7-Day Money-Back Guarantee

What's covered by the guarantee

Your first purchase of a Hostiko web hosting plan (shared hosting or managed WordPress) is eligible for a full refund of the hosting fee if you ask within 7 calendar days of the order date. This applies whatever the reason: you found the panel confusing, your needs changed, or you simply changed your mind. The guarantee does not apply to an account we suspend or close for breaking our Acceptable Use Policy.

What's not covered

• Domain registrations, renewals, transfers and restorations. Once the registry has processed them, the registry fee is gone and we cannot recover it. This is standard across the industry.
• Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. These follow the provider's cancellation rules. Microsoft 365 can be cancelled for a refund only within 7 days of the subscription starting or renewing; after that the full term is payable.
• Dedicated servers. Monthly fees for a period that has started are not refunded.
• SSL certificates beyond Let's Encrypt (paid OV/EV/Wildcard) — non-refundable once issued by the CA.
• One-time professional services (website design, online stores, M-Pesa integration, SEO, security services and similar work). Once work has started, we refund only the part of the work not yet done, as we reasonably assess it.
• Dedicated servers and custom-quote services. These are made-to-order; cancellation policy is set per agreement.
• Renewals, upgrades and account credit. The 7-day window applies to the first purchase only. Account credit and affiliate earnings are used for Hostiko services and are not paid out in cash, except as described in the affiliate programme.

How to request a refund

1. Log into your client dashboard.
2. Open a support ticket with the subject "Refund request — Invoice #[your invoice number]".
3. Tell us briefly why (optional but helps us improve). One sentence is fine.
4. Our team confirms eligibility, normally within 1 business day.
5. Once approved, the refund is sent back to your original payment method, normally within 5 business days.

Prefer to talk to a human first? chat with us live or email [email protected]. We'd rather understand the problem and fix it — but if a refund is right, we process it.

M-Pesa refund specifics

M-Pesa payments are refunded back to the M-Pesa number used at checkout, as an M-Pesa reversal. You'll receive an M-Pesa SMS confirmation. If the M-Pesa number is no longer active, we can arrange refund via bank transfer to an account in your name — KSh 50 transfer fee applies.

PesaPal / card refund specifics

Visa, Mastercard and other card payments via PesaPal are refunded to the same card. PesaPal then routes the funds to your card-issuing bank, which typically posts the refund within 5–10 business days. International card refunds may take longer due to your bank's clearing schedule.

Pro-rata refunds after the 7-day window

If you cancel after the 7-day window but within an annual billing cycle, we don't issue cash refunds. Instead, you can:

• Use the remaining balance as credit toward a different Hostiko service (web design, M-Pesa integration, SSL upgrade, etc.).
• Transfer the remaining hosting time to a different domain you own.
• Gift the remaining hosting time to a friend, NGO, or church (one transfer per account).

Chargebacks and disputes

If you're considering a chargeback through your bank or M-Pesa, please contact us first. In every case so far, we've been able to resolve the issue directly faster than a chargeback (typically same day vs 30+ days). Chargebacks may result in account suspension while we investigate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Significant changes are emailed to active customers at least 30 days before they take effect, in line with our Terms of Service. Nothing in this policy affects your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2012. The current effective date is below.

Last updated: 19 October 2026
Questions about this policy? Email [email protected].