o2switch and PlanetHoster are the two hosts most often recommended to anyone who wants a site hosted in Europe with French-speaking support and no server administration. They look alike on paper (cPanel or an in-house panel, NVMe storage, 24/7 support) and differ on three things that really matter: the renewal price, how resources are shared and the money-back guarantee.
To put numbers on your own case (number of sites, how long you keep it, VAT), use our web hosting cost calculator over 1 to 5 years: it adds up promo and renewal for every plan.
For the three o2switch plans (Grow, Cloud, Pro) and their renewal prices in detail, read our o2switch review.
How we compared
This comparison relies on what both hosts publish themselves: the home page and the o2switch plan comparison, and the home page and Web Project pages of PlanetHoster. PlanetHoster values were read on 18 October 2026; o2switch prices were read again on 22 October 2026 on its comparison page and order pages, after they changed. We did not run a speed benchmark between the two: a serious load test takes weeks and comparable sites, and we would rather say so than invent a number. Our methodology explains what we verify and what we do not.
Both hosts run an affiliate programme and we earn a commission if you subscribe through our links. It does not change the price you pay and did not weigh on the verdict: both brands appear here with their weak points.
The comparison table
| Criterion | o2switch (Grow plan) | PlanetHoster (Web Project Standard) |
|---|---|---|
| Year-one price | 84 EUR excl. VAT/year, i.e. 7 EUR excl. VAT/month, no first-year discount (the Cloud plan starts at 22.32 EUR excl. VAT in year one) | 7.99 EUR/month; new-customer promo 5.49 EUR/month over 24 months |
| Renewal price | Same: 84 EUR excl. VAT/year (8.40 EUR/month incl. French VAT); Cloud renews at 192 EUR excl. VAT/year | 24-month promo (pack of 10 projects), then 19.99 EUR/month shown; 19.99 EUR/month on Ultra too |
| Storage | Unlimited, 100 % NVMe | 10 GB NVMe/SSD, triple redundancy + 50 GB S3 object storage (N0C Storage) |
| Compute | 8 vCPU threads / 16 GB RAM shared with the main account, 16 MB/s I/O | Isolated project, "guaranteed semi-dedicated"; Auto Peak Power (x2.5) on Ultra |
| Sites and mailboxes | Unlimited | Add-on domains allowed, unlimited mailboxes |
| Domain name | 1 domain included, domain renewal charged separately | .fr or .eu free in year one |
| Backups | Daily, 30 days | Automatic, 45 days |
| Data center | Clermont-Ferrand (France), own infrastructure | Paris, Lausanne or Montreal, Tier III and IV, ISO 27001, SOC 2 |
| Guarantee | 30 days, no questions asked | 60 days, all plans, domain excluded |
| Support | 24/7 by phone, email, ticket, chat | 24/7, human support, French and English |
| Control panel | cPanel | In-house N0C panel |
o2switch prices are shown excluding VAT; the final amount depends on the billing country (French VAT: 20 %). PlanetHoster prices are those shown on the French version of its site, in euros.
Price: year one versus renewal
This is where both hosts communicate the most, and where you need to read the small line.
o2switch changed its pricing. On 22 October 2026, the entry plan, Grow, costs 84 EUR excl. VAT per year, i.e. 7 EUR excl. VAT per month, with no first-year discount (the order page shows a saving of 0.00 EUR); domain renewal is extra. For a customer billed in France, that is 100.80 EUR incl. VAT per year (84 EUR plus 20 % VAT), from year one. The "1.86 EUR excl. VAT per month" offer now applies to the Cloud plan: 22.32 EUR excl. VAT in year one (crossed-out price 192 EUR), then renewal "at the standard rate", i.e. 192 EUR excl. VAT per year (16 EUR excl. VAT per month), with the domain always included. The Pro plan follows the same pattern: 75 EUR excl. VAT in year one, then 288 EUR excl. VAT per year. Billing is annual on all three.
Over three years, excluding VAT: Grow 252 EUR, Cloud 406.32 EUR (22.32 + 192 + 192). Cloud is the cheapest year one; Grow is cheaper as soon as you keep the site for two years (168 EUR against 214.32 EUR).
PlanetHoster lists the Web Project Standard at 7.99 EUR per month. On 18 October 2026 the home page offered a new-customer promotion at 5.49 EUR per month over 24 months, with the renewal price printed next to the promo price. On the Web Project Ultra (19.99 EUR per month) the same 5.49 EUR promotion comes with a renewal explicitly shown at 19.99 EUR per month. We like that transparency: you know at checkout what year three will cost. Standard follows the same pattern (promotion on a pack of 10 projects, renewal shown at 19.99 EUR per month); we work out the three-year cost in our full PlanetHoster review.
Over two years, o2switch Grow comes to 168 EUR excl. VAT, against 131.76 EUR for PlanetHoster Standard on its 24-month promotion (191.76 EUR at list price), as displayed on each site. The gap stays modest; the real difference is what you get for the price.
Resources: "unlimited" versus "isolated"
The two hosts chose opposite philosophies, and this is the criterion that should decide your choice.
o2switch sells unlimited: NVMe disk space with no cap, unlimited traffic, as many sites and mailboxes as you want on a single cPanel account. Compute on the Grow plan, however, is shared with the main account: 8 vCPU threads and 16 GB of RAM, with an advertised disk throughput of 16 MB/s. o2switch quotes a supportable traffic in the order of one to three million visits per month depending on the page. For independent resources you move to the Cloud plan (12 vCPU threads and 48 GB of dedicated RAM, 45-day backups) or Pro (24 threads, 64 GB, NVMe + RAMfs, 90-day backups).
PlanetHoster sells isolation: each Web Project gets its own walled-off resources in guaranteed semi-dedicated mode, which limits the effect of a greedy neighbour. Storage is metered, though: 10 GB of triple-redundant NVMe/SSD on Standard, 50 GB on Advanced (12.99 EUR per month), plus 50 GB of S3 object storage included in both. The Ultra plan adds LiteSpeed Enterprise, the LSCache and LiteMage caches, and Auto Peak Power, which multiplies CPU and RAM by 2.5 in one click, aimed at WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Magento stores.
In practice: if you host five small WordPress sites with lots of media, o2switch's unlimited storage is comfortable and you will never look at your quota. If you host a single store whose revenue depends on staying up on sale day, PlanetHoster's per-project isolation (and the Ultra plan in particular) is the most concrete argument on the French market.
Data centers: France only, or your choice
o2switch fully operates its own data center in Clermont-Ferrand and promotes a 100 % French infrastructure with no intermediary. For a site that targets French visitors and wants to state "data hosted in France", that is a clear answer.
PlanetHoster also runs its own infrastructure, since 2007, but on three sites: Paris, Lausanne and Montreal, in facilities advertised as Tier III and Tier IV, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified. You pick the location per project. It is the only one of the two that lets you host a Quebec-facing store in Montreal, or a project that prefers Swiss jurisdiction in Lausanne, while keeping French sites in Paris.
Guarantee and support: 30 days versus 60
Both hosts offer 24/7 support, reachable by phone, email, ticket and chat at o2switch, "human" and French-speaking at PlanetHoster (English is available too). We did not measure their response times; the right move before committing is to ask each chat a question and judge for yourself.
On the guarantee the gap is factual: 30 days no questions asked at o2switch, 60 days at PlanetHoster on all hosting plans. In both cases the free domain name is excluded from the refund, which is common practice. Sixty days is enough to migrate a site, run it for a real month and decide.
Who should pick which, in 2026?
Our verdict
On a tight budget and for a classic site, o2switch remains the most readable offer on the French market: one price, unlimited storage, a data center in France, and 30 days to walk away. For a project with commercial value, PlanetHoster brings what unlimited does not: walled-off resources, a choice of data center, 45 days of backups and a 60-day guarantee. If you are still hesitating, take the plan whose guarantee gives you the most time to test, and judge the support yourself in the first week.
To understand how we pick the hosts we present on this site, read our review criteria.
✓ 60-day money-back · Data centers in France and Canada · FR/EN/ES support
Web hosting with a 60-day guarantee → PlanetHosterParis, Lausanne or Montreal data centers · from €7.99/mo→Frequently asked questions
o2switch or PlanetHoster: which one is cheaper?
It depends on the horizon. In year one, o2switch's Cloud plan is the cheapest: 22.32 EUR excl. VAT for the year (1.86 EUR excl. VAT per month, annual billing), then 192 EUR excl. VAT per year (16 EUR per month) on renewal. The entry plan, Grow, no longer has a first-year discount: 84 EUR excl. VAT per year, i.e. 7 EUR excl. VAT per month (8.40 EUR with French VAT at 20 %), from day one (o2switch prices read on 22 Oct 2026). At PlanetHoster, the Web Project Standard is 7.99 EUR per month at list price, with a new-customer promotion at 5.49 EUR per month over 24 months shown on 18 Oct 2026. Over three years Grow costs 252 EUR excl. VAT and Cloud 406.32 EUR excl. VAT: Cloud's low first year does not make it the cheaper o2switch plan in the long run.
How do the money-back guarantees differ?
o2switch refunds within 30 days, no questions asked, on its web hosting plan. PlanetHoster refunds within 60 days on all hosting plans, domain name excluded. In both cases the free domain is not refunded, which is standard practice.
Where is data hosted at o2switch and at PlanetHoster?
o2switch runs its own data center in Clermont-Ferrand, France. PlanetHoster has run its own infrastructure since 2007 with data centers in Paris, Lausanne and Montreal, and you pick the location per project. For a site aimed at France, both keep data in Europe; only PlanetHoster lets you host in Canada or Switzerland.
Is o2switch storage really unlimited?
That is what its comparison page states: unlimited NVMe disk space, unlimited traffic, unlimited sites and mailboxes. Compute is capped, though: the Grow plan shares 8 vCPU threads and 16 GB of RAM with the main account, with an advertised disk throughput of 16 MB/s. Unlimited applies to storage, not to power.
Which one for a WooCommerce store?
For a store that has to survive traffic peaks (sales, Black Friday), PlanetHoster has the most concrete argument: the Web Project Ultra runs on LiteSpeed Enterprise with LSCache and an Auto Peak Power feature that multiplies CPU and RAM by 2.5 in one click. It is listed at 19.99 EUR per month, with a 24-month promotion at 5.49 EUR per month and a renewal shown at 19.99 EUR. At o2switch you need the Cloud plan (12 vCPU threads, 48 GB of dedicated RAM) to get reserved resources.