Hostinger promises to provide reliable, easy to use, and developer-friendly hosting services. It offers stellar features as well as security and excellent speed. Another plus point is the great customer support. The best thing perhaps is that the services are available at an affordable rate. Ultimately, Hostinger offers unbeatable packages for those looking for budget hosting.
The host also offers high access to those who already have experience. At the same time, it allows beginners to start their website easily as well. Since minimum money is spent on staffing and marketing, Hostinger is able to put its resources in making excellent services and products.
In this review, we’ll dissect it in detail and conclude if it is worth a try. Without much ado, let’s have a look at our Hostinger review.
Started in 2004, Hostinger has more than a decade of hosting experience. They aim to offer people a way to run their sites with a small budget. The best part is that it is available at a low cost without any limits.
Back then, the company spotted a loophole in the hosting market and took advantage of it. In the beginning, they created a free web hosting platform. Very soon, they became a popular web host.
By 2012, Hostinger had internationally expanded. It also had new incorporation in Cyprus in the same year. Then by January 2017, over 29 million people had signed up for their services.
Currently, they promise high-quality features at a low price. They serve 178 countries and have on average up to 15k new signups each day.
The screenshot was taken from web.archive.org – 12.11.2012.
Featuring 12 different hosting plans, Hostinger has hosted 280,838 domains. The .com domain makes up the largest percentage of the hosted domains. Others include .info, .org, .us, and .biz. Overall, the company has seen a 3% increase year after year.
For the purpose of testing the performance, we signed up for Hostinger services and installed WordPress. Then, we made a dummy site with the default theme. We also filled up our site to have it function like a real, average WordPress website.
A fast web host ensures a fast website. For this reason, we first tested Hostinger’s speed with Pingdom. As you can see, the load time is almost a quarter of a second which is quite impressive.
For our next test, we looked at Hostinger’s overall availability. To do so, we tracked the downtime and the response time. As the results show, the host has been up for over three months. The average response time is even below a quarter of a second which is quite rare!
Month | Uptime Stats | Load Time Stats |
---|---|---|
April 2020 | 100% | 145 ms |
March 2020 | 100% | 171 ms |
February 2020 | 100% | 157 ms |
Pingdom or similar tools show how data on your site loads. This includes the media that takes longer to load than plain text. For more accurate server response time, we turned to Bitcatcha. With this tool, it is possible to test the server response time without loading the data.
The results were exceptional, particularly in the US. In other places too, the stats are impressive. All the servers respond within a quarter of a second.
Hostinger has basically four different hostings available to cater to a wider public. These three include shared web hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, and unique website builder hosting.
This kind of hosting is suitable for intermediate web hosting users. It is mostly for those who don’t want to invest their entire budget for hosting solutions. There are three shared hosting plans. These include Single, Premium, and Business.
Single: At a price of $0.99/month, the plan allows you to host 1 website. It also includes one email account, 10GB SSD, and 100GB bandwidth.
Premium: Start at a price of $2.89/month, this plan features unlimited websites, 20GB SSD space, and unlimited bandwidth. It also features weekly backups.
Business: With a price of $3.99/month, you get all the benefits of the premium plan plus a little more. Additional features of this plan include daily backups and a free SSL certificate.
Packages Name | Single | Premium | Business |
---|---|---|---|
Started Price | $0.99/mo | $2.89/mo | $3.99/mo |
Renewal Price | $2.15/mo | $3.49/mo | $7.95/mo |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
SSD Disk Space | 10 GB | 20 GB | 100 GB |
Bandwidth | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Email Accounts | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
MySQL Databases | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
FREE Domains Included | No | Yes | Yes |
FREE SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Hostinger offers cheap and efficient WordPress hosting. It is easy to install and quick to set up. Plus, it allows immediate online exposure. There are three WordPress Hosting plans available. These are Single, Premium, and Business.
Single: Costing $2.15/month, this plan includes unlimited websites, 20 GB disk space, and unlimited bandwidth. It also includes a user-friendly access manager, free domain with SSL, powerful control panel, and easy website builder.
Premium: This plan costs $7.45/month and features an unlimited number of websites, unlimited bandwidth, and 100 GB SSD disk space. Other features include the free domain name with the annual plan, an easy website builder, and a powerful control panel.
Business: At $14.95/month, this plan has all the features of the Premium plan with 140 GB SSD storage. Some of the additional features include daily backups, deluxe live support, and free SSL certificate.
Hostinger has its own unique cloud infrastructure. As a result, it can provide excellent services at low prices without compromising on performance. When it comes to cloud hosting, there are three different plans. These are Startup, Professional, and Enterprise.
Startup: Costing $7.45/month, with this plan, you can get a dedicated IP address, 2 CPU cores, and unlimited bandwidth. Other features include 100GB disk space and 3GB RAM.
Professional: This plan costs $14.95/month and includes a dedicated IP address along with 140 GB disk space and unlimited bandwidth. It also includes 6 GB RAM and 4 CPU cores.
Enterprise: Apart from unlimited bandwidth and dedicated IP address, this plan includes 8 CPU cores, 16 GB RAM, and 200 GB disk space. All this is available at a price of $37.00/month.
Every cloud hosting plan comes with a domain name COMPLETELY FREE.
The host has numerous VPS hosting packages, each with different features. All the plans have useful features that ensure excellent performance.
The first plan with 1 core has features 1 GB memory, 2 GB burst RAM, and 20 GB storage. Plus, you get 1000GB bandwidth with this plan at the price of $3.95/month.
The second plan with 2 cores costs $8.95/month. It includes 2 TB bandwidth, 40 GB storage, 4 GB burst RAM, and 2 GB memory.
The next plan with 3 cores costs $12.95/month. Included in this plan are 3000 GB bandwidth, 60 GB storage, 6 GB burst RAM, and 3 GB memory.
Moreover, the 4 core and 4000 GB plan cost $15.95/month. It also features 8 GB burst RAM, 4 GB memory, and 80 GB storage.
Another plan is one that features 6 cores and 6000 GB bandwidth. It costs $23.95/month. Other features you’ll get with this plan are 120 GB storage, 12 GB burst RAM, and 6 GB memory.
The last plan is the 8 core plan with 8000 GB bandwidth costing $29.95/month. It also comes with 160 GB storage and 8 GB memory.
The website builder is available for all those hosting with them. To use the builder, no prior technical or coding knowledge required. In fact, according to Hostinger, your website can be up just within 5 minutes.
The most basic shared plan the host has to offer is the Single Shared Hosting plan. It includes most of the features someone just starting up would require.
Let’s closely look at the plans and their prices in detail. As mentioned earlier, there are three plans available. One is the basic single shared hosting plan. However, for those wanting more, two other plans with additional features are available as well. These are the Premium and Business shared packages.
Single Shared Hosting: This is their cheapest plan. It includes features like one website, 10 GB disk space, and 100 GB website. An auto-installer and a website builder are also included. The starting price for this plan is $0.99 per month. For renewal, you’ll have to pay $2.15/month.
Premium Shared Hosting: This can be considered to be a middle of the line hosting plan. This plan includes unlimited SSD disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, and a number of websites. Plus with the annual plan, you can get a free domain name and easy website builder as well. The starting price for this plan is $2.89/month.
Business Web Hosting: This is the best hosting plan they have. It includes unlimited websites, SSD disk space, bandwidth, and email accounts. Other features include a free domain name, website builder, and daily backups. It also comes with four times the processing power and free SSL certificate. The starting price for this plan is $3.99/month.
Main Features | Single | Premium | Business |
---|---|---|---|
Started Price | $0.99/mo | $2.89/mo | $3.99/mo |
Renewal Price | $2.15/mo | $3.49/mo | $7.95/mo |
Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
SSD Disk Space | 10 GB | 20 GB | 100 GB |
Bandwidth | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Email Accounts | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Domain(s) Hosted | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
FREE Domains Included | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
FREE SSL Certificate | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
FREE Site Builder | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
phpMyAdmin | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Weekly Backups | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Daily Backups | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
MySQL Databases | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Cronjobs | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB | 1 GB |
Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days |
As mentioned earlier, Hostinger’s hosting plans are quite cheap. For their most basic plan, you’ll need to pay $0.99/month. At such a low price, you get access to numerous features. Meanwhile, the premium plan starts from $2.89 for a month. In addition, the business web hosting plan costs $3.99 for a month. However, note that the low price is only available if you opt for the 48-month plan. Other plans with shorter payment period will cost more.
Payment Period / Plan (for new users only) |
Single | Premium | Business |
---|---|---|---|
12 month | $2.99/mo | $5.99/mo | $6.99/mo |
24 month | $1.59/mo | $3.99/mo | $4.99/mo |
48 month | $0.99/mo | $2.89/mo | $3.99/mo |
While the starting prices are low, renewal prices are slightly high. The renewal price for the basic single shared hosting plan is $2.15/month.
Payment Period / Plan (renewal prices) |
Single | Premium | Business |
---|---|---|---|
12 month | $3.25/mo | $5.84/mo | $9.99/mo |
24 month | $2.85/mo | $4.84/mo | $8.96/mo |
48 month | $2.15/mo | $3.49/mo | $7.95/mo |
Let’s briefly look at the main features that Hostinger offers with all its plans. Knowing these will help you determine if this web host is the right one for you!
Free emails are included with all the three plans. You can get free domain names with both premium as well as business hosting for one year. In the long run, this does help save quite a lot of money. However, note that you’ll need to pay an additional amount for extra domains.
Unlimited email accounts are available for free with both the top two plans. Meanwhile, only one email account is included for free in the basic plan.
Both web space and bandwidth are limited to the basic plan. It includes 10GB web space and 100GB bandwidth. However, for a beginner, they are more than sufficient. Meanwhile, both top tier plans come with unlimited bandwidth and web space.
Hostinger offers a one-click installation. You just need to open the hosting control panel and enter the details. Then, click on one button, and WP will be installed. However, if you want to have a WP site, then you can opt for WordPress hosting. This way, you’ll get a bunch of additional features as well. These include auto-updates, free SSL, migration, and free install.
One thing that makes Hostinger outshine other web hosts is its website builder. It helps users build an entirely unique website from the ground. They do so by avoiding the standard themes that make all websites look almost the same. The builder comes with a drag and drop interface. Plus, it can help you make mobile-friendly websites. In case of any problem, customer support is available around-the-clock.
You can get numerous other features apart from cheap hosting. These features include audio and video streaming, Cron jobs for task scheduling, and 50 auto-installer scripts.
Hostinger focuses quite a lot on security. Despite its cheap plans, everything is top-notch. Some of the security features offered include:
You can enable domain privacy from the Domains section in your Hostinger account. However, you will have to pay $5/year for domain privacy. Alternatively, you can opt for Cloudflare Protection for only $9.95 for lifetime. With this, you can get both DDoS protection and security. At the same time, you can enjoy the speed benefits of CDN.
Every Hostinger’s plan includes an SSL certificate for free. An SSL certificate helps to keep your site’s data safe.
Dedicated IP is not available with Hostinger’s shared plans. However, you can get it with their VPS plans.
Daily backups are included for free in the business shared hosting plan. But weekly backups are for free in every plan.
For this reason, Bitninja is included in all the plans. This is a real-time all-in-one protection suite. It helps to prevent script injection, XSS, brute force, and malware. All plans also come with SpamAssassin. This is an email spam filter that scans and removes spam emails automatically.
Hostinger is quite beginner-friendly. One reason for this is because of its ease of use. Let’s see the features incorporated in these services that make them so user-friendly!
Signing up for the host is a breeze. It’s simple, so you’ll have no problems here. Just choose the desired hosting plan and enter your details. Next, enter the asked details to make an account. Finally, once you enter the payment details, you’ll be good to go.
Numerous payment options are accepted here. These include PayPal, MasterCard, and even Bitcoin.
Account activation with Hostinger is quite simple. Once you’re at the cart, you just need to select your desired hosting package. Next, you can just proceed to the payment step, and your account will be activated in a short time.
The platform makes use of cPanel for all its hosting packages. Essentially, it has the concept of Microsoft tiles. You can see the category and picture easily to get an insight into its function. The large icons also make finding a particular option easier. The host doesn’t try to hide the features to have a cleaner-looking space. Instead, everything is put at your fingertips.
Hostinger has servers located in the USA, Europe (UK), and Asia. All servers are connected to connection lines of 1000Mbps. As a result, they ensure both reliability and high performance. In addition, with their partnership with BitNinja, their servers are further protected from cyber attacks.
Hostinger’s customer support is available in various languages. By doing so, they’ve made their services accessible worldwide. There are basically two communication channels available. These are ticket support and live chat.
The live chat experience is quite good. Registered users have their chat history logged. So, they can access it at any time. Plus, the customer representatives provide excellent tips that can come in quite handy.
The ticket service is up to par. A helpful response is sent within an adequate time frame.
One thing that Hostinger lacks is phone support. This is problematic for those who prefer to make direct contact over the phone.
Hostinger has an extensive knowledge base. It includes video walkthroughs, general information, tutorials, and guides. All these are helpful tools particularly for those new to the hosting platform. You can learn how to solve a particular problem by yourself easily with their detailed guides.
Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you find the performance not up to the mark, you can ask for a refund. However, not all products can be refunded. Plus, some products come with special refund terms.
Considering all the plans and features, Hostinger seems to be best for:
Note that it is not for businesses that want higher uptime guarantees.
Consider the solid speed and the cheap prices, we highly recommend Hostinger. In addition, uptime, as well as page loading speed, is more than the industry average. You can also get your money back within the first 30 days if you are unsatisfied. Their customer support is friendly, responsive, and knowledgeable as well.
We hope this detailed review helps you come to an informed decision. What do you think about it? Do you have any experience with Hostinger? Let us know!
Hey, thanks for this useful article! I’m interested in finding a good hosting provider for my blog. There are a lot of options out there and Hostinger seems to be really good and cheap. Before coming here I have read various articles where they recommend it. But I’m not sure because they are other reviews on which it’s not recommended because the customer service is really slow, the page load time is also slow or the uptime is not for sure 99%, and other things like that which I’m not sure if are true. I would love an opinion on Hostinger from an expert to be sure if it’s a secure and recommendable company to host my website. Thanks!