Don’t choose a web host until you’ve read this Hostinger review. While they’re known for their budget-friendly prices, Hostinger offers much more than just cheap hosting. Here, I’ll reveal the pros and cons based on my own experience, so you can make an informed decision before you decide to sign up.
Hostinger’s promise is to create an easy-to-use, reliable, developer-friendly web hosting service that offers stellar features, security, fast speed, and great customer service at a price that is affordable to everyone.
But can they keep their promises, and can they keep up with the other big players in the web hosting game?
Hostinger is one of the cheapest hosting providers out there, Hostinger offers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and cloud hosting services at great prices without compromising on superb features, reliable uptime and page loading speeds that are faster than the industry average.
If you don’t have time to read this, then watch this short video I put together for you:
Pros and Cons
Hostinger Pros
- 30-day hassle-free money-back guarantee
- Unlimited SSD disk space & bandwidth
- The free domain name (except on the entry-level plan)
- Free daily & weekly data backups
- Free SSL & Bitninja security on all plans
- Solid uptime and super-fast server response times thanks to LiteSpeed
- 1-click WordPress auto-installer
Hostinger Cons
- There’s no phone support
- Not all plans come with a free domain name
About Hostinger
- Hostinger is a web hosting company headquartered in Kaunas, Lithuania.
- They offer a range of hosting types; shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and Minecraft hosting.
- All plans come with a free domain name.
- Free website transfer, specialist team will migrate your website free of cost.
- Free SSD drives come included on all shared hosting plans.
- Servers are powered by LiteSpeed, PHP7, HTTP2, built in caching technology
- All packages come with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN.
- They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Website: www.hostinger.com
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using Hostinger’s cheap services.
Key Features (The Good)
They have a lot of good things going for them and here I am going to take a look at the things I like about them.
Solid Speed, Performance & Reliability
It’s imperative that your website loads quickly. Any web page taking more than a few seconds to load will lead to customer frustration and, ultimately, customers leaving your site.
In this section, you will find out..
- Why site speed matters… a lot!
- How fast a site hosted on Hostinger loads. We will test their speed and server response time against Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics.
- How a site hosted on Hostinger performs with traffic spikes. We will test how Hostinger performs when faced with increased site traffic.
Hostinger has launched a cheap cloud hosting service that comes with built-in caching.
By simply activating the “automatic cache” option in the Cache Manager settings I was able to shave off another 0.2 seconds of the load time.
This resulted in the test site loading in just 0.8 seconds, simply by toggling a “switch” from off to on. Now that’s pretty impressive!
I recommend that you check out their new cloud web hosting plans. You can check out the pricing and more details about their Cloud Hosting here.
So why does page load time matter?
The most important performance metric that you should look for in a web host is speed. Visitors to your site expect it to load fast instant. Site speed not only affects user experience on your site, but it also affects your SEO, Google rankings, and conversion rates.
But, testing site speed against Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics isn’t enough on its own, as our testing site does not have substantial traffic volume. To evaluate the efficiency (or inefficiency) of the web host’s servers when faced with increased site traffic, we use a testing tool called K6 (formerly called LoadImpact) to send virtual users (VU) to our test site.
Why Site Speed Matters
Did you know that:
- Pages that loaded in 2.4 seconds had a 1.9% conversion rate.
- At 3.3 seconds, the conversion rate was 1.5%.
- At 4.2 seconds, the conversion rate was less than 1%.
- At 5.7+ seconds, the conversion rate was 0.6%.
When people leave your website, you lose not only potential revenue but also all the money and time you spent generating traffic to your website.
And if you want to get to the first page of Google and stay there, you need a website that loads up fast.
Google’s algorithms prefer displaying websites that offer a great user experience (and site speed is a huge factor). In Google’s eyes, a website that offers a good user experience generally has a lower bounce rate and loads up fast.
If your website is slow, most visitors will bounce back, resulting in a loss in search engine rankings. Also, your website needs to load up fast if you want to convert more visitors into paying customers.
If you want your website to load up fast and secure the first spot in search engine results, you will need a fast web hosting provider with server infrastructure, CDN and caching technologies that are fully configured and optimized for speed.
The web host you choose to go with will significantly impact how fast your website loads.
How We Perform the Testing
We follow a systematic and identical process for all the web hosts we test.
- Buy hosting: First, we sign up and pay for the web host’s entry-level plan.
- Install WordPress: Then, we set up a new, blank WordPress site using the Astra WordPress theme. This is a lightweight multipurpose theme and serves as a good starting point for the speed test.
- Install plugins: Next, we install the following plugins: Akismet (for spam protection), Jetpack (security and backup plugin), Hello Dolly (for a sample widget), Contact Form 7 (a contact form), Yoast SEO (for SEO), and FakerPress (for generating test content).
- Generate content: Using the FakerPress plugin, we create ten random WordPress posts and ten random pages, each containing 1,000 words of lorem ipsum “dummy” content. This simulates a typical website with various content types.
- Add images: With the FakerPress plugin, we upload one unoptimized image from Pexels, a stock photo website, to each post and page. This helps evaluate the website’s performance with image-heavy content.
- Run the speed test: we run the last published post in Google’s PageSpeed Insights Testing tool.
- Run the load impact test: we run the last published post in K6’s Cloud Testing tool.
How We Measure Speed & Performance
The first four metrics are Google’s Core Web Vitals, and these are a set of web performance signals that are critical to a user’s web experience on both desktop and mobile devices. The last fifth metric is a load impact stress test.
1. Time to First Byte
TTFB measures the time between the request for a resource and when the first byte of a response begins to arrive. It’s a metric for determining the responsiveness of a web server and helps identify when a web server is too slow to respond to requests. Server speed is basically entirely determined by the web hosting service you use. (source: https://web.dev/ttfb/)
2. First Input Delay
FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with your site (when they click a link, tap a button, or use a custom, JavaScript-powered control) to the time when the browser is actually able to respond to that interaction. (source: https://web.dev/fid/)
3. Largest Contentful Paint
LCP measures the time from when the page starts loading to when the largest text block or image element is rendered on the screen. (source: https://web.dev/lcp/)
4. Cumulative Layout Shift
CLS measures unexpected shifts in the display of content in the loading of a web page due to image resizing, ad displays, animation, browser rendering, or other script elements. Shifting layouts lower the quality of the user experience. This can make visitors confused or require them to wait till the webpage loading is completed, which takes more time. (source: https://web.dev/cls/)
5. Load Impact
Load impact stress testing determines how the web host would handle 50 visitors simultaneously visiting the test site. Speed testing alone isn’t enough to test performance, as this test site doesn’t have any traffic to it.
To be able to evaluate the efficiency (or inefficiency) of a web host’s servers when faced with increased site traffic, we used a testing tool called K6 (formerly called LoadImpact) to send virtual users (VU) to our test site and stress test it.
These are the three load impact metrics we measure:
Average response time
This measures the average duration it takes for a server to process and respond to client requests during a specific test or monitoring period.
The average response time is a useful indicator of the overall performance and efficiency of a website. Lower average response times generally indicate better performance and a more positive user experience, as users receive quicker responses to their requests.
Maximum response time
This refers to the longest duration it takes for a server to respond to a client’s request during a specific test or monitoring period.This metric is crucial for evaluating the performance of a website under heavy traffic or usage.
When multiple users access a website simultaneously, the server must handle and process each request. Under high load, the server may become overwhelmed, leading to an increase in response times. The maximum response time represents the worst-case scenario during the test, where the server took the longest time to respond to a request.
Average request rate
This is a performance metric that measures the average number of requests per unit of time (usually per second) that a server processes.
The average request rate provides insights into how well a server can manage incoming requests under various load conditions. A higher average request rate indicates that the server can handle more requests in a given period, which is generally a positive sign of performance and scalability.
⚡Hostinger Speed & Performance Test Results
The table below compares web hosting companies’ performance based on four key performance indicators: average Time to First Byte, First Input Delay, Largest Contentful Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift. Lower values are better.
Company | TTFB | Avg TTFB | FID | LCP | CLS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GreenGeeks | Frankfurt 352.9 ms Amsterdam 345.37 ms London 311.27 ms New York 97.33 ms San Francisco 207.06 ms Singapore 750.37 ms Sydney 715.15 ms | 397.05 ms | 3 ms | 2.3 s | 0.43 |
Bluehost | Frankfurt 59.65 ms Amsterdam 93.09 ms London 64.35 ms New York 32.89 ms San Francisco 39.81 ms Singapore 68.39 ms Sydney 156.1 ms Bangalore 74.24 ms | 73.57 ms | 3 ms | 2.8 s | 0.06 |
HostGator | Frankfurt 66.9 ms Amsterdam 62.82 ms London 59.84 ms New York 74.84 ms San Francisco 64.91 ms Singapore 61.33 ms Sydney 108.08 ms | 71.24 ms | 3 ms | 2.2 s | 0.04 |
Hostinger | Frankfurt 467.72 ms Amsterdam 56.32 ms London 59.29 ms New York 75.15 ms San Francisco 104.07 ms Singapore 54.24 ms Sydney 195.05 ms Bangalore 90.59 ms | 137.80 ms | 8 ms | 2.6 s | 0.01 |
Hostinger performs well overall in terms of website speed and performance.
Time to First Byte (TTFB) represents how long it takes for a user’s browser to receive the first byte of data from the web server. It is a crucial metric since it directly impacts how quickly a page can start loading. The lower the TTFB, the better. The average TTFB for Hostinger is 137.80 ms, which is good. For comparison, anything under 200ms is generally considered good.
The specific TTFB values for various locations are also shared, which allows us to understand how Hostinger’s performance varies worldwide. It performs exceptionally well in Amsterdam, London, Singapore with TTFB less than 100ms. It is slightly slower in San Francisco and Bangalore, and the highest latency is in Frankfurt (467.72 ms) and Sydney (195.05 ms). Such variations are usually due to the geographical distance between the server and the user.
First Input Delay (FID) measures the time from when a user first interacts with your site (clicks a link, taps a button, etc.) to the time when the browser is actually able to respond to that interaction. An FID of 8 ms for Hostinger is good, indicating the website is very responsive.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) metric reports the render time of the largest image or text block visible within the viewport. A lower LCP indicates a better perceived load speed. For Hostinger, the LCP is 2.6 s. According to Google, to provide a good user experience, LCP should be under 2.5 seconds. So, this metric is a bit on the higher side and could be improved.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that occurs during the entire lifespan of a page. A lower CLS is better, as it means the page is more stable. Hostinger’s CLS is 0.01, which is excellent, indicating a stable layout with minimal unexpected shifts.
Hostinger has a solid performance, with especially strong TTFB and FID results. The LCP is a bit above the ideal value, indicating that the speed at which large content elements appear on the page could be improved. The CLS score is excellent, suggesting a stable and user-friendly page layout.
⚡Hostinger Load Impact Test Results
The table below compares web hosting companies’ performance based on three key performance indicators: Average Response Time, Highest Load Time, and Average Request Time. Lower values are better for Average Response Time and Highest Load Time, while higher values are better for Average Request Time.
Company | Avg Response Time | Highest Load Time | Avg Request Time |
---|---|---|---|
GreenGeeks | 58 ms | 258 ms | 41 req/s |
Bluehost | 17 ms | 133 ms | 43 req/s |
HostGator | 14 ms | 85 ms | 43 req/s |
Hostinger | 22 ms | 357 ms | 42 req/s |
Hostinger performs well in terms of handling load and ensuring fast responses.
The Average Response Time is the average time it takes for the server to respond to all the requests from the users. Lower values are better because they indicate that the server is faster in responding to requests. For Hostinger, the average response time is 22 ms, which is low and indicates that the server responds very quickly to requests.
The Highest Load Time is the maximum time it took for the server to respond to a request during the testing period. Lower values are better as they indicate the server is capable of maintaining fast responses even under high load or stress. Hostinger’s highest load time is 357 ms. While this is much higher than the average response time, it’s still relatively low, suggesting that Hostinger can handle a high load while providing a fairly quick response.
Average Request Time, in the given context, seems to represent the average number of requests processed per second by the server. Higher values are better as they indicate that the server can handle more requests in a given period of time. With Hostinger, the average request time is 42 req/s, meaning that it can process 42 requests per second on average. This is a good indication of Hostinger’s ability to handle a large volume of requests simultaneously.
Hostinger’s load impact test results show strong performance. It has a low average response time, suggesting that it responds quickly to requests. Its highest load time is also reasonably low, indicating that it can handle high traffic while maintaining acceptable response speeds. Also, it can process a significant number of requests per second, demonstrating its ability to effectively manage a large volume of traffic.
Hostinger is Really Easy to Use
You’ve probably never come across an easy-to-use web hosting service before, but I’ll show you that it’s in fact possible.
There is a bit of preference here, but mainly the control panel uses the same concept as the Microsoft tiles. You can easily see the category or option as well as a picture that provides a bit of insight if you’re not sure what it does.
With these large buttons, you can find anything you need at any point in time. They aren’t trying to hide features or settings to keep your space looking cleaner. Instead, they put it all out there on display, so anything you need is right at your fingertips.
If you’ve previously used another web hosting service, you might miss the cPanel. The cPanel seems to be the only consistent feature among web hosting services, but many new users have difficulty navigating it and finding what they need.
How To Install WordPress on Hostinger
Installing WordPress couldn’t be more straightforward. Here below I’ll show you how.
1. First, you select the URL to where WordPress should be installed.
2. Next, you create the WordPress administrator account.
3. Then add a bit of extra information about your website.
Finally, your WordPress site is getting installed.
Access login information and details
There you have it, have WordPress installed and ready in just three simple clicks!
If you need a more detailed guide, then check out my step-by-step how to install WordPress on Hostinger here.
Great Security and Privacy
Most people think that all they need is an SSL and they’ll be fine. That isn’t the case though, you need lots more security measures than that to protect your site, and that’s something Hostinger understands and offers its users.
Bitninja comes included on all plans. It’s an all-in-one real-time protection suite that prevents XSS, DDoS, malware, script injection, brute force, and other automated attacks.
Hostinger also provides every plan with SpamAssassin, it’s an email spam filter that automatically scans for and removes email spam.
All plans come included with:
- SSL Certificate
- Cloudflare Protection
- Daily Backups to Weekly Data Backups
- BitNinja Smart Security Protection
- SpamAssassin Protection
Hats off to Hostinger for taking security so seriously, considering their already cheap shared hosting plans they are still able to provide industry-leading security measures.
Get a Free Domain and Free Website Builder
Hostinger is moving in with the big names in the website building market because this web hosting service helps you build your website from the ground up.
What Hostinger offers is the opportunity to create a unique website with its unique website builder tool (formerly known as Zyro). They stay away from cookie-cutter themes that make every site look the same.
Regardless of which plan you go with, you can find the template that suits your look best and customize it away.
Every part of the page is completely customizable, so there’s no reason you can’t design the website of your dreams. Their templates are beautiful, and the custom website design is easy to navigate.
When you’re ready to put your site on the internet for everyone to see, you’ll pick a free Hostinger domain if you’re using either the Premium or Cloud package.
Domain names can be a bit tricky because they seem so cheap at first. But, domain names can become quite expensive.
If you can save a bit of money on a domain now, it’s worth the cost of using a web hosting service.
Best of all, building a website with Hostinger requires zero percent coding or technical knowledge.
Superb Knowledge Base
That’s right, Hostinger wants to share their knowledge with you, so they provide a complete knowledge base including:
- General information
- Guides
- Tutorials
- Video walkthroughs
These helpful tools are useful for anyone that’s new to working with a hosting platform. You can learn to solve your problem while you’re waiting for the customer service staff to get back to you.
Unlike most WordPress hosting sites, you won’t have to toggle between your Hostinger web page and a YouTube video to find a feature. Their learning-based business platform also pushes users to learn by communicating with the support team.
All customer service support staff approach their chat conversations with the mentality of a teacher.
This goal of education has made a big difference in customer collaboration. There are more reported errors, and users notice immediately when something on their website isn’t quite right.
Hostinger’s Cheap Prices
Although Hostinger pulls the same tactics that every other web hosting website does, they do have great prices.
In fact, Hostinger is one of the cheapest web hosts on the market, and they include the registration of 1 domain for free. Yes, you have to pay for others, but they’re still affordable prices.
There’s a lot to say about Hostinger’s prices, but mostly, the focus is that you get a lot of features for very little money.
Excellent Email Tools
So many people forget the benefits of email tools. When a customer signs up for Hostinger, using the top 2 tier hosting plans, they have access to unlimited emails without any charge. Typically, site owners are very stingy with their email accounts because they quickly become expensive.
But, with Hostinger the site owner can then access webmail from anywhere and manage accounts. Other users can also access their mail whenever it’s convenient for them.
The email tools include:
- Email forwarding
- Autoresponders
- SpamAssassin Protection
These features are among some of the best features available in any web hosting service. Email forwarding can make sending documents, videos, or eBooks to your customers a breeze. It also means you won’t have to give out a personal email address or even leave your web host website.
Hostinger uses its top-quality email tools to become your hub for communicating with your staff, your team, and your customers. Hostinger has found what web owners needed and delivered outstanding results.
Hostinger has also partnered with Flock to offer better email options to its customers. Flock is a productivity, messaging, and collaboration tool, which is available for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and desktops. Flock is now available to all Hostinger users.
Knowledgeable Customer Service
There are a ton of things that can go wrong for a customer support team. Unfortunately, customer support for Hostinger isn’t the well-rounded team it should be. Instead, you get outstanding service after a long wait.
The long waiting times aside, the customer service is outstanding. Their support team is very knowledgeable, and they explain what they’re doing to fix your problem.
However, Hostinger has significantly improved the response times of its customer success team. The average chat pickup time now takes less than 2 minutes.
It’s not just the secret technology support person’s dream that you’ll be able to fix it yourself one day, they genuinely want to share what they’re doing.
Many people enjoy handing off the maintenance responsibilities to the Hostinger and calling it a day, but the support team has a way of pulling you in and getting you involved.
When we started looking at Hostinger’s pros and cons, there was a clear indication that customer support would fall into both segments.
Strong Uptime Record
Apart from page load-times, it’s also important that your website is “up” and available to your visitors. Hostinger does what every web hosting platform should do: keep your site online!
Although any website host will occasionally have downtime, hopefully just for regularly scheduled maintenance or updates, you don’t want your site to be down for more than a few hours.
Ideally, you’ll have some scheduled downtime without keeping your site offline for more than 3 to 5 hours over the course of the month. I monitor a test site hosted on Hostinger for uptime and server response time.
The above screenshot only shows the past month, you can view historical uptime data and server response time on this uptime monitor page.
Key Features (The Not-So-Good)
Every website hosting option has its downsides, but the question comes down to what you’re willing to put up with and what you’re not. Hostinger isn’t an exception. They do have some negatives, but their positives are very compelling and that makes it difficult to pass up this hosting service.
Slowish Customer Support
The biggest downside here is that you must be logged in (i.e. you have to create an account) to be able to access live chat. It’s not the biggest thing in the world but it can be a negative factor for some.
Customer support is a double-edged sword. Their support teams are outstanding and very knowledgeable. But getting ahold of them can be a bit of a pain.
Hostinger’s ability to live chat is useful, and they use Intercom, where all chats are stored, whether you’d like to go back and read the 5 monthly old conversations, it will all be available for you.
Then your customer service person might need to find another resource to ensure they’re giving you the correct information. When it comes down to wait times, you’ll probably be frustrated.
There’s also the issue of not being able to contact a customer service person until you’re logged into your account. This restriction means that you can’t ask questions before you go through the sign-up process. You can submit a general inquiry that will create a sort of ticket, but that will have a delayed response time as well.
Simplicity Killed the cPanel
The cPanel was the one constant feature across almost every web hosting service for the last decade or so. Now, Hostinger has taken it away. For the new website owners, it’s not that big of a deal they can’t miss what they never had.
However, when you consider the experienced website owners, and developers who spend many hours a day working on their web hosting service it’s a big letdown.
The simple setup of their customized control panel is nice, but many experienced web owners and developers prefer familiarity over simplicity.
Advanced users would much appreciate the option of a cPanel over Hostinger’s control panel. Again, this isn’t an issue for most users, but some of us prefer the good ol’ cPanel.
Introductory Pricing (isn’t as cheap as it looks)
Although the shared hosting plans are only a few dollars per month, pricing is a pitfall in this Hostinger review. The issue isn’t the price itself; it’s the price that comes afterward and the fact that you have to pay annually.
Through experience and in researching, there are very few, if any, web hosting services that allow you to pay month to month. But, they all like to advertise that the service is only $3.99 per month!
That’s great, but once you tack on the security (which you need) and tax, you’re paying close to $200 because as soon as you try to pay for only 12 months, it’s suddenly $6.99 per month instead of $3.99.
These unpleasant tactics aren’t limited to Hostinger by any means because a lot of other web hosts use the same tactic. But it is disappointing to see them sinking down and using these annoying tricks.
Hostinger has a continuous “On Sale” option for your first year, and after that, if you sign up for a more extended period, you save on the overall costs.
With Hostinger you must commit to 48 months of service. If you decide that they aren’t your best decision after the 1 month, you will have to climb mountains trying to get your money back.
However, they have no problem upgrading you if you want to go a tier higher. What it comes down to is the annoyance of using a low price to draw people in and then shocking them in the subtotal!
More About Their Payments (Continued)
Aside from the basic pricing setup, there are 2 issues with payments. The first one relates to the hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. There are a few exceptions that don’t qualify for a refund, and they are:
- Domain transfers
- Any hosting payment made after the free trial
- Some ccTLD registries
- SSL Certificates
The ccTLD registries aren’t common, but do include:
- .eu
- .es
- .nl
- .se
- .ca
- .br
- Many more
These restrictions on your money-back guarantee are more of a frustration than anything else. It seems to possibly have something to do with transferring money that would result in fees.
Finally, the last con when it comes to payment is that regardless of what plan you’re on, Hostinger only provides 1 website. That means that you have to pay for any additional domains. These domains range from $5 to over $17.00 depending on which extension you select.
Web Hosting and Plans
This is a very affordable option when compared to other shared web hosts out there.
Here are their three shared hosting plans and features included:
Premium Plan | Business Plan | Cloud Startup Plan | |
---|---|---|---|
Price: | $2.99/month | $3.99/month | $8.99/month |
Websites: | 100 | 100 | 300 |
Disk Space: | 100 GB (SSD) | 200 GB (SSD) | 200 GB (NVMe) |
Bandwidth: | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Dedicated IP | No | No | Yes |
Free CDN | No | Yes | Yes |
Databases: | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Website Builder: | Yes (AI, eCommerce integration) | Yes (AI, eCommerce integration) | Yes (AI, eCommerce integration) |
Speed: | 3x Optimized | 5x Optimized | 10x Optimized |
Data Backups: | Weekly | Daily | Daily |
SSL Certificate | Let’s Encrypt SSL | Private SSL | Private SSL |
Money Back Guarantee | 30-Days | 30-Days | 30-Days |
The most important thing to remember with pricing is their permanent “sale” for your first 48-month payment.
The cheapest option, the shared web hosting plan (Premium Plan) is only $2.99/month, while the Business plan is $3.99/month.
These prices are nearly unbeatable, and they would be great prices even without the permanent sale that Hostinger has going on.
Cloud Hosting Plans
They recently launched a new cloud hosting service, and it’s pretty awesome. It’s the web hosting I recommend and what made my test site load in just 0.8 seconds.
Basically, they have created a powerful combination of two services (shared web hosting and VPS hosting) and called it business hosting. The service combines the power of a dedicated server with an easy-to-use hPanel (short for Hostinger Control Panel).
So basically, it’s running on VPS plans without having to take care of all the backend stuff.
Cloud Startup | Cloud Professional | Cloud Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|
Price: | $8.99/month | $14.99/mo | $29.99/mo |
Free Domain: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Space: | 200 GB | 250 GB | 300 GB |
RAM: | 3 GB | 6 GB | 12 GB |
CPU Cores: | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Speed Boost: | n/a | 2X | 3X |
Cache Manager: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Isolated Resources: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Uptime Monitoring: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1-Click Installer: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Daily Backups: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
24/7 Live Support: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free SSL: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Money Refund Guarantee | 30-Days | 30-Days | 30-Days |
Hostinger’s cloud hosting plans give you the power of a dedicated server without the technical struggle to succeed online, delivering speed and reliability.
All in all, it’s a very powerful type of hosting with no technical skills as it’s fully managed by a 24/7 dedicated support team that will help you every step of the way.
Compare Hostinger Competitors
Below is a comparison table highlighting key features and differences among Hostinger and other popular hosting providers: Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator, GreenGeeks, A2 Hosting, BigScoots, DreamHost, and Cloudways.
Feature | Hostinger | Bluehost | SiteGround | HostGator | GreenGeeks | A2 Hosting | BigScoots | DreamHost | Cloudways |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Price Range | $ – $$ | $ – $$$ | $$ – $$$ | $ – $$ | $ – $$ | $ – $$$ | $$ – $$$ | $ – $$ | $$ – $$$ |
Uptime | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Very Good | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
Speed | Fast | Fast | Very Fast | Good | Fast | Very Fast | Fast | Good | Very Fast |
Support | 24/7 Chat | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 |
User Interface | hPanel | cPanel | Custom | cPanel | cPanel | cPanel | cPanel | Custom | Custom |
Free Domain | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
WordPress Optimized | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Green Hosting | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Site Migration | Free | Free | Free/Paid | Free | Free | Free | Paid | Free | Free |
Unique Feature | Affordable | Beginner-friendly | High-performance | Wide range of services | Eco-friendly | Turbo servers | Personalized support | 97-day money-back | Flexible cloud plans |
- Bluehost: Known for its beginner-friendly approach, Bluehost offers a balance of performance and user-friendliness, with a slight edge in WordPress integration and free domain offerings. Read my Bluehost review here.
- SiteGround: Prides itself on high-performance hosting and exceptional customer service. Its custom solutions and advanced features are more suitable for experienced users. Read my review of SiteGround here.
- HostGator: Offers a wide range of hosting services, making it a versatile option for various users. Known for its good performance and reliability, but lags slightly in advanced features compared to others. Read more here.
- GreenGeeks: Stands out for its commitment to eco-friendly hosting. Offers solid performance and a user-friendly experience, along with environmentally conscious practices. Read more here.
- A2 Hosting: Known for its turbo servers offering faster load times, A2 Hosting is ideal for those prioritizing speed. Offers a range of hosting services with a focus on performance. Read more here.
- BigScoots: Offers personalized support and high-quality hosting services. While it may be more expensive, its dedicated approach to customer service makes it stand out. Read more here.
- DreamHost: Unique for its 97-day money-back guarantee and custom control panel. Offers a range of hosting options with a focus on WordPress users. Read more here.
- Cloudways: Specializes in flexible cloud hosting plans, allowing users to choose from various cloud providers. Ideal for those seeking scalable and high-performance hosting solutions. Read more here.
Verdict ⭐
As someone who manages multiple websites on a tight budget, I was initially drawn to Hostinger’s unbelievably low prices. I’ll admit, I expected some trade-offs in terms of performance. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Hostinger’s speed and reliability. Even on their most affordable shared hosting plan, my websites loaded quickly, and I rarely experienced any downtime. While their customer support could be a bit more responsive at times, Hostinger has consistently exceeded my expectations for a budget-friendly hosting provider.
Do I recommend Hostinger? Yes, I think Hostinger.com is an excellent web host.
Hostinger is highly regarded for its user-friendly and responsive custom hPanel, offering an intuitive and well-organized interface for managing web hosting features. The platform's shared hosting plans are lauded for their affordability and comprehensive features, including free SSL certificates, 1-click app installations, and tools for seamless website import and migration. Plans come with perks like free domain names and automatic daily backups. Performance-wise, Hostinger boasts impressive load times and a recent uptrend in reliability, positioning it as a competitive choice for those seeking feature-rich, yet budget-friendly web hosting solutions.
Both for complete beginners and seasoned “webmasters”.
There are so many great features at great prices regardless of which hosting plan you decide to purchase.
The shared web hosting plan I recommend is their Premium package, as this offers the most significant value. You’re getting nearly all of the benefits of the cloud hosting package at a much lower cost. Do watch out for their sneaky pricing though!
When you’re looking to set up your web hosting account, determine if you need 5x the estimation on speed. If so, the cloud hosting plan is right for you.
But the plan I really recommend, if you can afford it, is their shared cloud hosting. It’s their “hybrid” shared hosting and VPS hosting service. This one is da bomb!
Probably the most missed feature in Hostinger that nearly every other web hosting website has is phone support. Many people using Hostinger are new users that need help, but for most users live chat and emails/tickets should be enough.
But, Hostinger makes up for it with their in-depth and easy-to-follow video tutorials and walkthroughs. Their excellent chat service is fantastic as well as their staff is very knowledgeable.
Throughout this review of Hostinger, I have repeatedly mentioned the convenience, ease of use, simple interface, and of course the low price. These features that cater to the user experience make this a top choice for any website owner, new or experienced.
Recent Improvements & Updates
Hostinger is constantly improving its web hosting services with faster speeds, better security, and additional features. Here are just some of the most recent improvements (last checked October 2024):
- AI Website Builder 2.0: This updated AI builder offers more advanced machine learning algorithms, creating unique website designs for each user. It features a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface for easy customization.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN): Hostinger’s in-house CDN improves website performance by up to 40%, using data centers across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America to ensure faster content delivery and website uptime.
- Client Management Tools: Integrated into hPanel, these tools allow web developers and designers to manage multiple clients, websites, domains, and email accounts efficiently, including a recurring commission system for new user referrals.
- Object Cache: Available for Business and Cloud hosting plans, this feature enhances WordPress site performance by using LiteSpeed Object Cache, which reduces database queries and speeds up content delivery.
- WordPress Enhanced Automatic Updates: This feature automatically updates WordPress core, themes, and plugins to protect sites from security threats and improve performance, with different update options available.
- AI Domain Name Generator: An AI tool on the Domain Search page helps users generate creative and relevant domain name ideas based on a brief description of their project or brand.
- WordPress AI Content Tools: Including Hostinger Blog Theme and WordPress AI Assistant plugin, these tools aid in generating SEO-friendly content for websites and blogs, optimizing content length and tone.
- WordPress AI Troubleshooter: This tool identifies and resolves issues on WordPress sites, reducing downtime and maintaining online operations.
- AI SEO Tools in Hostinger Website Builder: These tools assist in optimizing website visibility on search engines by automatically generating sitemaps, meta titles, descriptions, and keywords, along with an AI Writer for SEO-friendly content creation.
- Mobile Editor for Hostinger Website Builder: A mobile-friendly editor allows users to create and edit their websites on the go, ensuring a seamless experience for mobile users.
- Zyro is now Hostinger Website Builder. There has always been a connection between Zyro and Hostinger, which is why the company rebranded it to Hostinger Website Builder.
Reviewing Hostinger: Our Methodology
When we review web hosts, our evaluation is based on these criteria:
- Value for Money: What types of web hosting plans are on offer, and are they good value for money?
- User Friendliness: How user-friendly is the signup process, the onboarding, the dashboard? and so on.
- Customer Support: When we need help, how quickly can we get it, and is the support effective and helpful?
- Hosting Features: What unique features does the web host provide, and how do they stack up against competitors?
- Security: Are essential security measures like SSL certificates, DDoS protection, backup services, and malware/virus scans included?
- Speed and Uptime: Is the hosting service fast and reliable? What types of servers do they use, and how do they perform in tests?
For more details on our review process, click here.
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What
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Customers Think
Exceptional Hosting Experience with Hostinger!
As a customer who’s been with Hostinger for over a year now, I feel compelled to share my overwhelmingly positive experience. I initially chose Hostinger for its affordability, but I quickly realized that their service offers so much more than just competitive pricing. Customer support deserves a special mention. Every interaction I’ve had with their team has been positive. They’re not only knowledgeable but also extremely patient and helpful. The 24/7 chat support has been a lifesaver on several occasions, addressing my queries promptly and effectively.
NEVER GO WITH HOSTINGER
This company is joke, their interface / dashboard in the backend is not working, tried various browsers without improvement also incognito window.
How such an essential thing cannot work? I cannot see the errors for the last 7 days!! Very sad, don’t recommend, also, getting lots of 4xx errors with them even after restoring it! They told NO 4xx will happen after that, well, there are spikes with 110 errors (4xx), and also 55, and like 13, 8, 4. multiple times per hour.. so how can they promise something and don’t deliver??
And support – 2 hours you wait for their reply to get some help!!
I NEVER had this issue with their basic SHARED hosting plan, but there were ONLY problems after switching over ULTIMATE plan!! Just a bad hosting company.
Hostinger is the worst hosting provider
Hostinger is the worst hosting company i have come across and the support is just horrible. Do not spend your hard earned money on this hosting provider because you will be sorry and frustrated in the end.
I bought the business hosting package and have been having issues from the very start. Nearly every week at least twice i get a CPU fault and the percentage of CPU usage is less then 10% in most cases which makes me believe that they use extremely low quality and also apply throttle limits no matter which package you are using. Support is just simply dumb and comes up with copy paste responses of plugin issues even when you have 0 plugins you will come across this issue. Secondly the logs do not point to any plugin related issues and thirdly when you ask for an RCA they just disappear and do not respond. My current issue has been ongoing for last 4 days now and still i am waiting to hear back from there technical team.
Don’t forget you will always get low server response and DB related issues on top of this. Live support chat takes at least 1 hour before responding and they claim five mins lol.
In the document you can see the following in detail
1. Issue was with performance and as usual CPU faults. The support staff creating a blank HTML page with the words hostinger and claimed that our server response time is excellent :D. Can you imagine a blank HTML page being used to test server response lol
2. Issue is related to redirect from non www to www domain.
3. Trying to Transfer a website from Zoho Builder to Hostinger. You can see the knowledge of the support staff and how someone completely new to hosting can mess up things if they follow them
4. Error establishing a database connection. Once again i am facing this issue and this has been very consistent. This time they admitted that they are doing some maintenance and as usual no one informed about it.
5. CPU Fault once again and this time i had enough so decided to post everything online.