HostGator is best known for its low-cost, "unlimited" shared hosting plans. A business, like Bluehost, has been in operation since 2002 and is owned by Newfield Digital – formerly known as Endurance International Group (EIG). You won't have to think about EIG going out of business too soon because it's a publicly-traded corporation (NASDAQ: EIGI).
HostGator now provides the following services in addition to shared web hosting plans:
- Hosting for WordPress
- Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting
- Servers that are exclusively yours
Brent Oxley, a student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida (hence the "Gator" name), created HostGator.
Pros of HostGator
Cheap introductory pricing
When you use our referral page, HostGator's Hatchling Plan begins at $2.75/mo for a 36-month period. This is one of the most affordable entry-level prices in the industry. When buying a HostGator hosting package, we suggest going for the longest term because it saves you money in the long run, plus they have a 45-day money-back guarantee if they aren't a good match for you.
Free website migration
Hostgator, unlike Bluehost, offers up to 5 free website migrations, depending on the package purchased. We value free website migration because it makes it so much simpler, particularly when using a CMS like WordPress, which has a large database.
Cons of HostGator
Subpar technical support
When it comes to technical help, HostGator leaves a lot to be desired. This is the most compelling reason to avoid HostGator and other EIG-owned businesses. HostGator exists to add value to EIG shareholders, and one of the ways they do so is by delivering limited training to their support staff.
This shouldn't be a problem if you're working with an experienced web designer. They'll most likely be familiar with your WordPress installation as well as the cPanel backend. If you're building your own website, however, we strongly suggest using a non-EIG provider like Dreamhost or InMotion. They are also employee-owned and run businesses that value support training.
Pricing gimmicks and renewal sticker shock
When it comes to pricing, HostGator isn't exactly open about it. They advertise plans starting at $2.75 a month... However, if you go through their ordering process, you'll quickly notice that you can only get that rate if you're prepared to pay three years in advance! We like that HostGator lets you pay on a monthly basis for their shared hosting plans, but you'll have to pay more than $10 per month to do so.
Expect sticker shock when it comes to renewing your web hosting contract. Expect to pay up to 2.5 times more at renewal unless you choose their costly monthly billing phrase! Your $2.75/month plan will become a $6.95/month plan.
HostGator Plans & Pricing
Since HostGator is an EIG brand, you'll find that they have a lot of plans in common with Bluehost.
Shared hosting
Both shared hosting plans from HostGator provide unrestricted storage and bandwidth. You'll note that the features of each tier are similar:
- Starting at $2.75/month
- 1 website with
- free SSL
- Starting at $3.95 a month for a baby
- Websites are limitless.
- SSL Certificates for Free
- Business – starting at $5.95/mo
- Unlimited websites
- Free SSL
- IP address
We disagree with HostGator's recommendation of their Business plan. For the most part, their Baby plan is the best choice. With their Business strategy, you don't get much in the way of extras.
👉 Also, you can read : HostGator review
Cloud hosting
HostGator offers a one-of-a-kind, low-cost cloud hosting service that is very appealing. It gives you the power of a virtual private server (two times faster and four times the resources) at a shared hosting price.
- Hatchling Cloud – starting at $4.95/mo
- 1 website
- 2GB RAM
- 2 core CPU
- Free SSL
- Baby Cloud – starting at $6.57/mo
- Unlimited websites
- 4GB RAM
- 4 core CPU
- Free SSL
- Business Cloud – starting at $9.95/mo
- Unlimited websites
- 6GB RAM
- 6 core CPU
- Free SSL
We agree with HostGator's recommendation of their Baby Cloud plan. It has a decent 4GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores, allowing you to have an infinite number of websites. Their Hatching Cloud plan only allows for one website, and their Business Cloud plan seems to have additional features that aren't worth the extra money.
VPS hosting
When you first look at the specifications for HostGator's VPS hosting, it appears to be fairly normal. Both plans come with cPanel and WHM, which run on CentOS and give you root access. However, one significant difference is that HostGator's VPS plans do not include Solid State Drives (SSDs). This is an unusual cost-cutting strategy on their part. SSDs are now reasonably priced (and are 20x faster than the spinning drives that HostGator uses).
- Snappy 2000 – starting at $29.95/mo (renews at $79.95/mo)
- 2 Cores
- 2 GB RAM
- 120 GB Storage
- 1 TB Bandwidth
- 1 IP Address
- Snappy 4000 – starting at $39.95/mo (renews at $119.95/mo)
- 2 Cores
- 4 GB RAM
- 165 GB Storage
- 2 TB Bandwidth
- 2 IP Addresses
- Snappy 8000 – starting at $49.95/mo (renews at $149.95/mo)
- 4 Cores
- 8 GB RAM
- 240 GB Storage
- 3 TB Bandwidth
- 2 IP Addresses
The Snappy 4000 plan from HostGator is recommended. We don't agree. We just suggest a HostGator VPS if you're just getting started with a Virtual Private Server because of the pricing (both initial and renewal). When you're ready to upgrade, we suggest going with a more dependable provider like LiquidWeb, which offers a robust VPS service (that uses SSDs).
Dedicated Server hosting
Dedicated Servers are also available from HostGator. Although their specifications aren't ideal for hosting a complete website or application, they're a good choice for simply hosting large files.
- Value Server – starting at $118.99/mo
- 4 cores @ 2.1 GHz
- 1 TB HDD
- 4 GB RAM
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- 3 IP Addresses
- Power Server – starting at $138.88/mo
- 4 cores @ 2.1 GHz
- 2 TB HDD or 512 GB SSD
- 8 GB RAM
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- 3 IP Addresses
- Enterprise Server – starting at $148.98/mo
- 4 cores @ 2.1 GHz
- 1 TB SSD
- 16 GB RAM
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- 3 IP Addresses
Summary & Our Recommendation
If you're just getting started and have the assistance of a web developer, HostGator is a good option.
They have extremely low-cost shared hosting plans that allow you to host a website for under $3 per month for the first three years.
When it comes to more advanced hosting, however, we suggest going with someone else because HostGator's VPS and Dedicated Server plans haven't kept up with technology.
HostGator, please! You're already using rotating hard drives in 2021?
HostGator Alternatives
If you're a novice who doesn't have access to a web developer, we suggest looking into the following hosting options:
- Hosting
- Dreamhost
If your hosting situation necessitates a VPS or Dedicated server, we suggest checking out the following providers, all of whom provide expert support:
- InMotion Hosting
- WP Engine
- Liquid Web
- Rocket.net
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