I secretly test hosts every month for speed, reliability, and support. Here’s a comparison between InMotion Hosting and Namecheap with real proof of their performance.
Contents
InMotion Hosting Hosting Plan
I have purchased a hosting plan on InMotion Hosting and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.
Here is the plan information I chose:
| Plan Name | Business Launch |
|---|---|
| Cost | $6.99/month |
| Disk Space | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% |
| Money Back Guarantee | 90 days |
| Notes | They had to call me to verify before setting up my account. They normally only do this during business hours, but you can call them if it's at night. After verification my site was ready within 30 minutes. |
Namecheap Hosting Plan
Namecheap started as a domain registrar in 2001, but expanded into hosting in 2008. Their data centers are located in Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia.
I have purchased a hosting plan on Namecheap and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.
Here is the plan information I chose:
| Plan Name | Professional |
|---|---|
| Cost | $7.48/month |
| Disk Space | 100GB |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% |
| Money Back Guarantee | 14 days |
| Notes | Site was ready within minutes after I purchased. |
Page Speed Test Results
This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better. Learn more about the Page Speed Test.
InMotion Hosting performs great in the Speed Test, with an average result of 2.92 seconds. It's best result was 0.00 s but it has been as bad as 14.12 s. InMotion Hosting most recent result on Oct 16 was 7.00 s. InMotion proves to be stable in its page speed results, usually showing no spikes or erratic performance. While they do optimize connections, they could be making things faster by compressing images and setting the cache headers properly.
Namecheap performs impressively in the Speed Test, with an average result of 3.04 seconds. It's best result was 2.00 s but it has been as bad as 72.71 s. Namecheap most recent result on Oct 16 was 2.00 s. Namecheap proves that they have consistent, low page load times. While I bet it could be improved if they enabled compression and caching headers, their stats are something other hosts strive for.
Let’s see how InMotion Hosting and Namecheap compare in detail for their page speed stats:
Uptime Test Results
This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.
InMotion Hosting performs miserably in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 98.86 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 0.000 %. InMotion Hosting most recent result on Oct 16 was 100.000 %. When InMotion goes down, they typically are unavailable for only a minute or two. That's alright in my book. They're one of the only hosts that lets you know ahead of time of upcoming maintenance, and how long you can expect your server to be unreachable. I appreciate the communication.
Namecheap performs mediocre in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 99.93 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 92.000 %. Namecheap most recent result on Oct 16 was 100.000 %. Namecheap has had a few significant outages (more than a few minutes) since I started testing them. It's nothing horrendous, but other hosts have better reliability.
Let’s see how InMotion Hosting and Namecheap compare in detail for their uptime stats:
Support Response Test Results
This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.
InMotion Hosting performs stellar in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 0.94 hours. It's best result was 0.20 h but it has been as bad as 2.30 h. InMotion Hosting most recent result on Mar 22 was 0.20 h. Typically InMotion's tech support will get back to you within 3 hours, regardless of the time of day. That's key when you need assistance with your site.
Namecheap performs alright in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 2.2 hours. It's best result was 0.10 h but it has been as bad as 6.00 h. Namecheap most recent result on Mar 22 was 2.20 h. Something I like about Namecheap is their honesty. While most hosts hide the fact that they oversell (put more customers onto one server than it can handle), Namecheap admits they do it. They explain that not only is it the only way for a host to survive (profitably), but usually it's fine because 99% of websites don't get that much traffic (and aren't using all the resources they're allocated). Thanks for telling the truth, Namecheap.
Let’s see how InMotion Hosting and Namecheap compare in detail for their uptime stats: