DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting: which one will win?
Through independent research and testing, our team of experts offers transparent and thorough reviews of web hosting providers. We use the same testing criteria for all providers to offer a fair and unbiased assessment of each hosting service.
Our in-depth articles include feedback about our hands-on hosting experience and other crucial information for potential customers.
Learn more-
Miglė Šeikytė
Content Lead
In this DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting comparison, I’ll scrutinize the 2 providers to see how they measure up in terms of pricing, ease of use, performance, security, and customer support.
DreamHost and InMotion Hosting are veterans in the hosting world, both having been around for more than 20 years. And, unlike other more flashy providers, they seem to prefer to keep things low-key and fly under the radar.
But, while they’re players in the same game, they aren’t quite the same. While DreamHost is a highly WordPress-oriented provider, InMotion Hosting puts its main focus on speed. However, that’s not the only thing that differs between the two.
So, to find out their similarities and differences, I put the providers to the test in this DreamHost vs InMotion comparison. Let’s get right to it.
DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting: general info
| TOP Choice | |||
| Bluehost | DreamHost | InMotion | |
| ⭐ Rating: | |||
| 💵 Price: | From $1.99/month | From $2.59/month | From $2.29/month |
| 📑 Uptime guarantee: | 99.9% | 100% | 99.9% |
| 🔥 Coupons: | Bluehost coupon 75% OFF! | Dreamhost coupon 79% OFF! | InMotion Hosting coupon 75% OFF! |
| Storage space (from): | 10 GB SSD | 50 GB SSD | 100 GB SSD |
| ✂️ Free domain (first year): | Yes | Yes | Yes (all but Core plan) |
| 🔒 Free SSL certificate: | Yes (first year) | Yes | Yes |
| ➡️ Site migration: | Free WordPress migration (1 site) or paid (up to 5 sites) | Free website migration plugin and paid options for website migration | Free automated WordPress website transfers |
| 💾 Automated backups: | Daily Website Backups (Free 1st year), not with Basic Plan | Free (daily) | For an extra fee |
| 📧 Email accounts: | Free (up to 10 accounts) | Yes (Shared Unlimited plan) | Free (up to 10 accounts) |
| 👨💻 24/7 live support: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 Money-back guarantee: | 30-day | 97-day | 90-day |
| Get Bluehost |
Our in-house research team and expert writers work hand in hand to regularly test hosting services and provide accurate and fact-checked information. Discover the ins and outs of how we test and evaluate website hosting providers.
DreamHost vs InMotion: pricing comparison
In terms of InMotion Hosting vs DreamHost pricing, InMotion is the slightly cheaper option, with prices starting at $2.29/mo. Meanwhile, DreamHost’s shared hosting plans start from $2.59/mo.
Besides shared hosting, providers also offer:
| Hosting type | DreamHost | InMotion Hosting |
| Shared hosting | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| WordPress hosting | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| WooCommerce hosting | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Cloud hosting | ✔️ | ❌ |
| VPS hosting | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Reseller hosting | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Dedicated hosting | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Visit DreamHost | Visit InMotion Hosting |
Clearly, both providers have many hosting services to offer. However, shared hosting still remains the most sought-after solution. Therefore, that's exactly what I'll focus on in this InMotion vs DreamHost comparison.
Now, let’s check out the providers’ cheapest shared hosting packages. To start, each offers a free SSL certificate, unlimited bandwidth, a Web Application Firewall, and a website builder.
As for differences:
- DreamHost Shared Starter ($2.59/mo) can host 1 website and includes a free domain and domain privacy, 50GB SSD storage space, and automatic daily backups.
- InMotion Hosting Core ($2.29/mo) can host 2 websites and includes 100GB SSD disk space, 10 email addresses, as well as malware & hack protection.
This is a tough call but DreamHost’s Starter offers the better value. It comes with a free domain and domain privacy – both sorely missing from InMotion’s Core plan. Plus, DreamHost’s Starter also offers automatic backups, for which InMotion Hosting charges an extra $24.00/year.
Of course, both providers have more than 1 shared hosting plan, so you are free to pick the best one for you.
DreamHost has 2 shared hosting options: Starter ($2.59/mo) and Unlimited ($3.95/mo).
While the Starter plan is a very good option for those looking to build a personal site or a business landing page, Unlimited is the one that is truly worth the money. For just a $1.00/mo extra, you get to host unlimited websites as well as get unlimited storage and email accounts.
As for InMotion Hosting, it has 4 plans ranging between $2.29/mo and $12.99/mo.
InMotion nudges you towards Power, but I’d recommend Launch instead. It’s the cheapest plan that comes with unlimited websites, disk space, and email addresses, as well as unlimited traffic and free domain registration. And while Power does offer a few more additional features for the same introductory price, the plan will cost considerably more upon renewal.
Additionally, you also want to note both providers have great money-back guarantees – DreamHost’s stands at 97 days, while InMotion Hosting covers 90 days.
Overall, InMotion Hosting's prices start slightly cheaper, yet DreamHost takes the lead in this round of DreamHost vs InMotion comparison. DreamHost’s plans offer better value for money with more essential features like a free domain and automatic daily backups.
Hosting management: ease of use
When it comes to DreamHost vs InMotion hosting management, the providers took different approaches but are both very easy to use. DreamHost prioritizes beginner-friendliness with its intuitive custom all-in-one panel. Meanwhile, InMotion pairs its simplistic native Account Management Panel (AMP) with the powerful cPanel.
With DreamHost, you get its custom-built user interface. This is an all-in-one panel, which means you can manage every aspect of your website from it. That’s always great for convenience.
The panel itself is pretty simplistic but very well-organized. Everything is within reach and easy to navigate – even if you’re a total beginner.
You’ll find all the main functionalities hidden in the menu on the left.
This is where you go to add additional domains, install new WordPress sites, access your email addresses, manage your billing information, as well as contact support. Basically, all your hosting management-related tasks.
InMotion Hosting, on the other hand, uses a combination of an Account Management Panel (AMP) and cPanel. The native AMP is clean but slightly old-school. Looks aside, the features and tools are neatly arranged, with everything accessible easily and quickly.
The AMP is mostly used for account-related things like account details, support, and billings. But, scroll down further and you’ll find hosting-related functionalities. For instance, free SSL setup and cPanel short links to domains and emails. Most importantly, you can also easily access cPanel from it.
Speaking of which, cPanel is InMotion’s main panel for website management. The cPanel dashboard is where you can easily manage domains, emails, databases, and files. Besides that, this is where you can install any content management system (CMS) with the help of the Softaculous one-click app installer.
Now, if you’re already familiar with cPanel, you’ll notice that InMotion’s version is slightly different. That’s because the provider has customized the interface to reflect its branding and color scheme, as well as tweaked some things. Yet, functionality-wise, you still get all the standard cPanel features, and the interface remains as powerful as ever.
Basic features and tools are also neatly labeled as well as categorized so you won’t be wasting time trying to navigate around. There’s a search bar right at the top, too, to help find functions quickly.
All in all, both DreamHost and InMotion emphasize ease of use despite their different approaches. Between the 2 providers, DreamHost’s all-in-one custom control panel is the more convenient and beginner-friendly option.
DreamHost vs InMotion performance
Now talking about performance, it’s a fierce battle of InMotion Hosting vs DreamHost web hosting. While DreamHost proved to be a more reliable hosting provider, InMotion demonstrated a much faster page loading time.
Uptime and response time
To begin the performance testing, the first test explores both providers’ reliability in temps of keeping the site up and running. To keep it fair, both DreamHost and InMotion were monitored for around 2 months.
In around 2 months, DreamHost experienced a single outage of 1 minute. This has led to a near-perfect uptime of >99.99%.
Now, DreamHost has a 100% uptime guarantee for shared hosting, but the actual result was close enough, so it can be forgiven Plus, 100% uptime is impossible in the long run with things like maintenance and updates.
Besides that, DreamHost did well with its response time, too. The host averaged an impressive 231ms, which is far below the market’s standard of 600ms.
In the meantime, InMotion’s results weren’t as impressive as DreamHost’s, but it did relatively well, too. The provider’s uptime was at 99.98%, with 3 outages that lead to 16 minutes of downtime overall.
Knowing that the official InMotion’s uptime guarantee promises only 99.9%, that’s a very good result.
However, InMotion fumbled a bit with its slower response times. Its average response time was 759ms, which is slightly slower than the market’s average of 600ms. However, while not ideal, this is no reason to worry.
Overall, DreamHost comes out on top for this DreamHost vs InMotion face-off. It has a better uptime and a more responsive server than InMotion.
Website speed
The second speed test aims to explore which provider is faster in terms of a fully built website’s loading speed. While both providers were very fast, InMotion Hosting takes the crown with its impressive speed.
To really understand the test results, here are 2 main measures I took into consideration:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – this marks the time it takes to load the largest element (image, video, font, etc.) on the site. Since Google considers this measure when ranking sites on the search result page, you should aim for a time under 2.5s.
- Fully loaded time – this is the time in which all elements on the site get fully loaded. For the improved user experience and potentially lower bounce-off rates, keep the time below 3 seconds.
As the providers only have data centers in the US, they are both hosted in and tested from the US too. But, it also means that you’ll see the best results with them if your website targets visitors in North America.
To start, DreamHost demonstrated a speedy LCP of just 1.4s, which is significantly under the undesired 2.5 seconds.
Now talking about the fully loaded time, it took only 1.6s. Yet again, the result is much better than the suggested maximum mark of 3 seconds.
However, while DreamHost put up a good show, InMotion Hosting took things to another level with its incredible speed. For starters, the LCP came up to only 663ms. Not even half of the dreaded 2.5s.
The fully loaded time followed right behind, standing at an impressive 825ms. Not even a second has passed and you can already view the page, that’s blazing fast! No wonder InMotion is among some of the fastest hosting providers in the market.
In brief, both providers showed great results in the speed testing, yet, InMotion tipped the scale with its impressively fast loading time.
All things considered, the providers excelled when it comes to performance. DreamHost demonstrated incredible reliability, while InMotion Hosting showed remarkable speed.
Website security
Now talking about security, both DreamHost and InMotion Hosting have a wide range of basic and advanced features. You can expect to find the basic tools like an SSL, as well as more advanced solutions like Web Application Firewall, and more.
Here’s what both DreamHost and InMotion Hosting offer with all their shared plans:
- SSL certificates to encrypt visitor-server communication for personal data protection.
- Web Application Firewall to detect, filter, and prevent malicious attacks.
But, that’s about the extent of what they have in common.
Then, in addition to the above, DreamHost also offers:
- Free domain privacy protection to safeguard and shield your personal information.
- Free automatic daily backups to prevent loss of data.
- DreamShield malware removal identifies malicious code, out-of-date software, and more. This comes for an extra $3.00/mo or $29.99/yr.
As for InMotion Hosting, it offers:
- Free hack and malware protection to scan and patch website files.
- Free DDoS protection by Corero is automatically enabled to mitigate attacks and prevent prolonged downtime.
- Automatic daily backups and 1-click restore come for an extra $24.00/yr.
Overall, the providers take security seriously. However, due to its free domain privacy protection and automated updates, DreamHost takes the crown in this round. These features also place it among some of the most secure web hosting providers in the market.
Customer support
Both DreamHost and InMotion provide several support channels like live chat, phone, and ticketing. At the same time, InMotion Hosting also offers support via email and Skype. The pair also has well-stocked knowledge bases.
For DreamHost, its live chat option is only available between 5.30 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. PT. While the wait time is minuscule and the agents were very helpful, I find the available hours to be too restrictive.
An alternative to live chat is its 24/7 ticket support. Via this method, all my questions and issues were always answered and resolved within an hour.
Additionally, DreamHost’s knowledge base is absolutely massive. Plus, the articles within are very well-written and helpful. For example, the articles could be particularly helpful if you need more information before deciding on DreamHost and InMotion Hosting WordPress platform.
As for InMotion Hosting, its live chat is generally solid as well. Although, there might be some wait times in between answers. And the quality of help you get varies quite a bit from one agent to another.
Alternatively, InMotion Hosting also has a huge knowledge base crammed with handy articles and tutorials. If you have questions on InMotion Hosting vs DreamHost VPS hosting, root access, or more, the articles could help to clarify things.
Overall, both providers’ customer support options are very helpful. But, DreamHost has the edge thanks to its more experienced and better-trained agents.
DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting: final recommendations
While the providers are often lumped together, this DreamHost vs InMotion comparison clearly outlined their differences. DreamHost is just barely more expensive but offers better value, ease of use, and reliability. Meanwhile, InMotion Hosting is cheaper, yet a lack of domain or automated updates on its entry plan makes it less versatile.
| Feature | DreamHost | InMotion Hosting | Verdict |
| Price | Both providers are very affordable. InMotion has the cheaper entry plan at $2.29/mo, but DreamHost offers better value for money at $2.59/mo. | ||
| Ease of use | DreamHost comes with an easy-to-use and beginner-oriented custom all-in-one control panel. Alternatively, InMotion offers an AMP and cPanel combo. | ||
| Performance | DreamHost delivers near-perfect uptime and better average response time, while InMotion demonstrates remarkable website speed. | ||
| Security | Both providers offer free SSL and WAF. Additionally, DreamHost includes free domain privacy and automated backups, while InMotion has DDoS and hack and malware protection. | ||
| Customer support | Both providers offer multiple support channels and massive knowledge bases. But, DreamHost’s support agents are better-trained and deliver more consistent assistance. |
All things considered, this detailed comparison proved that both providers are very simplistic and functional. However, DreamHost has a slight edge over InMotion Hosting. Not only does it provide better value for money, but it also delivers a more beginner-friendly platform, very good performance, and excellent support.
That said, InMotion Hosting is still a good option if you’re searching for a wallet-friendly provider that doesn’t compromise on ease of use as well as performance.
Alternatives to DreamHost and InMotion Hosting
If neither DreamHost nor InMotion Hosting catches your eyes, there are many other options out there. Chief among them are Bluehost, Hostinger, and SiteGround.
Bluehost
One of the biggest names in the industry, Bluehost is an excellent WordPress-centric provider, with prices starting at only $1.99/month.
Extremely popular with beginners, Bluehost puts ease of use first – the provider comes with an intuitive native panel as well as cPanel. More so, all the essentials like a free domain, SSL, unlimited bandwidth, and more are included.
Hostinger
If you’re on a tight budget, Hostinger is a great choice. Its prices for shared hosting start from just $2.54/month.
Yet, despite its cheap pricing, the provider delivers 99.9% uptime and excellent speed. Plus, you get a beginner-friendly custom hPanel and can make use of an extremely helpful 24/7 support team.
SiteGround
Another WordPress-centric provider, SiteGround is slightly more premium, with plans starting from $2.99/month.
In return, the host offers extensive security features, a native intuitive user interface, and many speed-enhancing features.
Other DreamHost comparisons you might like to check out
Other InMotion Hosting comparisons you’d like to read
- InMotion Hosting vs Bluehost
- SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting
- HostGator vs InMotion Hosting
- InMotion Hosting vs A2 Hosting
DreamHost vs InMotion Hosting FAQs
Which web host is better, InMotion Hosting or DreamHost?
DreamHost is the better web host. It delivers higher value for money as well as offers easier management, better uptime, and higher-caliber support.
Is DreamHost a good host for WordPress?
Yes, DreamHost is a good host for WordPress, as it comes with tons of WordPress-focused features such as pre-installed WordPress, auto-updates, and more.
Is DreamHost good for an online store?
Yes, DreamHost is good for an online store. If you're looking to run a small-to-medium eCommerce site, opt for one of its VPS plans for more server power and dedicated resources.
What is InMotion Hosting’s best plan?
The best InMotion Hosting plan is Launch. It costs $4.99/mo and offers unlimited email accounts, websites, storage, and unmetered bandwidth, along with a free domain.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are markedmarked