IONOS vs iPage: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

IONOS and iPage both offer comprehensive website building and hosting solutions, but they cater to slightly different needs.

• 
  IONOS (Overall Grade: 6.9/10)
  
  stands out for its extensive design functionalities, ease of use, and robust ecommerce features. It is ideal for users who need a professional-looking website with advanced customization options and reliable hosting services. IONOS also excels in AI capabilities and marketing features, making it a strong choice for businesses looking to optimize their online presence.
• 
  iPage (Overall Grade: 6.1/10)
  
  , on the other hand, is more suited for small to medium-sized businesses and personal projects. It offers a user-friendly interface and a variety of templates, making it easy for beginners to create and manage websites. While iPage may not match IONOS in terms of advanced features and customization, it provides a solid foundation for those looking for an affordable and straightforward website builder.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: IONOS is better suited for businesses needing comprehensive ecommerce features, while iPage is ideal for simpler online store setups.

• 
  IONOS
  
  : With a score of 7.1, IONOS offers a robust set of ecommerce tools, including store management, marketing tools, and various payment and shipping options. It is designed to support a range of ecommerce needs, from social media selling to managing a scalable online store. However, it may be more complex for beginners due to its extensive features.
• 
  iPage
  
  : Scoring 5.7, iPage is more suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. It provides essential ecommerce functionalities like inventory management, coupon codes, and PayPal integration. While it offers a user-friendly interface, it lacks the advanced customization and scalability features found in IONOS.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: When it comes to creating informational and business websites, IONOS slightly outperforms iPage. Both platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and a range of templates, but IONOS provides a more comprehensive set of features and better overall performance.

• 
  IONOS
  
  : IONOS is a robust website builder that excels in creating professional and visually appealing websites without any coding knowledge. It offers a wide range of customizable templates and drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy for users to design their websites according to their preferences. With a score of 7.4, IONOS ensures that websites are optimized for search engines, providing maximum visibility online. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive design functionalities make it a strong choice for informational and business websites.
• 
  iPage
  
  : iPage is a user-friendly web hosting and site builder platform that simplifies website creation for those without technical expertise. It offers a variety of templates and a drag-and-drop builder, targeting small businesses and personal projects. With a score of 7.2, iPage provides comprehensive services including hosting, domain registration, and e-commerce solutions. However, it falls slightly short compared to IONOS in terms of design functionalities and overall performance. iPage is still a viable option for those looking for an affordable and straightforward website builder.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: IONOS.

IONOS edges out iPage in this category due to its higher score and more comprehensive design functionalities and templates.

IONOS offers a wide variety of templates and designs for their website builder. With over 200 templates to choose from, users can find a design that suits their needs and preferences. The templates are categorized into different industries and styles, making it easy for users to find the perfect design for their website.

IONOS Themes

On the other hand, iPage offers a wide variety of templates and designs, catering to users with diverse needs and preferences. With hundreds of options available, users can easily find a template that suits their specific project or business requirements. However, iPage does not provide a link to their themes page and a screenshot of their template page.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. With a score of 7.8, IONOS slightly edges out iPage, which scored 7.6. Both platforms are designed with simplicity in mind, catering to users with no prior web development experience. However, IONOS offers a more straightforward and intuitive interface, making it slightly easier to use.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. Both platforms offer a variety of learning resources, but IONOS provides more comprehensive guidance, catering to users of all levels. It offers step-by-step instructions for basic setup and detailed advice on blogging and website optimization.

IONOS and iPage both offer ecommerce capabilities, but they cater to different needs. IONOS is more suited for businesses that require a comprehensive set of ecommerce features, including store management, marketing tools, and various payment and shipping options. On the other hand, iPage is more suitable for small to medium-sized businesses with simpler online store setups.

IONOS ecommerce features:

• Store Management
• Marketing Tools
• Payment and Shipping options
• Products and Inventory management

iPage ecommerce features:

• Inventory Management and Tracking
• Coupon Codes and Promotions
• SEO Tools
• PayPal Integration

Ecommerce themes & templates

IONOS offers a variety of ecommerce themes and templates designed to help businesses set up their online stores efficiently and effectively. Their online store builder is tailored to support a range of ecommerce needs, from selling on social media platforms to managing a scalable ecommerce website without any coding or design skills required.

iPage offers a variety of ecommerce-specific templates designed to cater to online stores and businesses. These templates are integrated with features such as shopping carts, product catalogs, and payment processing options to facilitate online transactions. However, users might find some limitations in terms of customization and advanced ecommerce functionalities compared to specialized ecommerce platforms.

Product page customization

When it comes to product page customization, IONOS provides users with the ability to extensively customize product pages. This includes the flexibility to adjust the design and layout, ensuring that product images, descriptions, and specifications are displayed according to individual preferences. iPage’s website builder offers a range of ecommerce product page customization options, allowing users to design their storefronts with various templates, adjust layouts, and incorporate multimedia elements like images and videos to showcase products. However, limitations may include less flexibility in advanced customization or coding for those who require unique, highly tailored functionalities beyond the provided templates and settings.

Payment processing

IONOS supports a wide variety of third-party payment processors for its website builder, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, without charging direct fees for payment processing. iPage supports several payment options for eCommerce, including major gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and others, catering to a wide range of currencies and countries. iPage does not charge commissions for transactions, commissions are charged by the gateways themselves. While iPage offers flexibility in online payment processing, it does not explicitly mention integrated POS capabilities for in-person transactions. For billing and subscription payments, iPage accepts credit cards, PayPal, and check or money order, offering diverse payment methods for its users.

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Winner: IONOS

. IONOS, with a score of 7.8, provides an intuitive website builder equipped with AI assistance, designed for users to quickly create professional-looking websites without needing coding skills. This platform offers customizable templates, AI-generated content, and is optimized for mobile use, ensuring a responsive design across all devices. With features that cater to both basic and advanced website needs, including eCommerce capabilities, IONOS aims to simplify the web creation process.

iPage’s editor, scoring 6.8, is designed for ease of use, catering to both beginners and those with some web design experience. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to easily add, remove, and customize elements on their web pages without needing to code. Users can choose from a variety of templates that are responsive and customizable to fit their brand or personal style. Additionally, the editor includes features for adding social media links, integrating e-commerce functionalities, and optimizing for search engines, making it a versatile tool for creating a wide range of websites.

Mobile editor/app

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Winner: iPage

. Both IONOS and iPage do not have a dedicated mobile editor app. However, they offer limited editing abilities on mobile browsers. This allows users to make quick changes or updates to their websites on the go. Despite the similar offerings, iPage has a slightly higher mobile editor score, making it the winner in this category. It’s important to note that the mobile editing capabilities of both platforms may not be as robust or user-friendly as their desktop counterparts. Therefore, for extensive website editing, it’s recommended to use the desktop version of the website builders.

Overall Result

:

IONOS wins

. IONOS scores 6.5 in product testing options, significantly higher than iPage’s 2.5. Neither IONOS nor iPage offer a free version, but both provide a 30-day money-back guarantee. This allows users to test all features, including premium ones, during the refundable period. However, iPage does not offer a free trial, which puts it at a disadvantage compared to IONOS.

IONOS and iPage offer competitive pricing plans, with iPage offering a higher discount for annual subscriptions. However, neither of the platforms offer enterprise plans.

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Winner: IONOS

IONOS offers a diverse range of hosting services with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and seven data centers across the EU and USA. iPage, while offering affordable hosting services with unlimited storage and bandwidth, falls short with a 99.9% uptime and only two data centers. IONOS’s broader range of hosting services and superior uptime make it the winner in this category.

🏆 Winner: iPage

Both IONOS and iPage prioritize website performance and page speed, with iPage slightly outperforming IONOS in terms of average load times and PageSpeed scores.

iPage, a user-friendly web hosting and site builder platform, offers a range of strategies for speed optimization, including web server optimizations, caching, CDN, database optimization, and SEO optimization. With an average load time of 2.6 seconds and an average PageSpeed score of 72/100, iPage slightly outperforms IONOS in terms of website speed optimization.

IONOS, on the other hand, focuses on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript optimization, image and multimedia optimization, caching, WordPress optimization, and CDN for speed optimization. However, both its load times and PageSpeed scores vary widely, depending on the optimization and the user’s location. Like iPage, IONOS also places emphasis on improving the Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS).

🏆 Winner: IONOS.

With a score of 6.5, IONOS slightly edges out iPage, which scores 6.3. IONOS offers over 100 plugins, allowing users to add features such as contact forms, social media integration, and ecommerce capabilities. iPage also offers a variety of plugins and extensions, with options ranging from SEO tools to security enhancements. However, the slight edge in score and the wider range of plugins give IONOS the win in this category.

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Overall Winner: IONOS

. IONOS edges out iPage with a slightly higher score, offering a more comprehensive suite of marketing tools. Both platforms offer similar features, but IONOS stands out with its direct sales support on social platforms and sophisticated ad campaign management.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. In the IONOS vs iPage comparison, IONOS takes the lead with a customer support score of 7.3. IONOS offers 24/7 support through multiple contact numbers, ensuring users can get assistance at any time. Their support is accessible via phone, making it convenient for users to resolve issues promptly.

iPage also provides 24/7 customer support through phone, email, and live chat, with a customer support score of 6.9. While iPage ensures round-the-clock availability, it slightly lags behind IONOS in terms of overall user satisfaction and support quality. Nonetheless, iPage’s multiple support channels make it a reliable option for users needing assistance at any hour.

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Winner: Tie

. Both IONOS and iPage prioritize security and have implemented robust measures to protect user data and websites.

IONOS provides secure data storage with HiDrive Cloud Storage and secure email solutions. It supports two-factor authentication and offers end-to-end encryption, ensuring that data is encrypted during transfer and storage. For website security, IONOS focuses on preventing malware spread, spamming, and data breaches. It offers guidance on staying updated with security patches, conducting backups, securing logins, and implementing HTTPS and SSL certificates.

iPage, on the other hand, offers Domain Privacy Protection to shield personal information from being publicly accessible in the WHOIS directory. This feature helps prevent unsolicited contact, spam, and potential identity theft. For website security, iPage offers SiteLock, a comprehensive security suite designed to protect websites from malware, spam, and hackers. It also offers SSL certificates, which encrypt data transmitted between the user’s browser and the website.

🏆 Winner: IONOS

. IONOS, with a score of 7.2, offers a more comprehensive set of AI capabilities, including personalized design recommendations, automatic content generation, and SEO optimization. Its AI Section Generator and AI Color Palette Generator further enhance the website creation process, making it more efficient and tailored to the user’s needs.

iPage, scoring 3.0, offers an AI-powered website builder that assists users in setting up their websites efficiently. However, it lacks advanced AI content generation or sophisticated AI-driven design tools.

🏆 Winner: iPage

. Both IONOS and iPage offer limited user management capabilities, but iPage slightly outperforms IONOS in this area.

• IONOS permits multiple users for website editing. However, there is no mention of user roles and permissions, nor is there information about limitations on the number of users allowed to edit a website.
• iPage’s website builder offers very limited multi-user functionality and access levels compared to more sophisticated website builder platforms.

Given the lack of detailed user management features, both platforms may not be the best choice for larger teams or projects requiring complex user access management.

Additional Features

User Feedback

As IONOS is primarily a hosting provider with a website builder as an additional product, most reviews focus on its hosting services. Users have mixed experiences with IONOS 1&1 Websites & Shops. While it is praised for its comprehensive packages, personalized support, and streamlined interface for IT professionals, some users encounter issues with backend functionality and find customer service representatives too pushy. Despite occasional short outages, the overall reliability and responsiveness of the service are appreciated by users.

In contrast, iPage does not have specific user feedback available on G2, making it challenging to gauge user satisfaction directly. However, iPage’s partnership with Bluehost and its focus on providing a user-friendly web hosting and site builder platform, targeting small businesses and personal projects, suggest a commitment to improving its services and offerings. This partnership aims to enhance hosting capabilities and offer unified and improved hosting and pricing plans, which could positively impact user experiences.

FAQ