Earning with reseller hosting: how much does it pay?
Earning with reseller hosting is a realistic way to generate online income. The question every aspiring reseller asks: how much do you earn with reseller hosting? The honest answer is that it depends on your approach, but unlike many online business models you can calculate ahead here fairly accurately. In this article we show, with concrete figures, what you can expect - from your first customer to a full-fledged hosting business with a hundred or more accounts.
Whether you are considering reseller hosting at Theory7 as extra income alongside your job, or as the foundation for your own hosting business, these calculation examples give you a realistic picture of the possibilities.
How does the earning model of reseller hosting work?
With reseller hosting you buy a hosting plan from a provider such as Theory7 and resell it to your own customers. You pay a fixed monthly amount for a certain amount of disk space, bandwidth and accounts. Within that plan you create hosting accounts yourself that you sell at your own rate.
The difference between what you pay and what your customer pays is your gross profit. The more customers you serve within your reseller plan, the higher your margin. This makes reseller hosting a scalable model: your fixed costs rise much more slowly than your income.
Do you first want to understand how reseller hosting works technically? Then read reseller hosting explained for the basics.
Your costs: what do you pay as a reseller?
Before we look at the revenue, you need to know which costs you have. These are the fixed and variable items:
Hosting plan (fixed costs)
| Theory7 reseller plan | Price per month | Disk space | Accounts | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | €2.49 | 25 GB NVMe | 10 | Beginners, first customers |
| Basic | €5.99 | 50 GB NVMe | 25 | Growing resellers |
| Medium | €8.99 | 100 GB NVMe | 50 | Serious resellers |
| Business | €19.99 | 200 GB NVMe | Unlimited | Full-fledged hosting business |
Other costs
- Domain name for your brand - around €10-15 per year for a .nl domain
- Billing software - WHMCS costs around €15 per month, but you can start with free alternatives such as Blesta (license) or invoice manually
- Website for your business - a simple WordPress site is enough; hosting is already included in your reseller plan
- Domain registration for customers - you pass this on to customers, so this is not a net cost item
- Time - do not underestimate this; especially in the beginning customer service takes time
Realistic starting budget: €2.49 to €5.99 per month if you start without WHMCS. That makes reseller hosting one of the cheapest ways to start your own business.
Profit margin per customer calculated
Let's calculate concretely. The average Dutch market for shared hosting lies between €3.00 and €12.00 per month per customer, depending on the type of plan and the extra services you provide.
Scenario 1: the Starter plan
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your costs (Starter plan) | €2.49/month |
| Your selling price per customer | €7.99/month |
| Gross profit per customer | €5.50/month |
| At 5 customers | €37.46/month (5 x €7.99 - €2.49) |
| At 10 customers (plan full) | €77.41/month |
With the Starter plan you earn back your investment with your very first customer. Every following customer is almost entirely profit. At 10 customers you have €77 per month in gross income from an investment of €2.49.
Scenario 2: the Basic plan (growth)
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your costs (Basic plan) | €5.99/month |
| Average selling price | €9.99/month |
| Gross profit per customer | €4.00/month |
| At 15 customers | €143.86/month |
| At 25 customers (plan full) | €243.76/month |
Scenario 3: the Business plan (scale)
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your costs (Business plan + WHMCS) | €34.99/month |
| Average selling price | €9.99/month |
| At 50 customers | €464.51/month |
| At 100 customers | €964.01/month |
| At 150 customers | €1,463.51/month |
Note how the margin per customer barely changes as you grow, while your fixed costs stay relatively the same. This is the core of the reseller model: scalability.
Three-year projection: what can you expect?
Below is a realistic growth projection for someone who takes up reseller hosting seriously as a side activity. We assume gradual growth and an average selling price of €9.99 per month per customer.
| Period | Customers | Plan | Costs/month | Revenue/month | Gross profit/month | Gross profit/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1-6 | 5-10 | Starter (€2.49) | €2.49 | €50-100 | €47-97 | - |
| Month 7-12 | 15-20 | Basic (€5.99) | €5.99 | €150-200 | €144-194 | €1,150-1,750 |
| Year 2 | 40-60 | Medium (€8.99) | €25 (incl. WHMCS) | €400-600 | €375-575 | €4,500-6,900 |
| Year 3 | 100-150 | Business (€19.99) | €35 (incl. WHMCS) | €1,000-1,500 | €965-1,465 | €11,580-17,580 |
So after three years you can realistically earn €1,000 to €1,500 per month from hosting services alone. And the nice thing is: this is largely recurring income. Customers pay monthly or annually, for as long as they have their website.
Extra income sources on top of hosting
Smart resellers do not sell only hosting. There are several additional services with which you can considerably increase your revenue:
Domain registration
You register domains through a registrar (such as Openprovider or TransIP) and resell them with a margin. A .nl domain costs you around €4-6 per year and you sell it for €10-15. At 50 customers this brings in an extra €200-450 per year.
SSL certificates
Although Let's Encrypt is free, premium SSL certificates (organization validation, wildcard) offer extra possibilities. Selling price €30-100 per year each, purchase price €10-40. Not every customer needs this, but it is a nice upsell for business customers.
Website maintenance
This is where the real profit is. Offer a monthly maintenance package: WordPress updates, backup checks, security scans and small changes. Common rates lie between €25 and €75 per month per customer. At 20 maintenance customers that is already an extra €500-1,500 per month.
Email hosting
Business email with your own domain is essential for many customers. You can offer this as part of your hosting plan or as a separate service. Margin: €2-5 per mailbox per month.
Website design
Many resellers are also web designers or developers. Building websites is a one-off income source (€500-5,000 per project) that automatically leads to recurring hosting and maintenance income.
Practical example: web designer Joost
Let's work through a realistic scenario. Joost is a freelance web designer and decides to take reseller hosting at Theory7 to offer his customers a complete package.
Joost's cost structure
- Theory7 Medium reseller plan: €8.99/month
- WHMCS (after the first year): €15.00/month
- .nl domain for his brand: €3.99/year (renewal)
- Total fixed costs: around €26/month
Joost's income per customer
- Build website: €750 (one-off)
- Hosting plan: €99/year (€8.25/month)
- Maintenance package: €35/month
- Domain registration: €15/year
Joost's annual result after 2 years
Joost builds an average of 20 websites per year. After two years he has 35 active hosting customers (a few customers have left).
| Income source | Calculation | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting (35 customers) | 35 x €99 | €3,465 |
| Maintenance (20 customers) | 20 x €35 x 12 | €8,400 |
| Domains (35 customers) | 35 x €10 margin | €350 |
| Total recurring income | €12,215 | |
| Fixed costs | €26 x 12 | -€312 |
| Net recurring per year | €11,903 |
Well over €11,900 per year in recurring income - on top of the one-off income from website building. And this amount grows every year as new customers are added.
Do you want to start just like Joost? Read our guide on starting your own hosting business for a complete step-by-step plan.
Where most resellers leave money on the table
Based on what we see with our resellers, there are four common mistakes that directly affect your earnings:
1. Selling too cheaply
Many beginners think they have to compete on price. That is a race to the bottom. Customers who choose purely on price will also leave for a cheaper offer. Sell on value: personal service, fast support, an all-in-one package. A customer is happy to pay €9.99 per month if you are reachable and solve problems quickly.
2. Not offering maintenance packages
Hosting alone delivers €4-8 margin per customer per month. Add a maintenance package and your margin becomes €30-80 per customer. This is the difference between a hobby and a serious income.
3. Not retaining customers
Every customer who leaves costs you not only the monthly income, but also the acquisition costs to find a new customer. Invest in good service and proactive communication. Send a short report every month, respond quickly to questions and solve problems the same day.
4. Not offering annual contracts
Offer a discount for annual payment (for example 2 months free). This improves your cash flow, lowers the chance of cancellation and gives you predictable income.
Taxes and administration
If you earn money with reseller hosting, you have to declare this to the Dutch Tax Authority. A few points of attention:
- VAT - if you have more than €20,000 in revenue per year (2025 norm), you have to charge VAT. Below that threshold you can make use of the small business scheme (KOR).
- Income tax - your hosting income is taxable income, whether you are a freelancer or have a sole proprietorship.
- Chamber of Commerce registration - if you structurally sell hosting services, you have to be registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK).
- Administration - keep track of all your income and costs. WHMCS automatically generates invoices, which considerably simplifies your bookkeeping.
Tip: start as a sole proprietorship. The startup costs are minimal (KvK registration costs a one-off €75) and you can convert to a private limited company (BV) later if the revenue justifies it.
When is reseller hosting profitable?
Because of the low entry costs, with reseller hosting you are profitable from your first or second customer. But when does it become serious money?
- 1-10 customers - nice pocket money, €50-100 per month. Good for learning the trade.
- 10-30 customers - serious side income, €100-300 per month. Invest in WHMCS and automation.
- 30-75 customers - significant income, €300-750 per month. Consider a professional website and marketing.
- 75-150+ customers - this can become a full-time income, €750-1,500+ per month from hosting alone. With maintenance packages added, you are quickly above €2,000 per month.
The key is patience and consistency. Most successful resellers we know needed two to three years to get above 100 customers. But the recurring nature of the income means that every month gets a little better than the last.
Is reseller hosting passive income?
Partly. It is not fully passive income as some marketing sites claim. You have to:
- Acquire new customers (active, especially in the beginning)
- Answer support questions (reactive, but necessary)
- Keep up your administration (billing, bookkeeping)
- Keep your services up to date
But it is largely automated recurring income. Once a customer is running, they pay month after month without you having to do anything actively for it. The hosting itself is managed by Theory7 - we take care of server maintenance, updates, security and monitoring. You focus on your customers.
How to set this up concretely, you can read in our article on starting reseller hosting as your own business.
How do you attract your first customers?
The figures are promising, but they are only relevant if you actually manage to acquire customers. The most effective strategies for starting resellers are:
Start in your own network
Almost everyone knows people who have a website or want one. Think of local entrepreneurs, associations, family members with an online store or colleagues with a side project. Offer them a fair deal: reliable web hosting with personal service. Your first five customers almost always come from your immediate surroundings.
Combine hosting with a service
Selling pure hosting is difficult if you do not have a brand. But if you bundle hosting with web design, WordPress maintenance or SEO services, it becomes a natural part of your offering. Customers are not looking for hosting - they are looking for a solution to their problem. Hosting is the foundation of that solution.
Build a niche
Focus on a specific target group: dentists, hairdressers, coaches, hospitality businesses. You get to know their needs, build up a portfolio and get word-of-mouth referrals. A reseller with 40 hair salons as customers is more successful than one who tries to be everything to everyone.
Local visibility
Join local business associations, set up a Google Business Profile and make a simple website that explains your services. Local businesses often want someone they can call - you can offer that personal approach.
In summary: the figures do not lie
Reseller hosting is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it is one of the most accessible ways to build your own online business. The figures speak for themselves:
- Entry costs from €2.49 per month
- Profitable from your first customer
- €1,000+ per month possible within three years
- Recurring income that grows monthly
- Extra income streams from maintenance, domains and website building
Take a look at the reseller hosting plans from Theory7 and calculate for yourself what it can bring you. With NVMe storage, DirectAdmin, free SSL and Dutch support you have everything you need to serve your first customers.
Earning with reseller hosting is achievable for anyone willing to invest in customer service and marketing. With the right approach and a reliable partner such as Theory7 you can build a stable income by earning with reseller hosting.
Tips for earning with reseller hosting
Earning with reseller hosting is accessible to anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset. Whether you are a web designer, run an IT company or want to build a new hosting brand, earning with reseller hosting offers opportunities.
The key to successfully earning with reseller hosting is adding value. Customers do not pay only for hosting, but for the support and reliability that you provide. Focus on a niche and choose a reliable reseller hosting provider as your foundation.
Start small with earning through reseller hosting: begin with 5 to 10 customers, perfect your processes and then scale up. With Theory7 as your partner you have all the infrastructure to make earning with reseller hosting a success.
