Hostinger vs SiteGround (2026): same $2.99 headline price, very different terms and renewals

You're choosing hosting for a first website, and two names keep coming up: Hostinger and SiteGround. Both advertise an entry plan at $2.99/mo, so they can look interchangeable. They aren't. That price covers a 48-month prepayment at Hostinger and 12 months at SiteGround. The two hosts also differ in renewal price, how often they back up your site, and how many websites each plan allows. This page compares them using only their official plan and help pages, checked in October 2026, so you can see what you would actually pay and get.

Hostinger vs SiteGround at a glance

Prices and plans

The monthly price is what you pay per month during the first term. That full term is charged up front.

Prices checked October 2026 on the vendors' sites — promotions change, check the final price at checkout.

Both hosts list a free domain for the first year, free SSL and a 30-day money-back guarantee. SiteGround's free domain covers .com, .us, .org or .net.

The real differences

1. Commitment versus long-term cost

The matching $2.99 headline hides two different deals. At SiteGround, you pay about $36 up front for the first year of StartUp. At Hostinger, you pay $143.52 up front for four years of Premium. Hostinger says monthly payment is possible, but the plan page doesn't show that price, so check the vendor's page if you want to pay month to month.

After the first term, the gap widens. Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99/mo and SiteGround StartUp at $17.99/mo. Here is a rough four-year comparison, assuming SiteGround's renewal stays at $17.99/mo:

• Hostinger Premium costs $143.52 for the whole period.
• SiteGround StartUp costs about $36 for year one, then roughly $648 for the next three years.

SiteGround is cheaper to try. Hostinger is cheaper to keep, if you're sure you'll still want the site in four years.

2. Backups and safety nets

SiteGround includes daily backups, a CDN, free SSL and free email accounts on every plan, including StartUp.

Hostinger's Premium plan includes the following, but backups are weekly:

• free SSL;
• a CDN;
• two mailboxes per website, free for the first year.

Daily backups start on Unlimited. Cloud Startup adds on-demand backups. Unlimited also includes unlimited mailboxes per website, free for the first year.

If restore points matter to you, compare SiteGround StartUp with Hostinger Unlimited ($3.99/mo for 48 months, renewing at $16.99/mo), not with Premium.

3. Support and getting help

SiteGround lists 24/7 support by live chat, tickets and phone on all plans. Hostinger offers multilingual 24/7 support, according to Hostinger. We couldn't confirm which channels Hostinger's support uses, so check the vendor's page if phone support is important to you.

On migration, Hostinger offers free unlimited website migration. SiteGround includes your first migration free.

4. Room to grow

Hostinger's entry plan is more generous:

• Hostinger Premium: 3 websites and 20 GB.
• SiteGround StartUp: 1 website, 10 GB and about 10,000 visits a month.

SiteGround's GrowBig moves you to unlimited websites, 50 GB and about 100,000 visits a month. It also adds staging, a private copy of your site for testing changes. GoGeek adds 100 GB and Git.

At Hostinger, Unlimited offers unlimited websites under a fair usage policy. Cloud Startup adds more processing power: 4 CPU cores and 4 GB RAM, against 1 core and 2 GB on Premium. Hostinger's WordPress hosting page also mentions a one-click staging tool.

We couldn't confirm a visits-per-month figure for Hostinger's plans. Check the vendor's page if you need one.

5. Building tools and WordPress

Hostinger includes the following in every plan, all inside hPanel, its own control panel:

• a one-click WordPress installer;
• its AI Builder, which produces a first draft from a description of your business.

Hostinger offers a 14-day free trial of its website builder (as of October 2026). It lists ecommerce in the AI Builder on Unlimited and Cloud Startup, not on Premium. That ecommerce runs through an add-on costing $1 for the first 3 months, then $8.99/mo.

SiteGround offers a one-click installer and the SiteGround Website Builder.

WordPress.org lists Hostinger among its recommended hosts. Whichever host you choose, WordPress recommends PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or greater (or MariaDB 10.11 or greater) and HTTPS support.

Both hosts let you pick a server location near your visitors. SiteGround has data centers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Who should choose Hostinger

• You're confident the site will run for years and want the lowest long-term price.
• You want more than one site on the entry plan (Premium allows 3).
• You'd like an AI Builder and WordPress on the same plan, with a free builder trial before paying.
• You may move several existing sites, since migration is free and unlimited.
• You'll choose Unlimited if you need daily backups or AI Builder ecommerce.

Who should choose SiteGround

• You don't want to prepay four years for a site you haven't built yet.
• Daily backups and 24/7 phone, chat and ticket support on the cheapest plan matter more to you than the renewal price.
• You run one site with modest traffic (StartUp is sized for about 10,000 visits a month).
• You want free email accounts included rather than a first-year allowance.
• You'll budget for a $17.99/mo renewal, or plan to review your options after year one.

When neither fits

• You want a store with a large catalog and several sales channels. A dedicated ecommerce platform such as Shopify is built for that.
• You never want to deal with updates, plugins or backups. An all-in-one website builder is simpler.
• You already run a busy site that needs guaranteed resources. Look at cloud or VPS plans instead.

If you're still unsure, our step-by-step guide to choosing your first web host compares more options and walks you through launching.

FAQ

Are both $2.99 prices really the same?

No. Hostinger's $2.99/mo is the 48-month total ($143.52) divided by 48. SiteGround's $2.99/mo is prepaid for 12 months, about $36. Both are charged up front (as of October 2026).

Which one is cheaper after renewal?

Hostinger. Premium renews at $10.99/mo, against $17.99/mo for SiteGround StartUp. The gap is larger on the next tier: Hostinger Unlimited renews at $16.99/mo, while SiteGround GrowBig renews at $29.99/mo.

Which has better backups?

SiteGround includes daily backups on every plan. Hostinger Premium has weekly backups, while Unlimited has daily backups and Cloud Startup adds on-demand backups. With either host, keep your own copy before big changes.

Can I switch from one to the other later?

Yes. Hostinger offers free unlimited migration, and SiteGround's first migration is free. Both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind early, but read the refund terms, especially for free domains.

How we compared

This comparison relies only on the official Hostinger and SiteGround plan and help pages, plus WordPress.org's hosting and requirements pages. All were checked in October 2026. Prices, limits and features are as published there. Where we couldn't confirm a detail, we've said so: check the vendor's page before you buy.