Choosing the right managed WordPress hosting provider is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when launching a new website. It can dramatically impact your site’s performance, security, and ultimately, your success online.
In this comprehensive comparison guide, I will be looking at two of the top contenders in managed WordPress hosting – Kinsta vs InMotion Hosting.
While Kinsta is widely regarded as the superior option overall, it does have one major drawback compared to InMotion.
Kinsta and InMotion are both fully managed WordPress hosting providers that offer automated WordPress installs, backups, caching, CDNs, SSL certificates, and more. However, they differ significantly when it comes to pricing, features, performance guarantees, and ease of use.
The goal of this guide is to dive deep into the key differences between Kinsta and InMotion Hosting to help you determine which is the best choice for your needs. I will compare them across factors like:
- Pricing and discounts
- Features
- Performance
- Security
- Ease of use
- Customer support
By the end, you‘ll have a clear understanding of the pros and cons of Kinsta and InMotion Hosting. You’ll know which provider offers the best value based on your budget and website needs.
Let’s get started!
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Pros and Cons of Kinsta and InMotion Hosting
To kick off this comparison, let’s look at the key advantages and disadvantages of each hosting provider. Getting a high-level view of the pros and cons will help us evaluate where each solution excels.
Kinsta Pros ✅
Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress hosting provider built on Google Cloud Platform.
Here are some of the standout benefits of Kinsta:
- Superior backups 💾 – Kinsta enables automated daily backups with snapshot restores going back up to 30 days. Backups are performed with no strain on your site’s resources.
- Free malware protection and fixing 🛡️ – Kinsta offers a hack-fix guarantee to clean and restore your site if it gets hacked or infected with malware. This level of protection is rare among hosts.
- 99.9% uptime guaranteed ⏱️ – You get financially-backed uptime with credits if they fail to meet their 99.9% uptime SLA.
- Built-in Application Performance Monitoring 📈 – Kinsta includes an APM tool to monitor database queries, PHP scripts, and external requests without using your site’s resources.
- Guaranteed performance 🚀 – Every Kinsta plan comes with dedicated resources so you don’t have to compete with other accounts for performance.
- Global data centers 🌎 – With the infrastructure in Google Cloud across the globe, Kinsta provides fast page loads no matter where your visitors are located.
- Free Cloudflare Enterprise 🌤️ – Kinsta includes Cloudflare’s premium enterprise-grade WAF, DDoS mitigation, and CDN valued at $200/month.
Kinsta Cons ❌
As a premium managed host, Kinsta does have some downsides to be aware of:
- Pay extra for each site 💰 – Kinsta requires you to pay a separate fee for each additional WordPress site you want to host. This adds up.
- No free domain 🔒 – You have to purchase your domain name separately with Kinsta. InMotion provides a free domain.
- Lower storage space 💾 – Kinsta’s starter plan has just 10GB of SSD storage compared to 100GB with InMotion’s low-end plan.
- Restrictions on WordPress plugins 🚫 – Kinsta restricts plugins like caching and backup managers that might impact performance and security.
- No cPanel 🙅♂️- Kinsta uses a proprietary dashboard instead of cPanel for managing your hosting account.
InMotion Hosting Pros ✅
Now let’s look at some of the key upsides of choosing InMotion for your WordPress hosting:
- Single price for unlimited sites 💡- InMotion offers hosting packages with unlimited websites for one flat monthly price.
- NVMe drives and higher storage 💽 – InMotion uses faster NVMe solid state drives. Storage starts at 100GB for their low-end plan.
- Free cPanel 🆓 – Get the popular cPanel control panel for account and server management.
- Free domain 🌐 – InMotion provides a single free domain name registration for the first term of hosting.
- No restrictions on plugins 🤝 – Install any WordPress plugins you want without limitations.
- Can upgrade to a VPS 🚀 – InMotion offers managed WordPress VPS plans that provide dedicated resources.
InMotion Cons ❌
InMotion isn’t without some disadvantages you should know about:
- Inferior backup management 💾 – Backups are split between Limited Total Upkeep and offsite Jetpack backups starting at $6.99/month plans.
- No malware hack prevention and fixing 🛡️ – InMotion lacks Kinsta’s hack-fix guarantee if your site gets infected.
- Limited data centers 🌎 – InMotion only has data centers in Los Angeles and Washington D.C compared to Kinsta’s global infrastructure.
- Complicated pricing 💰 – InMotion pricing can be confusing with add-ons like backups and speed optimization as optional extras.
Kinsta shines when it comes to integrated features, performance guarantees, and security. But InMotion can be significantly cheaper for hosting multiple smaller WordPress sites.
Pricing and Plans: Kinsta vs Inmotion
One of the biggest considerations when choosing a WordPress host is cost.
In this section, I’ll compare Kinsta and InMotion’s pricing, plans, and discounts.
Kinsta Pricing
Kinsta is positioned as a premium managed WordPress host, and their pricing reflects that. Here are their current plan tiers:
| Plan | Starting Price | Websites | Visits/month | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Free Domain |
| Starter | $30/month | 1 site | 100K | 10GB | 100GB | ❌ |
| Pro | $60/month | 1 site | 200K | 20GB | 200GB | ❌ |
| Business | $90/month | 1 site | 300K | 30GB | 300GB | ❌ |
| Enterprise | $150/month | 1 site | 500K | 50GB | 500GB | ❌ |
These prices are monthly subscriptions when paying annually.
Some key things to note about Kinsta’s pricing:
- 💸 You pay separately for each additional site you want to host
- 🚫 No free domain registration is included
- 📈 Plans scale up based on monthly visits and computing resources
InMotion Hosting Pricing
InMotion has a wider range of WordPress hosting plans, starting at just $3.99/month.
| Plan | Starting Price | Websites | SSD Storage | Free Domain |
| WP Core | $3.99/month | 2 sites | 100GB | ✅ |
| WP Launch | $7.99/month | 25 sites | Unlimited | ✅ |
| WP Power | $6.99/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | ✅ |
| WP Pro | $13.99/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | ✅ |
These prices are discounted for the first term, you will renew at regular rate.
Key things to note:
- 🆓 Free domain registration included
- 💰 Single price for unlimited WordPress sites
- ⬆️ Plans scale based on SSD storage space
Comparing the pricing shows that InMotion has more flexibility for multiple sites and lower entry pricing. But Kinsta provides more computing resources and visits per plan.
Ultimately, InMotion is better priced for hosting many smaller WordPress sites, while Kinsta is competitively priced for larger, higher-traffic sites.
Key Features Compared: Kinsta vs Inmotion
Beyond just pricing, we need to dive into the key features and functionality offered by Kinsta and InMotion Hosting. This will reveal where each solution really shines.
Backups 💾
- Kinsta – Offers automated daily backups with the ability to restore from snapshots up to 30 days old. Backups use external cloud storage and don’t consume site resources.
- InMotion – Limited Total Upkeep plugin handles backup with either on-server or offsite storage. Jetpack offsite backups are available on higher plans.
Winner: Kinsta – Backups are fully integrated, ample, and easy to restore from.
Caching ⚡️
- Kinsta – Includes server-level caching on all plans. It also provides edge caching through free Cloudflare CDN integration.
- InMotion – Some basic caching is available on all plans. NGINX PHP caching and Varnish full page cache on higher-tier plans.
Winner: Kinsta – Offers more robust caching out-of-the-box on all plans.
Malware Protection 🛡️
- Kinsta – Provides automated malware detection and removal plus a hack-fix guarantee. It also uses a Cloudflare enterprise firewall.
- InMotion – Includes standard malware scanning and DDoS protection. No specific fix guarantee is provided.
Winner: Kinsta – Far stronger malware protections and assurance of fixing any hacked sites.
Migrations 🚚
- Kinsta – Free automated WordPress site migrations with support for transferring sites from any host.
- InMotion – Offers a $99 professional site migration service for moving WordPress sites to InMotion hosting.
Winner: Kinsta – Totally free migrations make it easy to switch to Kinsta from any host.
Support 🆘
- Kinsta – 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support from WordPress experts.
- InMotion – 24/7 live chat and phone support. Also, offer a ticket support system.
Winner: Tie – Both offer 24/7 support via multiple channels.
Based on the comparison of the key features, Kinsta comes out ahead in most categories due to their fully integrated premium WordPress hosting services. However, InMotion still holds its own in a few areas.
Security Comparison: Kinsta vs Inmotion 🔒
Security is crucial when choosing a WordPress host. Let me show you how Kinsta and InMotion compare when it comes to protecting your site.
Web Application Firewall
- Kinsta – Includes free Cloudflare enterprise firewall powered by global threat intelligence. They also provide automated WordPress hardening.
- InMotion – Uses standard Sucuri firewall on all plans. Doesn’t customize hardening for WordPress sites.
Winner: Kinsta – Cloudflare Enterprise firewall is top-tier and Kinsta hardens WordPress sites automatically.
DDoS Protection
- Kinsta – Cloudflare mitigates DDoS attacks and provides redundancy across global data centers.
- InMotion – All plans include basic DDoS protection through network monitoring.
Winner: Kinsta – Cloudflare’s enterprise-grade, globally distributed DDoS protection is superior.
Site Restoration
- Kinsta – If your site gets hacked, Kinsta’s WordPress experts will fully restore it for free under their hack-fix guarantee.
- InMotion – Doesn’t offer guaranteed site clean up and restoration if hacked.
Winner: Kinsta – The hack-fix guarantee provides invaluable peace of mind.
Overall Winner: Kinsta – With WordPress-optimized WAF, DDoS filtering via Cloudflare, and hack-fix guarantee, Kinsta is the clear security winner.
Performance Comparison: Kinsta vs Inmotion ⚡️
Let’s look at how Kinsta and InMotion hosting compare when it comes to WordPress performance and speed.
Hosting Infrastructure
- Kinsta – Uses Google Cloud Platform so you get dedicated resources isolated from other accounts.
- InMotion – Entry plans are standard shared hosting. Upgrades to managed VPS are available.
Winner: Kinsta – Google Cloud infrastructure ensures consistently fast performance.
Page Caching
- Kinsta – Includes NGINX-powered server caching plus Cloudflare edge caching for fast static file delivery.
- InMotion – Some basic static file caching on lower plans. Full-page caching requires a higher-tier plan.
Winner: Kinsta – More robust caching features lead to faster page loads.
Uptime
- Kinsta – Guarantees 99.9% uptime with financial credits if SLA is not met.
- InMotion – Standard 99.9% uptime guarantee but no financial compensation offered for outages.
Winner: Kinsta – Financially-backed uptime SLA provides peace of mind.
Website Monitoring
- Kinsta – Integrated performance metrics and uptime monitoring.
- InMotion – Basic external Pingdom monitoring included.
Winner: Kinsta – More detailed performance monitoring built-in.
Overall Winner: Kinsta – With dedicated Google Cloud resources, multiple caching layers, and uptime guarantees, Kinsta delivers superior WordPress performance.
Customer Support: Kinsta vs Inmotion 🆘
Let’s take a quick look at the customer support provided by each host to see which offers the best service when you need help.
Support Channels
- Kinsta – Offers 24/7 live chat, phone, and email support. All inquiries go to WordPress experts.
- InMotion – Provides 24/7 live chat and phone assistance. It also has a ticket-based email support system.
Winner: Tie – Both offer 24/7 support via chat, phone, and email.
Response Times
- Kinsta – Fast live chat connections and quick resolution times. Named top host for support speed by Bitcatcha.
- InMotion – Average chat wait times under 1 minute based on reviews. Slower email ticket response.
Winner: Kinsta – Reviews show faster, more responsive support on average.
Knowledge Base
- Kinsta – Extensive WordPress tutorials and how-to articles available.
- InMotion – Large knowledge base and video library to self-serve answers.
Winner: Tie – Both have searchable knowledge bases and documentation.
Ease of Use
- Kinsta – Simple, intuitive dashboard designed specifically for WordPress users.
- InMotion – Uses standard cPanel interface which can have a steeper learning curve.
Winner: Kinsta – Dashboard is easier for WordPress site owners to use.
Overall Winner: Kinsta – With faster response times and a simpler interface, Kinsta edges out InMotion for best-in-class support.
Conclusion: Kinsta vs Inmotion
So which managed WordPress hosting provider is better overall – Kinsta or InMotion?
Based on this detailed comparison, Kinsta emerges as the superior option for most larger, high-traffic WordPress sites. Their integrated premium WordPress features, security protections, performance guarantees, and expert support justify the higher costs.
However, InMotion Hosting still fills an important niche. Their affordable pricing and ability to host unlimited sites makes them a great fit if you need to host many smaller WordPress sites on a budget.
Their entry-level plans also compete favorably with basic shared hosts.
Here’s a quick recap of the key differences between Kinsta and InMotion:
- Backups – Kinsta’s automated backups with snapshot restores are far superior.
- Caching – Kinsta offers better caching including CDN integration.
- Security – Kinsta’s WordPress-specific security is top-tier.
- Performance – Kinsta’s guaranteed resources deliver faster speeds.
- Support – Kinsta’s WordPress experts provide faster responses.
- Pricing – InMotion is better for hosting many small sites affordably.
Overall, Kinsta is the winner if you have 1-2 high-traffic sites, while InMotion is ideal for 5+ lower-traffic sites.
Now that you understand the key strengths of each provider, you can determine which is the right fit for your specific needs.
The next step is to visit Kinsta and InMotion’s websites using the links below to check out their managed WordPress plans:
Get Started with InMotion Hosting
Kinsta vs Inmotion – FAQs
Does Kinsta offer a free trial?
Kinsta doesn’t currently offer a free trial. However, they do provide a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can get a full refund if you cancel within the first month.
Try Kinsta risk-free with their 30-day money back guarantee
Does InMotion Hosting offer a free domain?
Yes, InMotion provides one free domain name registration for the first term when you sign up for any of their shared WordPress hosting plans. This is a valuable inclusion for getting started.
Get a free domain with InMotion Hosting’s WordPress plans
Can I resell Kinsta or InMotion hosting?
Neither Kinsta nor InMotion allow reselling their shared WordPress hosting services. However, InMotion does offer fully managed VPS plans that can be used for client web hosting resale businesses. Their VPS plans provide dedicated resources and white-label options.
Learn more about InMotion’s VPS hosting for agencies
Is there a limit on WordPress sites with Kinsta?
Yes, Kinsta requires you to pay separately for each WordPress site you want to host on their service. There is no bundled plan for unlimited WordPress sites. This makes them expensive for managing many smaller sites.
