The Hostwinds Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Hostwinds in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Hostwinds
The Insider’s Guide
Shared, business, VPS and cloud hosting with managed support
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among web hosts, read from Hostwinds’s own pages.
Made by Hostwinds · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Hostwinds’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Hostwinds’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.8
GPA, above 9 of the 54 other web hosts we grade
Hostwinds sells shared and business web hosting on cPanel, reseller hosting, managed and unmanaged Linux and Windows VPS, hourly-billed cloud servers and dedicated servers. Shared plans list unlimited bandwidth and disk space, free SSL, a dedicated IP and free migration by the support team. The company is a subsidiary of HostPapa.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Hostwinds, taken from its own pages and our grades.
cPanel and server setup are yours, and VPS plans are unmanaged at the entry level.
- 1
Best for cPanel shared hosting with VPS and cloud next to it
Hostwinds sells cPanel shared hosting with unlimited bandwidth and disk space, plus VPS, cloud and dedicated servers.
- 2
Paid plans start at $4.99 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $4.99 per month (unmanaged Linux VPS); shared from $6.99 per month, annual.
- 3
It runs on Web
Web.
- 4
Shared and business hosting on cPanel
Plans come with cPanel, the Softaculous app installer, unlimited subdomains, FTP accounts, databases and email accounts, and free SSL certificates.
- 5
Free migration
The support team moves an existing site to Hostwinds and sends a preview link so it can be checked before the switch.
- 6
Weebly site builder
Shared plans include Weebly's drag-and-drop builder for people who do not want to install WordPress or code a site.
- 7
A 1.8 GPA, above 9 of 54
That is against the other web hosts we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Hostwinds you would be making a builder that other people can use without writing code. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Hostwinds at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid, from $4.99 per month (unmanaged Linux VPS); shared from $6.99 per month, annual
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Hostwinds
- Category
- Web Hosting
- Our grade
- 1.8 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for cPanel shared hosting with VPS and cloud next to it
Hostwinds sells cPanel shared hosting with unlimited bandwidth and disk space, plus VPS, cloud and dedicated servers. Shared starts at $6.99 a month billed yearly for one domain, and the page's own description still says $3.29.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Shared Basic is $6.99 a month billed yearly, above the $5.28 cheaper-quarter line for web hosts. |
| Free plan and trial | F | No free plan or trial is listed on the pages read. |
| Features | B | Shared, business, VPS, cloud servers and dedicated, with free migration, nightly backups, monitoring and a cloud API. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record. cPanel and server setup are yours, and VPS plans are unmanaged at the entry level. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Web only, with cPanel, Softaculous and WordPress installs. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Hostwinds is for
- Fits if you want shared hosting now and room to move to a VPS later
- Makes sense if you want cPanel and a dedicated IP
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want a trial, as none is listed
- Tight if you have several sites, since Basic is 1 domain and Advanced is 4
- Pricey if you want monthly billing, because shared plans are shown only annually
- Watch out: the page meta says from $3.29 a month, which the page itself does not show
Good to know
Good for
- Small sites that want cPanel and the support team to handle a migration
- People who want an unmanaged VPS at a low monthly price
- Teams that want cloud servers billed hourly
Worth knowing
- The shared-hosting page shows the annual plan price; the page's own meta description still says plans start from $3.29 a month, which is not shown on the page.
- Shared and business plans are listed only with annual billing on the pages read.
- Shared plans are capped by number of domains: 1 on Basic, 4 on Advanced.
- Cloud servers are billed per hour, starting at $0.006931 an hour for 1 CPU and 1 GB RAM.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$4.99
A month to start
Hostwinds is a paid product, starting at $4.99 per month (unmanaged Linux VPS); shared from $6.99 per month, annual.
No free plan or trial is listed on the pages read.
Unmanaged Linux VPS (entry)
$4.99
per month for 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, billed monthly
30 GB storage and 1 TB bandwidth; you run the server yourself. Larger sizes go up to $38.99 a month for 4 CPUs, 8 GB RAM and 150 GB storage, and beyond.
Shared Basic
$6.99
per month for 1 domain, billed annually ($83.88 a year)
Unlimited bandwidth and disk space, free SSL, cPanel, Softaculous installer, a dedicated IP and the Weebly site builder.
Shared Advanced
$8.99
per month for 4 domains, billed annually ($107.88 a year)
The Basic features with room for 4 domains.
Shared Ultimate
$10.99
per month for unlimited domains, billed annually
The Basic features with no limit on the number of domains.
Business Basic
$11.99
per month for 1 domain, billed annually ($143.88 a year)
Hosted on servers with fewer sites per server than shared hosting. Advanced is $13.99 for 4 domains and Ultimate is $16.99 for unlimited domains.
Managed Linux VPS (entry)
$10.99
per month for 1 CPU
The page shows $7.14 a month beside it as the current price; Hostwinds staff manage the server. Larger sizes run to $79.99 a month and beyond.
Read from hostwinds.com on Nov 12, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Shared, business, VPS and cloud hosting with managed support. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, no-code.
Shared, business, VPS, cloud servers and dedicated, with free migration, nightly backups, monitoring and a cloud API.
- Shared and business hosting on cPanel
- Plans come with cPanel, the Softaculous app installer, unlimited subdomains, FTP accounts, databases and email accounts, and free SSL certificates.
- Free migration
- The support team moves an existing site to Hostwinds and sends a preview link so it can be checked before the switch.
- Weebly site builder
- Shared plans include Weebly's drag-and-drop builder for people who do not want to install WordPress or code a site.
- VPS and cloud servers
- Linux and Windows VPS come managed or unmanaged. Cloud servers are billed by the hour and can be paired with load balancers, block storage and object storage.
- Cloud portal and API
- The cloud portal manages IP addresses, load balancers and object storage containers, and Hostwinds describes an API for cloud servers.
- Nightly backups and monitoring
- Shared hosting pages describe nightly backups and 24/7 website monitoring that opens a support ticket if the site has a problem.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- cPanel
- Softaculous
- Weebly
- WordPress
- Joomla
Hostwinds is made by Hostwinds.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
9/54
Other web hosts it is graded above
Hostwinds's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 9 of the 54 other web hosts we grade, and level with 10.
It stands best on features (B, above 29 of 54) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $4.99 a month, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 18 of the 52 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 55 web hosts we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hostwinds’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 54
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 54
- BFeaturesAbove 29 of 54
- CEase of useAbove 9 of 54
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 54
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 53 web hosts. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Hostwinds is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Hostwinds you would be making a builder that other people can use without writing code. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 35 of the 54 other web hosts grade higher. It costs $59.88 a year.
What you could not
- A builder that other people can use without writing code.
- It plugs into other products, cPanel, Softaculous and Weebly among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Hostwinds’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
HostGator, hosting.com and Liquid Web
The 3 tools Hostwinds is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.0GPA
HostGator
From $10.99/mo
Shared and WordPress hosting with malware scanning and a free domain.
- Hostwinds also covers no-code.
- HostGator also covers malware protection and managed WordPress.
- 2.4GPA
hosting.com
From $13.99/mo
Shared hosting from the former A2 Hosting, with an API and MCP server.
- Hostwinds also covers no-code.
- hosting.com also covers malware protection.
- 2.0GPA
Liquid Web
From $17/mo
Managed WordPress, VPS and dedicated server hosting for businesses.
- Hostwinds also covers no-code.
- Liquid Web also covers malware protection and managed WordPress.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Hostwinds free?
No. Hostwinds is a paid product, starting at $4.99 per month (unmanaged Linux VPS); shared from $6.99 per month, annual.
How much does Hostwinds cost?
Hostwinds lists 6 plans. Unmanaged Linux VPS (entry): $4.99 per month for 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, billed monthly.
What platforms does Hostwinds work on?
Hostwinds is available on Web.
Does Hostwinds have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hostwinds is listed for Web.
Does Hostwinds have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hostwinds is listed for Web.
Is Hostwinds open source?
Hostwinds is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Hostwinds have an API?
Yes. Hostwinds offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Hostwinds integrate with?
Hostwinds's listing names cPanel, Softaculous, Weebly, WordPress and Joomla.
Who makes Hostwinds?
Hostwinds is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Hostwinds?
The closest alternatives to Hostwinds in our directory are HostGator, hosting.com and Liquid Web.
How does Hostwinds compare with other web hosts?
Hostwinds's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 9 of the 54 other web hosts we grade, and level with 10.
Is Hostwinds good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Hostwinds C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $4.99 a month, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 18 of the 52 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Hostwinds?
To replace Hostwinds you would be making a builder that other people can use without writing code.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Hostwinds’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hostwinds's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Hostwinds. Prices change, so check hostwinds.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Hostwinds, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/hostwinds
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Hostwinds: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/hostwinds
Know someone choosing between web hosts?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/hostwinds/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded web hosts after Hostwinds, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Web Hosting Insider's GuideEvery one of the 55 web hosts we grade, compared
- Cloudflare Pages Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for static sites and full-stack apps2.8 GPA
- Netlify Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for sites and web apps, priced by monthly credits2.8 GPA
- Northflank Insider's GuideContainer platform for services, jobs, databases and GPUs2.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Hostwinds’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Hostwinds is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Hostwinds. Prices and plans change: check hostwinds.com before you buy.