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InMotion Hosting vs Railway
InMotion Hosting
Railway
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | InMotion Hosting | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | Not offered | Not offered |
| Storage | 100GB NVMe Storage | 0.5 GB |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Usage-based ($0.05/GB egress) |
| Websites | 2 | Unlimited |
| CPU | N/A | Up to 1 vCPU (2 during trial) |
| RAM | N/A | Up to 0.5 GB (1 GB during trial) |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 3 | 4 ★ |
| Locations | US East, Ashburn, Virginia US West, Los Angeles Western Europe, Amsterdam | US West, Portland, Oregon US East, Virginia Western Europe Southeast Asia |
| Plan Details | ||
| Limited plan details available | Limited plan details available | |
| Support | Community | |
Features | ||
CMS & Platforms (7) | ||
Languages & Frameworks (9) | ||
Databases (4) | ||
Developer Tools (8) | ||
Performance & CDN (4) | ||
| Caching | ||
| CDN | ||
| LiteSpeed | ||
| SSD Storage | ||
Security (6) | ||
| 2FA | ||
| Backups | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Malware Scan | ||
| SSL | ||
| WAF | ||
Support (4) | ||
Extras & Guarantees (5) | ||
| Slight discrepancies are possible. We recommend verifying details on the provider's website. | ||
| Visit InMotion Hosting | Visit Railway | |
Pricing & Plans
InMotion Hosting Plans
Railway Plans
Pros & Cons
InMotion Hosting
Pros
- 90-day money-back guarantee — longest in the industry
- NVMe SSD storage on all plans for fast performance
- cPanel included on all hosting plans
- Free website migration with no downtime
- 99.99% uptime guarantee backed by SLA
- US-based 24/7 human support (phone, chat, tickets)
Cons
- Higher renewal prices compared to promo rates
- No data centers outside the US (LA and DC)
- Core plan limited to chat/ticket support only
- VPS and dedicated plans can be expensive with Premier Care bundles
Railway
Pros
- Instant deployments from GitHub with zero configuration
- Usage-based pricing — pay only for what you use
- Supports any language/framework via Nixpacks auto-detection
- Built-in databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB)
- Automatic SSL certificates on all services
- Private networking between services
- Generous $5/month included credits on Hobby plan
- Simple and transparent per-second billing
- Easy horizontal scaling with replicas
Cons
- No traditional shared hosting features (no cPanel, FTP, email hosting)
- Usage-based pricing can be unpredictable for high-traffic apps
- Free tier is very limited (1 project, no custom domains after trial)
- No phone support — community and ticket-based only
- No managed WordPress hosting
- No money-back guarantee — usage-based billing
- Limited to 2 custom domains on Hobby plan
- Enterprise features require high monthly minimums ($200-$10,000)
Frequently Asked Questions
InMotion Hosting
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared Hosting is a web hosting solution where multiple websites share resources on a single server, making it a cost-effective option for businesses with moderate traffic levels. With Shared Hosting, your website resides alongside other sites on the same server infrastructure, while the hosting provider manages all server maintenance, security updates, and hardware management.
Who is shared hosting best for?
Shared hosting is the right fit if you’re launching a new site, running a business site with predictable traffic, or want a fully managed environment without the overhead of a VPS or dedicated server. The Pro plan extends that further for growing agencies, with WHM access, up to 4 isolated cPanel accounts, and a dedicated IP for managing multiple client sites under one plan. If you’re running a high-traffic ecommerce store, a resource-intensive web application, or a site regularly exceeding 500,
How many websites can I host on a shared hosting plan?
The number of websites you can host on your Shared Hosting plan varies depending on the plan you choose. Launch plans include 2 websites, Power plans support up to 10, and Pro plans cover up to 40 websites. The Pro plan also includes WHM access and multi-account isolation, which makes it the practical choice for agencies hosting client sites.
Is shared hosting a good option for agencies?
The Pro plan is built for exactly this use case. It supports up to 40 websites across up to 4 isolated cPanel accounts, includes WHM access for account-level management, and comes with a dedicated IP. That account isolation matters: it keeps client sites separated for both security and performance, without requiring a full reseller or VPS setup. For agencies managing a moderate number of client sites, it covers the core operational requirements cleanly.
Does InMotion Hosting use LiteSpeed?
No. InMotion does not use LiteSpeed, and that’s a deliberate choice. LiteSpeed is a proprietary, licensed web server. Hosting providers that use it are bound by its licensing terms, which limits how they can configure and optimize it for individual customer environments. InMotion runs UltraStack, a proprietary performance configuration built on open source software: NGINX, PHP-FPM, and OPcache. Because every component is open source, our engineering team can modify, tune, and optimize the stack
What data center locations are available?
InMotion operates data centers in Virginia, California, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. During setup, you choose the location closest to your primary audience. Data center proximity can have a noticeable impact on the quality of your web hosting experience including speed, latency, infrastructure, and even SEO.
What are the limitations of shared hosting?
Three worth knowing before you buy: Shared resources. CPU, RAM, and bandwidth are distributed across accounts on the same server. A traffic spike from a neighboring site can create latency for yours. Shared IP address. Your site shares an IP with others on the server. If a neighboring site gets flagged for spam, that can affect email deliverability for your domain. The Pro plan includes a dedicated IP, which eliminates this. Software restrictions. Shared environments have limits on what applica
How reliable is shared hosting?
InMotion’s shared hosting is backed by a 99.99% credit-backed uptime SLA, 24/7 security monitoring, and infrastructure we own and operate directly. That last part matters: because we manage the hardware and network ourselves, security and performance issues can be addressed at the infrastructure level without routing through third parties.
What happens when I outgrow shared hosting?
VPS Hosting is the natural next step. With a VPS, your resources are no longer shared; you get dedicated CPU, RAM, and storage, along with root access and more control over your server environment. InMotion’s migrations team can handle the transfer using a cPanel backup, and 24/7 human support is available throughout the process. All website migration services are available via our migrations team. If you choose to transfer your website, we have a comprehensive support center with extensive step
Is this managed or unmanaged VPS hosting?
This is unmanaged VPS hosting. You get full root access and complete control of the server, and you’re responsible for the operating system, software, security updates, and backups. We maintain the hardware, network, and data center. If you’d rather we handled server administration, our Managed VPS plans include cPanel and WHM, patching, monitoring, and full server support. Learn more about the differences between managed VPS and unmanaged VPS hosting.
What am I responsible for on a self-managed VPS?
You handle everything above the hardware: operating system updates and security patching, software installation and configuration, firewall rules, backups, and troubleshooting your applications. We handle the physical server, the network, DDoS protection at the edge, and the data center. Our support team is available 24/7 for anything on our side of that line.
Do I get root access?
Yes. Root access is available through your Account Management Panel. You’ll accept a short agreement acknowledging the responsibilities that come with it, then receive your root password. From there you have full administrative control over the server by SSH.
Is a control panel included?
No. Self-managed plans ship with a clean operating system and no control panel, which is what most developers want. You can add cPanel and WHM or Control Web Panel at any time for an additional monthly cost, or run your server without one.
How much does VPS hosting cost, and what does it renew at?
Self-managed VPS plans start at $13.99/mo on a 24-month term and renew at $26.99/mo. Higher tiers run from $21.99 to $44.99/mo, renewing between $56.99 and $121.99. Renewal pricing is listed on every plan above, and we’ll notify you before any renewal so there are no surprises.
Do you offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes. VPS plans on monthly billing terms include a 30-day money-back guarantee, and plans on 6-month or longer terms include a 90-day money-back guarantee. Deploy a server, run your own benchmarks, and if it isn’t the right fit, request a refund within your guarantee window.
Why is InMotion Hosting more expensive than budget VPS providers?
Budget providers typically lease data center space, oversubscribe their nodes, and support customers through ticket queues only. We own and operate our data centers, allocate CPU and RAM per server rather than pooling them, and give every customer 24/7 access to real human support by phone, chat, and ticket. If price is the only factor, cheaper options exist. If uptime, performance and reachable support matter, that’s what the difference buys.
What operating systems can I install?
AlmaLinux, Debian, and Ubuntu, in the versions we currently image, are available to have pre-installed during checkout. AlmaLinux is a drop-in replacement for CentOS, so it’s the natural landing spot if you’re migrating CentOS workloads. You can also choose to load your own Linux OS or reinstall your OS at any time from your account panel.
Can I run Docker on your VPS?
Yes. Select the Docker-ready configuration at checkout and your server arrives with Docker Engine and Compose installed, with raised process and container limits. Docker-ready requires a self-managed VPS plan without a control panel.
Can I upgrade my plan later?
Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade from your Account Management Panel with zero downtime as your needs change.
Do you offer free website migration?
Free website migrations are not included on Self-Managed VPS plans without a control panel.
Is there an API for managing my VPS?
Server management is handled through your Account Management Panel, where you can restart your server, take and restore snapshots, and change your plan. We don’t currently offer a public API for provisioning or programmatic control.
What is VPS hosting?
A VPS, or virtual private server, is a dedicated slice of a physical server with its own allocated CPU, memory, and storage. Unlike shared hosting, those resources belong to you rather than being pooled across accounts, and you get root access to install and configure whatever you need. Learn more about the difference between shared hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated server hosting.
What's the difference between VPS hosting and shared hosting?
On shared hosting, many accounts share one server’s resources and you’re limited to the software the host provides or supports. On a VPS, your CPU and RAM are allocated to you, and root access means you choose the operating system, the software, and the versions. VPS is the usual next step when a site outgrows shared hosting or needs software a shared environment won’t allow but isn’t quite ready for dedicated server hosting.
Is VPS hosting the same as cloud hosting?
The terms overlap, and most providers use them interchangeably. Traditionally a VPS is a virtual server running on a single physical machine, while cloud hosting draws resources from a cluster for redundancy. In practice most products marketed as cloud VPS are virtual private servers. Our VPS plans run on high-availability clusters, so you get the redundancy people associate with cloud hosting, with fixed monthly pricing instead of hourly metering and per-gigabyte transfer charges.
What is a Dedicated Server?
A dedicated server is a single-tenant physical server that is assigned to a single person or organization. InMotion Hosting dedicated servers have enterprise-grade hardware and software, high-bandwidth, and increased physical resources that outperform other web hosting products. All of InMotion Hosting dedicated web servers come with higher RAM and faster CPUs compared to our Virtual Private Servers or Shared Hosting servers. Dedicated Server grade CPUs have more features and have higher frequen
Do I need a Dedicated Hosting Server for my website?
A dedicated server is a resource-rich machine that organizations with heavy traffic or multiple websites typically use. The dedicated server ensures end users have the best visit to your or your client’s website. With hyperfast load times, no downtime, and plenty of storage and memory available, your visitors enjoy fast website speeds. As your business grows, you also want to ensure your website has everything it needs to flourish, including memory, storage, and resources. Dedicated server hosti
Which Dedicated Hosting plan should I choose?
InMotion Hosting has two types of dedicated hosting services, managed InMotion Hosting with Premier Care and unmanaged Bare Metal. With a Premier Care dedicated server plan, you have all the resources of the machine managed by a team of in-house technical professionals. In contrast, an unmanaged bare metal server is ideal for advanced users such as system administrators, web developers, and IT administrators. Bare metal server users control their entire server via command line code and are respo
What data center locations do you have for Dedicated Servers?
InMotion Hosting provides Dedicated Servers in our data center facilities situated in California and Virginia within the United States, along with a European data center located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Do you offer fully managed dedicated server hosting?
Yes, InMotion Hosting offers Managed Dedicated Server plans with Premier Care. These plans come with a high level of support and management, meaning we handle many operational responsibilities so you can focus on your business rather than server maintenance. Our managed dedicated servers with Premier Care include: Automated OS updates and patching Real-time network monitoring DDoS protection (via Corero) built in 24/7 human support Hardware-level maintenance and replacement Free migration setup
How do I migrate my website to a dedicated server?
We make migration as smooth as possible. Here’s how the process works (and what you’ll need to plan): Choose a dedicated server plan Pick a configuration that meets or exceeds the requirements of your current website/application (CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth). Backup your website/data On your current host, take fresh backups of files, databases, email/router settings, and any configuration files. Transfer files & databases Import your files and databases into the new server (e.g. via cPanel/
What security / DDoS protection comes with a dedicated server?
Security is a major area we invest in. Here’s what you get when you host a dedicated server with InMotion Hosting: Corero-based DDoS protection All managed dedicated servers include real-time DDoS mitigation through Corero systems. We detect and block malicious traffic to protect server availability. Network monitoring & automated mitigation Our infrastructure is monitored 24/7. If an attack is detected, mitigation strategies are enacted immediately (e.g. traffic filtering, reroutes). Firewall
How does Tier 3 support help with dedicated server management?
Tier 3 support is our highest level of technical support, included with all InMotion Hosting Dedicated Server plans with Premier Care. Our Tier 3 team consists of senior system administrators who handle complex server issues like kernel optimizations, security hardening, and complex application troubleshooting. When you contact our Advanced Product Support (APS) team, your issue goes right to the Tier 3 experts. Our Tier 3 specialists are available 24/7.
Railway
Which plan is right for me?
Hobby is for indie hackers and developers to build and deploy personal projects. Pro is for professional developers and their teams shipping to production. Enterprise is for dev teams building and deploying production applications with large replica size, SLA, and/or compliance needs.
How do I get started with the free Trial?
If you do not already have a Railway account, you can sign up for a free Trial by clicking Login on railway.com.
How does the Trial work?
When you sign up for the free Trial, you will receive a one-time grant of $5 in credits that you can use to try out Railway. The credits will be applied towards any usage on the platform and expire in 30 days. If you upgrade to a plan while you still have a credit balance from the trial, the remaining balance will carry over to your new plan.
How does the Hobby plan included usage work?
Your Hobby plan subscription includes $5 of usage per month. If your total usage at the end of your billing period is $5 or less, you will not be charged extra for usage. If your total usage exceeds $5 in any given billing period, you will be charged total usage.
Does included usage on Hobby accumulate?
Included usage is reset at the end of every billing cycle and does not accumulate over time.
How are sandboxes billed?
Sandboxes run on Railway's VM primitive and bill on VM rates: $50 per GB of memory per month and $50 per vCPU per month, metered per second, plus $0.05 per GB of egress. You pay for the CPU a sandbox actually uses and the memory it holds while running, not for wall-clock uptime, so a sandbox waiting on a model or a user costs almost nothing. Destroyed sandboxes cost nothing, and an idle timeout destroys forgotten ones automatically. Sandbox usage draws from the same included credit as the rest o
How can I get a receipt?
When you make a payment, you will receive an email with your invoice and receipt attached. You can also find your billing history in Account > Billing.
How to add company details on my invoice?
Head to Account > Billing and click 'Manage Subscription'. From there, you can update your billing information, including billing address and Tax ID.
What payment methods are accepted?
Railway accepts credit cards for plan subscriptions and usage. We support invoice payments for customers on the Enterprise plan.
Can I try Railway without a credit card?
Yes. As a new Railway user, you can sign up for a free Trial. You will receive a one-time grant of $5 to use on resources.
Can I upgrade or downgrade at any time?
You can upgrade any time, and when you do, you will get to the features of your new plan, as well as access to more powerful resources, immediately. When you downgrade, the changes will take effect at the beginning of your next billing cycle.
What happens when I cancel my subscription?
When you cancel your subscription, if you're on Hobby or Pro, your plan will remain active through the end of your current billing period, and any usage will be charged at the end of the period. If you are on the Hobby plan and using prepaid credits as your payment method, your subscription will be canceled immediately and any credit balance you may have will be forfeited.
Price History
The prices above are today's. We scrape both providers every night, so you can see what each plan cost before — promo cycles, renewal jumps and repricing included.
Ready to Choose?
Both providers offer great features. Visit their websites to see the latest deals and pricing.
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US East, Ashburn, Virginia
Western Europe, Amsterdam
Western Europe
Southeast Asia