Let’s analyze this scenario. A typical server equipped to serve as a hosting/email/database server with a necessary backup appliance (tape, server, san, etc) costs roughly $400/mo. Given this, the $1/mo host needs 400 clients just to cover their expenses! This doesn’t leave much room to cover the cost of supporting those 400 customers let alone the daily management and maintenance of the server. This also means that the server in this example must be overextended to the tune of loading 400+ accounts in order to simply break even.

If you find yourself disappointed with your current web hosting provider’s service and support, perhaps your disappointment is really a result of your choice to host your business web site and email for only $.03 per day. I suggest evaluating the importance of your web site’s reliability and weighing that against the cost reality’s of operating a reliable web hosting service. Perhaps spending $10 – $20 each month for business critical web site and email hosting isn’t so bad after all (that’s still less than a $1/day).