{
"id": "hostinger-website-builder-vs-ionos-website-builder",
"ids": [
"hostinger-website-builder",
"ionos-website-builder"
],
"title": "Hostinger Website Builder vs IONOS Website Builder: site allowances, bookings and renewal terms",
"kicker": "SOFTWARE BUYING DECISIONS",
"heading": "Hostinger Website Builder vs IONOS Website Builder:
site allowances, bookings and renewal terms.",
"deck": "Compare current UK website-builder offers by site count, booking requirements, mailbox renewals and the commitment behind introductory prices.",
"description": "Compare current UK website-builder offers by site count, booking requirements, mailbox renewals and the commitment behind introductory prices.",
"answerHeading": "Choose the scope.
Price the retained service.",
"answer": "Hostinger’s UK page advertises multiple-site packages, with ecommerce in Unlimited and Cloud Startup. IONOS MyWebsite Now separates Starter, Plus and Pro, with bookings and broader AI content tools in Plus. Both offer evaluation access. Choose using the required sites and visitor actions, then compare the full paid term, renewal and email or domain costs.",
"researchTag": "Hostinger Website Builder / IONOS Website Builder",
"researchLimit": "Official-document research and hypothetical buying briefs; no hands-on usability, loading-speed, conversion or support-performance ranking.",
"checkedAt": "2026-10-15",
"type": "workflow-buying",
"rows": [
[
"Free access",
"14-day builder trial advertised",
"Free entry leads to a Plus trial of up to 10 days"
],
[
"Published package names",
"Premium, Unlimited and Cloud Startup on checked UK page",
"MyWebsite Now Starter, Plus and Pro"
],
[
"Site allowance",
"Premium lists up to three sites; higher packages advertise unlimited sites",
"Quote separate business sites explicitly; package page focuses on one website"
],
[
"Appointment brief",
"Confirm required booking service and integration",
"Online booking integration listed in Plus"
],
[
"Selling brief",
"Ecommerce listed in Unlimited and Cloud Startup",
"Store addition needs a separately checked ecommerce scope"
],
[
"Email and domain",
"Advertised free inclusions last one year",
"Paid packages list domain and tiered mailbox capacity; check renewal terms"
],
[
"Price interpretation",
"Promotional monthly equivalents can require a 48-month payment",
"Different introductory periods, with UK prices excluding VAT"
]
],
"scenarios": [
{
"name": "Two business brands need separate sites",
"question": "How should the site count be quoted?",
"left": "Premium’s stated three-site allowance is a starting point; verify needed features on both.",
"right": "Request the total cost and administration scope for two distinct sites.",
"note": "Two domains and two separate sites are different requirements. Specify separate content, owners and mailboxes."
},
{
"name": "A local practitioner takes appointments",
"question": "Does the package cover the booking workflow?",
"left": "Demonstrate the chosen booking tool and include any separate subscription.",
"right": "Evaluate Plus’s listed booking integration with the actual scheduling service.",
"note": "Test a cancellation, a time-zone change and a fully booked slot; a visible booking form alone does not establish calendar ownership."
},
{
"name": "A catalogue will start taking orders",
"question": "Which retained product needs evaluation?",
"left": "Evaluate the ecommerce scope in Unlimited or Cloud Startup.",
"right": "Obtain the website-plus-store package and product allowance needed.",
"note": "Run a product variation, delivery charge and refund before launch; price the payment provider separately."
},
{
"name": "A business will keep its site beyond the promotion",
"question": "What is the comparable budget?",
"left": "Compare upfront term payment, stated renewal and year-two domain or email costs.",
"right": "Compare the introductory period, standard package amount, tax and renewal inclusions.",
"note": "Build a dated cash-flow schedule over the same ownership period; do not compare unequal promotional windows."
}
],
"exampleTable": {
"caption": "Four hypothetical buying briefs; evaluation tasks are proposed, not performed",
"headers": [
"Buying brief",
"Hostinger Website Builder",
"IONOS Website Builder"
],
"rows": [
[
"Two business brands need separate sites",
"Premium’s stated three-site allowance is a starting point; verify needed features on both.",
"Request the total cost and administration scope for two distinct sites."
],
[
"A local practitioner takes appointments",
"Demonstrate the chosen booking tool and include any separate subscription.",
"Evaluate Plus’s listed booking integration with the actual scheduling service."
],
[
"A catalogue will start taking orders",
"Evaluate the ecommerce scope in Unlimited or Cloud Startup.",
"Obtain the website-plus-store package and product allowance needed."
],
[
"A business will keep its site beyond the promotion",
"Compare upfront term payment, stated renewal and year-two domain or email costs.",
"Compare the introductory period, standard package amount, tax and renewal inclusions."
]
]
},
"sections": [
{
"id": "visitor-actions",
"navLabel": "Choose around what a visitor must complete",
"title": "Choose around what a visitor must complete",
"paragraphs": [
"Start with three actions that make the website useful: send an enquiry, book an appointment or purchase a product. For an enquiry site, specify the form fields, recipient mailbox and confirmation message. For appointments, add working hours, cancellation rules and who maintains availability. IONOS lists booking integration in Plus; that identifies a package to inspect, but the evaluation still needs the scheduling system and its actual plan. Ask Hostinger to demonstrate the intended equivalent workflow.",
"For selling, list physical or digital delivery, product options, required destinations and refund handling before choosing a subscription. Hostinger explicitly marks ecommerce in its higher advertised packages, while IONOS also sells a store scope that must be included in the quote. Have the person responsible for daily updates change a price and correct a product image on the intended package. Keep that observed work separate from marketing statements about how quickly AI can generate a first draft."
]
},
{
"id": "renewal-and-ownership",
"navLabel": "Compare a dated ownership budget",
"title": "Compare a dated ownership budget",
"paragraphs": [
"A monthly equivalent can describe a large prepaid purchase. Record Hostinger’s initial term, payment date and stated renewal separately, then add renewals for domains and mailboxes after their first-year inclusion. Record IONOS’s promotional duration, standard amount, contract term and VAT on the same timeline. Use the same end date for both budgets and include any booking, commerce or email services required to deliver the visitor actions. Avoid assuming a first-year inclusion persists for the whole contract.",
"If the business has more than one website, specify each site, domain, mailbox and owner. Hostinger publishes a site allowance, but the feature requirements still have to fit the selected package. Ask IONOS to price the actual separate-site arrangement rather than inferring it from storage capacity. Before moving a live domain, document access to the registrar, existing email records and who can publish changes. Review a phone-sized page and one submitted form in a controlled evaluation; these are proposed checks, not results from hands-on testing here."
]
}
],
"faqs": [
{
"question": "Does IONOS’s Free card establish a permanent free published website?",
"answer": "No. Its linked UK registration describes a trial of Plus features for up to 10 days and an upgrade to claim a domain and get online."
},
{
"question": "Are Hostinger’s headline monthly equivalents rolling monthly payments?",
"answer": "The checked UK promotions show a total purchase for 48 months and a different renewal rate. Confirm the available term and total checkout payment before buying."
},
{
"question": "Can I compare an old Hostinger Business plan with the current UK page?",
"answer": "Check the actual offer or existing account. The current page inspected here names Premium, Unlimited and Cloud Startup; historical plan names do not establish current package scope."
}
],
"sources": [
{
"url": "https://www.hostinger.com/uk/website-builder",
"facts": "Current UK package names, site allowance, ecommerce marking, first-year inclusions, prepaid promotional terms, renewal and trial."
},
{
"url": "https://www.ionos.co.uk/websites/website-builder",
"facts": "UK Starter/Plus/Pro scope, bookings, AI tools, mailbox capacity, promotional periods and VAT."
},
{
"url": "https://www.ionos.co.uk/websites/trial-registration",
"facts": "Up-to-10-day Plus evaluation and upgrade before getting online."
},
{
"url": "https://www.ionos.co.uk/websites/launch-your-website",
"facts": "Website product boundaries, visual editing, support positioning and store integration."
}
],
"relatedLinks": [
{
"path": "/categories/website-builders/",
"title": "Explore website builders software"
},
{
"path": "/guides/software-total-cost/",
"title": "Compare the whole software bill"
},
{
"path": "/guides/software-buying-checklist/",
"title": "Build a practical evaluation checklist"
}
],
"datasetDescription": "Compare current UK website-builder offers by site count, booking requirements, mailbox renewals and the commitment behind introductory prices. Includes seven scoped differences, four illustrative briefs and practical acceptance checks."
}