InterServer vs Namecheap
We give InterServer a 2.0 GPA and Namecheap a 2.2, out of 4.0. Namecheap grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
InterServer
One shared hosting plan plus cloud VPS sold in $3 slices
Namecheap
Domain registrar's cPanel shared hosting, billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAInterServerFair | 2.2GPANamecheapFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AOnly renewal rates could be read, and Stellar on a 2-year term is still $102.88, about $4.29 a month over two years, under the $5.97 an A needs. Any first-term discount would only bring that down. Monthly is $5.88. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free for most people: no free plan and no trial. Students with a qualifying school email can get first-year credits after approval. | DA 30-day trial on yearly Stellar packages, which turns into a paid first year at the after-trial price when it ends. That makes it a trial you sign up to pay for, not a free plan. |
| Features | 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. | CcPanel with Softaculous for 200+ apps, AI site builders, malware scanning and 2FA. The gaps are on Stellar: manual backups only, 3 websites and 30 mailboxes, and the free SSL lasts a year per domain. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo app store rating to go on. cPanel and Softaculous are familiar to many, but there's a fair bit to learn if you're new to them. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web panel only. The named integrations are DirectAdmin, Cloudflare, SitePad, LiteSpeed Cache and phpMyAdmin, with no API on record. | CA web dashboard only. The named integrations are installers and builders, WordPress, Softaculous, Sitejet and Extendify, with no API on record. |
| Best for | one simple cheap plan with no storage cap | cheap cPanel hosting beside your domains |
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: InterServer and Namecheap. How we grade
Price against what you get
InterServer starts at $3 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Namecheap starts at $4.29 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and InterServer starts $1.29 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 5 score higher than InterServer for less, and 5 score higher than Namecheap for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- InterServer starts at $3 per month (1-slice VPS); web hosting $7 a month after a first term at $2.50. Namecheap starts at $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates.
- InterServer also covers no-code.
- Namecheap also covers managed WordPress.
At a glance
| InterServer | Namecheap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $3 per month (1-slice VPS); web hosting $7 a month after a first term at $2.50 | $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day trial of yearly Stellar packages, after which the first year is charged at the after-trial price |
| Web | ||
| Made by | InterServer | Namecheap, Inc. |
| Price read from | interserver.net | namecheap.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Namecheap
- People who already keep their domains at Namecheap
- Small sites that want to pay month to month at a low rate
- Owners who prefer cPanel and Softaculous to a custom dashboard
Worth knowing
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.
Namecheap
- Only the renewal rates could be read: the shared hosting page, which shows first-term discounts and trial terms, answered our readers with a bot check.
- The free SSL lasts one year per domain; keeping it after that is a paid renewal.
- Stellar stops at 3 websites, 30 mailboxes and 20 GB; unlimited sites and automatic backups need Stellar Plus or Business.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers first-time hosting accounts only, and cPanel or Softaculous licenses are not refunded.
Key features
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.
Namecheap
- cPanel with Softaculous
- Plans are run from cPanel, with the Softaculous installer for WordPress and more than 200 other scripts, plus email, file, database and DNS tools.
- AI site builders
- Sitejet in cPanel can generate a one-page site from a few business details, and Extendify adds AI site setup and writing help to new WordPress installs.
- Free SSL for the first year
- Each domain or subdomain on a shared account gets a single-domain SSL certificate free for a year, issued and installed automatically, up to 50 per account.
- Malware scanning and 2FA
- cPanel includes ImunifyAV or Imunify360 malware scanning, ModSecurity and two-factor authentication.
- AutoBackup
- Stellar Plus and Stellar Business restore from automatic backups, with unlimited backup storage on Business. Stellar has manual backups only.
Plans
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.
Namecheap
Stellar, 1 month$5.88
per month, the renewal rate
3 websites, 20 GB SSD and 30 mailboxes. The renewal rate since May 19, 2026; first-term discounts were not readable.
Stellar, 1 year$55.88
per year, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed yearly. A 30-day trial is offered on yearly packages.
Stellar, 2 years$102.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed every two years, the lowest rate for it.
Stellar Plus, 2 years$146.44
every 2 years, the renewal rate
Unlimited websites and mailboxes, unmetered SSD storage and AutoBackup. Also $7.88 a month or $85.44 a year.
Stellar Business, 2 years$251.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
50 GB SSD, fewer users per server, a choice of US, UK, EU or Singapore servers. Also $11.88 a month or $128.88 a year.
Ways to pay less
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.
Namecheap
No public discounts listed.
