In my previous post, I mentioned how today's website costs a fraction of what similar technology would have cost in the past. This dramatic decrease in cost isn't just limited to my personal website — it's part of a broader trend in technology that has profound implications for creators, small businesses, and organizations of all sizes.
Let's break down why tech infrastructure is more affordable and accessible than ever before, and what this means for the future of innovation.
The Plummeting Cost of Web Hosting
One of the most revealing ways to examine this trend is to look at web hosting costs over time. While raw hosting prices have remained relatively stable, what you get for your money has increased exponentially — and storage capacity provides the clearest illustration of this revolution in technology value.
The Storage Revolution: More Bang for Your Buck
| Web Host | 1998 Storage | 2008 Storage | 2025 Storage | 10-Year Growth (1998-2008) |
Overall Growth (1998-2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostway | 200 MB2 | 12,000 MB | 50 GB | 5,900% | 24,900% |
| Liquid Web1 | 250 MB | 1,000 MB | 30-960 GB | 300% | ~198,000% |
| DreamHost | 10 MB | 500,000 MB | Unlimited | 5,000,000% | ∞ |
Within decades, storage capacity has exploded while prices have remained stable or even decreased. Monthly prices stayed relatively consistent ($9.95-$24.95) throughout this 27-year period, making these storage increases even more remarkable.
Pingdom recognized this trend because the underlying technology for storage consistently improved, enabling massive increases in hard drive capacity and performance while costs continued to drop.
This pattern mirrors a famous observation in the tech world called Moore's Law, which highlights how computing components have historically become significantly more powerful and less expensive roughly every couple of years, driving innovation across the entire industry.
To fully grasp how technology has become democratized, we need to zoom out and witness the historic collapse of computing costs that's made all of this innovation possible.
Moore Chips, Sharper Dips
Thanks to the awesome people working at Our World in Data, we can learn just how quickly the costs of computer components have been dropping over the last few decades:
Source: Our World in Data
Why This Matters for Everyone
The implications of this steep cost reduction go beyond getting more bang for your buck. This trend has transformed who can afford to participate in the web:
- Individual creators can now host multi-media content without relying on Big Tech
- Small businesses can run their own high-end software on modest budgets
- Non-profits and community organizations can communicate online regardless of funding
- Students and hobbyists can experiment and learn using real-world tools
What we're witnessing is nothing less than the democratization of technology. Services that were once only available to large corporations with substantial IT budgets are now accessible to nearly everyone (note: my perspective is limited to the services available in the USA).
My Personal Experience
I've directly benefited from this technology cost reduction: this very website's domain costs less than $8/year, was developed with the assistance of a $20/month Claude Pro subscription, and is hosted completely free using Cloudflare Pages.
If you're interested in implementing similar solutions for your organization, check out my technology services.
The Future: Even Greater Accessibility
This trend shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, new developments continue to emerge that further reduce barriers to entry:
- The open source movement democratizing access to modern technology
- AI-assisted development tools that reduce the technical expertise required
Curious how this site works? Review the complete source code on GitHub.
In my next post, I'll explore in more detail why technology is more accessible than ever before, focusing on the rise of open source initiatives and how AI systems are transforming what's possible for small teams and individuals.
Have you felt an urgency to take advantage of this cheap tech? I sure have. Reach out via my Bluesky or LinkedIn profiles to chat.
— Matt