Hostinger vs Strato (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hostinger grades higher than Strato: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hostinger grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on 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
Which one is for you
Pick Hostinger if
- Fits if you want hosting, a domain and email from one account
- Works for small sites and blogs that fit in Premium's 3 websites
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you stay past year four, as Premium renews at $10.99 a month
- Skip it if you don't want to pay years ahead, as only 48-month prices are shown upfront
- Tight if you need daily backups, which start on Unlimited rather than Premium
- Watch out: the domain and mailboxes are free for the first year only, then billed
- Not for you if you might change your mind on a new domain, as it refunds only within 96 hours
Pick Strato if
- Fits if you want a domain and mailbox bundled with hosting
- Works for UK or European sites that run WordPress or Joomla
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you have several domains, as each package includes one and more cost extra
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT
- Watch out: the page says both a 6-month contract period and a 12-month minimum term
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there is no trial, only a money-back guarantee
- Watch out: DynDNS is not available on Basic Web
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAHostingerFair | 1.6GPAStratoWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPremium's only readable price is usually 48 months for $143.52 upfront ($119.52 in a sale until 14 December 2026), 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. | CBasic Web is £4 a month excluding VAT, around the category's cheapest-quarter line once VAT and currency are counted. |
| 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. | FNo free plan or trial; the 30-day money-back guarantee is not a trial. |
| 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. | CDomain and mailboxes, CMS installs, backups, malware scans and unlimited traffic, but one domain per package and no DynDNS on Basic. |
| 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 store rating on record, and you set up the site and CMS yourself. |
| 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. | CWeb only, with WordPress, Joomla, Typo3 and Drupal installs. |
| Best for | hosting if you can pay four years upfront | hosting with a domain and mailbox included |
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 Strato. 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. Strato starts at about $5.36 a month and scores 2.0.
Hostinger scores higher, and starts $5.63 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 3 score higher than Hostinger for less, and 19 score higher than Strato 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
- Strato also covers databases.
At a glance
| Hostinger | Strato | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $10.99 per month at renewal (Premium), after a first 48 months for $119.52 | £4 per month, ex. VAT (Basic Web) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hostinger | STRATO GmbH |
| Price read from | hostinger.com | strato-hosting.co.uk |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hostinger
- The advertised $2.49 a month needs 48 months paid upfront ($119.52); 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.
Strato
- Each package includes only one domain; more domains are optional extras.
- Prices exclude VAT, and the page says both a 6-month contract period and a 12-month minimum term.
- Strato runs separate country sites (Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, UK); the .com site only redirects visitors.
- DynDNS is not available on the Basic Web package.
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.
Strato
- Domain and mailboxes included
- Each package includes one domain and mailboxes with webmail, spam filtering and virus protection.
- One-click CMS installs
- WordPress, Joomla, Typo3 and Drupal can be installed from the customer login, with git, Ruby, Python and Matomo also listed.
- Backups and malware scanning
- Backup Control makes website backups several times a day, and SiteGuard and a SiteLock scan check for malware.
- No traffic limit
- All four packages list unlimited traffic, SSD storage, SSL certificates and DDoS protection.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- The UK site promises a refund for almost all products within the first 30 days, requested from the logged-in account.
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 $119.52 ($2.49 a month) in the Black Friday sale, 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 $167.52 ($3.49 a month) in the sale, 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.
Strato
Basic Web£4.00
per month, ex. VAT
1 domain, 1 mailbox, 50 GB web space and 2 SSD databases.
Power Web£6.00
per month, ex. VAT
100 GB web space, 2 mailboxes, 25 SSD databases and Python and Ruby support.
Advanced Web£10.00
per month, ex. VAT
150 GB web space, 2 mailboxes, 50 SSD databases and 50 SFTP accounts.
Enterprise Web£15.00
per month, ex. VAT
200 GB web space, 5 mailboxes, 75 SSD databases and 80 SFTP accounts.
Ways to pay less
Hostinger
- Other savings
Black Friday: first 48 months of Premium for $119.52
Until 14 December 2026, Premium costs $2.49 a month for the first 48 months, paid upfront ($119.52). Unlimited is $167.52 ($3.49 a month) and Cloud Startup $383.52 ($7.99).
Strato
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hostinger or Strato?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Strato is cheaper to start with: about $5.36 a month, against $10.99 a month for Hostinger. Hostinger starts at $10.99 per month at renewal (Premium), after a first 48 months for $119.52, and Strato starts at £4 per month, ex. VAT (Basic Web).
Which has a free plan, Hostinger or Strato?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hostinger nor Strato 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.