Reseller services allow you to buy enough server power to run your own web hosting company. Whether it’s your only “doing,” a side hustle, or an add-on to your existing business, becoming a reseller holds excellent earning potential. White-label reselling plans further expand this capacity, allowing you to establish a brand reputation while earning profits.

The following findings result from two processes, extensive research, and user feedback. Our independent study combines the testing performed by HostAdvice experts and thousands of user reviews worldwide. Our professionals have vast experience in the web hosting industry; they have engaged in in-depth measurement, including real-time speed tests, uptime, and reliability tests. 

In this article, you can learn the basics of reseller hosting – how it works, who it is for, how to get started, along with the best opportunities and the biggest challenges you’ll face as a reseller. In addition, you can assess our ranking criteria and learn how to choose the best reseller plan. 

Check Our Top Reseller Providers Ranked:

1. Verpex Hosting – Best Reseller Hosting Overall
2. HostArmada – Best Linux Reseller Hosting
3. ChemiCloud – Best WordPress Reseller Hosting
4. A2 Hosting – Best cPanel Reseller Hosting
5. Hostens – Most Affordable Reseller Hosting
6. Stablehost.com – Best Reseller Hosting for Customer Support

Ranking comparison between the Top Providers

Our experts perform tests specifically for each category, or in this case, reseller web hosting, to decide which provider ranks accordingly. At HostAdvice, we take a lot of time and effort to establish the ranking criteria or the important factors for each category. Then, our professionals assign a percentage to each factor according to its contribution to the ideal reseller plan. 

Once we set up the criteria and rank the provider separately for each factor, we use the allocated percentages to form a single, weighted score that reflects the overall quality of the reseller company. 

But who are “we?” You were wrong if you thought we exclusively referred to HostAdvice in-house employees. Our independent study takes into consideration the providers’ customers. We assign the most substantial weight of 30% to honest and valuable user reviews while we do our best to eliminate biased comments.

Now, the only question is, what factors are we looking at when we give rank for the reseller hosting category? Here are our recommended parameters for choosing the top resellers:

• Server Resources (10%): The hardware components are the first thing you need to look at, especially if you plan on serving a significant number of clients. You need to consider the server type, CPU, RAM, bandwidth, and disk space. VPS and cloud technologies always perform better than shared hosting environments. Also, it would be best if you calculated your resource needs beforehand because they will determine your future customers’ experience. How many clients do you have? In addition, what are they hosting? High-traffic websites and deep database requirements ask for significantly more resources than static websites without many interactive elements. If you have more power, you will be able to sell more plans. 
• Server Performance (10%): You must evaluate the web host’s performance, including key performance criteria – uptime and speed. Uptime refers to the time your server is operational. And you don’t want to be explaining to your customers why their website is down. You would get a 100% uptime in the perfect world, but since that’s pretty impossible, you should strive towards 99.95% or above. And when it comes to speed or response times, look for the best possible result – the faster, the better. It would be best to avoid response times of over 600ms. 
• Scalability Options (5%): As a reseller, you might start small, but as your customer base increases, you’ll need more resources to support this growth. It’s fairly simple; more people will want to buy from you if the market likes your offers. And there’s no point in buying these excessive resources before you reach this demand – you’ll only lose money. That’s why your chosen reseller web hosting company must offer you flexibility and scaling options. You should be able to upgrade your plan easily or add more power to retain the same performance and cater to the needs of a broader audience. 
• Branding Opportunities (7%): If you want to market the web hosting services as your own, you have to select a white-label reseller web host that allows you to rebrand the entire offer. Otherwise, you would appear as the middleman. Does the web host offer this option or not? Also, some companies include this feature for free, while others charge a premium, so remember to budget in. 
• Management Options (5%): You’ll get to rebrand everything if you have selected a white-label reseller web hosting company. The best way to do so is using WHM, which grants you admin access to the server, many cPanel accounts (one for each customer), and WHMCS to handle your billings and support. With these controls, you can act like you manage everything. 
• Specific Features (10%): Different companies will offer you various reseller-specific features. At a minimum, you should get a comprehensive reseller control panel, billing and CRM software, and easy white labelling.
• Other Important Features (8%): Some extras are more general yet needed to facilitate your overall experience. Here, it would be best to consider security add-ons, such as free SSL certificates or backups, speed-enhancing features such as SSDs, a high degree of redundancy (RAID 5, 6, or 10), and Cloudflare CDN. 
• Customer Service (12%): You might stumble upon two options with reseller. You might be responsible for providing customer support, or the web host might assume this task. Either way, you are running a business, so you (or your customer) should be able to contact support if anything goes wrong. Otherwise, your customers will blame you for the bad experience. When it comes to reseller web hosting, you should always go for 24/7/365 support without exceptions, and preferably, you should be able to reach them via several channels. Most importantly, they should respond quickly and provide helpful guidance that solves the problem. 
• Pricing (3%): While pricing is important, it’s not top of the list. After all, you set the prices for your plans, so you can always bill your clients more if the monthly fee you need to pay is higher. Instead, analyse the price to value ratio. Does the quality justify the price, or do other reseller web hosting companies offer better features at the exact cost? The price should correspond with the feature set and the company’s reputation. For more insights check out our Reseller Hosting Pricing Page.
• User Reviews (30%): Reputation is much more important than price, especially regarding reseller services. The best way to assess objective opinions is by listening to or reading about the other customers’ experiences. After all, what better way to set your expectations than matching them with first-hand reports from beginners, pros, and anything in-between?  

What Is Reseller Hosting and How Does It Work?

Reseller hosting allows you to buy web hosting services from an established hosting company and sell them to others at a profit. You won’t have to set up your on-premise server with this option. Instead, you can rebrand the provider’s plans as your own. 

As the reseller, you will bulk-purchase hosting plans at wholesale prices. The company will rent you server space, software, and bandwidth. Then, you can resell these services to your clients. As a customer, you pay the provider the specified monthly rate. Anything after that is up to you – you can charge your customers as high as you see fit. 

The difference between these two numbers is your profit margin. 

You’ll benefit from a minimal initial investment, an established server network, and professional customer support. Still, different web reseller programs offer different reseller features. You might be able to set up a domain reseller account, perform basic tasks using client account management tools, set up your branding, etc.

The best part is the web host will handle all technical tasks behind the scenes, including hardware, server management, maintenance, or support, demonstrating incredible ease of entry. That’s why it’s necessary to choose a quality web hosting company; it’s the foundation of your business. In turn, you will be able to focus on marketing and sales and generate profits. 

Who Is Reseller Hosting For?

Reseller hosting can be an excellent opportunity to make money for web developers, web designers, entrepreneurs, or agencies managing over ten websites. Anything below this most probably won’t be worth your time, effort, or money. 

Say you have a well-established presence in the tech world, whether online or in-person. You can easily sell these services to your followers, customers, or people in your community. 

Similarly, if you develop or design websites, you are essentially providing a service at a one-time fee. However, adding hosting to the equation will help you retain your customers in the long term. If you manage their web hosting services, you’ll generate recurring revenue and earn profits long after you finish the web development/design.

Can You Turn A Profit from Reseller Hosting?

Yes, reseller web hosting is a highly profitable opportunity with plenty of ways to turn a profit within this space. You can make a lot of money, especially with the best reseller hosting companies. Well, that’s until you know how to sell.

Each business worldwide needs a hosting service, whether it’s for web pages or professional email accounts. So, think about the possibilities – almost anyone can become your customer. Furthermore, web hosting companies usually take over the entire server management while you are left to do what you do best – business. 

Still, remember that it all depends on your choices. You won’t get rich with just a basic plan, but it’s an excellent way to make some extra money. On the other hand, you can also take the time to make “reselling” your primary source of income. Essentially, it depends on how you handle it.

You need to take care of two things. First, you need to find a good reseller provider. After all, the company determines your service quality, and you want it to be top-notch. And second, you need to take care of branding and marketing. While the second step helps you attract new clientele, your reseller features and the provider’s overall quality ensure you keep them as loyal customers.

Let’s turn to simple maths to prove the point. Say you ordered a reseller account that costs $20/month. If it allows you to host 40 clients, your cost for each customer is only $0.50. By charging each of the 40 clients $11/month, you can earn a revenue of $440 (40 x $11 = 440). If you subtract the reseller account cost, which is $20/month, your monthly profit will be $380. 

If you have more clients, you can earn a huge profit every month by simply reselling hosting services. And sure, realistically speaking, you might not sell all of your slots, but even if you manage to get a few, you are in the green, so what is the harm here?

The best part is, reselling hosting requires minimal investment. Unlike the typical hosting business, you don’t have to invest in infrastructure, data centers, and maintenance because the parent hosting company will deal with everything. Simply put, you can make money without worrying about expensive investments. By the rule of economics, it’s the best it can get. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar in a year. So, you can save up your money and scale on-demand as your number of clients increases. 

Pros and Cons of Reseller Hosting

Pros:

Cons:

What Are the Biggest Challenges That I Will Face While Running My Own Reseller Hosting Business?

Running a reseller hosting business can be profitable if done the right way. Still, you might face significant reseller risks that you need to know before getting into the landscape.

Customer support is time-consuming

Even the best reseller hosting companies will not take over handling customer support. So, you’ll need to dedicate a lot of time to help your customers with support inquiries. Usually, these requests revolve around billing and password resets or guiding non-technical users to set up their email accounts or modify something on their website. So, you will have to employ personnel to be available 24/7 for these queries. Unfortunately, you can effectively ruin your business if you don’t put in enough effort to answer clients’ questions.

The apex web company determines your success greatly

Out of all reseller risks, this might be the most important one. When you choose a web hosting company, you are putting up your entire trust in it. The original web hosting company is responsible for the entire server infrastructure, including speed, uptime, hardware and software updates, etc. If anything goes wrong, you will be in no position to fix it. At the same time, you will suffer the consequences, probably by losing customers. So, you must be careful with your choice – switching from one company to another is also risky. It can negatively affect your customer ratio, so it’s better to get a reputable provider from the beginning, even if it’s more costly. It will pay off in the long term.

Marketing and branding can “make it or break it”

While it might sound confusing, it’s a relatively simple concept. If you wish to become a reseller, you must learn how to sell. Reseller web hosting is a profitable niche, but you are not the only one to spot this potential. You’ll face immense competition, so you must commit to solid marketing efforts. The key to success is developing a strong brand and value proposition. It would be best to choose a niche to better cater to your target market needs, also known as niche marketing. First, you need to attract customers. But it doesn’t end there, because then, you’ll face the risk of losing them. So, second, you must develop a good customer retention strategy. What makes you better than your competitors? Emphasise your tactics – is it the cost or quality of your service? 

It can easily become a low-margin commodity

Web hosting services have a predetermined value. Whether they get them from you or elsewhere, bandwidth and storage are essentially the same for customers. The same applies to control panels, billing software, web hosting extras, such as domain names, SSLs, etc. Simply put, it’s a highly competitive industry because the values of the products are already established. It’s challenging to differentiate from your competition so that you can increase your profit margins and essentially earn more. But it’s possible – the best way to do so is by offering customised products, say a branded control panel with better options or superior customer support. For instance, you can advertise technical assistance in less than 60 seconds. But more importantly, you’ll also have to stick to it.

Getting Started with Reseller Hosting – Checklist

You’ve decided: “It’s time for me to become a reseller and make money.” So, the only question left is, how? Here’s our checklist to quickly get you going!

1. Estimate your needs, meaning the number and type of clients you’ll serve, to determine the package you’ll need, including hardware and software components
2. Match your requirements with the offers of reseller  companies – not all providers have the same components, reseller features and overall qualities (uptime, speed, security, customer support, etc.)
3. Contract for the reseller plan with the best price to value ratio – when you compare different companies, you should aim to get the best quality for money, not the cheapest offer
4. What will you offer to customers? It’s up to you to develop the packages and configure templates, including the amount of storage and bandwidth, along with web hosting extras, such as domain or SSL
5. Set up the profit margin for each package – you can apply the same to all offers or earn more on the more expensive plans; whatever suits your customers better
6. Market your web hosting offers to attract customers
7. Work to keep your existing customers – supply them with good deals and customer support

Key Reseller Hosting Features

Your hosting provider dictates the quality of your services as a hosting reseller, so choosing the right company is indeed a strong start. As bad as it sounds, your business will fail if you get this step wrong. Now, while you have to pay attention to general web hosting features and the quality of the overall infrastructure, reseller-specific features can also increase your chances of success a great deal. With this in mind, here’s what reseller hosting features to look for in a quality reseller package:

• White Labelling: You can rebrand and customize the entire offer, including the cPanel logo if you get white-label reseller hosting. As a result, you can bill your clients under your company name without revealing the parent hosting provider.
• Account Management Apps: While WHM and cPanel work in tandem, they are two different tools that offer various benefits to both end-users and resellers. WHM gives you administrative access to the back-end of cPanel. It helps you create packages and individual accounts for your customers conveniently. On the other hand, cPanel enables you to give your clients access to manage their hosting plans.
• Built-in Billing Software: The market offers plenty of third-party web management platforms, such as WebHost Manager Complete Solution (WHMCS), that allow you to automate many tasks. For instance, you can automate creating customers’ accounts, renewing customer subscriptions, invoicing, and collecting payments.
• Second-Line Customer Support:  As a hosting reseller, you have to provide first-line support to your clients. But sometimes, you might struggle to fix the issue because of not getting sufficient server access for performing the investigation. Here is when the parent hosting provider will step in to offer second-line support. If the white label provision is extended to the support offering, you will never have to worry about getting the identity of the original hosting company being revealed.
• The Ability to Create and Manage Your Packages: It should be easy to create plans to suit the needs of your target market. This way, you’ll maximize your appeal and sales.
• Unlimited Resources: With unmetered bandwidth, disk space, domains, and subdomains, you will be able to act as a one-stop shop where clients can register domains, get the websites off the ground, and withstand heavy traffic. 
• One-Click Installers: Reseller hosting supports a variety of one-click installers, like Softaculous and Fantastico. They enable your customers to install hundreds of applications, including WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, with just a single click. So, they can make the lives of your clients a lot easier.
• Other Important Features: Can you choose from various hosting types (shared, VPS, dedicated) and a selection of Linux- or Windows-based servers? What about money-back guarantees? 

What the Reseller Package Typically Includes

The best reseller web hosting companies provide an excellent balance of standard features and reseller-specific features. 

Standard features refer to what you would get with another solution, say shared hosting. You need to opt for at least 99.95% uptime, fast loading speeds, sufficient disk space, bandwidth, domain hosting, free SSL, beginner-friendly control panel, free website migrations, and quality hardware (for instance, SSD over HDD). You need to consider the selection of Linux- or Windows-based servers, email, File Transfer Protocol, MYSQL database management software, Cloudflare CDN, high redundancy level, money-back guarantees, etc.

As for reseller features, you can usually brand your own hosting company while the hosting provider remains unknown to your client, also known as white labelling. Furthermore, you can expect account management apps, such as cPanel and WHM, and billing software, such as WHMCS. At this point, you need to pay attention to a comprehensive reseller control panel and second-hand customer support. 

The package itself grants you a lot, so you’ll earn on your investment even if you manage to sell it to a handful of clients. However, if you are good at sales, you will make significant profits.

Best Reseller Hosting: Final Recommendations

Reseller web hosting holds immense earning potential. Still, it all starts with the proper choice of an apex web hosting company. The provider sets your chances of success, and it can either push you towards generating profits or cut your market share from the sole start. So, it’s best to choose from the top resellers on the market, and don’t settle for anything less. While the investment might be higher, committing to one of the best reseller hosting companies will pay off in the long term.

Indeed, you’ll face some reseller risks in the process. So, preparing for the challenges from the beginning will prove beneficial. Buckle up; do your research, compare different companies, plans, and reseller features. Match your needs with the market’s offers. Then, invest in marketing and start selling. Also, remember to set reasonable profit margins that reflect your value proposition since you are entering a highly competitive niche. You have to find a way to be a different and attractive web host; you can focus on low-profit margins or superior features, say lightning-fast customer support or branded control panels. 

And remember, don’t make the final say until you check the brand’s reputation. Either read our expert reviews or find other customer reviews on the web – whatever suits you best. But don’t rush into spending your money until you’re sure of one’s quality.