DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting: Complete 2026 Comparison
In-depth comparison of these two hosting providers across pricing, performance, features, and support.
Result
It's a Tie!
- Both hosts are evenly matched
- Choose based on your specific needs
Category Winners
Best Price
InMotion Hosting
$2.62/mo vs $2.95/mo
Best Value
DreamHost
Lower renewal markup (171% vs 377%)
Best Performance
DreamHost
100% uptime, 3.8/5 rating
Best Support
Tie
Similar support options
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Tie
Similar developer features
Best for Beginners
InMotion Hosting
Higher ease of use score (8.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Shared Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Monthly Price | $2.95/mo | $2.62/mo |
| Renewal Price | $7.99 | $12.49 |
| Renewal Markup | 171% | 377% |
| Overall Rating | 3.8/5 | 3.9/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 100% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 7,738 | 2,513 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $35.40 | $31.44 |
| Second Year Cost | $95.88 | $149.88 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 97 days | 90 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | — | — |
| Minimum Contract | — | — |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 50 GB | 100 GB |
| Storage Type | NVME SSD | NVME SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered GB | Unlimited |
| Max Websites | — | 1 |
| Max Databases | — | — |
| PHP Versions | 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | ||
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | — | — |
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | — | — |
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | Basic | Advanced |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Daily (automatic, not guaranteed accessible) | Daily (higher plans), Manual (basic plans) |
| Backup Retention | 30 days | — |
| Backup Restore Fee | — | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Live Chat, Phone (callback), Email/Ticket, Knowledge Base | Phone, Live Chat, Email/Ticket, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | Callback system (not 24/7 direct) | 9AM-9PM ET Monday-Friday (live chat/ticket 24/7) |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English, Spanish | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | — | — |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Cloudflare CDN | InMotion CDN |
| Server Locations | Ashburn, VA (US), Hillsboro, OR (US), Netherlands (EU) | Los Angeles, CA (US), Ashburn, VA (US), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Singapore |
| Server Location Count | 3 | 4 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | — | — |
| Brotli Compression | — | — |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | DreamHost Panel | cPanel |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | DreamHost Website Builder | BoldGrid Website Builder |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | — | 1 |
| Migration Turnaround | 3 days | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | $99.00 | — |
| Migration Quality | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | — | — |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 4.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 3.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 2.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unmetered; no overage charges | Unlimited within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade |
| Storage Overage | Must upgrade plan or purchase additional storage | Hard limits apply; must upgrade plan |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | — | |
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 1996 | 2001 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | New Dream Network, LLC (employee-owned) | Privately held (employee-owned, founded by Sunil Saxena and Todd Robinson) |
| Green Hosting | — | — |
| Instant Activation | — | — |
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, Canada, Netherlands | United States, Netherlands, Singapore |
| Local Currencies | USD | USD |
| Support Languages | English, Spanish | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR, PCI DSS |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.0/5 | 4.1/5 |
| BBB Rating | Not Accredited | A+ |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | 50,000 |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | — | — |
| Elasticsearch | — | — |
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | 12 months | 12 months |
| Money Back Exclusions | Only applies to shared hosting with credit card payment; DreamPress has 30-day guarantee; Domain registrations non-refundable; SSL certificates non-refundable; Add-on services non-refundable; Updated to 30 days as of July 2025 | Month-to-month VPS/Dedicated plans only get 30 days; Domain registrations non-refundable; SSL certificates non-refundable; Add-on services non-refundable |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Check | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | — |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed every 3 months) |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States, Canada | United States |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | — | — |
| Object Cache Type | Built-in caching (DreamPress) | NGINX proxy cache |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Flat rate (tiered) | Tiered (based on product and volume) |
| Commission Amount | Up to $300 per referral; 97-day holding period; monthly bank transfer payout; no earning limits; top earners made $20K+ last year | Tiered commission based on hosting product and sales volume; 90-day cookie duration |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | $0.00 | — |
| Account Suspension Policy | AUP violations result in suspension or termination; content illegal in USA prohibited | AUP violations may result in content deletion, suspension, or termination; InMotion reserves right to delete material deemed inappropriate |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | $0.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Privacy-conscious users (employee-owned, privacy advocacy); WordPress users (DreamPress managed hosting); Users wanting long money-back period; Developers (SSH, Git, multiple languages); Users wanting 100% uptime guarantee; Open-source advocates; US-based websites (2 US + 1 EU data center) | Business users needing US-based support; Users wanting 90-day money-back guarantee; WordPress users (optimized with staging); cPanel users; Users needing 4 global data center locations; Users wanting employee-owned company |
| Avoid If | Need cPanel; Need included email on basic plan; Need more global data center options; Prefer direct phone support; Need enterprise compliance (no SOC2/HIPAA); Budget-conscious long-term (VPS renewal 150% markup) | Budget-conscious at renewal time (5x markup); Need 24/7 phone support; Need low inode limits; Adult or adult-adjacent content; Need cheap monthly VPS plans |
| Known Issues | No cPanel (custom panel takes adjustment); Email not included on Shared Starter (only free 3 months); PHP Extended Support costs $5/mo extra; DreamShield security and hack recovery are paid extras; Money-back guarantee reduced from 97 to 30 days (July 2025); Phone support is callback only (not direct dial); Automatic backups exist but not guaranteed accessible; Only 3 data center locations | Renewal prices ~5x higher than promo ($2.62 → $12.49); Phone support limited to business hours (9AM-9PM ET M-F); Automated backups only on higher plans; Low inode limit (50,000) compared to competitors; 21% of Trustpilot reviews are 1-star; Domain renewal $19.99/yr is higher than competitors; Month-to-month VPS/dedicated only get 30-day refund |
| Unique Selling Point | Employee-owned privacy advocate with 100% uptime guarantee and full developer tools | Employee-owned US host with 90-day money-back, US-based support, and 99.99% uptime |
| Ideal Customer | Privacy-conscious developer or WordPress enthusiast wanting ethical hosting | US business wanting American support, long refund period, and BBB A+ rated company |
| Best Alternative To | Bluehost | GoDaddy |
| Primary Competitors | Bluehost, InMotion, A2 Hosting | DreamHost, Bluehost, A2 Hosting |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose DreamHost if you...
- Prefer more predictable renewal pricing
Choose InMotion Hosting if you...
- Want to save money ($2.62/mo vs $2.95/mo)
- Want higher-rated hosting (3.9/5)
- Are new to web hosting
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want more server locations (4 available)