Updated

Overview & Verdict

IONOS is a well-established web hosting company founded in 1988 in Montabaur, Germany. It offers a wide range of hosting services for individuals, businesses, and eCommerce stores. Recently, the company has focused on enhancing performance, reliability, and cloud hosting solutions.

IONOS is a popular choice for users seeking reliable and high-performance shared hosting services. With a range of flexible plans tailored to various needs, their top-tier option includes features such as unlimited websites, unmetered bandwidth, and a free domain for the first year. These benefits, along with a commitment to providing robust performance and security, make IONOS an excellent solution for users looking to grow their online presence with minimal technical hassle.

Pros

  • Plenty of customer support options
  • Good value at a competitive price range
  • Cloudflare CDN access

Cons

  • cPanel not included
  • Backend is full of upsells
  • No free migrations
  • High renewal prices

Quick Info

Personal consultant Yes
1-click installationsYes
99.9% uptime Yes

 

Select Services & Pricing

Shared Hosting$1/month
VPS Hosting$2/month
Managed WordPress Hosting$1/month
Website Builder$1/month

 

IONOS’ General Performance

3.8/5

Performance is not the strongest suit of IONOS. Although speeds are high, they are still behind the industry average regarding server response time, a crucial metric for web server performance

Overall, with IONOS, users can expect a smooth and seamless experience with minimal downtime. They use top-of-the-line hardware and employ various optimizations, such as server-level caching, to ensure rapid website loading times.

While their performance and reliability are generally commendable, users should be aware of specific limitations related to server response times, which could impact the experience, particularly for resource-intensive applications or high-traffic sites.

IONOS performance screen shot

Scoring

We’ve covered all the popular issues and made very easy to follow instructions so you can get started easily and make all the right choices!

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IONOS’ Uptime Report

3.2/5

IONOS guarantees a 99.9% uptime for its users, ensuring that their websites will always be accessible to visitors.

This level of reliability is essential for any website, and IONOS’s commitment to providing stable and dependable uptime is one of the reasons why it is a popular choice among users.

IONOS uptime

IONOS’ Support Quality

3.3/5

IONOS offers 24/7 support through multiple channels, including live chat and phone. Their support team is knowledgeable, friendly, and professional when it comes to resolving issues and answering questions.

But there are times when live chat appears to be busy or offline, and although their phone support is great, it’s offered only in select countries. The 24/7 assistance is also great, but for live chat support only.

Live Chat0m 34s
Phone0m 44s
Email21m

IONOS’ Ease of Use

3.6/5

IONOS provides a user-friendly control panel that makes it easy to manage your website and hosting account, but it’s not based on cPanel. 

The control panel offers plenty of options and integrations in the backend, making it easy to install software and start your online journey. Although it’s not based on the popular cPanel, the control panel is intuitive, and all the options you need are easily accessible.

IONOS’ Pricing

4.1/5

Pricing is a crucial factor to consider when choosing your next web hosting provider. IONOS offers competitive pricing options, starting at just $1/mo USD for its Plus plan in shared hosting and managed WordPress.

However, it’s important to note that the pricing ramps up to $10/mo USD after the six-month promotional period, which is a substantial increase over the starting price. The Start plan is priced at $5/mo for the initial billing cycle and is suitable for a single website or project.

While IONOS’s starting price may be attractive, the high renewal prices are worth considering. These higher costs upon renewal will make many users explore alternative options that come with more features at similar or even lower prices. It’s important to weigh the long-term affordability and value of IONOS’s hosting plans.

These are the shared hosting plans IONOS offers to its customers: 

  • Essential: Priced at $4/month, this plan is suitable for 1 website and includes 10 GB of redundant storage, 10 databases, and initial CPU & MEM resources. It also comes with a free domain for 1 year, a free Wildcard SSL certificate, professional email, unmetered bandwidth, 1-click installs, daily backups, and 24/7 support.
  • Starter: At $6/month, this plan is ideal for users with up to 10 websites. It includes 100 GB of redundant storage, 50 databases, and basic CPU & MEM resources. Like the Essential plan, it offers a free domain for 1 year, free Wildcard SSL certificate, professional email, unmetered bandwidth, 1-click installs, daily backups, and 24/7 support.
  • Plus: Starting at $1/month, the Plus plan supports unlimited websites and databases, unlimited redundant storage, and enhanced CPU & MEM resources. It also includes the same benefits as the previous plans, such as a free domain for 1 year, free Wildcard SSL certificate, professional email, unmetered bandwidth, 1-click installs, daily backups, and 24/7 support.
  • Ultimate: Priced at $10/month, the Ultimate plan offers maximum CPU & MEM resources, unlimited websites, redundant storage, and databases. It also includes all the features of the Plus plan, such as a free domain for 1 year, free Wildcard SSL certificate, professional email, unmetered bandwidth, 1-click installs, daily backups, and free 24/7 support.

One thing to note is that IONOS offers limited payment options in USD, British Pounds, or Euros, depending on your region.

Our Verdict

3.6/5

Despite its upselling techniques in specific hosting plans, IONOS is still a very popular web hosting provider, with lots of options for managed WordPress, eCommerce, email hosting, cloud hosting, and VPS options.

If you’re looking for a solid combination of reliability and ease of use, IONOS is a great choice. Support and performance might be the weakest points, but overall, IONOS is a popular choice among users looking to create and manage a successful online presence.

Join IONOS now!

If reliability and rock rock-solid servers are your most wanted features, you should consider IONOS as your next web hosting provider. The website builder and the plethora of hosting plans sweeten the deal.

Starting from $1/mo USD

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