STRATO review
Updated September 28, 2026 · ForgeCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
STRATO suits beginners and small businesses who want hosting, a site builder and domains from one German company. Shared hosting opens at an introductory €1 for 12 months, and renewal fees run €5 to €22 after that, with a 30 day money-back window.
Key facts
- Best for
- Small businesses in Germany wanting hosting, a builder and a store from one provider.
- Intro price
- €1 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Renewal price
- €5 to €22 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Hosting types
- Shared webhosting, Managed WordPress hosting, VPS, Dedicated servers, Cloud servers, Website builder, Cloud storage (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Websites allowed
- Multiple websites per package, up to 10 included domains (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Features
- Free-SSL, Backups, Email (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Uptime guarantee
- 99.99% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Data centres
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Intro price term (months)
- 12 months (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- STRATO GmbH (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Phone, Email, Chat, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
- Official website
- strato.com
Website builders
- Price from
- €9 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free plan
- No (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- E-commerce plan price
- €16 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Templates
- from 130 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Builder type
- Site, Store (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- STRATO GmbH (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Phone, Email, Chat, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
Domain registrars
- .com first year
- €7.20 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- .com renewal
- €21.60 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- STRATO GmbH (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 1997 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Phone, Email, Chat, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
Pros and cons
Pros
- Hosting opens at €1 for 12 months, which places STRATO at 30 of 282 on entry price.
- Plans span shared webhosting, managed WordPress hosting and VPS, so shared hosting and dedicated servers sit in one range.
- Hosting packages include free ssl, backups and email, and each one allows Multiple websites per package, up to 10 included domains.
- The builder starts at €9 with from 130 templates, and the webshop plan is €16.
Cons
- Renewal fees run €5 to €22, and STRATO sits at 77 of 179 on renewal price, so the entry figure is not the ongoing cost.
- The website builder has no free plan, and paid builder plans start at €9.
- Data centers sit in Germany, so region choice is thin for a site with distant visitors.
Who it suits
- Small-business owners who want a German provider for hosting, domains and email in one place.
- Beginners who would rather start in a €9 builder with from 130 templates than on a self-managed server.
- Sellers launching a small store, since the builder covers site and store and the webshop plan is €16.
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who wants a free tier to test a project: Render lists $0, and STRATO's website builder has no free plan.
- Shoppers outside the euro area who prefer a quote in their own currency: Hosting.cl lists CLP 159,900 and Afrihost ZAR 84.
- Buyers shopping mainly on the second price, since renewal ranks 77 of 179 and Hosting.cl or Afrihost quotes are worth checking for the renewal term.
How STRATO compares
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.2- 9.2 vs 9.3
9.2 vs 8.6- 9.2 vs 9.4
- 9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.2- 9.2 vs 9.1
- 9.2 vs 9.2
- 9.2 vs 8.6
- 9.2 vs 9.1
9.2 vs 9.1
9.2 vs 9.3
9.2 vs 9.5
9.2 vs 9.4
9.2 vs 9.4
9.2 vs 9.3- 9.2 vs 9.3
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.2
9.2 vs 9.1
Where STRATO is available
- Available
- France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
How much does STRATO hosting cost to start?+
Hosting opens at an introductory €1 for 12 months, which is where the low headline figure comes from. Plans then renew at €5 to €22. Compare that with CLP 159,900 or ZAR 84 if you price in another currency.
What will I pay when the hosting plan renews?+
Renewal fees run €5 to €22, so the entry figure is not what you keep paying. STRATO ranks 77 of 179 on renewal price, and the group median sits at €5.99. Budget the renewal term before you commit.
Is there a money-back period?+
Yes. Hosting comes with a 30 day money-back period, which matches the group median of 30 days. That gives you room to move a site across, test email and backups, and still ask for a refund if it does not fit.
What kinds of hosting does STRATO sell?+
The range covers shared webhosting, managed WordPress hosting and VPS. A beginner can start on shared webhosting and a larger project can move to VPS, cloud or dedicated servers under the same company. Managed WordPress and cloud storage sit alongside the hosting and builder options.
Does the STRATO website builder have a free plan?+
No. The builder has no free plan, and paid plans start at €9. If you only want something to look at first, the alternative is a host with a free entry such as Render, where hosting starts at $0.
Where are STRATO's servers?+
Hosting runs from data centers in Germany, and the provider is German, with the legal entity listed as STRATO GmbH. If most of your visitors sit far from Germany, that is worth weighing against a provider with more regions on offer.
How do I reach STRATO support?+
Support runs on phone, email and chat, which means phone, email, chat and a help center. That range suits beginners who hit setup questions on the first day and small businesses that would rather talk to a person than fill in a form.
Can I sell online with STRATO?+
The website builder covers site and store, so you can build a site or a store in the same editor, drawing on from 130 templates. The webshop plan is priced at €16, and hosting packages carry free ssl, backups and email for the rest of the stack.
How many websites can one hosting package hold?+
Plans are not limited to a single site. Each package allows Multiple websites per package, up to 10 included domains, so a small business can keep a main site, a landing page and a shop under one plan instead of spreading hosting across separate packages.
Sources
- omr.com/en/reviews/product/strato-domain/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: .com first year, .com renewal
“.com 0.60 € / Month for the first 12 months”
- strato.de/homepage-baukasten checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Builder type, Free plan, Price from, Templates
“Basic Einstieg in die Online-Präsenz 9 €/Mon. Einrichtung: 15 €”
- strato.de/hosting checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Audience, Data centres, Features, Hosting types, Intro price, Intro price term (months), Pricing model, Money-back period, Renewal price, Uptime guarantee, Websites allowed
“STRATO verfuegt ueber zwei Hochsicherheitsrechenzentren, die sich in Deutschland befinden”
- strato.de/impressum checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity
- strato.de/ueber-uns checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded, Support channels
“Gegruendet 1997 in Berlin”
- strato.de/webshop checked September 26, 2026
Backs: E-commerce plan price
“Smartwebshop Basic Einstieg ins Online-Business 16 € /Mon.”
Compiled from 6 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
STRATO
Small businesses in Germany wanting hosting, a builder and a store from one provider.