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Krystal

Krystal vs IONOS

Why opt for distinctly average hosting? Your business deserves better. See why clients are picking Krystal over IONOS.

4.8 out of 5 based on 1,748 reviews

How do we stand up against IONOS?

Compare our main features at a glance

Krystal
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Infrastructure ProviderKatapult by Krystal
OwnershipFamily Owned
Number of hosting brands
  1. Krystal
  2. Katapult
Environmental Credentials
  1. 100% renewably powered
  2. B Corp Certified
  3. 1% for the Planet
Introductory Pricing StructureNo
Trustpilot Rating4.8

Switch to Krystal today without losing any of the money you've already paid IONOS

With our free Switch Credits, we will credit the remaining value of your existing plan and term, so you’re no longer locked in. Not with IONOS? Switch Credits are also available to clients of 35 other large hosting companies.

IONOS - a quick history

IONOS was originally founded in Germany in 1988 as 1&1 Internet. In 2018, 1&1 merged with ProfitBricks and changed their brand name to 1&1 IONOS.

Now part of United Internet Group (a huge global telecoms company with over £5.6bn revenue - greater than the GDP of some countries), IONOS is currently the largest hosting provider in Europe.

Despite on the surface appearing as one of the more professional providers, a quick read of multiple IONOS customer reviews gives a flavour of their commitment to transparency and fairness..

Why choose Krystal over IONOS?

Features

Certain features that you’d rightly expect to come included in quality hosting are conspicuous by their absence across IONOS’ hosting plans. For example, rather than the unlimited email accounts Krystal provides, you only get one email account included in IONOS’ shared hosting. Even if you opt for its ‘Ultimate’ plan, you still have to pay extra for more email accounts.

Support

Customers complain that IONOS’ support can be unhelpful, unreliable or unfriendly, something that’s confirmed by the experience of hosting reviewers.

Moving over to IONOS comes with a price too, as it doesn’t offer free migration from external providers. (It does offer internal migrations between packages and accounts, although this is still a paid service!). In comparison, Krystal has launched its Switch Credit Initiative (see more below!) to make it as easy as possible for you to escape the clutches of bad hosting.

IONOS also charges to update your PHP version if you don’t do it yourself. At Krystal our support team is here to help you, often going the extra mile to ensure your business is online and your website is working at its best.

Renewal shock and extra fees

Not only are renewal costs expensive (ballooning by an eye-watering 900% in one instance!) there are also some added costs that are worth noting. There is a set up fee for IONOS dedicated hosting plans, and if you want to use the IONOS website builder or email marketing software, you’ll need to sign up to a plan and pay extra per month. A good initial price does not always mean a good company - or good value.

Transparency over trickery

We’ll never use low introductory pricing that might go up as much as 256% on renewal (here’s looking at you GoDaddy). Avoid a painful renewal with our Switch Credits initiative.

Brands

IONOS is owned by United Internet Group, a huge investor-owned corporation that owns 16 ‘optimised’ major brands. In contrast, Krystal has no investors, is family run and has never paid a dividend, so we can reinvest profits straight back into creating the very best service.

Krystal Brands

United Internet Group

+ more than 10 others

Taken from the United Internet Group

Information correct as of

02 Oct 2023

Looking for more reasons to pick Krystal?

Check out 3 Good Reasons or our Reviews page, and if you're currently with IONOS and would like to leave our Switch Credits will compensate you for any unused time so you're not out of pocket. We'll even help you move over.

Choose the right plan for you

They all include award-winning UK support, flexibility to upgrade or downgrade, and our 60-day, no-quibble money-back guarantee.

  • Amethyst

    £7 /month

    Perfect for personal and hobby sites without breaking the bank.

    Buy Amethyst

    Standard performance

    • 1 site hosted

    • 10GB NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Daily backups

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Standard phone support

  • Ruby

    £11 /month

    Suitable for freelancers and professionals with larger resources.

    Buy Ruby

    Enhanced performance

    • 5 sites hosted

    • 25GB NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Daily backups

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Free domain

    • Standard phone support

  • Emerald

    £19 /month

    The perfect starting point for small businesses and startups.

    Buy Emerald

    High performance

    • Unlimited sites hosted

    • Unlimited NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Free domain

    • Standard phone support

    Premium features

    • 4-hourly backups

    • PCI DSS scan compliant

    • Super low contention

    • Resource boost

  • Sapphire

    £37 /month

    Ideal for more complex websites with higher resource needs.

    Buy Sapphire

    Very High performance

    • Unlimited sites hosted

    • Unlimited NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Free domain

    Premium features

    • Emergency phone support

    • 4-hourly backups

    • PCI DSS scan compliant

    • Super low contention

    • Resource boost

  • Diamond

    £67 /month

    Excellent for demanding and popular websites that have a lot traffic.

    Buy Diamond

    Ultra performance

    • Unlimited sites hosted

    • Unlimited NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Free domain

    Premium features

    • Emergency phone support

    • 4-hourly backups

    • PCI DSS scan compliant

    • Super low contention

    • Resource boost

  • Tanzanite

    £97 /month

    The best choice for mission-critical websites with ultra-high traffic.

    Buy Tanzanite

    Extreme performance

    • Unlimited sites hosted

    • Unlimited NVMe storage

    • Unlimited mailboxes

    • Unlimited bandwidth

    • Free SSL certificates

    • Free domain

    Premium features

    • Emergency phone support

    • 4-hourly backups

    • PCI-DSS scan compliant

    • Super low contention

    • Resource boost

Not sure which plan is right for you?

We’re happy to help you find the perfect hosting plan. Compare our plans or get in touch for honest advice without sales tactics or upsells.

Compare all features

100% green web hosting

Yes, we obsess over our tech. But we also protect our planet.

Green energy

We use Ecotricity for our power, the first company in the UK to offer true 100% renewable energy.

Green data centres

All power consumed at our data centres comes from 100% renewable sources. All centres have achieved a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) rating of at least 1.2.

Green purpose

We work with key partners including Ecologi, veritree and 1t.org to create a path to a cleaner future. We balance profit with purpose and are a Certified B Corp.

Green leadership

We work as a beacon for positive change, so we help our staff go green by offsetting their lifetime carbon footprint, and encourage our industry to adopt a planet-first approach.

Join 36,453 happy clients running on our premium, planet-first B Corp web hosting

  • Nike
  • NHS
  • Cadbury
  • Financial Times
  • Cath Kidston
  • Iceland
  • Independent
  • Daikin

Our clients say we're Excellent

4.8 out of 5 based on 1,748 reviews

View all reviews

  • Best hosting company out there

    A massive support network and outstanding service. Anyone who is complaining about Krystal has never used any of the other ‘giants’. Second to none - will be here for the long run

    Dan Burgess

    2023-07-20

    Read review
  • Excellent support and advice

    As an agency owner, you have hundreds of hosting companies to choose from, and we couldn’t be happier with Krystal. We’ve been with them for five years and the support - when needed - is first class. Very happy to recommend!

    Jason Wollington

    2023-03-08

    Read review
  • I honestly can’t recommend Krystal enough

    I spoke to Steven in Support, who was helpful beyond my expectations, exploring various options with me and talking me through every step to upgrade my IT to make it as easy as possible. I honestly can't recommend Krystal enough if all their employees are as helpful as he has been!

    Tina Sood

    2023-06-22

    Read review
  • Simply amazing!

    Everything about the Krystal platform is fantastic, but their support in particular is just outstanding. There's always little issues here and there when you host websites, and knowing you've got such a great support team at your fingertips just takes all the pressure off.

    Karl Chevalier

    2023-07-27

    Read review
  • One of the best companies I have ever used

    Their customer service is phenomenal. They are always so incredibly helpful and so prompt in their replies.

    Selina Westerman

    2023-05-25

    Read review

Exceptional support

Our award-winning support team are gifted problem solvers. Get in touch for fast, effective and honest responses that genuinely help.

1,358

Tickets

(last 7 days)

  • 7 hours average resolution time
  • 63% solved in first response

159

Calls

(last 7 days)

  • 6 minutes average call duration time
  • < 30 seconds hold time target

323

Live Chats

(last 7 days)

  • 2 minutes average wait time
  • 36 minutes average resolution time

Last updated: Today at 09:29

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