Byline: HostingDive Team
Disclosure: HostingDive.com earns a commission when you purchase through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Our reviews are based on publicly available vendor pages.
InterServer review, from the vendor pages read 2 November 2026: the shared plan starts at $2.50 for the first month and the monthly plan renews at $7 a month. Longer terms are $15 for 6 months, $30 for 12 months and $60 for 24 months, and each renews at the $7-a-month rate ($42, $84 and $168). The page lists unlimited storage and data transfer, weekly backups, DirectAdmin and a free Cloudflare CDN. It shows no money-back window on shared hosting.
InterServer review: the short verdict
InterServer is a one-plan shared host with a very low opening price and a renewal that is three times higher on every term. If you will stay beyond the first term, the figure to budget is $7 a month. We did not measure InterServer's speed or uptime for this review, so those are left to the vendor's own descriptions; for measured speed on hosts we have tested, see the Hosting Speed Index.
One plan, DirectAdmin, unlimited storage and transfer, weekly backups, 461 one-click scripts, free migration help. First month $2.50, then $7 a month. VPS from $3 a month.
InterServer shared hosting pricing: intro and renewal
| Term | Price for the term | Equivalent per month | Renews at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $2.50 | $2.50 | $7 (per month) |
| 6 months | $15 | $2.50 | $42 |
| 12 months | $30 | $2.50 | $84 |
| 24 months | $60 | $2.50 | $168 |
Cost of the first 12 months against the next 12 months, per term shown
Source: InterServer plan page, 2 November 2026: "12 months $30, then $84 renewal".
Each term opens at the same $2.50-a-month equivalent and renews at the same $7 a month, so a longer term does not buy a lower renewal; it buys more months at the introductory rate. Two years prepaid is $60; the second two years at renewal rates would cost $168.
Is the InterServer price lock real?
InterServer published a blog post dated 30 September 2015 announcing a "Price Lock Guarantee". The current plan page we read shows renewals of $7 a month, $42, $84 and $168 for the four terms, and does not describe a lock on the introductory price. Older reviews, including earlier versions of this one, described $2.50 as locked. On the evidence of the plan page, do not budget on that basis. If a price lock matters to your decision, ask InterServer to confirm in writing which price applies at renewal for the term you are buying.
InterServer performance and uptime
HostingDive has not measured InterServer's speed or uptime, and the vendor pages we read publish no response-time, load-time or uptime figures for shared hosting. What InterServer states about the shared platform is a stack of caching layers: SSD caching servers, RAM caching for smaller files, LSCache for dynamic content, QUIC support and a free Cloudflare CDN, on RAID-10 storage. Those are descriptions of the design, not test results. Treat them as reasons the plan could be fast, and check the site yourself during the first weeks.
Uptime
The shared hosting page we read does not state an uptime guarantee. The VPS page states a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Cloud VPS, and that guarantee is not a measurement of how often a shared account has been available. Any uptime number quoted by a third-party monitoring tool should be read with the same caution: we did not collect it and do not repeat it here. For measured results on hosts we have tested, see the Hosting Speed Index.
Location
The VPS page lists New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles, which are all in the United States. The shared hosting page we read does not list data center locations, so a site with an audience outside North America should ask InterServer where a shared account is hosted before buying. The free Cloudflare CDN helps static files reach distant visitors, but it does not change where the origin server sits for dynamic pages.
What is included
- Storage and transfer: unlimited storage space, data transfer, email accounts and FTP accounts.
- Control panel: DirectAdmin with phpMyAdmin for email, domains and databases.
- Backups: weekly.
- Performance stack: CloudLinux, SSD caching, LSCache, QUIC support and a free Cloudflare CDN.
- Apps: 461 scripts for one-click installs.
- Email: guaranteed mail delivery, spam filtering, forwarders, webmail and SMTP.
- Migration: free website transfer help for new hosting accounts.
- Domain: register or transfer a domain for $7.99 with the purchase of any web hosting package.
DirectAdmin instead of cPanel
InterServer's standard plan uses DirectAdmin. It covers the same everyday jobs as cPanel (email, domains, databases), but screens and add-ons differ, so a site moving from a cPanel host should expect to relearn the interface. The InterServer navigation also lists a separate cPanel hosting product; its plan page was not available for this review.
InterServer WordPress hosting
Standard web hosting installs WordPress with the one-click script installer (461 scripts, including the major CMS and store platforms), and the LSCache and QUIC stack listed on the plan page is the same caching approach WordPress sites commonly rely on. InterServer also says its team can clean up issues found during a migration, and that cleanup during migration is useful for WordPress sites that need to come back online securely.
The standard plan is not presented as managed WordPress hosting. The pages we read do not describe automatic plugin updates or a WordPress staging environment on shared hosting, so plan to update plugins and test changes yourself. A site that depends on automatic WordPress maintenance, or that is growing quickly, may be better placed on a managed WordPress host; the VPS page shows a WordPress VPS path for sites that need dedicated resources, with managed support included from 8 slices.
InterServer customer support
The vendor pages read for this review do not publish support channels, hours or response times for shared hosting, and HostingDive has not tested InterServer's support, so we cannot rate its quality. What the pages do state: migration is handled by the team ("Our team handles the migration process") at no cost for new accounts, the security tools include InterShield with virus scanning and Inter-Insurance cleanup help for compromised accounts, and on Cloud VPS the engineers help with databases, services, uptime and control panels from 8 slices up.
Before buying, open a pre-sales question through the channel you would use later and see how long the answer takes. That small test tells you more about day-to-day support than a vendor's description does. A free migration also gives you an early look at how the team works.
InterServer VPS, if shared hosting is outgrown
| VPS slices | Price | CPU | Memory | Storage | Transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3/mo | 1 core | 2GB | 40GB SSD | 2TB |
| 4 | $12/mo | 2 cores | 8GB | 160GB SSD | 8TB |
| 8 | $24/mo | 4 cores | 16GB | 320GB SSD | 16TB |
The VPS page lists locations in New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and managed support help on larger plans. It states that there is no trial period or money-back guarantee on VPS hosting: it is billed month to month and can be cancelled from the account at any time.
Who should and should not choose InterServer
A good fit
- A small site or blog that wants a very low first month and unlimited storage and transfer.
- Owners who are comfortable with DirectAdmin and who plan the $7 renewal into the budget.
- Anyone who may grow into a VPS with a US location choice (NYC, Dallas, Los Angeles).
Probably not a fit
- Buyers who need a published money-back window on shared hosting.
- Buyers who rely on a locked introductory price.
- Anyone who needs measured uptime or speed data before buying; we have none to publish for InterServer.
InterServer vs Hostinger, SiteGround and Bluehost
| Host and plan | Intro price shown | Renewal | Money-back | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InterServer Standard (12 months) | $30 for the term ($2.50/mo) | $84 ($7/mo) | None listed on the shared page | Unlimited |
| Hostinger Premium (48 months) | $2.49/mo ($119.52 for 48 months) | $10.99/mo | 30 days | 20 GB SSD |
| SiteGround StartUp (12 months prepaid) | $2.99/mo | $17.99/mo | 30 days | 10 GB |
| Bluehost Starter (36 months) | $3.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 30 days | 10 GB NVMe |
InterServer is the only plan in this set with no refund window listed on its shared hosting page. On the monthly-equivalent renewal it is also the lowest: $7 a month, against $9.99 for Bluehost Starter, $10.99 for Hostinger Premium and $17.99 for SiteGround StartUp. The terms differ (Hostinger renews for the same 48-month term, SiteGround and InterServer after 12 months), so compare the renewal for the term you will actually buy. Details for each rival are in our Hostinger review, SiteGround review and Bluehost review.
InterServer pros and cons
Pros
- First month $2.50, with the same $2.50-a-month equivalent on the 6, 12 and 24-month terms.
- Unlimited storage, data transfer, email accounts and FTP accounts on one plan.
- Caching stack with LSCache, QUIC, SSD caching and a free Cloudflare CDN.
- Free website migration help, and security tooling (InterShield and cleanup help) described on the plan page.
- Renewal of $7 a month is lower than the renewals of SiteGround StartUp, Hostinger Premium and Bluehost Starter in the table above.
- Cloud VPS from $3 a month when a site outgrows shared hosting.
Cons
- Renewal is three times the opening rate on every term, and the current plan page does not describe a price lock.
- No money-back window listed on the shared hosting page.
- No free domain: registration or transfer is $7.99 with a hosting package.
- Only weekly backups are listed, against daily backups on some rival plans.
- DirectAdmin instead of cPanel, so the interface may be unfamiliar.
- No managed WordPress tools described, and no measured speed, uptime or support data from HostingDive.
InterServer final verdict
InterServer is a good fit when the first-term price and unlimited resources matter and the owner is prepared to budget $7 a month from the first renewal. It is a weaker fit for buyers who want a published refund window, a locked price, a free domain or managed WordPress tooling. We give no numeric score here because we have not run our own speed, uptime or support tests on it.
The practical advice: choose the term you will actually use, write the renewal figure next to the opening figure ($30 now and $84 next on the 12-month term), and confirm in writing what price applies when the term ends. For a small site that is staying put, the plan is reasonable value. For a site that may need managed WordPress features, compare it with the hosts in the table above before paying.
For other starting points see best web hosting for small business, cheap web hosting plans and how to choose a web host.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does InterServer cost?
The first month is $2.50. Longer terms are $15 for 6 months, $30 for 12 months and $60 for 24 months. Each renews at $7 a month ($42, $84 and $168) per the plan page on 2 November 2026.
Is InterServer's price locked?
The plan page shows higher renewal prices. A 2015 blog post announced a price lock guarantee, but the current page does not describe one, so confirm with InterServer before relying on it.
Does InterServer include a free domain?
No. The page offers a domain registration or transfer for $7.99 with the purchase of any web hosting package.
What control panel does InterServer use?
DirectAdmin on the standard web hosting plan.
Does InterServer have a money-back guarantee?
Not on the shared hosting page we read. The VPS page states there is no trial period or money-back guarantee on VPS hosting.
Where are InterServer's servers?
The VPS page lists New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles. We have no location list for shared hosting from the pages read.