“Unlimited storage! Unlimited bandwidth! Unlimited websites!” If that were literally true, one $3 plan could host Netflix. Here’s what unlimited actually means — and what to look for instead.

The fine print that limits “unlimited”

• Inode caps: a limit on the number of files. Unlimited gigabytes, but 250,000 files and your account is suspended. WordPress + email eats files fast.
• CPU and memory throttling: storage is unlimited, but the moment your site gets busy it’s slowed to a crawl. You hit the ceiling exactly when it hurts most.
• “Fair use” clauses: the host decides what’s fair, after the fact, in their favour.
• Backup exclusions: plenty of unlimited plans quietly exclude accounts over a certain size from backups. The thing you assumed was safest, isn’t.

What a small business actually uses

A typical business site — even with a store and years of photos — uses a few gigabytes. The unlimited arms race solves a problem you don’t have, while hiding the limits you’ll actually hit.

What to look for instead

Honest specifics: real backups (daily, restorable, included), free SSL, current PHP, Australian servers, a person who answers, and a renewal price that matches the sign-up price. That’s the whole checklist.

Ours is exactly that: $65 a year — unlimited bandwidth and support where it’s genuinely unmetered, and honest about everything else. See also: what hosting really costs in Australia.