How to Cancel Hostinger in 2026 (Get a Refund + Migrate Your Website)
Updated 2026-02-21 · 7 min read
⚠️ The renewal trap: Hostinger's advertised $2.99/mo price requires a 4-year commitment ($143.52 upfront). Renewal prices: Premium $7.99/mo, Business $8.99/mo, Cloud $24.99/mo. That $2.99 deal is a one-time intro rate — you'll never see it again.
Free domain: Included first year, then $13.99+/year for .com renewal
Daily backups: Free on Business+, but $0.95/mo extra on Premium
The 4-year lock-in is the key trick. By requiring 48 months to get the $2.99 price, they ensure you forget about it by renewal time — and then the 2-3x price hits.
Step 1: Back Up Your Website
Hostinger deletes your data when the subscription expires. Back up everything first:
WordPress sites: Install "All-in-One WP Migration" or "UpdraftPlus" → full backup → download
Email: Export all emails via IMAP (Thunderbird or similar) before canceling
Step 2: Transfer Your Domain
If your domain is registered through Hostinger:
Go to hPanel → Domains
Click your domain → Domain settings
Turn off Transfer Lock
Click Get EPP Code → code is emailed to you
Initiate transfer at Cloudflare Registrar or Porkbun
Enter EPP code and approve the transfer email
💡 60-day lock: ICANN rules prevent domain transfer within 60 days of registration or any WHOIS contact change. If you just registered the domain, you'll need to wait before transferring.
Hostinger will offer a discount (usually 60-80% off renewal) — decline if you're committed to leaving
Select cancellation reason → Confirm
Hostinger Refund Policy
Shared hosting: 30-day money-back guarantee (applies to first purchase only)
Cloud hosting: 30-day refund on annual plans, no refund on monthly
VPS: No refund
Domains: Non-refundable
Renewal charges: No refund after 30 days
How to request: Contact live chat → Billing → "I want a refund under the 30-day guarantee"
✅ Pro tip: If you're close to renewal and haven't migrated yet, contact live chat and ask for the retention discount first. They typically offer 60-80% off renewal, buying you another year at a reasonable price while you plan your migration. No commitment to stay long-term.
Why People Leave Hostinger
Renewal shock: That $2.99/mo becomes $7.99-24.99 overnight
hPanel limitations: Hostinger uses a custom panel (hPanel) instead of industry-standard cPanel. This can make migration harder and limits software compatibility
Performance issues: Shared hosting can be slow during peak hours, especially on the cheapest plans
Aggressive upselling: Constant prompts to add SSL, backups, email, and domain privacy that are free elsewhere
Support quality varies: Live chat is fast but answers can be generic and scripted
Best Hostinger Alternatives (2026)
Cloudflare Pages (free): For static sites and JAMstack — zero cost hosting with global CDN. Best for portfolios, landing pages, and Next.js/React apps
Vercel/Netlify (free): Free tier handles most personal and small business sites
Hetzner ($4.51/mo): German-based cloud hosting. No intro pricing gimmicks — the price you see is the price you pay. Better performance than Hostinger shared hosting
DigitalOcean ($6/mo): Simple cloud droplets for developers. Predictable pricing, no renewal surprise
Cloudways ($14/mo): Managed cloud hosting on DO/Vultr/AWS. Best for WordPress sites that need speed
💰 Long-term savings: Hostinger Business at renewal ($107.88/year) vs Hetzner CX22 ($54.12/year) or Cloudflare Pages ($0/year). You get better performance and save $50-108/year — with no renewal price surprises.
Hostinger is a perfectly functional hosting provider — the product itself is fine. The problem is the pricing model: super-cheap intro rates that create switching costs (you build your whole site there), then 2-3x renewal prices because they bet you won't migrate. If you're approaching renewal, that's the natural exit point.
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