IONOS offers scalable shared, VPS, cloud, and WordPress hosting with competitive pricing and solid support. IONOS is ideal for both newcomers and tech-savvy users, though users may face a learning curve with some of their advanced features. Try them and witness the positive impact they can bring to your online business.
As a hosting expert/website owner, I’ve reviewed many providers, so it made sense I evaluated IONOS – a provider that’s becoming popular. In the rest of this IONOS review, I’ll give my honest thoughts on the host’s pricing plans, performance, and customer support.
Previously known as 1&1 or 1&1 IONOS, IONOS is constantly evolving to outperform its competitors. Widely known for its affordable pricing plans and reliable hosting services, this web host provider uses cutting-edge technology to serve over 12 million domains. As a result, IONOS emerged as the largest web-hosting company in Europe.
IONOS has a rating of 3.9 stars from 381 reviews on Hostadvice, suggesting that most of their clients have a positive experience with the company, particularly appreciating its services and value for money. IONOS is rated A+ on the BBB directory. They have a rating of 4.1 out of 5.0 from 16,587 customers on Trustpilot.
IONOS offers various pricing plans, including shared hosting, virtual private server (VPS), dedicated server, and cloud hosting, making it suitable for diverse audiences with different website needs. With data centers on three continents (Europe, the US, and the UK), it is an excellent choice if your target audience is located in these regions, ensuring fast and reliable access to your website.
In my opinion, IONOS an ideal options for entrepreneurs who need a website for their online business with minimal startup costs, bloggers seeking reliability and uptime, and developers requiring flexible server solutions and resources that can be adjusted on demand.
IONOS
Unlock your website's full potential with IONOS hosting, featuring high scalability, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a range of plans to suit your needs – from shared hosting to dedicated servers. Experience lightning speed and top-notch security.
Hosting providers come in all shapes and sizes and offer a ton of varied features. To compare them fairly, it’s important we have a standardized comparison method that evaluates each host’s performance in an important area – speed, reliable uptime, accessibility to advanced developer tools, etc.
In this IONOS review, I’ve used our standardized web hosting rating guide to score this host and give an overall ranking based on its performance. This way, it will be easier for you to make an informed decision that best fits your needs and budget.
IONOS has a modest pricing plan compared to other providers with similar features. The lowest plan comes with basic web management tools and you get more value for your investment when you opt for higher plans. However, I gave them a 8.5 because their renewal plans are expensive.
IONOS boasts all the functionalities for all business sizes, ranging from small to large. You can also access updated versions of web development software, server scripting languages, and databases as a developer. However, I gave them a 9.0 because they also offer website building and management as a service, which is not common with other providers.
IONOS is highly scalable and reliable. They offer a 99.9% Uptime guarantee, scalable server, SSD and HDD storage drives, Marai DB and MySQL databases etc. I gave them a 9.0 because these features are available for the starter and pro plans.
IONOS uses a custom control panel, which is also the main dashboard. The platform has a steep learning curve, so you’ll find no trouble navigating the platform as a first-time user. I gave it a 9.0 because it’s user friendly and intuitive for beginners.
IONOS offers three support options – phone, cloud support, and live chat. The live chat is sometimes unavailable. But they have a vast resource center where you’ll find actionable DIY solutions in the form of guides, tutorials, and articles. I gave them a 8.0 because their live support ticket is unaccessible and this can be an obstacle for first-time users.
IONOS Pros and Cons
Pros
Modern and beginner-friendly control panel
Access to multiple databases for all plans
Affordable pricing plans
Full-stack security features
Reliable uptime
Cons
It has some hidden fees
Customer support is unreliable
Check Out Our IONOS Review Video
IONOS Pricing & Plans – 2024
IONOS offers shared, VPS, cloud, WordPress, and dedicated hosting. In addition, you’ll find more niche-specific plans such as Jamstack , woo-commerce , Joomla , ASP.NET for Windows OS, etc. In addition to these plans, IONOS offers email hosting and website-building services.
Each IONOS plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee which covers all fees except server usage fees and search engine marketing setup fees. However, before opting for any of the IONOS plans, consider your needs, goals, and budget.
IONOS recommends the business plan which is a better option since it’s most affordable. You’ll have access to 1-click installations for over 70 apps, free wildcard SSL certificates, daily backups, free CDN, unlimited websites, and many more. However, it returns to the initial price of $10/mo after one year
TipTip: IONOS shared plans are perfect for small websites with little traffic. Like other web hosting providers, the renewal rates for each package are slightly higher than the starting price.
IONOS recommends the Virtual Server M plan, and it’s not hard to see why. You get a whooping 160GB SSD storage space, 2vCores, Ubuntu 22.04, and other configuration features for just $6 per month.
TipTip: The Virtual Server M plan is an excellent choice if you’re a freelancer, agency, or medium-sized business owner with high traffic. Note that all the VPS plans come with SSD SAN storage features, DDoS protection, SSL encryption, firewall management, and daily backups.
The SSD dedicated plan comes with SSD storage which is faster than the traditional hard drives. This means your website will load faster, boost performance and reduce latency. In addition, you’ll get SSH access, IPv6 support, unlimited FTP accounts, daily backups, and many more.
TipTip: The SSD dedicated gives you full control of your hosting environment, and you can configure the server to fit your needs. This is a perfect option for customers with a high-traffic website and projects requiring custom configurations.
HDD
The HHD dedicated plan has larger storage capacity but uses HHDs (hard disk drive) which is slower than the SSDs. Since they’re cheaper than SSD plans, it’s a perfect option for businesses that want access to dedicated resources but have a limited budget.
TipTip: Each plan comes with 4 cores (HT) * 3.5 GHz, free domain, Intel Quad-Core and Intel Xeon ES-1230 v6, and many more. IONOS recommends the XL – 32 HHD plan, which starts at $90/month. After three months, it reverts to the original price of $10/mo.
Offers shared, WordPress, Dedicated, VPS, Windows hosting
Sustainable data centers
Reliable uptime
One of the features that stood out to me and made them unique from other providers is their ASP.NET hosting plans – specifically for Windows OS. This benefits Windows developers because they can easily access the requirements for building websites with .net and ASP.NET languages.
The IONOS Windows plan supports the latest version of the Windows server, ASP.NET, and .Net languages, respectively. Most importantly, each package in this plan comes with MS SQL, Cron manager, unlimited FTPS accounts, SSH access, free domains, and many other developer-friendly tools.
In addition, I love the IONOS custom-designed control panel, which looks more appealing than the regular cPanel. Here, you’ll find all the tools for setting up and managing your website.
IONOS
Unlock your website's full potential with IONOS hosting, featuring high scalability, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a range of plans to suit your needs – from shared hosting to dedicated servers. Experience lightning speed and top-notch security.
IONOS boasts fast and scalable hosting services for all its users. To prove this, I tested the uptime, speed, and page load time. However, the proximity of your data center to your audience impacts the loading time and speed. Choose the nearest location to any IONOS Hosting data centers for better ranking and performance.
IONOS promises a 99.9% uptime guarantee, which is incredible considering the price. This proves IONOS is a reliable provider with only a few seconds of downtime annually for server maintenance.
Then, I tested for speed and response time using blinkforhome.com, a website hosted on IONOS . The overall performance showed 87%, which is also impressive.
Regarding speed, the results were slightly below my expectations and can be improved. The LCP took 780 ms, below the market average of 1.2 ms. This means your website can rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Lastly, I tested the page load time and the TTFB, and the results were reasonably good and can be improved. It took 1.7s to load the website fully:
Conclusively, IONOS performance is above average and surpasses many competitors offering similar packages at higher prices.
IONOS
Unlock your website's full potential with IONOS hosting, featuring high scalability, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a range of plans to suit your needs – from shared hosting to dedicated servers. Experience lightning speed and top-notch security.
IONOS provides a list of helplines for specific regions:
They have an additional customer support line available for US and non-US countries. Although this comes at a cost for countries outside the US:
Live chat
The live chat support is always faster, and I prefer using it when I encounter technical issues. But at the time of computing this review, IONOS live chat option was temporarily unavailable. So I couldn’t test that feature:
A vast knowledge base
The help center has a search engine feature where you can access almost all issues you’ll encounter while using IONOS:
Cloud support
Cloud support is specifically for users using or interested in IONOS cloud hosting. Opt for the free consultation if you are interested in using cloud hosting but need to figure out the right package that best fits your business. They have a team of experts ready to guide you and ease your decision-making process.
Secondly, IONOS has a rich library with guides, tutorials, FAQs, and other resources that give in-depth explanations of using the IONOS cloud hosting feature:
Lastly, they offer their special ‘Personal Consultant’ where you get a dedicated agent to attend to your needs:
IONOS
Unlock your website's full potential with IONOS hosting, featuring high scalability, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a range of plans to suit your needs – from shared hosting to dedicated servers. Experience lightning speed and top-notch security.
Creating an account with Hosting is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is to purchase any of their plans from the homepage. You’ll find the list of hosting services they provide here:
Simply click on any of the services listed, and you’ll see a drop-down list of hosting packages available:
Once you’ve found the right package that fits your needs, click the ‘add to cart’ button:
Next, you’ll see a page to add your domain. If you don’t have a domain name yet, no worries! Simply click the ‘proceed without domain’ button at the bottom right corner of the page:
Once that’s sorted, IONOS automatically recommends add-ons that are beneficial to your web hosting plan. The add-ons are free for 30 days, and you won’t be charged until after this period. If you don’t want any, you can skip this page:
Lastly, you’ll be directed to the check-out page:
Congratulations! You’ll now have access to the IONOS account management dashboard.
IONOS Control Panel
IONOS has a neat and modern custom-made control panel that doubles as the main dashboard. Here, you can access your account and manage your website. The UI is interactive and intuitive, and you’ll find no trouble navigating the platform:
Overall, I love that the dashboard/control panel has a steep learning curve, well-organized, and is highly practical.
Installing WordPress onIONOS
Installing WordPress on IONOS is almost instant. They provide a 1-Click WordPress installation tool to create a WordPress account. You’ll also find a WordPress Setup Assistant plugin that automatically creates your account, suggests and installs design templates, installs various plugins, and many more.
IONOS provides a more detailed explanation to help you get started. Check it out here.
Creating an email account withIONOS
To set up your email account(s) on IONOS , simply log into your account and click the email icon on the dashboard. Click the ‘add email address’ button.
Next, you’ll be directed to choose your desired IONOS email product. IONOS recommends the Mail Basic option, but two other options are available. Lastly, you’ll fill out a form where you can add your email and password and choose a domain.
Click ‘save,’ and your email account is ready.
TipTip: IONOS allows you to tighten the security of your email account. They provide three levels of protection: protection against spam, viruses, and data loss. Simply tick the boxes to activate any or all of them. Note that protection against data loss attracts $2.50/mo.
Conclusion: Do We Recommend IONOS?
IONOS is a great host, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for reliable web hosting. The wide range of hosting options and fair pricing plans is alluring, especially to business owners with a minimal budget.
Another intriguing aspect is that their plans come with unmetered bandwidth, unlimited traffic, and advanced developer tools. Aside from the customer service, which needs improvements, I believe IONOS is a solid web provider and an excellent choice for anyone who wants to build and manage a website.
And lastly, IONO has incredible support features you get to enjoy, especially as a paid customer.
Still not sure about IONOS? Check out similar companies:
Kamatera
Kamatera caters to all with tailored hosting solutions, emphasizing their top-tier VPS and cloud services. Designed for optimal performance and scalability, their offerings ensure seamless website functionality for any user.
FastComet offers tailored hosting experiences for every user, from novices to established businesses, showcasing their premier shared and cloud hosting packages for streamlined website operations.
HostArmada provides bespoke hosting journeys for all, from beginners to seasoned enterprises, highlighting their top-tier web hosting solutions for optimized web management.
The top choice for individuals with security worries.
Ionos turned out to be a great option for my businesses requiring top-notch security and performance. This VPS hosting option is recommended by me for those, seeking an affordable and user-friendly solution. I noticed that DigitalOcean, DedicatedCore, and Interserver, three VPS companies, provide various security features to safeguard our crucial data. The top choice for individuals with security worries.
Der schlechteste Anbieter der mir je untergekommen ist. Kein Service, man wird über Wochen nur vertröstet. Wir haben seit Tagen kein Internet oder es setzt minutenlang aus. Die Werbung, die im Fernsehen gezeigt wird, ist für den a.... ! Das beste zum Schuss: trotz Kündigungsschreiben sollen wir nochmals die Kündigung bestätigen
einfach Schrot, seit gestern ich habe 4 mal beim 1und1 hosting Abteilung angerufen, keine hat richtige Beantworten könnte, eine sagt du brauchst keine anderen zu machen da es ist kompatibel für deine project, eine sagt nee du musst wechseln und eine managed server kaufen, eine sagt du solltest cloud server kaufen, am ende ich habe den ersten Antwort befolgt und meine project startet, nach dem hochladen das Ordner mit dem FTP ich habe installation gestartet und kommt die erste Fehler dass "Entschuldigung aber sie brauchen MySQL 5.6.0 oder höher, danach ich habe beim Kundenservice um 22:00 angerufen, Kundenberater war vielleicht beim Schlaf und wollte das ich schnellst wie möglich auflege. und hat mir gesagt dass wir können dieses version nicht andren sie müssen eine manged server kaufen! wenn andren die MySQL version keine Ahnung! also das ist meine letzte Verträge mit dem 1und1 und in der Zukunft nie wiedersehn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
und ich sag euch auch dass ihr sollt auch finger weg lassen von 1und1, ist nur eine Schones name sonst nichts............. Caio 1und1
IONOS offers a modern interface that is simple to use. It also has a comprehensive help center with articles covering everything from setting up an e-commerce business to adjusting your security settings. IONOS offers live human support through phone or email if you have any troubles. Regardless of your technical ability level, IONOS provides everything you need to start the service.
Can I transfer my domain to IONOS?
Yes, you can. You can transfer your domain name to IONOS through the provider’s technical support. Their support is available by phone from 8 am to 6 pm EST.
What kind of customer support does IONOS offer?
IONOS offers 24/7/365 live support via email, and their phone support is available from 8 am to 6 pm EST. Also, you can access help via live chat, but only if you already have an IONOS account. IONOS has a great help center and a rich knowledge base with tutorials available for everyone who wants to learn more about IONOS and the hosting services.
Which infrastructure underlies IONOS Windows server hosting?
As explained within the IONOS review, its Windows server hosting employs cutting-edge technology to ensure that your site content performs at its best. The Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a crucial component that distributes requests over many data centers, allowing speed improvement for your Windows server hosting, confirmed by many customer reviews. Users access your website through the cloud, dispersed over more than 20 data centers worldwide. IONOS WebSpaceExplorer interface is also useful for loading data onto your server. It may be started directly from your web browser. Thus, no FTP client is required.
To whom is IONOS WordPress most suited?
Bloggers are the most common target audience for WordPress, and the content management system was built with having them in mind. Its adaptability can benefit both small and large businesses and agencies.
Is IONOS a good host?
Yes, IONOS Hosting is a good host and one of the best web hosting providers in the market. This is because of its solid reliability, state-of-the-art technology, variety of hosting plans, high scalability, and lightning speed. The flexibility of the web host and terrific pricing plans makes it highly sought after by individuals and business owners alike.
Is it free to transfer a domain to IONOS?
Yes, transferring your domain from another provider to IONOS Hosting is free. The transfer process is instant, with no hidden charges at all. Although, IONOS Hosting may charge a one-time fee to set up or a registration fee. To transfer your domain right now, follow these three steps:
– Request an authentication code from your previous provider
– Enter the domain you want to transfer in the box provided
– Confirm your transfer using the authentication code you received.
Once you’re done with the steps above, you’ll receive an email from IONOS Hosting where you can confirm the transfer.
Can I use my own domain with IONOS?
Yes, you can use your own domain with IONOS Hosting. You can even use IONOS Hosting name servers or any of your current name servers. However, it’s advisable to use name servers from your hosting provider to avoid complexities later.
HostAdvice.com provides professional web hosting reviews fully independent of any other entity. Our reviews are unbiased, honest, and apply the same evaluation standards to all those reviewed.While monetary compensation is received from a few of the companies listed on this site, compensation of services and products have no influence on the direction or conclusions of our reviews. Nor does the compensation influence our rankings for certain host companies.This compensation covers account purchasing costs, testing costs and royalties paid to reviewers.
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