IONOS

IONOS (formerly 1&1) is a European hosting and domain provider owned by the German group United Internet. It's used to host your website, register domains, get professional email, and build web pages, with data centers in Europe.

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Very little to start: IONOS hosting begins at US$1/mo as an introductory offer, with a domain and SSL certificate included for the first year. The structure matters more than the headline, though — that intro rate covers the initial period only, and it then renews at US$14/mo, one of the steeper intro-to-renewal jumps in this comparison, so judge it on the renewal if you plan to stay long-term. Building the site itself can add to the bill: the website builder and higher-resource plans cost more per month. A 30-day money-back guarantee gives you a way to try it first. Cheap first year, ordinary price after — plan for the second year, not the first.

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IONOS belongs to United Internet, a German internet group founded by Ralph Dommermuth. IONOS (formerly 1&1 IONOS) is its hosting subsidiary and is publicly traded, although United Internet retains the majority stake.

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IONOS usually includes a domain free for the first year with its hosting plans, which is the cheapest way to get one there. Registered on its own, a domain follows the industry pattern: a low promotional first year, then IONOS's standard rate for that extension at renewal. The renewal price is the one to check before you commit — it varies by extension and by whatever promotion is running, and it's the figure you'll actually pay year after year.

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Your customer ID appears in the welcome email IONOS sent you when you signed up and inside your customer area (Control Panel), usually at the top next to your account details. You can also use it (or your email) to log in.

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No — IONOS is a paid service with no permanent free plan. What it does offer is one of the lowest entry prices in this comparison: hosting starts at US$1/mo as an introductory offer, with a domain and SSL included for the first year, so the first-year cost is close to nothing. The catch sits at the other end: after the intro period the price rises to US$14/mo, so the long-run cost is far more ordinary than the headline suggests. If you want to test it without risk, the 30-day money-back guarantee lets you try it and claim a refund.

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