TL;DR: If you want your business website built for you, WebZum asks a few questions and builds a finished multi-page site in about five minutes, with copy, photos and a visitor chatbot already on it. You see it free before you pay, then it’s $19/mo (Basic) or $34/mo (Professional, your own domain), month to month. Hostinger’s AI website builder is do-it-yourself: its $2.49/mo Premium price means paying $119.52 today for 48 months, it renews at $10.99/mo, and its chat AI spends from a one-time 250-credit allowance (Hostinger, checked October 28, 2026).
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Disclosure: WebZum publishes this blog and makes a competing AI website builder. Hostinger facts below come from Hostinger’s own pricing, help, legal and press pages, linked inline.
Verified October 28, 2026. Prices are US list prices and can change.
What is the Hostinger AI website builder?
It’s now called Hostinger AI Builder, one tool with two ways to build. On August 18, 2026, Hostinger merged its old Website Builder and its Horizons app builder into AI Builder, which can start from “a prompt, PDF, screenshot, or link” (Hostinger changelog).
The two modes work very differently:
- Manual mode is the classic builder. You describe the site, AI makes a first version, and you finish it in a drag-and-drop editor. Hostinger says “Manual mode doesn’t use AI credits” (Hostinger AI Builder).
- Agentic mode is what Hostinger calls vibe coding: “a fully conversational experience where both building and customizing happen through a chat with AI” (Hostinger AI website builder). This is the part that spends AI credits.
You pick a mode up front: “once you start building a site with one tool, you can’t switch mid-process” (same source). Agentic mode is pitched mostly at web apps, membership sites and bigger stores.
For a plumber or a salon, that means a fast first draft. Your services, your town, your hours and photos that look like your business are still your job.
How much does the Hostinger AI website builder cost?
On Hostinger’s US pricing, Premium is $2.49/mo and Unlimited is $3.49/mo, but both prices assume a 48-month term paid up front. Under Premium the page says “Today you pay $119.52 for 48 months. Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term.” Unlimited is $167.52 for 48 months and renews at $16.99/mo (Hostinger website builder, checked October 28, 2026). The fine print adds: “All plans are paid upfront.”
A few details that change the real price:
- The domain and email are free for year one only. Both plans list “Custom domain - free for 1 year” and mailboxes “free for 1 year” (same source).
- Premium covers up to 3 websites; Unlimited has no site cap, under a fair use policy (same source).
- The low rate is tied to the long term. Hostinger’s help center mentions 1-month and 24-month Premium plans too (Hostinger Help), but $2.49 is the 48-month price.
What does Hostinger cost when it renews?
Premium renews at $10.99/mo, about 4.4 times the $2.49 starting rate. Unlimited renews at $16.99/mo. Since the renewal is “for the same term,” a second 48 months of Premium works out to $527.52 and Unlimited to $815.52 (our math from Hostinger’s prices).
And don’t let it lapse. Hostinger says “if your hosting plan expires and isn’t renewed, your project will no longer be accessible and all data will be permanently deleted” (Hostinger AI Builder).
How do Hostinger AI credits work?
Agentic mode runs on AI credits, and the plan’s allowance is small and one-time. Premium comes with 250 AI credits and Unlimited with 500. Hostinger’s help center says these are “a one-time gift, added when you purchase a new hosting plan,” that renewals “don’t add hosting plan AI credits,” and that “unused hosting plan AI credits expire when the hosting plan expires” (Hostinger Help, updated October 21, 2026).
Now set that against Hostinger’s own estimate of what a build takes: “a simple business page usually takes 250-500 AI credits” (Hostinger AI Builder). On Premium, one simple page can use the whole allowance.
Other rules worth knowing:
- Bigger numbers, same value. On October 16, 2026 Hostinger moved to a 50:1 scale: “1 former credit equals 50 AI credits” (Hostinger changelog).
- There’s no fixed price per message. Credits are deducted dynamically, “the number of credits deducted varies between requests,” and “all messages are included in the calculation, including general inquiries” (Hostinger Help, updated October 19, 2026).
- Even small manual fixes can count. That help article says manual edits in Select & edit mode, “such as changing text or replacing an image, also deduct a small number of credits” (same source). Hostinger’s product page says direct text and image edits need no credits (Hostinger AI Builder), so check your balance as you go.
- Top-ups cost extra and expire. They “start at 500 AI credits,” cost more per credit than a subscription, and “expire 3 months after purchase if unused” (Hostinger Help).
- A live AI chatbot spends credits too. Hostinger says credits are used “each time your visitors interact with AI-powered features like chatbots” (Hostinger AI Builder).
None of this is hidden. It’s a metered tool, so budget for it.
Is the Hostinger AI website builder free?
You can try it, but you can’t run a live site on it for free. Hostinger’s own answer is “No, Hostinger’s website builder isn’t free,” and it offers a 14-day free trial before you pick a paid plan to publish (Hostinger website builder). For the chat-based mode, Hostinger says you get “250 free AI credits to start” with no card required (Hostinger AI Builder).
Can you get a refund from Hostinger?
Yes, within 30 days, with conditions. Hostinger says paid AI Builder plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee “as long as fewer than 1,500 AI credits have been used” (Hostinger AI Builder). Its refund policy lists “LLM/AI and Hostinger credits of any type” as non-refundable, and if your plan came with a free domain, “the standard price of the domain may be deducted from your total refund amount” (Hostinger refund policy).
What does a done-for-you AI builder do differently?
It does the finishing too, and it doesn’t put a meter on edits. Here’s one of our own demo builds, recorded on screen in October 2026. Blue Mesa Auto Repair is a WebZum demo shop in Albuquerque, not a customer site.
- The build. We described the shop, answered a few questions and pressed Build. About five minutes later (we measured roughly 298 seconds) there was a finished site with a logo, written copy, photos and several pages.
- A page per service, without asking. The builder gave Brake Repair, Check Engine Light and Oil Changes & Maintenance their own pages. The Check Engine Light page got a local headline (“Check Engine Light Diagnostics Near Nob Hill”), a four-step “How We Diagnose” section, a local FAQ and a call button.
- A new service page from one text. We typed “we fix car ac too, can u add a page for that.” The editor offered an Add Page button, and about a minute after one click there was a new AC Repair page with its own steps and FAQ, and the header menu was rebuilt to include it.
- Photos by asking. “big empty spot next to the how we diagnose part, can u put a pic of a mechanic there” brought up an Add Photos button. About 42 seconds after the click, the page had a new photo and a matching line of copy.
- A visitor chatbot already on the site. On October 28, the bottom-right chatbot answered our visitor question in about three seconds with the shop’s real Saturday hours (9am to 2pm), said it can’t book in chat and gave the tap-to-call number. Asked what a diagnosis costs, it didn’t guess a price. It pointed to the Services & Prices page and suggested calling.
WebZum sites are pre-built pages served from a content delivery network, with responses around 200 ms. And there are no AI credits: ask for as many edits by chat as you need, and the price doesn’t move.
Hostinger AI vs WebZum: what does each cost over 48 months?
Plain math at today’s US list prices over Hostinger’s own 48-month term, before taxes and domain renewals.
| Plan | Who builds the site | You pay on day one | Cost over 48 months | After that | AI meter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ WebZum Basic | WebZum builds it, you edit by chat (WebZum address) | $0 for the preview, then $19/mo | $912 | Same $19/mo | No credits on edits |
| ⭐ WebZum Professional | WebZum builds it, on your own domain | $0 for the preview, then $34/mo | $1,632 | Same $34/mo | No credits on edits |
| Hostinger Premium | You finish it, by hand or by chat | $119.52 | $119.52 | $10.99/mo, $527.52 per 48 months | 250 credits, one time |
| Hostinger Unlimited | You finish it, by hand or by chat | $167.52 | $167.52 | $16.99/mo, $815.52 per 48 months | 500 credits, one time |
Sources: WebZum, Hostinger website builder, Hostinger Help (checked October 28, 2026). Refunds: WebZum has a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan. Hostinger’s is 30 days if fewer than 1,500 AI credits were used.
Hostinger’s prepaid price is the lower number, by a lot, and includes a domain for year one. WebZum’s price buys the finished product: a site written for your business with AI photos and a header video, a chatbot already answering visitors, fast pages, and edits that never draw down a balance. You pay month to month, with no four-year prepay.
When should you pick Hostinger instead?
Pick Hostinger if the lowest prepaid price matters most, you’ll keep the site for four years, and you’d enjoy building it yourself. It’s also the stronger choice for a web app, a membership site, a full online store, or code you can export and host elsewhere (Hostinger AI Builder).
Pick WebZum if you mostly need customers to find you, trust you and call, and you’d rather review a finished site than build one.
How do I get a WebZum site?
- Go to webzum.com/free-website and type what your business does, or paste your Google link.
- Answer a few quick questions. The build takes about five minutes.
- Look through your free preview. Change anything by typing it into the chat box, like “add a page for water heater repair” or “make the colors navy and orange.”
- Pick Basic ($19/mo) or Professional ($34/mo, with your own domain) when you’re ready to keep it.
More reading: the cheapest website builders and what they really cost, the Wix AI website builder, explained, free AI website builders compared, a hidden-fees checklist for website builders, the best AI website tools in 2026, and our side-by-side page, WebZum vs Hostinger.
FAQ
What is the Hostinger AI website builder?
It’s Hostinger AI Builder, which merged Hostinger’s Website Builder and Horizons on August 18, 2026. You start from a prompt, PDF, screenshot or link, then finish by drag and drop (Manual mode) or by chatting with AI (Agentic mode, which uses credits) (Hostinger).
How much does the Hostinger AI website builder cost, including renewal?
Premium is $2.49/mo, paid as $119.52 for 48 months, and renews at $10.99/mo. Unlimited is $3.49/mo, paid as $167.52 for 48 months, and renews at $16.99/mo. All plans are paid up front (Hostinger, checked October 28, 2026).
How many AI credits do you get with Hostinger?
Premium includes 250 and Unlimited 500, as a one-time gift that renewals don’t top up. Hostinger estimates a simple business page at 250 to 500 credits (Hostinger Help, Hostinger AI Builder).
What’s a good alternative to the Hostinger AI website builder?
If you’d rather have a finished site with the copy, photos, service pages and a chatbot already done, try WebZum. Plans are $19/mo or $34/mo, month to month, with no AI credits to track and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Curious what yours would look like? Get your free WebZum preview. It takes about five minutes.