Hostinger vs Bluehost India: which costs less for your first business site?

Last updated 30 October 2026
Prices seen 30 October 2026 on the providers’ own pages. Hostinger’s 12- and 24-month cart prices are from 19 October 2026 and are marked where they appear. Read our editorial policy.

The short answer

Hostinger Premium’s 48-month offer has a lower initial hosting payment than Bluehost Starter’s 36-month offer: ₹6,672 against ₹7,164, both before GST. That works out to ₹139 per month of use during the first term, against ₹199 at Bluehost. Your full cost still depends on domain and email charges. Renewal runs the other way: Hostinger Premium renews at ₹449 a month, while Bluehost lists ₹349 a month for a 36-month Starter renewal.

If you need a staging site on the entry plan, or more than three sites, choose Bluehost Starter. A staging site is a private copy of your site where you test changes before they go live.

If your idea is untested, buy a shorter Hostinger term. A 12-month term costs ₹2,388 (as seen in cart, 19 Oct 2026), and a 24-month term costs ₹4,056 (as seen in cart, 19 Oct 2026).

On email, Hostinger Premium includes two mailboxes per website, free for one year. Bluehost Starter includes a one-month Pro Email trial, after which paid renewal applies. Some later domain and email prices are not published, and this page marks them as unknown.

Two ways to read a hosting price

Hosting prices confuse people because one number is doing two jobs. This page keeps them apart.

• Cash paid is what leaves your bank account, and when. Both hosts take the whole term upfront.
• Allocated cost is that payment spread over the months it covers. A 48-month payment of ₹6,672 is ₹139 for each month of use.

The two can tell very different stories. A host can look cheap per month and still take a large lump sum at renewal.

Who this comparison is for

This page is for you if you are opening your first website for a shop, practice, studio or freelance business. You plan to use WordPress, which is free website software that you install on a host. You also want an email address on your own domain, like you@yourbusiness.in.

If you run a busy online store, or a site that already earns money, read our shared hosting vs VPS guide first. Shared hosting means many websites share one server’s resources.

The plans that compete

Hostinger Premium and Bluehost Starter are each company’s main entry plan for WordPress.

Inodes are a count of files and folders. Every image, plugin file and email uses one.

What the site count hides: Bluehost’s 10 sites sounds like more than Hostinger’s 3. But those 10 sites share 10 GB of storage and a lower file limit. A site count is a permission, not extra resources. For one business site and a landing page, Premium’s larger storage and file limit matter more.

Cash paid: what leaves your bank, and when

Notes on this table:

• Hostinger: the 12, 24 and 48-month prices and the renewal line (₹449 a month for 12 months) come from Hostinger’s India cart on 19 October 2026. They are Black Friday sale prices. Hostinger’s terms say renewal prices can change, and the charge can be taken any time in the last 30 days of a term.
• Bluehost renewal: Bluehost’s current help page says automatic renewals are not supported for customers in India, so you renew manually through the Renewal Center. The ₹12,564 row is a scenario: it applies only if your account offers a 36-month renewal at ₹349 a month and you select it.
• Bluehost 12-month intro price: the India page does not show one, and we could not load the Bluehost cart in Indian rupees.

Allocated cost: what each month of use costs

After the first term, Bluehost’s listed renewal rate is lower than Hostinger’s: ₹349 a month on a 36-month renewal, against ₹449. On cash, choosing that rate means paying for 36 months at once.

The same four years, two ways

This table covers hosting only, for months 1 to 48, before GST.

The Bluehost rows show why the split matters. In the scenario where you select a 36-month renewal at the listed ₹349 a month, you pay ₹19,728 in cash during the first four years. Only ₹11,352 of that pays for those four years. The other ₹8,376 is prepaid for months 49 to 72.

The 12-month row applies only if your account offers a 12-month renewal at the listed ₹399 a month. Confirm the available terms and rates in your Bluehost account before you rely on either row.

Three things most comparisons miss

1. Match the term to how long the site will live

These figures are the Hostinger Premium cash needed to cover each period, at today’s prices, before GST. They assume the ₹449 renewal rate does not change.

Use this rule:

• If the site is untested, buy 12 months.
• If you expect about two years, buy 24 months.
• If you expect more than two years, buy 48 months.

Refund windows are 30 days at both hosts (see the refund notes below). After that, unused prepaid months are lost.

2. Bluehost’s lowest renewal rate means one large payment

Bluehost’s current help page says automatic renewals are not supported for customers in India. Renew manually through the Renewal Center before your plan expires. If your account offers a 36-month renewal at ₹349 a month and you select it, the prepaid hosting charge would be ₹12,564 before GST, or about ₹14,825.52 with 18% GST. Confirm the available term and rate in your account. Bluehost’s current user agreement sets out its general billing and renewal terms.

Hostinger works differently. Its terms turn auto-renewal on by default and allow the charge in the last 30 days of a term. Its cart shows the Premium renewal as a 12-month charge of ₹5,388.

Either way, put the renewal date in your calendar. At Bluehost, missing it means your plan can expire. At Hostinger, set a reminder for month 46 on the 48-month term if you want to review the charge first.

3. The first-year price hides year-two extras

Both hosts give a free domain for the first year on eligible terms. Email differs from the start: Hostinger Premium includes two mailboxes per website, free for one year, while Bluehost Starter includes a one-month Pro Email trial, after which paid renewal applies. Year two is where domain and email bills add up, and not every price is published. The next section lists what we could and could not verify.

Domains and email: first year vs later years

Hostinger domain prices (India list, 19 October 2026)

Hostinger’s list does not show what you pay in total for a 3-year registration, or the price for a single year. Check the cart.

On Hostinger Premium with a 12-month or longer term, one domain is free for the first year. Hostinger’s India free-domain page lists .in, .co.in and .org.in. Its help page says the final list is confirmed when you claim. The cart we saw listed .com, .net, .org and other endings, without naming .in.

Bluehost domain prices

• The free first-year domain is limited to a value of US$17.99, and you must redeem it within 90 days.
• Bluehost India pages disagree on .in. Most free-domain lists leave it out, but one list on its India pricing page includes .in and .co.in.
• We found no published Indian-rupee price for .in at Bluehost, either for the first year or for renewal.

Email

• Hostinger Premium: two 1 GB mailboxes per website, free for one year. The renewal price for these mailboxes was not shown in the cart on 19 October 2026. For comparison, Hostinger’s separate Business Email plans start at ₹29 per mailbox per month on a 48-month term and renew at ₹69.
• Bluehost Starter: a one-month Pro Email trial. To keep the email after the trial, you pay for it. Its India pages show ₹238 a month on one page and ₹287 a month on another. They do not say how many mailboxes that price covers.

For cheaper email from a separate provider, see our Zoho Mail pricing guide.

Other differences that matter

Refunds. Both hosts offer a 30-day refund window for eligible initial hosting purchases. Hostinger also covers eligible hosting renewal payments for 30 days from the transaction. Exclusions and domain deductions apply, so check the refund policy before paying: the Hostinger refund policy, and the Bluehost refund policy in section 14 of its user agreement.

Exclusions and deductions to note:

• Hostinger does not refund domain renewals or .in registrations.
• Both hosts can reduce a hosting refund by the cost of a free domain.
• Bluehost’s guarantee does not cover monthly terms or domain fees.
• Bluehost’s current user agreement limits its guarantee to credit card payments.

Backups.

• Both list weekly backups on these plans.
• Bluehost’s terms say you are solely responsible for your backups. They also say Bluehost will not try to back up accounts over 50,000 files or 30 GB.
• Keep your own copy at either host. Our WordPress migration plugin guide covers plugins that can do this.

Staging. Bluehost Starter includes staging. Hostinger’s help page says staging needs a tier above Premium.

Support. Bluehost Starter has 24/7 chat but no phone support. Hostinger lists 24/7 support.

GST.

• Both India pages show prices without GST. For an Indian billing address, plan for 18% on top. We could not see a tax line for an Indian address, so treat 18% as an assumption until your cart shows it.
• Both sellers are foreign companies: Hostinger Pte Ltd in Singapore, and Bluehost Inc. in the United States.
• If your business is GST-registered, ask your accountant whether you can enter your GSTIN and claim input tax credit before you pay.

Support, servers and the control panel

These are the differences you feel after the purchase, when something breaks at 11 p.m. or a client asks why the site is slow from Pune.

• Support channels. Bluehost’s India pricing page lists 24/7 chat on Starter and Business and, as reported in its plan details, no phone support. Hostinger lists priority 24/7 expert support on every shared plan (Hostinger India web hosting, seen 30 October 2026).
• Server location. Pick the India location at checkout on either host if it is offered, and confirm it in the panel afterwards. Hostinger’s own comparison page claims 12 data centre regions against Bluehost’s 10 (Hostinger vs Bluehost, Hostinger’s page, seen 30 October 2026); treat that as a vendor claim, not a test.
• Control panel. Hostinger runs its own hPanel. Comparehost’s 2026 comparison lists Bluehost India with cPanel. If your scripts or habits expect cPanel paths, confirm which panel your Bluehost account gets before you migrate anything.
• Developer access. Bluehost lists SSH and WP-CLI, object caching and a staging site on Starter. If you deploy with Git or run WP-CLI in cron jobs, confirm SSH on the exact Hostinger tier before you buy rather than assuming it.

When you outgrow the entry plan

The entry plans are sized for one or a few small sites. The next tier up is where agencies and multi-site owners end up, and its renewal sets the long-term cost. Prices before GST, seen 30 October 2026.

Sources: Hostinger India web hosting and Bluehost India pricing, both seen 30 October 2026. Bluehost’s page blocks automated checks, so its figures are as reported there and match Digital Pritam’s Bluehost India review (prices checked 19 October 2026).

Two points matter more than the table. First, Hostinger’s daily backups start at Unlimited; Premium is weekly. Second, the visit figures are Bluehost’s own sizing guidance, not a limit you will be cut off at. What actually throttles a busy WordPress site on shared hosting is CPU time and concurrent PHP processes, so watch the resource graphs in the panel, not the visitor count.

Worked example (hypothetical)

This is an illustration, not a real customer. Asha is opening a home bakery website in Pune. She needs one WordPress site, a .in domain and two email addresses, and she plans to keep them for four years. All figures are list prices from 19 October 2026, before GST.

Hostinger Premium, 48 months

The ₹9,369 subtotal is ₹6,672 for hosting plus ₹2,697 for three annual .in renewals at ₹899. It is not the full four-year bill. It excludes paid email from year two, applicable taxes, and any first-year domain charge if the chosen domain is not eligible for the free offer.

Bluehost Starter, 36 months

The Bluehost subtotal covers hosting only. It excludes domain charges, paid email after the trial and applicable taxes. The ₹19,728 cash and ₹11,352 allocated figures assume she selects a 36-month renewal at ₹349 a month. Confirm the available term and rate in the account.

What Asha should take from this

• Over these four years, hosting alone costs more at Bluehost in both views. Allocated, it is ₹11,352 or more, against ₹6,672 at Hostinger. In cash, it is up to ₹19,728 by month 48 if she selects a 36-month renewal. That is because Hostinger’s lower 48-month intro price covers all four years, not because its renewal rate is lower.
• Hostinger’s ₹9,369 subtotal includes her .in renewals. Bluehost’s subtotal does not, because its .in price is not published.
• Neither figure is a complete bill. Before choosing, Asha should ask each host for the email price after the free period: year two at Hostinger, month two at Bluehost.

Which should you choose?

If you move hosts later, follow our web hosting migration guide.

A cheaper or free start

• Hostinger Single. It costs ₹3,312 for 48 months. It includes one site, 10 GB of storage and one free mailbox for a year. There is no free domain, so add the cost of a .in domain: ₹899 a year after the first year, plus a first-year price you will see in the cart.
• Free first step. A free Google Business Profile can show your hours, phone number and location in Google Search and Maps before you pay for hosting.
• Not sure WordPress is right? Read WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

Checklist before you pay

1. Choose your term using the term table above.
2. Check that the cart shows the same price, term and renewal line as the plan page.
3. Confirm GST in the cart, and enter your GSTIN if you have one.
4. Check whether your domain ending is free on your plan, and note its renewal price.
5. Note when the free email ends (one year at Hostinger Premium, one month at Bluehost Starter) and what it renews at. Ask if the price is not shown.
6. Choose an India server location if one is offered.
7. Set reminders for 45 days and 20 days before your renewal date. At Bluehost, renewal for Indian customers is manual, so the reminder keeps the plan from expiring.
8. At Hostinger, turn off auto-renewal now if you are not sure you will renew.
9. Save the invoice and a PDF of the plan page.
10. Set up your own backups from day one.

Next step

If Hostinger Premium fits your needs: Check current Hostinger pricing

If you need staging or many small sites: Check Bluehost pricing (US site)

To add up hosting, domain and email for your own case, compare the full cost with our Website Cost Calculator, or use the Hosting Plan Finder.

FAQs

Is Bluehost cheaper than Hostinger in India?

Not upfront and not during the first term. Bluehost Starter’s 36-month plan costs ₹7,164, which is ₹199 per month of use. Hostinger Premium’s 48-month plan costs ₹6,672, or ₹139 per month. Bluehost’s listed renewal rate is lower (₹349 a month against Hostinger’s ₹449), but that rate is for a 36-month renewal, which you select and pay for manually as one ₹12,564 charge before GST. Whether Bluehost ends up cheaper over many years depends on future prices and on your domain and email costs.

Do these prices include GST?

No. Both India pages show prices without GST. Expect 18% to be added for an Indian billing address, and check the cart.

Can I move from one host to the other later?

Yes. Hostinger offers free website migration. Bluehost offers a free migration plugin that you run yourself. Move before the renewal charge so you do not pay twice.

Does Bluehost give a free .in domain?

We could not confirm it. On 19 October 2026, most Bluehost India free-domain lists left .in out, but one list on its India pricing page included it. Check in the cart before you pay.

Does Bluehost India include phone support?

Not as listed. Bluehost’s India pricing page shows 24/7 chat on Starter and Business and, as reported in its plan details, no phone support. Hostinger lists priority 24/7 expert support on its shared plans.

Which plan should I pick for several client sites?

Look at the next tier, not the entry plan. Hostinger Unlimited is ₹199 a month on 48 months and renews at ₹649, with daily backups. Bluehost Business is ₹279 a month on 36 months and renews at ₹529, with 50 sites. Both before GST, seen 30 October 2026.

Sources (checked 19 October 2026)

Hostinger

• India web hosting plans
• India plan comparison
• India domain prices
• India free domain page
• Free domain help
• Staging help
• Server locations help
• Refund policy
• Terms of service
• Contracting entities
• Business Email
• Hostinger vs Bluehost (Hostinger’s own comparison, seen 30 October 2026)

Bluehost

• India web hosting
• India web hosting pricing
• India pricing overview
• Older India terms of service (last modified 17 November 2022), cited only for the 200,000 file guidance
• User agreement, including the refund policy in section 14
• Help page on India renewals (automatic renewal not supported)
• Comparehost Hostinger vs Bluehost India 2026 (independent)
• Digital Pritam Bluehost India review (independent, prices checked 19 October 2026)
• Data centre announcement (10 October 2025)

Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. They are shown only to identify the products compared in this comparison, and their use does not imply endorsement by or affiliation with ScaleSaathi.

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• How to choose web hosting in India
• Best domain registrars in India