InterServer vs A2 Hosting – Hard to Choose, but I Did 2024

With two powerful hosts like InterServer and A2 Hosting, you can rest assured that whichever one you choose, you won’t go wrong. With all their similarities, there are also a few differences that can help you decide which host is better for your needs.

To make a fair comparison between InterServer and A2 Hosting, I tested them for pricing, features, performance, security, and support. Even though A2 Hosting is a budget-friendly host, I found that InterServer offers even cheaper prices.

Click here to see InterServer’s latest deals1 or keep reading to see how each service performed in this close match.

1. Plans and Pricing

InterServer is Cheaper, Especially in the Long Term

InterServer and A2 Hosting both offer a variety of hosting packages from shared hosting and WordPress hosting to VPS and dedicated servers. However, InterServer’s packages cover Linux and Windows, while most A2 Hosting’s plans are Linux-based only. InterServer also offers e-commerce hosting.

Both hosts don’t offer a free domain name, but they do offer free website migration and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

In addition, A2 Hosting has an anytime money-back guarantee that allows you to cancel your contract at any point and get a prorated refund for the unused period.

InterServer offers cheaper prices than A2 Hosting. For instance, its shared hosting plan is fully-loaded and costs half the monthly price of A2 Hosting’s smallest package.

Both hosts renew at a higher price after the initial hosting term. However, A2 Hosting’s renewal fees are almost quadruple the introductory price. InterServer starts at a lower price that’s only tripled upon renewal, making it the cheaper option in both the short term and long term. 

The winner? InterServer. Even though A2 Hosting is affordable and offers many freebies, it’s still more expensive than InterServer, especially after renewal. 

2. Features

A2 Hosting’s Lower-Value Shared Hosting Plans Are Limited – InterServer Offers More Value-Adding Features

A2 Hosting offers four shared hosting plans for Linux, two of them (lower-value) use SSD for storage (100 GB to unlimited) and the other two higher-tier packages come with unlimited NVMe storage. With the StartUp package (the smallest), you can host 1 website and get 5 databases, free SSL, unlimited email accounts, free CDN, cPanel, and Softaculous. The SSD powered plans don’t come with advanced security features or backups.

In contrast, InterServer offers one shared hosting plan for Linux and one for Windows. Nevertheless, the Linux plan is packed with all the features that you can get with an A2 Hosting premium package.

This includes unlimited EVERYTHING (SSD storage, hosted websites, MySQL databases, bandwidth, email accounts, and more). It also comes with free SSL, free CDN, CloudLinux OS, weekly backups, SitePad website builder, cPanel, application installer, and more.

See more differences between InterServer and A2 Hosting with this table:

The winner? InterServer, but by a slim margin. Both InterServer and A2 Hosting offer a ton of similar features with their plans. However, InterServer offers better resource allocations.

3. Performance

InterServer Has Better Uptime

InterServer operates through two data centers and both are located in the US. A2 Hosting, on the other hand, has three server locations – the US, the Netherlands, and Singapore. This gives A2 Hosting a slight edge over InterServer in having a more global presence.

InterServer uses SSD storage with all its plans, but A2 Hosting only uses SSD storage with specific plans. In terms of website data processing, SSD storage performs much faster than the regular HDD storage. This reflects on the loading speed of the website and its overall performance.

CloudFlare CDN comes free with all plans offered by both hosts. CDN or Content Delivery Network, boosts the loading speeds of your website from different locations around the world, among other benefits, by placing it on a global network of cloud servers.

Both hosts promise a 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, A2 Hosting users have reported some minor downtimes in the past, but never has the actual uptime gone below 99.5%. On the other hand, InterServer showed a perfect actual uptime of 100% with no reports of any downtimes.

Both InterServer and A2 Hosting tie when it comes to loading speeds, but InterServer’s better uptime is what makes it the better performer.

4. Security

Both Hosts Offer a Wide Range of Security Features

InterServer has its own security package called InterShield which is included with all plans. This package includes DDoS/Brute-Force protection, virus scanner, machine learning firewall, and its own inhouse malware database which it obtains from thousands of servers and websites around the world.

In addition to InterShield, InterServer implements another feature with all its plans called Inter-Insurance which is responsible for cleaning out any compromised, hacked, or exploited accounts.

A2 Hosting also offers its own security pack with its plans. The pack consists of KernelCare (daily, automatic, and rebootless Kernel updates), DDoS/Brute-Force protection, dual web hosting firewall, HackScan, Auto-Heal hosting protection, Barracuda spam filtering, and virus scanning.

Both hosts use CloudLinux OS with all their plans which securely isolates your account from other accounts on the same server to protect it from any unwanted threats. It also ensures the fair allocation of the server resources among all accounts.

InterServer’s free regular automatic backups take place on a weekly basis while A2 Hosting does it on a daily basis.

Clearly both hosts take the security of their hosted websites very seriously with the wide range of security features/measures. In other words, InterServer and A2 Hosting tie in the security round.

5. Support

A2 Hosting’s Support Staff Is More Helpful

Before contacting customer support, I suggest you check out the comprehensive knowledge base sections of both hosts. They have a lot of articles and tutorials covering most major topics. In addition, A2 Hosting has a video tutorial section.

InterServer’s support is available 24/7 through live chat, email, ticket support, and phone. Phone support consists of native-speaking call centers in the US, UK, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico. However, in reality, the live chat option is not always online. Even when I got through to a live agent, I found that it wasn’t very helpful, in terms of being knowledgeable, and there were some time gaps between questions and answers.

A2 Hosting also offers 24/7 support via live chat, phone, email, and ticket support. Local phone numbers are provided for numerous locations across the globe. Unlike InterServer, the promised availability of live chat is consistent; nevertheless, connecting with an agent might entail a brief wait of a few minutes. Once the connection is established, the team proves to be highly knowledgeable and ready to provide valuable assistance.

A2 Hosting’s video tutorials, live chat availability, and well-trained support staff make it the more reliable host, in terms of support.

InterServer Outperforms A2 Hosting

InterServer and A2 Hosting are almost equally great hosting options, for small to medium-sized websites and businesses. But, when it comes to the details, InterServer has proven to be the better host. It provides cost-effective packages, better performance, and better allocated resources.

Nevertheless, both hosts are recommended by our experts as some of the best web hosting services in the market today.

FAQ

Does InterServer use SSD?

Yes. InterServer uses ultra SSD as storage with most packages such as shared, VPS, and WordPress hosting. InterServer is also featured in our list of the best cheap and fast SSD hosting services.

Does A2 Hosting offer VPS hosting?

A2 Hosting offers an array of managed and unmanaged VPS plans. The Core VPS  (managed) or Unmanaged VPS plans give you full root access and all VPS plans come with SSD storage as well as free SSL. You can read more about which features A2 Hosting offers with these plans in our expert review.See why A2 Hosting, for VPS, is one of the recommended hosts in this list of the best cheap and trusted VPS services.

Is InterServer good for WordPress hosting?

Yes. InterServer makes it easy for WordPress users by combining everything you need for a highly functioning WordPress website through one big package. Plus, you way much less compared to other web hosts in its tier. You can read more about InterServer in our expert review. It’s also listed among the best managed WordPress hosting services that you can check out.