Ionos vs Hetzner: guide for 2024

Final verdict

When comparing IONOS and Hetzner, the strengths and weaknesses of each hosting provider become evident, offering unique benefits depending on user needs.

• 
  IONOS (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  stands out for its superior georedundant infrastructure, ensuring consistent uptime even during maintenance and outages. The integration of Cloudflare CDN guarantees fast load times by spreading content across more than 60 data centers worldwide. IONOS offers a comprehensive suite of security features and various hosting types, including managed WordPress and ecommerce hosting, which makes it a versatile option. The inclusion of a personal consultant and extensive customer support further enhances its appeal, particularly for users prioritizing dependability and hands-on assistance.
• 
  Hetzner (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  excels with its strong NVMe SSD storage and global data center locations, providing high performance and flexibility. Their straightforward offerings and transparent pricing, with no minimum contract period, are favorable for users looking for flexibility and advanced server management features. Although Hetzner lacks the extensive global reach of IONOS’s CDN and certain free services, its robust performance capabilities make it a reliable choice, particularly for multimedia websites needing substantial NVMe SSD disk space and advanced technical configurations.

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

🏆 Winner IONOS: Superior georedundant infrastructure and diverse global CDN.

IONOS boasts an impressive georedundant infrastructure, mirroring data across two data centers to guarantee consistent uptime during maintenance or outages. With a solid 99.9% uptime guarantee and advanced DDoS protection, users can expect continuous access to their websites. The integration of Cloudflare CDN further ensures speedy load times, distributing content across more than 60 data centers worldwide.

Meanwhile, Hetzner Online also offers a strong 99.9% uptime promise and has strategically placed data centers in Germany, Finland, and the USA to facilitate dependable service. Their use of Juniper backbone technology and free DDoS protection reinforces network stability. However, Hetzner lacks the extensive global reach of IONOS’s CDN and sophisticated mirroring capabilities, which may impact site performance and availability in various regions.

Ultimately, both providers achieve high marks, but IONOS’s georedundant system and extensive CDN offer additional reliability and performance-enhancing features that make it a notch above Hetzner for hosting solutions.

🏆 Winner Hetzner: Comprehensive performance offering with NVMe SSD and multiple data centers worldwide.

When comparing general performance, Hetzner offers NVMe SSD disk space, which provides higher read and write speeds crucial for fast page loading. Both hosting providers guarantee 99.9% network availability and offer DDoS protection. IONOS employs dual platform technology and supports faster SSL encrypted traffic with HTTP/2 protocol, along with a Cloudflare CDN spanning over 60 global data centers. Hetzner, however, operates data centers across Germany, Finland, and the USA, providing more geographically diverse options. Hetzner’s cloud hosting options include high-performance hardware and flexible invoicing for added disk space and traffic usage. Both offer nearly identical uptime promises, but Hetzner slightly edges out in data center coverage and storage technology.

Website Speed

IONOS uses dual platform technology with SSD storage and a Cloudflare CDN to ensure faster page load times globally. It employs the HTTP/2 protocol with multiplexing and header compression for SSL encrypted traffic, alongside PHP 8.2 with JIT compiler. Hetzner matches the SSD advantage with its NVMe SSD, providing even higher speeds, which are critical for demanding applications. Both hosts offer good caching methods and PHP configurators, but Hetzner’s NVMe SSD and broader data center presence arguably give it a slight edge in overall speed performance.

Scalability

IONOS offers scalable performance management where you can adjust performance levels as required, with each additional level costing $2 per month. Automated email notifications alert users when performance limits are reached. Hetzner offers both shared and dedicated vCPU options and a 30-day cancellation period. It does not specify if scaling happens automatically, and the cost details for scaling are vague. IONOS provides more explicit details on scaling costs and management, making it slightly more transparent in this regard. Both provide dedicated servers, but specific costs and scaling details for Hetzner are not fully disclosed.

🏆 Winner: Offering robust security features and extensive support, IONOS stands out in its field.

Both IONOS and Hetzner have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

When comparing the technical security measures of IONOS and Hetzner, IONOS provides a comprehensive suite. IONOS supports up to 256-bit encryption and offers a range of SSL certificates including Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), and Extended Validation (EV), ensuring various levels of security. In contrast, Hetzner offers SSL certificates through Symantec and Let’s Encrypt, which are more limited in scope. Additionally, IONOS supports multiple PHP versions from 4.0 to the latest, while Hetzner supports PHP5, PHP7, and PHP8, but with a wider array of PHP extensions.

Operational security measures:

IONOS uses advanced DDoS protection, malware scans, automatic malware removal, and georedundant data centers for enhanced security. Daily backups and customizable firewall rules add to its operational security measures. Hetzner also provides robust DDoS protection and daily backups with an automated system for identifying system integrity, supported by SMS alerts for issues. Hetzner secures FTP and SSH access, and its email protection mechanisms, including DKIM and SPF, ensure comprehensive mail security.

Compliance and certifications:

Regarding regulatory compliance, both IONOS and Hetzner are GDPR compliant. IONOS’s offering aligns fully with GDPR, providing security for GDPR regulations, though PCI compliance isn’t explicitly mentioned. Hetzner’s data centers adhere to strict European data protection regulations but does not specify PCI compliance either. While IONOS’s data centers hold ISO certifications, Hetzner boasts ISO 27001 certification for its facilities in multiple locations.

🏆 Winner
Hetzner: A robust and feature-rich hosting provider that excels in both flexibility and performance.

When comparing IONOS and Hetzner, both hosting providers come with a myriad of features appealing to different user needs. IONOS offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a georedundant infrastructure, ensuring consistent reliability. Their plans come bundled with multiple free services such as a professional email, domain for the first year, and a Wildcard SSL certificate, which can attract users looking for a comprehensive package. IONOS also includes a personal consultant with 24/7 customer service support, which is beneficial for users who appreciate hands-on assistance. They provide a website builder friendly for beginners, allowing easy installation of apps like WordPress and Joomla, which supports both simple and complex website customization.

Conversely, Hetzner shines with its straightforward offerings and a focus on user flexibility. They provide unlimited traffic, extensive email hosting capabilities, and secure access through interactive SSH. Unlike IONOS, Hetzner supports advanced protocols and PHP configurations, making it ideal for users needing specific technical features. Their network infrastructure, utilizing Juniper backbone technology, ensures reliable and smooth performance. Hetzner’s pricing is highly transparent, with no minimum contract period and flexible payment methods, providing freedom for users who prefer short-term commitments. Notably, Hetzner locations are in Germany, which is advantageous for users targeting Europe.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both IONOS and Hetzner offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Email services at IONOS are provided through a partnership with Microsoft 365, offering a professional email and access to Outlook on a trial basis before transitioning to a paid service. Conversely, Hetzner provides unlimited free professional email accounts, which is particularly beneficial for users requiring multiple email accounts without incurring additional costs.

🏆 Winner IONOS: IONOS offers a diverse range of affordable hosting plans with extensive features.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

In comparing IONOS and Hetzner hosting plans, it is apparent that both offer competitive pricing and features across various categories. IONOS provides more extensive features at comparable prices, such as daily backups, a free wildcard SSL certificate, and a free domain for the first year. Hetzner offers lower entry prices and high flexibility with hourly billing, although some plans include setup fees and are slightly less comprehensive in terms of added features like professional email and analytics. IONOS’s plans come with additional benefits, such as Fiverr credits and personal consultants, enhancing their value proposition.

Enterprise plans

For enterprises, IONOS and Hetzner provide competitive options. IONOS’s Ultimate Plan offers maximum resources, free Wildcard SSL certificates, free domains, and comprehensive support. Hetzner’s high-tier plans, such as Level 19, provide unlimited databases and sub-domains with strong performance. Both offer features catering to high demands, but IONOS stands out with added services like personal consultants and analytics.

🏆 Winner
IONOS: A user-friendly hosting solution with extensive support and features.

IONOS provides a streamlined admin panel, particularly suited for those using WordPress. With their WP Assistant, setting up a WordPress site becomes straightforward and hassle-free. The Click & Build feature allows easy installation of apps like TYPO3, Joomla, Drupal, and PrestaShop with a few clicks. This approach caters to both technical and non-technical users, making it accessible for beginners while still offering advanced options for experienced users. The interface emphasizes ease of use, requiring minimal technical knowledge to navigate.

Hetzner Online uses the konsoleH administration interface for managing accounts and servers. With konsoleH, users can handle various tasks such as domain registration, email setup, and website management. The interface may be more suited to users with some technical background, given the range of server configurations and management tasks it supports. While comprehensive, its design might be less intuitive for those unfamiliar with hosting administration. For advanced users, konsoleH offers the flexibility and control needed to manage complex hosting needs effectively.

Both IONOS and Hetzner provide tools for site migration. IONOS includes a managed WordPress hosting solution with customizable updates and various free plugins and themes, simplifying the migration process for WordPress sites. The details on whether these services are free or incur a fee are not specified. Hetzner also offers tools for migrating domains, websites, emails, and databases through their detailed guides and tutorials. While these resources are comprehensive, whether the migration services are free or chargeable isn’t made clear.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. IONOS offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Hetzner also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner IONOS: Superior user management features make it the standout choice for hosting.

IONOS and Hetzner both offer user management and role-based permission systems aimed at enhancing administrative control. IONOS supports a dynamic role assignment model, where multiple roles can be assigned to users and vice versa, allowing granular control. Hetzner uses a group-based approach, defining admins for specific groups and designating user permissions within those groups. IONOS’s method of creating, cloning, and deleting roles offers more flexibility than Hetzner’s group-based model. Permissions in IONOS can be fine-tuned and customized per role, whereas Hetzner ties permissions more closely to storage quotas and group roles, potentially limiting nuanced administrative adjustments.

IONOS provides a centralized Cloud Panel for managing user roles and permissions, with detailed table views to track user assignments, role statuses, and permissions. The permissions page in IONOS is comprehensive, allowing admins to see and modify all details related to user roles. Hetzner’s user interface involves navigating through profile settings to add groups and users, with additional settings accessible at the bottom of the form. While Hetzner’s interface is straightforward, it lacks the detailed granularity found in IONOS’s Cloud Panel.

Both platforms demonstrate solid access control measures, but IONOS offers quicker role assignment via permission groups, which streamline permissions across the entire Cloud Panel. Hetzner monitors user activities through a dedicated overview page and establishes quotas to manage storage efficiently. IONOS’s flexibility in role and permission assignment scales more effectively to accommodate an increasing user base, providing superior administrative control. Hetzner’s system of group admins might become cumbersome as the user base expands, requiring more manual adjustments.

IONOS user roles table:

🏆 Winner IONOS: Excellent 24/7 customer support with multiple channels available.

IONOS offers 24/7 customer service through phone, chat, and email, ensuring constant availability. Their personal consultant service provides tailored support during standard business hours, while additional help can be sought through their comprehensive help center and community. IONOS’s support is award-winning and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, which adds to its appeal.

Hetzner Online provides multiple support channels like email, ticketing, and phone support, but their phone support is limited to Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM. They feature extensive documentation for self-service and offer support in multiple languages. However, they lack live chat support and a money-back guarantee, and some users have reported issues with account blocking and billing disputes.

User feedback

The user feedback on the hosting provider is highly mixed. Some customers appreciate the affordability and ease of use, particularly for startups, and praise the good customer support and convenient packages. However, many others criticize the company’s unreliable service, outdated user interface, and poor handling of issues, including severe downtime and inadequate customer support. There are also concerns about deceptive business practices and difficulty with account management, leading to significant dissatisfaction among long-term users.

Users generally find the hosting provider to be cost-effective with robust performance capabilities, able to handle demanding tasks reliably. Many reviewers appreciate the competitive pricing, ease of use, and the fast, reliable infrastructure. While customer support is often praised for its availability and helpfulness, some users believe it could still see improvements. The platform’s dashboard and additional features could benefit from enhancements, but overall, users are satisfied with the value and quality of service provided.

FAQ