Hostinger vs IONOS
We give Hostinger a 2.0 GPA and IONOS a 1.8, out of 4.0. Hostinger grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hostinger
Shared, WordPress and cloud hosting run from its own hPanel dashboard
IONOS
Shared and WordPress hosting with a domain, wildcard SSL and email
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHostingerFair | 1.8GPAIONOSWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPremium's only readable price is 48 months for $143.52 upfront, so two years cost you $143.52, about $5.98 a month. That's inside the cheaper quarter of hosts and a cent over the A line, and the same payment covers years three and four. Then it's $10.99 a month. | 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 | FNothing free. There's no free plan and no trial, just a 30-day refund on hosting, and a new domain can only be refunded within 96 hours. | FNothing free: there's no free plan and no trial on record, so you pay from day one. |
| Features | ChPanel, one-click WordPress, malware scanning, free migrations and an AI agent are all there. The gaps are on the plan most people buy: Premium keeps weekly backups, not daily, and the domain and mailboxes are free for the first year only. | 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 app store rating to go on. hPanel and the AI agent take fiddly bits like DNS off your hands, but you're still setting up a domain, email and a site. | 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 | BA web dashboard, with no app on record. There's a public API, though, and hooks for Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta Pixel, Claude Code and Cursor. | 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 if you can pay four years upfront | several small sites on one cheap 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: Hostinger and IONOS. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hostinger starts at $10.99 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. IONOS starts at $4 a month and scores 2.0.
Hostinger scores higher, and starts $6.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Hostinger for less, and 5 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
- Hostinger starts at $10.99 per month at renewal (Premium), after a first 48 months for $143.52. IONOS starts at $8 per month at renewal (Essential), after a first year at $4 a month.
- IONOS also covers managed WordPress.
At a glance
| Hostinger | IONOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $10.99 per month at renewal (Premium), after a first 48 months for $143.52 | $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 | Hostinger | IONOS Inc. |
| Price read from | hostinger.com | ionos.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Hostinger
- Small sites and blogs whose owners can pay four years upfront
- Owners who want hosting, domain and email in one account
- People who want AI help building and running a WordPress site
IONOS
- Small businesses running several sites on one shared plan
- WordPress beginners who want AI help building the first site
- Developers who want SSH, git and WP-CLI on cheap hosting
Worth knowing
Hostinger
- The advertised $2.99 a month needs 48 months paid upfront ($143.52); Premium then renews at $10.99 a month, Unlimited at $16.99 and Cloud Startup at $25.99.
- The plan table shows only 48-month prices. 1-, 12- and 24-month terms are also sold, but their prices appear only once the term is chosen.
- The free domain needs a plan of a year or longer, and both the domain and the mailboxes are free for the first year only.
- Hosting can be refunded within 30 days, but a new domain registration only within 96 hours.
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
Hostinger
- hPanel dashboard
- Hostinger's own control panel handles sites, domains, email, databases and backups, with one-click installs for WordPress and more than 100 other apps.
- Domain, SSL and email included
- Plans bought for a year or longer include a domain free for the first year. SSL is installed automatically, and mailboxes are free for the first year.
- Backups by plan
- Premium keeps weekly backups, Unlimited daily backups with restore, and Cloud Startup daily plus on-demand backups.
- Malware scanning and blocking
- Every plan scans for and removes harmful files, and lets you block visitors by IP address or country. Domain privacy hides your contact details.
- Hostinger Agent and AI credits
- An AI agent builds a WordPress site, sets up domains and DNS, and fixes common problems in chat. Plans come with a one-time gift of 250 to 1,000 AI credits.
- Free site migrations
- Hostinger moves existing sites over at no charge, with no limit on how many, either automatically from hPanel or with help from support.
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
Hostinger
Premium, 48 months$10.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 48 months
3 websites, 20 GB SSD and weekly backups. The first 48 months cost $143.52 ($2.99 a month), paid upfront, then it renews at $10.99 a month.
Unlimited, 48 months$16.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 48 months
Unlimited websites and mailboxes, 50 GB NVMe and daily backups. The first 48 months cost $191.52 ($3.99 a month), then $16.99 a month.
Cloud Startup, 48 months$25.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 48 months
Cloud plan with dedicated resources, 100 GB NVMe and on-demand backups. The first 48 months cost $383.52 ($7.99 a month), then $25.99 a month.
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
Hostinger
- Other savings
First 48 months of Premium for $143.52
Premium costs $2.99 a month for the first 48 months, paid upfront, against a regular $575.52. Unlimited is $191.52 ($3.99 a month) and Cloud Startup $383.52 ($7.99).
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.
