Hosting 101:
Hostinger Review – Is This The Most Affordable Premium Webhost?
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As a website owner and hosting expert who has tried dozens of hosts for my websites, I can tell you that Hostinger is one of the best web hosts in the market. Since web owners in over 40+ countries trust their websites to Hostinger, that is more than enough proof of their competence.
Irrespective of that, I will use the rest of this Hostinger review to show the web host’s plans, prices, features offered, real-time performance stats, customer support, and every important information all webmasters should consider. By the end of this review, you will be able to decide if they are the best web host for your needs.
Hostinger Review
Founded in 2004 as Hosting Media, the company started championing cheap web hosting early when it offered a free web hosting service in 2007. Since rebranding to Hostinger, they have been one of the most affordable and reliable web hosts globally over the past 2 decades.
They offer Shared hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, email hosting, WordPress-specific plans, and WooCommerce hosting plans. They also offer a free website migration on all their plans.
Hostinger currently hosts over 2 million websites spread across over 40 countries. They also give a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, and free email accounts for any hosting plan you buy. Plus all their plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
As if that is not enough, Hostinger is one of three web hosts recommended by WordPress. The company scored an impressive 4.6 stars on Trustpilot from over 26,000 reviews.
Hostinger Pros and Cons
- Cheap prices for shared web hosting
- One of the three recommended hosts by WordPress
- They have servers in 4 continents
- They offer free daily and weekly backups
- Free domain name registration with every purchase
- Their plans come with a free website builder
- LiteSpeed Web servers with built-in cache engine
- Phone support is unavailable
- Control Panel can be slow sometimes
- Their plans get more expensive upon renewal
Hostinger Rating – My Take
When you’re on the hunt for a web hosting provider, you will come across hundreds claiming to be the best fit for your website. But because you cannot just trust everything they say, I created a standard template which we can use to compare web hosts and rate them properly.
Having analysed the important features Hostinger offers and their performance, here’s how I’d rate the web host on a scale of 1.0 – 5.0. Note that these scores are not fixed and may change depending on improvements made by the hosting provider.
| Quality | My Rating | Why I gave this Score |
| Features and Specs | 4.8 | Cheap hosting plans, free website migration, free domain, and LiteSpeed web servers with built-in cache engine make Hostinger exceptional. However, I gave them a 4.8 because of a lack of free CDN on all plans. |
| Pricing | 5.0 | Starting at $2.99 per month plus an additional 3 months free when you purchase a plan, Hostinger is one of the most affordable web hosting providers. I gave them a 5.0 because they still offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on top of this. |
| Performance Stats | 4.8 | An impressive time-to-first-byte (TTFB) of 240240ms ms makes Hostinger a decently fast provider. They also offer a 99% guaranteed uptime. However, I gave them a 4.8 because there are faster hosts in the market and they don’t offer SSD storage across all their plans. |
| Ease of Use | 5.0 | A user-friendly custom hPanel, 1-click WordPress installation, and free website migration make Hostinger very easy to use. I gave them a 5.0 because they offer free domain name registration. |
| Customer Support Guarantee | 4.8 | Hostinger has an active customer support centre. Live chats, email tickets, and plenty of tutorials to cater for your needs. They also have a knowledge base, blog, and the Hostinger Academy to help you. However, I gave them a 4.8 because of no phone support. |
Hostinger’s Plans & Pricing
Hostinger offers web hosting, professional web hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, managed WordPress hosting, and managed WooCommerce hosting. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for all their plans, giving you enough time to decide if they are the best fit for your website.
Should you settle on a desired hosting plan, payment can be made via any of these cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Maestro.
Hostinger’s Web(Shared) Hosting Plans
Premium
Space Offered – 100 GB SSD
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 100 websites allowed
Price – $2.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Business
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 100 websites allowed
Price – $3.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Cloud Startup
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $9.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Hostinger’s Business web (shared) hosting plan is the best pick out of the options. You get 200 GB NVMe storage, unlimited bandwidth, and 100 websites all for $3.99.
Who this is for:
Because of their cheap costs, Hostinger’s web (shared) hosting plans involve you sharing server resources with other website owners. They are most suitable for small or new websites like landing pages, portfolio websites, blogs e.t.c that don’t experience a lot of traffic. They are also good for small startup companies still finding their way and on a budget.
Hostinger’s Web Professional Hosting Plans
Cloud Startup
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 3 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $9.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Cloud Professional
Space Offered – 250 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 6 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $14.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Cloud Enterprise
Space Offered – 300 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 12 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $29.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
When the shared hosting plans aren’t quite enough for you, Hostinger’s web professional hosting plans are your best bet. The Cloud Professional is the best pick with unlimited bandwidth, 6 GB RAM, 250 GB NVMe storage, and you’re allowed 300 websites for $14.99 per month.
Who this is for:
As you gain traction online, your website’s demands naturally outgrow the resources offered by cheap shared hosting plans. They are most suitable for online businesses, eCommerce websites, and for scaling professional websites. If your website gets consistent average traffic, then this is a good option for you.
Hostinger’s VPS Hosting Plans
KVM 1
Processor – 1 vCPU Core
Space Offered – 50 GB NVMe Disk Space
Bandwidth – 4 TB
Memory – 4 GB
Price – $4.49 per month billed annually
KVM 2
Processor – 2 vCPU Cores
Space Offered – 100 GB NVMe Disk Space
Bandwidth – 8 TB
Memory – 8 GB
Price – $6.99 per month billed annually
KVM 4
Processor – 4 vCPU Cores
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe Disk Space
Bandwidth – 16 TB
Memory – 16 GB
Price – $10.49 per month billed annually
KVM 8
Processor – 8 vCPU Cores
Space Offered – 400 GB NVMe Disk Space
Bandwidth – 32 TB
Memory – 32 GB
Price – $19.99 per month billed annually
When your website's demands exceed shared hosting plans and you don’t want to spend big on a dedicated server, then VPS hosting plans are your go-to option. Hostinger’s KVM 2 is the best value for money, you get 2 vCPU cores, 8 TB bandwidth, 8 GB RAM, and 100 GB NMVe storage for $6.99 per month.
Who this is for:
If you want a bit more power and control over your websites, plus you seek a more secure and stable hosting plan, then VPS hosting ticks all the right boxes. It’s most suitable for medium-sized businesses like SaaS companies looking for more control, performance, and flexibility.
Hostinger’s Cloud Hosting Plans
Cloud Startup
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 3 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $9.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Cloud Professional
Space Offered – 250 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 6 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $14.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Cloud Enterprise
Space Offered – 300 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Memory – 12 GB
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $29.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Hostinger’s cloud hosting plans are the same as its web professional hosting plans. For the Cloud Professional package, you still get unlimited bandwidth, 6 GB RAM, and 250 GB NVMe storage, and you’re allowed 300 websites for $14.99 per month.
Who it is for:
Just like its web professional hosting counterpart, Hostinger’s Cloud hosting plans are targeted at small businesses that have outgrown their shared hosting server resources. It is suitable for companies like news websites, travel blogs that get consistent average traffic.
Hostinger’s Managed WordPress Hosting Plans
Premium
Space Offered – 100 GB SSD
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 100 websites allowed
Price – $2.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Dedicated IP – No
Business
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 100 websites allowed
Price – $3.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Dedicated IP – No
Cloud Startup
Space Offered – 200 GB NVMe storage
Bandwidth – Unlimited
Number of Websites – 300 websites allowed
Price – $9.99 per month billed annually + 3 months free
Dedicated IP – Yes
Hostinger’s Managed WordPress hosting plans are the same as their shared hosting plans, but this focuses on WordPress websites. The Business package is the best option with 200 GB NVMe storage, unlimited bandwidth, and 100 websites for as low as $3.99 per month.
Who it is for:
Hostinger’s Managed WordPress hosting plans also involve sharing server resources with other website owners. For this reason, it is most suitable for new and small WordPress websites that don’t get a lot of traffic. For example, landing pages, personal portfolios, blogs e.t.c
Hostinger’s Managed WooCommerce Hosting Plans
Business
WooCommerce – Basic
Monthly Visits – 100,000
Tech Support – None
Space – 200 GB NVMe storage
PHP workers – 60
Websites allowed – 100
Price – $3.99
Cloud Startup
WooCommerce – Standard
Monthly Visits – 200,000
Tech Support – Expert eCommerce
Space – 200 GB NVMe storage
PHP workers – 100
Websites allowed – 300
Price– $9.99
Cloud Professional
WooCommerce – Advanced
Monthly Visits – 300,000
Tech Support – Expert eCommerce
Space – 250 GB NVMe storage
PHP workers – 200
Websites allowed – 300
Price – $14.99
Cloud Enterprise
WooCommerce – Expert
Monthly Visits – 400,000
Tech Support – Expert eCommerce
Space – 300 GB NVMe storage
PHP workers – 300
Websites allowed – 300
Price – $29.99
I’d recommend you go for Hostinger’s Cloud startup Managed WooCommerce hosting plan. It comes with expert eCommerce tech support, a dedicated IP address, 200 GB NVMe storage, 100 PHP workers, and you’re allowed up to 300 websites per account. For $9.99 per month, this represents the best value for money.
Who it is for:
Hostinger’s Managed WooCommerce hosting plans are targeted specifically at eCommerce websites. From a small business to a large website with a lot of traffic, you will find a suitable hosting plan for your eCommerce business from their range of offers.
Hostinger’s Features
Here’s an overview of the main features Hostingers provides across its hosting plans:
- NVMe storage
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain name
- Free website builder
- Flexible and affordable pricing
- eCommerce integration
- Free email
- Daily Backups
- WordPress acceleration features
Aside from all the great features that you expect of a world-class hosting provider, one thing that makes Hostinger impressive is their 24/7 multilingual customer support. This means the language barrier won’t be an issue when trying to resolve any problems you may have encountered with them.
They are also one of the few hosting providers who have ditched the traditional cPanel and have opted for their custom control panel called the hPanel.
Hostinger Performance Tests
Before you decide on a new web hosting provider, you must carry out real-life performance tests to verify claims made on their websites. The crucial parameters to look out for include – speed (average server response time), uptime, and the overall performance in search engines.
A web host’s speed can be measured by how quickly their servers send back information after a user visits a website hosted by them. Uptime measures how consistently a website remains online and available. It is measured in percentage with 99.9% as the industry standard.
The faster your website responds to user queries, the more likely that customers will carry out the action you want them to on your website. When your website is always available, more users trust and rely on it for their needs.
To save you the stress of finding and testing a website hosted on Hostinger, I used GTMetrix to measure the host’s average speed and performance. These were the results:
Hostinger’s response time is quite great with feedback from their servers returning in 240ms– 0.2 seconds. However, the overall performance of the website hosted by the platform was 86% which is good.
I used the Uptime robot to evaluate the website’s availability to test their uptime.
Over the last 30 days, the website was online 100% of the time, consistent with the 99.9% industry standard.
Hostinger’s Customer Support
Hostinger has an active customer service that is available 24/7 to help solve your issues via:
Sales Enquiry
Before you decide on which hosting plan you want, you can enquire about their hosting plans, prices, and the best offering that will cater to your specific needs. You can do this by booking an appointment on their sales enquiry page.
Live Chat
Hostinger allows you to chat directly with their agents. However, I was disappointed to find out that clicking on this option takes you straight to the signup page. This means you have to purchase a hosting plan before you get access to this functionality.
Phone Support
Unfortunately, Hostinger does not offer phone support. According to them, they wouldn’t want to keep customers waiting for long just to speak to an agent. They prefer to communicate through various other means they offer.
Knowledgebase
It is always a great sight to see a comprehensive knowledge base that has answers to all the relevant questions. From domain issues to how to use the custom hPanel, Hostinger is doing a great job.
To make things easier, the knowledgebase has a built-in search engine to make finding the right information hassle-free.
Tutorials
To make things easier, Hostinger offers valuable resources on WordPress, VPS, website development, eCommerce, and website errors.
Blog section
To make sure you’re not left out of the fun, Hostinger has a vibrant blog section that helps you stay up-to-date with industry news, marketing trends, tips, and strategies.
Hostinger Academy
In continuation of their commitment to customers, Hostinger has an academy on YouTube that teaches you everything you need to know about domains and web hosting.
Hostinger’s Security Features
Because of the constant threats websites face, you need to ensure your website is protected from DDoS attacks, malware, and other security risks.
Hostinger uses advanced security modules such as mod_security, Suhosin PHP hardening, open_basedir etc. to ensure the best possible protection. All their plans also come with a free SSL certificate and anti-malware protection on endpoints and servers.
While Hostinger is not ISO 27001 or SOC certified, they have extensive security practices to ensure information security.
Hostinger’s website builder
A lot of website owners like you typically want their web hosting, domain name registration, and website building from one provider. Thankfully, Hostinger offers free domain names for all their plans. However, they do not give free website building on all plans, so you might have to pay $2.99 per month for it.
User-Friendliness – Ease of Use
From setting up an account to managing your website’s backend using the hPanel, let’s find out how easy it is to use Hostinger.
Registering an Account
Before you can register an account, you need to first purchase one of their hosting plans. This is how to do it
Step 1:
Look for the hosting package you want and click on “add to cart”. You will be redirected to the page where you choose the billing schedule— monthly, annually, or biannually.
Step 2:
Type in your email address and password.
Step 3:
Choose your preferred payment option and then fill in your details.
Step 4:
Finally, you input your card details, once you click ‘submit secure payment’ and the payment goes through, your account will be created.
Hostinger’s Custom hPanel
Hostinger’s web hosting comes with a custom-built control panel known as hPanel. It helps you set up hosting accounts, monitor resource usage, create emails, and install a content management system.
It gives you full control over your website hosting service thanks to tools like SSH, WP-CLI, PHP version control, Git integration, MySQL manager, etc.
How to Install WordPress on Hostinger
Installing WordPress is straightforward on Hostinger. Log in to the hPanel, look for ‘websites’ and select ‘create or migrate a website’. Choose the type of website you want to create and choose ‘create a new website’ then select ‘WordPress’ as your platform.
Enter the login details of your new WordPress account and click continue. Choose the WordPress plugins you need, select a theme, and then enter your brand name and what you do into the form displayed. Click continue.
You can now register a new domain name or choose from pre-existing domains you already have. Your installation process will take several minutes to complete and that’s it.
Conclusion – Should you choose Hostinger?
After putting Hostinger through its paces, the web hosting provider has proven to be one of the best currently on the market. With its affordable and flexible payment plans, I recommend Hostinger to small and new website owners seeking reliability and performance but don’t want to break the bank.
Their server response time is impressive and their 24/7 bilingual customer support will ensure you get all the help you need. To guarantee you get off on the right note, Hostinger gives you a free domain name once you pay for one of their hosting plans. Because of such extra value, I highly recommend them!
FAQs
Does Hostinger offer free hosting?
Yes, Hostinger offers a free web hosting package. If you’re developing a website for the first time, then their free plan is a great way to practice and improve your skills.
Is the Website Builder on Hostinger Free?
Hostinger offers a free website builder on some of its plans, but when the plan you chose doesn't get one, you will have to pay $2.99 per month for it.
Which one is better Hostinger or SiteGround?
Hostinger and Siteground are both WordPress-recommended hosts, making this a tight battle. In terms of performance, SiteGround is better, but the affordable and flexible pricing of Hostinger bridges the gap.
Overall, SiteGround is slightly better than Hostinger.
What are some Hostinger Alternatives?
If you’re looking for fast and reliable alternatives to Hostinger, SiteGround, BlueHost, Cloudways, and A2Hosting are your best bets.
