Pick two setups and a time horizon. Every price comes from the vendor’s own page on the date shown in the source table, with renewal rates, not just the first-year offer. Prices are in US dollars as published.
Cash paid each year
Where each price comes from
How the calculator works, and what it leaves out
- Cash basis. A year is what you pay in that year. Hosts that demand a 12, 36 or 48 month prepayment are charged in full on day one, then renew yearly at the published renewal rate.
- Renewals. We use the renewal rate the host prints today. Hosts can change it before you renew; the “renewal price rise” box lets you test that. Retention discounts are not modelled because they are not published.
- Email. Kit and beehiiv price by list size. We hold verified prices at 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 subscribers, so a list between those sizes is priced at the next size up and flagged. The free plans have fewer features than the paid ones.
- Domains. Registrar prices are for a .com, first year and renewal, from each registrar’s own page. A free first-year domain from your host is not modelled, because the host’s renewal price for that domain is not in our log.
- Tax. Prices are used as published, which for most vendors means before tax. The VAT box adds 20% to every figure for a UK buyer; it does not know which vendors already include it.
- Left out. Coupon codes, premium themes other than those listed, paid plugins you add, your time, and currency conversion fees.
- Not advice. A planning estimate built from published prices. Check the vendor’s page before you buy.
Why the first year misleads
On 3 October 2026, Hostinger Premium and SiteGround StartUp were both advertised at $2.99 a month. Over four years, one cost $143.52 and the other $683.52. The difference is the term you prepay and the renewal rate. The workings are in Hostinger vs SiteGround.
Where the prices come from
Every figure is read from the vendor’s own page and kept in our dated price log, with the history of each change: see all pricing pages and the Blogging Tool Cost Index. Hosting, caching, email and SEO prices were last re-read on 5 November 2026, during Black Friday sales. Where a sale was running, the source table says so and the calculator uses the standard price, because a sale price only applies to the first term.
What it does not include
Taxes (unless you tick VAT), coupon codes, premium plugins you add, and retention discounts a host might offer if you threaten to leave. These are not published, so we cannot price them. To see what the blog could earn against these costs, try the Blogging Profit Calculator, or read how much it costs to start a blog.