IONOS vs Selectel Comparison
Compare IONOS vs Selectel features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
IONOS
6.7/10
German hosting and cloud provider offering shared web hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and public cloud services for small businesses through to enterprises.
Selectel
6.6/10
Russian infrastructure provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, VDS, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, S3 storage, CDN and GPU/ML services for businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.7/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Dedicated Servers | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| Free SSL Certificates | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
IONOS vs Selectel cost by team size
| Team size | IONOS | Selectel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | RUB 200/moVDS small |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose IONOS
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for small business (8/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Selectel
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
IONOS
Pros
- Shared hosting renews at a modest $8 to $18 a month and includes daily backups, unlimited traffic and a wildcard SSL certificate
- VPS+ plans include root access, DDoS protection, a firewall and unlimited traffic from $2 a month as an introductory price
- The IONOS Cloud platform covers managed Kubernetes, S3-compatible object storage and managed databases, with a Terraform provider
- Data centers in the US, UK, Germany, Spain and France, plus GDPR and data-sovereignty commitments, suit EU buyers
- Some users say 24/7 support responds quickly and is technically knowledgeable
Cons
- The introductory price can rise sharply at renewal (the Plus plan goes from $1 to $14 a month)
- Reviews and complaints repeatedly mention aggressive auto-renewal and cancellations that are hard to complete
- The control panel is described as dated
- The lowest shared hosting plan has no CDN and only one email account
- Ratings are mixed, with a G2 average of about 3.5 out of 5
Selectel
Pros
- Very broad catalogue from one vendor: bare metal, VDS, cloud, Kubernetes, DBaaS, S3, CDN, VMware and GPU/ML.
- Certified for Russian personal data law (152-FZ) and holds FSTEC/FSB licences, plus PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
- Low entry prices, with VDS from about 200 RUB a month and desktop-CPU dedicated servers from 800 RUB.
- Infrastructure can be automated through the API and Terraform.
Cons
- Capacity is concentrated in Russia, with only a few sites in Central Asia and Kenya.
- Prices are in rubles and services are aimed at the Russian market, so sanctions and payment issues may apply for foreign buyers.
- No serverless functions product appears in the catalogue.
- Little independent English-language review coverage.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
IONOS scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 6.7/10 against 6.6/10 for Selectel. The largest gap is in Cost: 8/10 for IONOS and 7/10 for Selectel.
No, neither IONOS nor Selectel lists a free plan.
IONOS is the better fit for small business: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 5/10 for Selectel.
