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Hostinger Web Hosting

 & Jeffrey L. Wilson Managing Editor, Apps and Gaming
 & Gabriel Zamora Senior Writer, Software
Our Experts
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Hostinger Web Hosting - Hostinger Web Hosting (Credit: Hostinger)
4.0 Excellent

The Bottom Line

Hostinger offers several noteworthy plans, excellent customer service, and useful AI tools, but it lacks a few features you get with the very best web hosting services.
Best Deal£1.79 Per Month + 3 Months Free With 10% Off Code "PCMAG10"

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Pros & Cons

    • Unlimited data transfers with the cloud, shared, and WordPress plans
    • AI tools
    • Gaming servers
    • Includes the Hostinger Website Builder
    • Helpful customer service
    • Lacks dedicated web hosting
    • Not every plan has a Windows option
    • No phone support

Hostinger Web Hosting Specs

24/7 Customer Support
Cloud Hosting
Dedicated Hosting
Linux Servers
Linux Servers - Cloud
Maximum RAM - VPS 32
Maximum Storage - Cloud 300GB
Maximum Storage - VPS 400
Product Category Web Site Hosting Services
Reseller Hosting
Shared Hosting
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers - Cloud
VPS Hosting
Windows Servers
WordPress Hosting

The search for a high-quality web hosting service isn't easy. There are many options, and your choice determines where your business or personal site will live online for years to come. Hostinger is a worthy home, as it offers budget-friendly hosting options, a helpful website builder, and useful AI tools that can potentially save you time and effort while building a website. However, Hostinger lacks some of the features in the very best web hosts we've tested, such as the telephone support and dedicated hosting you get with Editors' Choice winner AccuWeb.

Shared Hosting

Hostinger, like many other web hosting services, offers shared web hosting. With this most basic hosting tier, your website lives on a server with other websites. In other words, the sites literally share a single server's cost and resources. As a result, shared hosting is often low-cost hosting. The downside? Shared hosting isn't powerful, so your site may load slowly or become unavailable if your content (or that of one of your cohabitants) receives, say, a big social media hit.

Hostinger offers three Linux-powered shared web hosting plans: Premium, Business, and Cloud Startup. The Premium plan costs $11.99 per month, or $3.99 per month with a one-year commitment. This tier lets you create up to 25 websites and two email addresses, and includes 25GB of SSD storage and unlimited monthly data transfers. Premium also comes with a free domain name and WHOIS privacy protection.

(Credit: Hostinger/PCMag)

Next up is the Business plan, which costs $13.99 per month, or $4.99 per month for a one-year commitment. It builds upon the Premium plan by offering daily backups, Hostinger CDN to speed up your site, and 50GB of NVMe storage.

Finally, Cloud Startup is $27.99 per month, or $9.99 per month with an annual plan. This package includes 100 websites, a dedicated IP address, and priority support.

Hostinger's plans come with two-year and four-year deals that grant significant discounts. These are good shared hosting plans for a mom-and-pop shop that just wants to list its inventory. Still, HostGator offers superior shared web hosting packages for a wider range of users. Not only does HostGator offer a choice of Linux or Windows servers, but it also has unlimited email at each shared hosting tier.

VPS Hosting

Virtual private server (VPS) hosting is the minimum web hosting tier you want if you're serious about creating an online presence for your business. Compared with shared hosting, VPS hosting gives your website additional server resources to work with, as there are fewer websites on the server.

Hostinger offers four VPS plans. The entry-level KVM 1 plan has 4GB of RAM, 50GB of NVMe storage, and 4TB of monthly data transfers for $7.99 per month (or a discounted $5.99 per month for a one-year commitment). The top-tier KVM 8 plan includes 32GB of RAM, 400GB of NVMe storage, and 32TB of monthly data transfers for $38.99 per month (discounted to $24.99 per month for a one-year commitment). Unfortunately, Hostinger lacks Windows as an operating system option—its offerings are exclusively Linux-based affairs, utilizing LiteSpeed servers for hosting tasks.

(Credit: Hostinger/PCMag)

Those plans will serve your website well, but Hostwinds remains our top pick for VPS hosting. Hostwinds has wallet-friendly, well-rounded VPS offerings that start at $4.99 per month for 1GB of RAM, 30GB of storage, and 1TB of monthly data transfers. Plans scale up to $328.99 per month for 96GB of RAM, 750GB of storage, and 9TB of monthly data transfers. Hostwinds also has Windows-based VPS options, which are helpful if you plan to use the ASP.NET framework.

Hostinger also offers game-specific VPS hosting for online multiplayer titles such as Minecraft and Palworld (as well as Steam games). Four game-specific hosting options are available, starting at $9.99 per month (or $5.49 per month with a one-year commitment). With them, you can install game mods, establish rules, and enable in-game advertising.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is one of the most powerful forms of hosting you'll encounter. A dedicated hosting plan places your website on a server by itself, letting you leverage the server's full power. If you expect high traffic volume, a dedicated server is an excellent choice. Hostinger lacks dedicated servers, so we recommend you check out AccuWeb if you need it.

WordPress Hosting

WordPress is the world's most popular content management system. Thanks to its simplicity and robust plug-in and theme ecosystems, WordPress is extremely easy to customize as you see fit—one of its key attractions.

Hostinger's WordPress plans mirror its shared hosting plans and pricing. In fact, they are the same plans. However, it is worth noting that Hostinger's cutting-edge WordPress AI tools are only available to Business and Cloud Startup subscribers (more on them in a bit).

(Credit: Hostinger/PCMag)

Hostinger's convenient WordPress-relevant optimizations make using the world-famous CMS a cinch. This includes a super-easy onboarding flow that gets your site up and running in just a few minutes. There's also an option to migrate existing sites either manually or using a Hostinger agent. A convenient staging tool lets you create and test pages before they go live to the public. Hostinger pushes out automated core and security patch updates whenever WordPress updates its CMS, keeping your sites current and secure.

Various AI tools help with SEO and content creation. The WordPress AI assistant, for example, integrates directly into the WordPress environment, which helps you generate content. It also offers WordPress AI Troubleshooter for website error detection. Users are notified of the issue via hPanel, at which point you can decide whether you want to fix it yourself or have the AI perform an analysis and apply a solution. Hostinger claims that the median time it takes its AI to fix website errors is 17 seconds, as opposed to the 1-10 minutes it can take for manual correction.

For more robust WordPress hosting, check out Bluehost, our top pick for small business hosting. If you want enterprise-class WordPress hosting, WP Engine is the way to go.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is a form of hosting in which your website is powered by several different servers. You can scale resources in real time, as your site isn't limited to physical server constraints. If you need muscle for your website, cloud hosting is Hostinger’s answer. As mentioned, the company lacks dedicated server options for enterprise-class businesses. Its flexible and highly scalable cloud hosting tier is an option to consider instead.

Hostinger has three cloud hosting tiers: Cloud Startup, Cloud Professional, and Cloud Enterprise. Cloud Startup starts at $27.99 per month, or $19.99 per month with a one-year commitment (renewing at $25.99 per month after a year). It comes with 3GB of RAM, 2 CPU cores, 100GB of NVMe storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers.

The Cloud Professional plan starts at $47.99 per month, or 14.99 per month with a one-year commitment (renewing at $44.99 per month after a year). It has 6GB of RAM, 4 CPU cores, and 200GB of NVMe storage. The Enterprise tier starts at $69.99 per month, or $39.99 per month with a one-year commitment (renewing at $64.99 per month after a year). It features 12GB of RAM and 300GB of NVMe storage. Hostinger's cloud plans all come with a dedicated IP address, a free SSL certificate, WHOIS privacy protection, and a 100-website capacity. Two-year and four-year plans are available for these packages, too.

(Credit: Hostinger/PCMag)

That's a good offering, but if you want truly powerful cloud hosting, Ionos is the way to go. Its four plans start at 0.8 cent per hour ($5.76 per month) for a single-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 60GB of SSD storage, and unlimited monthly transfers. The offerings max out at 12.5 cents per hour ($90.00 per month) for a 16-core CPU, 64GB of RAM, 960GB of SSD storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. There are managed and unmanaged options, as well as customizable plans.

DreamHost is another top pick for smaller-scale sites that need less-demanding cloud hosting services. It comes with four vCPU servers (8GB RAM each), 80GB SSD storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers for $48 per month. If you need even more power, you can call up a sales rep for a custom quote. Though DreamHost's RAM and storage totals aren't as high as those offered by Ionos, you can select either Linux- or Windows-based servers.

Reseller Hosting

If you're looking to get into the web hosting business but don't want to deal with infrastructure matters, consider reseller web hosting. Hostinger offers two Agency Hosting plans: Agency Startup and Agency Professional. Agency Startup is $49.00 per month, or $29 per month with an annual commitment. This plan gives you 12GB of RAM, 300GB of NVMe storage, unlimited monthly data transfers, and 100 websites. Agency Professional is $69.00 per month, or $49.00 a month with a one-year plan. This package ups the stats to 20GB of RAM, 500GB of NVMe storage, and 200 websites.

Hostwinds, by comparison, offers unlimited storage and data transfers with each tier.

Building a Website

Hostinger has several options for building a website, including the company's own Hostinger Website Builder. The free tool has many useful features, such as a logo builder, a slogan builder, and a business name generator.

Its coolest features, however, are its AI-powered ones. AI Writer generates unique copy based on a topic you select, while AI Heatmap provides insights on what website visitors will focus on when they visit your site. In fact, you can even let AI create your entire website with the AI Builder feature. In our tests, Hostinger Website Builder produced respectable starter text that we enhanced with images and video. We could see a company using AI Writer and tweaking the copy to suit its needs. 

E-Commerce and Security

Making money online requires e-commerce tools, and Hostinger has them in abundance. Hostinger's auto-installer offers popular and useful tools, such as Abante Cart, osCommerce, and PrestaShop. There is also a WooCommerce option for online stores built with WordPress.

If you're looking to secure your website, Hostinger has many tools that let you do just that. For example, you get a free Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate with shared and VPS hosting plans, or you can buy one separately. The technology secures the connection between your website and a visitor's computer, which is vital for security (especially if you wish to sell products). Hostinger gives its clients unlimited free SSL certificates. Likewise, Cloudflare protection is offered with all Hostinger plans (it safeguards your site against DDoS attacks and other threats).

Customer Service and Uptime

If you encounter a problem or just have a question you'd like to ask Hostinger's customer service squad, you can reach out to the support crew via web chat 24/7. We found the staff to be incredibly friendly and informative, and they answered our test questions with the appropriate links. Hostinger's customer support squad is among the best we've encountered in the web hosting game, up there with GoDaddy's excellent team.

The one big caveat is that Hostinger lacks phone support. If you want to contact a human being, it's web chat or bust. The company contends that web chat is faster and easier for customers versus phone support, so this might not be a problem for you. On the upside, Hostinger has a sizable knowledge database that answers common (and uncommon) web hosting questions.

Hostinger's plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is typical for a web hosting service. That said, DreamHost offers an unbeatable 97-day money-back guarantee for shared plans that gives you more time to explore its options.

Uptime is an extremely important web hosting element, as it measures your website's availability. Sites with good uptime are considered dependable; sites with bad uptime are inaccessible and unreliable. The company guarantees a 99.9% server uptime rate, so you should be able to count on Hostinger to keep your website online.

Final Thoughts

Hostinger Web Hosting - Hostinger Web Hosting (Credit: Hostinger)

Hostinger Web Hosting

4.0 Excellent

Hostinger offers several noteworthy plans, excellent customer service, and useful AI tools, but it lacks a few features you get with the very best web hosting services.

Get It Now
Best Deal£1.79 Per Month + 3 Months Free With 10% Off Code "PCMAG10"

Buy It Now

£1.79 Per Month + 3 Months Free With 10% Off Code "PCMAG10"

About Our Experts

Jeffrey L. Wilson

Jeffrey L. Wilson

Managing Editor, Apps and Gaming

Since 2004, I've written about consumer tech for many publications, including 1UP, Laptop, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. I now apply that knowledge and skill set as the managing editor of PCMag's apps and gaming team.

The Technology I Use

As a member of the App & Gaming team, I use a wide variety of apps and services. Google Drive is an essential file-syncing service for moving documents between team members in this work-from-home era. Scrivener has been an invaluable writing tool as I rework my fiction manuscript. YouTube Premium and YouTube TV deliver hours of entertainment (though I only use the latter service during the F1 and NBA playoff seasons).

In terms of hardware, I use a Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon X1 laptop for work and an Origin PC tower for playing PC games. I also have a Steam Deck, which lets me play my favorite titles under a shade tree. Of course, I have a smartphone, and the Google Pixel 9a is my handset of choice.

My main input devices are the Das Keyboard 4 Professional and Logitech MX Vertical Ergonomic Mouse, though I bust out the Hori Fighting Commander Octa or Hori Fight Stick Alpha when mixing it up in fighting games. I have a thing for arcade sticks. I collect Neo Geo AES games, too, but only if I can find the carts on the (relative) cheap.

For video and music consumption, I fire up my Lenovo Tab P11; it has a sharp screen and great Dolby Atmos-powered speakers. My Kindle Paperwhite has received much use, too. I have a standalone, Sony Blu-ray player connected to a TCL television when it's time to go full cinephile. I'm also a vinyl guy, so the Bluetooth-enabled Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT keeps the wax spinning.

My first computer was a Commodore 64. Long live BASIC and retro computers!

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Gabriel Zamora

Gabriel Zamora

Senior Writer, Software

In 2014, I began my career at PCMag as a freelancer. That blossomed into a full-time position in 2021, and I now review email marketing apps, mobile operating systems, web hosting services, streaming music platforms, and video games as a senior writer. I'm a graduate of Hunter College, a hard-core gamer, and an Apple enthusiast.

The Technology I Use

I play many video games in my spare time, especially on my gaming rig, which is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, and 16GB of RAM. The Nintendo Switch 2 also sees a lot of action thanks to its backward compatibility, but I'll also occasionally hop on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. 

I'm currently using an iPhone 15 Pro Max, coupled with the Apple AirPods Max that my brother gifted me for Christmas, to listen to music or podcasts on the go. That said, I always carry my iPad Mini with me. The tablet line has served as my faithful drawing canvas for years, and is the one piece of tech I upgrade whenever I can. Paired with an inexpensive Wacom Bamboo Duo stylus, I have a compact, reliable, and convenient doodling set to keep me busy during long commutes across the Big Apple.

Cooking is my dearest passion next to gaming, and I embrace any tech that makes modern cookery a little easier. I discovered the Paprika Recipe Manager during my stint as a chef at Google HQ and fell in love with its simple yet feature-packed toolset. It makes saving and editing online recipes a cinch, and having easy access to them on my phone is a tremendous convenience.

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