Price on day one
$2.79
against $1.00 for IONOS, so they win the first year
Head to head, renewal included
IONOS vs Ahosting
IONOS advertises $1 a month, which is a first-year promotional rate that renews at $12. The entry plan carries one website, there is no staging tool, and no dedicated IP at any tier. Ahosting opens at $2.79 and renews at $2.79.
IONOS figures are their published entry-plan rates, verified 1 September 2026. Ours come from our billing system, so they cannot drift.
24 Years
Trusted Since 2002
99.9% Uptime
Guaranteed SLA
30-Day
Money-Back Guarantee
24/7
Expert Helpdesk
Price at renewal
$2.79
against $12.00, the same plan
Dedicated IP
Included
IONOS does not include one on this plan
Where IONOS leads
$1.00
the cheapest first year on the table, by a distance
Line by line
Entry plan against entry plan
Ahosting WP Bronze against IONOS, the plan each of us puts in front of a first-time WordPress customer.
| Feature | Ahosting $2.79/mo same at renewal | IONOS $1.00/mo then $12.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2.79/mo | $1.00/mo |
| Renewal price | $2.79/mo, unchanged | $12.00/mo |
| Free dedicated IP | ✓ | ✗ |
| LiteSpeed with LSCache | ✓ | ✗ |
| Website migration | Free, done for you | ✗ |
| Websites included | 5 on Bronze | 1 on Essential |
| Staging tool | All plans | ✗ |
| Control panel | cPanel | Custom panel |
| Backups | Daily, offsite | Daily |
| Wildcard SSL | Standard SSL included | Wildcard included |
| Free SSL certificate | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI website builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9% | 99.9% |
$2.79/mo, and $2.79/mo again when it renews.
Free dedicated IP, LiteSpeed, cPanel, daily backups, staging and free expert migration, on the entry plan.
Order WP Bronze
Ahosting prices read live from our billing system. IONOS prices are their published rates on 1 September 2026 and can change without notice.
Differences that cost money
Where Ahosting is ahead
Not a feature list. The places where the gap changes what you pay or what you have to do yourself.
The renewal is the same number
IONOS opens at $1 for the first year and renews at $12, a twelve-fold increase. Ahosting opens at $2.79 and renews at $2.79. The first invoice favours IONOS; every one after that does not.
A dedicated IP, at no extra cost
IONOS does not include a dedicated IP at any shared tier. Ahosting includes one on every plan.
LiteSpeed doing the caching
IONOS uses a different server stack. Ahosting runs LiteSpeed with LSCache, so WordPress full-page caching happens at the server.
A staging site on every plan
Ahosting includes a staging environment on Bronze, Silver and Gold, so a plugin update or a theme change is tested somewhere that is not the live site. IONOS does not offer that at this tier.
More than one site on one account
Ahosting Bronze carries five WordPress sites, Silver ten and Gold twenty, all under one login and one invoice. IONOS is more restrictive at this price, so a second project means a second plan.
Migration we do, not a job you run
Ahosting moves the site for you: files, databases and email, with most migrations finished inside twenty minutes and nothing to pay for it. You do not schedule it, you do not test it, you ask and it is done.
The other side
Where IONOS is genuinely better
A comparison that only flatters the host who wrote it is worth nothing. These are real, and for some people they decide it.
The cheapest first year on the table
A dollar a month is a dollar a month. If you need a site online for twelve months and cost is the only variable, nothing here beats it, though the renewal at $12 is where it stops being cheap.
Wildcard SSL included
IONOS bundles a wildcard certificate, which covers every subdomain on one name. We include a standard certificate. If you are running shop.yourdomain.com and mail.yourdomain.com and half a dozen more, that is worth real money.
European infrastructure and a long record
IONOS has been operating since 1988 and runs substantial infrastructure in Europe. If your audience and your data-residency requirements are European, that is a serious argument in their favour.
Straight recommendation
Which one should you actually buy?
Both run WordPress well. The honest split is about what you value in year two, and how much of the setup you want to do yourself.
Choose Ahosting if
- You care what the invoice says in year two, not just year one
- You want a dedicated IP and private nameservers without an add-on line
- You want LiteSpeed and LSCache doing the caching, not a plugin
- You would rather we moved the site than do it yourself
- You already know cPanel, or want to learn the panel that transfers
- You want daily backups and staging on the cheapest plan
Choose IONOS if
- Your audience and your data live in Europe
- You need one site online for a year at the lowest possible cost
- You need wildcard SSL across many subdomains
- You do not need a staging environment
If that is you, check the renewal figure on their order form before you commit. It is the number that decides the next three years, and it is not the one on the advert.
Straight answers
Ahosting or IONOS?
The questions people actually ask before they switch, answered with the numbers rather than around them.
IONOS is $1.00 a month on the first year only and renews at $12.00. Ahosting is $2.79 a month on a 36-month term and renews at $2.79, the price you signed up at. The gap on the first invoice is one thing; the gap on every invoice after it is the one that decides three years.
Not on this plan. Ahosting includes a dedicated IP on Bronze, Silver and Gold at no extra cost. A dedicated IP gives the site a stable address that is not shared with unrelated accounts on the same server.
For the first year, yes. After that it renews at $12 a month. That is a twelve-fold increase and it is worth knowing before you compare it against a price that does not change. Ahosting is $2.79 at signup and $2.79 at renewal.
No. There is no staging environment on the entry plan, so changes are tested on the live site or not at all. Ahosting includes a staging tool on Bronze, Silver and Gold.
IONOS Essential carries one. Ahosting Bronze carries five, Silver ten and Gold twenty, all on a single account. If you expect a second project, that is the difference between one plan and two.
Our team does it. You give us access, we move files, databases and email accounts, and most migrations are finished inside twenty minutes. There is no charge, and nothing for you to schedule or test.
Yes. Ahosting offers a 30-day money-back period on the WordPress hosting plans. The terms are shown on the order form before you pay.
Comparing something else
Ahosting against another host
Same format, same billing data, one competitor at a time. The hub page puts all eight in a single table.
One price, first year and after
Move from IONOS and keep the same price at renewal
IONOS opens at $1.00 a month and renews at $12.00. WP Bronze opens at $2.79 and renews at $2.79, with a dedicated IP, LiteSpeed and cPanel included. We handle the migration ourselves, free, so moving costs you nothing but the time it takes to ask.
- Free dedicated IP included
- Free expert migration
- Daily backups and staging
- 30-day money-back period
WP Bronze starts from
$2.79 /month
36-month term. Renews at $2.79/mo, no increase and no setup fee.
Introductory pricing depends on the selected billing term. Renewal pricing and money-back eligibility are shown before checkout and governed by the applicable terms.