{"id":1214,"date":"2026-09-17T23:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T23:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affordablevpsserver.com\/blog\/?p=1214"},"modified":"2026-09-17T23:13:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T23:13:38","slug":"how-much-ram-small-business-website-actually-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/affordablevpsserver.com\/blog\/how-much-ram-small-business-website-actually-need\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much RAM Does a Small Business Website Actually Need?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“How much RAM does a small business website need?” is the single most common sizing question we see, and the honest answer is a range, not a number. This article gives you the measured figures behind that range so you can size with data instead of guessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What actually consumes memory on a web server<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On a typical LAMP or LEMP stack, resident memory is consumed by four things: the operating system and base services, the web server process, the application runtime (PHP-FPM workers for most small business sites), and the database. Each has a floor, and each scales differently with traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
Component<\/th>Idle RAM<\/th>Under moderate load<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
OS + systemd + sshd<\/td>120–200 MB<\/td>same<\/td><\/tr>\n\n\n
Nginx<\/td>20–60 MB<\/td>60–150 MB<\/td><\/tr>\n\n\n
PHP-FPM (per worker)<\/td>40–90 MB<\/td>same per worker<\/td><\/tr>\n\n\n
MariaDB\/MySQL<\/td>250–500 MB<\/td>500 MB–1 GB<\/td><\/tr>\n\n\n
Redis (object cache)<\/td>0 (optional)<\/td>80–200 MB<\/td><\/tr>\n\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A single cached WordPress site with two PHP-FPM workers and a lean database sits comfortably around 600–900 MB resident. A business site with a contact form, a small product catalogue, and a booking plugin sits closer to 1.2–1.6 GB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sizing by site type<\/h2>\n\n\n\n