When to Upgrade from ATSPACE Free Hosting to a Paid Plan

Upgrade when your site outgrows the free plan's hard limits — 1GB disk space, 5GB monthly traffic, one domain, one 30MB MySQL database, and one 50MB email account. If you are running a first website or a low-traffic project, the free plan is enough. If you need more software packages, more resources, or you are approaching those caps, ATSPACE's paid tiers (Shared, Semi-Dedicated, VPS) are the next step.

What the free plan actually gives you

ATSPACE has offered free web hosting since 2003 and hosts more than 2,000,000 websites on it. The free tier includes:

Two things to note before you decide. First, the free plan's 5GB traffic resets monthly, so a traffic spike does not permanently consume your allowance — but it can still take your site offline for the rest of the month if you exceed it. Second, additional software packages beyond the one-click installer are only available on paid hosting plans, so if you need a specific application that is not WordPress or Joomla, that alone can force an upgrade.

When the free plan is still the right choice

Stay on free hosting if all of the following apply:

• This is your first website, or a personal project with no commercial pressure.
• You expect well under 5GB of monthly traffic (roughly a few thousand page views, depending on page weight).
• Your files fit inside 1GB and your database inside 30MB.
• One domain and one mailbox are enough.
• You only need WordPress, Joomla, or a site built with the Zacky Website Builder.

The free plan is also a reasonable way to test whether a project is worth investing in before paying for anything.

When to upgrade, and to which plan

ATSPACE lists three paid tiers. Match the tier to your situation rather than to the price:

Shared hosting — around 1,000 monthly visitors

ATSPACE positions Shared as the best fit for a startup business or a medium-sized website with around 1,000 visitors per month. Choose this if you have outgrown the free caps but your traffic is still modest — for example, a small business site, a portfolio you are now promoting, or a blog that has started to attract regular readers. Listed prices start from $0.08–$0.10 / £0.08–£0.10 / €0.08–€0.10 per month.

Semi-dedicated hosting — more than 1,000 monthly visitors

ATSPACE recommends Semi-Dedicated for business websites with more than 1,000 visitors per month, and for medium-sized blogs or news sites. Upgrade here when consistent traffic — not just an occasional spike — is pushing against the free plan's 5GB monthly limit, or when you need the extra software packages that paid plans unlock. Listed prices start from $12.99–$15.59 / £9.99–£11.99 / €9.99–€11.99 per month.

VPS hosting — you want the server to yourself

ATSPACE describes VPS as the point where you are alone on the server and can set it up and optimize it as you wish. Choose VPS if you need full control over configuration, expect substantial or unpredictable traffic, or are running applications that cannot share an environment. Listed prices start from $120.00–$144.00 / £120.00–£144.00 / €120.00–€144.00 per year.

How to decide in practice

1. Check your current usage. Look at disk space, monthly traffic, and database size in your hosting panel. If any figure is close to the free cap, you are a candidate for an upgrade.
2. Identify the binding constraint. Traffic near 5GB points to Shared or Semi-Dedicated. A database near 30MB or files near 1GB points to needing more storage. A need for software beyond WordPress/Joomla points to any paid plan.
3. Match traffic to tier. Around 1,000 monthly visitors → Shared. Consistently above 1,000 → Semi-Dedicated. Need isolation and full server control → VPS.
4. Verify before committing. Prices above are the "from" figures shown on ATSPACE's site and vary by currency and billing period; confirm the current price and what each plan includes at signup. The page does not state whether paid plans include a free domain — it only says free domains come with premium plans, so check that detail during checkout if a domain matters to you.

Common sticking points

• Traffic resets, so a spike is temporary. Exceeding 5GB does not permanently cost you the allowance, but it can still interrupt service until the month rolls over or you upgrade.
• The free plan has no ads, and paid plans do not remove ads — there are none to remove. Do not upgrade for that reason.
• Support quality is not a reason to upgrade. One customer review on the site describes a problem resolved in under two hours on the free plan, so support is not gated behind payment.
• The installer is not the only path. If you would rather not code, the Zacky Website Builder with drag-and-drop templates is available without upgrading.