Web hosting guide
What is bandwidth in web hosting, and how much do I need?
Updated on ยท 7 questions answered
Bandwidth in web hosting is the amount of data your website can send to its visitors in one month. Every page a visitor opens uses some of it. A hosting plan states it in gigabytes (GB) a month, or calls it "unmetered".
How is bandwidth different from storage?
Storage is how much your website holds. Bandwidth is how much it sends. A 2 GB website can use 50 GB of bandwidth in a month if enough people open it. The guide on how much storage a website needs covers the storage side.
How much bandwidth does one visit use?
One visit uses the size of the pages the visitor opens. A page is its text, images, fonts and scripts added together. The HTTP Archive page weight report tracks the size of real web pages, and the typical page there is counted in megabytes, not kilobytes.
How do I work out how much bandwidth I need?
- Find the size of your average page in megabytes (MB). Your browser's developer tools show it on the Network tab.
- Multiply it by the pages one visitor opens on average.
- Multiply that by the visits you expect in a month.
- Divide by 1,000 to get gigabytes (GB), then add half again as spare room.
| Average page | Pages per visit | Visits a month | Data sent | With spare room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 MB | 3 | 1,000 | 6 GB | 9 GB |
| 2 MB | 3 | 10,000 | 60 GB | 90 GB |
| 2 MB | 3 | 50,000 | 300 GB | 450 GB |
The table is our own sum from the four steps above, with a 2 MB page as the example.
What does unmetered bandwidth mean?
Unmetered means the hosting company does not count the gigabytes you send. It does not mean unlimited speed or unlimited server power. A plan with unmetered bandwidth still has limits on processor and memory, and the company's terms say what happens when a site uses too much of them.
What happens if I use more bandwidth than my plan allows?
The hosting company slows the site, charges for the extra data or pauses the site until the next month. Which one applies is written in the plan's terms. Read that line before you buy a plan with a fixed number.
How do I use less bandwidth?
- Compress images and use a modern format such as WebP.
- Turn on caching, so a returning visitor does not download the same files again.
- Use a content delivery network (CDN), which serves files from a server near the visitor.
- Remove scripts and fonts the pages do not use.
Which plans did we test?
The Hostinger coupon code page lists each plan we tested at the real checkout, with its storage and the discount on every period.