IONOS Review 2025 - The cheapest web host we tested so far
Table of Contents
Pros and Cons of IONOS
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Web hosting starts at $1 per month | The Signup is not user friendly |
| VPS hosting starts at $2 per month | Interface can be overwhelming for complete beginners |
| Personal consultant available via phone, chat and email | |
| 99.99% uptime recorded in 2 weeks of testing | |
| AI powered tools | |
| Linux or Windows based servers | |
| Sustainable data centers | |
| 100% SSD storage | |
| WordPress and eCommerce solutions | |
| Wildcard SSL certificate included | |
| Daily backups | |
| 30 day money back guarantee | |
| Renewal/regular prices are not expensive |
Summary
For businesses seeking affordable and cheap web hosting solutions, IONOS presents a faster and more reliable array of packages that deliver exceptional value for money.
As hosting experts, we’ve reviewed numerous providers to help you decide whether to choose one or explore other alternatives. One of the most common questions we receive is: “Is IONOS a good web host?” To answer this, we conducted an in-depth evaluation of IONOS as a hosting provider.
Before this comprehensive IONOS review, we carried out a research about the best VPS hosting providers in 2025, where IONOS ranked #3 on our list of recommended hosts to pick.
For this review, our experts purchased the most affordable IONOS plan to test its reliability, performance, uptime, and security features. This allows us to share our honest opinions and firsthand experiences about one of the cheapest web hosting providers in the industry.
Based on our findings, IONOS is an excellent choice for anyone looking to build a website with minimal startup costs. We also appreciate IONOS’s transparency regarding their promotional and regular pricing, which allows customers to explore options that fit their budget.
By the end of this review, you will have an in-depth understanding of whether IONOS is the right choice for your business needs.
Table of Contents
Overview of IONOS
IONOS, formerly known as 1&1 Internet, was founded in 1988 in Germany. Over the years, it has evolved into Europe’s largest web hosting company and a leading European cloud service provider. Today, IONOS serves over 6.2 million customers worldwide, managing more than 22 million domains across 31 data centers in the U.S. and Europe.
The company employs approximately 4,300 people from 70 countries and operates over 100,000 servers. IONOS is committed to supporting small and medium-sized businesses with reliable and innovative cloud solutions, all hosted in their regional data centers.
Unique in the industry, IONOS offers each customer a dedicated personal consultant to assist in maximizing their online presence. In February 2023, IONOS achieved a significant milestone by going public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, further solidifying its position as Europe’s leading digitalization partner and reliable cloud enabler.
The company continues to innovate, recently integrating artificial intelligence into its tools, such as an AI-powered website builder, to enhance user experience.
Like we discussed in our GreenGeeks review, IONOS is also committed to sustainability, utilizing 100% renewable energy in its data centers and administrative buildings in the UK and Germany, and has outlined a comprehensive climate strategy aiming for significant carbon emission reductions by 2030.
IONOS Review: Rating Breakdown
At HostingPillar.com, we are committed to delivering transparent, data-driven evaluations of hosting providers to empower businesses and individuals in making informed decisions. Leveraging insights from our rigorous rating methodology, we’ve analyzed InMotion Hosting based on key performance indicators.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the parameters and scores awarded to InMotion Hosting, along with explanations highlighting its strengths and areas for improvement:
| Parameter | Score (Over 5) | Reason for This Score |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 4.4 | IONOS offers robust security features, free SSL, DDoS protection, daily backups, and scalable hosting plans, but lacks cPanel and some advanced developer tools. |
| Performance | 4.5 | Speed tests showed fast load times, 99.99% uptime, SSD-powered servers, a built-in CDN, and load balancing for stability, but TTFB increased slightly under heavier loads. |
| Pricing | 4.5 | Competitive starting prices, free domain for a year, and feature-rich plans make it an affordable choice, though renewal rates are higher. |
| Support | 4.3 | 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and email, with a comprehensive knowledge base, but live chat response times vary during peak hours. |
| Ease of Use | 4.2 | The custom control panel is user-friendly and simple for beginners, but users accustomed to cPanel may need time to adjust. |
| Overall Score | 4.4 | A well-balanced hosting solution offering strong security, fast performance, and scalability, with minor drawbacks in advanced features and support response times. |
IONOS Plans and Pricing
Looking for professional web hosting that is easy to use and affordable? IONOS offers entry-level plans starting at just $1 per month, including features like a free domain and SSL for the 1st year.
Based on our findings, IONOS provides several types of web hosting and below is a breakdown of what they are best for:
| Hosting type | Ideal for | Entry level price |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | beginners looking to create their first website | Plus plan starts at $1 per month with a 1-year term and renews at $12/month. |
| WordPress hosting | websites created with WordPress by bloggers, companies, agencies and eCommerce companies. Offers open access to manage plugins and updates. | Starts at $5 per month for a 1-year term and renews at $6/month. |
| Managed WordPress Hosting | beginners without technical experience or businesses that want a hands-off approach to management. | Grow plan starts at $1 per month and renews at $10/month. |
| Woocommerce hosting | businesses or online stores looking for fast WordPress hosting optimized for WooCommerce. | Starts at $16 per month for a 1-year term. |
| VPS hosting | growing businesses requiring fully virtualized servers, root access and dedicated resources, offering scalability and flexibility. | Linux VPS starts at $2 per month while Windows VPS hosting ranges from $12 to $90 per month. |
| Deploy Now | building and deploying sites and apps via GitHub | Available for Free with a month term and renews at $4 per month. |
| Cloud Servers | projects needing high scalability and reliability, allowing for dynamic resource allocation. | Starts at $5.76 per 30 days. |
| Dedicated servers | large enterprises with high-traffic websites, providing exclusive use of server resources for maximum performance. | Starts at $70 per month for AMD servers. |
| Windows hosting | Applications that require a Windows environment, supporting technologies like ASP.NET on Windows Server 2022. | Available from $6 per for 6 months with a 1-year term. |
In addition, IONOS offers other niche specific hosting for SQL databases, Joomla, Jamstack, Magento and Pretashop. You can also install your favorite CMS, programming language and 70+ other web apps in seconds. With this, it is clear that IONOS has a specific hosting solution for every user.
Moving on, you can effortlessly create websites or online stores using IONOS’s intuitive Website builder or opt for their expert-led website design service.
With such a comprehensive suite of tools and services, IONOS stands out as a fully equipped hosting provider. Furthermore, the IONOS Cloud enhances its appeal by offering scalable and secure cloud solutions, solidifying its position as a leader in the hosting industry.
Our research found that IONOS offers a uniquely affordable pricing structure compared to other providers. For just $1 per month, you get web hosting, a website builder, and business email, while VPS hosting starts at only $2 per month—a deal rarely found elsewhere.
Even after renewal, IONOS remains one of the most budget-friendly and cheap hosting options, making it an excellent choice for cost-conscious users.
Let’s explore in detail what IONOS offers for each hosting type.
Breakdown of IONOS Shared Web Hosting
We will start our detailed IONOS review with the shared web hosting plan. According to our findings during this review, IONOS offers everything you need to host your first website. It also provides instant scalability to upgrade to higher tier plans with more capacity and extra power as traffic increases.
Whether you’re launching a personal blog, a business website, or an online portfolio, IONOS shared hosting combines affordability with essential features, like free SSL certificates, a free domain for the first year, and professional email accounts.
We like that it offers a beginner-friendly interface and integrated tools, such as one-click installers for WordPress and Joomla. This ensures a smooth setup experience even for those without technical expertise.
One interesting thing we like about IONOS shared hosting offering is that you can get the best selling plan with unlimited websites plus access to sufficient storage for just $1 per month and $12 for the 1st year.
Here is a rundown of IONOS Shared Web Hosting Packages:
| Plan Name | Entry Level Cost (Subject to change) | Key Features | Contract Duration | Any Extra Fees or Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus | $1/month | Unlimited websites, Unlimited redundant storage, Unlimited databases, free domain for 1 year, enhanced CPU & MEM resources, free Wildcard SSL Unmetered bandwidth, and up to 6 GB RAM. | 1-year | Renews at $12/month |
| Essential | $4/month | 1 website, 10 GB redundant storage, 10 databases, Initial CPU & MEM resources, unmetered bandwidth, free domain for 1 year, up to 512 MB RAM and free Wildcard SSL. | 1-year | Renews at $6/month |
| Starter | $6/month | 10 websites, 100 GB redundant storage, 50 databases, Basic CPU & MEM resources, unmetered bandwidth, free domain for 1 year, up to 512 MB RAM and free Wildcard SSL. | 1-year | Renews at $8/month |
| Ultimate | $10/month | Unlimited websites, Unlimited redundant storage, Unlimited databases, free domain for 1 year, maximum CPU & MEM resources, Unmetered bandwidth, and up to 19 GB RAM. | 1-year | Renews at $16/month |
You can either get started with the plans above or choose IONOS Windows web hosting plans if you need a Windows-based environment with support for ASP.NET, MSSQL, and other Microsoft technologies to build and run dynamic applications seamlessly.
The cheapest plan costs just $6/month for the first 6 months on a 1-year term. It includes Windows Server 2022, ASP.NET 4.8, .NET 8.0, a free domain for one year, 100 GB storage, a free SSL certificate, and 25 MS SQL databases (2 GB SSD each). This plan is ideal for hosting a single business website.
Developers will appreciate another standout solution in IONOS shared hosting: ‘Deploy Now’, which allows for seamless deployment of websites, applications, or PHP projects directly from GitHub.
We like that Deploy Now automatically detects static site frameworks like Next.js and single-page applications like Angular and React, configuring the build process for you.For more details, visit the IONOS shared hosting page to explore and select the plan that best fits your needs.
Overview of IONOS WordPress and Managed WP Hosting
Our test and review of IONOS WordPress hosting was a smooth and impressive experience. The hosting type is divided into two options: Open-Source WordPress Hosting and Managed WordPress Hosting.
The key difference between these plans lies in the level of control and automation. Open-Source WordPress Hosting gives you full access to manage your hosting environment, install plugins, and update software as needed.
In contrast, Managed WordPress Hosting limits access to a pre-selected set of plugins, which are maintained by IONOS experts. Additionally, the Managed plan features a setup wizard that provides a step-by-step onboarding process, making it easy for users to build their website smoothly from sign-up to launch.
We recommend the regular WordPress hosting if you have the technical expertise to manage your site independently.
However, if you’re a beginner or prefer a hands-off approach, the Managed WordPress Hosting is the better choice. Both plans are priced the same, so you can pick the one that best suits your needs without extra cost.
Here is a breakdown of IONOS WordPress Hosting Packages:
| Plan Name | Entry Level Cost (Subject to change) | Key Features | Contract Duration | Any Extra Fees or Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $5/month | 1 website, 25 GB SSD storage, 9 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 1 email address, free domain, AI chatbot, free SSL, WP-CLI access, SiteAnalytics, AI website creation. | 1-year term | $6/month |
| Grow | $1/month | 1 website, 50 GB SSD storage, 15 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 5 email addresses, free domain, AI chatbot, free SSL, WP-CLI access, SiteAnalytics, AI website creation and Jetpack backup. | 1-year term | $10/month |
| Boost | $12/month | 1 website, 75 GB SSD storage, 20 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 email addresses, free domain, AI chatbot, free SSL, WP-CLI access, SiteAnalytics, AI website creation and Jetpack backup. | 1-year term | $15/month |
Another great reason to choose IONOS WordPress Hosting is its AI-powered tools, which include a website and content creator, site assistant, chatbot, and an add-on library for enhanced functionality.
With Managed WordPress Hosting, you can build your site using AI, while IONOS experts handle updates and management, ensuring a hassle-free experience with minimal admin work.
What’s more, you’ll enjoy guaranteed fast loading speeds up to 3x thanks to 100% SSD storage, a built-in caching plugin, and Opcache for blazing fast WordPress hosting.
Plus, IONOS guarantees a secure hosting environment, offering up to 99.99% uptime and minimal downtime on a platform designed exclusively for WordPress.
Rundown of IONOS VPS Hosting
If your website has outgrown shared hosting resources, it’s time to upgrade to IONOS VPS hosting for better performance and scalability. We like that IONOS offers blazing-fast VPS with VMware virtualization and SSD storage starting at only $2 per month.
Moving on, IONOS lets you choose your preferred operating system, offering customized plans for both Linux and Windows hosting. This is impressive, as only a few hosting providers offer this level of flexibility.
When selecting an operating system for your web server, personal preference plays a major role. If you prioritize an intuitive user interface, Windows Server is a great choice, offering a familiar design that simplifies server setup especially for beginners.
On the other hand, if cost-efficiency and security are your main concerns, Linux is an excellent option. As an open-source operating system with no licensing fees, it provides strong security and a smaller attack surface, making it a reliable choice for many users.
Furthermore, all IONOS VPS servers come with full root access, unlimited traffic up to 1 Gbit/s, free Plesk web host edition, fast NVMe storage and ISO certified security.
Another thing we noticed during our IONOS VPS review is that you can choose your preferred data center from the available options in the USA, UK, Germany, and Spain. This ensures better performance and lower latency based on your target audience’s location.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what IONOS VPS hosting has to offer.
| Plan Name | Entry Level Cost (Subject to change) | Key Features | Contract Duration | Any Extra Fees or Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPS Linux XS | $2/month | 1 GB RAM, 10 GB NVMe storage, 1 vCore. | Monthly | Risk Free for 30 days |
| VPS Linux S | $3/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 2 GB RAM, 80 GB NVMe storage, 2 vCoreS. | 1-year term | Renews at $5/month |
| VPS Linux M | $6/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 4 GB RAM, 160 GB NVMe storage, 2 vCores. | 1-year term | Renews at $9/month |
| VPS Linux L | $10/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 8 GB RAM, 240 GB NVMe storage, 4 vCore. . | 1-year term | Renews at $15/month |
| VPS Windows S | $12/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 2 GB RAM, 80 GB NVMe storage, 2 vCore. | 1-year term | Renews at $15/month |
| VPS Windows M | $16/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 4 GB RAM, 160 GB NVMe storage, 2 vCore. | 1-year term | Renews at $20/month |
| VPS Windows L | $30/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 8 GB RAM, 240 GB NVMe storage, 4 vCore. | 1-year term | Renews at $35 per month |
| VPS Windows XL | $55/month for 6 months with a 1-year term. | 16 GB RAM, 320 GB NVMe storage, 8 vCore. | 1-year term | Renews at $68 per month |
Overview of IONOS eCommerce Hosting - Is IONOS good for eCommerce?
Next in our IONOS review, we explored their eCommerce hosting solutions. With IONOS, you can host your WooCommerce store seamlessly, while also benefiting from powerful and reliable hosting for open-source CMS platforms like Magento and PrestaShop.
If you are interested in WooCommerce, you can build a store from start to finish with AI in minutes. You will be able to create whole websites, images, and content just by answering a couple of questions. We like that IONOS already pre-installed the most important features for your online store. Plus, any other plugins and themes you want can be added with a click.
IONOS WooCommerce web hosting plan is priced at only $16 per month with a 1-year term and renews at $20. You’ll get a WooCommerce installation with powerful AI features, hosted on a platform optimized for WordPress.
The WordPress hosting sell plan allows you to upload unlimited products and categories and also comes with a high performance database with increased processing power.
That’s not all, if you prefer to use either Magento or Pretashop for your eCommerce store, the web hosting plans on IONOS are optimized for both platforms. Also, Their eCommerce website builder makes it easy for beginners to set up a store without coding skills.
So, if you’re looking for an affordable, scalable, and high-performance hosting solution for your small to medium-sized eCommerce business, IONOS is a great choice.
Breakdown of IONOS Dedicated Servers
If you are running websites or operating eCommerce stores with high performance demands, then you should try IONOS dedicated servers. With IONOS, you can choose from dedicated servers featuring Intel® or AMD processors or a fully dedicated storage server.
Another thing we discovered during our IONOS dedicated server review is that you can configure your own server with a range of CPU, RAM and storage options or select from cheap server deals with HDD or SSD options.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what IONOS cheap dedicated server deals have to offer.
| Plan Name | Entry Level Cost (Subject to change) | Key Features | Contract Duration | Any Extra Fees or Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L-16 SSD | $55/month | Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 v6 4 cores x 3.5 GHz 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost 16 GB RAM DDR4 ECC 480 GB SSD (2 x 480 GB SSD) Software RAID 1 | 2-year term | Renews at $85/month |
| L-32 SSD | $61/month | Intel® Xeon® E3-1230 v6 4 cores x 3.5 GHz 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost 32 GB RAM DDR4 ECC 480 GB SSD (2 x 480 GB SSD) Software RAID 1 | 2-year term | Renews at $95/month |
| XL-32 SSD | $84/month | Intel® Xeon® E3-1270 v6 4 cores x 3.8 GHz 4.2 GHz Turbo Boost 32 GB RAM DDR3 ECC 800 GB SSD (2 x 800 GB SSD) Hardware RAID 1 | 2-year term | Renews at $130/month |
| XL-32 NVMe | $91/month | Intel® Xeon® E3-1270 v6 4 cores x 3.8 GHz 4.2 GHz Turbo Boost 32 GB RAM DDR4 ECC 1 TB NVMe SSD (2 x 1 TB NVMe SSD) Hardware RAID 1 | 2-year term | Renews at $140/month |
Onboarding process with IONOS - Is it easy to use?
In our IONOS review, we found that you won’t struggle with setting up your website, even if you’re a complete beginner. Signing up is simple, just choose a plan, create your account, and you’re in. From there, the wizard will guide you through an easy-to-follow onboarding process, ensuring you know exactly what to do next.
Unlike many hosting providers like A2 and InMotion hosting, IONOS does not use cPanel, opting instead for its custom-built control panel. While this may seem unusual if you’re accustomed to cPanel, we found that the IONOS interface is actually more streamlined and less cluttered.
Instead of overwhelming you with unnecessary settings, you get a clean, modern dashboard that focuses on essential features like domain and account management, website & online stores builder, security solutions, email setup, and hosting.
Is it a drawback? Not really. In fact, for beginners, IONOS’ custom panel is easier to navigate, reducing the learning curve that often comes with cPanel.
However, if you’re a seasoned developer who prefers cPanel’s extensive configuration options, you may need a short adjustment period. But overall, we believe IONOS approach simplifies hosting management without sacrificing functionality.
Like in cPanel where you can install any CMS or application of your choice, you can do the same from your IONOS dashboard account as well. You can install your preferred content management and eCommerce apps such as WordPress, TYPO3, Joomla, PrestaShop, Magento and others with a single click. In just a few steps, your web project is automatically installed and ready to go with Click & Build.
We clicked on install in front of the popular WordPress content management as shown above. As we mentioned earlier during our IONOS WordPress review where we explained the difference between managed and standard WordPress hosting. Once you click on install to set up WordPress, IONOS will recommend its Managed WordPress option, ideal for beginners who want hassle-free hosting. They also highlight the benefits of this service.
However, since we are more experienced, we settled for the web hosting plus plan earlier when we created our account. Moving on, we decided to take care of security settings and updates. Hence for this review, we will manage WordPress ourselves. If you prefer this option too, click on manage WordPress yourself to proceed.
Next in the onboarding process, we selected a short and meaningful title for our project. After that, we created an admin username and password, which will be used to manage the website in WordPress.
Before proceeding, IONOS recommended starting with a temporary system to design the site before linking it to our main domain once the installation was complete. Finally, we clicked “Install WordPress,” and the installation process began. In less than 3 minutes without wasting much of your time, WordPress was installed on our hosting account.
Furthermore, click “Select Domain” to switch from the temporary system domain to your registered domain name. If you don’t have a domain yet, IONOS offers a free domain for the first year, allowing you to register a new one at no extra cost.
Once your domain is set, log in to your WordPress admin dashboard using the credentials you created earlier. From there, you can customize your website, change themes, install plugins, and configure settings to get your site up and running.
Finally, IONOS also offers a website checker tool to monitor and check the performance of your website. For this, you can opt to get advice from iONOS experts via a callback to fix any issues or ignore the advice depending on your expertise.
IONOS Website Builder Review - Is it easy to build a website with IONOS?
The next important step we took in our IONOS review was to check how easy it is to build a website using the AI website builder.
As expected, our test and review of the MyWebsite Now builder was a fantastic experience as well. It is beginner friendly and allows you to choose your digital path with the available options based on your plan.
For this IONOS review, we purchased the Plus Plan, designed to turn your ideas into a fully functional website in record time with AI. We appreciate its flexible sections, dynamic layout options, and intuitive grid arrangement, which make website design effortless.
In addition, you will get streamlined editing through AI Text Generator, AI Text Improver and AI Image Generator with integrated online scheduling for effective time management.
Further, it gives the option to build a “website with store” or a “website without store” depending on your preference. We picked a website without store and clicked on “continue”.
We were surprised to find that we had to purchase another MyWebsite Now plan, even though it was advertised as part of the Plus Plan. This unexpected upsell could be confusing for beginners.
Additionally, while MyWebsite Now offers a free month, it automatically renews at $22 per month. There are also several optional upsells, some of which are listed as $0 for the first month but may incur charges later.
Using the MyWebsite Now, you can either create your website with AI or start from a website template. So, we choose to go with the former to experience some challenges as the latter option is an already designed website that you can easily customize.
After clicking “Next,” the AI onboarding process begins by asking for your website name and business category.
You’ll then be prompted to provide a brief description of your business and select a website tone that aligns with your brand. Additionally, you can customize your site further by choosing a preferred font style and color palette.
One standout feature of IONOS MyWebsite Now is its ability to generate up to eight website designs based on the information provided during setup. However, these designs may require some refinement from a professional website designer for a more polished look.
If you have no prior design experience, we recommend choosing a pre-designed template in your niche instead. This approach allows you to customize an already well-structured design, making it easier to achieve a professional-looking website without additional effort.
IONOS Hosting Review: Speed and Uptime Tests
When choosing a web hosting provider, speed and uptime are two of the most critical factors. A slow website can drive away visitors, negatively impact SEO rankings, and reduce conversions, while poor uptime means your site isn’t accessible when users need it.
In this section, we’ll explore the technologies that contribute to IONOS’ speed and uptime and conduct real-world performance tests using industry-standard tools:
- GTmetrix – To measure website loading speed and overall performance.
- Pingdom – To monitor uptime consistency over time.
GTmetrix Speed Test for IONOS
When testing IONOS hosting performance, GTmetrix is one of the most reliable tools for analyzing speed, optimization, and real-user experience. This free tool evaluates how well a website loads, highlights areas that need improvement, and assigns a performance grade based on Google’s Core Web Vitals.
Key GTmetrix Metrics for Evaluating IONOS Speed
- GTmetrix Grade – This measures overall performance and structure based on real user experience. A high Performance Score indicates fast load speeds and smooth visual stability, while the Structure Score evaluates page build quality, inspecting images, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Time To First Byte (TTFB) – This measures how quickly IONOS servers respond to a user’s request. An ideal TTFB should be 0.8 seconds or less, and strong server infrastructure contributes to better scores.
- First Contentful Paint (FCP) – This assesses how fast the first visible content (text, image, or background) appears. A good FCP should be under 1.8 seconds. Faster-loading elements contribute to a better user experience.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – Measures the time it takes for the largest element (e.g., an image or block of text) to fully load. A good LCP score is 2.5 seconds or less, ensuring that major page content is quickly visible.
- First Input Delay (FID) – Evaluates how quickly a page responds to user actions, like clicking buttons, typing, or scrolling. An ideal FID is under 300ms, meaning the website is responsive and interactive.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Measures page stability by detecting unwanted layout shifts, which can frustrate users. A good CLS score is 0.1 or lower, ensuring elements remain in place as the page loads.
IONOS hosting benefits from SSD storage, a built-in CDN, and HTTP/2 support, which enhances speed and stability. However, performance can vary depending on the hosting plan, website optimization, and traffic load. We’ll run GTmetrix tests on a live IONOS-hosted site to evaluate real-world performance and determine if it meets these ideal benchmarks.
First IONOS GTmetrix test
For this IONOS hosting review, we conducted a real-world speed test using a starter WordPress website with the default Twenty Twenty-Five theme, no additional optimizations, and no caching plugins pre-installed. This allows us to assess the out-of-the-box performance of IONOS hosting without interference from third-party performance enhancements.
Here’s what we recorded during the first IONOS GTmetrix test:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB): 238ms – IONOS servers responded instantly, ensuring fast initial page delivery.
- First Contentful Paint (FCP): 471ms – The first visual element loaded in under half a second, an impressive speed benchmark.
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 520ms – The biggest on-screen element fully loaded almost instantly, contributing to a smooth user experience.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): 0 – No unexpected layout shifts, meaning visitors won’t be frustrated by elements moving unexpectedly. This is a major win for both user experience and Google’s Core Web Vitals ranking factors.
- Fully Loaded Time: 775ms – The entire page was ready in under a second, making IONOS one of the fastest shared hosting providers we’ve tested.
Second IONOS GTmetrix test
For our second test, we installed the Neve WordPress theme and imported one of its starter websites along with all its content. This test was designed to evaluate how well IONOS performs with a more functional site that includes images, buttons, and large fonts.
Our goal was to see if the site could maintain fast loading speeds despite having more elements. To keep the test fair, we did not apply any additional optimizations or caching.
Here’s what we recorded:
- Slightly Higher TTFB: At 725ms, the server response time increased, but it still falls within an acceptable range for shared hosting.
- Fast Content Load Times: With an FCP of 471ms and an LCP of 1.2s, the page remains visually available and interactive very quickly.
- Zero Layout Shift: The perfect CLS score (0) ensures that elements remain in place, preventing frustrating page shifts for users.
- Fully Loaded Time: The site became fully functional in just 1.5 seconds, showing that IONOS can handle media-rich websites without lag.
IONOS Review: Uptime Test with Pingdom
When choosing a web hosting provider, uptime is one of the most crucial factors to consider. If your website goes down frequently, you risk losing visitors, damaging your search engine rankings, and missing out on potential sales.
A reliable host ensures that your website remains accessible 24/7, providing a seamless experience for users. IONOS guarantees a 99.99% uptime across its hosting services, which is among the highest standards in the industry.
To verify this claim, we monitored our test website’s uptime for two weeks, using Pingdom’s uptime tracking tool.
The result? A highly impressive 99.99% uptime, confirming that IONOS delivers on its promise of near-perfect availability.
What Does 99.99% Uptime Mean for You?
- Minimal Downtime: Your website will experience less than 1 hour of downtime per year, ensuring that visitors and customers can access it whenever they need to.
- Better User Experience: Fewer interruptions mean higher visitor retention rates and improved engagement.
- Improved SEO Rankings: Search engines favor websites with high uptime, helping your site maintain its visibility in search results.
With these results, IONOS proves to be a highly reliable hosting provider, making it an excellent choice for businesses, blogs, and eCommerce websites that require stable and consistent performance.
Security Features - How Secure is IONOS?
Yes, IONOS provides a highly secure hosting environment, with a strong focus on preventing cyber threats, securing user data, and ensuring website uptime. With SSL encryption, DDoS protection, malware scanning, automated backups, and advanced data center security, IONOS offers robust protection for websites of all sizes.
IONOS Customer Support - How Good is it?
IONOS offers robust 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and email, ensuring help is always available.
Their support team provides timely and effective solutions to any issues. Additionally, the IONOS Help Center features comprehensive tutorials, FAQs, and guides to assist with common problems and optimize your hosting experience.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, IONOS customer support is dedicated to meeting your needs promptly and efficiently.
Support channels:
IONOS offers multiple support channels to ensure users can get help when they need it. These include 24/7 access to support via phone, live chat, and email, providing flexibility and convenience for addressing any issues or questions.
Support Quality:
The support team at IONOS is known for being responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful. Users typically report positive experiences with the support staff, who are trained to handle a wide range of technical and account-related issues efficiently and effectively.
Knowledge base:
The IONOS knowledge base is an extensive resource designed to help users maximize their hosting experience and resolve issues independently.
It features comprehensive articles on a wide range of topics, such as domain management, web hosting, email setup, and security, with step-by-step instructions and clear explanations.
The powerful search functionality allows users to quickly find relevant articles by entering keywords or phrases, and the content is organized into categories and topics for easy navigation.
In addition to articles, the knowledge base offers numerous tutorials, how-to guides, and FAQs that address common queries and provide quick solutions.
Some resources include video demonstrations and visual guides for a more interactive learning experience. Regular updates ensure that the information remains current and accurate. Users also have access to a community forum for additional support and advice from other users and experts.
The knowledge base is available in multiple languages, catering to a global audience. Overall, the IONOS knowledge base is a valuable tool for users seeking to troubleshoot issues, learn new skills, and effectively manage their hosting services.
IONOS Hosting Review: Is it right for you?
IONOS is a versatile and reliable web hosting platform that caters to a wide range of users, from individual bloggers and small businesses to large enterprises. Its competitive pricing, combined with robust features, makes it an attractive choice for those looking for value and performance.
The platform’s user-friendly control panel simplifies the management of hosting services, domains, and email accounts, making it accessible even for users with limited technical expertise.
Additionally, IONOS’s scalability allows businesses to start small and easily upgrade their resources as their needs grow, ensuring seamless growth and adaptability.
The platform’s strong emphasis on security and reliability is evident in its 99.9% uptime guarantee, DDoS protection, and free SSL certificates, providing users with peace of mind regarding the safety and accessibility of their websites.
IONOS’s comprehensive customer support, available 24/7 via phone, live chat, and email, ensures that help is always at hand, minimizing downtime and resolving issues promptly.
The extensive knowledge base further empowers users to troubleshoot problems independently and make the most of the platform’s features.
Overall, IONOS delivers a well-rounded hosting experience that balances ease of use, performance, and value. Its diverse feature set and scalable plans make it suitable for a variety of hosting needs, from personal blogs to complex e-commerce sites.
While there is room for improvement in areas such as advanced features and support response times, IONOS remains a strong contender in the web hosting market, offering reliable and efficient solutions for users at all levels of technical expertise.
FAQs about IONOS Hosting
What hosting plans does IONOS offer?
IONOS provides a range of hosting plans including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and cloud hosting to cater to different user needs and budgets.
How reliable is the IONOS uptime guarantee?
According to our tests, IONOS offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee, ensuring your website remains accessible and minimizing any potential downtime.
Yes, IONOS domains include a free email account, allowing you to create a professional email address with your domain. However, free email storage is limited, and you may need to upgrade for additional features and storage capacity.
Can you cancel IONOS at any time?
Yes, you can cancel IONOS at any time, but you must do so before the next billing cycle to avoid charges. Make sure to check the terms of your contract, as some services may have a minimum commitment period.
How long does it take to transfer to IONOS?
Domain transfers to IONOS typically take 24 hours to 7 days, depending on the domain registrar’s response time and whether you have unlocked your domain and provided the correct authorization code (EPP key).
Is there a cancellation fee for IONOS?
No, IONOS does not charge a cancellation fee, but if you cancel after the refund period, you won’t receive a prorated refund for the remaining time on your plan.
