Budget static website hosting without fake unlimited

Budget static website hosting should state prices, quotas, and exclusions—not vague “unlimited forever” poetry. StaticHost’s monthly plans are Starter $9 (1 site, 2 GB), Pro $30 (3 sites, 10 GB, staging), Scale $65 (10 sites, 30 GB), and Business $130 (30 sites, 100 GB, teams). There is a short trial (~1 day). There is no forever-free tier. The product hosts prebuilt files you build locally; it does not run npm or Hugo; nginx is try_files $uri $uri/ =404 with no SPA index fallback; email and a built-in CDN product are not included.

If your budget true requirement is $0 forever, use a free host and accept its rules. If your budget requirement is predictable commercial hosting for HTML output, the table above is the contract.

What free hosts cost you

Forever-free hosts charge attention: policy changes, branding constraints, missing staging, awkward multi-client workflows, and rewrite features you might accidentally architect around. Paid StaticHost charges money and gives explicit site caps. Neither is morally superior. Lying about which you bought causes bitterness.

Budget buyers should also price their time. Assembling object storage + CDN + certificates can beat $9 in cash and lose in hours. StaticHost’s band ($9–$130) buys a site-shaped workflow with HTTPS preview before DNS and certificates after verification.

Honest inclusions and exclusions

Included across plans: static file hosting, zip or GitHub artifact ingest, HTTPS on preview hostnames, custom domains with certificates after DNS verifies, deploy history/rollback, =404 file routing.

Excluded across plans: remote npm/Hugo/Jekyll builds, SPA fallback rewrites, cPanel, mailboxes, built-in CDN product, WordPress/PHP, unlimited sites.

See also low-cost HTML hosting, HTML hosting cost, and cheap static hosting for small websites.

Worked example: a campaign landing page for a weekend sale

A retailer needs a weekend sale lander. Budget: keep cash tight, avoid WordPress maintenance. A contractor builds a one-pager locally, uploads to Starter ($9) if only one site is needed, or uses an existing Pro ($30) slot with staging if legal must review.

They validate HTTPS preview Friday morning—including form endpoint and image compression. Only after preview looks right do they point sale.retailer.example DNS. Certificate follows verification. Ads start Friday noon. Monday they delete the site or replace it with a closed message file. Hosting cost for the flight is a rounding error versus ad spend; what mattered was not pointing DNS before preview was correct and not assuming forever-free commercial hosting.

Failure to avoid: pointing DNS before the preview looks right

Budget projects skip steps to “save time.” Pointing DNS at a broken zip (nested index.html, missing CSS, http:// images) makes the vanity domain fail publicly while you scramble. Certificates and verification add waiting on top of content bugs.

StaticHost’s order exists to protect you: HTTPS preview first (no DNS required), fix files, then DNS, then certificate after verification. Skipping ahead does not save money; it spends reputation. Under =404, missing assets stay missing—no soft theme fills the gaps.

Choosing a tier without upsell fog

  • $9 Starter: one brochure, portfolio, or lander; 2 GB if you compress.
  • $30 Pro: few properties plus staging—often the real budget win versus editing production live.
  • $65 Scale: up to ten sites for agencies or multi-location small brands.
  • $130 Business: up to thirty sites, 100 GB, teams.

Upgrade for site count or staging needs, not for imaginary CDN unlocks. Downgrade after teardown when inventory shrinks. Do not buy Business for a single HTML page.

Budget myths to delete from proposals

  • “Unlimited static hosting” — false here; caps are 1/3/10/30.
  • “Free SSL means free hosting” — TLS comes with paid hosting/preview use; hosting is not forever free.
  • “The host will build our npm app” — build locally.
  • “Forms will email us from the host” — use a form vendor.
  • “SPA routes just work” — not without files; no index fallback.

FAQ

Are the prices annual?

This guide quotes monthly $9/$30/$65/$130. Check billing UI for annual options if offered.

Can I stay on the trial forever?

No. Trial is short; then pick a paid plan or host elsewhere for free.

Does budget hosting include a CDN?

No built-in CDN product. Optimize assets or buy CDN separately.

Will upgrading fix my Vue history-mode 404s?

No. Architecture must match =404, or pick a different platform.