InMotion Hosting Review -Affordable & High-Performance Web Hosting Solutions

When it comes to web hosting, many of us tend to root for the underdog, but it’s often wiser to bet on companies with experience. If you’re someone who values longevity and expertise, InMotion Hosting is a strong contender. Having been in the industry since 2001, InMotion has earned a solid reputation and built a significant customer base. But is InMotion the right fit for your hosting needs? Let’s dive in to find out.

We’ve reviewed InMotion Hosting several times in the past, but it’s been a while since we conducted a detailed analysis of their services. Known for its innovative features and scalability, InMotion even launched its own website builder a few years ago. I recently tested its shared hosting service, and here’s what I found: InMotion offers decent performance, competitive pricing, and useful features. It’s an especially good option for developers, agencies, and resellers thanks to its unlimited hosting features. However, there are a couple of drawbacks—backups are not included in the basic plan, and there’s no compensation if you experience downtime at that level.

InMotion Hosting offers a broad range of hosting options suitable for both small and large projects. These include shared hosting (Linux), reseller hosting, managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting, VPS, and dedicated hosting. With a variety of preconfigured plans, setting up your hosting is easy, and there’s enough flexibility to meet the needs of individuals and enterprises alike.

That said, InMotion Hosting stands out particularly for agencies and developers. Higher-tier shared hosting plans let you host unlimited sites, with generous NVMe storage quotas to support them. What’s great is that you can manage multiple websites under one account without needing additional log-ins or purchasing separate plans.

InMotion Hosting also provides essential features like a free domain and SSL certificates, and setting up a website is straightforward. The Softaculous app installer, accessible from your dashboard, makes it easy to install WordPress, other content management systems (CMS), or various apps. Managing other hosting tasks is similarly intuitive from the dashboard.

However, like all hosting services, InMotion has a few limitations. Backups are only available with their shared WordPress plans. For other plans, you’ll need to subscribe to a Backup Manager or use a plugin. Also, only the top three shared hosting plans come with an uptime service-level agreement (SLA), which is somewhat unusual.

Overall, InMotion Hosting offers a wide range of hosting solutions that are ideal for agencies, developers, and resellers. But be aware of the extra costs for backups and the limited uptime guarantees on basic plans. Let’s explore further in this review to see if InMotion Hosting is the best choice for you.

Transparency and Ease for Beginners

Signing up for web hosting can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re not familiar with how it all works. If you’re looking for simplicity, platforms like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace might seem tempting since they combine everything into one. However, if you want better performance and more features, opting for a hosting provider like InMotion is a smarter choice.

What sets InMotion apart is its clear, user-friendly approach. Unlike many competitors, InMotion makes it easy to understand what you’re signing up for right from the start. When you visit their homepage, you’ll immediately see four distinct hosting options, complete with pricing and key features. While InMotion offers additional services, the basics are laid out clearly for new users.

When you click on any of the four hosting types, you’re taken to a detailed page that lists all the features and tools available with each plan. Even better, each item comes with an explanation, so you know exactly what you’re getting. There are also helpful resources to guide you in deciding which hosting type is the right fit for your needs.

One standout feature is the pricing transparency. There’s a handy toggle button that allows you to see exactly what you’ll pay based on the length of your contract. This kind of straightforward pricing isn’t common in the industry. For example, competitors like Hostinger and Bluehost often only reveal full pricing details once you’re halfway through the checkout process.

InMotion’s easy-to-navigate setup and upfront pricing make it a strong option, especially if you’re new to web hosting and want a no-nonsense approach to getting started.

Managing Your InMotion Hosting Account: cPanel vs. AMP

InMotion Hosting makes it easy to manage all aspects of your account, from domains and emails to databases and applications, through a user-friendly interface called cPanel. If you’re not familiar with cPanel, don’t worry—InMotion provides a demo on its website that you can explore even if you’re not yet a customer. cPanel is an all-in-one management console that might seem a bit daunting at first, but as a new user, you can simply focus on the essential tools you need.

For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, InMotion also offers the Account Management Panel (AMP). AMP provides a simplified, more user-friendly interface compared to cPanel. It’s a great option if you find cPanel overwhelming or if you prefer a more straightforward experience.

That said, it’s worth investing a little time to get familiar with cPanel. Not only is it used by InMotion, but it’s also a popular control panel among many hosting providers. Learning how to navigate cPanel can be beneficial if you ever decide to switch to a different hosting company, as you can often import your cPanel settings from your previous provider. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible with AMP, which is specific to InMotion.

InMotion Hosting Pricing and Plans: What to Expect

InMotion Hosting’s prices are slightly above the market average, but they’re not excessive. For their basic shared hosting plan, you’ll pay $3.99 per month. To give you some perspective, competitors like HostGator and SiteGround offer similar packages for $2.75 and $3.95 per month, respectively. While the initial cost isn’t too high, there’s a significant catch: InMotion requires a one- or two-year upfront payment for their basic shared hosting plans; monthly billing isn’t available.

Despite this upfront cost, InMotion tries to justify the expense with a robust set of features. The basic plan includes unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts. You also get an SSL certificate, a free website builder, a free domain for the first year, a backup and restore tool, free site transfer, SSD storage, spam and malware protection, and access to over 400 applications with one-click installers.

If you opt for the $5.99 per month plan, you’ll get additional benefits, including eCommerce functionality, support for up to 6 websites (compared to just 2 with the basic plan), more databases, and the ability to park more domains. The differences between the basic and this plan aren’t vast, so if you don’t need eCommerce capabilities or support for more than 2 websites, you might find the basic plan sufficient.

For those looking for the highest tier, the Pro plan costs at least $13.99 per month, but it offers the flexibility of monthly payments. However, choosing this option is significantly more expensive at $17.99 per month compared to the yearly billing cycle. The Pro plan includes Pro-level customer support, unlimited websites, databases, and parked domains. While these features are appealing, they may not justify the higher cost if you don’t need the advanced support or additional websites.

A unique and somewhat pricey feature available across all shared hosting plans is InMotion’s custom WordPress website setup. For a one-time fee of $99, InMotion will build a fully functional WordPress site for you within 2 days. However, this site will be just a single page. While this might be useful for some, $99 for a single-page site might seem steep to many users.

InMotion Hosting VPS and Subscription Plans

InMotion Hosting offers robust VPS (Virtual Private Server) plans that utilize Gen 4 NVMe SSDs starting from the 8GB plan. These SSDs are up to 6 times faster than traditional SATA SSDs and can be up to 20 times faster than conventional spinning drives, providing a significant boost in performance.

Here’s a look at InMotion Hosting’s subscription options:

• 36-Month Plan: $4.99 per month (Total cost: $179.64)

InMotion Hosting provides a range of hosting solutions, from basic shared hosting to powerful dedicated servers. Their managed WordPress hosting is versatile enough to support everything from simple personal blogs to complex business sites. For eCommerce needs, InMotion offers hosted WooCommerce and PrestaShop plans to help you build a professional online store.

For those needing serious server power, InMotion’s VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting plans cater to everyone from expert users to large international corporations.

With various hosting types available, there’s a lot to consider. Next, we’ll delve into each hosting type, exploring their features, limitations, and whether they might be the right fit for you.

InMotion Hosting’s Free Domain Name Offer

One of the most popular perks when signing up for web hosting is a free domain name. InMotion Hosting delivers on this front by offering free domain registration for .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us domains with their annual shared hosting plans.

If you’re looking for something more unique, InMotion also provides a variety of other top-level domains (TLDs) such as .app, .agency, or .wiki. These specialty TLDs come with an additional fee, which can be on the pricier side.

InMotion Hosting Shared Hosting Overview

Shared hosting means your website shares a server with many other sites. This setup can be slow due to shared resources but is budget-friendly, making it suitable for smaller websites.

InMotion Hosting’s shared hosting plans start with the Core plan, priced at $2.29 per month over a three-year term. This plan does not include a free domain or backups and supports only 10 email addresses. However, it allows hosting of two websites, which is more generous than many starter plans that only allow one. It includes free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, malware protection, and 1-click WordPress installation, managed through the comprehensive cPanel.

The next tier, the Launch Plan, supports up to 25 websites, while the Power and Pro plans offer unlimited website hosting. These plans also include numerous email addresses and some unique speed-enhancing features like ultra-fast NVMe storage. Pricing ranges from $4.99 to $12.99 per month over three years. However, none of these plans include backups, which are an additional cost if needed.

InMotion Hosting’s billing options are less flexible compared to some competitors. Most plans are available only in one, two, or three-year terms. The Pro plan does offer a monthly payment option, but this comes at a higher cost.

If you’re unsure about committing to a long-term contract, InMotion provides a 90-day money-back guarantee, which is three times the industry standard. This gives you ample time to decide if the service meets your needs.

While InMotion’s shared hosting plans are not the cheapest, particularly if you need backups (which cost an additional $2.50 per month), they offer robust features and reliable performance. For those prioritizing cost, Hostinger’s $2.99 per month plan might be worth considering. It supports unlimited websites, includes weekly backups, and performs well in shared hosting tests, though it lacks InMotion’s speed-enhancing technologies.

It’s worth noting that InMotion’s managed WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans do not include a free domain, likely because they target users with more complex hosting needs. Additionally, monthly shared and WordPress plans do not come with a free domain due to the risk associated with short-term contracts.

InMotion Hosting provides free SSL certificates through Softaculous AutoSSL, ensuring standard encryption levels and automatic renewal, which is a common feature among hosting providers.

InMotion Hosting WordPress Plans Overview

WordPress is a popular tool for creating everything from simple personal websites to complex web stores and critical business sites. InMotion Hosting caters to WordPress users with both shared hosting and specialized WordPress hosting plans.

Shared Hosting Plans for WordPress

InMotion’s shared hosting plans come with an automatic WordPress installer, which is great for beginners. Their specialist WordPress hosting plans offer more advanced features:

• WP Core Plan: Starting at $3.49 per month for a three-year term (renewal at $10.99 per month), this plan is designed for users who need basic WordPress hosting. It supports up to two websites and ten email addresses but does not include backups. InMotion claims this plan can handle up to 20,000 visitors per month, which is sufficient for many users.
• WP Launch Plan: Priced at $6.99 per month, this plan includes offsite backups, supports unlimited websites and email addresses, and can handle up to 50,000 visitors per month. This makes it a solid budget-friendly option for those needing more flexibility and reliability.

InMotion’s WordPress plans are competitively priced and capable of handling substantial traffic, especially at the higher tiers of their VPS range. However, the WordPress-specific features are similar to those offered by other hosting providers.

For those seeking premium WordPress hosting with advanced features, WP Engine offers a more robust solution. It provides premium themes, intelligent updating, performance optimizations, and page speed testing for users who need top-tier WordPress capabilities.

InMotion Hosting VPS and Cloud VPS Plans

When your website outgrows even the most expensive shared hosting plans, especially if you’re getting a high volume of traffic, it’s time to consider upgrading to a virtual private server (VPS). VPS hosting is more expensive, but in return, you get dedicated resources and a host of advanced features like root access, dedicated IPs, command-line tools, a resource monitoring dashboard, and DDoS protection.

InMotion Hosting’s basic VPS plan costs $22.99 per month and includes 4GB of RAM, 75GB of storage, and 4TB of bandwidth. While VPS hosting is typically targeted at tech-savvy users, InMotion’s version is beginner-friendly as it comes with cPanel & WHM access. Additionally, the plan includes a free launch assistant, giving you 2 hours with an experienced T3 system administrator who can help you with everything from configuring hardware and scheduling CRON jobs to installing applications, migrating websites, and improving server security.

InMotion also offers cloud VPS hosting plans, which are competitively priced compared to providers like DigitalOcean and Vultr. You can get a plan for as low as $5 per month, although higher pricing applies if you need more resources. However, these cloud VPS plans are unmanaged, meaning they lack features like cPanel or 1-click installers, requiring a more hands-on approach to managing the server.

InMotion Hosting Dedicated Server Plans

Dedicated server hosting provides exclusive access to an entire server just for your site. This means no more slowdowns due to other sites on the same server—your server is dedicated entirely to you. This is ideal for large, business-critical websites where speed and performance are crucial, even during peak times.

InMotion Hosting offers five dedicated server plans, starting at a budget-friendly $89.99 per month. The entry-level plan includes a managed 4-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. For more demanding needs, you can opt for their highest-end plan at $739.99 per month (or $839.99 upon renewal), featuring a powerful Xeon Intel CPU, 512GB of RAM, and dual 3.2TB NVMe SSDs. If these options don’t fit your exact needs, you can use the ‘Build Your Own’ plan to customize your server with your choice of CPU, RAM, storage, and other features.

While these plans may not be the cheapest available, they reflect InMotion Hosting’s commitment to providing high-quality server specifications. Each plan includes a 1Gbps network connection, unmetered bandwidth, at least 50GB of free backup space, free cPanel and WHM licenses, free SSL certificates, and free website migrations.

InMotion Hosting now has a data center in the Netherlands, in addition to its US-based facilities. This can significantly improve performance for audiences located outside North America.

Overall, InMotion Hosting’s dedicated server offerings provide a robust, feature-rich service capable of handling some of the most demanding and speed-critical tasks.

For those on a tighter budget, IONOS offers basic dedicated server plans starting at $47 per month. However, if you’re looking for more power and extensive support, Liquid Web provides a broader range of plans and add-ons, albeit at a higher cost.

BoldGrid Website Builder with InMotion Hosting

When you sign up for any shared or WordPress hosting plan with InMotion Hosting, you’ll gain access to BoldGrid, InMotion’s proprietary website builder. BoldGrid is designed to be an alternative to popular builders like Wix and Weebly, providing an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface for building your website.

With BoldGrid, you get 20 free design templates and thousands more available for purchase through its marketplace. All the templates are mobile-friendly and customizable, although the customization options are somewhat limited compared to other platforms.

BoldGrid is particularly useful for beginners who find WordPress’s default interface a bit complex. Each template comes with placeholder content that you can either keep or modify as needed. For a quick setup, you can import a design, make a few tweaks, and have your website ready in no time.

However, if you already have a premium WordPress theme or plan to purchase one soon, BoldGrid might not be as valuable. It may not offer the same level of power and flexibility as a premium theme. But if you’re just starting out with a new hosting plan and want to avoid additional costs, BoldGrid is a great option to explore instead of opting for a free theme.

InMotion Hosting Key Tools and Features

Choosing InMotion Hosting comes with both advantages and drawbacks. The company offers a wide range of hosting types, each packed with features. However, its pricing is higher than average, and many plans don’t offer monthly billing. Let’s delve into some of the key tools and features provided by InMotion Hosting and see if they justify the premium costs.

Domain Registration

InMotion charges $15.99 per year for domain registration, excluding privacy protection. If you want domain privacy, it will cost an additional $12.99 per year, totaling around $29 annually. This is comparable to SiteGround and HostGator but pricier than competitors like iPage and GoDaddy.

You can get a free domain with shared, WordPress, or VPS hosting plans, but this only covers the first year and doesn’t include privacy, which you’ll need to purchase separately. Free domains are not available with dedicated hosting plans, which is unusual since they are the most expensive. Domain transfers are also not free; there’s a one-time fee of $11.99 for transferring a domain from another provider.

Databases

InMotion supports both MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, though PostgreSQL is only available with shared hosting plans. Unlimited databases are included with VPS plans and the Pro shared hosting package. For WordPress hosting plans, the number of databases is limited: 2 with the cheapest plan, 8 with the second tier, and 13 with the most expensive plan. While the number of databases is limited, their size is not.

Backup and Restore

InMotion Hosting provides a robust backup tool called Backup Manager, which lets users schedule automatic backups and restore full, partial, or individual files with a single click. These backups can be stored locally or on a third-party platform. However, Backup Manager is not included for free with all plans.

For shared hosting plans, you must purchase Backup Manager separately for $2 per month, but it requires an annual upfront payment of $24. The basic WordPress hosting plan does not include automatic offsite backups, but they are available with the other two packages. VPS and dedicated servers have a different backup tool for daily backups.

Domain Emails

InMotion allows you to create an unlimited number of @domain email accounts with most hosting plans. The only exception is dedicated servers, which support up to 15 free addresses. Email accounts include real-time spam filtering and unlimited storage. However, excessive email use on shared hosting plans might lead to restrictions affecting other users. You can manage email accounts through InMotion’s webmail interface or third-party clients like Gmail.

eCommerce

InMotion offers a decent alternative for eCommerce hosting with six plans: three shared and three VPS. Prices start at $3.99 for shared plans and $34.19 for VPS packages. These plans include a shopping cart, support for eCommerce apps like PrestaShop, Magento, or WooCommerce, the ability to sell physical and digital products, and a free site builder. For more advanced features, you’ll need to use your chosen eCommerce app. Accepted payment methods include PayPal, Google Wallet, credit cards, and more.

SEO

InMotion doesn’t provide built-in SEO tools with any of its plans. However, its site builder offers basic SEO support, such as keyword and page title management. For more advanced SEO tools, it’s best to use a WordPress plan and install an SEO plugin like Yoast. The plugin itself is free, but accessing all features requires a yearly fee.

Additional Supported Technologies

InMotion supports a variety of technologies, including Ruby, Perl, PHP, and Python, as well as SSH, FTP, SFTP, WP-CLI, and IMAP. VPS users benefit from advanced technologies like server caching, Brotli compression, Apache, Redis, and NGINX. For more details on these features, check InMotion’s website.

Location Coverage

InMotion’s location coverage is limited, with only two data centers in the US: Los Angeles and Virginia. Unlike some competitors, you can choose your data center, which is helpful. The Los Angeles data center appears to be more advanced, so it’s recommended for those not on the east coast.

Performance and Reliability

InMotion Hosting’s performance is average compared to other providers. Our tests showed that a WordPress site on a shared plan loaded in about 1 second on average, which is decent but not exceptional. VPS and dedicated server users may experience better speeds. While not the fastest, InMotion is acceptable, though there are faster options available.

Page Loading Speed

Page loading speed is crucial for user experience and SEO rankings. InMotion’s average loading speed of around 1 second is mediocre, with fluctuations between 300 ms and 3-4 seconds. For better performance, consider a VPS or dedicated server.

Server Response Times

InMotion’s server response times are good within the US (around 50 ms) and decent from locations like the UK, India, and Singapore (200-300 ms). However, response times from Brazil, Australia, and Japan are slower, ranging from 600 to 750 ms, though still better than some other US-based providers.

Uptime

InMotion offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, but actual performance averaged around 99.93%. This is slightly below expectations, with other providers offering better uptime.

Customer Support

InMotion provides 24/7 customer support through phone, tickets, live chat, and even Skype calls. Their support center includes over 5,000 articles and guides, plus forums and a YouTube channel with tutorials. While their support is comprehensive, responses on social media may be slower compared to other channels.

How Fast is InMotion Hosting?

To assess the speed of InMotion Hosting, we began by signing up for a shared plan and setting up a simple WordPress website using a standard template.

First, we evaluated server uptime with Uptime.com, which monitored the site every five minutes over a 14-day period. InMotion Hosting achieved a flawless 100% uptime, with a server response time of 0.340 seconds, making it the third fastest in our last 15 tests.

Next, we measured website speed using GTMetrix, focusing on the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which indicates how quickly the main content of a page loads. A lower LCP means a more responsive site. InMotion Hosting recorded an LCP of 0.610 seconds, ranking fourth in our recent tests. This is notably faster than budget shared plans from Domain.com (1.5 seconds) and iPage (1.6 seconds).

Additionally, we tested how the site performs under load using k6 (https://k6.io) by simulating 20 simultaneous visitors. The server handled up to 20 requests per second efficiently, averaging a very acceptable 15 requests per second.

These results are encouraging, but it’s important to note that they are based on a shared plan. We cannot draw conclusions about the performance of InMotion Hosting’s VPS, dedicated, or other plans compared to the competition.

InMotion Hosting Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Affordable Pricing
• Supports Various Technologies
• Choice of Data Center Locations
• Free AutoSSL
• Built-in Security Features
• 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
• Free Website Migration Services

Cons:

• Lower Shared Hosting Plans Lack Speed Optimization
• Price Increase Upon Renewal

InMotion Hosting Alternatives and How They Compare

Here’s a comparison of InMotion Hosting and its alternatives in a tabular format:

Conclusion

InMotion Hosting stands out as a top choice for both newcomers and seasoned developers seeking reliable web hosting. Established since 2001, InMotion offers a range of hosting solutions, including shared, VPS, and dedicated plans.

Its shared hosting delivers strong performance with 100% uptime and fast load times, complemented by features like unlimited storage and a free domain.The company’s use of NVMe SSDs in higher-tier plans enhances speed and efficiency, while its user-friendly cPanel and AMP interfaces simplify management.

Although its prices are slightly above average and require longer-term commitments, InMotion’s robust feature set and exceptional customer support make it a worthwhile investment. For those valuing flexibility, scalability, and solid performance, InMotion Hosting is a compelling option worth considering.