Domain and Hosting Cost in Pakistan: What You Actually Pay
What a domain and hosting really cost in Pakistan, the difference between them, and the traps that catch people doing it for the first time.
Before your website exists, two things have to: a domain name and hosting. They are the cheapest parts of a website and the most confusing for people doing this the first time. Here is what they actually cost in Pakistan, what the difference between them is, and the traps to avoid.
Domain versus hosting, simply
- Domain is your address:
yourbusiness.com. You rent it yearly. - Hosting is where your website's files actually live. You rent it monthly or yearly.
You need both. The domain points to the hosting; the hosting serves the site.
What a domain costs in Pakistan
| Extension | Rough yearly cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| .com | PKR 3,000 to 6,000 | The default, most trusted, usually the right choice |
| .pk / .com.pk | PKR 2,000 to 4,000 (PKNIC) | Good for local targeting, requires PKNIC registration |
| .net / .org / others | PKR 3,000 to 8,000 | Fine if .com is taken, but .com is preferred |
Buy it yourself from a registrar in your own name. If a developer or agency registers it under their account, they own your address, and leaving them becomes a negotiation.
What hosting costs in Pakistan
| Type | Yearly cost | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | PKR 5,000 to 15,000 | Cheap, your site shares a server with hundreds of others, fine for a small site |
| VPS / cloud | PKR 20,000 to 80,000+ | Your own slice of a server, faster and more reliable |
| Managed hosting | PKR 30,000 to 100,000+ | Hosting plus someone managing it for you |
The cheap shared hosting most people buy is usually the reason their site is slow. It is the classic place to save PKR 5,000 and lose thousands in visitors who leave a slow page.
The traps that catch everyone
- The developer owns everything. Domain and hosting in their account means your website lives on their property. Own your own accounts.
- Introductory pricing. Registrars and hosts advertise a low first-year price, then renew at double or triple. Check the renewal cost, not just the signup cost.
- Paying for what you do not need. A five-page business site does not need a PKR 80,000 VPS.
- No SSL. SSL (the padlock) is free via Let's Encrypt on almost every host now. If someone is charging you for basic SSL, that is a red flag.
- Forgetting renewals. Let the domain expire and anyone can buy it. Set auto-renew or calendar reminders.
Who should buy what
The safest setup: buy the domain yourself, and either let your developer set up hosting in your account or buy it yourself and hand over access. That way if the relationship ends, your site stays yours.
If your developer is handling it, our web development service includes hosting setup done properly, in your name.
Questions about domains or hosting? Message us on WhatsApp and we will tell you exactly what you need.
Need a website for your business?
We build fast, custom-coded websites and stores for Pakistani businesses. Tell us what you need and get a quote in PKR within a day.