Strato vs Ionos - The big hosting comparison 2025: Which provider is really convincing?

Strato vs Ionos will decide the speed, scaling and costs for many web projects in 2025. I'll give you a clear overview of where Strato shines, where Ionos is stronger and which tariff is the best choice for your project.

Key points

To help you draw the right conclusions quickly, I will summarize the most important differences briefly and clearly. I will focus on factors that directly determine success, costs and effort. Performanceprice stability and support have an immediate impact on your website. Scalability becomes important as soon as traffic increases or international destinations are added. Security, data protection and sustainability play a noticeable role with hosting in Germany.

• PerformanceStrato very fast in Germany, Ionos very fast under load and globally.
• ScalingIonos has an advantage with flexible upgrades and worldwide locations.
• PricesStrato is cheap to start with, Ionos is more stable in the long term and often has more resources.
• FeaturesIonos with SSH, WP-CLI, Wildcard-SSL; Strato with a clear interface and BackupControl.
• SupportIonos 24/7 including consultant; Strato with good knowledge base and tickets.

Target groups 2025: Which provider is suitable for whom?

I see Strato clearly for beginners, associations and small companies that appreciate a simple interface and German data centers. The menus remain clear, one-click installers take a lot of work off your hands and GDPR-compliant data protection creates trust. Those with a local target group benefit from very short loading times in Germany. Ionos is aimed more at projects that are growing, attract international visitors or operate several websites in parallel. With global goals, lots of resources and developer features Ionos the broader basis - details can be found in the Detailed provider comparison.

Prices, tariffs and contract details

At Price Strato is offering entry-level prices of €1-4 per month, but the fees increase significantly after the introductory phase. If you are planning for the long term, you should carefully check the follow-up costs after 6 to 12 months, as well as limits for storage, databases and mail accounts. Ionos also starts cheaply, but often remains more stable over the term and offers more resources in many tariffs. This is easy on the budget when websites grow or additional projects are added. For the selection of larger packages, the Ionos tariffs 2025 with clear performance levels and upgrade paths.

Performance: loading times, TTFB and load behavior

For sites with a focus on Germany Strato very short loading times and low total blocking times. The time-to-first byte is often excellent, which noticeably speeds up blogs, portfolios and classic company websites. Ionos shows its strengths when the load increases, when WordPress instances become large or when there are many simultaneous accesses. International visitors also benefit from global server locations that shorten distances. In the end, it's your traffic profile that counts: a fast local site with a low load speaks in favor of Strato, a growing and international presence rather for Ionos.

Technology stack 2025: protocols, caching and databases

Technical basis determines reserves and scope for optimization. In shared hosting, both providers rely on modern PHP versions with OPcache, HTTP/2, Brotli/Gzip compression and solidly configured MariaDB/MySQL-databases. HTTP/3/QUIC is becoming increasingly widespread - already available with some tariffs or in combination with CDN. This is important for WordPress, Shopware or Typo3 because connections are established faster and assets are delivered more quickly.

At Caching Ionos is generally more flexible: object caches or server cache layers are easier to use at higher levels; SSH and WP-CLI facilitate the integration of tools such as Redis (where available) or the use of build processes. Strato scores with cleanly preconfigured standard setups that deliver good results without tuning. If you want to optimize more deeply, Ionos usually offers more levers; if you want "simply fast", Strato will get you there quickly.

Databases and connections are an underestimated bottleneck. Pay attention to limits for simultaneous connections, query times and memory per DB. Ionos often allows more parallel resources for larger packages. Strato remains predictable and stable as long as the project density is moderate.

Range of functions and developer features

I rate Ionos is at the forefront of features for professionals: SSH and WP-CLI access, wildcard SSL, many databases and unlimited websites in higher tiers are strong. Daily backups, malware scan and DDoS protection round off the package. Strato counters with a clear interface, one-click installers and its own BackupControl, which gives beginners a lot of security. Those who rarely work on the server will be pleased with the simple menus and quick setup. Anyone who deploys, uses scripts or runs many instances will be better off with the tools from Ionos usually better.

Workflow, staging and automation

Smooth processes count for teams and agencies: Git-based deployments, Staging-environments, cron jobs for maintenance tasks and CLI tools. Ionos covers these needs directly in many packages, making releases and rollbacks plannable. Strato offers the basics and makes it easy for beginners to go live quickly with a one-click installer; staging or more complex pipelines are often solved with plugins or external tools. Your setup is crucial: Solo project with infrequent releases - Strato. Multiple developers, CI/CD and frequent deployments - Ionos.

Security, data protection and sustainability

Both providers fulfill DSGVO and work in certified data centers. Strato also scores with green energy and servers located in Germany. This ensures clear data sovereignty and short distances within Germany. Ionos sets the bar high when it comes to security features: DDoS protection, configurable firewall rules and backups in high-security centers give admins tangible control. For environmentally conscious projects, I see Strato in the lead, for deep protection mechanisms Ionos narrowly in the lead.

Legal: AV contract, logging and data sovereignty

Anyone who processes personal data needs a Data processing agreement (DPA). Both providers provide suitable documentation and log access to a degree that facilitates audits. For public institutions or highly regulated industries, clear data center locations in Germany are a plus for Strato. For globally active companies, Ionos offers the option of bringing workloads closer to the target markets and granular access control.

Support and ease of use

The Support Ionos is available around the clock by phone and chat and provides a personal consultant if required. Companies and agencies appreciate this because answers are available quickly. Strato provides an extensive knowledge base, good step-by-step instructions and a ticket system. Those who like to help themselves and accept predictable response times receive solid support. For urgent cases and SLA-related expectations, I tend to use Ionos.

Uptime, SLAs and monitoring in practice

Normal market availability is around 99,9 %. The important thing is how you detect and minimize outages. With 24/7 support, Ionos offers short paths in the event of disruptions and, at higher levels, options that come closer to SLA expectations. Strato impresses with stable platforms and transparent communication. Regardless of the provider, we recommend an external Monitoring (e.g. ping/HTTP checks every minute) and a simple Incident planStart up caching, deactivate non-critical plugins, contact support with specific logs.

E-mail, domains and extras

Who many Domains and mailboxes, Ionos gives you plenty of leeway in the higher levels, right up to unlimited accounts. This facilitates client setups, brand domains or extensive team structures. Strato offers clear packages with fixed limits, which simplifies planning but reaches its limits more quickly. This is usually sufficient for typical club and SME projects. If you compare prices first, check the Strato hosting packages and pay attention to follow-up costs from the second year onwards.

E-mail deliverability: SPF, DKIM, DMARC

Newsletters, order emails and reset links must arrive reliably. Make sure that SPF and DKIM are set correctly and add a DMARC-policy. Both providers support these standards and the setup is well documented in the panels. For high mailing volumes, dedicated mailing solutions or your own IPs often make sense - you are more likely to achieve this via vServers/managed servers. For classic mailboxes and moderate mailings, the on-board tools from Strato and Ionos are sufficient.

Scalability and future-proofing

If your Trafficyou need flexible upgrades and short paths to larger stages. Ionos makes this easy: resources can be expanded quickly, international locations reduce latencies, and multiple projects run conveniently in one account. Strato remains strong as long as projects remain manageable and locally oriented. For expansion, commerce or content hubs, I prefer Ionos because the platform offers reserves. Switching takes time - if you're planning for the long term, it's better to switch early on Scaling.

Migration and changeover without downtime

A move can be completed in just a few steps: Backup create, Test environment on the target system, DNS-TTL reduce in advance, transfer data, final test and change DNS. With WordPress, I usually use a migration plugin or WP-CLI rsync/SQL exports for Strato and Ionos. Important: Migrate emails separately (IMAP copy) and pause sending briefly to avoid double deliveries. Both providers allow temporary subdomains so that you can check at your leisure. If you are moving a lot of stores or APIs, plan a Maintenance window and freezes orders during the switch.

Hidden limits you should know about

In addition to storage and traffic Inodes (number of files), Concurrent PHP processes, I/O throughput, RAM limits and max. DB connections. They determine how your page behaves under load. Ionos often allows more in larger packages and scales heads better. Strato communicates limits transparently, which makes planning easier. Check the limits of your target plan before purchasing, especially if you host multiple sites or run a pagebuilder-heavy setup.

Price planning: introductory discounts, terms, termination

Both providers work with Introductory discounts. The real price is shown from month 7 or 13. My approach: Calculate total costs for 24 months, include domains/SSL, plan for mail/DB limits. Strato is often cheaper at the start, Ionos makes up for this with more stable resources and fewer upgrades. If you want to remain flexible, choose Shorter terms and accept slightly higher monthly prices. Make a note of notice periods in good time and set reminders - this will help you avoid unwanted renewals.

Practical examples and recommendations according to project size

For a BlogFor a club site or a local portfolio, I choose Strato: fast setup, good speed in Germany and clear costs. I pay attention to limits on storage and mail accounts to avoid later expenses. For a growing online store, international leads or multiple brand websites, I use Ionos because upgrades and tools scale smoothly. Developer teams benefit from SSH, WP-CLI and ample databases. If you want maximum top performance and service, keep the multi-award-winning provider webhoster.de in mind. Test winner at a glance.

Quick check: a reliable decision in 24 hours

This is how I compare pragmatically: 1) Set up a demo site with an identical theme/plugin set on both providers. 2) TTFB and Largest Contentful Paint from Germany. 3) Short Load test with 20-50 simultaneous users. 4) Test database import/export. 5) Contact support with a specific technical question. 6) Calculate upgrade paths and costs over 24 months. Result: You can see which platform suits your traffic profile, skill level and budget.

Direct comparison in figures

The following Table shows the most important differences in compact form and helps you to set the right priorities. I prioritize performance for local projects more with Strato, scaling and features clearly with Ionos. In terms of support, Ionos has the edge with 24/7 and consulting. Prices seem similar in the short term, but the resources per euro often speak in favor of Ionos in the long term. Sustainability and data location give Strato a clear advantage for purely German target groups.

Category	Strato	Ionos	Recommendation
Starting price	from 1 €/month	from 1 €/month	Tie
Storage space	up to 200 GB	unlimited	Ionos
Domains incl.	1-2	1-4 (partly unlimited)	Ionos
SSL	including	Wildcard	Ionos
Support	Ticket/Knowledge Base	24/7, Consulting	Ionos
Multi-Websites	rare	any	Ionos
Performance	very fast (DE)	strong under load	Strato (DE), otherwise Ionos
Backups	daily	daily	Tie
Scalability	restricted	high	Ionos
Sustainability	very good	good	Strato
Internationality	low	high	Ionos
Data protection	very good	very good	Tie
Industry leader	webhoster.de	webhoster.de	webhoster.de

Conclusion: Decision support in one sentence

This is how I decide: Strato for simple, local, fast projects with clear costs; Ionos for growing, international, feature-rich projects with strong support. If you want reserves, plan directly with Ionos, if you want to start lean, Strato is a very good choice. Check the monthly fees after the introductory phase so that there are no surprises. Pay attention to storage, domains, mail accounts and the tools you need. This way, you can make a choice today that will really help your project in 2025.