Hostwinds vs InMotion Hosting: Complete 2026 Comparison
Hostwinds and InMotion Hosting are both shared hosting providers, but they suit different priorities. Across our 7-category breakdown, InMotion Hosting comes out ahead, winning 4 of them — including Support, WordPress and Developers.
Data last updated June 2026
Overall Winner
InMotion Hosting
- Wins in 4 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Support, Best for WordPress, Best for Developers
- 3.9/5 overall rating
Hostwinds vs InMotion Hosting: Overview
On entry pricing, Hostwinds is the cheaper option at $4.54/mo versus $4.79/mo for InMotion Hosting. Renewal tells the real story: Hostwinds marks prices up about 10% at renewal versus roughly 213% for InMotion Hosting, making it the better long-term value. InMotion Hosting also gives you a longer 90-day money-back window to test risk-free.
Hostwinds's standout is 99 — a natural fit for developer wanting customizable VPS with transparent pricing and strong uptime guarantee. InMotion Hosting, by contrast, leans on employee-owned US host with 90-day money-back, US-based support, and 99, ideal for US business wanting American support, long refund period, and BBB A+ rated company.
Category Winners
Hostwinds
$4.54/mo vs $4.79/mo
Hostwinds
Lower renewal markup (10% vs 213%)
Hostwinds
99.9999% uptime, 4.0/5 rating
InMotion Hosting
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
InMotion Hosting
Optimized, Staging, WooCommerce
InMotion Hosting
SSH, Git, Staging, Node.js
InMotion Hosting
Higher ease of use score (8.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Shared Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Monthly Price | $4.54/mo | $4.79/mo |
| Renewal Price | $4.99 | $14.99 |
| Renewal Markup | 10% | 213% |
| Overall Rating | 4.0/5 | 3.9/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9999% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 2.9/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 716 | 2,513 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $54.48 | $57.48 |
| Second Year Cost | $59.88 | $179.88 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 3 days | 90 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | — | |
| Minimum Contract | 1 months | — |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | Unlimited | 100 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD | NVME SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max Websites | 1 | 2 |
| Max Databases | Unlimited | — |
| PHP Versions | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 | 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 | Enterprise-level DDoS protection included | Advanced |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Nightly (automated) | Daily (higher plans), Manual (basic plans) |
| Backup Retention | — | — |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Live Chat, Phone, Ticket, Knowledge Base | Phone, Live Chat, Email/Ticket, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7/365 | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7/365 | 9AM-9PM ET Monday-Friday (live chat/ticket 24/7) |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | Unlimited | — |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | — | InMotion CDN |
| Server Locations | Seattle, WA (US), Dallas, TX (US), Amsterdam (Netherlands) | Los Angeles, CA (US), Ashburn, VA (US), Amsterdam (Netherlands) |
| Server Location Count | 3 | 3 |
| 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 | cPanel | cPanel |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | Weebly | BoldGrid Website Builder |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | Unlimited | 1 |
| Migration Turnaround | 3 days | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | Free | — |
| Migration Quality | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | SOC 2 | — |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 4.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 4.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 4.5/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unlimited within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade | Unlimited within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade |
| Storage Overage | Unlimited within fair use; must upgrade for excessive use | 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 | 2010 | 2001 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | HostPapa (acquired April 2026; previously independent, founded by Peter Holden) | 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, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada | United States, Netherlands, Singapore |
| Local Currencies | USD | USD |
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR, PCI DSS |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.8/5 | 4.1/5 |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | 50,000 |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL/MariaDB | — |
| Elasticsearch | — | |
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | Unlimited | — |
| FTP Accounts | Unlimited | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | 12 months |
| Money Back Exclusions | 3-day money-back guarantee only; Short refund window; Domain fees non-refundable | 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, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed) | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed every 3 months) |
| Dedicated IP Cost | $3/mo | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States | United States |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | — | |
| Object Cache Type | — | NGINX proxy cache |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Per sale (tiered) | Tiered (based on product and volume) |
| Commission Amount | $65 (1-6 sales), $85 (7-12), $100 (13-19), $135 (19+); $25 for unmanaged only; 60-day cookie; $100 minimum payout | 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 | Violation of ToS; non-payment; resource abuse; illegal content | 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 | Developers wanting highly customizable VPS options; Users who value transparent upfront pricing; Adult content websites (rare among hosts); Businesses needing 24/7 US-based phone support; Users wanting both managed and unmanaged options; PC Magazine readers who trust their Editors' Choice | 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 longer money-back guarantee; Require many global server locations; Want included CDN; Need free domain; Prefer all-inclusive pricing; Concerned about mixed Trustpilot reviews; Want staging environments | 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 | Only 3-day money-back guarantee (extremely short); Low Trustpilot rating (2.9) despite good G2 rating; No free domain included; No staging environment; Limited to 3 data center locations; No CDN included; Renewal prices higher than promo; Some users report billing issues | 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 | 99.9999% uptime guarantee with transparent pricing and adult content hosting allowed | Employee-owned US host with 90-day money-back, US-based support, and 99.99% uptime |
| Ideal Customer | Developer wanting customizable VPS with transparent pricing and strong uptime guarantee | US business wanting American support, long refund period, and BBB A+ rated company |
| Best Alternative To | InMotion Hosting | GoDaddy |
| Primary Competitors | InMotion Hosting, A2 Hosting, Liquid Web | 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 Hostwinds if you...
- Want to save money ($4.54/mo vs $4.79/mo)
- Prefer more predictable renewal pricing
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.0/5)
Choose InMotion Hosting if you...
- Require 24/7 live chat support
- Need staging environments
- Are new to web hosting
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want a free domain included
Hostwinds vs InMotion Hosting: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hostwinds cheaper than InMotion Hosting?
Yes — Hostwinds is cheaper, starting at $4.54/mo compared with $4.79/mo for InMotion Hosting. Factor in renewals too: Hostwinds marks up about 10% after the first term.
Which is better for WordPress, Hostwinds or InMotion Hosting?
InMotion Hosting is the stronger WordPress host thanks to WordPress-optimized servers, staging and WooCommerce tuning. If WordPress or WooCommerce is your main workload, it's the safer pick.
Does Hostwinds or InMotion Hosting have better uptime?
Hostwinds edges out InMotion Hosting on performance with a 99.9999% uptime guarantee and a 4.0/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Which has better customer support, Hostwinds or InMotion Hosting?
InMotion Hosting has the edge on support offering 24/7 live chat, phone support and ticket support.
Is Hostwinds or InMotion Hosting better for beginners?
InMotion Hosting is friendlier for beginners, scoring higher on ease of use in our assessment. New users will generally find it quicker to get started.
Should I choose Hostwinds or InMotion Hosting?
For most users, InMotion Hosting is the better overall choice, winning 4 of our 7 categories (notably Support, WordPress and Developers). That said, the right host depends on your specific needs — check the category breakdown above for the factors that matter to you.