Ionon (1&1) Web Hosting Review 2023
4.8
Ranked 13 From 3855 Webhosting
| Web Hosting | $1.88 – $4.98 |
| VPS Hosting | $9.88 – $17.88 |
| Dedicated Server | $48.88 – $299 |
| WordPress Hosting | $4.88 – $13.88 |
| Reseller Hosting | $19.88 – $58.88 |
Great Britain ✓
$1.98 / mo.
Reg. Price $1.98 – Get 50% Off!
- FREE Domain and Migration
- Decent Load Time
- Fully-Loaded Value Plan
- Unlimited storage
Ionos Web Hosting excellent enterprise-class cloud hosting
IONOS is a popular web hosting and cloud services solutions partner specializing in serving small and medium-sized businesses. The company, originally named 1&1, was established in 1988 in Europe and launched its U.S. presence in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, in 2003. In 2020, the company changed its name to IONOS.
Here are a few facts about IONOS: Ranks number one on Forbes’ list of best web hosting services; named the best web hosting solution for startups
Operates 15 facilities in nine countries, including ten geo-redundant ISO 27001 certified data centers that deliver 99.9% website uptime
Custom support is available 24/7/365 via phone, email and chat
- Every hosting plan is backed with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- The IONOS Hosting Manager mobile app lets you manage your account from anywhere
- In addition to shared hosting services, IONOS also offers VPS, dedicated, cloud and enterprise hosting
- The company offers a wide variety of domain, hosting and cloud computing solutions
- IONOS also ranks number one on Forbes’ list of best e-commerce hosting providers
IONOS Shared Website Hosting
IONOS offers three levels of shared hosting plans, each designed for various levels of resource requirements. You can use the IONOS builder to create your custom website in a matter of minutes, even if you don’t have any technical or coding skills. IONOS supports popular web hosting applications, including TYPO3, Drupal, PrestaShop and Joomla. You can also build and host a website with WordPress via IONOS. In fact, IONOS is ranked best overall provider on Forbes’ list of best WordPress hosting services. IONOS offers both self-managed and managed WordPress hosting plans. Self-managed hosting plans are ideal for those with technical backgrounds and who want more customization and greater control over their sites. Managed plans are perfect for less tech-savvy users who need a user-friendly setup and prefer to have routine updates managed for them.Shared hosting is one of the most popular forms of web hosting, due in no small part to its low cost. With shared hosting, your website splits system resources (and the associated cost) with the many other sites that have also been set up on that same server. Shared hosting isn’t very powerful, but it’s cheap web hosting. Sometimes that’s all you need. Ionos offers a standard monthly web hosting charge, but reduces the price if you’re willing to sign up for multi-month or annual packages. Ionos lets you choose a one-month plan with any package tier. This pricing method may not have much (if any) impact on large businesses, but a cash-strapped blogger will appreciate Ionos’ one-month basic web hosting option. The shared web hosting servers use the Linux operating system.The entry-level Essential package (starting at $4 per month) includes a free domain name if you purchase a six-month plan. If you instead opt to renew on a monthly basis, Essential costs $6 per month. The Essential package lets you host a single website, and offers 10GB of storage, just one email account, 10 databases, and unlimited monthly data transfers. The highest shared hosting tier is Ultimate, which offers unlimited websites, unlimited storage, and a single email account, making it a more robust and flexible option. Unlimited costs $10 per month for a 6-month plan, and renews at $16 per month. These are good plans for, say, a mom-and-pop shop that just wants to list its inventory. The miserly email account offerings are particularly limiting for larger ventures; Ionos’ shared hosting plans give you only email account. HostGator, our Editors’ Choice for shared hosting, offers superior shared web hosting packages for a wider user range. Not only does HostGator offer a choice of Linux or Windows servers, but it has unlimited storage, email, and monthly data transfers at each shared hosting tier. That’s impressive.
Storage | Bandwidth | Free SSL | Number of Sites | Price |
| |
10 GB | Unlimited | + | 1 | $4.00 | ||
100 GB | Unlimited | + | 10 | $6.00 | ||
Unlimited | Unlimited | + | Unlimited | $1.00 | ||
Unlimited | Unlimited | + | Unlimited | $10.00 | ||
10 GB | Unlimited | + | 1 | $4.00 | ||
100 GB | Unlimited | + | 10 | $6.00 | ||
Unlimited | Unlimited | + | Unlimited | $1.00 | ||
Unlimited | Unlimited | + | Unlimited | $10.00 | ||
100 GB | Unlimited | + | 1 | $6.00 | ||
250 GB | Unlimited | + | 5 | $7.00 | ||
500 GB | Unlimited | + | 50 | $11.00 |
Ionos VPS Web Hosting
VPS hosting is a step up from shared hosting. It’s a more powerful hosting option that sees your site leverage more server power. VPS hosting isn’t quite cheap hosting, but it isn’t overly expensive, either. You’re less likely to notice slowdown because other sites that share the server get a big hit (something that often happens with shared hosting). Ionos’ cloud-powered VPS offerings (starting at a wallet-friendly $2 per month for 1GB of RAM, 10GB of SSD storage, and unlimited data transfers) give you the essential tools for building a website that can handle the rigors of the internet better than traditional shared web hosting. You can outfit the Linux- or Windows-based servers with up to 24GB of RAM and 640GB of storage using the company’s top-tier, $50-per-month VPS XXL package (discounted to an introductory $30 per month with a six-month purchase). Note that if you go the Windows route, the final price of your package can go up considerably due to licensing fees—$10 per vCore per month. Ionos has quality VPS web hosting packages, but Hostwinds, the Editors’ Choice for VPS web hosting, tops it by offering unlimited storage and unlimited domain hosting. Hostwinds also offers flexible Minecraft VPS hosting starting at $8 per month.
Plan Name | Storage | Bandwidth | CPU | RAM | Price |
|
10 GB | unlimited | 1 Core | 1 GB | $2.00 | ||
80 GB | unlimited | 2 Core | 2 GB | $3.00 | ||
160 GB | unlimited | 2 Core | 4 GB | $6.00 | ||
240 GB | unlimited | 4 Core | 8 GB | $10.00 | ||
320 GB | unlimited | 8 Core | 16 GB | $15.00 | ||
640 GB | unlimited | 12 Core | 24 GB | $30.00 |
Ionos Cloud Web Hosting
Cloud hosting is becoming increasingly common. It differs from traditional hosting in that it spreads resources across multiple servers, whereas traditional hosting pulls power from a single server. Ionos has wholeheartedly embraced this type of hosting, offering multiple tiers of managed and unmanaged cloud hosting that can be outfitted with the Linux or Windows operating systems. The plans start at $0.0056 per hour (with a maximum $4 per month charge) for a single-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, 30GB of SSD storage, and unlimited monthly transfers. The offerings max out at $0.44 per hour for a 24-core CPU, 48GB of RAM, 480GB of SSD storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. There are managed and unmanaged options, as well as customizable plans. Simply put, Ionos’ cloud hosting packages are excellent. So much so that we crown it an Editors’ Choice winner for cloud hosting. If you want enterprise-class cloud hosting, Ionos is the way to go. DreamHost, on the other hand, is our Editors’ Choice for smaller-scale sites that need a less demanding cloud hosting service.
Plan Name | Storage | CPU | RAM | Price |
|
30 GB | 1 core | 512 MB | $4.00 | ||
40 GB | 1 core | 1 GB | $5.00 | ||
60 GB | 2 core | 2 GB | $12.00 | ||
40 GB | 2 core | 4 GB | $16.00 | ||
80 GB | 2 core | 8 GB | $30.00 | ||
120 GB | 4 core | 8 GB | $35.00 | ||
120 GB | 4 core | 16 GB | $65.00 | ||
160 GB | 8 core | 16 GB | $85.00 | ||
160 GB | 8 core | 32 GB | $125.00 | ||
240 GB | 12 core | 24 GB | $150.00 | ||
360 GB | 16 core | 32 GB | $220.00 | ||
480 GB | 24 core | 48 GB | $320.00 |
Ionos Dedicated Web Hosting
When it comes to non-cloud hosting, you won’t find anything more powerful than dedicated hosting. This hosting type lets your site leverage a server’s full power, as it exists on the server all by itself. No system-resource sharing here. Serious, mission-critical site-runners should consider dedicated hosting as soon as they can afford it.
Ionos has several dedicated hosting tiers that are powered by either AMD or Intel servers. The plans come with either traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs) that alter the price a bit. Ionos’ dedicated servers are pay-as-you-go services that scale to match your business needs. AMD servers start at $0.0972 per hour, offering a Ryzen 5 Pro 3600 processor, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and 1TB of HDD Storage. The highest configuration gives you an AMD EPYC 7543P processor with 256GB DDR4 RAM, and 1.92TB of NVMe SSD storage for $0.5903 per hour. Dedicated Intel servers start with the Intel Xeon E-2356G processor, with 32GB of DDR4 RAM and 2TB of SATA storage for $0.1389 per hour. The highest configuration offers an Intel Xeon Gold 5412U processor, 256GB of DDR4 RAM, and 1920GB NVMe SSD storage for $0.5347 per hour. Both AMD and Intel dedicated servers have Windows configuration options, starting at $35 per month for a license. For example, the SSD-based A8i plan starts at $45 per month (rising to $65 per month after a year) for a 2.4GHz Intel Atom C2750 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 240GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. The HDD-based equivalent starts at $47 per month and has a 1TB HDD. The most expensive plan, XL-64 ($140 per month), comes with a 20-core Intel Xeon E3-1270 v6 CPU, 64GB of RAM, 800GB SSD, and unlimited monthly data transfers. All of Ionos’ dedicated hosting plans include Sitelock malware protection and the RailGun content delivery network (CDN) for faster page loads. Those are good dedicated hosting plans, but consider those from AccuWeb, which has five excellent tiers of configurable, Linux- or Windows-powered servers. These start at $105 per month and include 8GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and 20TB of monthly data transfers. You can outfit AccuWeb’s dedicated servers with up to 512GB of memory, 12TB of storage, and 50TB of monthly data transfers. As a result, AccuWeb Hosting’s dedicated hosting plans reign as the category’s Editors’ Choice winner.
Plan Name | Storage | Bandwidth | CPU | RAM | Price |
|
1000 GB | unlimited | 6×3.6 GHz | 32 GB | $70.00 | ||
2000 GB | unlimited | 8×3.6 GHz | 64 GB | $90.00 | ||
480 GB | unlimited | 6×3.6 GHz | 32 GB | $75.00 | ||
960 GB | unlimited | 8×3.6 GHz | 64 GB | $110.00 | ||
2000 GB | unlimited | 6×3.2 GHz | 32 GB | $100.00 | ||
4000 GB | unlimited | 8×2.6 GHz | 64 GB | $110.00 | ||
512 GB | unlimited | 6×3.3 GHz | 32 GB | $100.00 | ||
1024 GB | unlimited | 8×2.3 GHz | 64 GB | $115.00 |
Ionos WordPress Web Hosting
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system, one that has enough flexibility to power a blog or a Fortune 500 company’s website. There are two ways to get WordPress up and running on an Ionos server. You can install WordPress on a standard server or you can sign up for managed WordPress. Ionos has three Linux-based WordPress packages: Start ($3 per month for the first six months, then $6 per month), Grow ($1 per month for the first six months, then $10 per month), and Boost ($7 per month for the first six months, then $15 per month). The plans cost the same for both unmanaged and managed servers.
Start offers 25GB of SSD storage, one email account, the ability to host a single domain, and one free URL. Grow tosses in 50GB of SSD storage and five email accounts. Boost, the most robust of the three options, boasts 75GB of SSD storage, and 10 email accounts. All the plans have automatic malware detection and removal, automatic WordPress updates, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate, and a curated list of recommended WordPress themes.
That’s a solid offering, but A2 takes the crown as our Editors’ Choice for WordPress hosting. Available in standard and managed varieties, A2’s top-tier Sell plan (starting at $35.99 per month) offers unlimited site hosting, NVMe storage, email, and monthly data transfers. It also comes with a free SSL certificate. Likewise, Bluehost is an excellent WordPress host with a special design tool that gives you more WordPress customization options. For more information on the extremely popular content management system, read how to get started with WordPress.
Plan Name | Storage | Bandwidth | Number of Sites | Backup | Price |
|
25 GB SSD | unlimited | 1 | – | $2.00 | ||
50 GB SSD | unlimited | 1 | + | $1.00 | ||
75 GB SSD | unlimited | 1 | + | $6.00 |
Ionos Reseller Web Hosting
If you’re looking to get into the web hosting business, but don’t want to deal with infrastructure matters, reseller hosting is the way to go. However, Ionos lacks reseller plans, so you must look elsewhere for that type of hosting. Webhostingplanets recommends Hostwinds, the Editors’ Choice for reseller hosting. Hostwind’s plans, starting at $5.24 per month, have unlimited email, storage, and data transfers. On offer are dedicated and VPS packages of both the Linux and Windows variety, as well as shared hosting, which is limited to Linux. The servers have the same RAM and storage amounts as those that Hostwinds supplies directly, which is not always the case. Hostwinds also lets you apply your own branding to the servers you rent, and it supplies 24/7 tech support, too.
The IONOS Starter Plan
The Essential plan is suitable for companies or individual users that have up to 10 websites or projects that need hosting. The plan costs $6 per month for the first year and renews at $8 per month. The Starter plan includes up to 512MB Ram, a PHP memory limit of 384MB and a 100GB storage limit. The plan also comes with 50 MariaDB 10 or MySQL 8 databases, up to 2GB each, and 10 mailing lists.
The IONOS Plus Plan
The Plus plan costs just $1 per month for the first year of the plan and renews at $12 per month. This plan is a budget-friendly option for small to medium-sized websites with modest storage and processing needs. The Business plan includes up to 6GB RAM, a PHP memory limit of 768MB and unlimited storage. The plan also comes with unlimited databases, unlimited websites and 25 mailing lists.
The IONOS Ultimate Plan
If you need more computing power, you’ll need to go with IONOS’ Ultimate plan, which is ideal for those with multiple or larger web projects. The Ultimate plan costs $10 per month for the first year and renews at $16 per month. It comes with unlimited websites, unlimited storage and unlimited databases, plus 100 mailing lists. The Ultimate plan also has up to 19GB RAM and an 896MB PHP memory limit.
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPrice
Essential 10 GB unlimited + 1 $4.00 More details
Starter 100 GB unlimited + 10 $6.00 More details
Plus unlimited unlimited + unlimited $1.00 More details
Ultimate unlimited unlimited + unlimited $10.00 More details
Essential + Partner Membership 10 GB unlimited + 1 $4.00 More details
Starter + Partner Membership 100 GB unlimited + 10 $6.00 More details
Plus + Partner Membership unlimited unlimited + unlimited $1.00 More details
Ultimate + Partner Membership unlimited unlimited + unlimited $10.00 More details
Windows Business 100 GB unlimited + 1 $6.00 More details
Windows Pro 250 GB unlimited + 5 $7.00 More details
Windows Expert 500 GB unlimited + 50 $11.00 More details
Namecheap Alternatives
Ionos FAQ's
Is IONOS a good service?
Ionos offers feature-packed hosting, particularly in the cloud department, plus excellent uptime, solid customer service options, and a useful website builder. As a result, Ionos is an Editors’ Choice winner in the cloud hosting category
Why is IONOS so cheap?
It’s cheap, because server costs are shared between all the accounts. With many sites sharing the same CPU, RAM and network connection, performance may be poor. But a good shared hosting package has more than enough power for most low-traffic blogs, personal and small business sites.
What is better GoDaddy or IONOS?
GoDaddy: Performance. In terms of performance, IONOS is the first provider to draw the sword. First and foremost, it boasts an astounding 99.98% uptime rate
Is IONOS a good website builder?
Is IONOS a good website builder?
Our Expert Opinion. IONOS is a good option for those who are looking for an easy-to-use DIY website builder at an affordable price. It’s not overly customizable, so it’s not likely to be suitable for those who have unique needs
Is Bluehost or IONOS better?
“We tested Bluehost & 1&1 IONOS — The winner is Bluehost!” The words “cheap” and “good” don’t often go together. But when it comes to Bluehost and 1&1, these hosts set the standard for quality hosting for just a few dollars per month. Bluehost boasts one of the best site builders and WordPress hosting plans we’ve seen.
Is Wix or IONOS better?
Granted, while Wix offers far greater design flexibility, this is not always best for every user. For example, those who are new to web design often find it easier to build a site when they have fewer design options.
Pros & Cons of Using Ionos ( 1&1 ) Hosting
Pros
- Dependable uptime in testing
- Excellent cloud hosting packages
- Linux- or Windows-based servers
- Easy-to-use website creation tools
- Money back guarantee at any time
- Low-cost intro rates as low as $1 per month
- Unlimited storage for Business and Expert plans
- Fast website load speed
- Free Wildcard SSL certificate
Cons
- Lacks reseller hosting plans
- Relatively sparse email options
- Inconsistent support quality
- Frequent upselling
- No free website migration
- Only one free email account per plan
Conclusion
They started out pretty well. Existing customers seem to like them, and the fact that their cheapest plan compares favorably to most other company’s upper-tier ones looked promising. Despite that, the fact that your renewal rates will rise over 200% is tough to stomach. Especially, when you consider the poor uptime and borderline lazy customer support.