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Hostinger at a glance
What we like
- Low intro prices on long terms
- LiteSpeed page caching and a CDN on every site we run
- Clean control panel plus an API for automation
- Unlimited plan covers unlimited websites
- Free domain for the first year
What could be better
- Intro price requires a 48-month prepay
- Renewal prices are 3 to 4 times the intro price
- Shared resources: uncached pages are slower than on a VPS
- No root access or custom server software
How we tested Hostinger
How we tested
We run a group of WordPress sites on a Hostinger Business-tier shared hosting plan, the tier that sat below Cloud hosting before Hostinger renamed its lineup. We manage them through hPanel and deploy updates through Hostinger’s API.
On October 31, 2026 we measured time to first byte (TTFB) for seven of those sites’ homepages with curl from our VPS in Boston: ten cached requests and five uncached requests (a unique query string that skips the page cache) per site. We report the medians. Spot checks from a home connection gave similar numbers. We did not load-test the shared server, because that would affect other customers.
Performance: what we measured
Every site we measured is served through Hostinger’s CDN (the server: hcdn response header) with LiteSpeed’s page cache in front of WordPress (x-litespeed-cache: hit).
| Measurement (7 sites, medians) | Result |
|---|---|
| Cached page TTFB | 0.363 to 0.398 s |
| Uncached page TTFB | 0.566 to 0.706 s |
| Extra time when the page cache is skipped | 0.20 to 0.31 s |
| Network share of cached TTFB (connect and TLS) | About 0.25 s |
Measured from a Hostinger VPS in Boston, October 31, 2026. Spot checks from a home connection gave similar results.
Most of the cached number is network distance, not the server. Connecting took about 0.12 s and the TLS handshake finished at about 0.25 s, because the CDN edge we reached was about 120 ms away. A visitor closer to that edge would see a faster first byte.
The useful number is the extra time when the cache is skipped, because it cancels out the network. Generating a page with PHP added 0.20 to 0.31 s on the shared plan. On our Hostinger VPS, a full uncached WordPress render took about 0.06 s. The sites are not identical, so treat this as a rough comparison, but it matches what you would expect: shared hosting is fine while the cache does the work, and slower for logged-in users, carts, search and other pages that cannot be cached.
What this means for you: for a blog, a brochure site or a content site, Hostinger’s cache hides most of the shared-server cost. For WooCommerce or a membership site where many pages are dynamic, consider a VPS or Hostinger’s Cloud plans.
Plans and prices
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Renews at | Websites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49/mo | 48 months | $10.99/mo | 3 websites | 20 GB SSD |
| Hostinger Unlimited | $3.49/mo | 48 months | $16.99/mo | Unlimited websites | 50 GB NVMe |
| Hostinger Cloud Startup | $7.99/mo | 48 months | $25.99/mo | Unlimited websites | 100 GB NVMe |
Official list prices checked Oct 30, 2026, before tax. Sources: www.hostinger.com.
Hostinger’s headline prices assume a 48-month term paid up front. Premium works out to $119.52 for four years, then renews at $10.99 a month. Unlimited is $167.52 for four years and renews at $16.99. Cloud Startup is $383.52 for four years and renews at $25.99.
The intro deal is still good value: four years of Premium costs about what eleven months at the renewal rate would. Just plan for the renewal. Our renewal cost calculator shows totals beyond the first term.
Which plan to choose
- Premium for up to three small sites. Note it uses 20 GB of SSD storage and weekly backups.
- Unlimited if you run more than three sites or want daily backups and NVMe storage. For most people building several sites, this is the plan to pick.
- Cloud Startup if you need dedicated resources but do not want to manage a server. At $25.99 a month on renewal, compare it with a VPS.
Ease of use
Hostinger’s panel, hPanel, groups everything by website: WordPress installs, caching, SSL, backups, DNS and email. Installing WordPress, adding a domain or forcing HTTPS takes a few clicks. For our own sites, the most useful feature is the API: we create sites, deploy files and check builds without opening the panel.
SSL certificates were issued automatically on every site we added, and the CDN was on by default. Cache purges happen from the panel or through the LiteSpeed Cache plugin in WordPress.
Limits of shared hosting
You share CPU and memory with other customers, and you cannot install your own server software. You also cannot tune PHP-FPM, MySQL or Redis the way you can on a VPS. If a site outgrows that, read shared hosting vs VPS for the signs.
Hostinger vs the alternatives
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Renews at | Websites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49/mo | 48 months | $10.99/mo | 3 websites | 20 GB SSD |
| Hostinger Unlimited | $3.49/mo | 48 months | $16.99/mo | Unlimited websites | 50 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99/mo | 36 months | $9.99/mo | 10 websites | 10 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Business | $6.99/mo | 36 months | $13.99/mo | 50 websites | 50 GB NVMe |
| DreamHost Web Hosting Launch | $2.89/mo | 12 months | See vendor | 25 websites | 25 GB NVMe |
Official list prices checked Oct 30, 2026, before tax. Sources: www.hostinger.com, www.bluehost.com, www.dreamhost.com.
Bluehost’s Starter plan renews lower than Hostinger Premium ($9.99 vs $10.99) and allows 10 websites, but its intro term is 36 months and it includes only 10 GB of storage. DreamHost’s Launch plan advertises a 12-month intro price; its renewal rate was not shown in our capture of the pricing page. We have not tested Bluehost or DreamHost ourselves; this comparison uses their published plans. See best WordPress hosting for more.
Check Hostinger's current pricesPrices change often; confirm the term and renewal price at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hostinger good for WordPress?
Yes, for most blogs and small business sites. Every site we run on it uses LiteSpeed page caching and Hostinger’s CDN, which keep cached pages fast. Dynamic pages are slower than on a VPS because the server is shared.
How much does Hostinger cost after the first term?
On October 31, 2026, Premium renewed at $10.99 a month, Unlimited at $16.99 and Cloud Startup at $25.99, compared with intro prices of $2.49, $3.49 and $7.99 on 48-month terms.
How many websites can I host on Hostinger?
Premium allows 3 websites. Unlimited and Cloud Startup allow unlimited websites, within the plan’s storage and resource limits.
Is Hostinger shared hosting fast?
Cached pages are fast; in our test most of the first-byte time was network distance. Uncached pages took 0.20 to 0.31 seconds longer to generate, which is typical for shared hosting.
Sources
We run our own WordPress sites on shared hosting and on a VPS, and use AI coding tools every day. We publish what we measured, list every price with the date we checked it and label anything we have not tested ourselves. About us · Editorial policy