Hostinger vs Namecheap
We give Hostinger a 2.0 GPA and Namecheap a 2.2, out of 4.0. Hostinger grades higher on platforms. Namecheap grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on 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
Namecheap
Domain registrar's cPanel shared hosting, billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHostingerFair | 2.2GPANamecheapFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AOnly renewal rates could be read, and Stellar on a 2-year term is still $102.88, about $4.29 a month over two years, under the $5.97 an A needs. Any first-term discount would only bring that down. Monthly is $5.88. |
| 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. | DA 30-day trial on yearly Stellar packages, which turns into a paid first year at the after-trial price when it ends. That makes it a trial you sign up to pay for, not a free plan. |
| 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. | CcPanel with Softaculous for 200+ apps, AI site builders, malware scanning and 2FA. The gaps are on Stellar: manual backups only, 3 websites and 30 mailboxes, and the free SSL lasts a year per domain. |
| 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. cPanel and Softaculous are familiar to many, but there's a fair bit to learn if you're new to them. |
| 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. The named integrations are installers and builders, WordPress, Softaculous, Sitejet and Extendify, with no API on record. |
| Best for | cheap hosting if you can pay four years upfront | cheap cPanel hosting beside your domains |
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 Namecheap. 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. Namecheap starts at $4.29 a month and scores 2.0.
Hostinger scores higher, and starts $6.70 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 Namecheap 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. Namecheap starts at $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates.
- Namecheap also covers managed WordPress.
At a glance
| Hostinger | Namecheap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $10.99 per month at renewal (Premium), after a first 48 months for $143.52 | $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day trial of yearly Stellar packages, after which the first year is charged at the after-trial price |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hostinger | Namecheap, Inc. |
| Price read from | hostinger.com | namecheap.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
Namecheap
- People who already keep their domains at Namecheap
- Small sites that want to pay month to month at a low rate
- Owners who prefer cPanel and Softaculous to a custom dashboard
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.
Namecheap
- Only the renewal rates could be read: the shared hosting page, which shows first-term discounts and trial terms, answered our readers with a bot check.
- The free SSL lasts one year per domain; keeping it after that is a paid renewal.
- Stellar stops at 3 websites, 30 mailboxes and 20 GB; unlimited sites and automatic backups need Stellar Plus or Business.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers first-time hosting accounts only, and cPanel or Softaculous licenses are not refunded.
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.
Namecheap
- cPanel with Softaculous
- Plans are run from cPanel, with the Softaculous installer for WordPress and more than 200 other scripts, plus email, file, database and DNS tools.
- AI site builders
- Sitejet in cPanel can generate a one-page site from a few business details, and Extendify adds AI site setup and writing help to new WordPress installs.
- Free SSL for the first year
- Each domain or subdomain on a shared account gets a single-domain SSL certificate free for a year, issued and installed automatically, up to 50 per account.
- Malware scanning and 2FA
- cPanel includes ImunifyAV or Imunify360 malware scanning, ModSecurity and two-factor authentication.
- AutoBackup
- Stellar Plus and Stellar Business restore from automatic backups, with unlimited backup storage on Business. Stellar has manual backups only.
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.
Namecheap
Stellar, 1 month$5.88
per month, the renewal rate
3 websites, 20 GB SSD and 30 mailboxes. The renewal rate since May 19, 2026; first-term discounts were not readable.
Stellar, 1 year$55.88
per year, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed yearly. A 30-day trial is offered on yearly packages.
Stellar, 2 years$102.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed every two years, the lowest rate for it.
Stellar Plus, 2 years$146.44
every 2 years, the renewal rate
Unlimited websites and mailboxes, unmetered SSD storage and AutoBackup. Also $7.88 a month or $85.44 a year.
Stellar Business, 2 years$251.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
50 GB SSD, fewer users per server, a choice of US, UK, EU or Singapore servers. Also $11.88 a month or $128.88 a 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).
Namecheap
No public discounts listed.
