This seems like more than one question, but I'm still happy to answer it.
First off, Host1Free is not offshore hosting! and even if it were, it couldn't handle IP.Board.
Secondly, "in the eyes of IPB", their hosting goes first, and giving you a license goes secondly when it comes to "safety". Offshore hosting is recommended for nulled versions of IPB. Also, both nulled and retail have the same features, because the features are the ones that you install on them. If you mean which one has more support, then I'd say retail because you could ask IPB staff directly about any issue.
I recommend getting an offshore host and uploading your (nulled) board there. If you need help finding offshore hosts, look up "top offshore hosts" on Google. Remember they don't come free (and good!).