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In practice, Hostwinds renews at $6.99 a month and Hostinger at $10.99. That is four dollars a month in Hostwinds’s favor, every month, forever. The same Hostwinds figures set against SiteGround are in our SiteGround and Hostwinds comparison.
Yet it still takes until month 89 to matter. Hostinger holds its introductory rate for 48 months, and that head start survives seven years and five months of a cheaper renewal.
The Latest Crossover We Have Charted
Across the twenty pairings we have published, this is the latest lead change of them all.
For instance, twelve months costs $35.88 against $54.48. Three years costs $107.64 against $222.24. Six years costs $407.28 against $473.88.
At month 89 the totals sit within a dollar and a half of each other, and Hostwinds passes. By ten years it is ahead by $125.40.
⚠️ Of course, almost nobody keeps a hosting plan for seven and a half years. So for practical purposes the cheaper renewal never arrives.
The Short Answer
Hostinger, 4.2 against 3.4, and the shared comparison is not close within any realistic horizon.
Hostwinds competes on VPS rather than on shared hosting, and that is where its case actually lives.
Head to Head
| Hostinger Premium | Hostwinds Basic | |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised | $2.99/mo | $4.54/mo |
| Intro term | 48 months | 12 months |
| Renews at | $10.99/mo | $6.99/mo |
| Multiplier | 3.68 | 1.54 |
| Three years | $107.64 | $222.24 |
| Six years | $407.28 | $473.88 |
| Ten years | $934.80 | $809.40 |
| Uptime claim | 99.9% | 99.9999%, unverified |
| In our benchmark | 28th on Premium | not covered |
| Phone support | No | No |
| Our score | 4.2 | 3.4 |
Why the Multiplier Misleads Here
In fact, Hostwinds has a multiplier of 1.54 and Hostinger 3.68. On that measure alone Hostwinds looks far gentler. The same Hostwinds figures set against Newfold Digital’s Bluehost are in our Bluehost and Hostwinds comparison.
Still, the multiplier describes how much the price rises, not when. Hostinger’s rise is steeper and arrives in month 49. Hostwinds’s is milder and arrives in month 13. The same Hostwinds figures against a Cloudways server are in our Cloudways and Hostwinds comparison.
⚠️ Thirty-six months of the milder increase costs more than nothing at all, which is what Hostinger charges over the same stretch.
That is the argument against reading multipliers without terms, and this pairing is the clearest example among those twenty — the full field is here.
What We Could Not Verify at Hostwinds
Two things, and both would matter to a buyer.
First, the refund window is either 30 days or three. One 2026 review states 30 on shared and business plans. Another states three, describing it as shorter than industry standards, and a customer account describes being refused for missing a 72-hour window.
Second, the uptime figure is 99.9999 percent, which permits about 32 seconds of downtime a year. ⚠️ No benchmarking project we could find has measured this host, so that number rests on the company’s own infrastructure argument.
By contrast, Hostinger’s 99.9 percent guarantee permits 8.76 hours. It is a weaker promise that somebody has checked.
Where the Evidence Sits
The benchmarking project we cite in every review covers Hostinger and not Hostwinds.
It ranks Hostinger Business fifth of 34 hosts at 223 milliseconds globally, and Hostinger Premium twenty-eighth at 495. Premium is the plan priced here, and the difference between the two is a content network — the full review sets both out.
For Hostwinds there is nothing comparable. ⚠️ Two of the most detailed comparisons available are published on the company’s own blog, which we treat as statements rather than evidence.
What Hostwinds Does Better
In short, its VPS pricing, which is where the company actually competes.
Besides, unmanaged Linux VPS starts at $7.14 a month and managed at $8.24, against $29.95 and higher at other hosts we have reviewed for comparable specifications. Hostinger’s shared plan does not address that market at all.
Moreover, it owns its equipment rather than renting capacity, and builds to duplicated routers, power and fiber paths.
What Neither Does
Meanwhile, neither answers a telephone. Hostinger runs chat and email with an AI assistant that transfers on request, and Hostwinds runs chat and tickets around the clock.
Indeed, that category has decided several comparisons on this site. Here it decides nothing.
Winners by Category
Twelve-month cost: Hostinger, by $18.60.
Three-year cost: Hostinger, by $114.60.
Six-year cost: Hostinger, by $66.60.
Ten-year cost: Hostwinds, by $125.40.
Renewal rate: Hostwinds, at $6.99 against $10.99.
Promotional length: Hostinger, at 48 months against 12.
Benchmark coverage: Hostinger.
Refund clarity: Hostinger, since the other figure is disputed.
VPS pricing: Hostwinds, with no Hostinger equivalent.
Phone support: a draw, neither has one.
When to Choose Hostwinds Instead
You want cheap VPS on owned infrastructure. That is the real case and it does not depend on the shared comparison at all.
You expect to keep the same plan for more than seven years, which is the point where the arithmetic turns.
You have confirmed the refund terms in writing, because three days and thirty days are not the same commitment.
How We Research
Every figure comes from the two underlying reviews, where each is attributed to a named source with its window. Where a source is a company’s own marketing we say so rather than citing it as independent. Where our usual benchmark covers one host and not the other, we say that too.
We run no tests of our own. Our criteria are on our About page. The long versions are in our Hostinger review and our Hostwinds review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hostinger, until month 89. Three years costs $107.64 against $222.24 and six years $407.28 against $473.88. Hostwinds only overtakes at seven years and five months, reaching $125.40 cheaper by year ten.
Hostwinds, at a multiplier of 1.54 against 3.68. That measure is misleading here, because Hostinger’s rise arrives in month 49 and Hostwinds’s in month 13.
Sources disagree by a factor of ten. One 2026 review states 30 days, another states three, and a customer account describes a 72-hour limit. Confirm the figure in writing before paying.
No benchmarking project we could find measures it. The company advertises 99.9999 percent uptime, which permits about 32 seconds a year, but that rests on its own infrastructure claims rather than on measurement.
Neither. Hostinger runs chat and email with an AI assistant that transfers on request. Hostwinds runs chat and tickets around the clock. Both omit a telephone line at every tier.
The Verdict
Hostinger, 4.2 against 3.4, and the shared comparison is not close within any realistic horizon.
Hostwinds is genuinely gentler at renewal, and that gentleness is worth $125.40 if you keep the plan a decade. Before then, the longer promotion wins every year. Our page on Kinsta against Hostwinds covers the comparison with no load figures on one side.
Choose Hostwinds for a server. For shared hosting, the four dollars a month arrive too late to count.