If you need one small website, Premium is the lowest-cost Hostinger plan. If you need several sites, Unlimited gives more storage and daily backups. Cloud Startup fits a growing business that needs more CPU, RAM, storage and backup control. The monthly figures Hostinger displays are not monthly bills, because each one comes from an upfront multi-year payment.
Before paying, write down your site count, storage needs, email accounts, backup frequency, expected traffic and renewal budget. Then compare the checkout total, tax, domain renewal, email renewal, billing term and auto-renewal setting.
Key takeaways
- Premium suits up to three smaller websites, but the $95.52 payment covers 48 months.
- Unlimited supports more sites and storage, with daily backups, but still has resource limits.
- Cloud Startup adds larger storage and higher CPU, RAM, PHP-worker and inode limits.
- The displayed monthly figure is an effective rate, not a monthly payment.
- Free domains and email last one year on eligible plans, then renewal costs can apply.
Web hosting is only one part of the setup. Design tools, email services, security products, domains and SEO tools can add separate costs, so compare the complete setup rather than the hosting line alone.
What will you pay up front, and what renews later?
Hostinger charges its web-hosting plans upfront for the term you select. On November 10, 2026, Hostinger's pricing page showed 48-month promotional terms for Premium, Unlimited and Cloud Startup. The monthly number beside each plan is the total divided by 48 months. It is not the amount charged each month.
The web-hosting figures are promotional prices, and the page shows no promotion end date. The annualized introductory equivalents are $23.88 for Premium, $33.48 for Unlimited and $95.88 for Cloud Startup, but those are arithmetic comparisons, not one-year checkout prices. The payment buys the full term. Prices checked November 10, 2026.
For a one-site buyer, the key question is not whether $1.99 sounds affordable. It is whether paying $95.52 now makes sense when the hosting later renews at $10.99 per month. A five-year calculation using the Premium terms comes to $227.40 in hosting payments, excluding taxes, domain renewal, email renewal and optional extras.
See Hostinger's current plans, then select the billing term and record the exact totals shown at checkout. Keep the introductory rate and renewal rate together in your notes.
Which Hostinger plan fits one site, several sites or a growing business?
Start with the number of websites and the resources each site needs. Premium supports three websites, 20 GB of SSD storage, one CPU core, 2 GB of RAM and 40 PHP workers under Hostinger's current v6 limits. PHP workers help process dynamic requests, so a site with busy forms, a shop or many logged-in users may reach its practical limit sooner than a simple brochure site.
Unlimited supports unlimited websites, 50 GB of NVMe storage, two CPU cores, 3 GB of RAM and 60 PHP workers. That makes it the more practical shared-hosting choice for a freelancer with several small sites or a business with a main site plus campaign sites. “Unlimited” describes the website count, not every server resource.
Cloud Startup also supports unlimited websites, but raises storage to 100 GB, CPU to four cores, RAM to 4 GB and PHP workers to 100. Its 2,000,000-inode limit is also higher than the shared plans. An inode is a file and directory entry, so image-heavy sites, backups, mailboxes and many small files can use this limit even when storage space remains.
For a WordPress site, the web-hosting plans support WordPress as a build option. For a store or a site expecting heavier traffic, match the documented resource limits to expected use before choosing Cloud Startup.
KVM 1 VPS is a different decision. It includes one virtual CPU core, 4 GB of RAM, 50 GB of NVMe storage and 4 TB of bandwidth. A VPS gives you more server control, but you also take on operating-system and server-management responsibilities. Choose it when that control is needed, not simply because the plan has a low monthly figure.
What do the plans include for domains, email, backups, CDN and AI tools?
If you are starting a new site, eligible hosting plans include a domain free for one year. That does not make the domain permanently free. The renewal price depends on the extension and appears in the billing subscription details. WHOIS privacy is included without charge for supported extensions, although some registries do not permit privacy protection.
Premium lists two mailboxes per website free for one year. Unlimited and Cloud Startup list unlimited mailboxes per website free for one year. Hostinger does not give one renewal price for every mailbox setup, so check the email subscription price before the free period ends. Google Workspace Email is a separate product with separate refund exclusions.
Premium lists weekly backups. Unlimited and Cloud Startup list daily backups, and Cloud Startup also lists on-demand backups. Backup frequency matters if you need to restore recent changes after a plugin problem or site error. Check the plan's retention details and whether a restore carries a charge before relying on it for recovery.
Hostinger lists CDN access on Premium and includes it on Unlimited and Cloud Startup. A content delivery network stores or serves some site files from locations closer to visitors. It can change how files are delivered, but it is not a measured speed result and does not promise that a site will always load quickly.
The plans also list free SSL, AI tools and AI Builder. SSL encrypts the connection between a visitor and the site. The AI Builder can help create a site, while WordPress gives you a separate publishing system with more direct control over themes, plugins, files and databases. Keep temporary promotions and paid AI credits separate from the features included in the hosting plan.
What limits sit behind “unlimited” hosting?
Choose a plan by its limits, not by the largest label in the comparison table. Hostinger's current v6 limits place Premium at 400,000 inodes, Unlimited at 600,000 and Cloud Startup at 2,000,000. The plans also have fixed CPU, RAM, PHP-worker, database, storage and process limits.
An inode limit can affect a site before its storage is full. When the limit is reached, new files and directories cannot be created, and the website or File Manager may show errors. CPU, RAM, input/output, process and PHP-worker limits can also cause slow requests or failures during busy periods. Hostinger advises reducing usage or upgrading when those limits are reached.
A site with large media files, many product images, frequent backups or several WordPress installations should compare storage and inode needs before purchase. A single simple site may fit Premium, while a group of client sites may need Unlimited or Cloud Startup.
Email sending also has limits. Hostinger's published web and cloud tables cap server-based email sending at 10 messages per minute and 100 messages per day. That is suitable for ordinary site mail, but it is not a replacement for a bulk email platform. For newsletters, compare a dedicated service such as Mailerlite or another email provider, including its renewal price and subscriber limits.
Free SSL, CDN access, backups and support do not mean a site cannot be hacked or become unavailable. A WordPress site still needs updates, strong account access, a backup plan and careful plugin selection. Security products such as Wordfence or Sucuri may add another subscription.
How do refunds, auto-renewal, cancellation and migration work?
If you may change your mind, separate a refund request from a cancellation that only stops future renewal. Hostinger's current refund policy allows eligible hosting purchases and renewals to be refunded within 30 days of the transaction. Product exclusions include domain renewals, domain privacy, Google Workspace Email, VPS licenses, AI credits, paid support and some upgrades.
An eligible refund is requested through Billing, Payment History and Refund when that option appears. Hostinger says processing the refund terminates the service and erases associated data immediately. Back up the site and confirm that you no longer need the service before submitting the request.
To stop a future charge without requesting a refund, follow these steps in Hostinger's dashboard:
Annual hosting plans are charged 14 days before expiry, monthly plans on the expiration day, and domains 27 days before expiry when automatic renewal is enabled.
Free assisted migration applies to eligible sites moving from another host to a Web, Cloud or Agency plan. It covers website files and databases, but not email accounts, cron jobs, DNS records, custom SSL configuration or FTP accounts. VPS hosting is not eligible for the free migration process.
Do not cancel the old host before the new site, DNS, email and backups are checked. If you are moving WordPress, follow the steps to move a WordPress site to a new host without losing email or data. Keep the old service available until the new setup works and the DNS change has had time to take effect.
What should you check before paying in dollars?
The prices on this page are in dollars. If you buy from another country's Hostinger site, its local-currency total and renewal price will differ, so check both at that site's checkout.
Before payment, check:
- the selected billing term and total charged today;
- the renewal price and renewal date;
- tax, domain registration and domain renewal;
- email pricing after the free first year;
- whether auto-renewal is enabled;
- any preselected backup, privacy, support, VPS license or AI add-on.
Hostinger lists server locations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with availability depending on the plan. Pick an available location that suits the site's visitors, then treat the 99.9% uptime statement as a contractual guarantee with its terms, not as observed uptime. Independent performance results are a separate question.
If you are comparing a builder, place its full cost beside Hostinger's full cost. Wix may suit someone who wants a managed builder environment, while Hostinger supports WordPress, AI Builder and custom site control.
For another host beside the same checklist, compare Hostinger's plans with SiteGround's pricing, renewals, and fit.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Hostinger for one year?
Hostinger sells these plans on 48-month terms rather than a one-year public price. Premium is $95.52 upfront for 48 months, with a displayed effective rate of $1.99 per month and a renewal rate of $10.99 per month. The upfront amount is not a one-year payment. Prices checked November 10, 2026.
Why is Hostinger so cheap?
The displayed monthly figures divide a large upfront payment across a long introductory term. Hostinger also labels the prices as promotional, while renewal rates are higher. Compare the total paid today with the later renewal charge.
What is the main disadvantage of Hostinger?
The main tradeoffs are the upfront multi-year payment, higher renewal rates, fixed resource limits and exclusions from some free services. “Unlimited” website hosting still has storage, inode, CPU, RAM, PHP-worker, database and bandwidth-related limits.
What is cheaper than Hostinger?
Whether another host is cheaper depends on the term, the renewal price and the extras. Compare upfront cost, renewal cost, domain and email charges, resource limits and refund terms instead of comparing advertised monthly figures alone.
Is Hostinger actually good?
Hostinger lists features such as SSL, backups, CDN access, AI tools, migration and 24/7 support. Whether it fits depends on your site's resource needs, renewal budget, support expectations and willingness to pay upfront for a long term. Its marketing claims and uptime guarantee are not independent performance measurements.
Is Wix better than Hostinger?
Neither is automatically better. Wix fits a buyer who wants a managed website-builder platform, while Hostinger fits someone who wants hosting with WordPress, files, databases and more control over the site setup. Compare the plan required for the same site, including renewal price and platform limits.
What is the least expensive way to have a website?
Among Hostinger's web-hosting plans, Premium has the lowest introductory effective rate at $1.99 per month when paid upfront for 48 months, checked November 10, 2026. You still need to account for domain renewal after any included first year, email renewal, taxes and other extras.
Does Hostinger include a free domain and email?
Eligible plans include a domain free for one year, and the listed email allowances are also free for one year. Domain and email charges can apply later, so check both renewal prices before the free period ends.
Can you cancel Hostinger before renewal?
Yes. Disable auto-renewal through Dashboard, Billing, Subscriptions and the subscription management controls. The service remains active until its expiration date unless you use an eligible refund process, which Hostinger says terminates the service and erases associated data immediately.
Does Hostinger's free migration move email too?
No. The free assisted migration covers website files and databases for eligible Web, Cloud and Agency plans. It excludes email migration, cron jobs, DNS records, custom SSL configuration and FTP accounts.
Glossary
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