Hostinger SSL Certificate 2026: Free SSL on Every Hosting Plan
Hostinger provides a free SSL certificate powered by Let's Encrypt on all hosting plans. It enables HTTPS, encrypts data in transit, and improves Google rankings. The free SSL auto-renews every 90 days with no action needed. Paid wildcard SSL is available for subdomains and multi-domain coverage.
Every Hostinger hosting plan includes a free SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt. It activates automatically, renews itself, and is sufficient for most websites. Wildcard SSL ($11.95/year) covers unlimited subdomains if needed.
- Free Let's Encrypt SSL on all plans — no cost ever
- Auto-renews every 90 days automatically
- Activates HTTPS and the browser padlock icon
- Wildcard SSL available for unlimited subdomains
- Improves SEO — Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal
What Is an SSL Certificate and Why Does It Matter?
SSL encrypts your website connection, enables HTTPS, shows the browser padlock, boosts Google rankings, and builds visitor trust.
An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate encrypts the connection between your website and visitors' browsers. When SSL is active, your site uses HTTPS instead of HTTP, and browsers display the padlock icon in the address bar.
SSL matters for three reasons: security (it encrypts form submissions, login credentials, and payment data), SEO (Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014), and trust (visitors are more likely to engage with HTTPS sites — Chrome actively warns users about HTTP sites as 'Not secure').
Without SSL, your website looks untrustworthy and may lose traffic from security-conscious visitors who see Chrome's warning page.
Hostinger Free SSL: What You Get
Every Hostinger hosting plan includes a free SSL certificate powered by Let's Encrypt, the industry-standard free certificate authority trusted by all major browsers. The certificate:
- Covers your root domain (yourdomain.com) and www subdomain
- Enables HTTPS for all pages automatically
- Auto-renews every 90 days with no action from you
- Is recognized by 100% of modern browsers
- Passes all standard SSL security checks
For most websites — blogs, portfolios, small business sites, ecommerce stores — the free Let's Encrypt SSL is completely sufficient. You don't need to pay for an SSL certificate unless you have specific requirements.
How to Activate SSL on Hostinger
For most Hostinger plans, SSL is automatically activated when you connect a domain to your hosting. If it didn't activate automatically:
Step 1: Go to hPanel → SSL → SSL/TLS Certificates.
Step 2: Find your domain and click 'Install SSL'. Select the Let's Encrypt option (free).
Step 3: Wait 10-15 minutes for SSL to provision and propagate.
Step 4: Force HTTPS by enabling the 'Force HTTPS' redirect in hPanel. This redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS automatically.
Step 5: Verify with an SSL checker (like sslshopper.com) to confirm HTTPS is working correctly on your domain.
When to Upgrade to Wildcard SSL
Let's Encrypt free SSL covers your root domain and www subdomain. If you use multiple subdomains (shop.yourdomain.com, blog.yourdomain.com, app.yourdomain.com), you need a Wildcard SSL certificate that covers all subdomains with a single certificate (*.yourdomain.com).
Hostinger offers Wildcard SSL at $11.95/year — a reasonable upgrade for businesses with complex subdomain structures. This is a paid certificate from a commercial CA with a longer validity period and dedicated customer support for certificate issues.
SSL and SEO: The Google Ranking Signal
Google confirmed HTTPS as a search ranking signal in 2014. While it's not a massive ranking factor on its own, SSL contributes to a site's overall trustworthiness score. More importantly, Chrome labels HTTP sites as 'Not Secure' — this warning discourages clicks from search results and increases bounce rates, which indirectly hurt rankings.
Enabling HTTPS via Hostinger's free SSL is one of the easiest technical SEO wins available. There's no reason to run a website without it in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SSL free on Hostinger?
Yes. All Hostinger hosting plans include a free SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt. It auto-renews every 90 days. You only pay for SSL if you need Wildcard ($11.95/year) or premium multi-domain certificates.
How do I force HTTPS on Hostinger?
In hPanel → SSL → Force HTTPS toggle. This creates a 301 redirect from all HTTP URLs to HTTPS. After enabling, clear your browser cache and use an SSL checker to verify it's working correctly.
Does Hostinger's free SSL work on all browsers?
Yes. Let's Encrypt certificates are trusted by 100% of modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and all major mobile browsers. They're indistinguishable from paid SSL certificates in terms of browser recognition.
What is the difference between free SSL and paid SSL?
The main differences: free Let's Encrypt SSL covers one domain (plus www), renews every 90 days automatically, and offers no warranty. Paid SSL can include wildcard coverage, multi-domain coverage, extended validation (EV), and warranties of $10,000-$1.5M for certificate errors.
Why is my Hostinger SSL not working?
Common causes: DNS hasn't fully propagated (wait 24 hours), mixed content (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages — fix with a plugin like Really Simple SSL for WordPress), or the SSL wasn't installed correctly (reinstall via hPanel → SSL).
Does Hostinger's free SSL support subdomains?
The free Let's Encrypt SSL covers your root domain and the www subdomain only. For unlimited subdomains, upgrade to Hostinger's Wildcard SSL at $11.95/year, which covers *.yourdomain.com.
Get Free SSL with Hostinger Hosting
Every plan includes free Let's Encrypt SSL. Enable HTTPS on your site in minutes.
Register Your DomainHenry Fontaine
Chief of Staff & COO, RocketLabs
AI-native operator building the future of search visibility. Part of the team behind 3 tech exits and 400+ programmatic SEO deployments.