diff --git a/api/_common/middleware.js b/api/_common/middleware.js
index b00f3b6b..2c5d801f 100644
--- a/api/_common/middleware.js
+++ b/api/_common/middleware.js
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ const TIMEOUT = process.env.API_TIMEOUT_LIMIT ? parseInt(process.env.API_TIMEOUT
 // If present, set CORS allowed origins for responses
 const ALLOWED_ORIGINS = process.env.API_CORS_ORIGIN || '*';
 
+// Disable everything :( Setting this env var will turn off the instance, and show message
+const DISABLE_EVERYTHING = !!process.env.VITE_DISABLE_EVERYTHING;
+
 // Set the platform currently being used
 let PLATFORM = 'NETLIFY';
 if (process.env.PLATFORM) { PLATFORM = process.env.PLATFORM.toUpperCase(); }
@@ -21,7 +24,6 @@ const headers = {
   'Content-Type': 'application/json;charset=UTF-8',
 };
 
-
 const timeoutErrorMsg = 'You can re-trigger this request, by clicking "Retry"\n'
 + 'If you\'re running your own instance of Web Check, then you can '
 + 'resolve this issue, by increasing the timeout limit in the '
@@ -31,6 +33,14 @@ const timeoutErrorMsg = 'You can re-trigger this request, by clicking "Retry"\n'
 + 'in order to keep running costs affordable, so that Web Check can '
 + 'remain freely available for everyone.';
 
+const disabledErrorMsg = 'Error - WebCheck Temporarily Disabled.\n\n'
++ 'We\'re sorry, but due to the increased cost of running Web Check '
++ 'we\'ve had to temporatily disable the public instand. '
++ 'We\'re activley looking for affordable ways to keep Web Check running, '
++ 'while free to use for everybody.\n'
++ 'In the meantime, since we\'ve made our code free and open source, '
++ 'you can get Web Check running on your own system, by following the instructions in our GitHub repo';
+
 // A middleware function used by all API routes on all platforms
 const commonMiddleware = (handler) => {
 
@@ -45,6 +55,11 @@ const commonMiddleware = (handler) => {
 
   // Vercel
   const vercelHandler = async (request, response) => {
+
+    if (DISABLE_EVERYTHING) {
+      response.status(503).json({ error: disabledErrorMsg });
+    }
+
     const queryParams = request.query || {};
     const rawUrl = queryParams.url;
 
@@ -83,6 +98,15 @@ const commonMiddleware = (handler) => {
     const queryParams = event.queryStringParameters || event.query || {};
     const rawUrl = queryParams.url;
 
+    if (DISABLE_EVERYTHING) {
+      callback(null, {
+        statusCode: 503,
+        body: JSON.stringify({ error: 'Web-Check is temporarily disabled. Please try again later.' }),
+        headers,
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+
     if (!rawUrl) {
       callback(null, {
         statusCode: 500,
diff --git a/src/components/homepage/TempDisabled.astro b/src/components/homepage/TempDisabled.astro
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ff564fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/homepage/TempDisabled.astro
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<div class="banner">
+  <p>
+    ⚠️ Web Check is temporarily disabled due to excess demand and associated costs. 
+    We apologize for any inconvenience and are working on a solution.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<style>
+  .banner {
+    position: relative;
+    top: 0;
+    left: 0;
+    width: 100%;
+    background-color: var(--primary);
+    color: var(--background);
+    padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
+    text-align: center;
+    z-index: 1000;
+    box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
+  }
+
+  .banner p {
+    margin: 0;
+    font-size: 0.95rem;
+    line-height: 1.4;
+  }
+</style>
diff --git a/src/pages/index.astro b/src/pages/index.astro
index 60e41202..2ba3b726 100644
--- a/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 ---
 import BaseLayout from '@layouts/Base.astro';
 import HeroForm from '@components/homepage/HeroForm.astro';
+import TempDisabled from '@/components/homepage/TempDisabled.astro';
 import HomeBackground from '@/components/homepage/HomeBackground';
 import AboutSection from '@/components/homepage/AboutSection.astro';
 import Footer from '@components/scafold/Footer.astro';
 
 const isBossServer = import.meta.env.BOSS_SERVER === true;
 
+const disableEverything = import.meta.env.VITE_DISABLE_EVERYTHING === true;
+
 // Redirect strait to /check or /check/:url if running as self-hosted instance
 if (!isBossServer) {
   const searchUrl = new URLSearchParams(new URL(Astro.request.url).search).get('url');
@@ -20,6 +23,7 @@ if (!isBossServer) {
   <Fragment slot="head">
     {!isBossServer && (<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=/check" />)}
   </Fragment>
+  { disableEverything && <TempDisabled />}
   <main>
     <HeroForm />
     <AboutSection />
diff --git a/src/web-check-live/hooks/motherOfAllHooks.ts b/src/web-check-live/hooks/motherOfAllHooks.ts
index fef5cabd..850644df 100644
--- a/src/web-check-live/hooks/motherOfAllHooks.ts
+++ b/src/web-check-live/hooks/motherOfAllHooks.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import 'react-toastify/dist/ReactToastify.css';
 
 import type { LoadingState } from 'web-check-live/components/misc/ProgressBar';
 import type { AddressType } from 'web-check-live/utils/address-type-checker';
+import keys from 'web-check-live/utils/get-keys';
 
 interface UseIpAddressProps<ResultType = any> {
   // Unique identifier for this job type
@@ -37,6 +38,10 @@ const useMotherOfAllHooks = <ResultType = any>(params: UseIpAddressProps<ResultT
   // Fire off the HTTP fetch request, then set results and update loading / error state
 
   const doTheFetch = () => {
+    if (keys.disableEverything) {
+      updateLoadingJobs(jobId, 'skipped', 'Web-Check is temporarily disabled. Please try again later.', reset);
+      return Promise.resolve();
+    }
     return fetchRequest()
     .then((res: any) => {
       if (!res) { // No response :(
diff --git a/src/web-check-live/utils/get-keys.ts b/src/web-check-live/utils/get-keys.ts
index 71c7aaae..d6988739 100644
--- a/src/web-check-live/utils/get-keys.ts
+++ b/src/web-check-live/utils/get-keys.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 const keys = {
   shodan: import.meta.env.REACT_APP_SHODAN_API_KEY || "default_value_if_not_set",
   whoApi: import.meta.env.REACT_APP_WHO_API_KEY || "default_value_if_not_set",
+  disableEverything: import.meta.env.VITE_DISABLE_EVERYTHING === 'true',
 };
 // const keys = process && process.env ? {
 //   shodan: process.env.REACT_APP_SHODAN_API_KEY,