In short:
- Four web hosts available in France are compared based on their offer pages checked on 29 October 2026: o2switch, OVHcloud, Hostinger and Infomaniak.
- o2switch offers unlimited websites, storage, mailboxes and traffic on all its plans, from €7 excl. VAT per month with the Grow plan, with no first-year discount, in its own data centres in France.
- OVHcloud shows the lowest entry price (€1.59 excl. VAT per month in the first year, €2.59 on renewal) and Hostinger €2.49 per month for 48 months paid in advance, then €9.99 on renewal.
- Infomaniak offers 250 GB and 20 websites from €5.75 excl. VAT per month, with hosting in Switzerland and a 30-day free trial.
Web hosting comparison table
| Criterion | o2switch | OVHcloud | Hostinger | Infomaniak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan checked | Grow, €7 excl. VAT per month (€84 excl. VAT per year) | Starter, €1.59 excl. VAT per month in year 1 | Premium, €2.49 per month | Web Hosting, from €5.75 excl. VAT per month |
| Renewal price | No first-year discount on Grow | €2.59 excl. VAT per month | €9.99 per month | No first-year discount displayed |
| Commitment | Annual payment | Price shown for 12 months | 48 months paid in advance (can be cancelled) | Annual or monthly payment depending on configuration |
| Websites | Unlimited | 1 (Starter), 15 (Perso) | 3 (Premium) | 20 |
| Storage | Unlimited (NVMe) | 1 GB (Starter), 100 GB (Perso) | 20 GB SSD (Premium) | 250 GB SSD |
| Mailboxes | Unlimited | 2 (Starter), 10 (Perso) | 2 per website, free for 1 year | 1 free address (5 with Web + Mail) |
| Stated location | Own data centres in France (Clermont-Ferrand) | Not specified on the offer page | Location can be chosen, countries not specified | Switzerland |
| Trial or refund | 30-day money-back guarantee | Free Eco plan with a domain | 30-day refund | 30 days free and 30-day refund |
| Verdict | Most resources with no price rise on renewal | Cheapest for a small website | Low headline price, long commitment | European hosting outside the EU, in Switzerland |
Method: prices and resources come from the hosts’ offer pages, consulted on 29 October 2026. Prices are shown excluding VAT when the page says so (o2switch, OVHcloud, Infomaniak). Hostinger’s page does not state whether its prices include or exclude VAT. A “not specified” cell means the information did not appear on the page consulted.
Why the choice of host matters for a business website
Choosing the best web host for a business website means choosing where the website, its databases and often its email addresses run. A poor choice costs slow pages, outages or a higher bill after a year.
The four hosts compared all offer shared hosting, the option suited to most brochure websites and business blogs. The differences between shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and cloud are covered in the article Web hosting: shared, VPS, dedicated or cloud?.
The criteria used for the comparison
- The entry price and the renewal price, which are often very different.
- The commitment: period paid in advance and cancellation terms.
- Resources: number of websites, storage, mailboxes.
- The stated server location, useful for a GDPR assessment.
- The ability to test or get a refund.
First-year price and renewal price: the gap to watch
The most common trap in web hosting is the first-year discount. The headline prices only apply at the start of the contract.
| Plan (checked on 29 October 2026) | Starting price | Renewal price |
|---|---|---|
| OVHcloud Starter | €1.59 excl. VAT per month | €2.59 excl. VAT per month |
| OVHcloud Perso | €2.99 excl. VAT per month | €5.99 excl. VAT per month |
| Hostinger Premium | €2.49 per month (48 months paid in advance) | €9.99 per month |
| Hostinger Unlimited | €3.49 per month (48 months paid in advance) | €16.99 per month |
| o2switch Grow | €7 excl. VAT per month | No first-year discount displayed |
| o2switch Cloud | €1.86 excl. VAT per month in year 1 | Usual rate, shown struck through at €16 excl. VAT per month |
Over several years, the ranking can reverse: a plan with a very low headline price can cost more than a stable plan from the second year onwards. The useful calculation is the total cost over three years, renewals included.
o2switch: unlimited hosting in French data centres
o2switch is a French host that states, on its offer page, that it owns its data centres in France, in Clermont-Ferrand. All its plans include unlimited websites, databases, mailboxes, NVMe disk space and monthly traffic. Plans are detailed on o2switch’s hosting page.
According to the check made on 29 October 2026, the range has three plans, billed annually. Grow costs €7 excl. VAT per month, or €84 excl. VAT per year, with no first-year discount. Cloud and Pro are shown with a first-year discount (€1.86 and €6.25 excl. VAT per month), then renewed at the usual rate, which the page shows struck through at €16 and €24 excl. VAT per month.
o2switch’s key features
- Unlimited: websites, databases, mailboxes, NVMe disk space and traffic, on all plans.
- Guaranteed resources: from 8 vCPU and 16 GB of memory (Grow) to 24 vCPU and 64 GB (Pro).
- Daily backups kept for 30 days (Grow), 45 days (Cloud) or 90 days (Pro).
- Domain name free for the first year with Grow, permanently included with Cloud and Pro.
- 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
- Prices including VAT not shown: the page states that they depend on the country and billing conditions.
Detailed comparison: OVHcloud, Hostinger and Infomaniak against o2switch
OVHcloud, the lowest entry price
OVHcloud offers an Eco range with a free plan (1 website, 100 MB, 1 email address) included with each domain name purchased. The Starter plan costs €1.59 excl. VAT per month in the first year, then €2.59 excl. VAT, for 1 website, 1 GB of storage and 2 email addresses. The Perso plan costs €2.99 excl. VAT per month in the first year, then €5.99 excl. VAT, for 15 websites, 100 GB and 10 email addresses.
Plans include an SSL certificate, anti-DDoS protection, automatic backups and unlimited traffic. The offer page consulted does not specify where web hosting servers are located.
Hostinger, the headline price with a long commitment
Hostinger shows three plans: Premium at €2.49, Unlimited at €3.49 and Cloud Startup at €7.99 per month. These prices require a 48-month commitment paid in advance, or €119.52 at sign-up for Premium. On renewal, prices rise to €9.99, €16.99 and €23.99 per month.
The Premium plan includes 3 websites and 20 GB of SSD storage, the Unlimited plan unlimited websites and 50 GB NVMe. The page states that the plan can be cancelled at any time, with a full refund within 30 days. It lets you choose the server location, without specifying countries.
Infomaniak, hosting in Switzerland
Infomaniak states that it develops and hosts its infrastructure in Switzerland. Its Web Hosting plan starts at €5.75 excl. VAT per month, with 250 GB of SSD space, 20 websites, unlimited databases and traffic, and one free email address. The Web + Mail plan starts at €7.25 excl. VAT per month with 5 email addresses.
Infomaniak offers a 30-day free trial (a credit card is required) and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Support is advertised by phone and email, 7 days a week.
Summary of the differences
| Need | Best-placed host according to the checks | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Several websites and mailboxes without counting | o2switch | Unlimited resources on all plans |
| Data hosted in France, stated on the offer | o2switch | Own data centres in Clermont-Ferrand |
| One small website at the lowest price | OVHcloud | Starter at €1.59 excl. VAT per month in year 1 |
| European hosting outside the European Union | Infomaniak | Infrastructure in Switzerland |
| Low price by paying several years in advance | Hostinger | €2.49 per month over 48 months |
Who is it for? Recommendations by profile
Small business with a brochure website and several email addresses
o2switch is the most consistent choice among the four: a single subscription covers all the company’s websites and mailboxes, with a price that does not rise on renewal for the Grow plan and servers stated to be in France.
Freelancer with a single small website
OVHcloud’s Starter plan is enough for a light website, provided that 1 GB of storage and 2 email addresses cover the needs.
Business looking for an independent European host
Infomaniak suits organisations that prefer an independent European host. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union: the GDPR assessment must take this into account.
How to choose your web host
- Count the websites and mailboxes needed today and in two years.
- Calculate the cost over three years, renewals included.
- Check the period paid in advance and the cancellation terms.
- Check the stated location of servers and backups.
- Test during the refund period with the real website.
Shared hosting is enough for a brochure website. To run a self-hosted tool, such as the Community edition covered in the comparison Zapier, Make or n8n, a VPS is often needed. In all cases, cybersecurity best practices apply to the host’s customer area: two-factor authentication and unique passwords.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing on the first-year price without checking the renewal price.
- Paying four years in advance without having tested the service.
- Leaving mailboxes out of the needs calculation.
- Not checking where backups are stored.
- Linking the domain name and hosting without knowing how to separate them when leaving.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best web host for a business website?
It depends on the need. Based on the offer pages checked on 29 October 2026, o2switch offers unlimited websites, storage and mailboxes from €7 excl. VAT per month with its Grow plan, in its own data centres in France. OVHcloud shows the lowest entry price (Starter at €1.59 excl. VAT per month in the first year), with limited resources. Hostinger starts at €2.49 per month for a 48-month prepaid commitment. Infomaniak offers 250 GB and 20 websites from €5.75 excl. VAT per month, with hosting in Switzerland.
Which web host is the cheapest?
As of 29 October 2026, OVHcloud’s Starter plan shows the lowest price: €1.59 excl. VAT per month in the first year, then €2.59 excl. VAT on renewal, for 1 website and 1 GB of storage. The entry price alone is not enough: with Hostinger, the Premium plan rises from €2.49 to €9.99 per month on renewal, and the starting price requires paying 48 months in advance.
Which web host stores data in France?
Among the four hosts compared, o2switch states on its offer page that it uses its own data centres in France, in Clermont-Ferrand. Infomaniak states that its infrastructure is hosted in Switzerland. The OVHcloud and Hostinger offer pages consulted on 29 October 2026 do not specify a country for web hosting.
Should you be wary of first-year prices?
Yes. First-year discounts are common: according to the pages checked on 29 October 2026, OVHcloud’s Perso plan rises from €2.99 to €5.99 excl. VAT per month on renewal, and Hostinger’s Premium plan from €2.49 to €9.99 per month. o2switch’s Grow plan, at €7 excl. VAT per month, shows no first-year discount.
Can you try a web host before committing?
Yes, according to the pages checked on 29 October 2026: o2switch and Hostinger offer a 30-day refund, and Infomaniak a 30-day free trial (credit card required) plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. OVHcloud offers a free Eco plan with each domain name purchased.