Hostinger's Cloud Startup plan costs $7.99 a month and its KVM 2 VPS costs $8.99. They look like neighbors on a price list, but they are different products. Cloud Startup is managed web hosting: Hostinger runs the server and you get a control panel, with no root access. KVM 2 is an unmanaged server with 8 GB of RAM and full root access, and you run everything on it yourself.
We checked these prices on 13 October 2026. They exclude tax, and the whole term is paid up front.
The two side by side
| Cloud Startup | KVM 2 VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Managed web hosting | Unmanaged server |
| Root access | No | Yes |
| RAM / CPU | 4 GB / 4 cores | 8 GB / 2 vCPUs |
| Storage | 100 GB NVMe | 100 GB NVMe |
| Traffic | Sized for 200,000 visits a month | 8 TB of bandwidth a month |
| Included, free for the first year | Not included | |
| Longest term | 48 months | 24 months |
| Lowest price | $7.99/mo on 48 months | $8.99/mo on 24 months |
| Renews at | $25.99/mo | $14.99/mo |
The intro prices are a dollar apart. The renewal prices are not: Cloud Startup renews at $25.99 a month and KVM 2 at $14.99.
What "managed" buys you on Cloud hosting
On Cloud Startup, Hostinger looks after the operating system, the web server, security updates and backups. Our data lists it with an SSL certificate, backups, a CDN, staging, site migration, DDoS protection, email and a dedicated IP address. You log in to a control panel, add websites and install WordPress or a store from there.
What you cannot do is install software of your own choosing. There is no root access, so tools that need it are out: Docker, a self-hosted n8n, a custom database server, a VPN.
Above Cloud Startup, Cloud Professional costs $15.99 a month on 48 months (6 GB RAM, 5 cores, 200 GB, renews at $44.99) and Cloud Enterprise $29.99 (12 GB, 6 cores, 300 GB, renews at $64.99).
What root access buys you on the VPS
A KVM plan is an empty server. You pick an operating system, or one of Hostinger's 1-click templates, and from then on it is yours to run: updates, firewall, backups, the web server and the database.
In exchange you can run anything. Hostinger's own app pages sell these same KVM plans for Docker and n8n. Our guides to Docker hosting and n8n hosting cover how much RAM those need.
The four sizes are KVM 1 (4 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, $6.49 a month on 24 months), KVM 2 (8 GB, 2 vCPUs, $8.99), KVM 4 (16 GB, 4 vCPUs, $12.99) and KVM 8 (32 GB, 8 vCPUs, $25.99). Our Hostinger VPS plans guide has every term.
What each costs over time
The terms differ, so the fair comparison is the total paid.
| Period | Cloud Startup (48-month term) | KVM 2 (24-month term) | KVM 1 (24-month term) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid up front | $383.52 | $215.76 | $155.76 |
| First 3 years | $287.64 | $395.64 | $299.64 |
| First 4 years | $383.52 | $575.52 | $443.52 |
| Each month after that | $25.99 | $14.99 | $11.99 |
For the first four years Cloud Startup is the cheaper of the two, because its intro price lasts 48 months and the VPS intro price lasts 24. From year five the order flips: the VPS costs $11.00 a month less.
If you would rather not prepay four years, the picture changes. On a 12-month term Cloud Startup is $9.99 a month and renews at $25.99, which comes to $743.64 over three years. KVM 2 on 12 months is also $9.99, renews at $16.99, and comes to $527.64.
Which one to pick
Pick Cloud hosting if you are running websites and do not want to manage a server. A WooCommerce store, a set of client WordPress sites or a busy blog fits here. You get email, backups and staging without setting any of it up.
Pick the VPS if you need root access, or more memory for the money. KVM 2 has twice the RAM of Cloud Startup for a dollar more, and it is the only one of the two that can run containers, background workers or software that is not a website.
Pick neither yet if your site is small. Hostinger Premium at $2.99 a month hosts 3 websites, and our comparison of Premium, Unlimited and Cloud Startup shows when the upgrade is worth it. For the general trade-off, see shared hosting vs VPS costs.
The 20% referral discount applies to both
New customers who arrive through a referral link get 20% off the first term. Cloud Startup on 48 months becomes $6.39 a month ($306.82 up front) and KVM 2 on 24 months becomes $7.19 ($172.61 up front). Renewals are not discounted. Every plan is on our Hostinger discount page.
FAQ
Is Hostinger Cloud hosting a VPS?
No. Cloud hosting is managed web hosting with its own resources and a dedicated IP address, but no root access. A Hostinger VPS (the KVM plans) is an unmanaged server where you control the operating system.
Can I run Docker on Hostinger Cloud hosting?
No. Docker needs root access, which Cloud hosting does not give. Use a KVM plan instead; Hostinger offers Docker as a 1-click template on its VPS.
Which is cheaper, Hostinger Cloud Startup or KVM 2?
Over the first three years Cloud Startup is cheaper: $287.64 on its 48-month term against $395.64 for KVM 2 on 24 months. After the intro terms end, KVM 2 is cheaper at $14.99 a month against $25.99.
Do both have a money-back guarantee?
Hostinger's refund window is 30 days in our data. Since both are paid for the whole term up front, that month is the time to test before you are committed.
The bottom line
Choose by what you need to run, not by the price tag. Websites that should simply work belong on Cloud Startup at $7.99 a month. Anything that needs root access, or 8 GB of RAM, belongs on KVM 2 at $8.99. Cloud is cheaper for the first four years and the VPS is cheaper after that.
To compare the VPS against other providers, open the live ranking of the cheapest VPS hosting.
