InterServer Review 2019 - Quality, Speed, Price and Comparison

Founded by Michael Lavrik and John Quaglieri, InterServer is a New Jersey-based company that’s been in the game since 1999. Initially launching as a virtual hosting account re-seller, the hosting provider has grown over the past 17 years and now operates two data centers in New Jersey and is in the process of expanding to additional locations, including Los Angeles.

Self-deemed (and widely proven) a budget-friendly provider, InterServer specializes in shared, VPS, and dedicated and co-location hosting solutions. 

Features Of InterServer 

1- Reliable – Average hosting uptime above 99.99%

I have got two test sites hosted at InterServer. In overall, I am impressed with the host performance.

While most hosting sites shoot for a 99.9% uptime (and many fall short of that), InterServer managed to keep my site up 100% most of the time. The uptime history is published below.

InterServer Uptime (February 2018): 100%

No downtime is recorded at InterServer in February 2018.

Past Uptime Records (2015 – 2017)

March 2017: 99.97%.

July 2016: 100%.

February 2016: 99.99%.

September 2015: 99.99%.

2- Fastest budget hosting around – TTFB below 220ms

InterServer Speed Test (Bitcatcha)

InterServer server response speed meets my expectation for a $5/mo host.

Recent server speed tests show that InterServer is one of the fastest budget hosting services around.

We ping our test site from 8 different locations using Bitcatcha and compare the server response times with other websites. As you can see in images below, the results were pretty good.

Jun 2019: A

Interserver speed test results from 10 locations. Range = 20ms (United States East Coast) – 561ms (Bangalore, India).

Feb 2018: A+

On average, test site responded in less than 300ms for all but one locations.

Mar 2017: A+, range = 9ms – 265ms.

Feb 2016: B+, range = 10 ms – 1063 ms 

InterServer Speed Test (WebpageTest)

Speed test is equally impressive as well for Interserver’s hosting. We used Webpage Test for our test site on the U.S. server and received a high A rating with a Time-To-First-Byte (TTFB) of 222ms.

Recent test at WebpageTest.org (March 8th, 2018): Site tested from United States server, TTFB = 222ms.

 Side note: Why stress so much on server speed?

That’s because 1) according to expert case studies, just 1 second decrease in site load time offers a 7% improvement in conversion rate and 11% bump in page views; and 2) Google is now using site speed as one of their ranking factors – you need a faster site (or at least a up to par server) to rank well. 

3- Price lock guarantee

Many hosting providers lure in new customers with super low pricing for their initial term of service and then jack the rate upon renewal. The renewal prices increase for more than 200% fro some hosting companies. I love that InterServer avoids this practice and instead values loyalty. The company’s price lock guarantee ensures that the price you start with will continue to be your price for as long as you keep your InterServer hosting account.

Interserver does not jack up their price on renewal – Shared hosting costs $5/mo for life.

4- Great support: Helpful + 100% In-house

InterServer customer support team doesn’t just say they’ll help you. They actually do.

For example, during a recent crackdown of another hosting company (Arvixe), InterServer stepped in to help the unhappy customers. It set up a special team to help the people migrate their sites over to the InterServer hosting platform, making the transition seamless. You won’t get that type of service with many hosting companies.

All customer supports are done from InterServer office at Secaucus, NJ. I was at their office and witnessed the team answering users requests – The new client list and support requests are shown in the screens hanging at the ceiling.

5- 99.9% uptime backed by SLA

InterServer service is backed by clear writing SLA (see image). Should they fail to meet the guarantee in a given month, they’ll credit clients on a case by case basis.

Going beyond the uptime guarantee, Interserver also gives a 100% guarantee of uninterrupted electricity.

6- InterServer free site migration service

One big plus for InterServer is their free, white-glove site migration service.

For those who are too busy to move your web host, just contact InterServer and get their support staffs to do it for you.

No matter what control panel or account access you have on your old host, the folks at Interserver are there to migrate your sites for free. To initiate account / site migration, visit this page.

7- Highly customizable VPS hosting plan

I tried InterServer’s VPS plan in 2014 and quickly appreciated how its flexibility.

InterServer VPS clients can customize just about everything, from their preferred operating system to the software, control panels, and server capacity.

Operating system options at InterServer – there are 15 of them to choose from.

There are 16 sets of pre-configured VPS plans at InterServer. Users can choose the number of needed CPU cores, RAM, as well as storage and data transfer capacity.

Also, unlike many other VPS hosting providers that require users to pay for bundled software and apps, InterServer only requires its clients to pay for what they need and use.

VPS Upgrades	Additional Cost	VPS Upgrades	Additional Cost
Additional IP	Add $1/mo/IP	Fantastico	Add $4/mo
cPanel	Add $10/mo	Softculous	Add $2/mo
Direct Admin	Add $8/mo	Ksplice	Add $3.95/mo
* Note: Usually what many other VPS hosting providers do is to include the cost of these features into their VPS plans and claim that they are free. With InterServer, you get the choice to go without these additional software.