Largest web hosting providers in Germany 2026

Germany's position in the global hosting market

The demand for individual Web hosting offers is steadily increasing. Although social media channels are also receiving more and more traffic, many businesses and individuals still need their own website. Those who want to retain full control over their content online most often turn to the services of a web host to bring their web presence online.

According to studies by Grand View Research, the size of the global web hosting market is estimated at 56.7 billion US dollars (approximately 56.7 billion euros). An annual growth rate of 15.5 per cent is also expected going forward.

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

According to the statistics from Hostadvice, Germany holds around 11.5 per cent market share in second place. The USA lead the ranking with approximately 51.5 per cent. The United Kingdom (UK) is in third place with about 4 per cent market share.

According to the statistics from W3Techs, Germany ranks second in the distribution of websites by server location with 14.2 per cent. Here too, the USA lead in first place with 33.5 per cent. Japan is third with 6.1 per cent.

Statistics from w3techs.com (as of May 2026)

Germany's largest web hosts: Underlying data

Determining the largest web host in Germany is not straightforward. On the one hand, it is first necessary to decide which criterion should be used to define a web host's "size". On the other hand, the selection of the data used for comparison also plays an important role.

To obtain the most meaningful result possible, we consider various criteria and data sources when comparing individual web hosting companies in the German market.

We use the following:

Market share data for web hosts in Germany from hostadvice.com

The market share data for web hosts in Germany compiled by hostadvice.com provide information about the revenue share of a particular web hosting provider relative to the total market volume.

To collect the data, hostadvice.com uses a specific procedure that gathers and analyses various data points. First, international company directories are crawled to find as many websites as possible across different countries. These websites are then scanned with a URL crawler that, among other things, collects DNS records, geo information and Whois entries and stores them in a database. In the final step, the database entries are processed by an algorithm that assigns each website to the corresponding web hosting provider. In this way, the revenue share of each web host in a given market can be determined. The data are updated monthly and published on hostadvice.com's website.

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

The data show IONOS (formerly 1&1) clearly in first place with a share of 28 per cent. In second place is Strato with 16 per cent, closely followed by Hetzner in third place with 13 per cent. Host Europe (now GoDaddy) is fourth with 7 per cent, followed by InterNetX with 5 per cent in fifth. Sixth place with 3 per cent goes to All-Inkl. The remaining web hosts together account for about 28 per cent.

Data on the usage distribution of web hosts in Germany from builtwith.com

The data on the usage distribution of web hosts in Germany from builtwith.com provide information about which web hosting providers are used by which websites.

To collect the data, builtwith.com uses an extensive crawling process that covers 100 per cent of all country-specific domains (ccTLD) and generic domains (gTLD). By crawling and analysing more than 16.4 billion websites, not only detailed information about the technical infrastructure used can be determined, but also the detailed usage distribution in various local markets. The data are updated regularly every few days and published on the website trends.builtwith.com.

Graphic by hosttest: Usage distribution of the largest web hosts in Germany (as of April 2026) Source: builtwith.com

Based on the data, it can be seen that 32 per cent of websites in Germany are hosted by IONOS (formerly 1&1). Thus the web host also clearly occupies first place according to this data. With a share of 11 per cent, STRATO and Hetzner follow in second/third place. With a 6 per cent market share All-Inkl ranks fourth here, followed by GoDaddy (formerly Host Europe) with 3 per cent in fifth place. The remaining web hosts together account for about 37 per cent.

Data on search interest for web hosts in Germany from trends.google.com

The data on search interest for web hosts in Germany from trends.google.com provide information about which web hosting providers are most frequently searched for on Google.

To collect the data, trends.google.com uses the information gathered via its own search engine. Every single search query made on Google is logged precisely and, together with the visitor's usage behaviour, feeds into the Google algorithm. In this way Google can not only work on improving the search results, but at the same time build up a valuable treasure trove of data on search interests and user behaviour. The data are constantly updated and published on the trends.google.com website.

In the first chart we want to look at the search interest for the web hosts IONOS (formerly 1&1), as well as Strato and Hetzner. These three providers clearly occupy the top three positions in the other two datasets for market share and user distribution.

Graphic from trends.google.com (as of May 2026)

The data here show that STARTO was formerly the best-known brand name in the web hosting sector. The web hosting business of 1&1, which has been operating under the IONOS brand for several years, was however able to catch up quickly and has now taken the lead. Together STRATO and IONOS are clearly the two winners when it comes to overall search interest in Germany. The Hetzner brand is significantly lower, but was able to close the gap to the two large brands considerably, especially in recent years.

In the second chart we want to look at the search interest for the brand names Host Europe, All-inkl and GoDaddy.

Graphic from trends.google.com (as of May 2026)

Here the search interest for Host Europe (owned by GoDaddy) and All-inkl appears in a similar range. GoDaddy has been able to catch up significantly in recent years, which is due in part to the US company having grown recently mainly through acquisitions and continually expanding its brand presence in Germany.

In the third chart we will look at the search interest for the web hosts Host Europe and Strato in a direct comparison.

Graphic from trends.google.com (as of May 2026)

This clearly shows again that brands such as STRATO or IONOS (formerly 1&1) have significantly higher overall awareness and greater search interest than the other, smaller web hosts.

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

The largest web hosts in Germany: Analysis

We now present the analysis, referring to the various data sources.

When it comes to the question of the largest web hosting provider in Germany, a fairly consistent picture emerges. Market share data, usage distribution data and search interest data all show a certain correlation:

The largest web host in Germany is IONOS. The company not only holds first place by a clear margin in market share and usage distribution, but also has the best-known brand name with the highest search interest.

Second and third places are much closer. STRATO and Hetzner stand out clearly from the other web hosts in terms of market share and usage distribution, but the difference between the two providers themselves is small. STRATO, however, benefits from a stronger brand name and consequently higher search interest.

Fourth and fifth places go to Host Europe (owned by GoDaddy) and All-Inkl. Although they are a significant distance behind the top three largest web hosts in Germany, Host Europe and All-Inkl still maintain a meaningful lead over other market participants and secure places in the top five in terms of market share, usage distribution and search interest.

Tip: Find out who the largest web hosting providers in Austria and the largest web hosting providers in Switzerland as well as the largest web hosting providers in the United Kingdom are.

Conclusion of the analysis:

Unsurprisingly, the best-known brands lead the web hosting market as the largest hosts in Germany. The fact that IONOS and STRATO, two brands of the same group, occupy first and second place clearly shows that the web hosting business in Germany is 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) with a relevant market share. With Host Europe in fourth place, a foreign corporation, the US-based GoDaddy Group, has at least managed to gain a recognisable share in the German hosting market. It is interesting that the Neue Medien Münnich brand All-Inkl, as a relatively small company (with fewer than 100 employees), can hold its own in the top 5.

One last important question remains:

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

Now let's compare the results of the top 5 largest web hosts with the ratings on Hosttest and Trustpilot. We also look at the result of the annual Web Host of the Year vote (if the respective company took part). The following results emerge:

Rank 1: IONOS (formerly 1&1)

IONOS achieves only 2.2 stars for popularity on Hosttest and 4.4 stars on Trustpilot. IONOS last managed to secure second place in 2025 in the Web Host of the Year vote in the Shop Hosting category.

Rank 2: Strato

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

Rank 3: Hetzner

Hetzner achieves only 2.4 stars for popularity on Hosttest and 3.3 stars on Trustpilot. Hetzner has never participated in the Web Host of the Year vote.

Rank 4: Host Europe

Host Europe achieves only 1.6 stars for popularity on Hosttest and 4.3 stars on Trustpilot. Host Europe has never participated in the Web Host of the Year award.

5th place: All-Inkl

All-Inkl achieves as much as 4.9 stars for popularity on Hosttest and 4.0 stars on Trustpilot. All-Inkl last won first place in the Web Host of the Year award in the Web hosting category in 2025.

The result is mixed. The top 5 largest web hosting providers in Germany receive both positive and negative customer feedback across different review platforms. There is therefore no clear correlation between size and popularity. Rather, 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 host alone does not automatically make it the best or most popular provider on the market.

If you are generally interested in web hosting, you will find plenty of further information in our Web hosting basics guide.

As of May 2026 (the article is regularly updated)