Everything below is a monthly subscription — no more once-off licence fees that quietly leave hosting and setup as a surprise later. Pick the level of hands-on you want.
The simplest option. Your treasurer creates their own account instantly and runs the stokvel from a dashboard here — no WordPress, no hosting, no plugin to install, no waiting on an email back from us. Cheapest option because there's no separate site being run for you.
You'll be invoiced directly every 30 days while we finish automated billing. Accounts are placed on hold if an invoice isn't paid within 14 days — never deleted, just paused until sorted.
We set you up with your own site (e.g. yourgroup.chommie.site) that we host and manage — your own space, none of the admin. A once-off setup fee covers getting you live; the monthly fee covers hosting, email, and support after that.
No free trial on Hosted plans — the setup fee covers real provisioning work from day one. Not sure yet? Try the demo or start with Stokvel Direct's free trial first. Want something beyond the standard template — custom branding, extra pages, bespoke design? That's additional design/dev time; see "Website setup & development" below.
For treasurers or developers already comfortable running their own WordPress site. You handle hosting and setup; the licence is just the software, billed monthly or yearly.
Only relevant to the DIY path above — Direct and Hosted already include this. If you don't have WordPress hosting yet, here's a realistic breakdown. Figures are estimates from published hosting pricing at time of writing; always confirm current rates before you commit.
| Item | Realistic cost |
|---|---|
| Web hosting (Hostinger Business/WordPress) | ~R60–100/mo intro term, renews ~R300–320/mo |
| Domain name | Often free year 1, renews ~R150–350/year |
| SSL certificate | Free — included |
| Email for magic links | R0 on a free-tier SMTP relay, or ~R25–35/mo per dedicated mailbox |
| Backups | Free tier usually sufficient |
Realistic all-in total: roughly R80–130/month early on, rising to roughly R330–380/month once hosting renews at full price — before the DIY licence itself. This is exactly why Hosted exists: one predictable monthly fee instead of that renewal jump catching you off guard.
This is genuine hands-on time, so it's priced like development work, not a token setup fee. It applies if you want help on the DIY path, or custom work beyond Hosted's standard template and setup fee.
Install + configure the plugin on your existing WordPress site, create your first stokvel together on a call. Roughly 2–3 hours of work.
Basic Setup + custom branding, extra pages, SMTP/email delivery configured, 30-minute training call, first-month check-in. Roughly 8–10 hours of work.
We capture your existing member list and contribution history so you don't start from zero.
Hosted's R1,800/R3,000 setup fee already covers the standard template — this section is for going beyond it, or for DIY customers who want it done for them.
We priced this against what's already out there for South African stokvels — see the full breakdown, features side by side.
See how we compare →Getting started works differently depending on the path: Stokvel Direct is instant — create your account and start straight away, no email needed first. DIY plugin and Hosted plans are still manual for now: tap "Get started" and we'll email or WhatsApp you to confirm details before setting things up — no automatic checkout or card capture on those yet. Trials and monthly fees across all tiers are invoiced directly by us for the time being while we finish setting up automated billing (Paid Memberships Pro + PayFast); Direct accounts are invoiced every 30 days and placed on hold (not deleted) if unpaid after 14 days. Setup fees on Hosted plans are billed once, upfront, separately from the first month. VAT treatment and terms of service should be confirmed with an accountant/lawyer, particularly for the hosted tiers. Hosting figures are estimates based on publicly listed provider pricing and change over time; please reconfirm before quoting a client. Questions about any of this? hello@stokvel.chommie.site or 084 878 5842.