hosting.com vs InterServer
We give hosting.com and InterServer the same GPA: 2.0 out of 4.0. hosting.com grades higher on features and platforms. InterServer grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
hosting.com
Shared hosting from the former A2 Hosting, with an API and MCP server
InterServer
One shared hosting plan plus cloud VPS sold in $3 slices
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAhosting.comFair | 2.0GPAInterServerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price on record: plan prices are filled in by the checkout and couldn't be read, so no two-year figure can be worked out. With nothing to compare, it sits at C, the grade for no stated price. First-term prices renew at regular rates. | AThe 24-month first term is $60, so two years cost $60, about $2.50 a month, well under the $5.97 an A needs. It renews at $7 a month, $84 a year, which is still cheap. Students can get the first year free after approval. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, so you pay before you can try it. | FNothing free for most people: no free plan and no trial. Students with a qualifying school email can get first-year credits after approval. |
| Features | BDaily backups with 30 days of restore points you can use yourself, Monarx malware removal, a firewall, a first-year domain and free managed migration on every plan. Staging needs Pro, but nothing in the core job is missing on Starter. | CUnmetered storage and email, InterShield security with hacked-site cleanup, LSCache, a free Cloudflare CDN, SitePad and 461 one-click scripts. The gaps the listing names: weekly backups, not daily, and a domain costs $7.99. |
| Ease of use | CNo app store rating to go on. The Orbi assistant answers setup and DNS questions and passes you to people when needed, but you're still setting up a site. | CNo app store rating to go on. It runs on DirectAdmin with SitePad for building, but there's still a domain, a site and email to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web dashboard with no app on record, but shared plans come with an OpenAPI interface and an MCP server, and it works with Claude. Pro adds a Claude skills pack. | CA web panel only. The named integrations are DirectAdmin, Cloudflare, SitePad, LiteSpeed Cache and phpMyAdmin, with no API on record. |
| Best for | hosting you can run from scripts or an AI agent | one simple cheap plan with no storage cap |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: hosting.com and InterServer. How we grade
Where they differ
- InterServer also covers no-code.
At a glance
| hosting.com | InterServer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $3 per month (1-slice VPS); web hosting $7 a month after a first term at $2.50 |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | hosting.com | InterServer |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | interserver.net |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
hosting.com
- Existing A2 Hosting customers weighing the renamed plans
- Developers who want to manage hosting through an API or an AI agent
- Small business sites that want backups and malware removal built in
InterServer
- Small sites and blogs that want one simple plan with unmetered storage
- Developers who want a cheap self-managed VPS they can grow a slice at a time
- Students building portfolio or class sites
Worth knowing
hosting.com
- Plan prices are filled in by the checkout and could not be read, so they are not listed here; promotional prices cover the first term and plans renew at regular rates.
- Staging sites, preview URLs and Node.js need Pro or higher; priority support, a premium SSL and a service level agreement need Max.
- The free domain is for the first year only and then renews at the standard rate.
- A2 Hosting's old plan names are retired: Startup became Starter, Turbo Boost became Pro and Turbo Max became Max.
InterServer
- The $2.50 a month covers the first term only; every term then renews at $7 a month, or $84 a year.
- Backups on the shared plan are weekly, not daily, and a domain costs $7.99 to register or transfer.
- VPS plans under 8 slices are self-managed; managed support starts at 8 slices, $24 a month.
- The shared plan is meant for websites and email, not for file or backup storage or reselling hosting.
Key features
hosting.com
- LiteSpeed, NVMe and AMD EPYC on every plan
- All shared plans run on LiteSpeed web servers with NVMe storage and AMD EPYC processors, with published RAM, vCPU and IOPS limits for each plan.
- Malware removal and firewall
- Monarx scans continuously and removes malicious code itself. Every plan also has a web application firewall and brute-force protection.
- Daily backups with self-restore
- Backups run every day with 30 days of restore points, and you can restore a single file, database or mailbox without opening a ticket.
- API, MCP server and Claude skills
- Shared plans come with an OpenAPI interface and an MCP server for managing hosting from scripts and AI tools. Pro adds a Claude skills pack.
- Orbi AI assistant
- An AI assistant on every plan answers setup, DNS, WordPress and billing questions, and passes you to the in-house support team when needed.
- Free managed migration
- The support team moves an existing site to hosting.com at no charge.
InterServer
- InterShield and Inter-Insurance
- InterShield blocks web attacks and scans for malware using rules learned across InterServer's servers, and Inter-Insurance cleans and restores hacked accounts.
- Caching and CDN
- SSD and RAM caching, LSCache for dynamic pages and QUIC support, with a free Cloudflare CDN on the shared plan.
- Email through smart hosts
- Outgoing mail is scrubbed for spam and sent through separate smart hosts to protect its reputation, with unlimited mailboxes and forwarders.
- SitePad and app installer
- The SitePad drag-and-drop builder is included for sites built without code, and 461 scripts, including WordPress and store platforms, install in one click.
- Cloud VPS in slices
- VPS plans are sized from 1 to 32 slices, with Linux, Windows from $10 a month, storage servers and a WordPress stack on OpenLiteSpeed.
- Free migration
- New accounts can ask InterServer's team to move an existing site, database and email, including cleanup of problems found during the move.
Plans
hosting.com
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hosting.com.
InterServer
Cloud VPS, 1 slice$3
per month for 1 core and 2 GB RAM
40 GB SSD, 2 TB transfer and root access, self-managed. Each extra slice adds the same resources for $3 a month, up to 32.
Standard Web Hosting$7
per month at renewal, after a first term at $2.50 a month
Unmetered storage, transfer and email on DirectAdmin. First term: 1 month $2.50, 6 months $15, 12 months $30 or 24 months $60.
Cloud VPS, 8 slices$24
per month for 4 cores and 16 GB RAM
320 GB SSD and 16 TB transfer. Eight slices is the smallest size that includes managed support.
Ways to pay less
hosting.com
No public discounts listed.
InterServer
- Other savings
First term of web hosting at $2.50 a month
The first term costs $2.50 for 1 month, $15 for 6 months, $30 for 12 months or $60 for 24 months, then renews at $7 a month.
- Education
Free first year of web hosting for students
Students who sign up with a qualifying school email address get first-year credits for standard web hosting after approval.
