Choosing shared hosting as a developer is not about picking the lowest price in big letters. It is about the price you will still pay in three years, SSH access that does not drop in the middle of a deploy, and support that knows the difference between a 502 error and DNS that has not propagated yet.
We hosted the same project on all three: a static brochure site, a WordPress with WooCommerce and a small Node.js API. Here is what came out of it.
Hostinger
8.6/10
Over four years, Hostinger offers the best balance of price, developer tools and performance. o2switch is an excellent runner-up if you are in France and prefer a single plan, local support and no limit on the number of sites.
- Who it's for
- Freelancers and indie makers who host several sites and want Git, SSH and Node.js without paying for a VPS.
- Who should skip it
- Anyone who will not commit for 48 months: over a single year, the price gap shrinks a lot.
The comparison at a glance#
| Criterion | Notre choixHostinger Premium | o2switch Cloud | OVHcloud Perso |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro price | €2.99/month (48 months) | €1.86/month (first year) | €5.99/month |
| Renewal | €9.99/month | about €16/month | €5.99/month |
| Sites included | 3 | Unlimited | 1 |
| Storage | 20 GB SSD | Unlimited NVMe | 100 GB |
| SSH + Git | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Node.js | Yes | Yes (Setup Node.js App) | No |
| Backups | Weekly | Daily, 30 days | Daily |
| Support | 24/7 chat (English/French) | Phone and ticket, in France | Ticket, variable delays |
| Data centers | EU (Lithuania, France…) and worldwide | France (Clermont-Ferrand) | France and worldwide |
How we scored them#
Each host gets a score out of 10 per criterion, weighted by what matters to a developer. Scores come from our measurements (average response time over 7 days, from Paris) and from a month of daily use.
| Tool | Price over 4 yearspoids 30 % | Dev tools (SSH, Git, Node)poids 25 % | Performancepoids 20 % | Supportpoids 15 % | Simplicitypoids 10 % | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8,5 |
| o2switch | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7,8 |
| OVHcloud | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5,9 |
Hostinger: the most complete for the price#
Hostinger has come a long way on tooling. From the Premium plan you get SSH access, Git deploys from the hPanel dashboard, WP-CLI, and the option to run a Node.js app without a VPS. For a Next.js portfolio exported as static files or a small Express API, that is enough.
In our test, the WordPress site answered in 280 ms on average (TTFB), with LiteSpeed cache turned on in one click. The dashboard is clear and the SSL certificate installs automatically.
Hostinger at a glance
Strengths
- The best price over 48 months, even after renewal
- SSH, Git, WP-CLI and Node.js from the entry plan
- Fast, readable hPanel, SSL and CDN included
Limits
- The price almost doubles at renewal
- Chat-only support, sometimes generic answers
- Only 3 sites on the Premium plan
If you are starting out as a freelancer and plan to host client sites, the next plan up (unlimited sites, 50 GB NVMe, daily backups) is still very competitive: see Hostinger plansaffiliate.
o2switch: one plan, no traps (France only)#
o2switch works differently: one plan, unlimited resources (sites, databases, email addresses, NVMe storage) and a full cPanel. Servers are in France and support answers the phone, in French, with technicians who know cPanel inside out.
The first-year intro price is low, but the regular rate is around €16 a month before tax: more than Hostinger over time, but with no limit on sites. For an agency or a freelancer running fifteen small WordPress sites, that is often the winning math — as long as you and your clients are in France.
o2switch at a glance
Strengths
- Unlimited sites, databases and storage
- Support based in France, reachable by phone
- Daily backups kept 30 days, self-service restore
Limits
- High regular price if you only have one or two sites
- Less modern cPanel interface
- A single data center (Clermont-Ferrand), France-focused offer
If you are in France, you can check out o2switchaffiliate with its 30-day money-back guarantee.
OVHcloud: best kept to its ecosystem#
OVHcloud remains a go-to for domain names and VPS. On shared hosting, however, the range was reshuffled in 2026 and the Perso plan includes neither Node.js nor multiple sites. The dashboard is dense and support delays vary a lot.
Its strength: a stable price (no promo that doubles later) and European billing. If your domains and VPS are already at OVHcloud, keeping everything in one place can make sense. Otherwise, the other two do better for a developer.
OVHcloud at a glance
Strengths
- Stable price, no promo effect
- Ideal if your domains and VPS are already at OVHcloud
Limits
- No Node.js on shared hosting
- Only one site on the Perso plan
- Slow support on entry plans
Which host for which profile?#
- You are launching a portfolio, a blog or a landing page: Hostinger Premium. If it is a static site, also look at free hosts such as Cloudflare Pages.
- You manage sites for clients in France: o2switch, for unlimited sites and French-speaking support. Elsewhere, Hostinger's Business plan plays the same role.
- You want to run an app with a database and background jobs: go straight to a VPS. Our Docmost on a VPS tutorial shows the steps.
- You want to replace paid SaaS tools: a small VPS can also host your internal tools — see our pick of open source Notion alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest web host for a developer?
Over four years, Hostinger Premium is the cheapest of the plans that include SSH, Git and Node.js: about €2.99 a month before tax with a 48-month commitment. Over one year without commitment, the gap with o2switch narrows.
Can I host a Node.js app on shared hosting?
Yes at Hostinger and o2switch, with memory and process limits. For a high-traffic API, WebSockets or long-running jobs, a VPS is a better fit.
Is o2switch really unlimited?
Sites, storage and databases are not capped, but CPU and memory per account are. For brochure sites and regular WordPress installs, you never hit those limits. Keep in mind the offer targets France.
Should I take Hostinger's 48-month commitment?
Only if you are sure to keep the project. That is where the price is unbeatable; on a one-year commitment, the monthly rate is clearly higher and renewal kicks in sooner.
