Hostinger review: the cheapest start, if you read the renewal price

Hostinger's website builder bundles hosting, a domain and AI tools at a very low first-term price. Here is the full picture.

We.Inc is free to start, no credit card. AI building from $20/mo.

The verdict

Hostinger is a good budget pick for a simple business site: its builder starts at $2.49 a month with hosting, email and a free domain for a year. The catch is that the price needs a 48-month prepayment ($119.52 up front) and renews at $10.99 a month.

Pick it if you want the lowest outlay and are happy to commit for four years. Look elsewhere if you want month-to-month billing or advanced design control.

Hostinger website builder plans

	Premium	Unlimited	Cloud Startup
Intro price (48-month term)	$2.49/mo ($119.52)	$3.49/mo ($167.52)	$7.99/mo ($383.52)
Renews at	$10.99/mo	$16.99/mo	$25.99/mo
Websites	Up to 3	Unlimited	Unlimited
AI credits	5	15	15
Domain	Free for 1 year	Free for 1 year	Free for 1 year

Prices checked September 2026 (September 25) on each vendor's own pricing page, in US dollars. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on their page before you buy.

Pros and cons

Hostinger Website Builder

Best for: Budget-conscious small businesses happy to prepay

Price: Premium $2.49, Unlimited $3.49, Cloud Startup $7.99 a month on a 48-month prepaid term, renewing at $10.99, $16.99 and $25.99

Pros: Lowest entry price of the big builders; Hosting, mailboxes and a year of domain included; Simple drag-and-drop editor with AI help

Cons: Headline price needs a 48-month prepayment; Renewal price is roughly three to four times the intro price; Few AI credits on the entry plan; Less design depth than Wix or Squarespace

We.Inc

Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $49/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter

Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform

Verdict by buyer

A local business that wants the lowest outlay and is happy to prepay four years: Hostinger is a strong fit on Premium. Someone running several small sites: Unlimited covers unlimited websites. Anyone who wants to pay month to month or leave at short notice: a monthly builder suits better. Someone who wants deep design control or the site written from a description: look at a design-led builder or an AI website builder.

What Hostinger does well

Value. For under $150 you get four years of a hosted site with mailboxes and a domain for the first year, which is hard to beat. The editor is straightforward and good enough for a local business, and the AI tools can draft pages to start from.

Where Hostinger falls short

The pricing structure. The regular price shown on Hostinger's page for the same 48 months of Premium is $585.12, and after the term the plan renews at $10.99 a month. Design options are narrower than Wix or Squarespace, and 5 AI credits on Premium is a taste rather than a tool.

Total cost over time

Over the first four years Premium costs $119.52. A fifth year at the renewal rate would add about $132. Compare that with a builder you pay monthly, where you can leave any time.

Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $49 and Max is $99.

What Hostinger costs over three years

The headline prices come as a 48-month prepayment, so three years of Hostinger costs the same as four: $119.52 on Premium, $167.52 on Unlimited and $383.52 on Cloud Startup, as listed on October 21, 2026. We did not check shorter terms, which usually cost more per month, so see hostinger.com/website-builder if you do not want to commit for four years. The domain is free for the first year only; add its renewal price for years two and three.

A five-task test to run before you pay for Hostinger

Prices only tell you half the story. The fairest way to judge Hostinger is to give it the same small job you would give any builder: a five-page website for a local service business (home, services, about, reviews and contact).

1. Build the service list with a price or short description for each service. 2. Add a quote request form and send yourself a test entry to check it arrives. 3. Connect a custom domain and confirm the site loads on it with a padlock. 4. Change one piece of content, such as a new service or opening hours, and time how long it takes. 5. Check the result on a phone.

Note which plan each step needed. That tells you the plan you will really pay for, which is often not the cheapest one advertised. When the site is live, run it through our free website grader to check search basics and speed.

How to score the test

Use the same rubric for every tool you try, Hostinger and We.Inc included, so neither gets a head start. For each of the five tasks give 2 points if it worked on the plan you intend to buy, 1 if it needed a higher plan, an add-on or several retries, and 0 if you could not do it. Keep a note of the time each task took. We have not published scores of our own because we have not run this test yet; the rubric is here so your comparison is fair.

Ownership, support and moving away

Hostinger hosts the site and bundles a domain for the first year and mailboxes. We could not confirm an export of a builder site as a working site elsewhere, so plan to copy your content and rebuild if you leave. A domain registered with Hostinger can be transferred out; check its renewal price before year two.

Who wrote this and how

We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.

Start from a template

Sources

Hostinger: Website Builder plans (Checked Sept 25, 2026)
We.Inc: Pricing (Checked Sept 25, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

Is Hostinger good for a website?

For a simple small-business site on a tight budget, yes. It is less suited to design-heavy sites or anyone who wants to pay month to month.

How much does Hostinger's website builder cost?

Premium is $2.49 a month, Unlimited $3.49 and Cloud Startup $7.99 on a 48-month term, renewing at $10.99, $16.99 and $25.99, as listed on October 21, 2026.

Is the domain free with Hostinger?

Yes, for the first year on each plan. It renews at the normal domain price after that.

Does Hostinger have a free plan?

No. Hostinger offers a money-back guarantee rather than a free plan.

How much does Hostinger cost over three years?

The intro prices need a 48-month prepayment, so three years costs the same as four: $119.52 on Premium, as listed on October 21, 2026. After that it renews at $10.99 a month, and the domain is free for the first year only.

Is this review sponsored?

No. We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so we link our sources and say where Hostinger is the better choice.