InMotion Hosting vs HostGator
InMotion Hosting and HostGator compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. InMotion Hosting scores higher overall.
By Jennifer T. · Updated
We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. Rankings come from the published methodology and sourced data, not from commissions. Disclosure.
Verdict
InMotion HostingWins overall
Employee-owned US host since 2001 with a 90-day refund, generous disks and US-based support; backups are a paid add-on
Newfold's Texas-born cPanel host: four shared tiers on a 36-month term with a free domain, Cloudflare CDN and staging
InMotion Hosting wins 3 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (7.7 vs 7.4).
How do the scores compare?
InMotion Hosting leads on 3 sub-scores, HostGator on 1. Higher is better.
| InMotion Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 8.0 (better) | 7.5 |
| Uptime | 8.5 (better) | 8.0 |
| Support | 8.0 (better) | 7.0 |
| Features | 6.5 | 7.0 (better) |
| Value | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Ease of use | 8.0 | 8.0 |
Which one is faster and more reliable?
| InMotion Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 7.7 (better) | 7.4 |
| Uptime (published)Kripesh Adwani 365 d vs HostingStep 243 d; methods differ | 99.97% | 99.97% |
Which one costs less?
On renewal, HostGator is cheaper ($10.99/mo vs $14.99/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.
| InMotion Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Launch | Hatchling |
| Intro price | $4.99/mo | $3.75/mo (better) |
| Renewal price | $14.99/mo | $10.99/mo (better) |
| Required term | 12 months (better) | 36 months |
| Websites | 2 | 10 |
| Storage | 100 GB | 10 GB |
| Money back | 30 days, prorated to day 90 (better) | 30 days |
What does each include?
| InMotion Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Included with the plan (the page shows the domain's value) | First year on every plan; $22.99 is deducted from a refund if you cancel within the year |
| Free SSL | Yes | Let's Encrypt, auto-renewed |
| Backups | No | Weekly courtesy backups, restorable with one click; the terms call them a courtesy, so keep your own |
| Free migration | Website migration handled by InMotion's team | A free site migration tool is listed on the plan cards; the comparison table on the same page says paid migration is available |
| Developer stack | Python, Node.js, Ruby and Git on every plan; SSH | Not stated |
| Security | Malware and DDoS protection, web application firewall | Malware scanning, AI-powered detection and removal from Baby up, web application firewall, DDoS protection, DDoS scrub center |
| Free cPanel email accounts; professional email with a 1-month trial | Unlimited POP3 and IMAP mailboxes with SpamAssassin; Pro Email is a paid product after a free trial | |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.99% on Power and Pro, with credits described in InMotion's own blog; no guarantee line on Launch | The plan page says 99 percent; the terms we read contain no uptime clause or credit schedule |
| Choice of data center | Los Angeles, Ashburn or Amsterdam; Singapore announced | Not stated |
| Phone support | Power and Pro; Launch is live chat | Baby, Business and Pro; Hatchling is chat only |
| Windows hosting | No | No |
| Free CDN | Not stated | Cloudflare with Argo routing on every plan |
| Caching | Not stated | Static content caching and object caching on every plan; the feature list names an NGINX caching layer |
| Staging | Not stated | WordPress staging site on every plan |
| SSH and languages | Not stated | SSH, WP-CLI, cron, PHP 8.2, Ruby on Rails, Perl, Python, unlimited MySQL and SFTP users |
| Resource limits | Not stated | No |
| Data center choice | Not stated | No |
Company facts
| InMotion Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Control panel | cPanel with InMotion's Account Management Panel | cPanel behind the HostGator customer portal |
| Data centers | 4 (better) | 1 |
| Support channels | chat, ticket, phone, email, knowledge-base | chat, phone, knowledge-base |
| Founded | 2001 | 2002 |