Largest web hosting provider in Germany 2026

Germany's Position in the Global Hosting Market

The demand for customised web hosting offers is steadily increasing. Although social media channels are also attracting more and more traffic, for many businesses and individuals, having their own website remains essential. Those who want to retain full control over their online content typically turn to a web hosting provider to establish their web presence online.

According to studies by Grand View Research, the size of the global web hosting market is estimated at USD 56.7 trillion (approximately EUR 56.7 billion). Furthermore, a compound annual growth rate of 15.5 percent is expected for the future.

It will probably come as no surprise that the largest share of the web hosting market is held by the United States of America (USA). However, Germany already ranks second.

According to statistics from Hostadvice, Germany holds around 11.5 percent of the market share, placing it second. The USA leads the ranking with approximately 51.5 percent market share. The United Kingdom ranks third with about 4 percent market share.

Similarly, the statistics from W3Techs show that Germany ranks second in the distribution of websites by server location, with 14.2 percent. The USA again leads with 33.5 percent in first place. Japan is in third place with 6.1 percent.

Statistics from w3techs.com (as of May 2026)

The Largest Web Hosts in Germany: Data Basis

Determining the largest web hosting provider in Germany is not as straightforward as it might seem. Firstly, it must be established which criterion can be used to define the “size” of a web hosting provider. Secondly, the selection of data used for comparison plays an important role.

To obtain the most meaningful results, we utilise various criteria and data sources for comparing the individual web hosting companies operating in the German market.

We use the following:

Data on the market shares of web hosting providers in Germany from hostadvice.com

The market share data for web hosting providers in Germany provided by hostadvice.com indicates how much of the total market volume is accounted for by a particular web hosting provider.

To gather this data, hostadvice.com employs a specialised method that collects and analyses various data sources. Initially, international business directories are crawled to find as many websites as possible across different countries. These websites are then examined using a URL crawler, which collects DNS records, geo-information, and Whois entries, storing them in a database. In the final step, an algorithm processes these database entries, assigning each website to its respective web hosting provider. This allows the calculation of each provider’s revenue share within a specific market. The data is updated monthly and published on the hostadvice.com website.

Graphic from hosttest: Market shares of the largest web hosting providers in Germany (as of April 2026) Source: hostadvice.com

The data clearly shows IONOS (formerly 1&1) in first place with a 28 percent share. In second place is Strato with 16 percent, closely followed by Hetzner with 13 percent in third place. Host Europe (now GoDaddy) ranks fourth with 7 percent, followed by InterNetX with 5 percent in fifth place. The sixth position with 3 percent goes to All-Inkl. The remaining web hosting providers together account for approximately 28%.

Data on the utilisation distribution of web hosting providers in Germany from builtwith.com

The data on web hosting usage distribution in Germany determined by builtwith.com provides insights into which web hosting providers are used by which websites.

To collect the data, builtwith.com relies on an extensive crawling process that covers 100 percent of all country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) and generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Through crawling and analysing more than 16.4 billion websites, detailed information about the technical infrastructure used as well as the utilisation distribution across various local markets can be obtained. The data is regularly updated every few days and published on the website trends.builtwith.com.

Graph from hosttest: Usage distribution of the largest web hosting providers in Germany (as of April 2026) Source: builtwith.com

From the data, it can be seen that 32 percent of websites in Germany are hosted by IONOS (formerly 1&1). This makes the web hosting provider clearly the leader in this data set as well. With an 11 percent share, STRATO and Hetzner follow in second and third place. With a 6 percent market share, All-Inkl is in fourth place, followed by GoDaddy (formerly Host Europe) with 3 percent in fifth place. The remaining web hosts together account for approximately 37%.

Data on search interest in web hosting providers in Germany trends.google.com

The data on search interest in web hosting providers in Germany obtained from trends.google.com provides insights into which web hosting providers are most frequently searched on Google.

To gather the data, trends.google.com uses information collected through its own search engine. Every individual search query made on Google is precisely logged and combined with the visitor’s behaviour to influence the Google algorithm. This allows Google not only to improve search results but also to build a valuable database on search interests and user behaviour. The data is continuously updated and published on the trends.google.com website.

In the first chart, we will look at the search interest for web hosting providers IONOS (formerly 1&1), as well as Strato and Hetzner. These three providers clearly rank in the top 3 in both other datasets concerning market share and usage distribution.

Chart from trends.google.com

The data here show that Strato was previously the most well-known brand in the web hosting sector. However, the web hosting business of 1&1, which has been operating under the IONOS brand for several years, was able to quickly catch up and has now taken the lead. Overall, Strato and IONOS clearly rank as the two winners when it comes to general search interest in Germany. The Hetzner brand is significantly lower but has managed to close the gap considerably over the past few years, especially compared to the two major brands.

In the second chart, we will examine the search interest for the brand names Host Europe, All-Inkl, and GoDaddy.

Chart from trends.google.com

Here, the search interest for Host Europe (owned by GoDaddy) and All-Inkl is in a similar range. GoDaddy has been able to significantly catch up in recent years, partly because the American company has grown mainly through acquisitions and has been steadily expanding its brand presence in Germany.

In the third chart, we will compare the search interest for web hosts Host Europe and Strato directly.

Chart from trends.google.com

This clearly shows that brands like Strato or IONOS (formerly 1&1) have significantly higher recognition and greater search interest overall compared to the smaller web hosting providers.

Tip: Find out about the most important providers in the German hosting market and their brands

The biggest web hosting providers in Germany: Analysis

Let’s move on to the analysis based on various data sources.

When asked about the largest web hosting provider in Germany, a fairly consistent picture emerges. Both the data on market shares, user distribution, and search interest show a certain correlation:

The largest web hosting provider in Germany is IONOS. The company not only holds the top position in market share and user distribution with a clear lead but also has the most well-known brand name with the highest search interest.

For second and third place, the competition is closer. While STRATO and Hetzner clearly stand out from other web hosting providers in terms of market share and user distribution, the difference between these two providers is marginal. However, STRATO can clearly score with a stronger brand name and therefore higher search interest.

The fourth and fifth places go to Host Europe (owned by GoDaddy) and All-Inkl. Although they are noticeably behind the top 3 largest web hosting providers in Germany, they still maintain a significant lead over other market participants and can secure a spot in the top 5 based on market share, user distribution, and search interest.

Tip: Find out what the biggest web hosting providers in Austria, the biggest web hosting providers in Switzerland, and the largest web hosting providers in the United Kingdom are.

Summary of the analysis:

Unsurprisingly, the most well-known brands lead the web hosting market as the largest providers in Germany. The fact that two brands from the same group, IONOS and STRATO, occupy first and second place clearly demonstrates that the web hosting business in Germany is predominantly dominated by United Internet AG. Only the Hetzner brand in third place, Hetzner Online GmbH, stands out as a large independent company (with more than 250 employees) holding significant market shares. With Host Europe in fourth place, a foreign group, the US-based GoDaddy Group, has managed to establish a noticeable presence in the German hosting market. Interestingly, the brand All-Inkl, operated by Neue Medien Münnich, a relatively small company (with fewer than 100 employees), manages to secure a position in the top 5.

One last important question remains:

Is the largest web hosting provider also the best or most popular on the market?

Let’s now compare the top 5 largest web hosting providers with the ratings on Hosttest and Trustpilot. Additionally, we will look at the results of the annual Web Hosting Provider of the Year vote (if the respective company participated). The following results emerge:

Place 1: IONOS (formerly 1&1)

IONOS scores only 2.2 stars in popularity on Hosttest and 4.4 stars on Trustpilot. IONOS last won second place in the Web Hosting Provider of the Year category for Shop Hosting in 2025.

Place 2: Strato

Strato achieves only 3.3 stars in popularity on Hosttest and 4.2 stars on Trustpilot. Strato has never participated in the Web Hosting Provider of the Year vote.

Place 3: Hetzner

Hetzner scores only 2.4 stars in popularity on Hosttest and 3.3 stars on Trustpilot. Hetzner has never participated in the Web Hosting Provider of the Year vote.

Place 4: Host Europe

Host Europe scores only 1.6 stars in popularity on Hosttest and 4.3 stars on Trustpilot. Host Europe has never participated in the Web Hosting Provider of the Year vote.

Place 5: All-Inkl

All-Inkl scores an impressive 4.9 stars in popularity on Hosttest and 4.0 stars on Trustpilot. All-Inkl last won first place in the Web Hosting Provider of the Year category for web hosting in 2025.

The result is mixed. The top 5 largest web hosting providers in Germany can gather both positive and negative feedback from customers on various review platforms. There is no clear correlation between size and popularity. Instead, it always depends on the individual case whether customers are satisfied with the services offered by the web hosts.

Conclusion: The size of a web hosting provider alone does not automatically make it the best or most popular provider on the market.

If you are generally interested in the topic of web hosting, you will find plenty of further information in our Web Hosting 101 Guide.

As of: May 2026 (the article is regularly updated)