IONOS is the consumer hosting brand of United Internet AG, a German technology company founded in 1988. It serves over 6 million customers globally and hosts over 12 million domains, making it one of the largest hosting providers in Europe and a significant US market participant, despite being underrepresented in English-language hosting comparisons.
Shared hosting starts at $1/month on the Plus plan for a 12-month term, including unlimited websites and storage — a feature set normally reserved for higher-tier plans at competing providers. Renewal rates on Plus reach $12/month. WordPress plans also start at $1/month intro; the Pro tier renews at $15/month, a 1,400% increase that requires tracking before the renewal date. In 2026 IONOS adjusted renewal rates for some existing customers; new customers are locked into their introductory rate for their first contract term.
VPS hosting starts at $2/month for 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, and 10GB NVMe — the lowest entry price from a major enterprise-grade provider. VPSBenchmarks ranked IONOS 1st in the Best VPS 2026 under-$15 category. VPS plans are unmanaged; users with server administration knowledge get significant value. Managed VPS is available at higher price points.
Standard features include daily backups, DDoS protection, free SSL, and malware scanning. Shared hosting load testing shows performance degradation above approximately 20,000 monthly visitors. Average page load speed has been recorded at 1.23 seconds in independent tests. Customer support is available 24/7 by phone on all plans — uncommon at this price range.
IONOS suits budget-conscious users who want a reputable host with more included features than typical entry-level providers. The VPS line delivers exceptional value for technically competent users.