The Tool Desk
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What does a shared hosting AUP cover?
An AUP defines acceptable and prohibited uses of a hosting service. It is distinct from a resource specification or plan description, though it may include resource rules or refer to them. In shared hosting, a provider’s restrictions can address both what you put online and how your account uses infrastructure shared with other customers.
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Read the AUP alongside the terms of service and the details for your exact plan. Check that the policy applies to the service you bought, and note its effective or last-updated date. Providers may revise terms, and provisions for one hosting product may not apply to another.
What activities or content can be prohibited?
Policies commonly address unlawful or infringing material, malware, spam, unauthorized activity, and uses that disrupt service or affect other customers. The wording and scope are provider-specific. For example, Namecheap’s Web Hosting Acceptable Use Policy lists restrictions involving specified infringing and malicious material, proxy and spam-related uses, and other activities. DreamHost’s Acceptable Use Policy says listed hosting plans are intended primarily for websites and associated email, and identifies prohibited or unlawful uses. Those examples do not establish rules for other providers or plans.
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Do not assume that an activity is permitted merely because it is technically possible on your account. If a site feature, script, email use, or file service is not clearly covered, ask the provider how the current terms apply before relying on it.
How do shared-hosting resource limits work?
Because customers use the same underlying system, providers may limit or restrict accounts whose resource use affects normal operation. Limits may be numeric or described as fair use, and can cover CPU, memory, processes, storage, or input/output activity. The measurement window and remedy matter as much as the number: a threshold in one provider’s policy is not an industry standard.
Namecheap: plan-specific account limits
Namecheap’s current AUP, accessed October 7, 2026, lists different limits for different shared-account types. Its table includes CPU limits of 50% for several account types and 100% for Business tiers, physical memory limits of 1–2 GB, and maximum entry-process counts of 20–40 depending on tier. These are Namecheap plan terms, not general hosting benchmarks. Namecheap states: “Your use of the server resources shall not endanger the capacity and operation of the shared server.” Check the live policy and the account type that applies before relying on a listed figure.
The same Namecheap policy says some shared accounts using more than 25 GB or 200,000 inodes are removed from its weekly system backup. Those are Namecheap backup conditions, not a promise that other providers back up accounts the same way—or that a provider’s backup replaces a backup you control.
Web Hosting Canada: a dated threshold example
Web Hosting Canada (WHC) explains that “In a shared web hosting environment, several clients must share limited infrastructure resources.” Its AUP, last modified October 1, 2020, describes a threshold of 5% of total system resources for longer than 60 seconds and says excessive use may lead to suspension. It also describes possible remediation, such as repairing a faulty script or disabling a resource-intensive application, and possible transfer to a dedicated or private server if overuse persists. This is a WHC policy example dated 2020, not current general guidance or a rule for other hosts.
DigitalOcean: do not assume service terms are interchangeable
DigitalOcean’s Acceptable Use Policy prohibits disproportionate use of a shared system when it interferes with normal operation and describes possible quarantine or deletion of infected or corrupted data. DigitalOcean’s infrastructure and service terms should not be treated as equivalent to those for every traditional shared web-hosting plan.
What can happen if you violate an AUP?
The policy controls the provider’s response. Depending on its terms and the circumstances, possible actions include asking you to remediate a problem, restricting a feature or account, suspending service, terminating an account, or requiring a move to a more suitable tier. Namecheap says it may suspend an account or require a package with higher resource availability in some circumstances; WHC’s 2020 policy describes possible suspension and transfer for persistent overuse.
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Do not assume you will receive advance warning, a fixed period to correct a problem, or an appeal route unless your agreement says so. Check the applicable terms for the provider’s stated process and consequences.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to check whether your use fits your plan
- Identify the exact service and plan. Confirm the policy covers your hosting product, account type, and any relevant add-ons.
- Review both prohibited-use and resource provisions. Look for rules about content, scripts, email, processes, CPU, memory, storage, I/O, backups, and activities that affect other users.
- Read the measurement and enforcement language. Note how the provider defines excessive use, any stated measurement period, and which remedies it reserves. Do not import a threshold from another company’s policy.
- Ask support about ambiguous workloads. If a normal workload is repeatedly hitting limits, ask which resource is responsible, what changes the provider expects, and whether another tier is appropriate.
- Keep a copy of the applicable terms and maintain permitted backups. Save the current policy and plan details for reference. Keep backups in a location and manner allowed by the provider, especially where the policy sets storage or backup conditions.
How to compare AUPs between providers
Compare like with like: the same type of service, plan, and policy date. A single resource number cannot establish which provider is more permissive unless the measured resource, threshold, measurement window, and applicable plan are comparable.
Quick Recap
- Coverage: Which services and plans does the policy govern?
- Resources: Are limits numerical or described as fair use, and do they cover CPU, memory, processes, storage, or I/O?
- Prohibited use: What content and activities are restricted?
- Enforcement: How does the policy define a violation, and what notice, remediation, restriction, suspension, or termination may follow?
- Backups and next steps: Are there storage or backup conditions, and does the provider identify a higher-capacity tier for workloads that exceed shared limits?
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