I Tested Hostinger in 2024: Here’s My Review Explaining Everything

If you’re short on time, get a summarized review of Hostinger’s key benefits and drawbacks below:

Hostinger makes the building process quick and simple. In fact, it’s the second easiest website builder we’ve tested, sitting just behind Squarespace.

First, I was asked what tool I wanted to build with: WordPress or Hostinger’s website builder. For this review, I’ll focus on Hostinger’s website builder – this is the easier option overall and what we recommend using generally.

After inputting a domain name, or selecting to use a temporary one for the time being, I was then presented with another choice:

• Use Hostinger’s AI website builder
• Choose a pre-made template

I picked the AI builder. The final part of the onboarding process asked for my brand name, website type (such as online store or portfolio), and a brief description of my project or brand. Hostinger also suggests you include your desired fonts and color palette in this form – all of this is to help the AI builder create something personalized to your needs.

While this sounds pretty simple, I appreciated the prompt examples provided by Hostinger to help get the ball rolling.

The AI website builder took about a minute to create my site and apply the finishing touches. I wanted to build a website for my pet supply store and the resulting look was pretty basic, though it included key elements like a shop and newsletter sign-up form.

That said, the AI image generation was pretty horrifying – my pet supply store seemed to cater to mutant animals instead of cuddly pets. Thankfully, I could easily swap out these AI-generated images and content in the editor.

After previewing the website made for me, I proceeded to the editor to start designing and tweaking. The handy setup checklist in the sidebar was brilliantly helpful – the nine-step journey guided me through the process, covering things like editing headers and updating social media icons.

Hostinger is so easy to use and that’s largely because of its beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor. I had no trouble adding new sections or moving parts around. Plus, the smart grid really helped when aligning elements, letting me snap boxes together neatly – and I loved that I could move outside of the grid if I wanted to.

Hostinger’s drag-and-drop editor has a similar appearance to Squarespace because of this, but with the added freedom of Wix, giving you the best of both worlds.

Hostinger is one of the cheapest website builders, costing far less than other leading platforms, such as Wix. This makes it an ideal option for anyone on a budget or looking to save costs when choosing a website builder.

There are two plans to choose from:

You’ll get these prices whether you choose a 12, 24, or 48-month plan. If you choose to pay month-by-month, it costs $11.99 per month, so an annual subscription works out much cheaper. Hostinger’s pricing will also rise when it’s time to renew – for example, the $2.99 per month cost will renew at $9.99 per month once your 12-month contract expires.

The good news is that if you choose a 48-month term, Hostinger often throws in a month or two for free. For example, in the image below you can see that at checkout I was offered two months for free when I selected the 48-month subscription.

Unfortunately, Hostinger doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can use the 30-day free trial to test Hostinger’s AI website builder out for yourself. No card details necessary.

We recommend choosing the cheaper Premium plan to unlock the core features, including Hostinger’s AI website builder. This will be more than suitable for simple websites, personal projects, or portfolio websites.

If you want to sell online and get access to Hostinger’s full suite of AI tools (which we’ll discuss in more detail later), you’ll need the Business Website Builder plan.

If you choose to build a website using one of Hostinger’s pre-made templates, there are 150 to pick from. These designer-made templates cater to a diverse range of businesses and website types, such as “Travel,” “Community,” and “Fashion”.

I was impressed by the quality of Hostinger’s templates when I first browsed the library – in fact, the templates are on par with Squarespace in our design tests. I particularly liked the “Kristine” template for beauty websites since services, contact forms, and testimonials are already built-in.

Select templates also feature a “Personalize with AI” tag in the library, meaning you can use Hostinger’s AI tools to tailor the template specifically for your needs.

Unfortunately, Hostinger doesn’t have a mobile app, meaning you’ll have to use your mobile’s internet browser to edit or manage your website on the go.

Hostinger has prioritized the growth and development of its AI tools over core website functionality. While this could be viewed negatively by some, it does mean that Hostinger has nurtured a suite of AI-powered features to help website owners quickly generate content and manage their sites.

We’ve already discussed Hostinger’s AI website builder in detail, but, if you’re subscribed to the Business Website Builder plan, you’ll also unlock:

• AI-Powered Product Information Generator – Hostinger announced this new feature in July 2024, using AI to analyze and generate relevant product information (such as a description) based on the uploaded image
• AI Image Generator – for additional credits, you can input a brief description and choose an image style, such as “comic book” or “low poly”, to have AI generate images for your site. However, do note that the finished results can vary, with some images looking better than others. As AI tech progresses, expect to see improvements in this area further down the line.
• AI Page Generator – generate a page based on your description (users are currently testing this feature)
• AI Writer – give AI a description of the copy you want it to create, but be careful of overusing the tool since there’s a daily usage limit
• AI Blog Generator – create blog posts by sharing a prompt, choosing a tone of voice (such as “Formal”), and setting a length between 300 and 2,000 words
• AI Heatmaps – use this to predict user behavior and see where on your site draws the most attention from visitors
• AI Logo Maker – if you have the credits to spend, create a logo for your business using AI
• AI SEO Tools – Hostinger’s AI SEO Assistant helps to optimize your pages for search engines based on your descriptions and keywords

As you can see, Hostinger boasts a lot of AI features! However, some tools come with parameters, like the AI Blog Generator. This puts a limit on what Hostinger can create for you, but they can still be useful tools to generate content for your site quickly.

Of course, we recommend reviewing and editing anything created by AI, particularly copy, before pushing it live.

How Do Hostinger’s AI Tools Compare to Other Website Builders’?

Of course, Hostinger isn’t the only website builder offering AI tools. Key competitors, like Wix and Shopify, also have numerous AI features you can try out. But how do they match up?

• Wix

Like Hostinger, Wix has a substantial number of AI tools, including its AI website builder, AI image creator, and AI text creator.

It also has a few features that Hostinger doesn’t offer, like an AI portfolio creator that uses your bulk media to generate a professional portfolio on your website.

• Shopify

Though Hostinger’s AI features are some of the best on the market, we recommend Shopify instead if selling online is your priority. The dedicated ecommerce platform has AI tools that are most suitable for online stores and are available on all plans.

For instance, Shopify Magic, its own AI suite, comes with an automatic text generation tool if you need to quickly create product descriptions, as well as a seamless AI integration with its media editor that automatically adjusts product imagery.

• Squarespace

Squarespace doesn’t quite match up with Hostinger with its AI tools, but it does have a few features to take note of. Most notably Squarespace Blueprint AI, which can generate a base website design for you, and a copywriting tool you can use to create or clean up your website’s text.

• GoDaddy

In early 2024, GoDaddy released its own AI suite, GoDaddy Airo. Going beyond pure content creation, GoDaddy’s suite is better equipped at helping businesses grow online. For instance, it can help you create email marketing campaigns, ads for your social media platforms, and customer responses.

However, if you’re more interested in generating website content than creating additional marketing material, we still suggest sticking with Hostinger’s AI tools overall.

When it comes to website features, Hostinger performed poorly in our testing. What’s on offer is incredibly lightweight in comparison to the feature-rich plans available with Wix, for example.

Hostinger’s all-in-one solution includes hosting with your plan, like most website builders. This brings a range of perks, such as unlimited bandwidth and free SSL certificates. Additionally, the platform has high 99.9% uptime rates, so your website has a better chance of staying live for longer.

In addition to this, you can expect basic website features, such as:

• A free custom domain name for the first year (if you choose an annual subscription or longer)
• Up to 100 email addresses and each account comes with 1GB of storage space
• Marketing tools via third-party integrations, such as WhatsApp for communications and Google Analytics for website insights
• Mobile optimization – Hostinger builds mobile-friendly sites from the get-go, automatically adjusting your content for different screen sizes
• SEO – Hostinger automatically generates sitemaps, and you can use AI to assist with optimizing your site
• Weekly backups – on both plans, Hostinger will back up your website’s files weekly, keeping them protected. For daily backups, you need to be on the Premium plan.

These are pretty standard features, available on all leading website builders. The real downside of Hostinger is that there’s no app market. This means you can’t add extra functionality or tools to your site, so what you pay for with your plan is what you get.

Ecommerce functionality is only available on Hostinger’s new Business Website Builder plan (from $3.99 per month). This makes Hostinger a considerably cheaper option for selling online than other website builders, like Wix or Shopify (which both cost $29+ per month for ecommerce). However, you’ll miss out on the dedicated sales features you get with the higher price tag, such as abandoned cart recovery.

With Hostinger, you can expect basic ecommerce features, such as:

• Sell up to 500 products – in comparison, Shopify and Squarespace allow unlimited products
• Manage orders and inventory through your Hostinger dashboard
• Set up shipping options such as zones and methods
• Accept appointments and bookings and manage your availability in your Hostinger dashboard
• 20+ payment methods, such as Stripe and Apple Pay
• Customizable checkout options including checkout language and adding custom fields

One of Hostinger’s standout features for online stores is the fact that there are no transaction fees. With Squarespace, for example, you’ll need to sign up for the $28 per month Commerce Basic plan to remove transaction fees entirely.

While Hostinger’s ecommerce plan is incredibly affordable, its basic sales features and limited scalability won’t make it a viable option for any growing business. I recommend a dedicated ecommerce website builder, like Shopify, for a long-term solution that offers powerful tools, third-party apps, and a robust product backend.

One of the most important elements of building and maintaining a website is security. You want to keep your website safe from harmful attacks online, but you also want to protect the data of your visitors and customers, too. Having a secure website helps build brand trust.

Thankfully, since Hostinger is also a hosting provider, security is front of mind. Every website comes with a free SSL certificate, automatic weekly backups, 24/7 server monitoring, advanced fraud detection for stores, and a Cloudflare DNS firewall to protect nameservers from attacks.

Hostinger’s help and support is pretty standard in the market. You can get support from Hostinger via the following channels:

• 24/7 live chat – when testing, I had a response within 10 seconds
• 24/7 email support
• Social media, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and YouTube
• Knowledge Base, featuring articles on everything from domains to SSL certificates
• Tutorials, including webinars and video guides
• Hostinger Academy, sharing videos on YouTube for quick tips and guidance

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to connect with Hostinger through a traditional phone call. There’s also no community forum for customers to come together and share grievances or solutions – this is a real shame when all other top website builders include this feature.

Hostinger takes the fifth spot in our list of the best website builders. It targets beginners and simple websites, simplifying the building process with its AI website builder and suite of AI tools. But is Hostinger the right fit for your website?

See how Hostinger compares to our top four website builders for 2024:

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Hostinger	Wix	Squarespace	Shopify	GoDaddy
Overall Rating 4.3	Overall Rating 4.8	Overall Rating 4.6	Overall Rating 4.4	Overall Rating 4.3
Starting from $11.99 $2.99 + up to 3 months free (on 48-month plan)	Starting from $17 $15.30 with code ‘TAKE10’	Starting from $16 $14.40 with code “WBE10”	Starting from $29 $1 for first month	Starting from $9.99
Free plan or free trial 30-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan	Free plan or free trial 14-day free trial	Free plan or free trial 3-day free trial	Free plan or free trial Free plan
Number of templates 150+	Number of templates 900+	Number of templates 150+	Number of templates 150+	Number of templates 200+

If you’re happy to pay more than Hostinger’s cheap plans, Wix is our top-rated website builder overall. With Wix, you can expect 900+ beautiful templates, impressive built-in features, and a free plan for new starters.

And, while Hostinger is very beginner-friendly, Squarespace is the easiest website builder we’ve tested – just at a slightly higher price point than Hostinger.

For an even steeper price, Shopify is the best ecommerce website builder on the market, offering unparalleled sales features to support growing businesses.

But, if you’re looking for the best value for money and a quick way to get online, GoDaddy is the most cost-effective and speedy option.

Take our four-question quiz to get a personalized recommendation to suit your website needs:

How do we know that Hostinger is great for AI enthusiasts? How can we fairly compare it to other website builders, like Wix or Shopify? We’ve carried out over 200 hours of data collection and analysis to create our 2024 rankings.

Our research process encompasses six core categories:

Website Features – 30%

• We look at the quality and quantity of website features available to users, such as SEO.

Design Functionality – 25%

• This category covers template options and aesthetic capabilities.

User Experience – 17%

• We test every builder we recommend to determine how easy it is to use.

Help and Support – 10%

• Reviewing a website builder’s support channels and responsiveness.

Value for Money – 10%

• We take a look at pricing plans, free trials/plans, and the features locked behind paywalls.

Customer Score – 8%

• This category examines how a website builder performs across the market and against its competitors.

Each category is given a unique weighting, relative to what’s more important for website owners. For example, features, design options, and ease of use are critical when building a website.

We then award a rating out of five for a builder’s performance in each category – when combined, this is their overall score. After testing 16 website builders in total, Hostinger has an overall score of 4.2 out of 5.

If you’re after a simple website builder that prioritizes the user experience and offers affordable plans, then Hostinger could be a good fit.

Overall, I found it easy to set up and design my website with Hostinger. Its drag-and-drop editor is straightforward to learn, and the design options are basic enough to manipulate without sacrificing aesthetics.

That said, Hostinger does have its drawbacks, namely its limited features, lack of scalability, and absence of an app store. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend it for growing online stores. But, for the budget-conscious and beginner builders, Hostinger is a great starting point.