – Best Hosting Deal Now
SiteGround is a leading web hosting company with over 600 employees, servicing more than 2,800,000 domains worldwide. SiteGround offers premium hosting services at an affordable price and is internationally recognized for its unique approach to hosting. They offer services most hosting companies wouldn’t even consider possible. With a focus on performance, security, and unmatched customer service, SiteGround’s in-house solutions protect you from hacks and can make your website run over 100x faster. They have fast, experienced, and super-friendly support staff available 24/7. You will love the top speeds and extra features like free SSL, CDN, backups and restore, automatic software updates, built-in caching, staging tools, collaboration tools, GIT integration, data centers on 4 continents, and more. We highly recommend SiteGround for its quality hosting service packed with features and special tools.
Pros
A good number of hosting types Offers many performance-enhancing tools Lets customers choose their server locations (great for privacy laws) Free backup every day Collaboration tools
Cons
No VPS, dedicated, or Windows servers. Low storage
Customer Support
Quality – Excellent quality customer support Channels – Phone, live chat, tickets Hours – 24/7
Refund Policy
Money-Back Guarantee Policy – Yes Number of Days – 30 days
Speed
Great speed in testing (651 ms)
Space
Low storage space
Uptime
Good uptime in testing (99.9%)
Pricing Plans
$6.99 – $14.99 per month
Website
A2 Hosting – Best Overall Hosting
We have chosen A2 Hosting as the best overall web host on the list. They have tried to be free from limitations and offer as much to their customers as possible. They offer a multitude of services with their hosting plans and unlimited bandwidth, which is a great bonus. A2 Hosting is the best overall host for your website for the following reasons:
Pros
Unlimited SSD space Unlimited bandwidth Fast servers in top e-Commerce leading countries Support for Python, Laravel, Php, and Perl 1 click installation for WordPress Free automated backup Free SSH tool Gives an alert in the event of downtime
Cons
Lots of features require the top tier web hosting plans
Customer Support
Quality – Excellent Channels – Phone, live chat, tickets Hours – 24/7
Refund Policy
Money-back guarantee – anytime Number of days – anytime
Speed
Very fast. They say they are 20X faster than other leading web hosts.
Space
Unlimited
Uptime
99.9% uptime
Pricing Plans
$2.99 – $12.99 per month
Website
Afrihost – Best Web Hosting for Small Websites
Afrihost is a South African ISP (Internet Service Provider). It is also one of the best South African web hosting providers. It offers web hosting for Windows and Linux, cloud hosting, and specialized hosting. Apart from that, Afrihost also provides fiber, DSL, LTE internet, and domain registration. Afrihost has won many awards for its excellent customer service support. Although Afrihost is one of the most popular web hosting providers in South Africa, its service is not suitable for large businesses. But that’s ok since Afrihost hosting focuses mainly on businesses with small websites.
Pros
Reliable security and infrastructure Excellent customer support is available 24/7 via email, phone, live chat, and WhatsApp support Extraordinary 100% uptime guarantee Free domain on all shared Windows and Linux yearly plans 60-day double money-back guarantee. This means that if you are not satisfied with the service within 60 days, Afrihost will refund you double of what you paid for their hosting Extensive knowledge base with over 220 articles and video tutorials All plans are paid month-to-month
Cons
No free SSL certificates as part of the paid plans Phone customer support only available during South African business hours No WordPress hosting plans
Pricing plans
Windows-shared hosting plans start at $4.51 per month Linux-shared hosting plans start at $3.20 per month Cloud hosting plans start at $20.24 per month Enterprise cloud hosting plans start at $59.42 per month Reseller hosting plans start at $33.30 per month
Axxess – Best Linux Web Hosting in South Africa
Axxess is a South African ISP (Internet Service Provider) based in Port Elizabeth. It was founded in 1997 to serve South Africans with excellent internet access and has been on the market for over twenty years. Axxess won an Internet Service Provider of the Year award in 2008 after launching over 600 WiFi hotspots across South Africa. In addition, it received the “Best ISP in South Africa” award in 2015. Apart from internet services, Axxess also offers Windows-shared hosting, Linux-shared hosting, and Linux cloud hosting.
Pros
Excellent Linux shared and cloud hosting packages All plans come with unlimited bandwidth Free SSL certificate included in all plans Free domain included on yearly plans Extremely cheap pricing plans with huge discounts Flexible billing cycles (monthly, quarterly, biannually, and annually) Free web hosting for up to 6 months
Cons
No automatic backups No uptime guarantee No money-back guarantee Long customer service response time
Pricing plans
Linux-shared hosting plans with cPanel start at $3.54 per month Windows-shared hosting plans start at $3.60 per month Linux cloud hosting plans start at $20.25 per month WordPress hosting plans start at $5.83 per month
Mweb – Best Web Hosting in South Africa for Bloggers
Mweb is a South African ISP that also offers to host services to its customers. It was founded in 1997 and has over twenty years of experience. To date, Mweb has provided over a million South African homes with excellent internet service. As a result, Mweb has built its reputation as a leading Internet Service Provider in South Africa. Now, Mweb provides its customers with internet services and web hosting using local data centers.
Pros
Free co. za domain on the largest hosting plan Unlimited disk space Unlimited monthly traffic Tech support is available 24/7/365 via phone support and support ticket system Easy-to-use website builder tool included on every plan Multiple mailboxes available on all plans Reasonably priced hosting plans
Cons
Limited hosting plan options (only three plans available) Free domain is not available on the lower hosting plans Many customers have complained about the quality of the customer support No VPS hosting options are available
Pricing plans
Uncapped Hosting Lite plan at $4.91 per month Uncapped Hosting Pro plan at $6.88 per month Uncapped Hosting Ultra plan at $10.42 per month
Vox – Best Shared Web Hosting in South Africa
Vox is a South African IT company founded in 1996. Apart from managed internet solutions, such as WiFi, Fibre, and mobile services, it also offers domain registration and shared web hosting solutions. As a hosting provider, Vox focuses mainly on shared web hosting solutions for Linux and Windows platforms. In addition, Vox offers simple hosting plans and excellent customer support.
Pros
Windows and Linux shared hosting plans are available Free website vulnerability assessments to keep your website safe Free SSL certificate included on all plans Free .co.za domain included on all plans Free website builder included on all plans No long-term commitment, plans are charged on a month-to-month basis Easy-to-use control panel Customer support is available 24/7
Cons
Live chat is only available during South African business hours (8 am to 5 pm) South African phone number needed during checkout and registration No money-back guarantee WordPress hosting plans are relatively highly-priced compared to other web hosting providers
Pricing plans
Linux-shared hosting plans start at $2.29 per month Windows-shared hosting plans start at $7.60 per month WordPress hosting plans start at $16.32
Web4Africa – Best Cheap Web Hosting in South Africa
Web4Africa is an African domain registrar and web hosting provider founded in 2002. Web4Africa has an established presence across Africa and North America. They have data centers located in different African countries, such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Web4Africa offers domain registration services, web hosting, WordPress hosting, and VPS hosting solutions.
Pros
Affordable web, WordPress, and VPS hosting plans Free domain included on annual plans Free SSL certificates are included on all plans Free basic web builder included on all plans Automatic daily, weekly, and monthly backups Unlimited email accounts on all plans Over 300 pre-installed applications, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
Cons
Unreliable security No live chat available to contact customer support Customer support response time may be very long
Pricing plans
Web hosting plans start at $2.23 per month WordPress hosting plans start at $6.88 per month VPS hosting plans start at $22.28 per month
Cybersmart – Best cPanel Web Hosting in South Africa
Cybersmart is the number 1 ranked ISP in South Africa, founded in 1998. Cybersmart offers mainly ADSL, web hosting, and domain registration services. Its data centers are located in Cape Town, Durban, and Gauteng (South Africa). Although Cybersmart provides a user-friendly experience, many online reviews come from disappointed customers. However, if you are looking for a basic and affordable cPanel hosting in South Africa, Cybersmart may be a good choice for you.
Pros
Very affordable hosting plans Easy-to-use cPanel Unlimited bandwidth on all plans Multiple mailboxes included on all plans Softaculous Auto Installer included on all plans Free SSL certificate included on all plans No long-term commitment, plans are charged on a month-to-month basis
Cons
No live chat to contact customer support Customer support response takes around 24 hours Customer support is only available between 7:30 am and 10:30 pm Many customers complaints about the quality of the hosting services No money-back guarantee
Pricing plans
Shared hosting plans start at $1.31 per month Linux Cloud hosting plans start at $11.75 per month cPanel hosting plans start at $52.44 per month Windows Cloud hosting plans start at $42.79 per month
Hostafrica – Best Web Hosting in South Africa
Hostafrica is a German and South African hosting company based in Cape Town. Its data centers are located in South Africa, Germany, the UK, and the US. Hostafrica provides domain registration, web hosting, cloud hosting, reseller hosting, and VPS hosting solutions. It is also a leader in cloud hosting solutions in South Africa. Additionally, Hostafrica is an excellent choice for beginners. Apart from hosting services, it also offers an easy drag-and-drop website builder to help users kickstart their websites.
Pros
Excellent value-for-money hosting plans Fast and reliable SSD servers Free SSL certificate included on all plans Free .co.za domain on all annual plans 99.9% uptime guarantee 30-day money-back guarantee No long-term commitment, plans are charged on a month-to-month basis Customer support is available 24/7 via email and support tickets
Cons
Live Chat is not available 24/7 Phone support only available during South African business hours Renewal prices are significantly higher than initial prices
Pricing plans
Web hosting plans start at $1.04 per month for the first three months WordPress hosting plans start at $1.30 per month for the first three months Reseller web hosting plans start at $3.93 per month for the first three months VPS hosting plans start at $7.23 per month Dedicated server plans start at $91.66 per month
Xneelo – Best Managed Web Hosting in South Africa
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Xneelo is a South African web hosting provider with data centers in South Africa and Germany. Xneelo offers web hosting, managed WordPress hosting, and self-managed, and managed servers. It also provides domain registration solutions and colocation.
Pros
99.9% uptime guarantee Unlimited bandwidth on all plans Free SSL certificates are included on all plans Free automatic daily backups Customer support is available 24/7 via phone and email 30-day free trial with a shareable link to your website on the Managed WordPress hosting plan Option to set up a temporary domain on the Managed WordPress hosting plan
Cons
Customer service response time can be very slow No money-back guarantee Limited hosting plans Hosting plans are relatively expensive compared to other web hosting providers
Pricing plans
Shared web hosting plans start at $6.45 per month Managed WordPress hosting plan costs $9.71 per month Self-managed dedicated server plans start at $77.88 per month Linux-managed dedicated server plans start at $84.40 per month
Is SiteGround available in South Africa?
SiteGround is not available in South Africa at the moment due to local regulations and tax requirements. As of November 2020, the company decided to stop offering its services to countries outside its primary markets. The above list of best web hosting providers in South Africa will help you find a suitable alternative.
Is there a web hosting company in South Africa that supports node.js?
Yes. Truehost is an African web hosting provider which supports node.js. Truehost Africa offers node.js users affordable hosting solutions to launch their node.js projects. It provides dedicated node.js hosting as well as shared node.js hosting.
What is the best web hosting for a small business in South Africa?
Afrihost is the best web hosting for small businesses in South Africa. Although Afrihost is a large and very well-established company, its hosting services are not suitable for large companies. Therefore, Afrihost targets mainly small businesses.
What is the best web hosting in South Africa for beginners?
HostAfrica is the best web hosting in South Africa for beginners. Its hosting packages have everything that you may need if you are new to web hosting. Apart from web hosting, it also offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website builder to help get your website started.
Conclusion
If you are launching a business in South Africa, choosing a South African web hosting provider with local data centers makes perfect sense. Among many web hosting providers in South Africa, we have selected and analyzed the best ones to create this list. When choosing the right hosting provider for you, consider your business needs, the size, and traffic of your website, as well as customer reviews. About
