How to Sign Up for Hostinger in 2026 (Easy 5-Minute Guide)

Getting your website online starts with one step: signing up for hosting. If you have chosen Hostinger, you have picked one of the most affordable and beginner-friendly hosts available. The signup page can still feel a little confusing the first time, with its plans, billing terms, and options, so this guide walks you through exactly how to sign up for Hostinger in 2026, step by step, so you pick the right plan, claim your free domain, and get online without any guesswork.

I have done this on real projects, so this is the actual process, not theory. The whole thing takes about five minutes. By the end you will have an active hosting account, your domain, and be ready to install WordPress.

A quick note on what you get before we start. Hostinger is known for affordable, reliable hosting, with plans starting at just a few dollars per month. It includes a free domain for the first year on annual plans, free SSL, free email, and a beginner-friendly control panel called hPanel. It runs on fast LiteSpeed servers and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can sign up with confidence. Now let us get you set up.

Step 1: Go to the Hostinger Website

Start by heading to Hostinger through the button below. Using this link applies the current discount automatically, so you get the lowest available price plus a free domain. It opens the Hostinger site where you will pick your plan.

Step 2: Choose Your Hosting Plan

Click on start now or scroll down to see hosting plans. Hostinger offers a few shared hosting plans. For most beginners, the choice comes down to the entry plans. Here is the honest breakdown so you pick the right one.

For your first website, the Premium plan is the sweet spot of price and features. You can always upgrade later as your site grows. Click to select your plan and continue.

Step 3: Select Your Billing Term

After clicking Choose Plan, you land on the cart page. There are a few things here, so let us go through them one by one so nothing trips you up.

Set Your Billing Period

At the top, use the Period dropdown to choose how long you want to sign up for. You get four options: 1 month, 12 months, 24 months, or 48 months. This choice matters more than it looks, because it changes both what you pay and what you get.

The 1 month option is the trap most beginners fall into. It looks cheaper because the upfront number is smaller, but you pay the full standard rate every month with no discount, and it does not include the free domain. So you end up paying more per month and then buying a domain separately on top, which usually costs another $10 to $15 for the year.

The longer terms work the opposite way. Hostinger charges the full period upfront, so the payment is larger, but the monthly rate drops sharply and the free domain is included. Run the numbers over a single year and the gap is obvious. Twelve months at the discounted rate plus a free domain will normally cost less in total than twelve separate months at the standard rate plus a domain you paid for yourself.

My honest advice: choose 12 months at minimum. It is the point where the discount and the free domain both kick in, and a year is long enough to know whether your website is something you want to keep. The 48 month term gives the lowest monthly cost of all if you are confident about the project, but you are committing four years upfront, so only take it if you are certain.

Choose Your Free Domain

Below the plan, you will see a “Secure your domain” box where you can search for a free domain name (.com, .net, .org, and more are free for the first year on annual plans). You can search and pick your domain here, or skip it for now and set it up later. We cover claiming your domain in more detail in the next step.

Skip the Email Marketing Add-On (Optional)

You may also see an optional add-on called Hostinger Reach for email marketing. This is not required to get your website online. If you are just starting out, you can safely skip it and add it later if you ever need it. Only add paid extras you actually need right now.

Apply a Coupon Code

In the order summary on the right, you will see a “Have a coupon code?” link. Skip it, since the discount through this guide’s link is already applied. When everything looks right, click Continue.

Step 4: Create Your Hostinger Account

Next you create your account. Hostinger keeps this simple. You can sign up with your email address, or use your Google account for a faster setup. If you use email, enter your email and create a password.

One nice thing about Hostinger is that it does not ask for a lot of personal information at this stage. Just the essentials to create your account and process payment.

Step 5: Enter Your Billing Details

Now enter your billing address. This is standard information: your name, address, and country. Hostinger needs this for billing and tax purposes. Fill in the fields accurately and click continue.

Step 6: Choose Your Payment Method and Pay

Finally, choose how you want to pay. Hostinger accepts a wide range of payment methods, which helps no matter where you are in the world.

• Credit and debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and more)
• PayPal
• Google Pay and Apple Pay
• Cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, in some regions

Select your method, enter the details, and complete the payment. Hostinger does not pre-select paid add-ons or sneak extras into your cart, so the amount you see is what you pay. Once your payment goes through, your hosting account is active.

Step 7: Claim Your Free Domain

After payment, Hostinger walks you through setting up your account. If your plan includes a free domain (annual plans and longer do), you will be prompted to claim it. Search for the domain name you want and, if it is available, register it for free. If you already chose earlier after selecting plan, this option will not come up.

If you already own a domain from another registrar, you can use that instead by pointing it to Hostinger. And if you are not ready to choose a domain yet, you can use a temporary one and set the real domain later.

You’re Ready to Install WordPress

With your account active and your domain set, the last step is installing WordPress so you can actually build your site. Hostinger makes this easy with a one-click installer built right into hPanel, and your account is now ready for it.

I cover the entire WordPress installation, step by step with screenshots, in the next guide: how to install WordPress on Hostinger. Follow that next and you will have a live WordPress site in a couple more minutes.

Common Signup Questions (And Quick Fixes)

My Payment Was Declined

If your card is declined, try a different payment method like PayPal, or check with your bank, since international transactions are sometimes blocked by default. Hostinger accepts many payment types, so there is usually an option that works.

I Did Not Get the Free Domain

The free domain is included on annual plans (12 months and longer), not the 1-month plan. If you chose monthly billing, that is why. Also make sure you completed the domain claim step during onboarding.

Frequently Asked Questions

You’re Set Up and Ready to Build

That is the full Hostinger signup process. You picked a plan, chose the right billing term, created your account, paid securely, and claimed your free domain. Your hosting is now active and waiting.

The next step is installing WordPress so you can actually build your website. Follow my guide on how to install WordPress on Hostinger to continue, and you will have a live site in minutes.