HostGator Review 2023: Is It Better Than Other Hosts?

Last updated on January 16th, 2023 by Melinda Bartley

Do you want to know if HostGator is the best option to host your website?

HostGator is one of the most popular hosting providers with millions of websites on their platform. They’re especially good when it comes to their affordable starter plans.

In this review, we’ll go deeper into what HostGator has to offer including its hosting plans, features, pricing, and support.

Here’s what we’ll be covering today:

Overview
Hosting Plans
HostGator Domains

Standout Features
Pricing
Support and Documentation
Alternatives

HostGator Overview

HostGator was started in 2002 operating out of Houston, Texas, and over the years, they’ve only got better at web hosting.

They promise power and scalability with their plans and they deliver on that! Once you sign up for HostGator, you’ll get access to a user-friendly dashboard and cPanel (control panel). This makes it really easy to manage your website and server-related tasks.

Added to that, there’s a customer support team of experts in the field of web hosting. You can be sure that any issue you face will be resolved quickly.

And finally, the basic plans are super affordable and you can scale as your site grows.

So it’s a perfect mix that caters to both beginners and pros.

Now let’s have a look at the core of HostGator – their web hosting packages.

HostGator Web Hosting Plans

HostGator has an impressive portfolio of web hosting services that you can choose from depending on your website needs.

Shared Hosting

If you’re just starting out and are looking for a budget-friendly option, then shared hosting is a good option for you.

It’s the cheapest web hosting option out there. But it’s most suitable for websites that expect low traffic volumes and average functionality.

With shared plans, you’ll be sharing the same server with other websites. This means you’ll have limited resources as it has to be shared with everyone else on the server.

Under HostGator’s cheap shared hosting, you can choose from 3 plans:

Hatchling plan: $2.75 per month
Baby plan: $3.50 per month
Business plan: $5.25 per month

You get features like:

1-click WordPress installs
Free WordPress site transfers
Unmetered bandwidth
eCommerce support
Free SSL
Free domain

On the Business plan, you’ll even get a free dedicated IP address for your server and free SEO tools included. This will help you secure high rankings on Google search results to drive traffic to your website.

WordPress Hosting

HostGator offers managed WordPress hosting plans that are designed to make building and managing a WordPress site easier. It comes pre-installed with WordPress and includes 100% free website migration.

You’ll also get security features built to specifically protect your site from known WordPress vulnerabilities and attacks. Your site will be automatically scanned and backed up on a daily basis.

In a nutshell, you’ll get unlimited bandwidth, a faster website, and better security.

You can choose from 3 WordPress pricing plans:

Starter plan: $5.95 per month
Standard plan: $7.95 per month
Business plan: $9.95 per month

While the shared hosting and WordPress hosting plans are designed for beginners and non-tech savvy people, HostGator also caters to website pros with their VPS, Dedicated, Cloud, and Reseller hosting plans.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting except that your server space is completely separated from the others. So it’s somewhat like having your own server but at a cheaper cost.

HostGator gives you full root access so you can choose your CMS or use custom code on your virtual private server.

The VPS plans let you host unlimited domains, create unlimited email addresses, databases, FTP accounts, & more. Plus, you get a full suite of website tools including site templates, a powerful script installer, site development tools, & much more.

The highlights of VPS plans include:

2GB to 8GB RAM
2 Core to 4 Core CPU
Between 120GB and 240 GB SSD
Unmetered bandwidth
Weekly offsite backup

You can choose from 3 VPS pricing plans:

Snappy 2000: $23.95 per month
Snappy 4000: $34.95 per month
Snappy 8000: $59.95 per month

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is for you if you want no limitations on your web hosting plan. HostGator will manage your server for you or you can take 100% control of your server and its configurations. Next, you get to choose a hard drive based on your site’s needs: space (HDD) or speed (SDD).

You can manage your server using cPanel and WHM on Linux or Plesk and Webmatrix on Windows. It’s completely your choice.

Added to all this, you’ll have robust security complete with DDoS protection and an IP-based firewall.

The dedicated servers are hosted in a US-based, Tier 3 data center.

The highlights of Dedicated plans include:

Up to 8 core/16 thread Intel Xeon-D CPU
Network uptime guarantee
Advanced security protection
Unlimited emails
Free content transfers

You can choose from 3 Dedicated pricing plans:

Value: $89.98 per month
Power: $119.89 per month
Enterprise: $139.99 per month

Cloud Hosting

If you want more speed and less downtime, then you’ll want to sign up for Cloud Hosting.

There’s an integrated caching feature that makes sure your page loads super fast! Added to that, you get access to an intuitive dashboard where you can track your site’s performance.

Now just in case you see a spike in traffic, you can bump up your server resources when you need. And if there are hardware issues with your server, HostGator will automatically switch you to another server.

HostGator will also automatically make 3 copies of your data to ensure your website and its content is always safe.

The highlights of Cloud plans include:

Up to 6GB ram
Free email accounts
Unmetered bandwidth
Local caching
Unlimited sub domains
99.9% uptime guarantee
Free MySQL transfer & script transfer

You can choose from 3 Cloud pricing plans:

Hatchling: $4.95 per month
Baby: $6.57 per month
Business: $9.95 per month

With that, we’ve covered what HostGator has to offer under its web hosting umbrella.

HostGator Domains

HostGator is not just a popular web host, they’re also one of the most widely used domain registrars.

Under it’s domain umbrella, HostGator offers:

Domain locking to prevent unauthorized transfers of your domain names
Auto-renewal so you never lose your domain name by accidentally forgetting to renew it.
Easy management from a single dashboard
Domain privacy protection at a small fee
DNS management to point your domain to another host
Email forwarding

If you sign up for a hosting plan, you can grab a domain for free for the 1st year. You can also register a domain without a hosting plan. The popular ones like .com and .net start at $12.95 per year.

With HostGator, you can register the following top level domain (TLD) extensions: .com, .club, .co, .space, .us, .website, .org, .net, .store, .press, .me, .blog, .biz, .info, .host, .online, .site, and .tech.

Standout Features of HostGator

Now that we’ve seen HostGator has quite a lot to offer with web hosting and domains, let’s take a look at what stands out about this platform.

Free Domain & SSL: All plans come with a free domain for the first year. Plus, you’ll get SSL protection for your website so your data will be safe.

Free Site Transfers: Move your existing website from a different host or domain for free. HostGator’s expert migration team helps you transfer your existing website and domain registrations from anywhere to your HostGator account. This way you can manage your entire online portfolio under a single hub. All new accounts are eligible for HostGator’s free transfers.

Unmetered bandwidth: Disk space and bandwidth is “Unmetered” which means you are not charged according to the amount of disk space or bandwidth you typically use in the normal operation of a personal or small business website. However, HostGator does have Terms of Service where your website should not exceed 25% or more of system resources for longer than 90 seconds.

99.9% uptime guarantee: HostGator promises an uptime guarantee of 99.99%. Moreover, you get one month credit on your account if you experience downtime that falls short of their uptime guarantee.

One-click installs: This lets you set up your WordPress installation in minutes. You don’t need any technical skill and you won’t have to hire a developer. If you can point and click, you can install WordPress with HostGator. You can also install other platforms like Magento, Drupal, Joomla, and phpBB.

Website builder & other tools: You can build your website with the HostGator website builder which starts at $3.84 per month. It lets you create email campaigns and online stores as well.

Security: You can secure your website with SiteLock at $35.88 per year. This will automatically download site data, screen it, remove malware, and upload the clean version of your site.

Add-ons: HostGator offers a number of add-ons that you might find helpful for your website. This includes professional email, backup, and SEO tools.

HostGator Pricing

HostGator has one of the lowest starting rates. Here’s the overall pricing of its hosting plans:

Shared Hosting Plans

Hatchling plan: $2.75 per month
Baby plan: $3.50 per month
Business plan: $5.25 per month

WordPress Hosting Plans

Starter plan: $5.95 per month
Standard plan: $7.95 per month
Business plan: $9.95 per month

VPS Hosting Plan

Snappy 2000: $23.95 per month
Snappy 4000: $34.95 per month
Snappy 8000: $59.95 per month

Dedicated Hosting Plans

Value: $89.98 per month
Power: $119.89 per month
Enterprise: $139.99 per month

Cloud Hosting Plans

Hatchling: $4.95 per month
Baby: $6.57 per month
Business: $9.95 per month

If you’re not happy, they’ll refund your hosting fees in the first 45 days.

Get started with HostGator now »

Support and Documentation

HostGator offers various channels to connect with the support team. You can reach out to them via phone, chat, and Twitter. The HostGator support team is friendly and super helpful in resolving your queries.

Plus, they have an extensive knowledge base where you can find answers on your own.

HostGator Alternatives

Now HostGator is a strong contender in the market but there are other options you might want to check out. Here are our top 3 picks:

Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the oldest and largest brand names in the domain and hosting space. They are even officially recommended by WordPress.org.

You can get a web hosting plan for as low as $2.75 per month. You also get:

1-year free domain name registration
Free SSL for better security
Free CDN for faster speed, better load times, and quicker response time.

See our full review: Bluehost Review: Domain, Hosting, & Pricing

Click HERE To Get This Exclusive Bluehost Deal

Network Solutions

Network Solutions is one of the most popular domain registrars and web hosting companies in the world. They offer everything you need to get online quickly. Their portfolio includes web hosting, site builder, SSL certificate, professional email, and more.

You can pick from four professional hosting service plans starting at $5.69 per month for 1 website. And there’s a 30-day limited money-back guarantee on all HostGator plans.

See our full review: Network Solutions Review: Features, Plans & Pricing

Domain.com

Domain.com is actually a partner of HostGator. They are the first and therefore, the oldest domain registrar in the world.

You can register all top-level domain name extensions (TLDs) and even dozens of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

They also offer hosting solutions that are best suited for individuals, and small to medium-sized businesses. And when you sign up for a hosting plan, you’ll get a free domain and free SSL certificate.

See our full hosting review: Domain.com: Is it Any Good? (Features, Cons, & Cost)

Other best web hosting alternatives that you’ll want to check out include:

That’s all we have for you today. We hope you found this HostGator review helpful. Next, you’ll want to learn about:

We’ve handpicked these posts for you to help you get started with your website the right way.

Facebook Tweet LinkedIn Pin