Final verdict
Comparing InMotion Hosting vs. InterServer highlights key differences and benefits between these two popular web hosting services.
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InterServer (Overall grade: 8.1)
offers strong storage capabilities and competitive pricing, making it ideal for users with high storage needs and budget concerns. It excels in uptime with its 99.9% guarantee and a backup of Cloudflare’s network, ensuring great content delivery reliability. Security features like InterShield Security and email encryption enhance its appeal, although it lacks some compliance details. InterServer’s flexibility with control panels and ample script installations makes it accessible and versatile for varied user levels. However, it misses out on a website builder and has been noted for occasional data loss and slower support responses, even though its unlimited resources and user-friendly pricing are standout features.
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InMotion Hosting (Overall grade: 8.4)
shines with its impressive uptime, faster website speeds, and robust customer satisfaction. It offers an extensive suite of security measures and additional compliance protocols, such as PCI and GDPR. InMotion’s UltraStack Technology enhances performance significantly, with advanced caching and NVMe SSD storage contributing to quicker load times. The user-friendly cPanel, staging environments, and dedicated developer features cater to a range of users from beginners to advanced. While it has higher prices for premium features and slower support responses for lower-tier plans, the combination of high performance, robust security, and flexible scaling options makes InMotion a strong choice for reliability and growth.
 Overall grade:8.4 |
 Overall grade:8.1 |
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|---|---|---|
| Uptime and Availability | 8.2 | 8.7 |
| Hosting Performance | 8.3 | 8.2 |
| Hosting Security | 8.7 | 8.3 |
| Price | 7.9 | 8.1 |
| Hosting Features | 8.2 | 6.2 |
| Ease Of Setup | 8.6 | 8.7 |
| User Management | 8.7 | 7.4 |
| Customer Support | 8.3 | 9.0 |
| User feedback | 3.9/5 | 4/5 |
Hosting Types Offered
Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.
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| Shared hosting | ||
| Cloud hosting | ||
| WordPress hosting | ||
| Ecommerce hosting | ||
| VPS hosting | ||
| Dedicated hosting |
Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.
Detailed comparison
Uptime and availability
Evaluates the average uptime statistics, uptime guarantee and overall availability of the hosting
provider
Score Components:
- Uptime percentage (30%): evaluates the uptime statistics in given period of time
- Uptime guarantee (20%): Assesses if the platform offers an uptime guarantee and
whether the actual uptime matches the promised guarantee. - General performance (25%): Evaluates how fast is the average response time and overall
it’s stability. - Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Availability (25%): Reflects the total downtime and number of outages.
8.2
8.7
SECTION 1:
🏆 Winner InterServer: InterServer offers more consistent uptime and added features for high availability.
SECTION 2:
InMotion Hosting provides a variety of hosting plans with impressive uptime performance. Shared hosting has had a perfect 100% uptime in recent years, although there’s no specific guarantee. VPS hosting claims 99.99% uptime on a non-guaranteed basis, and dedicated servers show conflicting uptime figures. Managed WordPress hosting claims 99.99% uptime along with high-performance features. Historical data shows that InMotion Hosting consistently delivers excellent uptime.
SECTION 3:
InterServer guarantees 99.9% uptime across its hosting services and backs this with a money-back offer if they fall short. They leverage Cloudflare’s global network for high content delivery reliability. Performance monitoring reveals a 99.99% uptime, essentially meaning minimal downtime annually. InterServer also incorporates advanced caching, InterShield Security, and offers Cloudflare CDN access, ensuring high availability and performance for hosted websites.
Hosting performance
Score Components:
- Hosting speed (30%): This includes SSD quality, Load times, PageSpeed score ranges,
additional information on website speed, built-in plugins for performance enhancement, available caching
methods, and CPU/RAM options - CDN (20%): Considers whether CDN is available or not, whether it’s free or paid, and
the quality of the CDN service - Available data centers (30%): Evaluates the number of data centers and their locations
globally. - Scalibility (20%): Looks at whether elastic scaling is available, the process required
to scale (manual upgrade vs. automatic scaling), the presence of dedicated servers, and the costs
associated with scaling.
8.3
8.2
🏆 Winner
InMotion Hosting: Offers faster speeds, higher uptime, and greater customer satisfaction.
When comparing general performance, InMotion Hosting demonstrates a significant edge over InterServer. InMotion utilizes UltraStack Technology to deliver up to 20x faster website speeds with NVMe SSD storage and objects caching, while InterServer relies on SSD caching and RAID-10 storage. Both offer free Cloudflare CDN and distribute servers across key locations. However, InMotion’s multiple data centers in the USA and Europe contribute to its 99.99% uptime, slightly higher than InterServer’s 99.9%.
Website Speed
InMotion Hosting and InterServer both emphasize website speed. InMotion’s use of UltraStack Technology and NVMe SSD storage greatly enhances its load times and PageSpeed scores, complemented by advanced caching mechanisms like Redis. InterServer also delivers excellent speeds with ultra-fast web servers and SSD caching, supported by a 10GB Cisco network and Cloudflare CDN. However, InMotion’s focus on performance maximization, including cutting-edge storage solutions, yields a slight advantage.
Scalability
InMotion Hosting and InterServer offer scalable hosting solutions. InMotion provides flexible plans that require manual upgrades as your business grows, featuring dedicated servers starting at $35.00/month. InterServer also enables easy scalability to VPS or dedicated servers without downtime, although specific cost details aren’t available. Both platforms emphasize flexibility, yet InMotion’s tiered approach allows for more predictable growth and budget management.
Hosting security
and regulatory requirements
Score Components:
- Technical security measures (40%): This includes encryption, firewalls, DDoS
protection, secure configurations, server monitoring, access control and availability of security addons
(e.g Sitelock security). - Operational security measures (30%): Encompasses data privacy, backups and data
redundancy. - Compliance and certifications (20%): Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
(e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and possession of certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2). - Business and reliability (10%): Factors in the provider’s reputation, uptime
guarantees, and customer support.
8.7
8.3
🏆 Winner InMotion Hosting: InMotion Hosting provides a more comprehensive suite of security measures and compliance protocols.
Both InMotion Hosting and InterServer, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.
Technical security measures:
InMotion Hosting offers robust technical security measures, including free SSL certificates, PHP versions 7 and 8, and features like DDoS protection and automatic malware detection. InterServer matches with free SSL certificates and support for multiple PHP versions up to 8.3, but goes further with InterShield Security, blocking web attacks and using machine learning for firewalls. Both provide automatic virus scanning, but InterServer’s comprehensive caching mechanisms for better performance give it a slight edge.
Operational security measures:
InMotion Hosting includes secure SSH access, spam protection, automatic backups, and offers hack and malware protection in all plans. InterServer boasts end-to-end email encryption and anonymous email accounts, prioritizing privacy. Both have spam and brute-force protection; however, InterServer offers an “Inter-Insurance” service to clean hacked accounts and emphasizes physical data center security, including 24/7 surveillance and redundant systems.
Compliance and certifications:
InMotion Hosting complies with GDPR, PCI, and CCPA, providing comprehensive compliance for various regulatory requirements. InterServer has implied GDPR adherence but lacks explicit details on PCI compliance. Both ensure user data privacy and protection, but InMotion Hosting’s detailed information on compliance and additional certifications make it more comprehensive.
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SSL certificate |
Free SSL |
Free SSL |
Additional security features |
DDoS protection, Malware detection |
InterShield Security, Email encryption |
PHP versions |
PHP 7, PHP 8 |
Multiple versions up to PHP 8.3 |
GDPR compliance |
Yes |
Implied |
HIPAA compliance |
Not specified |
Not specified |
PCI compliance |
Guidance available, VPS/Dedicated required |
Not specified |
Hosting features
Score Components:
- Domains (20%): Assesses the availability of a free domain, domain purchase options, and
pricing - Email (15%): Considers if the provider offers full email hosting, or is reselling
third-party service, and if the email is only transactional or not - Website builder (15%): Checks if website builder is available, and it’s user
friendliness and overall the level of customization allowed. - Staging environment (20%): Determines if a staging environment is available, allowing
for testing changes before going live. - FTP & SFTP accounts (10%): Evaluates if and how easily users can access FTP and
SFTP accounts - Git and SSH access (20%): Assess whether Git is integrated into the hosting service and
if SSH access is provided
8.2
6.2
🏆 Winner InMotion Hosting: Offers robust developer features and superior performance enhancements.
InMotion Hosting and InterServer both offer strong hosting solutions but cater to different user needs. InMotion Hosting stands out with a highly user-friendly cPanel, which includes a website builder that simplifies the process for beginners while also supporting complex customizations for advanced users. The NVMe SSD storage and free SSL certificates are significant perks, ensuring faster website performance and secure transactions. Other noteworthy free services include automatic backups and unlimited bandwidth, adding considerable value. InMotion’s multiple data centers across the USA and Europe can boost your website’s speed and reliability, and the round-the-clock customer support ensures assistance is always at hand.
InterServer offers unlimited storage space, ensuring you never run out of room for your website files and data. It includes SSD caching servers and ultra-fast web servers, which can enhance your website’s speed. InterServer’s weekly backups are automated and cover your data safety needs. Free Cloudflare CDN integration helps load your site faster globally. However, InterServer’s lack of an explicitly mentioned website builder may necessitate more technical know-how for initial setup. The absence of clear information on SSH access might be a downside for those requiring advanced server management.
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Free domain |
No |
Yes |
Free SSL |
Yes |
Yes |
Email hosting |
Yes |
Yes |
Website builder |
Yes |
Not mentioned |
Staging environment |
Yes |
Not mentioned |
FTP & SFTP accounts |
Yes |
Yes |
Git and SSH access |
Yes |
Not mentioned |
Free backup |
Yes |
Yes |
Money back guarantee |
Yes, 90 days |
Yes, 30 days |
a location.
As a result in rare cases the features mentioned here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.
Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both InMotion Hosting and InterServer offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.
Email services:
InMotion Hosting provides extensive email features, allowing users to create and manage professional email addresses in an integrated environment. It supports transactional emails with no apparent limitations, making it suitable for automated workflows like form submissions. InterServer also offers robust email hosting services, including unlimited email accounts. However, specifics on transactional email capabilities and third-party service integrations are less clear, which might require further investigation depending on user needs. Both systems are well-equipped for basic email hosting but InMotion’s integrations and management tools can provide a bit more depth and flexibility.
Price
Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
7.9
8.1
🏆 Winner [InterServer]: A short one-sentence description.
Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.
InMotion Hosting offers a range of hosting plans across various types including shared, WordPress, VPS, dedicated, and reseller hosting, with prices starting as low as $3.19/month. InterServer also provides diverse plans, with their Standard Web Hosting plan priced at $2.50/month. Both offer unique advantages; InMotion includes extensive performance features and security tools in its higher-tier plans, while InterServer stands out with unlimited resources in most of its plans and additional perks like a free migration service. Comparing shared hosting plans, InterServer provides more storage and unlimited websites for a lower price. However, InMotion Hosting’s WordPress plans provide more specialized WordPress performance features and tools for migration and multisite management. When it comes to cloud hosting, InMotion’s pricing and features cater to varying performance needs, while InterServer offers simpler, more flexible configurations in terms of core and storage options.
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WP Pro $11.49/mo:
Unlimited websites, unlimited NVMe SSD, unlimited bandwidth, free SSL, free domain, unlimited email addresses, automatic backups, DDoS protection, free advertising credits, choice of data center location. Value for price:8.5
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2 Cores $12.00/mo:
2 websites, 30GB SSD storage, 2TB transfer, free SSL, free migration, high performance storage. Value for price:7.9
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Launch $4.99/mo:
25 websites, unlimited NVMe SSD, unlimited bandwidth, free domain, unlimited email addresses, advanced caching, DDoS protection, free SSL, marketing tools, live phone and chat support. Value for price:8.3
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Standard Web Hosting $2.50/mo:
Unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unlimited transfer, free SSL, free website migration, 24/7 support. Value for price:8.7
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VPS Hosting $14.99/mo:
High-availability servers, cPanel available, isolated resources, free website transfers, cloud-powered reliability. Value for price:7.5
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VPS Special $6.00/mo:
2GB RAM, 30GB SSD storage, cPanel or Direct Admin, high performance storage, 99.9% uptime, instant provisioning. Value for price:8.0
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Enterprise plans
For enterprises, InMotion Hosting offers various dedicated hosting plans ranging from $35.00 to $45.00/month, emphasizing configurable servers, redundant infrastructure, and both managed and unmanaged options. Meanwhile, InterServer’s VPS and reseller offerings, with their higher-tier plans, provide flexible configurations, unlimited accounts, and substantial storage and bandwidth, making it a versatile choice for larger businesses with varying needs.
Ease of setup
platform.
Score Components:
- Site migration (25%): Assesses whether the provider offers tools for site migration,
either automated or manual, and whether these services are free or require a fee. - Admin panel usability (35%): Evaluates the type of admin panel provided, such as the
standard cPanel or a custom solution, focusing on its accessibility and user-friendliness for both
technical and non-technical users. - Setup features (20%): Examines the availability and ease of use of various setup
features, including FTP accounts, file managers, email account setup, PHPMyAdmin, and easy CDN
configuration. - Help center quality (20%): Measures the quality and accessibility of the provider’s
help center resources, including articles and tutorials.
8.6
8.7
🏆 Winner InterServer: A hosting provider with a user-friendly interface and extensive script installation options.
InMotion Hosting features a straightforward cPanel that is easy to navigate for both technical and non-technical users. It offers a demo mode for users to familiarize themselves with the interface before using it for real. The cPanel includes a variety of tools, such as one-click installs for popular web applications like WordPress and Laravel. The simplicity of the cPanel makes it accessible for beginners while still providing the necessary functionalities for more advanced users.
InterServer also offers cPanel along with DirectAdmin. Both control panels empower users with a wide array of management tools accessible through any standard web browser. The availability of different control panels provides flexibility for admins, resellers, and end-users. InterServer’s panels are designed to be intuitive, making it easy for users to manage their websites efficiently. With 461 scripts available for one-click installs, setting up various web applications is quite painless.
Both InMotion Hosting and InterServer provide free migration tools to assist users in transferring websites. InMotion Hosting offers free migration tools that operate smoothly with a provided cPanel backup and include a Launch Assist service for more complex site transfers. InterServer offers a standard free migration service but requires that the new account has no existing data, as it will be overwritten by the transferred backup. Both services ensure minimal downtime during migration.
Both hosting providers offer extensive help center resources. InMotion Hosting provides 24/7 customer support through live chat, ticketing, and phone support, and its online support center includes step-by-step education channels and community forums. The help center also features WordPress tutorials to aid users. InterServer also provides 24/7 support through live chat, phone, and ticket systems. Their knowledge base includes helpful articles and comprehensive tools and training for web management.
User management
accessibility.
Score Components:
- Role customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
8.7
7.4
🏆 Winner InMotion Hosting: Efficient and flexible user management features for seamless website administration.
InMotion Hosting excels in user management by providing comprehensive tools for creating and managing different WordPress user roles, which span from administrators to subscribers. This allows for a high degree of flexibility in defining user permissions and access levels. In contrast, InterServer offers user management capabilities mainly through control panels like cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin, which include basic user account management and permission settings but lack the detailed customization found in InMotion. InterServer’s reseller hosting does allow client account management, but it remains less specific about roles and permissions compared to InMotion Hosting’s detailed role definitions.
InMotion’s user interface for managing users is centered around WordPress’s built-in functionalities and extends them through plugins like the User Role Editor, which allows easy customization and assignment of user roles. This makes InMotion particularly user-friendly for site administrators who need to delegate responsibilities efficiently. InterServer, on the other hand, relies on the control panels’ native interfaces such as cPanel and DirectAdmin. While these are powerful and industry-standard tools, they are not tailored specifically for detailed role management like those offered by WordPress and its plugins.
In terms of access control, InMotion’s use of WordPress along with WP-CLI commands facilitates precise management of user roles and capabilities. This setup is ideal for websites expecting a diverse group of users with varying roles. Conversely, InterServer provides essential access control through its control panels, suited for general web hosting needs. It supports managing multiple users and accounts but does not offer the specialized user role customization found in InMotion. As user groups grow, InMotion’s flexibility with role definitions and access rights provides a more scalable solution.
InMotion Hosting User Roles Table:
| Role | Description | Access highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Administrator | Full access to all administration features of a single site | Can create, edit, delete posts/pages, manage themes, plugins, and site settings |
| Editor | Publish/manage posts including posts of other users | Can publish, edit, and delete any posts/pages and moderate comments |
| Author | Publish/manage their own posts | Can create, edit, and publish their own posts |
| Contributor | Write/manage their own posts but cannot publish them | Can create and edit their own posts, but need approval for publishing |
| Subscriber | Manage their profile | Can read content and manage their own profile |
InterServer User Roles Table:
| Role | Description | Access highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Reseller | Manage client accounts | Can create and manage hosting accounts for clients using DirectAdmin |
| Email User | Create unlimited professional email addresses | Can create, manage, and access unlimited email accounts or addresses within the domain |
| File Manager User | Manage files through the File Manager in cPanel | Can upload, download, and manage files related to their specific website functionalities |
Customer support
hosting provider.
Score Components:
- Support communication channels (30%): Measures the variety of customer support types
provided (live chat, chatbot, email, phone, etc.) - Availability (20%): Assesses the availability hours for each channel, including 24/7
support options. - Technical support quality (30%): Assesses whether the provider offers comprehensive
technical support, including hardware upgrades (e.g., HDD to SSD), software installations, and web
server configuration changes. - Enterprise support (20%): Checks if there are dedicated or priority support services
for enterprise-level customers.
8.3
9.0
🏆 Winner InterServer: Offers comprehensive customer support available 24/7 via phone, live chat, and an efficient ticket system.
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Phone support |
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Live chat support |
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Chatbot |
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Email/ticket support |
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Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) |
InMotion Hosting offers various customer support options, including 24/7 live chat and a support center with educational resources. Customers benefit from quick phone support during business hours and an extensive knowledge base. Despite comprehensive support, some users have reported slow ticket resolution times.
InterServer provides 24/7 support through phone, live chat, and a ticket system, promising responses typically within 30 minutes. Along with a user-friendly interface and free tech support via live chat, it offers a proactive backup service ensuring data security. InterServer’s lower response time and rapid issue resolution give it an edge in customer support.
User feedback
InMotion Hosting receives mixed reviews from users, highlighting several strengths and weaknesses. Customers appreciate the variety of hosting plans, transparent pricing, robust uptime, and exceptional customer support. On the downside, some users experience slow servers on lower-tier plans and encounter long waiting times for customer support. Additionally, the platform’s user interface has received criticism for being somewhat difficult to navigate, and there are concerns about service outages and higher prices for premium features.
User feedback on the hosting provider paints a mixed picture. Many users commend the provider for its affordable, straightforward pricing and extensive features like unlimited storage and bandwidth, free SSL certificates, and a user-friendly control panel. The customer support, while generally prompt and effective, has garnered both praise and criticism, especially due to the lack of a dedicated phone support line and sometimes long live chat wait times. However, performance issues such as inconsistent server speed, downtime, and occasional loss of data have been frequent points of frustration for users.
FAQ
Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites?
Both InMotion Hosting and InterServer are well-suited for hosting WordPress websites, offering specialized WordPress hosting with unique features to optimize performance and security. The choice between them depends on specific needs such as performance, security, and budget. However, both platforms are effectively tied in this category, making either a viable option for WordPress hosting.
Which hosting service offers better security features?
InMotion Hosting provides extensive security measures including free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and automatic malware detection. InterServer also offers strong security with free SSL certificates, InterShield Security, email encryption, and machine learning for firewalls. Both have robust security measures, but InterServer’s comprehensive caching mechanisms for better performance give it a slight edge.
What are the major differences in pricing and value between inmotion and interserver?
InMotion Hosting offers a range of plans with extensive performance features and security tools, starting at $3.19/month. InterServer’s plans are priced competitively, with their Standard Web Hosting plan at $2.50/month and unlimited resources. While InMotion provides specialized features and higher performance for WordPress plans, InterServer offers more storage for a lower price, making it more cost-effective for general hosting needs.
Which platform offers better customer support?
Both InMotion Hosting and InterServer provide 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, and ticket systems. InMotion Hosting offers additional resources such as a comprehensive knowledge base and community forums, whereas InterServer ensures rapid issue resolution with a typically quicker response time. InterServer’s lower response time and quick resolution give it a slight edge in customer support.
Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites?
InMotion Hosting offers flexible plans that require manual upgrades, featuring a tiered approach for predictable growth and budget management. InterServer also enables easy scalability to VPS or dedicated servers without downtime. Both emphasize flexibility, but InMotion’s organized tier system provides more comprehensive scalability options.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
