Some of the cheapest intro prices around, backed by an unusual amount of award-winning support.
We may earn a commission if you sign up through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
We researched IONOS's current web, WordPress, VPS+, and dedicated server plans, features, support channels, and policies directly from ionos.com on 2026-07-17 and 2026-07-20. Pricing and specs are verified against the operator's own pricing pages; IONOS's Trustpilot score was confirmed via a direct page fetch rather than a search snippet. Trusthost has not purchased an IONOS test account, so this is desk research against the operator's own published pages, not a hands-on test.
Overview
IONOS traces back to 1&1, founded in Germany in 1988 and headquartered in Montabaur, Rhineland-Palatinate. The company merged with cloud infrastructure provider ProfitBricks in 2018 and rebranded as 1&1 IONOS. IONOS now reports around 8 million customers served from roughly 10 data centers, targeting small and mid-size businesses with web hosting, SSL, email, and domain services bundled under one account.
Features of Ionos
Building a site with Ionos
For WordPress, pick a domain, run the 1-click WordPress install, and set up your admin profile. From there the AI Website Builder can generate a full draft site, copy and images included, from a short questionnaire, and an in-editor AI Assistant will write content on request. Non-WordPress users can instead use the no-code "MyWebsite" product, or the AI App and Site Builder for generating a custom app or tool from a text description. Day-to-day management runs through IONOS's own Website Cockpit dashboard rather than cPanel. Trusthost has not purchased a test account to walk through this flow first-hand.
Ionos pricing
WordPress Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $5.00/mo | $9.00/mo | 12 months | 44% |
| Grow | $1.00/mo | $14.00/mo | 12 months | 93% |
| Boost | $12.00/mo | $19.00/mo | 12 months | 37% |
Web Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $4.00/mo | $10.00/mo | 12 months | 60% |
| Starter | $6.00/mo | $12.00/mo | 12 months | 50% |
| Plus | $1.00/mo | $16.00/mo | 12 months | 94% |
| Ultimate | $10.00/mo | $20.00/mo | 12 months | 50% |
Deploy Now
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Membership | $0.00/mo | $4.00/mo | 1 month | 100% |
| Membership + Static project | $2.00/mo | $6.00/mo | 1 month | 67% |
| Membership + PHP project | $7.00/mo | $11.00/mo | 1 month | 36% |
Joomla Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $4.00/mo | $10.00/mo | 12 months | 60% |
| Plus | $1.00/mo | $16.00/mo | 12 months | 94% |
| Ultimate | $10.00/mo | $20.00/mo | 12 months | 50% |
VPS / Servers
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPS S+ | $2.00/mo | $2.00/mo | 1 month | — |
Ionos support
IONOS offers 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat, and every account includes a named personal consultant. We have not run a real support interaction this pass, so no response-time claim is included here.
Pros and cons
IONOS in 2026
IONOS traces back to 1&1, founded in Germany in 1988. The company now runs around 10 data centers and serves roughly 8 million customers worldwide, headquartered in Montabaur, Germany, with a US operating base in Pennsylvania. It targets small and mid-size businesses with a bundle of web hosting, SSL, email, and domain services under one account.
Performance and reliability
Site speed depends on the plan and how close the assigned data center is to your visitors. IONOS states over 99.99% uptime backed by geo-redundant infrastructure, included even on the entry-level Essential tier.
Control panel and security
The control panel is built for straightforward day-to-day management: installing software, handling email accounts, and monitoring performance, with 1-click installers for WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. Security features include SSL certificates, daily backups, and malware scanning.
AI tools and support
WordPress plans include an AI Website Builder that generates a full draft site from a short questionnaire, plus an in-editor AI Assistant for writing content on request. Every account also includes a named personal consultant alongside standard 24/7 phone, email, and live chat support, an unusual inclusion backed by a multi-year "Customer Service of the Year" award history.
Is Ionos right for you?
Good fit if you want the lowest possible intro price with real inclusions (backups, SSL, professional email) at every tier, and you value having a named personal consultant alongside standard support.
Better to avoid if you want cPanel or a choice of data center on shared hosting, or if you are not prepared for the sharp jump in price once the first-year promo ends.
Frequently asked questions
