Hostinger vs Namecheap: which for hosting, which for your domain

Namecheap is a domain company that sells hosting. Hostinger is a hosting company that sells domains. The rows below show where each one's core business shows through.

Hostinger was set up in Lithuania in 2004 and runs data centers in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Hosting is its main line of business, and hPanel is its own software.

Namecheap was founded in the US in 2000 and is an ICANN-accredited registrar. Shared hosting (its Stellar plans), email and VPS came later. Most people still think of it as a place to buy domains.

WordPress on Hostinger runs on LiteSpeed, and the LiteSpeed Cache plugin produces quick page loads with almost no effort. The included CDN helps readers who are far from your server.

Location is the bigger factor. Namecheap hosts in the US and Europe. Hostinger also has Asia and South America, so audiences in South Asia, the Gulf or Southeast Asia can be served from much closer.

Namecheap gives you cPanel, which is familiar if you've hosted anywhere before. hPanel does the same jobs, including files, databases, email, DNS, backups and SSL, in a simpler layout that lists every site and domain on one screen.

Beginners tend to find hPanel easier. People who know cPanel well don't lose anything by switching.

Namecheap is organized around domains: a wide choice of extensions, clear pricing and free privacy protection. If you hold several domains, or you want one to stay put no matter how often you change hosts, a dedicated registrar is the sensible place for it.

Hostinger includes a free domain for year one on Premium and above, which is convenient for a first site. From year two it renews at Hostinger's normal domain rate, so compare that with Namecheap's renewal before you decide where it lives. Details are in my free domain guide.

The split setup takes a few minutes:

1. 1Buy hosting on Hostinger and add the domain as a website in hPanel.
2. 2In Namecheap, go to Domain List, click Manage, and switch Nameservers to Custom DNS.
3. 3Paste in the two Hostinger nameservers that hPanel displays, then save.
4. 4Give DNS time to update (usually a few hours, occasionally up to 24), then install the free SSL from hPanel.

Both sell hosting at a low intro rate that later rises to a standard price. Compare the total for the time you'll really stay, meaning the intro term plus at least one renewal. Hostinger's 48-month term keeps the intro price for four years, longer than most budget hosts allow.

Domains renew yearly at their own price, independent of hosting. That's the reason the split is popular: each piece renews at whichever specialist is cheaper for it. See how Hostinger renewals work.

My view: host the site on Hostinger, and keep the domain at whichever registrar renews it cheaper. For many people that's Namecheap.

• Pick Hostinger for website hosting: LiteSpeed speed, more locations and a 48-month intro price.
• Pick Namecheap for domains, particularly if you own several or want free lifetime privacy.
• Combine them with nameservers if you want each company doing what it's best at.