Comparison · checked 4 October 2026
Appetite Host or WordPress?
WordPress is the software behind a large share of the world’s websites. You can use it on WordPress.com, or set it up yourself with a South African provider. Either way, you, or someone you pay, build and look after the website. With Appetite Host, Naya builds it for you while you chat.
Side by side
| Appetite Host | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the website | Naya builds it from a chat with you | You, or a designer you hire |
| Price | R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with year one included, then R249 to R499 a month | WordPress.com: from $4 a month in year one, billed yearly in US dollars. Set up yourself: from about R84 to R129 a month to keep it online, plus a designer if you hire one |
| A .co.za address | Registered in your name and renewed for you, included | WordPress.com does not sell .co.za addresses. You buy one elsewhere and connect it. South African providers renew one for about R109 a year |
| Updates and security | Looked after for you | On WordPress.com, looked after for you. Set up yourself, you keep the software and its add-ons updated |
| Changes | Ask Naya: 10, 25 or 60 a month depending on your plan | You make them, or pay someone to |
| Help | A real person in Durban, replying within 1 working day | WordPress.com support, your provider, or your designer |
| Time to go live | Your website is live within 1 working day of payment. Your own .co.za address follows as soon as you confirm your email, usually the same day. | As long as it takes to build |
Who builds the website
- Appetite Host
- Naya builds it from a chat with you
- WordPress
- You, or a designer you hire
Price
- Appetite Host
- R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with year one included, then R249 to R499 a month
- WordPress
- WordPress.com: from $4 a month in year one, billed yearly in US dollars. Set up yourself: from about R84 to R129 a month to keep it online, plus a designer if you hire one
A .co.za address
- Appetite Host
- Registered in your name and renewed for you, included
- WordPress
- WordPress.com does not sell .co.za addresses. You buy one elsewhere and connect it. South African providers renew one for about R109 a year
Updates and security
- Appetite Host
- Looked after for you
- WordPress
- On WordPress.com, looked after for you. Set up yourself, you keep the software and its add-ons updated
Changes
- Appetite Host
- Ask Naya: 10, 25 or 60 a month depending on your plan
- WordPress
- You make them, or pay someone to
Help
- Appetite Host
- A real person in Durban, replying within 1 working day
- WordPress
- WordPress.com support, your provider, or your designer
Time to go live
- Appetite Host
- Your website is live within 1 working day of payment. Your own .co.za address follows as soon as you confirm your email, usually the same day.
- WordPress
- As long as it takes to build
Choose WordPress if
- you or someone on your team knows WordPress and wants full control
- you need a large website, a blog with many writers, or a big online shop
- you want to choose from thousands of add-ons
Choose Appetite Host if
- you want a website without learning WordPress or hiring someone who knows it
- you want your .co.za, keeping it online and changes in one price, in rand
- you don’t want to keep software up to date
- you want a person in South Africa to call
Questions
Is WordPress free?
The software is free. A website on it is not: you pay to keep it online (from about R84 a month with South African providers, or from $4 a month on WordPress.com), for a web address, and for any designer or paid add-ons.
Can I use a .co.za with WordPress?
Yes. WordPress.com does not sell .co.za addresses. You buy one elsewhere and connect it. South African providers sell and renew them, and many include one when you sign up.
Can I move from WordPress to Appetite Host?
Naya builds you a new website from a conversation, and can read your current website to start from what it says. If your web address is yours, you can connect it from your account.
Weighing up every option? What a website costs in South Africa covers them all.
Prices checked on 4 October 2026, as each provider showed them to a visitor in South Africa. They change; check with the provider before you decide.
See yours before you decide
Tell Naya about your business and watch her build it. Free to try.