SiteGround and InMotion Hosting perform pretty well. In this in-depth InMotion Hosting vs SiteGround comparison, we found plenty of similarities. To be honest, there were stark differences, as well. SiteGround is famous for its security, speed, and a modern control panel. It’s also adequate for managed WordPress hosting, as each plan contains it free of charge.
InMotion Hosting is a flexible provider. It provides affordable plans, stable servers, an old-school cPanel, and other interesting tidbits. However, during our comprehensive tests, we discovered that SiteGround was better than InMotion Hosting overall. We’ll explain why in the following duel.
SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting – Quick Comparison
| SiteGround | InMotion Hosting | |
| 🌐 Shared Hosting Price | $3.99/mo | $2.99/mo |
| 💾 VPS Hosting Price | / | $4.49/mo |
| ☁️ Cloud Hosting Price | $100/mo | / |
| 🧑 Dedicated Hosting Price | / | $35/mo |
| 🆓 1-Year Free Domain | No | Yes |
| 🔐 WHOIS Domain Privacy | No | No |
| 🌎 Data Centers | US, UK, Spain, Netherlands, France, Australia, Singapore, Germany | US, EU |
| ✅ Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| 🖥️ Free SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes |
| ⏬ Automated Backups | Daily | Weekly; daily updates are $2.99/mo on top |
| 💿 Storage | 10-40 GB | 100 GB to unlimited |
| #️⃣ Number of Hosted Websites | 1 to unlimited | 2 to unlimited |
| 🤖 AI Website Builder | Yes | No |
| 💸 Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 90 days |
SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting: Hosting Plans & Pricing
We’ll kick off this duel with an in-depth comparison of their hosting plans and prices. First of all, we need to establish which types of hosting they offer. As you can see in the table below, InMotion Hosting has an edge because of a better variety. This means a lot to some people.
| Hosting Types | SiteGround | InMotion Hosting |
| Shared | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dedicated | ❌ | ✅ |
| VPS | ❌ | ✅ |
| Cloud | ✅ | ❌ |
| Reseller | ✅ | ✅ |
| Managed WordPress | ✅ (included in all plans) | ✅ (paid separately) |
While SiteGround’s fastest offers are cloud hosting plans, InMotion includes some of the least expensive dedicated servers. Plus, there are tons of VPS plans if you want a considerable upgrade over the standard shared hosting at a somewhat feasible price.
We want to mention a big difference in how they handle managed WordPress hosting.
SiteGround is essentially built around it, so each plan includes all managed WordPress tools. InMotion Hosting charges you additionally for it, and thus, it comes with separate plans.
SiteGround Subscription Plans
Standard web hosting starts at $3.99/mo in SiteGround for its StartUp plan. However, you’re better off with the GrowBig plan at $6.69/mo because it includes unlimited websites, WordPress Staging, and on-demand backup copies, with 20 GB of fast web storage.
Bear in mind that SiteGround lacks a few things, such as:
- Free domain for a year, which InMotion Hosting has
- Unlimited storage option, which InMotion Hosting also offers.
Simultaneously, managed WordPress hosting features are extremely useful, plus the level of security doesn’t change, no matter the chosen plan.
Cloud hosting starts at $100/mo in SiteGround. The Jump Start plan packs 4 CPU cores, 8 GB of memory, 40 GB of SSD storage, and 5 TB of data transfer. You can even configure your own cloud storage, but no matter what you do, the minimal price of $100/mo is immovable.
SiteGround also has WooCommerce hosting, and although it’s “advertised” separately, it’s another side of the same coin. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, and since WordPress hosting features are in all plans, it means WooCommerce can be installed either way.
InMotion Hosting Subscription Plans
In our InMotion Hosting analysis, we were fond of its flexible plans. Flexibility is a “weak” word because the provider offers DOZENS of plans to choose from. SiteGround’s plans are annual, but here, you can choose from monthly to triennial plans, depending on hosting.
Shared hosting begins at $2.99/mo for the Core plan, but our absolute favorite is the Power plan at $4.79/mo with unlimited websites, NVMe storage, and bandwidth! Users also get a free domain for a year, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and full-on malware protection.
Notice how InMotion’s Power plan offers better value than SiteGround’s PowerUp plan!
A very interesting proposition is dedicated server hosting, whose Aspire plan starts at $35/mo. At $99/mo for a year or two years, you can get the Essential plan with the Intel Xeon CPU, 5 dedicated IPs, and 50 GB of free backup storage. But what about VPS hosting plans?
This is where things are even better. The range kicks off at $4.49/mo for VPS 2 vCPU. However, the most expensive, and thus the beefiest, VPS 16 vCPU plan is only $49.99/mo for a year, making it 50% cheaper than SiteGround’s least expensive cloud hosting offer.
It’s a shame that managed WordPress hosting is extremely expensive at $200/mo. Self-managed plans start at $8.33/mo, so they’re not exactly budget-friendly either.
Check Out InMotion Hosting Plans
At the end of the day, InMotion Hosting is way less expensive and has more flexible plans than SiteGround. While the latter isn’t the priciest provider we tested, InMotion Hosting’s prices are unbeatable, and a 90-day money-back guarantee solidifies its place on the winning podium.
InMotion Hosting vs SiteGround Speed Comparison
InMotion Hosting seems like a better value overall, but the price comparison doesn’t provide a full picture. That’s why it’s essential to test the performance, which is what we did in our review. As you’ll see, both are quick, but SiteGround emerged on top in most scenarios.
Before we begin, we’ll clarify that we have made WordPress websites on both sides. We aimed for the same themes and plug-ins to eliminate discrepancies and ensure we test purely web hosting speed.
As always, our testing was done on GTmetrix, but we also used Pingdom to determine their average response times and uptime. Let’s get on with the tests and see how InMotion Hosting and SiteGround perform.
GTmetrix Test Results
SiteGround and InMotion Hosting both offer US data centers, so we hosted our websites there. However, when using GTmetrix, we opted for the default server, which was Canada (Vancouver), to measure the performance that a non-US website visitor would get.
Here are the parameters we compared in this duel:
| GTmetrix Metrics (Vancouver) | SiteGround | InMotion Hosting |
| TTFB | 40 ms | 191 ms |
| FCP | 281 ms | 389 ms |
| LCP | 321 ms | 583 ms |
| CLS | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| FLT | 683 ms | 583 ms |
As hinted at previously, we’re looking at two blazing-fast web hosts. However, SiteGround’s speeds were more than incredible, especially for TTFB (Time to First Byte) and LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), both of which are way out of InMotion Hosting’s league, so to speak.
Interestingly, despite SiteGround’s superiority in all other parameters, FLT or Fully Loaded Time is slightly on InMotion’s side. However, at under 700 ms, both are VERY fast. To clarify, this means the entire page will load in under 700 ms, which is way under a whole second!
Compare this to a run-of-the-mill website builder whose FLT is usually way over 3 seconds, and you’ll see just how fast these boys are.
Uptime and Average Response Time
In this InMotion Hosting vs SiteGround duel, we also tested their uptimes. We relied on Pingdom to examine their performance during 3 months. SiteGround displayed marvelous results, with no outages in the period, or at least, they were so minor that Pingdom’s eyes failed to spot them.
Thus, SiteGround’s uptime in our test was 100%, which doesn’t mean it’ll remain at 100% all the time. All web hosts have downtimes, but in most cases, they adhere to the 99.9% uptime promise.
InMotion Hosting is sometimes criticized for its uptime, and we must agree with the criticism. In our tests, it achieved an uptime of 99.96%, with 3 tiny outages that didn’t last for more than 3 minutes. So, let’s say it was down 9 minutes out of 131,400 minutes (3 months).
As for their average response times, our test results were:
- SiteGround – 339 ms
- InMotion Hosting – 852 ms
InMotion Hosting’s average response time is a lot higher, but then, the average for shared hosting is about 600-700 ms, so it’s not that bad. SiteGround, however, nailed it, with an average response time of 339 ms, providing a stable, more responsive experience overall.
With everything said, SiteGround is faster than InMotion Hosting, although both are considered excellent performers. The biggest difference was in the uptime and average response time, where SiteGround overtook its rival, and this time, carved out its place as the winner.
Which Hosting Provider Is Easier to Use?
Managing your websites is easy with SiteGround and InMotion Hosting. However, they approach this aspect quite differently. While SiteGround uses its Site Tools control panel, InMotion Hosting has the classic cPanel, with InMotion’s red-color skin slapped on.
SiteGround
SiteGround offers no cPanel hosting, but its Site Tools environment works incredibly well. As you can also see, it looks quite modern. It’s accessed through the main hosting dashboard, and from there, Site Tools offers access to a myriad of features located on the left side.
You’ll be able to monitor and manage the security, WordPress settings, emails, and other aspects. We love that Site Tools lets you pin favorite tools at the top, making it easy to access the ones you’re using the most. In the GrowBig plan, you also get the WordPress staging tool.
It’s accessible from the Site Tools panel and allows you to copy your website and experiment with different changes without affecting the “live” version. If you’re satisfied, you can apply the changes to the “live” version in seconds.
Overall, SiteGround might look unfamiliar at first, but once you start using it, everything is so intuitive and smooth.
InMotion Hosting
When it comes to InMotion Hosting, its cPanel isn’t “vanilla”; instead, there’s some customization on the provider’s side. As said, you have this red color that permeates the interface. However, InMotion also made some changes in its initial hosting dashboard.
From there, you can access some of the cPanel modules — Softaculous, for example. This means the experience relies on a strange fusion of a hosting dashboard AND cPanel, which some users might find confusing.
But then, you can also freely access cPanel and use its modules as you normally would. In cPanel, you’ll find a handy search bar at the top, which helps you locate specific modules for your website.
We had no issues controlling our website security, updating PHP versions, and managing files and different databases. Our experts love cPanel — we’ve used cPanel hosting services for years now, but providers like SiteGround and Hostinger have surpassed them in our book.
During our SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting duel, we had zero issues with their ease of use. However, we still prefer SiteGround because its Site Tools panel is more intuitive and is distinct from the hosting dashboard. InMotion can be confusing because it blends the two instead.
SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting: Website Building
Okay, so website building isn’t either’s specialty, but as all-around web hosting services, they offer a bit of something for everyone. During our in-depth comparison, we found that:
- SiteGround’s website builder is AI-driven and extremely well done
- InMotion Hosting’s website builder is BoldGrid, designed for WordPress
SiteGround’s newest upgrade to its website builder is impressive, to say the least. It used to rely on Weebly, which was terrible compared to Wix, Squarespace, and other strong boys. SiteGround’s website builder leverages AI, which shines in terms of content generation and optimization.
Thanks to AI, you can build a website without needing any semblance of skill. This is spiced up by a variety of responsive templates, allowing for smooth optimization for both desktop and mobile platforms. While it includes many SEO features, it lacks marketing tools, but you can always fetch a third-party one if you need it.
InMotion uses BoldGrid, which is you run-of-the-mill website builder for WordPress. It works via a drag-and-drop interface, making website building and design very simple. Both providers allow you to install WordPress with a few clicks, in which case, you’ll rely on that CMS.
Making websites with WordPress works identically in both cases, but SiteGround simplifies things with its “managed” features, one of which is Auto-Migrator. With WooCommerce enabled, you can even start an online store in a day, no matter which plan you end up getting.
Whether you’re using WordPress or a website builder, SiteGround will always be a better pick. It offers managed WordPress tools for automatic updates and security optimization, plus, its AI-based website builder is far more impressive than InMotion’s BoldGrid, with no unique features.
Features: InMotion Hosting vs SiteGround
Which web hosting offers more features for the price, SiteGround or InMotion Hosting? It’s pretty hard to tell at first glance, because their features depend on their plans. I mean, it makes sense that paying more gives you more features. But how “more” do both offer?
To find that out, we first examined their cheapest plans for differences. So, SiteGround offers:
- 1 website
- 10 GB of space
- Free email migrator, email, CDN, and SSL
- Daily backups
- Collaborators
- SiteGround Website Builder
- Managed WordPress features
- Enhanced security (more about that in the next section)
On the other hand, the cheapest plan from InMotion Hosting has:
- 2 websites
- 100 GB of SSD storage
- Daily backups
- Free domain, email, SSL, and site migration
- Modern security features
- Unlimited bandwidth
As you can see, SiteGround offers more features in its least expensive plan, lacking only in terms of hosted websites, storage, and a free domain. Luckily, if you spend a bit more, you can get unlimited websites, but you can’t get more than 40 GB of storage for shared web hosting.
If we exclude an AI website builder, managed WordPress hosting, and a wealth of security features, SiteGround would be barren. Luckily, these otherwise expensive tools are included for free in each plan, making SiteGround a tough opponent to beat, even by InMotion.
To wrap it up, we do think that SiteGround offers just a tad more in terms of features. It costs more, but simultaneously offers vital features (excluding a free domain) that would cost you additionally in InMotion or any other competitor (AI site builder, managed WordPress, etc).
Which Web Hosting Is More Secure?
Unlike some web hosts, neither SiteGround nor InMotion Hosting will compromise on your security based on the chosen plan. They’re like a brand new Toyota car. They strip off some features from the base model, but safety tools are all there. Which safety tools do we get here, though?
- Free SSL
- DDoS protection
- Web Application Firewall
- 24/7/365 website monitoring
- Malware protection
- Daily website backups (SiteGround offers them for free forever!)
This is the base of both web hosts, and as you can notice, it’s massive. With DDoS and malware protection, your websites will be untouched by modern security threats. SiteGround also uses an AI anti-bot system, which constantly monitors your website and deters threats.
Both providers prevent malware and hackers from jumping on your website’s back, plus there are automatic daily updates to keep everything afloat. Be aware that automatic daily backups cost $2.99/mo on top of InMotion Hosting, so compared to SiteGround, it’s a big disadvantage.
Also, take note that SiteGround has managed WordPress tools, so you get the additional Security Optimizer WP Plugin there. While InMotion Hosting offers a free domain, which is handy, it doesn’t offer domain privacy, which will cost you more than $15 a year.
Not to mention other costs that come with advanced security features in the fully-managed WordPress hosting plan at $200/mo.
As some of the safest web hosts, both performed well in the security round. SiteGround offers a bit more again, with a handy WordPress Security Plugin, daily website backups, and an in-house AI anti-bot.
Customer Support
You can’t expect lackluster customer support from two premium web hosting providers. While this happens occasionally, big-time players like SiteGround and InMotion Hosting won’t allow that.
Thus, you get multiple support channels, such as live chat, phone support, email support/ticketing system, FAQs, and knowledge bases. SiteGround usually redirects you to its knowledge base to find a solution, but if you can’t, you can immediately get in touch with it.
InMotion Hosting has a neat little live chat widget. Once you get in touch, the agent responds in virtual seconds, and you can discuss hosting-related stuff. Competency is strong on both sides, and we have never had misunderstandings or any other unpleasant situations.
In the end, the customer support level provided by both is excellent. With multi-channel support realized via email, phone, and live chat, you’ll have no issues remedying even the most stubborn issues.
Summary: Pick SiteGround Over InMotion Hosting
So, since we’re at the end of the road, it’s time to summarize our thoughts and recap our drive thus far.
We think SiteGround offers just a bit more overall, despite not looking like that at first glance. InMotion Hosting is more flexible, offers some of the least expensive plans, and comes with VPS and dedicated hosting, both of which are absent from SiteGround.
But then, despite costing slightly more, SiteGround delivers in security, speed, managed WordPress hosting, ease of use, website building, and overall features. Simply put, SiteGround is more reliable in general and likely a superior choice for most people looking to start their website.
As today’s winner, SiteGround holds the title proudly. But if you’re still unconvinced, perhaps it’s better to read our full SiteGround review before buying it, to see how well it performs in a more “focused” testing environment.