Gandi vs IONOS (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Gandi and IONOS share a 1.8 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Gandi starts cheaper, at about $2.23 a month against $4 a month.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gandi
European web hosting plans with a domain and mailboxes included
IONOS
Shared and WordPress hosting with a domain, wildcard SSL and email
Which one is for you
Pick Gandi if
- Fits if you want a domain, a mailbox and a small site from one company
- Makes sense if you want your data kept in France or Luxembourg
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free trial, as none is listed
- Tight if you host more than one site, because Essential and Starter allow one at up to 512 MB RAM
- Watch out: no renewal price is stated, and a banner offers 50% off a first site
- Watch out: support is email and chat only, and prices are in euros without tax
Pick IONOS if
- Fits if you run several small sites and want them on one plan
- Works for SSH, git and WP-CLI on hosting that's $4 a month in year one
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need several mailboxes, as Essential has 1 and Ultimate 5, each with 2 GB
- Pricey if you pick Plus for the $1 year, since it renews at $14 a month
- Skip it if you want malware removed for you on a low plan, as that's Ultimate or WordPress Boost only
- Watch out: Essential goes from $4 to $8 a month after year one, and monthly no-minimum hosting shows no price
- Not for you if you want to try first, as there's no free plan or trial on record
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAGandiWeak | 1.8GPAIONOSWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BEssential is €2 a month billed yearly, which is under the $5.28 cheaper-quarter line, but the renewal price is not stated and the plan has 512 MB of RAM. | BEssential is $4 a month for the first year, then $8, so two years cost $144, about $6 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of hosts and just over the A line. Plus looks cheaper at $1, but it renews at $14, so two years come to $180. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed on the pages read. | FNothing free: there's no free plan and no trial on record, so you pay from day one. |
| Features | CA domain, mailboxes, one-click installs, SSL, snapshots and PHP, Python or Node. Prestashop and Nextcloud start at Advanced. | CUnlimited websites, NVMe storage, a domain, wildcard SSL, daily backups and malware scanning on every plan. The gaps the listing names: Essential has 1 mailbox, and malware removal waits for Ultimate. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A hosting control panel and DNS are yours to set up. | CNo app store rating to go on. There's a personal consultant and 24/7 phone support, but there's still a site and email to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with WordPress, Prestashop and Nextcloud installs. | CA web dashboard only. Its integrations are the apps it installs, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Jetpack, plus SSH and git, with no API on record. |
| Best for | cheap hosting bundled with a domain and mailbox | several small sites on one plan |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gandi and IONOS. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gandi starts at about $2.23 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. IONOS starts at $4 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Gandi starts $1.77 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 6 score higher than Gandi for less, and 8 score higher than IONOS for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Gandi also covers page speed.
- IONOS also covers malware protection.
At a glance
| Gandi | IONOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | €2.00 per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated | $8 per month at renewal (Essential), after a first year at $4 a month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Gandi | IONOS Inc. |
| Price read from | gandi.net | ionos.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gandi
- Prices are in euros and exclude taxes. The page states no renewal price, and a homepage banner offers 50% off a first website on a yearly plan.
- Essential and Starter allow one website and up to 1 CPU and 512 MB of RAM.
- Prestashop and Nextcloud installs start at the Advanced plan.
- Support is by email and chat only, with no phone support listed.
IONOS
- Intro prices last the first year of a 1-year term: Plus goes from $1 to $14 a month and Essential from $4 to $8.
- Mailboxes are few: Essential includes 1 and Ultimate 5, each with 2 GB of storage.
- Automatic malware removal and unlimited SSL certificates need Ultimate on web hosting, or Boost ($17 a month after a first year at $12) on WordPress.
- IONOS also offers hosting with no minimum term, billed monthly with one month's notice, but the plan tables do not show its price.
Key features
Gandi
- Domain and mailboxes included
- Every plan includes a domain name from a list of over 80 extensions, plus one mailbox (Essential) or two (the other plans) with 10 GB each.
- One-click app installs
- WordPress, Matomo and GravCMS install automatically. Advanced and above add Prestashop and Nextcloud.
- Custom code in PHP, Python or Node
- All plans can host a custom application or website written in PHP, Python or Node, with PostgreSQL or MySQL databases.
- SSL, DNS and snapshots
- Plans include unlimited auto-renewed SSL certificates, Anycast DNS with DNSSEC and snapshots of a web instance that can be restored.
- Data hosted in France and Luxembourg
- The plan table lists France and Luxembourg as the data hosting locations. Support is by email and chat.
- Hosting Booster on higher plans
- Hosting Booster is listed as included on Pro and Business and not on the three cheaper plans.
IONOS
- Unlimited websites and NVMe storage
- Web hosting plans host any number of sites with unlimited traffic, on 100 GB to 500 GB of NVMe storage with more CPU priority on each tier.
- Domain, wildcard SSL and email
- Every plan includes a domain free for the first year, a wildcard DV certificate and 2 GB email accounts, from 1 on Essential to 5 on Ultimate.
- Backups and malware scanning
- Plans run daily backups, malware scanning and DDoS protection on geo-redundant servers. Ultimate adds advanced scanning with automatic removal.
- Developer access
- SSH, SFTP, WP-CLI, git version control, cron jobs and a choice of PHP 8.2 to 8.4 are included, with one-click installs for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.
- AI tools for WordPress
- Every WordPress plan includes an AI Website Builder, and Grow and Boost add an AI assistant that writes text, images, pages and blog posts.
- Personal consultant
- Customers get a personal consultant to guide them, alongside 24/7 support by phone, chat and email.
Plans
Gandi
Essential€2.00
per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated
1 website, 20 GB storage, up to 1 CPU and 512 MB RAM, 1 mailbox. €24 a year, taxes excluded.
Starter€3.99
per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated
1 website, 20 GB, up to 1 CPU and 512 MB RAM, 2 mailboxes. €47.88 a year, shown against a crossed-out €180.
Advanced€4.99
per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated
5 websites recommended, 50 GB, up to 2 CPU and 1 GB RAM. €59.88 a year, shown against a crossed-out €240.
Pro€5.99
per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated
10 websites recommended, 100 GB, up to 3 CPU and 2 GB RAM, with Hosting Booster. €71.88 a year; €300 crossed out.
Business€7.99
per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated
15 or more websites, 200 GB (upgradable to 1 TB), up to 4 CPU and 4 GB RAM, with Hosting Booster. €95.88 a year; €360 crossed out.
IONOS
Essential$8
per month at renewal, after a first year at $4 a month
Web hosting with unlimited websites, 100 GB NVMe and 1 mailbox. $4 a month for the first year of a 1-year term, shown against a crossed-out $10.
Starter$10
per month at renewal, after a first year at $6 a month
200 GB NVMe, 3x server resources, 2 mailboxes and a CDN. $6 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $12.
Plus$14
per month at renewal, after a first year at $1 a month
350 GB NVMe, 5x server resources and 4 mailboxes. $1 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $16.
Ultimate$18
per month at renewal, after a first year at $10 a month
500 GB NVMe, 10x resources, 5 mailboxes, unlimited wildcard SSL and automatic malware removal. $10 a month for the first year.
WordPress Start$8
per month at renewal, after a first year at $5 a month
One managed WordPress site, 25 GB, automatic backups and the AI Website Builder. $5 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $9.
WordPress Grow$12
per month at renewal, after a first year at $1 a month
50 GB, 5 mailboxes, a year of Jetpack Vault and the AI Assistant for text, images and posts. $1 a month for the first year.
Ways to pay less
Gandi
- Other savings
50% off a first website on a yearly plan
The homepage advertises 50% off the first website for a yearly subscription. The hosting page shows crossed-out yearly prices next to the lower ones.
IONOS
- Other savings
First year of web hosting Plus at $1 a month
On a 1-year term the first year costs $1 a month for Plus, $4 for Essential, $6 for Starter and $10 for Ultimate, before $14, $8, $10 and $18 a month.
- Other savings
First year of WordPress Grow at $1 a month
On a 1-year term the first year costs $1 a month for Grow, $5 for Start and $12 for Boost, before $12, $8 and $17 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gandi or IONOS?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gandi is cheaper to start with: about $2.23 a month, against $4 a month for IONOS. Gandi starts at €2.00 per month, billed yearly; renewal price not stated, and IONOS starts at $8 per month at renewal (Essential), after a first year at $4 a month.
Which has a free plan, Gandi or IONOS?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Gandi nor IONOS has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.