Shared Hosting

IONOS

Europe's largest host with 99.99% uptime, free Wildcard SSL, and $2/mo VPS entry

Founded 1988GermanyUnited Internet AG

Overall Rating

4.0

Trustpilot: 4.7/5 (37,965 reviews)

Starting Price

$1.00/month

Renews at $12.00/mo

30-day money-back guarantee

Free SSL
Free Domain
Free Migration
24/7 Support

Pricing Plans

Compare IONOS's hosting plans

Most Popular

Shared Hosting

$1.00/mo

Renews at $12.00/mo

  • 10 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • 1-Click WordPress Install
  • 24/7 Live Chat Support

VPS Hosting

$2.00/mo

Renews at $6.00/mo

  • 10 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • Full SSH Access
  • 24/7 Live Chat Support

Cloud Hosting

$5.00/mo
  • 10 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • Full SSH Access
  • 24/7 Live Chat Support

Dedicated Server

$70.00/mo
  • 10 GB SSD Storage
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • Full SSH Access
  • 24/7 Live Chat Support

All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee

Pros & Cons

What We Like

  • European businesses (largest EU host)
  • Users wanting 24/7 phone support
  • Short 12-month contracts (vs 36-48 month competitors)
  • Free Wildcard SSL included
  • VPS users ($2/mo entry)
  • Users preferring established BBB A+ company

What Could Be Better

  • Need cPanel
  • Developers needing Node.js/Python
  • Adult or gambling content
  • Prefer transparent renewal pricing
  • Dislike proprietary control panels
  • Need caching/LiteSpeed performance

Rating Breakdown

Value for Money
4.0
Performance
4.5
Support Quality
4.5
Security
4.5
Features
3.0
Ease of Use
3.5
Transparency
3.0

Overall Rating

Weighted average of all categories

4.0/5

Technical Specifications

Complete feature breakdown across all 152 data points

Storage & Resources

Storage
10 GB SSD
Storage Type
SSD
Bandwidth
Unmetered
Websites
1
Databases
Not specified
PHP Versions
8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4

Performance

Uptime Guarantee
99.99%
Uptime SLA Credit
CDN Included
CDN Provider
IONOS CDN

Server Locations

Location Count
9 locations
Choose Location
Locations
Frankfurt (Germany), Berlin (Germany), Paris (France)

Security

Free SSL
Wildcard SSL
Dedicated IP
DDoS Protection
DDoS Level
Advanced (SIEM, IDS/IPS)
2FA

Backups & Malware

Malware Scanning
Malware Removal
Firewall
Backup Frequency
Daily
Backup Retention
6 days
On-Demand Backup
Restore Fee
Free

Developer Tools

SSH Access
Git Deployment
Staging
Cron Jobs
WP-CLI

Language Support

Node.js
Python
Ruby

WordPress

WP Optimized
Auto Install
Auto Updates
WP Staging
WooCommerce
LiteSpeed Cache
Object Caching

Support

Live Chat
Chat Hours
24/7
Phone Support
Phone Hours
24/7
Ticket Support
Priority Support
KB Quality
4/5
Channels
Phone, Live Chat, Email (Personal Consultant), Knowledge Base
Languages
English, German, Spanish, French, Italian

Email

Email Included
Account Limit
1
Mailbox Size
2 GB
Webmail
Spam Filter
Forwarding

Pricing Details

Monthly Price
$1/mo
Renewal Price
$12/mo
Renewal Markup
1100%
1st Year Cost
$12
2nd Year Cost
$144
Setup Fee
None
Money Back
30 days

Free Inclusions

Free SSL
Free Domain
Free Migration
Free CDN

Migration

Free Migration
Quality
4/5

Control Panel

cPanel
Panel Name
IONOS Control Panel
Softaculous
Site Builder
Builder Name
IONOS MyWebsite

Compliance

GDPR
PCI
HIPAA
Certifications
ISO 27001

CMS Platforms

Drupal
Joomla
Magento
Laravel
Django
Next.js
Rails
Static Sites

Content Policies

Adult Content
Gambling
Bandwidth Overage
Unlimited bandwidth; no throttling or overage charges
Storage Overage
Must upgrade plan; file limits apply per contract

Business Features

API Access
Reseller Hosting
White Label

Best For (Score)

Beginners
3/5
Bloggers
3/5
Developers
2/5
eCommerce
4/5
Agencies
3/5
Enterprise
4/5

Company Info

Founded
1988
Headquarters
Germany
Parent Company
United Internet AG
Trustpilot
4.7/5 (37,965 reviews)

Our Ratings

Overall
4/5
Value
4/5
Performance
4.5/5
Support
4.5/5
Security
4.5/5
Features
3/5
Ease of Use
3.5/5
Transparency
3/5

Managed WordPress

Available

Regional Info

Best Countries
Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, United States, Canada, Mexico, Austria
Currencies
USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, MXN
Support Languages
English, German, Spanish, French, Italian
Data Sovereignty
GDPR, ISO 27001

External Ratings

Trustpilot
4.7/5
Reviews Count
37,965
G2 Rating
3.8/5
BBB Rating
A+

Advanced Technical

PHP Switching

Access & Limits

SSH Tier
All hosting plans

Additional Pricing

Domain Duration
12 months
Exclusions
Setup fees non-refundable; Additional domains non-refundable; Items paid in advance non-refundable; Package switchers not eligible; TOS violators not eligible
Payment Methods
Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Direct Debit
Auto Renewal
SSL Provider
DigiCert Wildcard SSL

Support Details

Phone Countries
United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom
Community Forum
Object Cache Type
IONOS Caching Plugin

Affiliate Program

Affiliate Available
Commission Type
Percentage
Commission Amount
Commission varies by product; 8 international markets available; free to join

Additional Policies

Suspension Policy
TOS violations lead to suspension; unpaid balances referred to collection (no credit impact)
Downloadable Backups

Additional Platforms

PrestaShop
Ghost
Shopify Migration
Wix Migration
Squarespace Migration
Webflow Export

Editorial Notes

Best For
European businesses (largest EU host); Users wanting 24/7 phone support; Short 12-month contracts (vs 36-48 month competitors); Free Wildcard SSL included; VPS users ($2/mo entry); Users preferring established BBB A+ company; Geo-redundant infrastructure needs
Avoid If
Need cPanel; Developers needing Node.js/Python; Adult or gambling content; Prefer transparent renewal pricing; Dislike proprietary control panels; Need caching/LiteSpeed performance
Known Issues
2026 price adjustment announced (increases); No cPanel (proprietary panel only); PHP CLI version differs from hosting environment via SSH; Difficult cancellation process reported; Auto-renewal complaints; Control panel feels outdated; No Node.js/Python on shared hosting; Limited developer flexibility compared to cPanel hosts
USP
Europe's largest host with 99.99% uptime, free Wildcard SSL, and $2/mo VPS entry
Ideal Customer
European business needing 24/7 phone support, compliance certifications, and geo-redundancy

Competition

Competitors
GoDaddy, OVH, Hetzner
Best Alternative To
GoDaddy

We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about IONOS

IONOS is excellent for European businesses needing 24/7 phone support and compliance certifications, but has limited developer features.
IONOS is owned by United Internet AG, a publicly traded German company. IONOS itself went public in February 2023.
IONOS shared hosting starts at $1/month (promo) and renews at $12/month. First year costs approximately $12.
Moderately. IONOS has 24/7 phone support but uses a proprietary control panel that may feel dated compared to cPanel.
Yes, IONOS includes 1 email account with 2GB storage on the basic plan.
Yes, IONOS offers WordPress hosting with auto-install, auto-updates, and WooCommerce optimization.
IONOS guarantees 99.99% uptime, one of the highest in the industry, with SLA credits.
Yes, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Some users report difficult cancellation processes.