Read your resource usage and metrics

Your hosting plan includes defined limits on disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, and databases. Use cPanel's resource monitoring tools to track your current usage and ensure you don't exceed your plan's limits.

Viewing resource usage in cPanel

Quick overview: Resource Usage tab

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Look for the Resource Usage section on the main dashboard (or navigate to Home → Resource Usage).
3. You'll see a visual breakdown of your current usage:
- Disk Space: Used vs. total allocation
- Bandwidth: Current month's usage vs. plan limit
- Email Accounts: Number in use vs. allowed
- Databases: Number created vs. allowed
- Addon Domains / Subdomains: Count vs. allowed

Understanding the metrics

### Disk Space
- Used: Total size of all files, emails, and databases in your account.
- Limit: Maximum storage your plan includes.
- If you exceed your limit: You'll be unable to upload or create new files. Delete old files, archives, or backups to free up space.

### Bandwidth
- Used: Total data transferred to and from your site this billing month.
- Limit: Maximum monthly transfer your plan includes.
- Includes: Downloads, streaming, email traffic, and API requests.
- If you exceed your limit: Your site may be suspended or throttled, depending on your hosting policy. Contact your provider.

### Email Accounts & Databases
- Email Accounts: Number of email addresses you can create under your domain(s).
- Databases: Number of MySQL/MariaDB databases you can create.
- These rarely cause issues unless you run a large application or email service.

Finding detailed disk usage

To see which folders and files are using the most space:

1. In cPanel, navigate to Files → Disk Usage.
2. cPanel scans your account and displays disk usage by directory (e.g., public_html, mail, databases).
3. Click on any directory to drill down and see sub-folders.
4. Look for:
- Old backups (in public_html or a backups folder)
- mail folder (large if you have many old emails)
- logs (access/error logs; safe to delete old ones)
- Unused database backups or exports

Monitoring bandwidth

Bandwidth is typically tracked automatically, but you can estimate your usage:

• Average page size × daily visitors × 30 days = rough monthly bandwidth
• Example: 2 MB pages × 500 visitors/day × 30 days = ~30 GB/month

If you're close to your limit:
- Optimize images (reduce file size without losing quality)
- Enable gzip compression on your web server
- Consider a plan upgrade if your site is growing

When to upgrade

Consider upgrading your hosting plan if you:
- Regularly exceed 80% of your disk space limit
- Exceed bandwidth limits multiple times
- Need more email accounts or databases
- Your site is growing and you want headroom for growth

Contact your hosting provider to discuss upgrade options.

Tips & notes

• Email storage: The mail folder often grows quickly. Archive or delete old emails regularly to free up space.
• Automatic backups: If your host provides automated backups stored in your account, ask them to store backups elsewhere to save disk space.
• Database size: Run OPTIMIZE TABLE on your databases via phpMyAdmin to reclaim space from deleted records.
• Logs: cPanel may keep access and error logs for several months. You can delete old logs safely if needed.
• Peak usage: Bandwidth can spike unexpectedly due to traffic or attacks. Monitor regularly to catch issues early.