Independent · 105 hosts tracked · pricing checked 28 Jul 2026 Our method Compare No paid placements
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IONOS vs Kinsta

Kinsta scores higher; IONOS costs less over three years. Which matters depends on whether the site earns yet.

IONOS

The cheapest first year, and the steepest cliff after it

Good
$1/mo renews $8/mo
Visit IONOS → Full IONOS review
Higher score

Kinsta

Premium managed WordPress on Google Cloud

Very good
$35/mo renews $35/mo
Visit Kinsta → Full Kinsta review

Three-year cost, side by side

One introductory term followed by two years at the renewal rate — the number almost nobody quotes you up front.

IONOS $204 $1 then $8/mo ×8.0
Kinsta $1,260 $35 then $35/mo

Over three years IONOS costs $1,056 less — about $29.33 a month averaged out. It also scores lower, so the question is whether Kinsta earns the difference.

Arithmetic on published monthly rates. Real bills vary with term length, currency, region and taxes.

Which one should you pick?

Choose IONOS if…

  • Among the cheapest first-year pricing anywhere
  • Large, well-capitalised European provider
  • Free domain and wildcard SSL included
  • A named consultant is assigned to your account

Choose Kinsta if…

  • Runs on Google Cloud premium tier, widely reported as the fastest here
  • Staging, Redis and edge caching built in
  • MyKinsta is the best host dashboard available
  • Generous 30-day guarantee at a premium price

What holds IONOS back

  • Renewal is roughly 8x the intro rate — the steepest here
  • IONOS raised some renewal rates again in 2026
  • Support reports are mixed

What holds Kinsta back

  • Expensive for small sites
  • Hard visit limits with overage fees
  • WordPress only

Line by line

Specification IONOS 5 rows ahead Kinsta 6 rows ahead
01 Editorial scores Assessments, not measurements.
Overall score 7.1/10 8.7/10
Performance 30% of the score 7.2 9.5
Support 25% of the score 6.4 9.2
Features 20% of the score 7.4 9.0
Pricing 15% of the score 8.0 5.9
Ease 10% of the score 7.0 9.1
02 What you actually pay Published rates — confirm at checkout.
Intro price $1/mo $35/mo
Renewal price What you pay from year two $8/mo $35/mo
Three-year total One intro term, two renewals $204 $1,260
Refund window 30 days 30 days
03 Specifications
Uptime SLA 99.9% 99.9%
Control panel IONOS panel (custom) MyKinsta
Datacenters DE, UK, ES, FR, US Google Cloud — 37 regions
Support Phone, live chat, dedicated consultant Live chat 24/7, tickets
Free domain Yes No
Free migration No Yes
User rating

Plans compared

Entry plans on both sides, with what each renews at. Storage and traffic limits decide more than the brand name does.

IONOS 4 plans
Essential $1/mo

Free domain + wildcard SSL

Renews at $8 ×8.0
10 GB Unlimited 1 site
Check Essential →
Email hosting (entry) Lowest renewal $1/mo

Read from www.ionos.com/office-solutions/email-hosting

Check Email hosting (entry) →
Business $6/mo

Daily backups

Renews at $12 ×2.0
100 GB Unlimited Unlimited sites
Check Business →
VPS S+ $2/mo

Page states a 1-year term but footnotes 3 months — confirm at checkout — source: ionos.com/servers/vps

Renews at $5 ×2.5
90 GB NVMe Unlimited traffic 2 GB RAM sites
Check VPS S+ →
Kinsta 1 plan
Starter $35/mo

Edge caching + staging

No renewal increase
10 GB 25k visits 1 site
Check Starter →

Only the plans we have recorded — providers add and retire tiers often, so check the current line-up before buying. Monthly equivalents; longer terms are usually billed up front.

Compare something else

Score
7.1
From
$1
Renews
$8
Score
8.7
From
$35
Renews
$35

16 hosts tracked — any pair works. Browse curated comparisons →

Where these figures come from

IONOS: ionos.com/hosting + allaboutcookies/buy-hosting round-ups + ionos.com/help 2026 price adjustment notice — checked 28 Jul 2026

Essential plan. Intro rates as low as $1/mo with renewals reported around $8/mo; round-ups describe increases of 800-1400% on some plans. IONOS published a 2026 price adjustment — check current terms.

Kinsta: kinsta.com/plans — checked 28 Jul 2026

Starter plan, monthly billing. Annual billing works out near $29/mo. No intro discount, so no renewal jump.

Scores are editorial assessments, not lab measurements — see how they are built. Confirm prices at each provider's checkout before buying.

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