Unless he had active moderation going, and more than a few dozen posters, there is ZERO cost in reality. Getting a custom domain, loading a copy of WordPress, and maintaining the site runs no more than $20/year. If that’s too rich for your blood, then best work on getting more money than whining about “expenses on websites”.
The exception would be sites like FR where you need dedicated hardware, full-time moderation staff and the like. For a blog or information clearance site? Not a chance...
Yep. I’ve run a few. Unlimited storage and plenty of bandwidth for about $60 to $100 a year.
Ran dedicated boxes too. And you’re right it’s a bit more pricey and time consuming, but still under well $200.00 a month.