Save Up to 75% with This Hostinger Renewal Discount Trick

Hi, I’m Roshan, and I know how annoying it is when your Hostinger hosting renewal price suddenly jumps up. I was super excited when I first signed up because the price was really low. But when it was time to renew, I was shocked to see that the cost had more than doubled! That’s why I discovered the Hostinger Renewal Discount Trick, a smart way to keep paying the same low price every time you renew.

On PiximFix.com, I share easy guides, helpful tutorials, and money-saving tips to help website owners avoid paying too much for hosting. Many hosting companies give you great discounts when you first sign up, but when it’s time to renew, the price goes way up.

How to Generate Infographic 😎 in ONE Click (Text to Infographic) 2025

Did you know that renewal prices can be up to three times higher than what you first paid? According to a report by SiteGround, shared hosting plans usually start at $2–$15 per month, but when you renew, it can go up to $10–$40 per month. That’s a big jump that most people don’t expect!

The good news? There’s an easy trick to avoid these high prices. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how I keep renewing my Hostinger plan at the same low price every year—without changing providers or making a new account. Plus, I’ll share extra tips to help you save money and avoid common mistakes.

Let’s dive in and ensure you never overpay for your Hostinger hosting renewals again

Why Do Hostinger Prices Jump After the First Term?

Hostinger, like many other web hosting companies, offers really low prices at first to attract new customers. They do this by giving big discounts on the first plan you buy. In fact, new customers can save 50% to 70% compared to the regular price. For example, a plan that usually costs $7.99 per month might be available for just $2.99 per month for the first term. However, once this special period ends, the price goes up to the regular rate, which can be 50% to 150% higher depending on the plan and how long you choose to pay for it. But there’s a way to avoid these high renewal prices using the Hostinger Renewal Discount Trick

For example:

• Premium Shared Hosting: Initially $2.99/month, renews at $7.99/month (over double the price).
• Business Web Hosting: Starts at $3.99/month, but renews at $8.99 or $13.99/month, depending on the billing cycle.
• Cloud Hosting: As low as $7.99/month on a long first-term, then renews at $19.99/month.

This pricing structure allows Hostinger to offer great deals upfront while ensuring long-term profitability.

The “Loyalty Penalty”

Since Hostinger doesn’t always make renewal rates clear, many customers are surprised when the price goes up. It feels unfair because new customers get big discounts, while loyal users have to pay much more when renewing. If you let your plan renew automatically, you could end up paying two or even three times what you paid at first. Fortunately, with the Hostinger Renewal Discount Trick, you can bypass this loyalty penalty.

Can You Get a Hostinger Renewal Discount?

Yes, with the Hostinger renewal discount trick, you can! Hostinger doesn’t offer coupon codes when it’s time to renew, and their prices stay the same. But there’s a trick you can use to get a discount again, even though Hostinger doesn’t talk about it openly.

Strategy: Plan Switching to Reclaim Discounts

Hostinger allows plan changes (upgrades or downgrades) at any time, and this can be used to your advantage. By strategically switching your plan you can trigger the Hostinger renewal discount trick. near renewal time, you may be able to trigger new customer pricing again, even as an existing user, though Hostinger may have measures in place to limit this tactic.

Steps to Get a Better Renewal Price:

• Check the expiration date of your current hosting plan.
• Compare new sign-up offers on Hostinger’s website.
• Downgrade, upgrade, or switch plans before your renewal.
• Cancel your current plan and purchase a new one (if necessary).

By leveraging these tactics, you can avoid overpaying and continue enjoying lower prices on Hostinger hosting services.

The Hostinger Renewal Discount Trick Explained

What if you could trick Hostinger into giving you the same low price as a new customer instead of making you pay more when renewing? That’s what the Hostinger renewal discount trick does! It helps you avoid expensive renewals and keep paying the cheaper first-time price. Here’s how it works:

1. Downgrade your plan (for a little while) – This cancels your current subscription and switches you to a cheaper plan.
2. Upgrade back to your original plan – Hostinger sees this as a new purchase, so you get the lower, new-customer price instead of the expensive renewal price.

How It Works

This is how the Hostinger renewal discount trick works… Because you are “upgrading” from a lower tier, Hostinger’s system automatically registers this as a new purchase of the higher-tier plan, rather than a renewal. This happens because their upgrade process is designed to let users switch to better plans easily, often applying promotional rates instead of renewal prices. This means you get the first-time buyer price on the upgrade, which can be up to 70% lower than the regular renewal rate.

In simpler terms, you’re canceling your expensive renewal. Then, you immediately re-buy the same level of hosting at the discounted rate available to new customers. It’s like hopping off a ride and then getting back on with a new ticket at the discounted price instead of paying full fare.

Why Does This Work?

This is why the Hostinger renewal discount trick is effective…Hostinger’s system for upgrades is designed to let existing customers move to a better plan easily, though this may depend on the specific hosting plan you are on. However, when doing so, the billing often follows the standard pricing for that plan’s purchase because Hostinger treats upgrades as new transactions rather than extensions of existing plans. This means that the system applies the current promotional rate instead of the higher renewal price. If you’ve ever upgraded a service, you might have seen that you pay a prorated difference or a new fee that aligns with the plan’s current sale price.

By downgrading first, you ensure that the return to your higher plan isn’t treated as a straight renewal of the old plan, which would use the high renewal rate. Instead, it is processed as a fresh upgrade order, applying the discounted intro price. Essentially, downgrading resets your renewal status.

Real-World Example

Let’s say you originally bought Hostinger’s Business plan at a promo price of $47.88 for one year. You can check if you are eligible for similar promo pricing by looking at Hostinger’s current offers on their website or by contacting their support team. (roughly $3.99/month with a 71% discount). When it’s time to renew, the normal price would be $167.88 per year, which is the standard renewal rate for this plan unless a special offer is available. (about $13.99/month). That’s a huge jump.

Using this Hostinger renewal discount trick, you could downgrade to a lower plan and then upgrade back. It’s best to stay on the lower plan for at least a few hours or until your downgrade is fully processed to avoid any issues during the upgrade. When you upgrade back to Business (or even to a Cloud plan if that’s what you had), Hostinger will charge you roughly the same $47–$50 range for the next year instead of $167.

In this example, the user was able to get the $47.88/year pricing again, even though normally it should have been full price. The result is real savings of $120+ for that year, depending on whether Hostinger applies any extra fees during the downgrade-upgrade process..

Can You Repeat This Hostinger renewal discount trick?

Yes, you can repeat the Hostinger renewal discount trick every time. It doesn’t just work for one cycle – you can repeat this process every time your term is ending, ffectively renewing at first-term prices indefinitely. However, keep in mind that Hostinger may update their policies at any time, which could impact this method.

Is It Allowed?

The Hostinger renewal discount trick is completely within Hostinger’s rules. It might sound a little strategic, but rest assured, this method is completely within Hostinger’s rules. In fact, Hostinger’s own support can assist with downgrading, and plenty of savvy customers have done this successfully. While there may not be official documentation on this method, users have reported that Hostinger’s support team has guided them through the process

A Step-by-Step Guide to Saving on Hostinger Hosting Renewals

Ready to save money? Below is a detailed breakdown of each step to renew your Hostinger hosting at the same low price every time. We’ll start by downgrading your plan, then upgrade it back to your desired plan with the discount. Follow along carefully, and don’t worry – we’ll cover all the details and potential pitfalls.

Step 1: Downgrade to a Cheaper Hosting Plan

Start by downgrading to a cheaper plan, such as Business Web Hosting, which is a good choice for most users. Downgrading isn’t available as a self-service option in the hPanel dashboard because Hostinger manages plan adjustments manually to prevent errors or unintended data loss. To request a downgrade, you’ll need to reach out to their support team.

1. Time it right: Initiate the downgrade shortly before your current plan’s expiration/renewal date. You want to use your full paid term, but make sure to downgrade before your plan auto-renews at the high price. If you have auto-renew enabled, consider turning it off in the Billing > Subscriptions section of hPanel so you won’t be charged while you do this Hostinger renewal discount trick. (You can usually disable auto-renew with a toggle next to your subscription, and remove saved payment methods if necessary to be safe.)
   
2. Contact Hostinger support: Open a chat with Hostinger’s customer support (via the Help widget or their support page). Let them know you want to downgrade your hosting plan. For example, you might say: “Hi, I’d like to downgrade my current hosting plan from [Your Plan] to Business Web Hosting. Could you assist me with this?” The support agent will likely ask for confirmation details, such as your account email or a payment ID of your current plan, to verify and process the request.
   
3. Choose the downgrade plan and term: Specify which plan you want to downgrade to and for how long. In our scenario, Business Web Hosting is a great choice because it’s a step down from Cloud plans but still offers decent resources (and it will be cheaper to renew). You can choose a billing period – e.g. downgrade for 1 month, 12 months, 24 months, etc. (Choosing 1 month is an option if you intend to upgrade again very quickly.
   
   In our case, we chose 12 months for the downgrade plan, which is fine too. The key is you just need any active downgraded plan to then upgrade from.) The support agent will confirm the pricing for that downgraded plan. Important: The price they quote for the downgrade is usually the renewal price of the new plan (since technically you’re switching to it as an existing user). Don’t worry – you’re not actually going to overpay in the end, because the real savings come on the upgrade.
   
   For instance, the agent might inform you that the Business plan renewal costs $13.99/month (so if you select 12 months it’s around $167.88/year, plus any taxes). You typically won’t be asked to pay immediately during the downgrade request – Hostinger will schedule the change and either charge the difference or create an open invoice for the new plan.
   
4. Understand the implications: Before you confirm the downgrade, be aware of a few things that come with moving to a cheaper plan:
   • Resource Limits: Your new plan will have lower resources (CPU, RAM, inodes, etc.). If your website is very resource-intensive, monitor it after downgrading. (For example, Cloud Hosting plans can handle more traffic and memory than a shared Business plan. If your site is modest, Business plan will likely still run it fine.)
   
   
   • Features: Some high-tier features might be lost. For example, if your current plan includes daily backups or other premium features, the Business plan might not include them (or might have weekly backups instead). Ensure you take a manual backup of your site (files and databases) before the downgrade, just in case.
   
   
   • IP Address Change: When downgrading from a Cloud plan to a Shared (Business) plan, your server’s IP will change. If your domain is pointed to Hostinger via A records (direct IP) (for instance, if you use Cloudflare DNS or a third-party DNS with an A record), you will need to update those DNS records to the new IP after the downgrade is complete. Hostinger will provide the new IP once the switch happens (often via email). If you use Hostinger’s nameservers, this is less of an issue as it manages DNS automatically, but it’s still good to be aware of.
   
   
   • Potential Downtime: There might be a brief period of downtime during the transition, mainly due to the IP address change propagation. To minimize this, plan the downgrade during an off-peak time for your site. Once you get the new IP, update your DNS immediately. Typically, if done quickly, downtime will be minimal (just the time for DNS to update, which could be a few minutes if TTL is low).
   
   
   • Email Accounts: If you have email accounts through your hosting, they will remain in place after downgrading as long as the new plan supports the same number of email accounts. (Business Hosting does include email hosting, so your existing email accounts should still function.)
   
   The support agent may remind you of some of these points. For example, in our experience Hostinger support outlined that after downgrading, plan limits decrease, the IP will change, and to have backups ready. These are normal and manageable with a bit of preparation.
   
5. Confirm the downgrade: After you understand the above, tell the support agent you’re ready to proceed. They will then initiate the downgrade process. This might be completed instantly or take a few hours, as sometimes a specialized team handles it. In our case, the request was forwarded and completed within the same day. Hostinger emailed the new IP address and showed the new plan in the panel once it was done.
   
6. Check your Hostinger dashboard: Once the downgrade is done, log in to your hPanel and go to Billing -> Subscriptions (or simply look at your hosting plan details). You should now see that your plan is changed to Business Web Hosting (or whatever cheaper tier you chose). It will likely show the new expiration date (e.g. one year from now if you chose 12 months) and the renewal price for that plan.
   
   At this point, you haven’t actually paid for the new period yet (especially if you removed auto-pay). You might see a “Pay Now” or “Renew now” button next to the new plan, indicating there’s an unpaid invoice for the next period of that plan.
   
   Don’t click “Renew” yet – we’re actually not going to just renew the downgraded plan at full price. Instead, we’ll use this setup to upgrade and get a discount.

Step 2: Upgrade Back to Your Preferred Plan

Now that you’re on the cheaper plan, it’s time for the magic – upgrading back to the plan you actually want to keep, but at the first-term price. Most likely, this means upgrading back to your original hosting level (for example, if you were on a Cloud Hosting plan, you’ll now upgrade from Business back to your Cloud plan). Here’s how to do it:

1. Initiate the upgrade: In your Hostinger hPanel, navigate to the hosting plan (now the downgraded one) that you want to upgrade. There should be an option to Upgrade. You can find it either in the Websites section (click the “… (options)” menu next to your domain and look for an Upgrade option) or in the Subscriptions section by clicking on the plan details and looking for an upgrade link.
   
   Hostinger’s interface will guide you through selecting a new plan to upgrade to. Choose the plan tier you originally had (or even a different plan if you want to change – the Hostinger renewal discount trick works as long as it’s an upgrade). For example, if you downgraded to Business and your original plan was Cloud Startup (or you simply want Cloud Startup or Cloud Professional now), select that Cloud plan as your upgrade target.
   
2. Select the billing cycle (go long if you can): Once you choose the plan, Hostinger will ask you to select a billing term for the upgrade. This is where you lock in the savings. You’ll notice that the prices displayed are promotional. For instance, it might show something like “$X.99/month – save 70%” for a 12-month or 24-month term. The longer your term, typically the larger the total discount.
   
   If you want to maximize savings, consider choosing a 24-month or 48-month term for the upgrade. This means you’ll pay the low first-term rate for 2 or 4 years straight, and not have to worry about another renewal price jump during that time. (Of course, choose a duration that fits your budget and plans for the website. Even a 12-month term will still give you the discount for one year, and you can always repeat the Hostinger renewal discount trick next year.)
   
3. Notice the discounted price vs renewal price: On the upgrade checkout page, you should clearly see the discount applied and the renewal price that will apply after this new term. It often says something like “You save X%” and maybe “Renews at $[regular rate] on [date]”. For example, when upgrading to Business annually, we saw “Plan discount – 71%” and a note that it renews at $13.99/month on 13/01/2026 (after the year is over). The subtotal for 12 months was $47.88, instead of $167.88【9†】.
   
   This confirms you’re getting the first-term price now. (That renewal note is just telling you what it would cost after your discounted term; but remember, we plan to repeat the trick later, so you may never have to actually pay that $13.99/mo renewal in the future.)
   
4. Apply a coupon code (if available): Before you finalize the payment, check if there’s a “Have a coupon code?” field on the checkout page. Hostinger sometimes allows additional coupon codes on top of the ongoing promotions. It’s always worth trying one:
   • Search online for any Hostinger coupon codes that might be current. Sometimes, codes like BLACKFRIDAY (during Black Friday season) or other promotional codes can give an extra percentage off.
     
   • You can also ask Hostinger support if they have any coupon for you. In our case, after initiating the process, we asked if any coupon was available, and a support agent provided a special code that gave a small additional discount on a 12-month term. For example, they gave us a code that knocked a few extra dollars off the total price.
     
   • Enter the coupon code and ensure the total updates before proceeding. Even if it’s only 5-10% extra off, that’s more savings in your pocket. If no code works, no worries — the promotional price itself is already heavily discounted.
     
5. Complete the payment for the upgrade: Continue with the checkout and pay for the upgraded plan. You’ll pay the amount of the discounted price for the term you selected. For instance, if you chose 12 months of Cloud Startup at $7.99/mo (promo price), you’ll pay around $95.88 (assuming ~67% off from a $19.99 rate). If you chose 24 or 48 months, you’ll pay the respective total (which could be on the order of a couple hundred dollars, but covering multiple years of hosting at a low rate).
   
6. Verify the upgrade: After payment, your account should instantly reflect the new hosting plan tier. Your website will now be running on the upgraded plan (e.g. back to Cloud hosting). All your files, data, and settings remain intact through this upgrade process — you don’t have to migrate anything manually because Hostinger simply adjusts the plan on the backend. You might get a new IP address again (if the infrastructure for the higher plan is different), so if that’s the case, update your DNS records one more time to the new IP.
   
   In many cases, upgrading from Business to Cloud will indeed assign a different IP, so keep an eye on any email or notification that mentions the IP change, or ask support if unsure.
   
7. Enjoy your “renewal” at original pricing: Congrats! You have effectively renewed your hosting at the first-term price instead of the inflated renewal rate. You’re now set for another term at a much lower cost. Hostinger treats this as a new subscription period, so your next renewal date will be a year (or 2, or 4) from now from the date of upgrade.

By following these steps, you’ve bypassed the expensive renewal. From the budgeting perspective, you might have paid a bit differently than a normal renewal (since you essentially paid for an upgrade rather than letting an auto-renew happen), but the amount is dramatically lower than what you would’ve paid on renewal. In the next section, we’ll break down the savings clearly with an example.

Real Savings Breakdown (With Corrected Numbers)

Let’s break down the savings with the Hostinger renewal discount trick. You’re probably wondering just how much money this Hostinger renewal discount trick saves. Let’s break down a realistic example to see the difference in cost:

Scenario:

Scenario	Year 1 Cost	Year 2 Cost (Without Trick)	Year 2 Cost (With Trick)	Year 3 Cost (With Trick)	Total 3-Year Cost
Regular Renewal	$47.88	$167.88	–	$167.88	$383.64
Using Hostinger renewal discount trick	$47.88	–	~$47.88	~$47.88	~$143.64

Hostinger, a popular web hosting provider, offers various plans for different needs. You originally signed up for Hostinger’s Business Web Hosting on a 12-month term with an introductory deal of $3.99/month. You paid $47.88 for the first year (this is the promotional price). After one year, without the Hostinger renewal discount trick, Hostinger would charge the renewal at $13.99/month, which comes out to $167.88 per year (quite a leap from $47.88!). This significant increase is common across most hosting providers, as promotional rates typically apply only for the first term, after which standard pricing takes effect..

If You Did Nothing (Regular Renewal):

For this specific Business plan, you’d pay $167.88 for the second year of hosting at the standard renewal rate. Over a span of 3 years, you’d pay the promo $47.88 for the first year. Then, for years 2 and 3, you’d be charged $167.88 each year. This brings the total cost to approximately $383.64 for 3 years of service.

Using the Hostinger renewal discount trick:

In the second year, instead of paying $167.88, you downgrade to a lower-tier plan and then immediately upgrade back to the original or a different plan. This process resets your pricing to the promotional rate, allowing you to avoid the higher renewal price. You pay about $47.88 again (using the Hostinger renewal discount trick to get the promo price another time for year 2). In year 3, if you do the trick again, you might pay roughly the same promo price (though it may fluctuate slightly depending on Hostinger’s rates or plan changes, it would still remain in the discounted range).

Over 3 years, you’d pay $47.88 for the first year. Then, by using the Hostinger renewal discount trick, you’d pay approximately the same discounted rate of $47.88 for years 2 and 3 as well. This brings the total cost to about $143.64 instead of $383.64, saving you over $240. That’s a saving of $240+ over 3 years in this simple example.

Savings Percentage:

To put it plainly, you save around 70-75% each time you renew using this method. Instead of paying full price, you keep paying the sale price.

In Our Actual Case with Hostinger:

• The plan’s normal renewal was about ₹8,481 per year (this was in Indian Rupees, including taxes, equivalent to the ~$167 we mentioned).
• After using the Hostinger renewal discount trick, the cost for that same period came down to about ₹2,900–₹3,500 (roughly what ₹47.88 would convert to, depending on taxes and currency rates).
• That’s roughly ₹5,500 saved in one year, which is significant savings (~65% less).

Higher Savings on Cloud Hosting Plans:

If you’re on a Cloud Hosting plan or another higher tier, the dollar amounts might differ but the percentage saved is similar or even greater. Cloud plans often have an even bigger gap between first-term and renewal because they typically come with more resources, scalability, and performance benefits, which hosting providers price higher after the promotional period ends. For instance, Cloud Startup can be around $7.99–$12.99/month initially (depending on term length) and renew at about $19.99/month. Over a year, that’s roughly $95 vs $240 – a $145 saving per year (excluding any additional fees or taxes that may apply)..

Using the Hostinger renewal discount trick, you’d keep paying ~$95 instead of $240, saving that $145 each year.

The Best Part: This Trick Works Every Renewal Cycle

What’s powerful is that this method allows you to consistently avoid high renewal costs by securing the promotional rate every time you renew. There’s no known limit on how many times you can do this. As long as Hostinger continues to allow downgrades and upgrades with promotional pricing (which they do as of now), you can replicate these savings year after year. However, it’s important to note that Hostinger’s policies may change in the future, so it’s always good to check their terms before attempting this method.

Long-Term Savings:

Over the long run, you could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars (if you have a multi-year plan or multiple sites) by not succumbing to high renewals.

Important Notes:

Each time you do the Hostinger renewal discount trick, you might pay for a different plan for a short period (e.g., downgrading to Business plan before upgrading to Cloud plan). However, the net effect is that you never pay the full renewal price for the original plan. Any interim costs are part of getting the new discounted term.

In many cases, the “downgrade” plan cost is immediately applied or merged into the upgrade cost. For example, if you paid a small amount for the downgrade, Hostinger may prorate or credit it towards the upgrade. The specifics can vary, but ultimately, your total outlay is far less than a straight renewal.

Simplifying the Hostinger renewal discount trick:

Simply put, this Hostinger renewal discount trick allows you to repurchase hosting at the promotional price rather than renewing at the full rate. Think of the trick as just purchasing your hosting again at the sale price instead of renewing at the regular price.

The exact numbers will depend on your plan and currency, but the savings percentage is huge—for example, in our earlier breakdown, using this method resulted in over 70% savings, reducing costs from $383.64 to just $143.64 over three years.

Extra Tips to Save Even More

In addition to the Hostinger renewal discount trick, here are some extra tips By now, you’re on the right track to slashing your Hostinger costs. Here are some extra tips and best practices to squeeze out even more savings and ensure a smooth experience:

Look Out for Coupon Codes or Promotions

As mentioned in Step 2, always check for any additional discounts or coupons before making the final payment on your upgrade. Hostinger often has seasonal sales (New Year, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.) where they release coupon codes.

If your renewal time aligns with a big sale, you might get an even better deal. Even outside of major sales, doing a quick Google search for “Hostinger coupon code” or checking websites like RetailMeNot can reveal if there’s a 5% or 10% off code floating around. It never hurts to try a code at checkout. And don’t forget, you can politely ask the support chat – sometimes they have an internal coupon they can share (as we experienced).

Choose a Longer Term for Bigger Savings

We touched on this, but it’s worth emphasizing: if you can afford to pay upfront, opting for a 24-month or 48-month billing cycle when you upgrade will lock in the low rate for a much longer period. Hostinger’s discounts on 2-year and 4-year terms are often just as good as the 1-year discount (sometimes even better on a monthly equivalent basis).

This means you won’t have to worry about the Hostinger renewal discount trick every single year, and you’re effectively beating inflation and any price hikes as well. Plus, it gives you peace of mind that your hosting is covered for a long time at a cheap rate. Just be sure you’re committed to using Hostinger for that period; given how much you save, it often is worth it.

Consider Contacting Support for a Loyalty Discount

If for some reason you’re uncomfortable doing the downgrade-upgrade steps, sometimes simply reaching out to Hostinger and expressing concern about the renewal price can get you a loyalty discount or a special offer. Some users have reported that threatening (politely) to cancel or move to another host at renewal time might prompt Hostinger to offer a retention deal. It might not be as good as the first-term price, but any discount helps. However, in our experience, using the Hostinger renewal discount trick yourself is more reliable and gets you the best price. Still, it’s good to know all options.

Keep an Eye on Your Domain Renewal and Other Add-Ons

While you’re saving on hosting, remember that domain names (if you got one free initially) will have their own renewal fees. The Hostinger renewal discount trick doesn’t affect domain renewal – that’s separate. Hostinger often gives a free domain for the first year with premium plans. After that, you’ll need to pay the domain’s yearly fee (which typically ranges from $10–$15 for a .com). There’s no trick around domain renewal, but you could transfer your domain to another registrar for a promo price if you want to save a bit there. In any case, budget for your domain renewal so it doesn’t catch you by surprise.

Note: Changing hosting plans does not cancel or forfeit your domain. If you claimed a free domain, it’s yours to keep as long as you renew it. Downgrading or upgrading hosting won’t make you lose the domain.

Plan Your Downgrades/Upgrades Around Your Website’s Slow Periods

To minimize any impact on your site, try to perform these changes when your site isn’t too busy. Also, communicate with any team members or clients about the maintenance window. While serious issues are unlikely, it’s a proactive step. We also recommend clearing your schedule for an hour or two when doing the trick so you can respond quickly to any support messages or do the upgrade immediately after the downgrade completes.

Backup, Backup, Backup

We said it before, but it’s worth repeating: always keep a recent backup of your website files and database before doing a downgrade or upgrade. Hostinger’s processes generally keep all data intact (we didn’t experience any data loss at all during our downgrade-upgrade). However, it’s just good practice to have your own backup in case something unexpected occurs. You can use Hostinger’s backup feature or a plugin (if it’s a WordPress site, for example) to take a full backup.

Test Your Site After Changes

Once you have completed the downgrade and then the upgrade, take some time to navigate your website, check that everything is working (pages load, forms work, emails send, etc.). Also, verify your SSL certificate is still active (it should be – Hostinger provides free SSL that stays with the domain, not the plan, but if needed, you might need to re-enable it). Usually, everything will be seamless, but it’s good to do a quick QA check.

By following these tips, you’ll ensure you’re not only saving the most money possible but also that the whole process is smooth and without surprises.

Common Questions & Concerns

Below we answer queries regarding the Hostinger renewal discount trick.

Q: Will my website experience downtime during this process?
A: There might be a tiny bit of downtime, but it can be minimized. When you downgrade or upgrade, if the server’s IP address changes, your site will be inaccessible under its domain until DNS propagates to the new IP. In our experience, the actual plan switching was done quickly by Hostinger, and once we updated the DNS (A record) to the new IP, the site was reachable within minutes.

If you’re using Cloudflare proxy, the switchover can be almost instantaneous after updating the record. To be safe, assume there could be a short maintenance window (often just a few minutes to an hour). Plan the operation during off-peak hours. Overall, people visiting your site might not even notice anything if done swiftly.

Q: Is my data safe during the downgrade/upgrade process?
A: Yes, your website data (files, databases, emails, etc.) remains on Hostinger’s servers and is not deleted simply by changing plans. When we downgraded, all our website content remained intact on the new plan. Hostinger basically just changes what resources/features are available, not the actual data. That said, it is crucial to take a backup beforehand just in case.

There’s always a small risk with any system change, but Hostinger’s support even advises you to back up, and they handle the transition carefully. In short, your data should be fine, but have a backup anyway for peace of mind.

Q: Does this trick violate Hostinger’s policies or Terms of Service?
A: No, it doesn’t violate any policy. You are simply using the provided options: downgrading via support (which they allow), and upgrading your plan (which they definitely allow). We were upfront with Hostinger support about wanting to downgrade, and they processed it without any issue.

Hostinger might prefer customers just renew normally, but they have not banned or penalized anyone for doing this. You’re essentially just choosing to change your service level and then change it back. It’s all within your rights as a customer. So you’re not doing anything wrong – just being a smart consumer!

Q: Can Hostinger change or disable this trick in the future?
A: There’s always a possibility that Hostinger could adjust how their billing works. For example, they could decide in the future that upgrades for existing accounts don’t get as big of a discount, or they might offer true loyalty discounts to discourage this workaround. However, that would be a significant change to their sales model.

As of now, this Hostinger renewal discount trick has been working for quite a while and is essentially exploiting the way their system is set up (promo prices on upgrades and new purchases). Hostinger likely knows savvy users do this, and since they haven’t stopped it, they tacitly accept it. If they ever do change it, we’ll have to revisit our strategy (or they could just make renewals cheaper – who knows!). For now, you can use it confidently.

Q: Will I lose my free domain or other benefits when I downgrade?
A: No, you won’t lose your domain. If your original plan came with a free domain for the first year, that domain is registered to you. Downgrading your hosting doesn’t cancel your domain registration. You will, however, have to renew the domain when its expiration comes (usually after 1 year) at the regular domain fee. The hosting plan change doesn’t extend the domain’s free period.

Also, note that when you upgrade again, sometimes Hostinger plans advertise “free domain for 1 year” for new signups; that perk typically applies to registering a new domain, not extending an existing one. So it’s not really useful if you already have your domain.

As for other benefits: features like SSL, CDN, email, etc., will adjust to whatever plan you end up on. During the brief time on the cheaper plan, you might lose a premium feature (like daily backups), but once you upgrade back, you regain the features of that higher plan. In short, all your core benefits return when you upgrade back. Just double-check things like backup settings and re-enable anything that might have changed during the downgrade.

Q: How often can I use this trick?
A: As often as you need to – typically each time your hosting term is about to renew. If you have a 1-year plan, you could do this every year. If you have a 4-year plan, you only need to do it once in four years (assuming pricing stays similar then). There’s no limit like “only do this twice” or anything. Many users have consistently done this at each renewal cycle. It’s essentially a rinse-and-repeat process.

The only “cost” is a bit of your time to talk to support and do the plan switch. If you manage multiple hosting accounts, you could do it for each one. Until/unless Hostinger implements a change to their system, you can keep renewing at the initial price indefinitely by repeating these steps.

Q: Does this work for all Hostinger plans (Shared, Cloud, etc.)?
A: Generally yes, the principle works across shared web hosting plans and even VPS or Cloud to some extent. Our example was Cloud -> Business -> Cloud. If you are on a lower-tier shared plan (like Premium Shared Hosting), you could potentially downgrade to Single Shared Hosting (the cheapest) and then upgrade back to Premium to get its intro price again.

The key is you must downgrade to a plan that is cheaper than your current one, because you can only upgrade afterward (Hostinger doesn’t allow a direct lateral plan re-purchase – you have to either upgrade or downgrade). So identify a plan below yours as the downgrade target.

For most, Business (being the top of shared hosting) is the target if you’re on Cloud. If you’re already on Business and want to renew it cheap, you might downgrade to Premium or even Single, then upgrade back to Business. The savings might differ, but the process holds. VPS plans have a different structure, but a similar concept could be used (downgrade to a smaller VPS or a shared plan, then upgrade). However, for simplicity and broad compatibility, we described the shared/cloud hosting scenario.

If you have any other questions, Hostinger’s support is actually quite helpful (though they might not explicitly say “yes this is how to get a discount,” they will assist with the technical steps).

Now, let’s wrap up with a final overview.

Final Thoughts: Why This Trick Is the Best Way to Save on Hostinger Renewals

Hostinger is a fantastic hosting provider for many people, offering great performance and features at low introductory prices. The only drawback has been those hefty renewal rates. But as we’ve shown, you don’t have to be stuck with that downside. This Hostinger renewal discount trick empowers you to take advantage of new customer pricing every time you renew. It’s like hitting the reset button on your hosting plan’s “contract” so you always get the best deal.

To recap, you achieve this by:

• Downgrading your plan (with help from support) just before it renews, switching to a cheaper hosting tier.
• Immediately upgrading back to your preferred plan through the dashboard, thus purchasing it at the promotional price available to new signups.
• Enjoying huge savings, often on the order of 60-75% off what you would have paid on renewal.
• Repeating this process each year or each term, so you keep saving money in the long run.

Over the long term, the amount of money you can save is enormous, especially on higher-tier plans or multiple sites. For example, what might have cost you $800 over a few years could end up costing you only $200 by using this method (these figures will vary, but the difference is substantial). That’s money you can invest elsewhere in your business or personal projects.

Most importantly, this trick doesn’t significantly inconvenience you or harm your site. Hostinger’s support team is there to help, and the transition can be done smoothly with minimal downtime. It’s a bit of secret know-how that the average customer may not realize, but now you have that knowledge.

If you’re comfortable with a slightly advanced maneuver to cut your bills, this is hands-down the best way to get a Hostinger renewal discount. It sure beats having to migrate your entire website to another host just to get a new user deal (which some people do, but that’s far more work!). Here, you stay with Hostinger, keep all your settings, and just shuffle plans for a moment to get the benefit.

Give it a try when your next renewal is coming up. Follow our guide, and you’ll likely be grinning ear to ear when you see your invoice total at the original price instead of the inflated one. Once you’ve done it, it becomes an easy routine and you’ll wonder why everyone doesn’t do this.

Happy hosting, and enjoy your savings with Hostinger! If you found this guide helpful, feel free to share it with other Hostinger users or anyone worried about rising renewal costs. After all, smart tips like these are what make the web hosting community great at helping each other out. Here’s to beating those renewal prices and keeping your website running affordably year after year!