Hostinger is a reliable web hosting service known for its low costs and speedy loading times.
I highly recommend it for people that need to get their site online without a lot of hassle. In my best web hosting providers guide, youâÃÂÃÂll see Hostinger ranked first for the best cheap web hosting plans.
Hostinger delivers affordability without cutting corners, which is why I like them so much as a host for simple websites. As youyou can upgrade to a more powerful plan without having to switch hosts.
You donâÃÂÃÂt need any web development background to get started, either. Hostinger is one of the easiest web hosting solutions out there.
- Starts at $1.99/month
- Month-to-month pricing
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- 30-day money-back guarantee
== Hostinger Web Hosting Review ==
If youâÃÂÃÂre on a budget, definitely look into Hostinger. ThereâÃÂÃÂs simply no way to spend less on reliable hosting. You can use this guide to decide if Hostinger has suitable hosting plans for your website.
Below are some of the most notable features of Hostinger web hosting.
== The Benefits of Using Hostinger Web Hosting ==
Decent Uptime
Cheap web hosting services might seem appealing on the surface. But itâÃÂÃÂs not worth going this route if your uptime rates are insufficient.
Hostinger doesnâÃÂÃÂt have the best uptimes rates in the industry, but they arenâÃÂÃÂt the lowest either.
Usually, I like to see web hosting services deliver an average of 99.9% uptime over the course of a year. Hostinger has some months in the 99.8% range, and even as low as 99.04%, which definitely brought their average down. But some months of 100% uptime saved their average.
You need to weigh the cost against your needs. If you have a small personal website with minimal traffic, 10-14 hours of downtime in a year isnâÃÂÃÂt going toyou. However, if you have a business website, youâÃÂÃÂll want slightly better rates.
Overall, HostingerâÃÂÃÂs uptime rates are good enough for most small websites.
Fast Loading Times
ItâÃÂÃÂs easy to think that youâÃÂÃÂre sacrificing quality when the price is so good. With Hostinger this is not the case.
In fact, they offer some of the fastest speeds for their price point out there.
On their website, Hostinger states that their server response time is 43 milliseconds, which is very good. Take that with a grain of salt though. I wasnâÃÂÃÂt able to verify this number in any tests. Honestly, you probably would need to have a top-tier plan using very little resources to achieve those speeds.
Either way, you can expect to have loading times somewhere in the 300-400 ms range on average. Again, this still pretty good for the price.
The industry average for page loading speed is closer to 900 ms, so Hostinger pretty much cuts that number in half.
Money-back Guarantee
If youâÃÂÃÂre unhappy with your Hostinger web hosting services, you can get your money refunded within 30 days of signing up.
If youâÃÂÃÂre on the fence, this should be a great deal for you. YouâÃÂÃÂre essentially getting 30 days of free hosting.
30 days is basically the industry standard for web hosting promises. Most providers will offer you this period, at a minimum, to change your mind and get your money back.
HostingerâÃÂÃÂs money-back guarantee is good, but it doesnâÃÂÃÂt go above and beyond compared to some other web hosts out there. IâÃÂÃÂll talk more about this in greater detail shortly.
Live Support
Customer support is one of the most important aspects of a good web host.
Think about it. If your website has an issue and crashes, that impacts your bottom line. You need to be able to get someone on the phone or email and help you fix that problem as soon as possible.
Though if youâÃÂÃÂre using Hostinger to host a small personal blog, getting in touch with a customer service representative in an instant may not be at the top of your priority list. But itâÃÂÃÂs still important.
Regardless of your situation, itâÃÂÃÂs nice to know that HostingerâÃÂÃÂs live chat is easy and fast.
To test it out, I sent them a message asking for help and got a response in less than one minute. I was happy with the language and terminology used by the customer service rep as well. Their instructions were simple and easy to follow.
Furthermore, Hostinger has knowledge base articles on their website that offer guidance for self-help. IâÃÂÃÂd recommend using those as a resource if you end up choosing Hostinger.
One downside is thereâÃÂÃÂs no 24/7 phone support. Sometimes itâÃÂÃÂs easier to talk a problem through with someone rather than type it out. That could be a deal-breaker for some of you. Personally, I think live chat is just fine.
Free Domain and Website Builder
All Hostinger plans come with a free domain and website builder. This is great if youâÃÂÃÂre building a new website from scratch. ItâÃÂÃÂs also good if youâÃÂÃÂre a beginner.
Its drag-and-drop website builder allows you to easily customize a website with no developing knowledge or experience needed.
They have lots of great templates for you to use as a starting point as well.
Honestly, HostingerâÃÂÃÂs website builder isnâÃÂÃÂt the best on the market. But itâÃÂÃÂs good enough for a simple website.
I wouldnâÃÂÃÂt let this feature make or break your decision. But itâÃÂÃÂs an important added benefit for those of you who are just looking for cheap web hosting offering an all-in-one solution. Hostinger has you covered.
Simple Interface
The Hostinger administrative dashboard is super easy to useâÃÂÃÂeven if you donâÃÂÃÂt have much experience with web hosting or managing a website.
Everything is clearly labeled so you can easily find what you need.
YouâÃÂÃÂll have access to any installed apps, like WordPress, from here as well.
Hostinger makes it easy for you to change your usage, upgrade your plan, change your domain, and manage your email settings. You can even access your usage statistics to see if the plan youâÃÂÃÂre currently signed up for meets the needs of your website.
While HostingerâÃÂÃÂs interface is easy, itâÃÂÃÂs not perfect. But IâÃÂÃÂll go into greater detail on this in a minute.
âÃÂÃÂUnlimitedâÃÂÃÂ
Hostinger has some great unlimited options available for specific plans.
Both the Premium and Business shared hosting plans come with unlimited bandwidth, MySQL databases, and email accounts.
ThatâÃÂÃÂs why IâÃÂÃÂd recommend choosing a higher-tiered plan over the entry-level pricing. I think the unlimited and freebies are absolutely worth it for a few extra bucks a monthâÃÂÃÂespecially if you plan on scaling up your business soon.
*Note: âÃÂÃÂUnlimitedâÃÂàmeans that Hostinger isnâÃÂÃÂt going to charge based on how much bandwidth or storage you use. Under their terms and conditions, however, you can only use resources as part of the âÃÂÃÂnormal operation of a personal or small business website.âÃÂà*
Price
Hostinger is cheap. In fact, itâÃÂÃÂs consistently one of the lowest-priced hosting options in our research.
You can see below that HostingerâÃÂÃÂs shared hosting starts at an incredible $1.99 per month.
In order to lock in this low monthly rate, though, you need to sign up for a 48-month contract.
Some people donâÃÂÃÂt want to do this because itâÃÂÃÂs a higher upfront cost than paying month-to-month. For my part, I know that IâÃÂÃÂll always need hostingâÃÂÃÂso signing up for a few years to get the best deal is not a problem for me.
Do the math. **Four years of hosting **for ** less than $100 **if youâÃÂÃÂre paying $1.99 per month. ThatâÃÂÃÂs less than youâÃÂÃÂll usually pay for a year of hosting with other budget-friendly providers.
Keep in mind that your rates will go up when itâÃÂÃÂs time to renew your contract, but not by much. HostingerâÃÂÃÂs Single Shared Hosting renews at $3.99/month after your four years at $1.99 per month. Again, this is a pretty standard practice in the web hosting world.
== Other Considerations ==
Anything cheap usually comes with some trade-offs. Hostinger is no exception to this rule. There are a few drawbacks that you should keep in mind when youâÃÂÃÂre reviewing their plans.
Must be Logged in to Access Support
Earlier I explained that Hostinger offers fast and reliable support. But priority support doesnâÃÂÃÂt come with all plans.
If you choose the Single Shared Hosting plan without any add-ons, then you may have to wait a bit longer to speak to someone.
Furthermore, you can only access the live chat feature if youâÃÂÃÂre logged into your account.
This can be a problem if youâÃÂÃÂre locked out of your account or forget your password. It also presents a challenge for *prospective* Hostinger customers.
That means if youâÃÂÃÂre not a current customer, you canâÃÂÃÂt chat with a representative about their offerings and services.
Instead, youâÃÂÃÂd have to just submit a general inquiry ticket through their website and someone will contact you via email.
ThatâÃÂÃÂs not ideal âÃÂàespecially if you want to make sure youâÃÂÃÂre getting the best for your business and needs.
Traditional cPanel is Not Available
While Hostinger offers a simple and easy-to-use interface, they donâÃÂÃÂt have a traditional cPanel.
This could be a dealbreaker.
For the most part, cPanel is the industry standard in web hosting. So if youâÃÂÃÂre used to using cPanel, then you may be a bit frustrated using HostingerâÃÂÃÂs version.
But for those of you who are new to web hosting, you wonâÃÂÃÂt notice the difference. HostingerâÃÂÃÂs control panel will be just fine.
Exceptions to Payment Terms
As I said before, Hostinger has a 30-day money-back guarantee. But there are some exceptions to these terms that are worth mentioning. You wonâÃÂÃÂt necessarily get a âÃÂÃÂno questions askedâÃÂàfull refund for all of their services.
The following products are not available for refunds under this policy:
- Redemption feeds
- Domain name renewals
- Privacy protection
- SEO toolkit
- G Suite
Domain name registrations and transfers can be refunded if they are canceled in the first 96 hours of the purchase, not 30 days.
You can read HostingerâÃÂÃÂs full refund policy here.
Additional Domains ArenâÃÂÃÂt Free
Premium, Business, Cloud, and VPS plans come with a free domain name. But if youâÃÂÃÂre planning to use Hostinger to host more than one website, youâÃÂÃÂll need to pay for additional domains.
The prices are pretty affordable. You can get a .xyz or .tech domain for just $0.99 per year. But .com domains start at $8.99 per year âÃÂàwhich is certainly pricier than other options out there.
For those of you who are registering a new domain, IâÃÂÃÂd recommend getting it somewhere else. You can check out my list of the best domain registrars for alternative options.
== Compare Hostinger Web Hosting Plans ==
Compared to other web hosts on the market today, Hostinger doesnâÃÂÃÂt offer as many options. Their hosting plans are segmented into just three categories.
The good thing about this is that the plans are very straightforward. IâÃÂÃÂll give a more detailed analysis of what these plans include below.
Shared Hosting
Hostinger has three shared hosting plans. HereâÃÂÃÂs a brief overview of each:
**Single Shared Hosting**
- Starting at $1.99 per month (renews at $3.99)
- Hosting for 1 website
- 30 GB SSD Storage
- 100 GB of bandwidth
- 1 MySQL database
- Free SSL
**Premium Shared Hosting**
- Starting at $3.49 per month (renews at $6.99)
- Hosting for up to 100 websites
- 100 GB SSD Storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Free domain registration
- Free SSL
**Business Shared Hosting**
- Starting at $4.99 per month (renews at $8.99)
- Hosting for up to 100 websites
- 200 GB SSD Storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Free domain registration
- Free SSL
- Free daily backups
As you can see, each pricing tier comes with added features and benefits. Since a free SSL and domain registration are pretty standard features for most web hosting companies, I wouldnâÃÂÃÂt consider anything less than the Business plan.
Right now they are actually running a special for a free SSL with all shared plans. But I canâÃÂÃÂt promise that will always be an option.
If you have an ultra-small blog or personal website, you can probably get away with the Single or Premium shared hosting. But just realize that youâÃÂÃÂll outgrow those plans quickly as your traffic scales.
These are suitable options if you just need to get your site live but donâÃÂÃÂt plan to add much to it.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a relatively new type of web hosting service. For those of you who want to know more about what it is and how it works, refer to my guide on the best cloud hosting.
The cloud hosting plans provided by Hostinger are a step above the shared options. LetâÃÂÃÂs take a closer look at what each cloud plan offers.
**Cloud Startup**
- Starting at $9.99 per month (renews at $18.99)
- 3 GB of RAM
- 200 GB of SSD storage
- 2 CPU cores
**Cloud Professional**
- Starting at $18.99 per month (renews at $38.99)
- 6 GB of RAM
- 250 GB of SSD storage
- 4 CPU cores
**Cloud Enterprise**
- Starting at $69.99 per month (renews at $84.99)
- 12 GB of RAM
- 300 GB of SSD Storage
- 6 CPU cores
All cloud plans come with unlimited bandwidth, isolated resources, a free dedicated IP, free domain registration, and a free SSL certificate.
As you can see, these plans come with significantly more resources than the shared options. The cloud hosting from Hostinger is best for small to medium-sized websites that are growing and need a web host that can scale with them.
The pricing for these plans is kind of in no manâÃÂÃÂs land. For comparison purposes, you can get 6 GB of RAM, 6 CPU cores, and unmetered storage from HostGatorâÃÂÃÂs cloud hosting for about half the price of Hostinger.
But SiteGroundâÃÂÃÂs cloud hosting plans start at $80 per month for fewer resources. So if you look at it from that perspective, HostingerâÃÂÃÂs cloud plans are still relatively cheap.
VPS Hosting
Unlike other web hosting providers, Hostinger does not offer dedicated servers. So their VPS hosting plans offer the most speed and performance.
Hostinger has six different virtual private server options.
- CPU power ranges from 1 to 8 vCPUs
- RAM ranges from 1 GB to 8 GB
- SSD storage ranges from 20 GB to 160 GB
- Bandwidth ranges from 1,000 GB to 8,000 GB
The pricing for the most basic VPS starts at $3.95 per month and the most expensive VPS starts at $77.99 per month.
As you can see, there is quite a wide range of variety and options for you to choose from if you go this route.
In the world of virtual private server hosting, this is about as cheap as it gets. But for those of you who are considering a VPS for your website, I think you can do better elsewhere.
Check out my list of the best virtual private servers (VPS hosting) for some other options. I have some additional affordable providers on there, like iPage, if youâÃÂÃÂre price-sensitive.
== Conclusion ==
Do I recommend Hostinger for web hosting? Yes.
Hostinger is a trusted name in the industry, offering cheap web hosting solutions for small websites. So if youâÃÂÃÂre looking to cut costs on web hosting, then you can consider Hostinger.
Even though Hostinger offers cloud and VPS hosting plans, IâÃÂÃÂd personally stick to their shared options. This is what they are best known for.
The Premium and Business shared plans will be more than enough to meet the needs of a small website or a personal blog.
- Starts at $1.99/month
- Month-to-month pricing
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- 30-day money-back guarantee