If you are starting out with your online business, a good hosting service would play an important role in your journey. We have already talked a lot about web hosting on this blog! And in this post, I’m going to review another popular hosting provider- InMotion Hosting.
After testing and using it for the last 1 year, I am finally here with the InMotion Hosting Review. In this article, we will discuss InMotion Hosting in detail. We will start by discussing the results of various tests I performed on this hosting like speed test, uptime test, load test, etc.
Then, we will move on to discuss its striking features like user interface, backups, support, security, migrations, payment options, refund policy, and a lot more.
They totally thrilled me with their Refund Policy! Want to know what’s so special about it? Let’s get straight into our review.
InMotion Hosting Review 2024
Summary
InMotion hosting performed really well with speeds, uptime, and load handling. I’ll recommend it if you have an audience from the US. However, it is slightly expensive and charges extra for backups. So, if you have the money to spend, InMotion hosting could be a good option.
- About InMotion Hosting
- InMotion Hosting Overview
- InMotion Hosting Review Video
- Testing Parameters
- InMotion Hosting Interface
- InMotion Server Response Time
- InMotion Speed
- InMotion Uptime
- InMotion Load Handling
- InMotion Cache Management
- InMotion Data Centers
- InMotion Domain Name
- InMotion Temporary Domain
- InMotion Backups and Restoration
- InMotion Customer Support
- InMotion Inode Count
- InMotion Security
- InMotion Pricing
- InMotion Refund Policy
- InMotion Migrations
- InMotion Site Builder
- InMotion Website Staging
- InMotion Applications
- InMotion Software Support
- InMotion Referral Program
- InMotion Hosting Pros
- InMotion Hosting Cons
- Should you use InMotion Hosting?
- InMotion Hosting Alternatives
- Conclusion
- FAQ
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About InMotion Hosting
InMotion is a renowned hosting provider established back in 2001. Its headquarters are located in the USA region with over 300 employees.
InMotion is the first hosting company in Los Angeles to offer Green Data Centers and effectively reduce their carbon footprint. The main aim of this hosting is to provide the best hosting experience for its customers.
InMotion Hosting Overview
| Speed | 690 ms (New York) 3.04 sec (Bangalore) |
| Uptime | 99.97% (last 1 year) |
| Data Centers | Only in the United States |
| Backups and Restoration | Automated backups with customizable frequency $2.50/month for the first 10 GB No manual backups |
| Migration | 1 cPanel migration or 3 website migrations |
| Customer Support | 24/7 Live Chat, Email Tickets, Knowledge Base, Community Support, YouTube Channel |
| Features | 10 GB SSD storage, Free Email, Apache/Nginx servers, Staging, Boldgrid Sit Builder, Built-in Cache Management, Affiliate Program. |
| Security | Free SSL, 2FA, BoxTrapper, ModSecurity, Leech Protection, SSH Access, Monarx Malware Detection, and IP Blocker. |
| Payment Methods | International Credit and Debit Cards, PayPal |
| Refund Policy | 90-day money-back guarantee |
| Hosting Types | Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Dedicated Hosting |
| Pricing | Starting from $2.29/month (If billed Triennially) |
InMotion Hosting Review Video
If you are a video person, you can check out my Inmotion Review for 2024 here. (It’s in Hindi with English subtitles.) Hope you enjoy watching it!
Testing Parameters
For testing InMotion Hosting, I purchased its Power plan with the US Servers. This plan is priced at $5.99/month.
I have been using it for the last 5 months with the following configurations.
- Ocean WP Theme (Elementor based)
- Gym Template (Elementor based)
- Default cache plugin
- US-based servers
InMotion Hosting Interface
InMotion hosting offers the Account Management Panel (AMP), which is easy to use but lacks a modern design. This is why beginner bloggers might find it slightly complex.
On the Left Panel, you will find links to the important features. Whereas, on the right panel, you can observe promotional banners from their own services and premium products.
You get access to the traditional cPanel, which is one of the most intuitive, feature-rich, and easy-to-use control panels out there!
Overall, the interface is okayish but can be improved in terms of design.
InMotion Server Response Time
InMotion hosting uses Apache or Nginx servers. Because the servers of InMotion hosting are only located in the US, I observed a low SRT in the US regions. The SRT on the West Coast of the USA was 71 ms. Whereas, on the East Coast, it was merely 3 ms!
However, the SRT keeps on increasing when we move towards the Indian regions like Mumbai (190 ms).
InMotion Speed
InMotion Hosting performed really well in the Speed Test. Let’s take a look at the results.
When I tested my website from the New York location, the loading time came out to be merely 690.52 ms! These are the results using no external cache management plugins.
I must admit that these are the fastest speeds I have ever observed in shared hosting.
Now, when I checked my website’s speeds from the Bangalore location, it took 3.04 seconds to load. This is still appreciable considering the fact that InMotion’s servers are in the US.
If your priority is speed, I would recommend you to go with Cloudways or FastComet.
InMotion Uptime
I have been monitoring the uptime of my website for the last 365 days using the Better Uptime Tool. This tool checks the uptime of my website every 30 seconds. Let’s see how Inmotion performs in terms of uptime.
InMotion Uptime Status Report (Last 12 Months)
Here’s the uptime report for InMotion Power Plan (US Servers) for the last 365 days.
| May 2023 | 100% |
| April 2023 | 99.99% |
| March 2023 | 99.97% |
| February 2023 | 100% |
| January 2023 | 100% |
| December 2022 | 100% |
| November 2022 | 100% |
| October 2022 | 99.97% |
| September 2022 | 100% |
| August 2022 | 99.98% |
| July 2022 | 100% |
| June 2022 | 99.99% |
In the last 30 days, the uptime of InMotion hosting has been a solid 100%. Whereas, in the last 365 days, the uptime has been 99.97% which is really good for a shared hosting provider.
Overall, the uptime of InMotion hosting is very reliable. But if you want 100% uptime, you should go with Rocket.net or Cloudways!
InMotion Load Handling
For performing a load test of InMotion hosting, I sent 50 virtual users to my website from the US location. They made a total of 9337 requests, out of which, no requests failed. The peak requests touched 49.67 req/sec.
With an average response time of 10 ms, it handled the load really well and maintained a stable response time.
There were no major spikes seen in the response time. So overall, I am quite impressed with its performance.
InMotion Cache Management
InMotion offers a default cache manager where you can change a few basic settings or purge the cache. It does not provide advanced customization settings.
However, if you are a blogger or run a simple website, their default cache settings would be sufficient for your site to run smoothly.
InMotion Data Centers
The data centers of InMotion Hosting are located in the US only. This might lead to slower speeds in other regions around the globe. I hope they establish a data center in Asia to enhance their speeds to the Indian regions.
InMotion Domain Name
On purchasing any hosting plan of InMotion hosting, you get a free domain for 1 year. You can even buy new domains but it only supports the following domain extensions: com, org, us, net, info, and biz.
All of them are priced at $17.99/year, which is quite costly. You can check out ChemiCloud if you want a free domain for a lifetime!
InMotion Temporary Domain
A Temporary Domain (also called Preview URL) helps you check how your website would appear online without connecting a domain name with your web host. This feature is available on InMotion and can be found under your account technical details.
InMotion Backups and Restoration
You can easily create and restore backups on InMotion hosting with a single click. The backups created are stored on a remote server, which means they remain safe in case of accidents and emergencies.
You can access them from the cPanel under Backup Manager. However, you don’t get any options for creating manual backups.
What I liked about the backups feature of InMotion is that you can decide the frequency of backups as well. So, the automated backups are performed as per the schedule decided by you.
Also, the backup service is a paid service. You are charged $2.50/month for the first 10 GB of backup and $1.50/month for every additional 10 GB!
So if you have an established website making a good revenue, make sure to avail of the Backups feature along with your hosting plan.
InMotion Customer Support
InMotion provides support to its users through multiple channels. You get email tickets, 24/7 live chat support, and a good knowledge base of articles to solve basic queries by yourself.
You can even check out their YouTube channel or community support for additional help.
In my experience, their live chat support was quite slow. Even though their tech support quality was good and I received intelligent answers to my queries, they took 10-15 minutes to respond to simple questions.
For example, I asked their support to check which SSL was installed on my website and if it was enabled. This simple query took 2-10 minutes to resolve.
Overall, the customer service was helpful, but they need to work on improving their timing. If you want reliable support, you can go with ChemiCloud, A2 Hosting, or FastComet.
InMotion Inode Count
Inode count refers to the total number of files and folders on your hosting account.
It’s good to see that just like Rocket.net, InMotion hosting does not impose any limits on the number of inodes. You can store as many files as you want on your hosting account!
InMotion Security
InMotion hosting cares about its users’ security. Thus, you will find a range of features for ensuring an all-round security on this platform.
- SSL Certificate: You get free AutoSSL Domain Validated SSL Certificates to protect your domain and all sub-domains under it.
- Two Factor Authentication: 2FA lets you secure your logins with OTP codes. You can use 2FA apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.
- BoxTrapper: It helps you stay protected from spam emails by requiring an email verification before sending you emails.
- ModSecurity: It is a web application firewall that blocks unauthorized login attempts.
- SSH Access: Through this feature, you can transfer files remotely or securely log in to your server and make relevant changes.
- Monarx: It is an advanced malware detection service for PHP-based websites. It detects online threats and prevents them from harming your website.
- IP Blocker – It blocks certain IP addresses from getting access to your website.
InMotion Pricing
InMotion hosting offers a variety of hosting services, including Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting. Their plans can be purchased for 1 month or 1/2/3 years.
Because we are specifically talking about Shared Hosting in this article, the following are the pricing for the shared hosting plan on InMotion. However, the monthly pricing only applies to the Pro plan.
| Core Plan | Launch Plan | Power Plan | Pro Plan | |
| Annual Pricing | $3.29/month | $6.99/month | $6.99/month | $14.99/month |
| Websites | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Domain | N.A. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSD Storage | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Email Addresses | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
InMotion Best Plan
The Launch Plan and Power plan are the most value-for-money options in my opinion. However, the Best plan is definitely the Power Plan.
When purchased for 3 years together, you can get it for around $179, which is quite affordable as per the services offered. If you also add the Backup Manager ($2.50/month) to it, the total cost would be around $269.
InMotion Payment Options
You can make payments for your hosting plans through International credit and debit cards and PayPal. I hope they also integrate Indian payment options like UPI in the coming future!
At the moment, you can go with Hostinger or Bluehost if you want Indian payment options.
InMotion Refund Policy
Most web hosts usually offer a 30 or 45 days money-back guarantee. Some rare hosting companies like A2 Hosting offer refunds on a Pro-Rata basis.
But, InMotion hosting wins with its refund policy of an insane 90 days! This time duration is more than sufficient for thoroughly testing out all the features of their hosting!
InMotion Migrations
Website Migration refers to transferring your website along with all its files and databases from one hosting provider to another. With InMotion, you can migrate 1 cPanel website.
However, if your previous web host did not use cPanel, you can transfer up to 3 non-cPanel websites totaling 10 GB of disk space. They also migrate email and FTP settings, which is really great!
If you want more migrations, you can also check out ChemiCloud which offers up to 50 cPanel migrations for free!
InMotion Site Builder
With InMotion Hosting, you get BoldGrid support. It is not a separate website builder but is built as a WordPress plugin.
This makes it easy to create and customize websites according to your preferences. BoldGrid usually costs $60/year, but with InMotion hosting, you are getting this premium plugin completely free of cost!
InMotion Website Staging
Staging refers to creating a copy of your website in order to test changes on it without affecting your live website.
InMotion Hosting supports the staging function. You can test out different themes, plugins, codes, etc on your site and once you are happy with the changes, you can push them to live with a single click!
Overall, I found the staging process to be quite a smooth and effortless one!
InMotion Applications
You get the Softaculous App Installer under the cPanel of InMotion Hosting. It offers a library of hundreds of easily installable applications including WordPress, BoldGrid, Joomla Drupal, PrestaShop, and many more.
InMotion Software Support
//InMotion Software Support
InMotion hosting supports PHP, JavaScript, Perl, and MySQL software. However, you won’t find support for Python, NodeJS, etc. Thus, InMotion might not be your best option if you are a developer.
For advanced developer tools, you can check out ChemiCloud or FastComet.
InMotion Referral Program
On top of all the features offered, InMotion hosting also gives you an interesting opportunity to win free hosting!
//InMotion Refer a friend program
In their Refer-a-friend program, they offer you separate links for promoting their hosting services.
For every new user that signs up using your link, you get 1 month of free hosting! There’s also no limit on the number of people you can refer to InMotion, so you can keep enjoying its benefits forever.
InMotion Hosting Pros
Lightning Fast Speeds in the US
You get to observe super fast speeds in the US regions, which decrease in the Asian regions. So, if you have a US-based audience, InMotion would be perfect for you!
Good Load Handling
InMotion hosting handles load well with low response time and no request failures. The response time also does not undergo any major spikes.
Remarkable Uptime
The uptime of my website hosted on InMotion has been 99.97% in the last 365 days. This is suitable for hosting a professional website requiring reliable uptime!
90-day Refund Policy
You get an unbelievable 90-day refund policy with InMotion hosting. This is one of the best refund policies I’ve noticed on a web hosting service.
BoldGrid Support
You get access to the premium BoldGrid plugin for WordPress so you can create professional-looking websites with ease!
Impressive Referral Program
They have a very generous referral program where you get 1 month of free hosting for every new user referred to InMotion.
InMotion Hosting Cons
Expensive Plans
Their shared hosting plans are slightly expensive starting from $3.49/month (annually). This is why it may not be suitable for beginners.
Paid Backup Service
The backup functionality of InMotion comes at an extra monthly charge. You are charged $2.50/month for the first 10 GB of data backed up from your account. If it exceeds this limit, they charge $1.50/month for every additional 10 GB.
Average Interface
The user interface of InMotion lacks a modern design. Thus, beginners might find it a bit complex.
Only US Data Centers
Their data centers are limited to the US, which is why you might experience slightly slower speeds in other regions like India.
Slow Support
Though the quality and knowledge of their support are quite appreciable, they take 10-15 minutes for replying to simple queries. They need to work on improving their speeds.
Should you use InMotion Hosting?
Yes, if your audience is from the US, InMotion web hosting would be a reliable choice for you.
It offers great speeds, uptime, and load-handling capacities, which makes it a suitable option for everything from hobby blogs to small or large businesses.
However, after adding up its backup charges, it looks like an expensive hosting. The customer support is quite slow and the interface is not friendly for beginners either. So, the choice is ultimately yours.
We also have quite a few suitable alternatives to InMotion Hosting. Let’s check out what they are.
InMotion Hosting Alternatives
Hostinger
Hostinger is one of the most popular hosting providers in the market. If you want web hosting with fast speeds, a modern interface, and Indian payment options, all at super affordable rates, Hostinger is the right choice for you!
Unlike InMotion, it has multiple data centers, fast support, along with free backups and migrations. Its pricing plans start from ₹69/month!
For additional discounts, you can also use my link and enter the coupon code KRIPESH at checkout to get an extra 10% off.
ChemiCloud
ChemiCloud is a renowned hosting service that promises swift speeds, reliable uptime, and efficient load-handling capabilities. Similar to InMotion, it also features an easy-to-use website builder, a free domain name, and good security features.
However, in addition to that, ChemiCloud’s 45-day refund policy and up to 200 free cPanel migrations make it stand out. also offers malware protection, and up to 50 free cPanel migrations! Its shared hosting plans start from $2.99/month.
FastComet
FastComet is a popular web host that offers appreciable speeds and uptime, efficient load handling, and a good website builder, just like InMotion. However, unlike InMotion, it doesn’t have a free domain and its shared hosting plans offer limited storage space.
What makes FastComet stand apart is its constant discount percentage irrespective of the purchase duration. Their shared hosting plans start from $2.95/month.
Cloudways
Cloudways is one of the most popular hosting companies in the market. Similar to InMotion, it comes with super swift speeds, reliable uptime, and load management capacities, along with good backup management and advanced security.
What sets Cloudways apart is its constant renewal pricing and easy scaling functionality. However, it doesn’t offer a free domain and has a slight learning curve for beginners. The pricing of Cloudways starts from $10/month for Digital Ocean servers.
If you’re looking for extra discounts, you can use my link to purchase Cloudways hosting and get 20% off for the first 3 months. Enter the coupon code KRIPESH at checkout.
Conclusion
With this, we have arrived at the end of our article. I hope you found this InMotion Review helpful. It would make me thrilled if this information helps you make the right purchasing decision.
InMotion is an affordable hosting provider that offers swift speeds, reliable uptime and load handling capacities, good backup service, and an appealing and easy-to-use website builder.
However, it is quite expensive and also charges additional amounts for backup management. Apart from that, it also has an average interface and slow support.
If you want to stay updated with the latest blog posts, videos, or discounts on digital tools, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Anyway, this is Kripesh signing off! Keep learning and take care.
FAQ
What do the shared plans of InMotion include?
Shared hosting plans include advanced features for security, a free domain, one-click app installations, professional email, and lots of eCommerce tools!
Thus, it would be a viable solution for hosting an E-Commerce site as well.
How many websites can I host with InMotion Hosting?
Talking about Shared hosting, their Entry-Level Plan lets you host 2 websites. On all the remaining plans, you can host unlimited websites.
Will InMotion Hosting transfer my website from another web host?
Yes, the InMotion team will transfer 1 cPanel website for you. Although, if your previous web host did not use Panel, you can transfer up to 3 websites for free!
What are some good alternatives to InMotion Hosting?
Some suitable alternatives to InMotion hosting are Hostinger, ChemiCloud, and FastComet.
How does InMotion Hosting keep your site secure?
InMotion offers advanced tools for security like Two Factor Authentication, SSL Certificate, Server access, BoxTrapper, IP Blocker, ModSecurity, Monarx Malware Detection, etc.
Does InMotion Hosting offer a free domain?
Yes, you get a domain free for 1 year if you purchase a hosting plan from InMotion.
What servers does InMotion Hosting use?
InMotion Hosting uses the Apache or Nginx servers on all its hosting plans. However, Litespeed servers are known to be the fastest.
Does InMotion hosting offer free trials?
No, you don’t get any free trials with InMotion. They offer a 90-day refund policy, though.
Does InMotion hosting cost more when you renew?
Yes, when you purchase new hosting from InMotion, they offer introductory discounts. Your hosting renews at its standard rates.
However, if you are a long-term discount, they offer an additional 8-12% off on your renewal as a customer loyalty discount.
Inmotion Hosting Pros (+)
- Fast Speeds in US
- Uptime
- Load Handling
- Good Backup Service
- 90-day Refund Policy
- BoldGrid Support
Inmotion Hosting Cons (-)
- Average Interface
- Only US Data Centers
- Extra Backup Charges
- Slow Support
I have been with InMotion for many years and there service has been very bad for years.
I am writing this review while I am calling support and the robot says “You are the next caller in line”. It has been more than 20 minutes, no answer. While I allow that to continue, I go on the 24/7 chat support. It defaults to sales and once they find out you are not buying something, you are abandoned to wait for a support rep who also, has not shown up on the chat … as I am writing this, it has been about 10 minutes even though my queue position is 1.
I am calling to correct my automatic renewal having issues with credit card. It is for my business email which right now is not working. HUGE IMMEDIATE PROBLEM.
Coincidentally, phone answered after 25 minutes, seconds after chat service response (after about 12 mintues)
But there is I would disagree with the high ratings you give here, at least on service.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
The time I used support it was good.
I don’t have an active plan of InMotion right now. Probably would test it again this year.
By the way which hosting are you shifting to now?