Hostinger. Plans and Prices, Advantages, Alternatives

Founded in Lithuania in 2004, Hostinger is a small company owned by its employees. But their coverage is global, hosting 29 million websites in 178 countries around the world. Originally, they offered completely free hosting services. This is no longer the case, but they still pride themselves on their services. affordable prices, and still combine powerful features for professional websites.

One of their slogans is that they help you to "save smartly«. Hostinger offers some of the best web hosting services in the world and is used by a huge number of people. It has a range of affordable hosting solutions, including shared, WordPress, VPS, and cloud hosting.

As our Hostinger review will show, there is a reason why this hosting provider is so popular. Arguably, it offers the best budget accommodation on the market, and there are virtually no flaws to speak of.

In addition to this, the Native hPanel Hostinger’s site is excellent. It has great security integrations, one-click Cloudflare installation, a clever website builder, and a built-in domain registration portal, among many other tools.

Maybe you may be interested: Interserver. Plans, Prices and Alternatives

What is Hostinger?

Hostinger is one of our favorite web hosting companies because of its affordable yet feature-rich plans. It offers pretty much everything you need to create a website, though it’s certainly geared toward small business owners and personal users.

Unlike most other leading web hosts, which usually offer a cPanel control panel, Hostinger features its own control panel. Native hPanelThis is actually quite similar to cPanel, but has been cleverly designed to be easy to use whilst still offering the expected tools.

To start, you'll find information about your website and resource usage on the left of the screen. See your IP address and server location, and control your storage, email account, and subdomain usage to ensure you don't reach your plan limits.

You can also access numerous tools through the icons on the main dashboard. Manage your account, set up email addresses and webmail accounts, configure domains, and customize more advanced settings as needed.

Hostinger also offers the installation of Cloudflare with a single click, which is ideal for those who want to take advantage of the program's advanced security features. At its most basic, Cloudflare is a content delivery network (CDN) designed to boost site performance. However, it also features DDoS protection and an advanced DNS firewall.

Advantages

These are the benefits of using Hostinger:

• Easy to use: Hostinger's admin panel is a pleasure to navigate, with clear menus and well-laid-out options.
• First economic term: The first few months of hosting are aggressively priced. Renewal prices can skyrocket, depending on the length of your initial contract, but if you buy for, say, 48 months, prices are incredibly low.
• Wide bandwidth: It is unlimited on the higher plans, but even 100GB on the lower tier is enough to host thousands of visitors per month.
• Developer-Friendly Features – Those who like to maintain control of the technology behind their hosting will find that Hostinger offers a great selection of tools.
• Speed: The speed is very good, and you will be able to notice this with the use of hosting.

Disadvantages

We can also find some inconveniences in the hosting service:

• Activity time: There Hostinger's uptime rating is not very impressive. There will be times when its users will not be able to access the site.
• Confusing prices for renewal: Renewal prices vary depending on the length of initial contracts. Keep an eye on the fine print to avoid paying up to 10 times your initial monthly rate.
• Daily backups only on the expensive plan: Sure, you can create manual backups of your site, but relying on weekly backups alone is a dangerous game.
• Limited number of sites: You can host a maximum of 1 site with the Individual plan and up to 100 with Premium and Business.

Enter your website now.

History

Every business has a hard time growing, and no company should be stuck with its past sins forever. No one hesitates to buy Tylenol or Ford cars. However, we believe that customers should be aware of past events to make a well-rounded decision. While the Hostinger brand is pretty clean, the company has a history of growing at any cost and cutting corners. They had a massive customer hack in 2015.

That in itself isn't much to write home about. But for a hosting company, the shortcuts that came to light were pretty eye-catching. On customer forums, they've gotten some notoriety for inconsistent performance.

And on a purely personal note, their marketing team ignored requests for over 18 months to stop sending out regular mass emails. They seem to have professionalized their approach recently. But if you have a major long-term project to commit to with an established hosting provider, then Hostinger is not much of a fit for this.

Safety features

Hosting comes with SSL certificates for free. You can use the latest version of PHP and enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) for an extra layer of security. SSH not available on the entry plan.

There's also Cloudflare's nameserver protection, which is supposed to protect your data from hackers, and Double RAID, designed to keep multiple copies of your site safe in the event of an outage.

Server Functions

You can use the latest versions of PHP (7.3, 7.4, and 8.0) and MySQL. There is also a built-in caching system. Hostinger comes with a system to integrate version control (via Git) to your account. Other languages programming such as Perl or Ruby are not supported by Hostinger shared plans.

Refunds and Warranties

There is a 30-day money-back policy, and Hostinger guarantees that your site will be up 99,90% of the time, which may look good, but it's not actually a great uptime ratio (your site can be down for almost 44 minutes every month).

Hostinger can be contacted via live chat 24/7. But sometimes, you need to wait to get a response from the support agents.

Hostinger Backups

Automatic backups are carried out weekly and are saved for 30 days on all plans. For business users, it also offers daily backups on top of that. Since one save point a week might not be enough to give you complete peace of mind, I would look into manual backup options.

There is an option to generate the backup and a couple of things you can restore. It's a bit confusing at first, but you can quickly learn how to get to the important part, which is creating a ZIP file to download locally.

Plans and prices

Hostinger offers a wide range of web hosting products, including shared, cloud, WordPress, and VPS solutions. This makes their pricing quite complicated. At the cheapest end of the spectrum, there are three shared hosting plans ranging from $1.39 to $3.99 per month with an initial four-year subscription.

Expect to pay more for renewal, or if you want a shorter subscription term. For example, the cheapest monthly plan costs $9.49 per month with a $4.99 setup fee. WordPress hosting is a bit more expensive, with prices starting at $1.99 per month for the cheapest plan. VPS options start at $3.95 per month, and cloud hosting ranges from $9.99 to $69.99 per month.

How does Hostinger perform?

Hostinger server response times tend to range between 200ms and 600ms To test the performance of Hostinger shared hosting, you can create a simple website and use Uptime.com to monitor it for a period of ten weeks. You won't be disappointed.

On the one hand, you can benefit from an excellent 100% uptime during the trial period. This is great to see and essentially means that you shouldn’t have any issues with your site going offline unexpectedly. We looked at server response times, which ranged from 171ms to 1,73s.

The spike to 1,73 seconds is a little worrying, suggesting that the servers were overloaded at the time. However, occasions like this were rare, and the average server response time of 382ms is excellent for basic shared hosting.

A quick look at Page load speeds revealed even more good newsWe tested our site speed using a SpeedTest. The average loading time across 16 global locations was 878ms, which is one of the best we've seen. You can expect superior performance if you use Hostinger shared hosting.

How easy is it to set up an SSL certificate?

Adding a new SSL certificate is extremely easy. Installing an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is one of the most important things you can do to improve the security of your website. Hostinger offers free SSL certificates across the board, but you'll still need to work through the setup process to activate yours.

Fortunately, This process is extremely simple. Go to the « tabHome» from your account admin panel, and you should find a quick link to «SSL Configuration«. Follow the instructions, select the website you want to install a certificate on, and Hostinger will take care of the rest.

One thing is nice to see here, and that is that even if your domain is not pointed to Hostinger, you can still work through the SSL setup process. Hostinger will complete the installation automatically as soon as your domain is connected.

Hostinger Alternatives

Hostinger is considered one of the best hosting providers, however, there are also drawbacks and flaws that could make customers want to replace it. This, depending on the needs of each one. Hostinger has a lot to offer, but we will show the best replacements so that users can make an informed decision:

1.Hostgator

When we talk about replacing Hostinger, undoubtedly the first choice has to be Hostgator. Hostgator has become the favorite due to its hosting options and its affordable pricesAlthough the platform is in English, it is quite easy to use due to its beginner-friendly design.

This last feature is due, in part, to the administration through cPanel. As we mentioned before, the price of domains is not that high. However, this is not the only thing it has to offer, because its support is also very good. It also gives rise to the acquisition of shopping carts through the available applications.

Advantages

• Extremely affordable prices.
• Pretty fast service.
• It offers variety in its plans.
• Excellent support.
• Easy to handle.

Disadvantages

• The platform is not in Spanish.

Plans and prices

Hostgator's general services include:

• Shared hosting service: $08 per month.
• VPS Plan: $95 per month.
• Dedicated plan: 98 monthly.

Enter your website now.

2. Banahosting

Banahosting was born in 2007, and since then it has managed to maintain its position in the market. The hosting service is 100% reliable and is quite easy to use, which is great for beginners. But it also has advanced tools to please experts. Of course, the platform remains simple with none of its elements (basic or advanced).

Another feature that gives it an advantage over other alternatives to Hostinger is that there is an option to place the English or Spanish pageHowever, it offers many more advantages, such as excellent prices and unlimited hosting. Of course, this will depend a lot on the service you choose. Like the previous option, administration is done through cPanel.

Advantages

• Unlimited storage and traffic.
• Free SSL.
• Free site migration.
• Free domains.
• Automatic backups.

Disadvantages

• Few options when it comes to support.

Plans and prices

If you choose Banahosting, you will have the following services:

• Startingr: $53,46 per year.
• Professional: $75,06 per year.
• Corporate plan: 107,46 per year.

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3. Webempresa

For some, this is the best hosting, and therefore, one of the most convenient alternatives to Hostinger. User comments claim that, in years, none of the web hosting options have been able to surpass its performance and speed. As for storage, you can host up to 20 GB with the simplest plan.

However, if you choose an advanced plan, you can have up to 100 GB of storage. Because there is not as much space as in other hosting, it is not the best for large projects. However, For small projects it is the most recommended.

Advantages

• Maximum reliability and safety.
• Speed ​​of service.
• Good support.
• Right to refund if service fails.
• Anti-hacking tools.

Disadvantages

• Very limited space on basic plans.

Plans and prices

These are the services you can choose if you decide to use Webempresa.

• Start Plan:00 euros a year.
• Standard Service:00 euros per year.
• Professional Plan:30 euros a year.
• Advanced Service:30 euros per year.

Enter your website now.

You may want to know: Banahosting: Features, Advantages, Disadvantages, Plans, Prices, Alternatives

4.Raiola Networks

This is another of the best alternatives to Hostinger, and also one of the most sought-after hosting on the market. Use cPanel and it has a fairly simple system, which both novices and experts can be comfortable with. But what's more, if you pay for a year of service, you can enjoy a free domain.

With the starter plan you only have the option to register a free domain and 10 email accounts. But if you choose the medium plan, you can increase the domain registration limit and have 50 email accounts.

Advantages

• Very good performance.
• Quick response time.
• There is a good quality price relation.

Disadvantages

• To enjoy multiple domains you must choose advanced plans.

Plans and prices

The services you can count on are the following:

• Home: 5,95 euros per month.
• Base: 7,95 per month.
• Medium: 9,95 euros per month.

Enter your website now.

5. Interserve

Interserver is a quite complete hosting which offers an affordable and good quality service. But what has most attracted the attention of users is its customer service which is present 24 hours a day, seven days a week and all year round.

On the other hand, with this hosting service you can find many nice options such as VPS plans, shared plans and more. You can also use your own physical infrastructureWith the services offered by Interserver you can both design and manage very easily.

Advantages

• Variety of plans.
• You can add portions to the plans (special functions for a certain time).
• SSD unlimited.
• Maximum security.
• Free assistance.
• Guarantees fixed prices.

Disadvantages

• It is not the most accessible service.

Plans and prices

Interserver makes available to customers:

• The standard service is $5 per month.
• Pro Hosting Plan at a cost of $19,95 per month.
• VPS service starting at $6 per month.

Enter your website now.

6. Hostpapa

Hostpapa is the best when it comes to customer service, but it also offers good speed and security. On the other hand, The interface is pretty solid and provides a wide variety of tools. This helps to ensure that tasks are completed satisfactorily.

Another advantage that this hosting offers is that it has excellent hosting plans which include: WordPress and VPSIts features benefit both large and small companies. On the other hand, it is an ecological company since it works with energy savings.

Advantages

• Standard cPanel.
• Free domain with any plan.
• Data centers in 3 locations.

Disadvantages

• Bad response time.

Plans and prices

These are the services you can count on if you choose Hostpapa:

• Shared Hosting: starting at $ 3.95 a month.
• VPS: starting at $ 19,99 a month.
• For Reseller: starting at $29,99 per month.

Enter your website now.

7.SiteGround

SiteGround is also a very good alternative to Hostinger if you are looking for considerably fast speeds. It is a stable service that offers a very good good uptime, in addition to good technical support and stable system accompanied by good technical support.

SiteGround's responses reach the user very quickly and, in most cases, they provide an immediate solution to problems and concerns. You will also have advanced technologies for design and administration, and the support of hardware advanced.

Advantages

• SSL
• Backups.
• Excellent service.
• Provides firewall.
• Fast charging time.

Disadvantages

• Advanced plans are expensive.

Plans and prices

SiteGround offers the following services and costs:

• Starter: $3.95 per month.
• GrowBig: $5.95 per month.
• GoGeek: $11.95 per month.
• Cloud Hosting: From $80 to $240 per month.

Enter your website now.

8. BlueHost

This hosting is the best when we are talking about WordPress, because it offers special tools. In fact, professionals who have used it recommend it without hesitation. What has made this convenient alternative to Hostinger famous are its affordable prices and its free domain availability.

On the other hand, it offers 50 GB of storage, which makes it excellent for managing large projects. In addition, it uses cPanel with a custom design, so it offers very marked comfort. With its choice you will also have a minimum of 5 email accounts and Free SSL.

Advantages

• WordPress officially recommends it.
• Provides special tools for managing WordPress.
• Free SSL.
• Custom CPanel.

Disadvantages

• Customer rotation followed.

Plans and prices

Choose from the following BlueHost services:

• Basic: $75 per month.
• VPS: $99 per month.
• Dedicated plans: $99 per month.

Enter your website now.

What is Hostinger used for?

If you have a project that only requires a website for a limited time (say, 4 years), the combination of low up-front pricing, features, and generous bandwidth could make it a success.

There is one big caveat though: your website may experience some serious downtime. For hobbies or side projects, however, this may be good enough.

When not to use Hostinger hosting?

If your website needs decent performanceI would look elsewhere. If you plan on saving money, the prices skyrocket after 12 months. I would also recommend alternatives like DreamHost or SiteGround, which are a bit more expensive but better performing.

What do they mean by “unlimited”?

Every hosting provider has a sneaky asterisk next to the “unlimited” claim. In theory, under Hostinger’s care, you can have unlimited websites and bandwidth, but the number of files you can host is still limited. These are called inodes, and you get between 200.000 and 600.000 depending on your plan.

How can I pay for a Hostinger plan?

Pretty much any way you want. PayPal It is compatible, as are the main credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, among others. They also accept cryptocurrencies, , the bitcoin and ethereum, among others.

Can I cancel my account?

Yes, and effortlessly. Simply go to your dashboard and look for the button Deactivate in the section "Other«.

Final thoughts

Overall, we found Hostinger's hosting to be good for what it is. If you have a small website, it will work fine and be inexpensive. If price is your main consideration (and you don't mind plan limitations), you can sign up with Hostinger. But is Hostinger worth it? To be honest, it's a hard hosting provider to recommend for serious projects. Yes, you do get incredibly low prices with your initial purchase, especially if you lock yourself into a 48-month contract.

Take a look at: Hostpapa. What It Is, Plans, Prices, Support, Alternatives

And yes, you get a great user experience and good features, including generous bandwidth and storage. You even get good speed. But downtime is a real downside. Is it worth sacrificing your visitor’s user experience to save a few bucks a month? If you’re just hosting a casual website like, say, a portfolio or hobby site, maybe.

But for something more serious (e-commerce, professional website), I would look at much better alternatives like SiteGround. We hope this Hostinger review helped you decide if this is a good hosting provider for you. But of course, if you have any questions, leave a comment and we will try to answer it.