Hostinger Review (December 2024): Worth A Try?
For a long time, Hostinger is considered one of the cheapest web hostings that offer a good speed along with a tempting feature list.
The internet is full of bloggers recommending Hostinger. We thought of checking if Hostinger is eligible for this hype or if it is a good web host.
Through this Hostinger Review, we will drill down the key features of Hostinger and see in which areas they are performing well and areas where they should have done better.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s find out if Hostinger web hosting is right for you or not.
Hostinger Overview
Hostinger is cheap in pricing. That is their main USP. Their Entry-level plan starts at $1.99 per month. That is why most new bloggers run for Hostinger.
Hostinger is based out in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was seeded in 2004 as Hosting Media. In 2011, they changed the name to Hostinger.
With time, Hostinger has expanded its services and data centers around the globe. They started their journey with Apache web server but then moved to Lite Speed Server in 2019.
Hostinger Business Portfolio
Hostinger offers traditional shared hosting, cloud hosting, and VPS hosting. Out of this, only shared hosting is popular among bloggers due to low prices and good feature sets.
The cloud hosting is good too. You will get dedicated resources and a dedicated IP address, and the hosting is completely managed. So, no hassles in handling day-to-day hosting activities.
If you want more control over your server, then you can go for VPS hosting. Here also, you will get dedicated resources, dedicated IP, and most importantly root access to your server. You can customize your server the way you want.
Hostinger Web Hosting Features
Here are the key features of Hostinger shared hosting plans.
1. Lite Speed Server
All plans are powered by the Lite Speed server which is a good thing as the Lite Speed server is way faster than Apache and NGNIX.
But the real problem is the limited server resources. Except for the top plan, all plans offer 1 core CPU and around 1 GB RAM that throttles the power of the Lite Speed Server.
If you are planning to switch to Hostinger, please ensure that you are using the Lite Speed Cache that multiplies the speed of the Lite Speed Server.
2. Free Domain And Website Builder
Good that Hostinger offers a free domain name with all plans except the basic plan. That will help you to save some money that you would have spent on buying a domain name.
If you are a newbie and don’t know how to build a website, then you will find Hostinger useful as it comes with a free website builder.
However, I don’t feel that even a newbie uses a website builder nowadays as building a website using WordPress is very easy.
3. Intuitive HPanel
Personally, I like custom control panels. So I am a little biased toward HPanel. HPanel is a custom control panel that Hostinger offers with all its hosting plans.
All options are well laid out and the navigation is very smooth in the HPanel. You will feel fresh after ditching the boring interface of the C panel.
However, experts know how to host websites without any control panel too. So HPanel can not be a deal breaker for Hostinger. Although, It’s a good-to-have feature.
4. WordPress Acceleration
The reason for choosing Hostinger is the cost to a large extent, but WordPress acceleration is something that makes it stand out in the market.
Hostinger uses a Lite Speed Cache that basically caches and optimizes contents. However, the Lite Speed Cache can also communicate with the Lite Speed server and deliver the best out of your web server.
5. Budget-Friendly Price
When it comes to pricing, no other web host can beat Hostinger. The shared hosting plans start at just $ 1.99 per month.
Although the basic plan is of no use, the topmost plans are not so costly. One suggestion is that if you plan to buy Hostinger hosting plans, you should buy plans for at least four years duration to get the maximum savings.
Hostinger Web Hosting Plans and Pricing
Hostinger Web Hosting
Hostinger Shared Hosting Plans
Hostinger has three shared hosting plans. All plans use the Lite Speed Server. Except for the Single Shared Hosting plan, all other plans offer a free domain name. Free SSL, Free CDN, and free email hosting are common across all plans.
50 GB Space
100 GB Bandwidth
10K Visits
100 GB Space
Unlimited Bandwidth
25K Visits
Free Domain
200 GB Space
Unlimited Bandwidth
100K Visits
Free Domain
Hostinger Performance And Test Results
We have tested Hostinger Shared hosting with one of our demo sites and looking at the results, it did perform well in all those tests.
However, the results are nowhere in the league of other reputed shared hosts like A2 Hosting or Hostarmada.
1. Website Speed Test
2. Server Speed Test
3. Time To First Byte Test (TTFB)
Hostinger Positives And Negatives
- Lite speed server and
Lite Speed cache - Free domain name for the first year
- Free website transfer
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free SSL
- Daily backups
- Server-level cache mechanism
- Advanced security and firewall
- Very cheap pricing
- Wide range of hosting plans to choose from
- Uptime could have been better
- Not fast enough compared to other web hosts
- Security is still a concern
- Support is still a hit-or-miss
Conclusion: Hostinger Review
Pricing, Pricing, and Pricing. It’s hard to recommend Hostinger just based on pricing. They have opted for a Lite speed server but throttled the speed by limiting the server resources.
I would have happily recommended Hostinger if they would have a little generosity towards resource allocation.
I would not recommend Hostinger if you plan to host production sites. However, Hostinger is perfectly fine for demo websites or hobby bloggers. The choice is yours.
See, my above verdict is only valid for shared hosting. The story for cloud hosting and VPS hosting could be different as I did not test those plans.
FAQ | Hostinger Review
Is Hostinger Good?
Whether Hostinger is good or bad depends on your requirements. If you want to host demo websites or if you are a hobby blogger, then Hostinger is good. For production sites, I won’t recommend Hostinger.
Does Hostinger Offer A Free Domain?
Yes, Hostinger offers a free domain for one year if you buy the premium and the business plan.
Hostinger Alternatives
Based on the features and pricing, A2 Hosting and HostArmada are the two web hosts that can easily compete with Hostinger. Both A2 Hosting and HostArmada outperform Hostinger in most cases.
A2 hosting
Both A2 Hosting and Hostinger are very popular web hosting providers. They both are known for their high-quality web services and appealing feature sets. The battle is pretty close between the two.
A2 and Hostinger have quite similar hosting plans with great feature sets. But, I found that A2 Hosting offers more value-for-money plans.
Resource allocation is a problem for Hostinger. Hostinger is still stuck with 1-2 cores CPU whereas A2 hosting offers 4-6 cores CPUs in the turbo plan.
Cheap plans can bring customers quickly, but cannot retain the customers. That’s the problem with Hostinger.
A2 Hosting 75% off
Good resource allocation
Good pricing
HostArmada
HostArmada does not offer Lite Speed Server except for the topmost plan. However, I never felt any problem with the speed. The reason is that all plans offer a good resource allocation.
The topmost Speed Reaper plan is a beast and can outperform any plans of Hostinger. The pricing is also more or less similar to Hostinger.
Similar to Hostinger, Hostrmada also offers a free domain name with all hosting plans. But it does not offer a free website builder. Do you need one? I don’t feel so.
Overall, HostArmada is a better host than Hostinger considering the speed and price-to-feature ratio.
Hostarmada Up To 70% off
Dynamic Caching
Free Domain
Hostinger Hosting
Hostinger is known for its low cost web hosting plans. With an option of Lite Speed Server, Hostinger is fast too. On top of that, they also offer a domain for the first year, which makes it a great buy.
Price: 1.99
Price Currency: $
Operating System: Linux
Application Category: Web Hosting
3.5
Hostinger Hosting
Hostinger is known for its low cost web hosting plans. With an option of Lite Speed Server, Hostinger is fast too. On top of that, they also offer a domain for the first year, which makes it a great buy.
Price: 1.99
Price Currency: $
Operating System: Linux
Application Category: Web Hosting
3.5
