So you're looking for web hosting in South Africa and you've stumbled across Hostking. Good call coming here first — let's save you some time and just walk through everything you actually need to know.
Hostking has been around since 2011, which is basically ancient in internet years. They've got over 6,000 customers, their servers are hosted at the Hetzner Data Centre, and they're one of the few local providers that actually throws in a free website design with certain plans. That last part alone tends to raise a few eyebrows, so we'll get into why they do that too.
At the core, Hostking does three main things: shared web hosting, VPS servers, and reseller hosting. They've also got email hosting, SSL certificates, domain registration, and a website builder if you want the full package.
The shared hosting plans run on LiteSpeed servers with NVME SSD storage — which is the faster end of what's available on the market right now. Add in Redis object caching and you've got a setup that's meaningfully quicker than a lot of budget hosts who are still running older storage tech.
👉 Check out all Hostking plans here
Here's a clear breakdown of what you get with each plan. Prices shown are the promotional first-year rate, billed annually.
| Plan | Monthly Price (Promo) | Renews At | Websites | Storage | Emails | Free Website Design |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | R0 (14 days) | — | 1 | 5 GB NVME | None | ❌ |
| Micro | R34.50/mo | R69/mo | 1 | 20 GB NVME | 10 | ❌ |
| Starter | R64.50/mo | R129/mo | 2 | 50 GB NVME | 25 | ✅ |
| Premium | R129.50/mo | R259/mo | 100 | 100 GB NVME | Unlimited | ✅ |
All plans include: LiteSpeed server, NVME storage, free SSL certificate, free domain on annual plans, 1-click WordPress install, malware/virus protection, Redis object caching, SSH access, and a free website builder.
There's also a 30-day money-back guarantee — so there's basically no risk in trying them out.
Honestly, it's a pretty clever business model and there's not really a catch.
Hostking builds you a professional, mobile-friendly 1-page website at no extra cost when you sign up on the Starter plan or higher. Their thinking is simple: they'd rather invest in building your site upfront and earn it back through your ongoing hosting subscription, instead of charging you R2,000+ for design separately.
No hidden fees. No lock-in contracts. Cancel anytime.
The websites they produce are clean and functional — you can browse real customer examples on their site. Think small business websites, portfolio pages, radio stations, NGOs. Nothing flashy, but professional and mobile-ready, which is what most people actually need.
👉 Get a free website with the Starter plan
If you need more power — for a growing e-commerce store, a developer project, or an app — Hostking's VPS options are KVM-powered with NVME storage and full root access. They come with 20 TB bandwidth included and instant provisioning.
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 vCPU | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB NVME | 20 TB | R249/mo |
| 4 vCPU | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB NVME | 20 TB | R489/mo |
| 8 vCPU | 8 | 16 GB | 320 GB NVME | 20 TB | R849/mo |
| 12 vCPU | 12 | 24 GB | 480 GB NVME | 20 TB | R1,649/mo |
You get VNC access, a server management panel (Start/Stop/Restart/Rebuild), DDoS protection, and a 10 Gbps network connection. Semi-managed support is included for things like login issues, network problems, OS updates, and basic firewall setup.
Already have a site somewhere else and dreading the move? Hostking handles it for you — for free.
Their team migrates all your files, databases, and email accounts with zero downtime and zero data loss. They also set up your free SSL after the migration. It's the kind of thing that usually costs a few hundred rand with other hosts.
The reviews are a mixed bag, which is pretty typical for any hosting company that's been around for 15 years.
On the positive side: customers regularly praise the support team, particularly for one-on-one help during migrations and technical issues. The live chat is frequently mentioned as responsive and helpful.
On the flip side, some longer-term customers have noted that support response times can vary, and a few have mentioned PHP version and SSL issues in older reviews.
The consensus is that Hostking is a solid choice for small businesses and beginners, especially given the price point and the added value of free website design. If you're running a high-traffic commercial operation, it's worth evaluating the VPS plans rather than sitting on shared hosting.
- Small businesses wanting a website without paying a designer upfront
- Freelancers and bloggers who need affordable, reliable hosting
- Developers who want SSH access and Redis caching on a budget
- Agencies managing multiple client sites (the Premium plan covers 100 websites)
- VPS users who want straightforward, flat-rate server pricing without complicated billing
If you're just starting out, the Starter plan at R64.50/mo (first year) is genuinely good value — you get a designed website, 2 sites, 50 GB NVME storage, and 25 email accounts. That's hard to beat locally.
👉 Start with Hostking today — 50% off + free domain
Hostking isn't trying to be the biggest host in the world. They're a South African company that's been quietly doing this for 15 years, with a focus on making it easy for local businesses to get online at a fair price.
The free website design offer is genuinely useful — not a gimmick. The LiteSpeed + NVME stack is solid for performance. And the 14-day free trial means you can poke around before committing to anything.
If you're comparing options and want something local, reliable, and reasonably priced, Hostking is worth a serious look.