Hostinger is one of the cheapest web hosts in 2022. But can it be considered one of the best in the French-speaking as well as an international market? This is the question that our team asked itself.
In order to write this comprehensive Hostinger review and give you the most objective experience possible, we paid for hosting, uploaded a site to it, and then monitored/monitored performance for over a year.
Want to know how good or bad Hostinger's hosting is? Read our full test carefully to find out.
Hostinger load time and uptime test
First of all, it is good to note that Hostinger is a web host with considerable experience. It has been offering hosting services for more than 10 years, and this is throughout the world thanks to data centers in 8 countries (including France – in Strasbourg, other countries in Europe, but also in the United States and in Asia).
When looking for web hosting, you necessarily want it to be able to load your website quickly, while offering a high availability rate. A fast site will offer a better user experience to your users and will play an important role from an SEO point of view (natural referencing – positioning on search engines).
What do we think about this when it comes to Hostinger? After testing the European web host for more than a year, we have come to the conclusion that it is the fastest web host currently.
Regardless of the data center where your hosting will be located (try to opt for a data center relatively close geographically to your target audience), Hostinger will guarantee you a low loading time.
Over more than a year, we have noted an average loading time for our test site (the site we use to produce each of our reviews) of 310ms.
The other important aspect to consider when talking about performance is uptime. Uptime represents the availability rate of your web hosting and therefore of your website. The closer it is to 100%, the less your site will be inaccessible throughout the year.
With datacenters all certified Tier III, the host Hostinger guarantees an uptime of 99.99%. Is that the case? Our tests have allowed us to see that the host kept its commitment. Over a full year, the uptime was even a little higher than this value since the observed downtime was 51 minutes (which is equivalent to 99.991%).
To sum up the first part of our Hostinger review, it is truly flawless. If you are looking for fast, stable, and therefore reliable web hosting, you will be served! Over the past few years, we have had the opportunity to test a lot of services and none have reached the level of performance set by Hostinger.
Hostinger Features
Having high-performance web hosting is excellent. Having access to features that will enhance the whole thing is even better.
By functionalities, we think of tools, services, or even plugins that can be included by the host in its offers. This set will generally improve the daily administration of your site but also its performance and security.
Hostinger turns out to be generous regarding this aspect. However, be aware that the features offered will vary depending on the plan you choose. To find more details about the specificities of each, we advise you to go further down in our Hostinger review.
Our goal is to give you the most complete overview possible, here is a summary of the main features available if you ever come to subscribe to hosting with Hostinger:
- Domain name offered (you will have the choice between 10 different extensions including .com and .fr).
- SSL (Let's Encrypt) certificates are offered without any limit.
- WordPress acceleration through LiteSpeed technology + Provision of the LSCache cache plugin.
- Automated backups (daily or weekly).
- $150 in credits offered to finance an advertising campaign via Google Ads.
- Provision of a CDN (worth €9.95 per month).
- Multi-site management means that via a single hosting plan, you can put several websites online.
- No limit on bandwidth usage and the number of manageable databases.
- DDoS protection.
Whether it is to improve the speed of your site (LiteSpeed + cache plugin), its security (backups, DDoS protection, SSL certificate), or even take advantage of normally paid services, Hostinger hits hard. It is the least we can say. Our opinion? From a features and benefits point of view, you will get your money's worth by choosing this host.
Getting started: our opinion on the Hostinger solution
Most web hosts provide their users with an administration panel based on cPanel. This is not the case with Hostinger, which has decided to offer a modified cPanel administration panel called hPanel.
At first glance, especially if you're used to cPanel, this can be confusing. However, after a few days of use, the observation is that you get used to it very quickly because everything is clear and intuitive. Whether you are relatively new or rather an expert in the field, you will find your account with the hPanel of the host.
As far as your customer area is concerned, the observation is the same. The set is simple to use and you will have no trouble consulting your invoices, updating your payment method, or even managing your domain names.
You can also count on a lot of tools that will, for example, allow you to put a website online in a few quick steps (less than 5 minutes).
Technical support
A good web host must offer quality technical and commercial support. In our opinion, the term quality implies several things: responsiveness, the relevance of responses, and availability.
How do we feel about Hostinger customer service?
We pushed it hard in our testing and it never showed the slightest sign of weakness. The host has the particularity of only offering one method of contact: online chat.
At Hostinger, no ticket, email, or telephone support. When we discovered this, we must admit that our surprise was great. But the company assumes its choice and it was able to prove to us that it was right to proceed in this way.
Thanks to the live chat which is available directly from the customer area, it is possible to get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. What about response time? Whether it's weekdays, weekends, in the middle of the night, or during “hot” hours, you can expect to get a response within minutes.
On the official website of the company, many guides, tutorials, and questions/answers are offered. The knowledge base made available is complete and will deal with various and varied subjects related to web hosting: domain name, getting started with the hPanel (the name given to the Hostinger administration panel), managing emails, DNS, FTP of your site, etc.
Hostinger also has a YouTube channel (Hostinger Academy) on which video tutorials are regularly posted. For example, you will find detailed explanations on how to restore a WordPress site, buy a domain name and protect it, or even comparisons between two types of hosting to help you in your final decision.
Hostinger Plans and Pricing
Shared Hosting
The most popular plans at Hostinger are its shared hosting. Why? Regardless of the power and configuration, you will need, the host will give you access to it at prices that defy all competition. And this, whether a promotion is currently in progress or not.
- Per unit: €1.49/month
- Premium: €2.99/month
- Business: €4.99/month
If you want our opinion, chances are one of these plans will meet your needs. Hostinger's shared hosting will meet the needs of someone looking to create a site for the first time (the Premium plan is proof of this), as well as a professional who needs to host several sites while benefiting from good performance (the Business plan).
From the Premium plan, Hostinger will provide you with at least: 100 free email addresses, SSL certificates, a free domain name (.fr, .com, .net, etc.), a Google Ads credit of $150, the possibility of hosting several sites via a single subscription.
Our tip: if possible, try to commit to several years with Hostinger in order to achieve big savings… but also to postpone the renewal date (when the price of your hosting will increase slightly – while remaining lower than most French-speaking hosts). This tip also applies to the Cloud, WordPress, and VPS plan that we will present to you below.
Cloud Hosting
Our opinion on Hostinger Cloud hosting is in line with everything we have said in our article. Even if this type of offer is more suitable for carrying out large-scale projects, the prices charged remain correct.
Here is the detail:
- Startup: €9.99/month
- Professional: €19.99/month
- Cloud Global (powered by Google Cloud): €69.99/month
As you can see in the screenshot above, Hostinger gives you the possibility (AT A MINIMUM) to host 300 sites, to take advantage of 200 GB of SSD storage, 3 GB of RAM, and 2 CPU cores. All from €9.99/month. No other web host that we have had the opportunity to test (and yet we have been able to test a lot of accommodations in recent months ), is able to offer such a generous service for such a low price.
No matter which plans you opt for, a free domain will be offered and it will be possible to make daily backups. Are you already committed to another host? Hostinger offers to migrate your site to its infrastructure for free.
WordPress Hosting
Creating a WordPress blog is going to be a piece of cake with Hostinger's specialized hosting if you ask us.
The host provides plans optimized for the use of the CMS, and will also give you access to a number of tools to quickly deploy a new site.
Whether you want to create a small blog / personal site or host several WordPress sites generating a lot of traffic, the offers of the host will meet your expectations:
- Starter: €2.15/month
- Premium: €9.99/month
- Enterprise: €19.99/month
In the opinion of our teams, Hostinger's WordPress Starter plan is a little gem that will give you the opportunity to get back on the right foot in the world of web hosting. The quality/price ratio offered is simply excellent.
Try it without obligation for 30 days thanks to the money-back guarantee provided. You won't be taking any risks doing this.
VPS
Although Hostinger also offers Minecraft server hosting, the last type of offer we are going to look at in this review and test is VPS.
What is a VPS? This means a “Virtual Private Server” or a “Virtual Private Server”. If we can afford the term, it is the evolution of a shared plan. A VPS will effectively offer you even more guarantees in terms of uptime but also the resources allocated (they will be totally dedicated to you).
Hostinger offers a relatively large number of VPS plans. In total, you will have the choice between five offers.
Having had the opportunity to test one of the offers before writing our opinion on Hostinger, we can assure you that the host has been able to meet our expectations both in terms of loading time and uptime, and the possibilities offered (dedicated IP, compatibility with the main Linux distributions, etc.). We are on the line of the performances described in the first part of this complete file.
If you ever have trouble identifying the offer that will best meet your needs, we want to reassure you. Hostinger is going to give you the ability to switch from one plan to another very easily.
Note that all hosting offers (including VPS) from Hostinger are refundable for 30 days thanks to a money-back guarantee.
Hostinger free hosting: Does such an offer exist?
We will cut to the chase, yes Hostinger has a free hosting offer. The latter is called 000webhost.
It has the advantage of allowing you to get started without commitment. Above all, Hostinger's free hosting will give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with all the tools available.
You will see that everything is done in a simple way. The host will also assist you in your process of creating a site.
To sum up, Hostinger's free plan is, in our opinion, the ideal stepping stone. What about the features of this free web hosting? Here's what to expect with the 000webhost offer: the possibility to create a single website, 300 MB of storage, 300 monthly visits, no SSL certificate, and no domain name offered.
Unsurprisingly, this offer is good for a simple start… but it is relatively limited. The advantage is that you can easily switch to a paid Hostinger plan at any time. This will allow you to avoid the many limitations (concerning the number of visitors you can accommodate over a month) and above all to take advantage of advantages such as better performance, a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, or the possibility to create several sites.
While it's great to have access to free web hosting, we believe it's just one step in the evolution of your website or online business. Indeed, by staying on a free offer, you will not be able to create a serious site capable of succeeding. It will therefore be necessary to quickly think about switching to a paid plan.
Summary of the main information
- Free domain name? Yes (Extension of your choice: .fr, .com, .net, .shop, and still a lot of other possibilities).
- SSL certificate: Offered.
- Installation of CMS (WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop, etc.): Installation in a few clicks via a dedicated tool.
- Activation time of your hosting: Almost instantaneous.
- Administration panel: hPanel (host-specific panel but based on cPanel).
- Means of payment: VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, PayPal, Cryptocurrency, Google Pay.
- Money-back guarantee: 30 days without conditions.
Our opinion on Hostinger: Do we recommend it?
Hostinger offers excellent speeds, as well as regular uptime, and is always at the level of the expectations set (99.99%). However, it does not stop there since it also provides all its customers with responsive technical support in case they need help. The agents are competent, and cordial, and will be able to chat with you in French.
Because its entry-level plan (the plan called Single) is a bit limited, it's not our top recommendation. To start, it is better to turn to the “Premium” shared plan. If your needs are more important, you will find what you are looking for with Business shared hosting, the VPS range, or even Hostinger's Cloud hosting.
As you have seen throughout our opinion on Hostinger, it is, according to our teams, the reference web host in 2022. There is simply no better at the moment T. And that even if we regret a little the fact that at the renewal of your hosting, the prices will increase a little (while remaining, despite everything, much lower than those practiced by competing hosts).
Good To Know: This complete post devoted to Hostinger has convinced you to trust it, but the problem is you are still engaged elsewhere and you dread the transfer process. You will be delighted to learn that the host offers to migrate your website to their servers for free. You will have nothing to do on your side, except formulating the migration request.
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