Hostinger vs 1&1 IONOS – Which is Better Value for Money in 2020?

Good, fast, cheap. In the business world, they say you can only pick two. And in this battle of Hostinger vs 1&1 IONOS, only one of these website hosts lets you pick two.

The other lets you have all three. Yes, really!

Hostinger tops our list of the best web hosting services, thanks to its low cost, excellent performance, and included security features. So of course Hostinger is my choice in this fight between two bargain website hosts. Read on to see why 1&1 IONOS just can’t keep up.

In this expert review, I’ve put 1&1 IONOS vs Hostinger in five head-to-head rounds, looking at:

Performance and Reliability

1&1 IONOS’ Downtime Is Double Hostinger’s

Hostinger uses SSD drives on its servers – which instantly boost speeds. It also has a cache manager that improves page loading speeds when handling static content and full support for a Cloudflare CDN (content delivery network). A CDN improves page loading speeds by storing a copy of your website on servers around the world. So when someone visits your website, your website pages are loaded using the server that is closest to them.

1&1 IONOS also uses SDD drives, but there’s no built-in cache manager, and a CDN is only available on the (most expensive) Expert plan.

1&1 IONOS has different performance levels that affect the speed of your website depending on your hosting plan – but that’s not even an option with 1&1 IONOS’ basic plan. The Business plan starts at performance level 1, for up to 2.5 GB RAM, while the Expert plan’s performance level 3 gives you up to 9 GB RAM. You are able to upgrade to level 5 at any time, for an additional cost, which gives you up to 19 GB RAM.

Hostinger also has different levels of processing power – but these are 1x, 2x, and 4x, depending on the plan. However, Hostinger’s RAM allocations are much smaller than 1&1 IONOS’. The basic level (1) offers 256MB RAM, with 2x equating to 512MB and so on.

Then there’s the server response time. In tests, Hostinger’s server response time is almost twice as fast as 1&1 IONOS, as the graphs below demonstrate.

Over eight months, Hostinger’s server response time averaged 359 ms, compared to 1&1 IONOS’ server response time average of 525 ms. Hostinger’s servers are around 68% faster than 1&1 IONOS.

Another good way to measure a host’s performance is its uptime. Hostinger’s uptime scores leave 1&1 IONOS behind. Hostinger’s average uptime was 99.95% during an eight-month span – well within its 99.9% uptime guarantee. 1&1 IONOS, however, had an average uptime for that period of 99.90%.

While only a 0.05 percentage difference, over the course of a month, this equates to a big difference in downtime. For Hostinger, it’s an average of 22 minutes, while 1&1 IONOS’ servers are down for an average of 43 minutes.

When I tested both 1&1 IONOS and Hostinger, I noticed a distinct difference in page loading times. While 1&1 IONOS doesn’t allow you to choose your own data center, Hostinger does, meaning you can choose the data center closest to your target audience for improved speeds.

And the winner is: Hostinger. Better server response times and a better uptime record make Hostinger the obvious choice if the performance of your website is important to you. 1&1 IONOS’ performance isn’t terrible, however, so if performance isn’t a deal-breaker for you, it may still be the right web host for you.

Pricing

Hostinger’s Prices Are Low – But 1&1 IONOS Doesn’t Make You Pay for a Long Contract

Hostinger’s prices for a single website are hard to beat – but the advertised prices require you pay upfront for two years. While this is a common tactic among web hosting companies, 1&1 IONOS offers contract-free hosting plans that run month to month with no massive up-front costs.

You can pay monthly with Hostinger, too, but it will cost you up to 8x more overall than paying upfront for two years. Consider investing for longer and you’ll get better value for money.

Sure, 1&1 IONOS’ offers you some great features like a free domain name for one year and a free wildcard SSL certificate, but that doesn’t make it the outright winner. Hostinger also offers value-added features that 1&1 IONOS doesn’t provide. For example, Hostinger includes its own free website builder with its web hosting, whereas you’ll have to pay extra for one with 1&1 IONOS.

Both Hostinger and 1&1 IONOS have a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, 1&1 IONOS’ cancellation process is not easy. To cancel with 1&1 IONOS, you must submit a written cancellation request at least three working days before your renewal date. Your cancellation will not go into effect until it has been confirmed in writing. In some cases, users have waited months for cancellation requests to be confirmed.

And the winner is: 1&1 IONOS. With the inclusion of a free domain name, wildcard SSL, and contract-free pricing, 1&1 IONOS has a slight edge over Hostinger in this round. However, if you already have your own domain name – or you want to use a website builder with your web hosting – then Hostinger is still a good choice.

Security

Hostinger Gives You Added Security – 1&1 IONOS Charges for It

Having protection against malware, hacking attempts, and other kinds of vulnerabilities is a must when you have a website.

Hostinger’s shared hosting packages use BitNinja security, which gives your website protection against DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks and also protects you from:

• Malware
• Hacking attempts
• Botnets
• Brute force attacks
• Script injection

Hostinger is also equipped with support for the latest PHP versions and allows you to change your PHP version easily. You can see the PHP configuration options on the ‘Advanced’ tab (below). New accounts are automatically set up on PHP 7.2 but also support PHP 7.3 for better levels of security.

With 1&1 IONOS, security features are provided by SiteLock – but you only get malware protection on the Expert plan and above. The lack of built-in security means that to fully protect your web hosting space, you need to purchase an add-on like SiteLock Premium – which you can try free for 30 days but will then incur an additional monthly fee.

1&1 IONOS offers server-level DDoS protection and also supports PHP 7.2 and 7.3. However, if you want to change your PHP version, you will have to contact customer support, as 1&1 IONOS only allows you to change the PHP version yourself on domain names that aren’t connected to a website.

And the winner is: Hostinger. With BitNinja security automatically enabled on all plans, Hostinger doesn’t expect you to pay extra to keep your website safe and secure. It also gives you full control over the PHP version of your website.

Features

Hostinger Offers More Tools to Simplify Website Hosting

Below, I’ve set up a table that directly compares Hostinger vs 1&1 IONOS on the most common web hosting features.

Support

Hostinger Offers Live Chat Support, While 1&1 IONOS Uses Phone Support

Both Hostinger and 1&1 IONOS have 24/7 customer support, but you’ll have very different experiences with each of them.

Since 1&1 merged with IONOS, the company has been offering a “personal consultant” service, which is designed to ensure you get personalized one-on-one customer support when you need it. In my experience, despite this, the customer support is still the same, and there’s still no live chat support option.

You’re only able to get support via phone with 1&1 IONOS – either by calling directly or requesting a callback. There isn’t even an option to submit a support ticket.

By contrast, Hostinger provides support only via live chat. There’s no phone or ticket support, but you do get really fast responses when you start a live chat, and issues are resolved quickly. It’s also possible to purchase priority support as an add-on, and if you need support in a different language, they’ll do their best to accommodate you too.

Both 1&1 IONOS and Hostinger have excellent knowledge base articles, but Hostinger has the edge with a large range of tutorials that walk you through all kinds of technical issues, including WordPress, SSL, DNS (Domain Name Systems), and more.

And the winner is: It’s a tie. Who wins for customer service in this round largely depends on whether you prefer phone support or live chat!

Hostinger Is the Top Choice in Most Areas

Hostinger takes three out of the five rounds, making it our clear winner. Sure, it sounds like a close call, but 1&1 IONOS only took the prize on the pricing round. Low-cost 1&1 IONOS hosting, with its complicated control panel and added fees for security, will end up costing you a lot more in time and frustration. 

Our Recommendations

• If you’re running a business and need top-class performance and security, then Hostinger is most definitely for you. If you want to find out more about Hostinger, why not check out our Hostinger review?
• If storage space is vital for you – for example, if you’re putting a lot of large video files online – then 1&1 IONOS might work well. However, most users won’t need that much space and you’ll be better off with Hostinger’s simple cPanel, free migrations, and included website builder. For a more in-depth exploration, head over to our expert 1&1 IONOS review.