Difference between Hosting and Domain

Key Difference: Hosting refers to ‘web hosting’. It refers to a server, programming, and information related service that is provided by the host. These services are required to make a website accessible to users. A Domain or a domain name is associated with DNS (Domain Naming System). A domain on the internet contains a group of network addresses. It is associated with a unique name of a website which forms the online identity of that website.

Hosting refers to ‘web hosting’. It refers to a service that is provided by the host. The services offered by the host include the server, programming, and information related facilities that are required by a website to be online. There are numerous web hosting companies (vendors) that provide this kind of facility. A web host ensures that the things are running smoothly and also provides the maintenance task on the server in order to avoid problems or issues.

A domain or a domain name is associated with DNS (Domain Naming System). A domain on the internet contains a group of network addresses. It is associated with the name of a website. It is basically an alphanumeric string concatenated by periods. This name helps to identify and locate a server or resource that is available on the internet. This name is mapped with the numerically addresed internet resource. Domain names need to be registered with a Domain Registrar. These names are allocated with one or more IP addresses. These IP addresses are complex strings of numbers that serve as identifiers for the devices on the internet. Domain names are easier to remember and use in comparison to these IP addresses. Domain names can be easily recognized by looking at the URLs.

For example in the URL www. differencebetween.info, domain name is differencebetween.info.

Comparison between Hosting and Domain:

	Hosting	Domain
Definition	Hosting refers to ‘web hosting’. It refers to a service that is provided by the host. The services offered by the host include the server, programming, and information related facilities that are required for a website to be online.	Domain or a domain name is associated with DNS (Domain Naming System). A domain on the internet contains a group of network addresses. It is associated with the unique name of a website.
Type	Process	Entity
Requirement	A host	Registration
Advantage	Easy identification label for the website.	Websites get stored on a remote computer server known as host.
Example	ZappyHost is a company that provides hosting services.	differencebetween.info is a domain name.
Types	Free hosting – suitable for websites with low traffic. Shared hosting – website gets hosted along with other web sites. Dedicated Hosting – a dedicated server is used for the hosting. Collocated Hosting – owned web servers are placed in the premises of a service provider.	There are three main types of domain names. Generic Top level Domains –.com, .net, .org, etc. Generic-Restricted Top - level Domains – .biz, .name, etc. Sponsored Top-level Domains - .edu, .gov, etc. Country Code Top-level Domains - .in, .ae, etc.