Afrihost review
Updated September 28, 2026 · ForgeCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Afrihost suits South African beginners and small businesses that want hosting and a .com from a single provider, with shared plans from ZAR 84 and a 60 day money back window. Email is bundled, and the .com renewal of ZAR 269 comes in below the opening year figure of ZAR 289.
Key facts
- Best for
- Beginners and small businesses in South Africa wanting hosting, email and a .com from a single provider
- Intro price
- ZAR 84 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Hosting types
- Shared, Cloud, Reseller, Dedicated, Rack (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 60 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Features
- Email (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Uptime guarantee
- 100% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- South Africa (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 to 1999 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Email, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners
- Pricing model
- Free plan
- Official website
- afrihost.com
Website builders
- Price from
- ZAR 84 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free plan
- Yes (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Templates
- 500 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Builder type
- Site (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- South Africa (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 to 1999 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Email, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners
- Pricing model
- Free plan
Domain registrars
- .com first year
- ZAR 289 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- .com renewal
- ZAR 269 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- .com transfer
- ZAR 269 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 60 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- South Africa (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 to 1999 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Email, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners
- Pricing model
- Free plan
Apps and profiles
- Get the app
- Google Play
Pros and cons
Pros
- A money back window of 60 days, ranking at position 12 out of 275 brands on that measure.
- Hosting breadth across shared, cloud and reseller, so a site can climb the ladder without changing supplier.
- Email is bundled at email, and support reaches you on email, phone and help centre.
- A free plan plus 500 templates in the builder, so a site can be designed and published before any spend.
- A .com renewal of ZAR 269 against an opening year price of ZAR 289, with transfers at ZAR 269.
Cons
- Support runs on email, phone and help centre only, with no live chat, and email is the most common channel in this group at 72.3%.
- The entry price ranks at 184 out of 282 brands on intro price, so cheaper openings are easy to find.
- Domains sit outside the hosting price: a .com costs ZAR 289 in the opening year and ZAR 269 on renewal, on top of shared hosting from ZAR 84.
- Pricing is in rand, so the ZAR 84 entry cannot be read directly against CLP 159,900 at Hosting.cl or CLP 1,491.67 at Host Chile.
Who it suits
- Beginners in South Africa putting a site online, since beginners names beginners and the builder includes a free plan.
- Small businesses that want hosting, email and a .com from a single supplier, with shared, cloud and reseller and email at email.
- Buyers who weigh the exit, since the money back period is 60 days against a 30 day median across the brands compared here.
Who should look elsewhere
- Not for live chat fans: support is email, phone and help centre and stops there, so a chat led builder such as Render is worth a look first.
- Not for the lowest entry price: Render sits at $0 while Afrihost shared hosting runs from ZAR 84.
- Not for readers budgeting in a currency other than rand: Host Chile quotes CLP 1,491.67 and Hosting.cl quotes CLP 159,900, so neither reads directly against ZAR 84.
Where it sits among rivals
Afrihost does not lead on price: its entry price sits at position 184 out of 282 brands on intro price, so cheaper openings are easy to find. The money back ranking tells the other side of the story, at position 12 out of 275 brands. Readers who weigh the exit rather than the entry land nearer the front here.
Free plan and trial
There is a free plan, so a site can be designed and published before any spend, and the builder is arranged around a free tier rather than a free trial. Paid hosting then carries a 60 day money back window, which gives room to try a plan on a live site before the choice sticks for longer.
Intro and renewal prices
The entry price on shared hosting is ZAR 84, and that is the figure most comparisons quote first, with the free builder tier sitting alongside it rather than replacing it. Domains are priced separately and plainly: a .com registration runs ZAR 289 in the opening year and ZAR 269 on renewal, so the domain renewal sits a touch below the opening year rather than jumping above it.
What it does well
Hosting breadth is the strong point: shared, cloud and reseller cover the full ladder, so a site can start on shared hosting and later move to cloud, reseller, dedicated or rack without changing supplier. Email is part of the package at email, which is the piece many small sites buy from a second company. Together these cover the common path from a small live site to one that needs its own machine.
Who runs it
The provider behind the plans is Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd, headquartered in South Africa, and trading since 1,997 to 1,999. Buyers reach support through email, phone and help centre, a mix of direct contact and a self service help centre, with no live chat among them. For readers in South Africa, a locally registered company and a support team in the same market make the arrangement simpler.
How Afrihost compares
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Afrihost shared hosting cost to get going?+
The shared hosting entry price is ZAR 84, and paid plans run from ZAR 84. That figure ranks at position 184 out of 282 brands on intro price across this site, so cheaper openings sit further down. Prices are quoted in rand, the local currency for ZA buyers.
What does a .com cost, and what happens at renewal?+
A .com registration runs ZAR 289 in the opening year and ZAR 269 on renewal, so the renewal figure sits a little below the opening year rather than above it. Bringing a domain in costs ZAR 269. Domain prices are separate from hosting at ZAR 84, so budget for both.
Is there a free plan or a free trial?+
There is a free plan, and the builder is arranged around a free tier rather than a free trial, so a site can be published before any spend. The template library holds 500 designs to start from. Paid hosting is a separate step and carries a 60 day money back window.
How long is the money back window?+
The money back period is 60 days, longer than the 30 day median across the brands compared here. On that measure Afrihost ranks at position 12 out of 275, so the exit terms sit among the more generous in the group.
How do I reach Afrihost support?+
Support comes through email, phone and help centre, so you can email, call or use the help centre. Live chat is not one of those channels, which is the main gap for readers who expect instant answers. A help centre is the most common form of help in this group at 84.5%.
What kinds of hosting are offered?+
The range covers shared, cloud and reseller, which runs from shared hosting up to dedicated and rack servers. A new site can begin on shared hosting and step up to cloud or dedicated as it grows, without moving to another supplier. Email is part of the package at email.
Who runs Afrihost and where is it based?+
The provider is Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd, headquartered in South Africa, and it has been trading since 1,997 to 1,999. Its terms commit to 100% uptime. Buyers in South Africa deal with a company registered in their own market, which keeps billing and support in one place.
How does Afrihost compare with free or cheaper alternatives?+
Render sits at $0 at the entry, while Afrihost shared hosting runs from ZAR 84 and Hosting.cl quotes CLP 159,900. The prices sit in different currencies, so the fairer comparison is on what comes with them: a free plan, a 60 day money back window and support on email, phone and help centre.
Sources
- truehost.co.za/afrihost-domain-registration checked September 26, 2026
Backs: .com first year, .com renewal, .com transfer
“A .com costs R289 to register with Afrihost”
- afrihost.com checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Support channels
“WhatsApp • 071 883 5005 | support@afrihost.com | Afrihost Help Centre”
- afrihost.com/contact checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Legal entity
“Afrihost SP (Pty) Ltd. Reg No: 2016/130190/07”
- afrihost.com/page/afrihost-story checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded
“began tinkering with Linux Web Hosting in the late 90's”
- afrihost.com/page/guarantee checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Money-back period
“you can choose to leave us at any time in the first 60 days”
- afrihost.com/page/privacy-policy checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Headquarters
“This privacy policy shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.”
- afrihost.com/shared-hosting checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Audience, Features, Hosting types, Intro price, Price from
“If you're new to the world of hosting, this is the best place to start.”
- afrihost.com/terms-and-conditions/domain-and-hosting checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Uptime guarantee
“100% website uptime guarantee”
- afrihost.com/website-builder checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Builder type, Free plan, Pricing model, Templates
“Build professional websites using an easy to use editor and publish static web pages with 500+ responsive themes”
Compiled from 9 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Renewal price.
Afrihost
Beginners and small businesses in South Africa wanting hosting, email and a .com from a single provider