- Ionos blames partner licensing costs for sudden price change
- Customers say short notice makes migration nearly impossible this month
- Small business web hosting users risk downtime if they abandon Plesk
Ionos, one of Europe’s largest web hosting providers, has sparked a backlash from customers after announcing a sudden price increase for its virtual private server (VPS) plans.
The company attributed the increase to higher licensing fees from its partner WebPros International, the developer behind popular management tools Plesk and cPanel.
Customers, however, say the short notice and mid-contract timing have left them frustrated and struggling to find alternatives.
Customers question mid-contract price changes
The email sent to VPS users stated that an additional £5 per month, excluding VAT, would now apply for each Plesk license linked to their servers.
While the amount may seem small, many clients operate multiple servers, making the increase substantial.
The notice gave them just over a month to decide whether to pay the new fee or remove Plesk from their systems entirely.
Some users questioned whether it was fair to introduce a new cost mid-contract, arguing that such changes should only apply upon renewal.
Others complained that the 30-day warning period was inadequate for migrating services to another host, especially for businesses that rely on complex multi-server setups.
For small business web hosting users, the timing couldn’t be worse, as many of these businesses rely on Plesk as a control panel to manage email, domains, and websites without requiring technical knowledge.
Removing it, as Ionos suggested, could create serious administrative challenges.
While there are alternatives to Plesk, changing control panels can cause downtime, configuration issues, or even data loss if not handled carefully.
The controversy highlights a recurring problem in web hosting, where changes in licensing or vendor relationships can quickly impact customers who rely on supposedly “free” packaged tools.
Customers pointed to Ionos’ own terms, which allow price adjustments with 30 days’ written notice.
However, some questioned whether it was legitimate to charge separately for something that had previously been advertised as free.
The company’s lack of public response has only amplified the dissatisfaction. Multiple attempts by journalists to contact Ionos have gone without response for days.
As more free and low-cost web hosting providers compete in the market, trust and transparency become as valuable as technical reliability.
For now, Ionos users are weighing whether to pay more, upgrade their systems, or look for a new host.
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