How much can one really host on an unlimited hosting (shared hosting) plan?

The use of the word “unlimited” is a common one in the web hosting world. These days, almost all web hosts offer at least some “unlimited” features, including disk space, bandwidth, domains, and more. Just like unlimited Internet access and unlimited mobile data plans, there are actually limits. The real difference between limited plans and unlimited plans is that the unlimited plans are undefined.

When you sign up for a hosting plan that allows for unlimited disk space, you will most likely not run into a problem, even if you use hundreds of gigabytes of space. Typically, hosting companies that offer these unlimited services have a surplus of it available. If they do not, it is truly false advertising. They base their claim of unlimited service on the maximum amount of usage they get from their users. They then make a business decision that even if a user goes over that maximum amount, they will impose any additional charges.

Unlimited, therefore, is more accurately described as “unmetered”. The web host is not measuring how much of the service you use. There is no quota, and you will probably not have a problem unless you are using more than even a dedicated server would typically support. In that case, your host may contact you and offer you some type of other deal. Under no circumstances, however, should your host slap you with additional fees when they have made a promise of “unlimited” space or bandwidth to you.

For some services, such as domain hosting, the unlimited amount is limited by other features. In other words, if your account has a 400 GB space limit, such as the Hosting Mini plan offered by WebHostingBuzz, you can only have as many domains hosted as 400 GB will allow, which is more than most customers will ever use.

To put it plainly, even unlimited hosting has its technical limits, but a good web host will not punish you for exceeding their server capacity. They will simply make arrangements to move you to your own server or setup some type of special account in order to keep your website functioning properly.