Hostinger email hosting is one of the cheapest ways to get a business address at your own domain: the Starter plan costs $0.39 a month per mailbox on a 48-month term, or $18.72 upfront for four years, and renews at $1.59 a month. It suits solo owners and small teams that need a professional inbox, not a mass-mailing tool. The limits to watch are the long prepaid term behind the lowest price, 5 GB of storage on Starter and a sending cap of 1,000 emails a day. If you already have Hostinger web hosting, you get a free mailbox for the first year, but with only 1 GB of storage.
Prices and plan limits were checked on October 22, 2026 on Hostinger’s US business email page, read in a browser for each billing term, and in Hostinger’s help articles on Hostinger Mail limits and the free email trial (both updated September 15, 2026).
Hostinger email hosting plans and prices
Hostinger sells three email plans, each priced per mailbox. The page calls them Starter, Standard and Premium; Hostinger’s help articles use the names Business Starter, Business Standard and Business Premium for the same plans.
| Plan | 48 months | 12 months | Monthly | Renewal (12- or 48-month term) | Storage | Sending limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0.39/mo | $0.59/mo | $2.99/mo | $1.59/mo | 5 GB | 1,000/day |
| Standard | $0.99/mo | $1.39/mo | $3.99/mo | $2.79/mo | 20 GB | 3,000/day |
| Premium | $1.99/mo | $2.99/mo | $5.99/mo | $3.99/mo | 50 GB | 3,000/day |
All prices are per mailbox, and Hostinger says every plan is paid upfront: the monthly rate is the total divided by the months in the term. On monthly billing there is no discount, so the renewal price is the same as the first bill. A current deal on the page gives a third mailbox free when you buy two or more on a 12-month term or longer, and Hostinger says that third mailbox renews free for the full term.
What one mailbox costs over four years
Assumptions: one mailbox, no extra storage, prices before tax. The 12-month path is one intro year plus three yearly renewals at the 12-month renewal rate.
| Plan and billing | Paid upfront | Four-year total | Average per month | Next four years at renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter, 48 months | $18.72 | $18.72 | $0.39 | $76.32 |
| Starter, 12-month terms | $7.08 | $64.32 | $1.34 | $76.32 |
| Starter, monthly | $2.99 | $143.52 | $2.99 | $143.52 |
| Standard, 48 months | $47.52 | $47.52 | $0.99 | $133.92 |
| Premium, 48 months | $95.52 | $95.52 | $1.99 | $191.52 |
The billing term matters more than the plan. The same Starter mailbox costs $18.72 over four years on the 48-month term and $143.52 on monthly billing, almost eight times as much. The 48-month term carries the risk that you prepay for an address you may not need in year three. From year five, Starter costs $19.08 a year, so the long-run price is still low. Our guide to the Hostinger renewal price shows how the same pattern works on its hosting plans.
For a small team, the three-for-two deal changes the math. Three Standard mailboxes on the 48-month term cost the price of two, $95.04 upfront, which works out to $31.68 per address over four years instead of $47.52. Because Hostinger says the free mailbox renews free for the full term, the saving continues at renewal: two paid Standard renewals of $133.92 each cover all three addresses.
Explore Hostinger hosting options
What each plan includes, and the limits that matter
Storage
Starter’s 5 GB fills fastest if you send and receive attachments every day. Standard gives 20 GB and Premium 50 GB per mailbox, and Hostinger says extra storage can be added and shared across mailboxes. For one person using email mainly for messages and a few PDFs, 5 GB is workable; for a business that trades invoices, photos or design files, Standard is the safer starting point.
Sending limits
Hostinger’s limits article sets 1,000 emails a day on Starter and 3,000 on Standard and Premium, with up to 100 recipients per message. Attachments are capped at 25 MB per file outbound. That is plenty for daily business mail but not for newsletters: a 2,000-subscriber list would exceed Starter’s daily cap in one send. For campaigns, Hostinger offers Hostinger Reach, a separate email marketing platform.
Aliases, forwarding and filters
Aliases let one mailbox receive mail for several addresses, such as sales@ and support@, without paying for another mailbox. The pricing page lists 5 aliases per mailbox on Starter, 10 on Standard and 30 on Premium; Hostinger’s limits article gives Premium 50, so expect at least 30. Forwarding rules run from 5 on Starter to 50 on Premium, and webmail filters from 10 to unlimited. For a solo owner, five aliases on Starter often replace a second paid mailbox.
AI features
Standard and Premium add unlimited AI tools for searching, replying, summarizing and writing, plus read tracking; Premium also tracks link clicks and file opens and includes a free domain for one year. Hostinger’s page also lists connectors for ChatGPT and Claude to read and send mail from those assistants. Starter has none of the unlimited AI tools on the pricing card, so the AI is the main reason to pay $0.60 a month more for Standard on the 48-month term.
Security and features on every plan
Every plan includes spam, virus and phishing protection, audit logs of mailbox activity, end-to-end encryption, auto-replies, forwarding, a catch-all for mistyped addresses and access from email apps such as Outlook and Gmail. On backups, Hostinger’s page says it provides backup and recovery options but recommends that you create your own email backups regularly, so do not treat the service as your only copy.
The free email that comes with Hostinger hosting
Hostinger’s web, cloud and agency hosting plans include a free Business Starter trial for one year. Its help article lists these differences from the paid plan:
- 1 GB of storage per mailbox instead of 5 GB.
- A sending limit of 100 emails a day instead of 1,000.
- The number of free mailboxes depends on the hosting plan; Hostinger’s pricing page lists 2 mailboxes per website on Premium hosting and unlimited on Unlimited.
- The trial ends early if the hosting plan expires before the year is up.
The catch is what happens after a year. If a payment method is saved, Hostinger says the mailboxes renew automatically as a paid Business Starter plan. Without one, you must upgrade before the trial expires or export your mail to avoid losing it. Put a calendar reminder 11 months after you start, and decide then whether the free mailbox becomes a paid one. Our Hostinger review compares the hosting plans themselves.
Support, migration and refunds
Hostinger lists 24/7 support on the email page and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Mailbox migration from another provider is offered through Hostinger Agent, its AI assistant, which Hostinger says moves emails, folders and contacts, so switching does not mean losing your old mail. The 30 days give you time to send real mail from your domain before the prepaid term is locked in. The full rules for refunds are in our Hostinger refund policy guide.
Who Hostinger email hosting suits, and who should look elsewhere
- Solo owner, one address: Starter on the 48-month term, $18.72 for four years, using aliases for extra addresses.
- Small team that handles files: Standard on the 48-month term, $47.52 per mailbox, for 20 GB and the AI tools; buy two and the third mailbox is free under the current deal.
- Already on Hostinger hosting: start with the free mailbox, then upgrade to Starter before the year ends if 1 GB is tight.
- Look elsewhere if: you need month-to-month billing at a low price, since Starter costs $2.99 a month that way, or you want to send newsletters from your inbox.
Two alternatives worth comparing
Namecheap Private Email: the Launch plan renews at $14.88 a year for 1 mailbox with 5 GB, with a 30-day free trial and no credit card needed. That beats Hostinger Starter’s $19.08 renewal year, though Hostinger’s 48-month intro price is lower for the first four years. Our Namecheap email hosting review covers its plans.
SiteGround hosting with email: every SiteGround web hosting plan includes unlimited email accounts at your domain, with StartUp at $35.88 for the first year. It makes sense if you also need a website and want mailboxes without per-mailbox fees, but StartUp renews at $17.99 a month.
Final recommendation
Hostinger email hosting is good value if you commit: Starter at $18.72 for four years is hard to beat for a single business address, and Standard at $47.52 is the better pick if you handle attachments or want the AI tools. Avoid monthly billing, which costs almost eight times as much over four years. If you already host with Hostinger, use the free 1 GB mailbox first and upgrade only when you need to. For a lower renewal year, compare Namecheap Private Email at $14.88.
Hostinger email hosting FAQ
Can I use Hostinger email without Hostinger hosting?
Yes. The email plans are sold on their own, separate from hosting, and Premium includes a free domain for one year if you do not have one. Our domain vs hosting guide explains how the two are billed.
Is there a free trial of Hostinger email?
Yes, in two forms. Hosting customers get the one-year Business Starter trial, and Hostinger’s limits article lists a separate 30-day trial with domain purchases: 1 mailbox, 10 GB of storage and 100 messages a day.
Can I upgrade from Starter to Standard later?
Yes. Hostinger’s page says you can upgrade to a different plan or add storage as your needs grow, so starting on Starter does not lock you in.