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HostGator Pricing | 10 Things to Know Before Signing Up

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Should you snap up hostgator’s plans.

HostGator is a popular hosting provider that aims to make hosting easy and affordable for its users.

We put it through our rigorous research process to see how well it lived up to its reputation, and it’s safe to say HostGator wowed us, coming in as the second best hosting provider in our rankings with an overall score of 4.7 out of 5, just behind Bluehost.

But, did HostGator’s prices manage to impress us as well? The short answer is yes! HostGator scores 3.5 out of 5 overall for value, making it the fourth-best value provider we’ve tested.

HostGator offers six different types of hosting, and each hosting type provides three different price plans. That’s a lot to choose from – with so many plans, prices, discounts, features, and hosting types on offer, how are you meant to know which one is really best for you?

HostGator Pricing: Quick Overview

HostGator plans start at just $3.95 per month for shared hosting – it also offers VPS, WordPress, cloud, reseller, and dedicated hosting plans. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive, starting at $109.97 per month. These are discounted prices for an annual plan, so look out for renewal costs, plus any additional charges such as domains, CodeGuard backups, and other extras.

We’re here to help. This article will break down each of HostGator’s hosting plans and prices, take a good hard look at any extra costs you can expect, plus lay out exactly how it measures up next to its competitors.

To start off, here’s a quick summary breakdown of HostGator’s pricing plans, based on its 12 month contracts:

HostGator's Pricing Plans

• Shared hosting – $3.95 to $7.25 per month
• Cloud hosting – $7.95 to $11.95 per month
• WordPress hosting – $7.95 to $11.95 per month
• Reseller hosting – $24.95 to $29.95 per month
• VPS Hosting – $23.95 to $59.95 per month
• Dedicated hosting – $109.97 to $159.98 per month

Why do we show 12 month prices?

For example, the Hatchling Shared plan by HostGator is offered at:

1 month – $11.95 per month

6 months – $11.95 per month

12 months – $3.95 per month

36 months – $2.75 per month

If you’re happy to “lock in” for a long time, then you save the most money by choosing a longer billing cycle – monthly plans may sound appealing because they’re less of a commitment, but they’re also more expensive in the long run.

The HostGator site shows the 36-month cycle by default on the site . Why?  Because it works out the cheapest, but you’re also locked into quite a commitment.

We think the 12-month plan offers the best idea of what you get for the price you pay without committing too much.

At Website Builder Expert, we’ll always do our best to make it clear exactly how much you can expect to pay at each stage of hosting.

Further Information

• Read our HostGator Review for a full look at HostGator’s performance in our research, from features to customer support
• Compare the Best Web Hosting Providers in our in-depth review
• Compare over 50 plans in our in-depth review of the Cheapest Web Hosting Providers

How Much Do HostGator Plans Cost?

HostGator’s pricing plans start with its shared hosting Hatchling plan, which costs just $3.95 per month for your first term, and renews at $9.99 per month after that. After that, prices increase as you work your way up through the plans and different hosting types.

Check out the table below for a full breakdown across three plan tiers:

3.8 out of 5 stars

4.1 out of 5 stars

3.5 out of 5 stars

This is a summary overview of each hosting package, to give you an idea of how much each one costs. These prices reflect discounted plans for new users – we’ll cover that in more detail next, then dive into the details of HostGator’s different hosting types and their costs below.

Not sure which type of hosting you need? Here’s a quick breakdown to help you choose:

• Shared hosting: best for small, basic sites with low traffic, such as single page blogs.
• Cloud hosting: best for sites that experience hikes and dips in traffic, such as stores running online sales.
• WordPress hosting: best for WordPress websites of all sizes.
• Reseller hosting: best for those starting their own hosting business.
• VPS hosting: best choice for most standard websites – it’s an encouraged upgrade from shared hosting.
• Dedicated hosting: best for very large websites and online stores that need advanced customization and security.

How HostGator Pricing Works

You’ll have noticed that HostGator’s prices are pretty affordable. Wow! Just $3.95 per month for hosting, you might be thinking, that’s amazing! What else do I need to know when it’s that cheap?!

Well, there is one important thing to know – HostGator, like most hosting providers, offers discounts for new users. These discount prices are the ones displayed on HostGator’s website, because it’s a great way of getting started with your plan.

This discount lasts for your first term. That means if you sign up for a 12 month plan, you get the first year at the discounted price; if you sign up for a two-year plan, you get the first two years at a discount. It’s also worth knowing you pay the total sum upfront when you first sign up.

So, what happens once your first term is over? Well, your plan will renew at the regular rate – this is how much the plan usually costs without the discount. For example, HostGator’s Hatchling plan costs $3.95, to begin with, but renews at $9.99 once your first term is over.

This is common practice among web hosts, and can really work in your favor by giving you a great deal on your first hosting plan. However, it means you need to keep both eyes open and always check the regular price before jumping feet – or rather, credit-card – first into a plan.

This will help you avoid sky-high renewal prices later down the line!

HostGator Shared Hosting Cost

Shared hosting is the most basic form of hosting – it’s very limited, but this also makes it extremely affordable. The main benefit of shared hosting is how cheap it is – your site shares a server with other sites, meaning resources are spread between all of you.

If other sites are using up too many of those shared resources, then your site suffers – for example, it could crash if another site gets a spike in traffic. This makes shared hosting best for very small, simple websites with low traffic.

In our research, HostGator topped the table as our king of shared hosting with an impressive score of 4.7 out of 5 in our research with solid scores across all our testing categories, including value for money where it scored a 3.6 out of 5 .

HostGator’s Shared Hosting Plans

HostGator has three shared hosting plans, ranging from $3.95 to $7.25 per month (for a 12-month billing cycle and with the initial discount). Plans start at:

• Hatchling plan: $3.95, renews at $9.99 per month
• Baby plan: $5.00, renews at $14.99 per month
• Business plan: $7.25, renews at $18.99 per month

Here’s a closer look at how their features stack up – we’ll go into more detail underneath the table:

Looking at the features available, you might be wondering what the difference is between unmetered and unlimited . Let’s take a quick look to clear up any confusion.

Unmetered means you’re not charged for the amount of resources you use – but there is still a limit on how much you can use. It’s very unlikely that your site will approach these limits, however, HostGator will email you if it looks like you might exceed their limits.

Unlimited really does mean there’s no limit – so you can have as many domains as you like!

Another feature you’ll see a lot is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). This encrypts information passing between your visitors and your website , protecting data from hackers or leaks. Google warns visitors when they’re entering an unsecured site, so having SSL really is an essential feature.

HostGator earns a 4 out of 5 for shared hosting features in our research, which is actually a decline from our previous valuation of it pre-2021 which was 4.4 out of 5 . So why the change? Well, while unlimited bandwidth and storage were big sellers back in the day, they’ve become almost standard in recent years.

We only recommend the Hatchling plan for very small websites – as the name suggests, its features are best for sites that are just getting started online. You can only host one domain, and you can’t upgrade your SSL certificate for added protection.

The Baby plan is a good middle-ground for $5.00 per month – you can host an unlimited number of domains, and if you want to upgrade to private SSL then you can. This makes it a better choice for value for money if you’re running more than one website or need better security.

The Business plan has the most advanced features, giving your site more room to grow. It’s also the best plan if you’re running a small online store . You get a free upgrade to a Positive SSL (which offers a higher level of security than the basic version) and SEO tools to help people find your site online.

So, which plan should you choose? If you need to host more than one domain, the Baby plan is your best choice. If you want to run a small online store then you’ll need the Business plan. For simply hosting a single site that’s just getting started, the Hatchling plan will get you on your feet.

In our shared hosting research, HostGator got 3.6 out of 5 for value for money, which puts it comfortably in fourth position. If you need a shared hosting provider who will give you constant performance, HostGator is the one.

• Looking for cheap shared hosting? Your search ends here with our in-depth review of the 6 Best Cheap Shared Hosting Providers
• Read our review of the 8 Best Shared Hosting Services to find the best quality shared hosting on the market

HostGator Cloud Web Hosting Cost

Cloud hosting is where your website’s data is stored across multiple virtual servers, instead of physical servers like normal shared hosting uses. This means that if one server fails, your site won’t go down because another server will automatically take over. Cloud hosting very scalable, reliable, and versatile. 

If you need extremely flexible hosting to handle surges in traffic, then cloud hosting is a great choice – it’s usually favored by online stores that experience large traffic spikes as a result of sales and seasonal trends.

HostGator’s Cloud Hosting Plans

HostGator has three cloud hosting plans ranging from $7.95 to $11.95 per month:

• Hatchling plan: $7.95, renews at $10.95 per month. You get a free domain name and SSL certificate, unmetered bandwidth, and can host one site.
• Baby plan: $9.95, renews at $13.95 per month. You get the same features as the Hatchling plan, but can host unlimited sites.
• Business plan: $11.95, renews at $19.95 per month. You get the same features as the Baby plan, plus SEO tools and a better SSL certificate.

The biggest limitation of the cheapest Hatchling plan is that you can only host one website, and it has a small memory allowance. HostGator recommends its $9.95 per month Baby plan instead, which gives you more space for growth while keeping the price pretty reasonable.

HostGator’s cloud web hosting plans promise better speeds, reliability, and resources than its normal shared hosting. But what do you actually get for your money? The table below breaks down each plan’s features:

You’ll notice a similarity between the features here and those provided on the shared hosting plan. So why the increase in price? Well, cloud hosting gives you better performance because you have access to multiple servers.

It’s worth knowing that resources are still shared out rather than being dedicated to your account – but, you’re much more in control of your resources and how much you’re using, making it easier to manage.

The main difference here is the addition of memory and CPU cores. The more memory you have, the better your site will perform in times of high traffic – we recommend the Baby plan to be safe, unless your site is really small.

CPU stands for central processing unit, and is the part of a computer that performs most of the important actions to keep things running smoothly.

Luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about what a CPU core is. You just need to know that the more CPU cores you have, the more data your system can handle, and the better performance your site will receive. Simply: the more cores you have, the better!

For most websites, between two and four CPU cores should be fine – you’ll only need more than that if you’re running complex programs (like advanced gaming) through your website.

Overall, the Hatchling plan is fine for newbie sites with low traffic, but the $9.95 per month Baby plan is definitely worth paying for. It provides the tools to handle more traffic, giving your site room to grow. Most people won’t need the extras that come with the Business plan, unless you’re running a complex website.

• Are you after the best of the best? Read our review of the Best Cloud Hosting Providers to make sure you get a first-class service

HostGator WordPress Hosting Cost

Are there any WordPress fans out there? Chances are, you’ve used – or at least heard of – WordPress, seeing as it powers 43% of the internet ! And what do all those WordPress sites need? You got it – they need hosting.

WordPress hosting caters to the specific needs that come with running a WordPress website. For example, it usually includes better security and protection, migration services, and updates to keep your WordPress site safe and running smoothly.

HostGator comes in fourth overall for WordPress hosting with 4.2 out of 5 in our WordPress hosting research – a drop from second in our old scores, though it is now 4th overall for value of money. Let’s take a look at the analysis and see if we can sniff out why.

HostGator’s WordPress Hosting Plans

HostGator has three WordPress hosting plans – the cheapest starts at $7.95 per month, while the most expensive comes in at $12.95 per month:

• Starter plan: $7.95, renews at $12.95 per month. Host one site, with free SSL and domain name included. Supports up to 100k visits per month.
• Standard plan: $9.95, renews at $17.95 per month. Host up to two sites, with free SSL and domain name included. Supports up to 200k visits per month.
• Business plan: $11.95, renews at $24.95 per month. Host up to three sites, with free SSL and domain name included. Supports up to 500k visits per month.

The plan you choose largely depends on the number of websites you have – for example, if you have more than one site then you’ll need at least the $9.95 per month Standard plan. Take a look at the table below to help you decide:

So while HostGator’s overall WordPress score may be lower than for shared hosting, HostGator actually scores better in value for money for WordPress hosting with 3.7 out of 5.  This is due to the increased amount of features you get with the plans. While they may be more expensive, you actually get more for your money comparatively, hence the increase in scores.

For example, all plans also include a free migration service for any users who need to transfer their existing WordPress site over to HostGator’s servers.

If you only have one WordPress website, then the $7.95 per month Starter plan has all the essential features you’ll need to succeed. Free backups up to 1GB, a free domain name, and automatic updates are all included to make your life as easy as possible.

If your site gets more than 100,000 visits on average per month, or you have multiple sites to host, you’ll need a more advanced plan. HostGator scored a 4 out of 5 for performance in our WordPress hosting research, meaning it’s one of the best, so don’t stress too much about going over the limit constantly.

The main benefits of the Standard plan are that it can handle twice the amount of traffic than the Starter plan, and doubles your backup storage as well. It’s a well-rounded plan that suits most regular WordPress sites, whether you’re scaling up or just ticking along steadily. You can host up to two websites on this plan – a good choice if you’re running multiple projects!

The Business plan sees a big jump in the number of visitors it can handle per month – up to 500,000 ! This makes it best if you’re really gunning for big-time growth and need your plan to support large amounts of traffic.

HostGator includes all the most important features for all its users to enjoy, so your choice really comes down to two main things:

• The number of sites you need to host
• How much traffic do those sites generate per month 

Base your decision on these factors, and you should end up with the perfect WordPress hosting plan for you!

• Wondering if you can get a better deal somewhere else? Check out our review of the Best Cheap WordPress Hosting  to find out!
• Read our comparison of the 8 Best Managed WordPress Hosting Providers if you’re after a really professional service

HostGator Reseller Hosting Cost

If you’re looking to set up your own hosting business, you’ll need reseller hosting. This is where you pay for hosting, and then resell it to your own clients to make money. It’s a great way of starting a hosting business, because you don’t have to pay for overheads such as server maintenance.

HostGator provides you with the power and technology, and you provide your clients with hosting, services, support, and more. It’s a popular option with web designers, freelancers, and budding web hosts – reseller hosting is how a lot of big names in the hosting industry started out!

HostGator’s Reseller Hosting Plans

HostGator has three reseller hosting plans, ranging from $24.95 to $29.95 per month:

• Aluminum plan: $24.95, renews at $34.95 per month. You get 60GB disk space and 600GB bandwidth.
• Copper plan: $29.95, renews at $48.95 per month. You get 90GB disk space and 900GB bandwidth.
• Silver plan: $29.95, renews at $69.95 per month. You get 140GB disk space and 1400GB bandwidth.

These are a lot more expensive than the plans we’ve looked at so far because they include a lot more features. This is a case where you need to look carefully at renewal costs – the discount prices mean you can get the Silver plan for the same price as the Copper plan, but their renewal prices reflect their usual value.

Reseller hosting comes with pretty technical features – it goes without saying that if you just need hosting for your personal website, then this type of hosting isn’t for you.

The main difference between the plans is the amount of storage and bandwidth you get with each one – this is the easiest way to decide which plan is best for you.

The cheapest Aluminum plan is best for those just starting out, or freelancers selling to a small number of clients. It can also be a good fit for those who need multiple servers, as it can work out cheaper and more manageable than buying several web hosting packages.

For a standard-sized business selling to a larger handful of clients, the Copper plan should be a comfortable fit. It has more storage and bandwidth, leaving you room to grow your business.

For even more resources, the Silver plan is the obvious choice – however, it can get pretty expensive once the discount period is over, so make sure your business really needs the extra features before upgrading.

The most important factor to keep in mind when becoming a hosting reseller is uptime. There’s no use reselling if the servers will be constantly down and the user’s sites won’t be live. HostGator promises an uptime of 99.9%, and in our own research, HostGator scored an overall score of 4 out of 5 for uptime performance. HostGator has an  official guarantee  in place if it can’t hit this target, offering all users and resellers one month of credit if it’s caught slipping.

And in case you’re in the dark about a few of those technical features, here’s a quick overview:

• WHMCS is a client management software that helps you manage your billing process
• cPanel is a popular control panel where you manage your site and system settings – this is what your clients will be using to run the hosting you’ve sold them.
• WHM (Web Hosting Manager) control panel lets you create cPanels for each of your clients. This is what you use to manage all your clients’ accounts.
• MySQL is a database management system that makes it easy for you to add and manage content

The Aluminum plan is a good place to start if you’re unsure how many resources you need – although you may not want to lock into a long-term plan to start with. HostGator makes it free and easy to upgrade, so you can start out with the lowest amount of storage and bandwidth and grow from there.

• Make sure you choose the best host for the job with our review of the 5 Best Reseller Hosting Services.

HostGator VPS Hosting Cost

Usually, once you’ve outgrown shared hosting, the next step up is VPS hosting. This is a type of hosting where sites still share a server, but you share with fewer sites so that each one has its own set of resources. It’s a faster, safer, and more reliable type of hosting that delivers better performance than shared hosting. 

This is best for regular or medium-sized sites that need more consistent hosting than shared plans can provide. If you’re running a business website, for example, then VPS hosting is a smart choice. HostGator comes in at joint first place with an overall score of 4.6 out of 5 for VPS hosting in our research.

HostGator’s VPS Hosting Plans

HostGator has three VPS hosting plans to choose from, ranging from $29.95 to $49.95 per month:

• Snappy 2000 plan: $23.95, renews at $79.95 per month. You get 2GB of RAM, 120GB disk space, and unmetered bandwidth.
• Snappy 4000 plan: $34.95, renews at $119.95 per month. You get 4GB of RAM, 165GB disk space, and unmetered bandwidth.
• Snappy 8000 plan: $59.95, renews at $149.95 per month. You get 8GB of RAM, 240GB disk space, unmetered bandwidth, plus an extra 2 CPU cores.

HostGator’s prices used to be really expensive compared to other providers on the market – the Snappy 2000 plan used to be $29.95 per month!

But while the price may have lowered, its value for money sadly can’t compete with other providers. Whereas hosts like Bluehost have plans that remain at the discounted price even after the period has ended, HostGator’s renewal costs are higher. This is why we had to give it a lower value score of 3.1 out of 5 in our research – the lowest pricing score across all of HostGator’s hosting types.

Why does HostGator charge so much for its VPS plans? Let’s take a look at the features you get to see if it’s worth your hard earned cash:

HostGator gives you everything you’d need to successfully run your site, such as unlimited domains and backups. In fact, HostGator has the best VPS features out of all of our VPS hosting research, with a features score of 4.3 out of 5 . The only place it falls down here is value for money.

Luckily, the cheapest plan is a great starting point – you get a huge amount of bandwidth to allow for traffic spikes, plus a decent amount of memory and storage space to keep your site’s performance smooth.

The main reason for upgrading to the Snappy 4000 plan would be a need for more storage space , as the rest stays pretty much the same. Bandwidth nudges up to 2TB, but you’ll only feel the benefit of that if you were really bursting out of your bandwidth on the cheapest plan.

As for the Snappy 8000 plan, it’s hard to recommend it knowing it costs $49.95 per month with a discount . Still, if you’re loving the reliability and power that comes with HostGator’s features and don’t mind shelling out, you’ll enjoy a massive 3TB bandwidth – that should handle as much traffic as you can throw at your site!

All plans come with full root access , which gives you access to your site’s server. This means you have total control over your site’s settings – you can customize your server to suit your specific needs.

• Read our review of the Best VPS Hosting Providers  to see if HostGator makes the list
• HostGator’s VPS plans aren’t the cheapest – for more affordable prices, read our review of the Best Cheap VPS Hosting Providers

HostGator Dedicated Hosting Cost

Dedicated hosting is the most advanced type of hosting – and the most expensive! This is where your site gets a whole server to itself, giving you the ultimate level of performance, speed, and security.

Most sites don’t need this extreme level of hosting, but it’s definitely appropriate if you’re running a huge online store, a site with eye-popping levels of traffic, or have very sensitive security requirements.

HostGator comes in third for overall dedicated hosting with a score of 4.4 out of 5 , with a very generous 45-day money-back guarantee and fantastic help and support. In fact, HostGator consistently scores excellently for help and support across all its categories, earning a 4.9 out of 5 in most cases. But what about its prices?

HostGator’s Dedicated Hosting Plans

HostGator came out as the best provider for dedicated hosting in our research. It has three dedicated hosting plans, ranging from $109.97 to $139.99 per month:

• Value Server plan: $109.97, renews at $199.99 per month. You get 4 CPU cores and 8GB RAM.
• Power Server plan: $139.99, renews at $269.99 per month. You get 8 CPU cores and 16GB RAM.
• Enterprise Server plan: $159.98, renews at $299.99 per month. You get 8 CPU cores and 30GB RAM.

As you can see, this is big hosting, designed for big websites with big budgets!

If you don’t have much technical knowledge, you could struggle to make the most of dedicated hosting – its features are advanced, and you’ll need some experience to get to grips with them. We recommend the managed hosting solution as it makes life much easier!

The $109.97 per month Value Server plan is a great starting point – it doesn’t swamp you with features, making it a manageable choice. 8GB RAM is plenty of memory, and four CPU cores should be enough to keep your site running smoothly.

The only downside of the cheapest plan is that it uses HDD (Hard Disk Drive) storage. This isn’t bad , but it won’t be as fast as the newer SSD (Solid State Drive) storage that comes with more advanced plans.

HostGator recommends the Power Server plan, and if you’ve got the budget to stretch to $139.99 per month, it’s a solid choice. You get to choose between HDD and SSD storage for one thing, meaning you can choose the faster option if you want to.

Most users won’t need the Enterprise Server plan, and definitely not right away – this plan is something to work towards . Eight cores and 1TB SSD storage would be wasted on “normal” websites. At the Enterprise Server plan level, you are just paying for the extra resources as unless you’re a really, really big store , you won’t be utilizing it fully which makes this plan a little excessive.

HostGator’s value for money score for dedicated is 3.6 out of 5 , similar to its score for shared hosting in our research. Make sure you’re getting value for your money by picking the plan that’ll work hardest for you!

• Take a look at the Best Dedicated Server Hosting in our in-depth review of the top providers
• Dedicated hosting is the most expensive type, but you can still get great value for money – we reveal the Best Cheap Dedicated Server Hosting in our detailed review

HostGator Hosting Plans vs Competitor Hosting Plans

We’ve looked at each of HostGator’s hosting plans in detail, so you should have a pretty good idea of which one you would choose for your own site. But before doing that, you probably want to know if you could get a better deal elsewhere, right?

HostGator’s prices match up pretty well on the whole with its main competitors, InMotion and Bluehost. It’s not the cheapest, but overall it puts some appealing deals on the table. Across all hosting plans, here’s how these three top competitors range in price:

• HostGator’s prices range from $3.95 to $299.99 per month
• Bluehost’s prices range from $2.95 to $209.99 per month
• InMotion’s prices range from $3.49 to $839 per month

HostGator sits fairly close to Bluehost in its overall pricing range, and you can clearly see it offers much cheaper pricing than InMotion when it comes to its top-priced plans. But how do they compare on a plan-by-plan basis? Let’s take a look (all prices shown in the table are discount prices only):

While HostGator may not offer the cheapest prices on the market, it does tend to have a more affordable upper limit on its price plans.

Overall, HostGator offers better value for money than InMotion, with a 3.5 out of 5 overall score versus InMotion’s 2.9 out of 5 . But Bluehost’s overal value score of 4.7 means that it offers better value than HostGator.

However, when you dig deeper into specific hosting types, it’s clear that the best value option depends on the type of plan you need. HostGator’s shared plans give you better value than Bluehost’s, with 3.6 out of 5 for value for money against Bluehost’s 3.1 out of 5 .

While HostGator isn’t the best value choice for VPS hosting, apart from that its plans are pretty well-matched with its competitors and its scores in our research tell us it’s an amazingly solid and reliable provider.

Additionally, we mentioned it before but it bears repeating: no one beats HostGator for help and support across all types of hosting. It scores 4.9 out of 5 in nearly all rankings and has every available help and support channel open for you. Knowledge base? Check. 24/7 phone and live chat? Check. Email support and community center where you query other users and professionals? Checkamundo. 

If you’re really unsure and are a total newbie when it comes to hosting, HostGator’s help and support should be able to put that mind at ease.

• Did InMotion’s price catch your eye? If so, read our full InMotion Hosting Review to learn more about this top provider
• Bluehost is famous for its WordPress hosting – find out why in our Bluehost Review
• Bluehost offers pretty competitive prices – check out its plans in our Bluehost Pricing Review
• HostGator and Bluehost are top rivals – see who wins in our Bluehost vs HostGator comparison

Other Costs to Think About

When you sign up for hosting, you’ll find there’s a whole range of other things you either should, could, or definitely must get. Some extras are even automatically selected when you get to checkout – let’s take a look at what other costs you can expect from HostGator if you sign up.

1. Domain Names

Some of HostGator’s plans – its WordPress hosting, for instance – include a free domain name. This is a great bonus, but not all plans include a domain for free. Luckily, you can buy your domain name directly from HostGator – but how much does it cost?

HostGator’s domain prices work in a similar way to its hosting costs – in this case the first year is discounted, and you then pay the regular price afterwards. Here’s a look at some of its prices:

• .com: $12.95 per year, renews at $17.99
• .org: $12.95 per year, renews at $17.99
• .website: $9.95 per year, renews at $15
• .net: $12.95 per year, renews at $17.99
• .me: $15 per year, renews at $19.95

These are pretty high renewal prices, but it does come with the benefit of having your hosting and domain name all in one place!

2. SSL Certificates

HostGator includes a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on all its hosting plans. This gives you basic protection, but if you want a more advanced level of security then you can buy premium SSL certificates through HostGator.

There are three SSLs to choose from:

• Positive SSL: $3.33 per month (renews at $39.99 per year)
• Multi-Domain SSL: $79.99 per year
• Extended Validation SSL: $269.99 per year

You don’t have to buy one of these – it’s mostly for sites that need an extra level of trust and security, such as online stores.

3. CodeGuard

CodeGuard is a backup and security software that gives you protection against things going wrong. It runs daily, automatic backups for your site, lets you know of any unauthorized changes, and lets you restore your site to a previous version should anything not go to plan.

Pricing starts at $2 per month for your first term, then renews at $23.95 per year. You can add this as an extra at checkout when you sign up for a hosting plan. Heads up – it often comes already selected, so if you don’t want these features you’d better make sure this box isn’t ticked.

4. SiteLock Monitoring

This is a helpful feature that monitors your website daily and alerts you if your site gets hacked or injected with malicious code. Pretty scary stuff, right? That’s why HostGator lists it as a “highly recommended” add-on at checkout.

SiteLock monitoring costs $2.99 per month – billed annually at $35.88 and renews at $83.88. This is added to your hosting plan and comes pre-selected by HostGator. Double-check to make sure whether it’s ticked or not to avoid any surprises at payment.

5. Other Extras

Other extras you might find at checkout include a professional email address, which costs $6 per month , and HostGator SEO Tools, which cost $35.40 per year . These don’t usually come automatically selected, so if you want them as add-ons simply tick the ones you want!

HostGator Pricing: Recap

We’ve covered the ins and outs of HostGator’s pricing plans, from the cheapest to the most expensive packages, how it compares with its top competitors, and flagged the extra costs you should look out for.

By now you should know whether HostGator’s hosting plans are right for you – and which one you want to take a closer look at. We’ve talked about a lot of different plans, though, so let’s have a quick recap of HostGator’s plans…

HostGator Pricing Summary

• Shared hosting : $3.95 – $7.25 per month.
• Cloud hosting : $7.95 – $11.95 per month.
• WordPress hosting: $7.95 – $11.95 per month.
• Reseller hosting : $24.95 – $29.95 per month.
• VPS hosting : $23.95 – $59.95 per month.
• Dedicated hosting : $109.97 – $159.98 per month.

Shared, WordPress, and VPS hosting are the most commonly chosen hosting types , but it really depends on your individual needs – and your budget!

Remember that the initial discount won’t last forever, so always check the renewal prices before signing up . Watch out for additional costs at checkout, too – HostGator offers tons of optional extras that you can pick and choose, such as domain names, backup services, and SEO tools – so be careful to review your plan before completing your purchase.

Our final verdict of HostGator’s pricing is a positive one. With an overall score of 4.7 out of 5, a value for money score of 3.5,  and our #1 ranked provider for shared hosting, it’s an extremely strong hosting provider, so although its plans aren’t always the cheapest, you know you’re getting a great quality service for your money.

We take great care to ensure the information we publish is reliable and accurate. However, WBE takes no responsibility for any inaccuracy in information supplied to us by users, research participants, or other entities.

Please note the insight contained within this article is for general information purposes only. We’re glad to answer any questions you may have about this article and its supporting research. For further information, please contact Website Builder Expert directly via email at [email protected].

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Home » Coupons » Hostgator Business Plan Review: The Good and Bad

Hostgator Business Plan Review: The Good and Bad

This Hostgator Business plan review takes a deep look at the most advanced shared hosting offered by Hostgator. It’s also the one with the biggest discount. You can also quickly scroll to the differences between the Business and Baby plan .

Best Hostgator Business Plan Coupon Code

The following deal is for 12-months of hosting. If you want to host for 36-months, check out the Hostgator coupon 2024 page for more.

Duration: 12 Months Business Coupon Code (Click to copy):

Compared to the Hostgator Baby plan , this gives you a massive discount of 63%. That’s the highest discount of all three Hostgator shared hosting plans.

Note that the above discount is valid only for a 12-month billing cycle. You can see in the screenshot below, that the discount is only applied for that period:

You can get lower prices if you choose a longer billing cycle like 36-months instead.

Related to Hostgator Business Review:

• All Hostgator Shared Hosting Plans: Overview
• Why you Shouldn’t Go Any Cheaper than Hostgator
• Bluehost vs Hostgator: a Side by Side Comparison
• Hostgator Baby Plan Review: For More Serious Hosting

Hostgator Business Plan Review Table of Contents:

Hostgator Business Plan: The Good

Here’s what I like about the Hostgator Business Plan.

Compared to the prices that other web hosts charge for their premium package, the Hostgator Business plan is downright cheap. At a measly $6.95/m for the first year, it’s the lowest cost hosting for a business plan on the market. Sure, the subscription renews as soon as your first billing cycle is up, but that’s true for all web hosts, not just Hostgator.

Hostgator knows how to do one thing well – provide low-cost, reliable hosting. They don’t have many features, but this is one thing they’ve got nailed down!

Free Positive SSL

These days, no web host should ever charge for an SSL certificate . Except for GoDaddy, all major hosting providers offer free SSL. These are usually Let’s Encrypt certificates, or AutoSSL like with InMotion. Hostgator also offers free SSL with all its plans. However, the Business plan includes what is known as a positive SSL , over and above Let’s Encrypt.

This gives you the following:

• Option to extend SSL validity to 2 years, instead of 90 days as with Let’s Encrypt
• Warranty starting at $10,000 in case something goes wrong
• The TrustLogo® site seal

In short, the positive SSL might inspire a bit more trust from your customers if you accept payments online. The TrustLogo seal and warranty provide you with additional protection. With Let’s Encrypt certificates, your hosting provider probably takes care of automatically renewing it for you, so you don’t have to worry about the 90-day limit.

I don’t think having a positive SSL is such a big deal compared to Let’s Encrypt. But it’s nice to have, I suppose! It won’t make your entire address bar green like an Extended certificate. So be aware of that!

A Dedicated IP Address

Unlike normal shared hosting, the Hostgator Business plan gives you a dedicated IP that’s not shared with anyone else. This is a unique offer since you normally require specialized hosting for a dedicated IP. The benefits of this are debatable. There’s no evidence that it improves your ranking. John Mueller from Google weighed in on a hotly debated study on the benefits of dedicated IPs:

Despite the statement above, there’s some evidence to suggest that Google might blacklist some IPs that host a lot of spam or porn. On an ordinary shared hosting server, you never know what the other people who share your IP are up to, and it might negatively impact your business. With a dedicated IP, you can at least be assured that no one can mess up your reputation.

Anonymous FTP

Most shared hosts don’t support anonymous FTP on their shared hosting. For example, Bluehost specifically disallows anonymous FTP due to security issues. The Hostgator Business plan, on the other hand, lets users create and use this feature.

An anonymous FTP account allows anyone to log into an FTP server with the username “anonymous” and doesn’t require a password. For obvious reasons, this can scare a lot of hosts who worry that their service will be used for hosting dubious, or even illegal content. I don’t blame them for disabling it. But for whatever reason, if you need to use something like this, the Hostgator Business plan lets you do it.

Free SEO “Start” Package

Hostgator has an SEO plan as an add-on to their regular hosting. I’ve never thought that it was worth it, and there are plenty of free alternatives . But the Hostgator Business plan gives you the “Start” SEO package for free. This allows you to track up to 5 keywords, and analyze two competitors. It’s not much, but hey – free is free! It’s a nice little freebie.

Hostgator Business Plan: The Bad

Here’s what I dislike about the Hostgator Business plan.

No Automatic Backups

For me, this is the biggest drawback. I’m a paranoid person, and I take backups very seriously. For the highest tier plan, I expected Hostgator to at least back up my site once a day. Yes, I understand that this is why it’s cheap. But still! For automated backups, you need to purchase the Hostgator CodeGuard add-on, which isn’t that great. I choose to use DropMySite instead .

Other hosts like NameHero, A2 Hosting, and SiteGround, all have pretty good backup systems. Even Bluehost, which is another cheap hosting provider gives CodeGuard for free with their “Pro” plan. But Hostgator’s backups are pathetic . You have no choice but to purchase an additional add-on if you want your files and data to be safe. That’s the single biggest problem with the Hostgator Business plan.

No SSD Drives for Files

I would have thought that in today’s world, everyone would use SSD drives. However, using HDDs for storing files allows Hostgator to keep costs low . To be fair, they use SSD drives where it matters – for their MySQL database servers. Since databases are the place where the most intensive disk operations occur, it’s a smart compromise. But still, it’s not a good look for one of the largest hosting providers to be using SSD – even if it’s just for files and folders.

No Server Caching

Hostgator doesn’t provide server caching on any of its shared hosting plans. Here’s a list of web hosts that do . Without this, you have to rely on 3rd party caching plugins to speed up your site. But these are never as fast as when the server does it directly. It uses up CPU on your account, unlike native support. Hostgator only has server-caching for its managed WordPress plan. But without that, you have to implement it by yourself.

Other web hosts like NameHero, A2 Hosting, and SiteGround provide extensive server-caching capabilities for their highest tier plans. Using LiteSpeed servers, NameHero can extend it even to its basic tier packages! So the lack of server-caching on the Hostgator Business plan is a glaring omission.

Hostgator Business Plan vs Other Web Hosts

In this review, we’ll compare the Hostgator Business plan to the other advanced packages offered by SiteGround, Bluehost, NameHero, and GoDaddy. The difference in the features is quite large, so it’ll be an interesting comparison. Generally, the selling point of Hostgator is lower prices, so that’s what we’ll be seeing. The Business Plan will have a lot more freebies compared to other web hosts, which prioritize features instead.

Hostgator Business Plan vs SiteGround GoGeek

SiteGround’s GoGeek plan is their premium offering. However, I feel it’s important to state that I’ve stopped recommending SiteGround . The massive price increases, along with the lack of cPanel finally pushed me away. Instead, I recommend NameHero which we’ll compare next.

Feature Comparison

Here’s a summary of the feature comparison between Hostgator Business and SiteGround GoGeek:

As you can see, the Hostgator Business plan has a lot more free items than SiteGround’s GoGeek. On the other hand, SiteGround’s features really make it stand out. Hostgator lacks backups, malware scanning, staging, support for new technologies, and a lot more. SiteGround has all of these. Here’s my full review of the SiteGround GoGeek plan .

Hostgator Business vs SiteGround GoGeek Pros and Cons

Here are the broad positive and negative aspects of each:

Hostgator Business Pros

• 4x cheaper!
• Free domain
• Free SEO tools
• Free dedicated IP
• Free positive SSL

Hostgator Business Cons

• Lack of advanced features
• HDD drives for files

SiteGround GoGeek Pros

• Free backups
• Server caching
• Renewable energy matching
• Priority support

SiteGround GoGeek Cons

• Super expensive
• SSD drives for files

Choosing between these two depends on what you want. If you just want solid hosting at a cheap price without bells and whistles, the Hostgator Business plan is great. But if you want advanced features, priority support, and support for the latest technologies, then choose SiteGround’s GoGeek plan.

Hostgator Business vs SiteGround GoGeek Rating:

Hostgator Business Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ SiteGround GoGeek Rating: 4/5 ★★★★☆

Winner: SiteGround GoGeek

Hostgator Business vs Bluehost Pro

Unlike SiteGround’s GoGeek, the Bluehost Pro plan has a lot more freebies. In this regard, it’s more similar to the Hostgator Business plan. Unfortunately, it’s still super expensive compared to Hostgator.

Features Comparison

Here’s a comparison between the two:

Bluehost Pro is still a lot more expensive than Hostgator Business. But unlike SiteGround, it has a lot more free stuff like a dedicated IP and automated backups. You also get a free domain. However, for the price range of Bluehost Pro, I feel they don’t have nearly enough features to make it worthwhile.

Pros and Cons

• Significantly cheaper
• Free positive SSL certificate

Bluehost Pro Pros

• Automated backups
• Free domain privacy

Bluehost Pro Cons

• Not enough features for the price

Hostgator Business vs Bluehost Pro Rating:

Hostgator Business Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ Bluehost Pro Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆

Winner: Tie

Hostgator Business vs GoDaddy Ultimate

“Ultimate” is GoDaddy’s high-end plan. So it’s fair to compare it with Hostgator Business. The most important difference between the two is that GoDaddy Ultimate only comes with 1-year free SSL, whereas Hostgator Business has free SSL for the entire duration of hosting. This saves you close to $100 every year! It’s a huge difference and one that you simply can’t ignore. Apart from that, GoDaddy’s plan is far more expensive – both in the initial discount phase, as well as when it comes to the full price.

Here are the features comparison between Hostgator Business and GoDaddy Ultimate:

As you can see, the only advantages to GoDaddy Ultimate are the free Office 365 subscription for 1-year and the Anycast DNS Network.

What I Like and Dislike About Each

What I Like About Hostgator Business

• Free SSL certificate

What I Dislike About Hostgator Business Cons

What I like About GoDaddy Ultimate Pros

• Free Office 365 for 1-year
• Pre-built sites for WordPress
• Premium DNS service

What I Dislike About GoDaddy Ultimate Cons

• Unnecessarily expensive
• No Free SSL after the first year
• No SSD drives

Hostgator Business vs GoDaddy Ultimate Rating:

Hostgator Business Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ GoDaddy Ultimate Rating: 1/5 ★☆☆☆☆

Winner: Hostgator Business

Hostgator Business Plan vs Baby Plan

Here’s a list of features that are included with the Hostgator Business hosting plan, but not with the Baby plan.

Business Plan Review: Extra Features:

Positive SSL Included

The Hostgator Business plan comes with a free positive SSL certificate as explained above . This is a value of $40/year, so it’s quite a big bonus! Without it, you have an ordinary Let’s Encrypt AutoSSL certificate that renews every three months.

Free Dedicated IP Address

The Hostgator Business hosting plan provides you with a free dedicated IP address for your website. Look further up for more details on dedicated IPs . The Baby plan has this for an additional $4/month. That’s a huge amount compared to the cost of hosting! So if for some reason you need a dedicated IP address, you should go for the Business plan without a doubt.

Do you need a dedicated IP? Probably not. Unless you’re running some special service that you want to access directly via the IP address – maybe for performance reasons.

Anonymous FTP Allowed

If you need to have a publicly accessible folder where people can access, download, and upload files, then you require a Hostgator Business hosting plan. Again, this seems to be a pretty niche scenario, and I don’t think most websites will need it.

Hostgator Business Plan E-Mail Features

The Hostgator Business plan comes with the following e-mail facilities:

• Email Aliases
• Auto Responders
• Spam Filtering
• Mail forwarding
• More Mailing Lists

All these features are available with the Hostgator Hatchling and Business plans as well. The only difference I can tell is in the “Mailing Lists” feature. The number of lists you can make depends on your plan according to the following rules:

Hostgator Hatchling: 20 e-mail lists max Hostgator Baby: 25 e-mail lists max Hostgator Business: 50 e-mail lists max

Hostgator Business Plan Login Details

You can log into your Hostgator Business plan pretty much the same way you log into any cPanel account. Use one of the following addresses in your browser:

example.com :2083 example.com/cpanel cpanel. example.com example.com :2082

Replace example.com with the name of your domain. The difference between example.com :2083 and example.com :2082 is that 2083 takes you to a secure login page, whereas 2082 can take you to an insecure page over plain HTTP. Always try and use 2083 to log into cPanel unless you have no choice. You can read more about the different ways to log into cPanel .

These login methods apply to all shared hosting accounts, and not just to the Hostgator Business hosting plan.

Hostgator Business Plan Toll Free Number

Hostgator’s support staff are available to you at any time of the day. Here are their contact details via phone:

Toll-Free Number: (866)964-2867 Local Number: (713) 574 – 5287 International: 00+1-713-574-5287

You can also contact them via live chat. They’re available 24/7!

What About Hostgator Business Plan Free SSL?

As mentioned above, all Hostgator plans come with free SSL via Let’s Encrypt. However, the Hostgator Business  hosting plan, in particular, comes with a free positive SSL as well, which can inspire more trust and can also be renewed for up to two years.

Useful Hostgator Links

Here’s a list of links you might find useful when shopping for Hostgator plans:

• Complete list of Hostgator Coupons
• Hostgator Hatchling Plan review
• Hostgator Baby Plan review
• Is Hostgator CodeGuard Worth it?
• Hostgator SEO add-on Alternatives
• Hostgator vs Bluehost Comparison

I've been writing about web hosting and WordPress tutorials since 2008. I also create tutorials on Linux server administration, and have a ton of experience with web hosting products. Contact me via e-mail!

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Top 10 Hosting Companies in Ohio

Stablepoint

HostGator Review

Reviewed by Gabriela V

Checked by Gabriela Vangelova

Stands out with:

• 30 days Moneyback Guarantee
• Support available 27/7 via phone, Email, Chat, Knowledge Base
• Daily Backups
• Free Migrations
• Free Domain
• Shared Hosting $2.75-5.25
• VPS $34.99-93.99
• Reseller Hosting $34.99-93.99
• Dedicated Services $89.98-139.99
• Managed hosting N/A

Servers locations

Key features

Introduction to HostGator

Company facts.

Houston, Texas, United States

Live Chat, Email, Phone

cPanel, Custom, Plesk

Asia, Australia, Europe, UK, US

ASP.net, MongoDB, Mysql, PHP, Rubby, Windows Hosting

Bitcoin, MasterCard , Paypal, Visa

Pros & Cons

• Speed reaper features are available on all plans
• Free white label and personal nameservers
• 45 days money back guarantee
• Powered by Litespeed web server
• WHMCS is only available on web giant and site nova plans and is not included in monthly plans.

Hosting Types

Web hosting types.

Shared Hosting

HostGator’s shared hosting packages form the bedrock of its service offerings, catering to individuals and businesses seeking cost-effective solutions without compromising performance. The Hatchling Plan, ideal for those starting their online journey, provides a single domain, unmetered bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate, enabling users to establish a secure and reliable online presence. The Baby Plan steps up the game by allowing unlimited domains, making it an excellent choice for those managing multiple websites. The Business Plan takes it a notch higher, offering free dedicated IP, a private SSL, and a complimentary upgrade to Positive SSL. All shared hosting plans benefit from HostGator’s user-friendly control panel, providing a seamless experience for managing website resources, domains, and email accounts. In our detailed exploration of HostGator’s shared hosting packages, we will evaluate the performance, features, and support to give you a comprehensive understanding of what each plan brings to the table.

Cheap Shared Hosting

WordPress Hosting

Recognizing the ubiquity of WordPress as a preferred content management system, HostGator offers specialized WordPress hosting packages designed to optimize performance and streamline management for users of this popular platform. The Baby Plan, catering to users with up to two websites, provides 20GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and a user-friendly control panel. Priced affordably at $3.50, it strikes a balance between cost-effectiveness and features. The Business Plan, at $5.25, extends support for three websites, offering 40GB of storage and the same unlimited bandwidth, ideal for businesses seeking to expand their online presence. For users with more extensive needs, the Pro Plan comes with 100GB of storage, supports up to five websites, and is priced at $13.95. In the upcoming section, we’ll delve into the intricate details of each WordPress hosting plan, assessing their performance, features, and overall value proposition to help you make an informed decision for your WordPress-powered websites.

Dedicated Servers

HostGator’s dedicated server offerings represent the pinnacle of hosting performance, providing users with exclusive access to a physical server dedicated solely to their website’s needs. Ideal for businesses and enterprises with high traffic volumes and resource-intensive applications, HostGator’s dedicated servers offer unparalleled power and control. Users can choose from a range of server configurations based on their specific requirements, including CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth. With features like full root access and the ability to customize server settings, HostGator’s dedicated hosting empowers users to tailor their hosting environment to meet the unique demands of their projects. In the following section, we will delve into the various dedicated server options HostGator provides, exploring the specifications, performance capabilities, and the overall value proposition these servers offer for those seeking top-tier hosting solutions.

VPS Hosting

HostGator’s VPS and Reseller Hosting packages present versatile solutions for users seeking a blend of dedicated resources and cost-effectiveness. The VPS hosting plans, including the Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000, cater to different project scales with varying levels of server resources. The Snappy 2000, priced at $34.99, offers 120GB of storage, making it ideal for users with moderate resource needs. Stepping up, the Snappy 4000, priced at $51.99, provides 165GB of storage, suitable for growing websites and applications. For more extensive requirements, the Snappy 8000, priced at $93.99, offers 240GB of storage for larger projects. In addition to VPS hosting, HostGator’s Reseller Hosting presents entrepreneurs with the opportunity to start their own hosting business, featuring customizable plans and a robust infrastructure. In the upcoming section, we will explore the specifics of each VPS and Reseller Hosting plan, examining their performance, features, and overall value proposition to help you choose the right solution for your hosting needs.

Reseller Hosting

Ecommerce Hosting

Overview of HostGator

With a legacy dating back to its establishment on October 22, 2002 , HostGator stands as a venerable force in the web hosting realm, boasting over two decades of experience in delivering robust hosting solutions. Founded by Brent Oxley, the company's roots trace back to its humble beginnings, evolving into a powerhouse within the industry. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States, HostGator has become synonymous with reliability and versatility in the realm of web services and cloud solutions. As part of the Endurance International Group since 2012, the company has harnessed its extensive expertise to cater to a broad spectrum of clients, from individual website owners to thriving enterprises.

HostGator's commitment to excellence is reflected in its diverse range of hosting packages, each tailored to meet specific needs. The shared hosting packages serve as an accessible entry point for beginners, featuring user-friendly control panels and the advantage of unlimited bandwidth. Meanwhile, the specialized WordPress hosting plans demonstrate the company's dedication to optimizing performance for users of this popular content management system. For businesses with high traffic and resource-intensive demands, HostGator's dedicated servers offer unparalleled power and control, allowing for a tailored hosting environment.

In addition to the robust hosting solutions, HostGator's VPS and Reseller Hosting options strike a strategic balance between dedicated resources and cost-effectiveness. The company's commitment to scalability is further underscored by the variety of plans, including the Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000, each catering to different project scales.

Did you know that HostGator:

• Became a target in May 2012 when the hacker group UGNazi claimed responsibility for a social engineering attack involving HostGator and the web server of billing software developer WHMCS.
• Faced a significant challenge in 2006 when a Trojan attack impacted more than 200 machines.
• Experienced increased service outages and downtime after its acquisition by Endurance International in 2013, notably on August 2, 2013, and December 31, 2013.

Today, HostGator's influence extends globally, with a team of 1,500+ employees dedicated to providing top-notch services. As we delve into the specifics of each hosting category in this comprehensive review, we will examine not only the performance, features, and customer support but also the rich history and commitment to innovation that make HostGator a trusted name in the web hosting industry.

Ongoing Coupons for HostGator

HostGator consistently offers enticing deals to enhance the value proposition for its users. Currently, one of the standout promotions is a generous 77% off on VPS (Virtual Private Server) plans . This exclusive discount applies to various VPS hosting packages, allowing users to harness the power of dedicated resources at a significantly reduced cost. Whether you're a growing website or a business with expanding needs, HostGator's VPS plans, coupled with this substantial discount, provide an excellent opportunity to elevate your online presence. By taking advantage of ongoing coupons like these, users can not only benefit from HostGator's robust hosting solutions but also enjoy significant cost savings, making it an opportune time to explore and invest in top-tier hosting services for your digital ventures.

Hostgator 5% discount for monthly

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Hostgator 50% discount for yearly

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HostGator: Our Rating Analysis

HostGator earns its stripes as a reliable hosting provider, and our rating analysis reflects its commendable performance across various hosting categories. With a user-friendly interface, robust infrastructure, and a commitment to customer satisfaction, HostGator consistently ranks high in our assessments. Below is a breakdown of our ratings, presented in a convenient table format:

HostGator's shared hosting plans provide an ideal starting point for individuals and small businesses. With unlimited bandwidth and a user-friendly control panel, these plans are perfect for those entering the online space. The Hatchling Plan, Baby Plan, and Business Plan offer varying levels of features, allowing users to scale their hosting as their needs evolve.

Specifically crafted for WordPress enthusiasts, HostGator's WordPress hosting plans optimize performance for websites built on this popular content management system. Ranging from the Baby Plan to the Pro Plan, users can benefit from features like free SSL certificates, various storage options, and the ability to host multiple WordPress sites effortlessly.

For websites demanding top-tier performance and complete control, HostGator's dedicated servers provide exclusive access to a physical server. Tailored to meet the needs of larger enterprises and high-traffic websites, these servers offer customizable configurations, root access, and robust resources for unparalleled power and control.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) from HostGator strike a balance between shared hosting and dedicated servers. The Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000 plans cater to different project scales, offering scalable resources, unlimited bandwidth, and full root access. Ideal for users seeking dedicated resources without the cost of a full server.

HostGator's Reseller Hosting is tailored for entrepreneurs looking to start their own hosting business. With customizable plans, robust infrastructure, and white-label capabilities, resellers can create unique hosting packages for their clients. This type of hosting is designed to empower individuals to enter the hosting industry with ease.

Tailored for online businesses, HostGator's Ecommerce Hosting plans are designed to provide a seamless and secure environment for running online stores. With features like dedicated IP addresses, SSL certificates, and e-commerce tools, these plans empower users to create and manage their online shops effectively. Whether you're a small boutique or a growing enterprise, HostGator's Ecommerce Hosting ensures a reliable platform to showcase and sell products or services online.

Web Hosting

HostGator's Web Hosting plans encompass a broad spectrum, offering versatile solutions for a range of website types. From personal blogs to corporate websites, these plans provide the fundamental resources needed for a strong online presence. Users can choose from various packages, each offering a different level of resources, making HostGator's Web Hosting suitable for individuals, small businesses, and organizations looking for a reliable and cost-effective hosting solution.

HostGator Features

One-click installs, free ssl certificate, 99.9% uptime, unmetered bandwidth, free domain, site transfers available, technologies, windows hosting.

WooCommerce

Presta shop

Data centers, control panels, how to use hostgator, choose your hosting plan.

• Browse through HostGator's range of hosting plans and select the one that best fits your needs, whether it's shared hosting for a personal blog, dedicated servers for a high-traffic website, or reseller hosting for starting your own hosting business.

Register a Domain (If Needed)

• If you don't have a domain name, you can register one through HostGator during the sign-up process. Alternatively, if you already have a domain, you can easily transfer it to HostGator.

Complete the Sign-Up Process

• Follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete the sign-up process. Provide the necessary information, choose your billing cycle, and select any additional services or features you may need.

Set Up Your Website

• Once your account is set up, use the provided cPanel or control panel to manage your hosting settings. Install applications like WordPress with just one click, upload your website files, and configure your email accounts. HostGator's user-friendly interface makes it easy to manage and customize your hosting environment.

HostGator Control Panel

HostGator provides users with an intuitive and powerful control panel to manage their hosting environment seamlessly. Utilizing the widely-used cPanel, HostGator's control panel offers a user-friendly interface that empowers users to oversee various aspects of their hosting account. From managing files and domains to setting up email accounts and installing applications, the control panel provides a centralized hub for all hosting-related tasks. With its straightforward navigation and robust features, users can efficiently configure their websites, monitor performance metrics, and access a range of tools to enhance their online presence. HostGator's control panel simplifies the complexities of web hosting, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced users to effortlessly navigate and optimize their hosting experience.

Basic Guidelines for Using HostGator Services

When using HostGator services, it's essential to adhere to some basic guidelines to make the most of your hosting experience. Firstly, carefully choose the hosting plan that aligns with your website's needs, considering factors such as expected traffic, storage requirements, and scalability. During the registration process, ensure accurate and up-to-date information is provided to facilitate a smooth account setup. If you're registering a new domain or transferring an existing one, follow the instructions provided by HostGator for a seamless integration. Once your account is active, utilize the user-friendly cPanel to manage your hosting settings, install applications, and monitor performance. Regularly back up your website to safeguard against unforeseen issues and stay informed about any ongoing promotions or updates through HostGator's communication channels. Lastly, take advantage of the 24/7 customer support available, should you encounter any challenges or have questions about your hosting services. Following these basic guidelines ensures a positive and efficient experience with HostGator's hosting services.

Website Performance Optimization with HostGator

Optimizing website performance is crucial for delivering a seamless user experience, and HostGator provides a range of tools and features to enhance the speed and efficiency of your website. Begin by utilizing the content delivery network (CDN) integration available with HostGator, distributing your website's static content across multiple servers globally to reduce load times. Take advantage of the caching options within the control panel to store frequently accessed data, minimizing the need for repeated server requests. Compressing images and files before uploading them to your website can significantly reduce file sizes, contributing to faster load times. HostGator's scalable hosting solutions, particularly VPS and dedicated servers, offer additional resources and dedicated processing power, ideal for high-traffic websites. Regularly monitoring your website's performance metrics through tools like AWStats or Google Analytics allows you to identify areas for improvement and ensure optimal functionality. By implementing these optimization strategies and leveraging HostGator's features, users can create a fast and responsive online environment for their visitors.

Other Important Things

• Security Measures: Prioritize the security of your website by regularly updating software, plugins, and themes. HostGator provides security features, including SSL certificates and firewall protection. Activate these features to safeguard your website and sensitive user data.
• Regular Backups: Schedule regular backups of your website to prevent data loss in case of unforeseen events. HostGator offers backup tools and services, allowing you to restore your website to a previous state if needed.
• Customer Support Channels: Familiarize yourself with HostGator's customer support channels, available 24/7. Whether you have technical issues, billing inquiries, or general questions, HostGator's support team is ready to assist via live chat, phone, or support ticket.
• Terms of Service and Policies: Understand HostGator's terms of service and policies to ensure compliance. This includes guidelines on acceptable use, resource usage limits, and refund policies. Staying informed about these terms helps maintain a positive hosting relationship.
• Scalability Options: Consider the scalability options provided by HostGator as your website grows. Whether you're upgrading your hosting plan or exploring additional services, HostGator's scalable solutions ensure flexibility to accommodate your evolving needs.
• Knowledge Base and Tutorials: Explore HostGator's knowledge base and tutorials. HostGator offers a wealth of resources, including articles and video tutorials, providing insights into various aspects of web hosting, website management, and troubleshooting common issues.

Performance of HostGator

HostGator has consistently demonstrated commendable performance in the web hosting industry, earning its reputation as a reliable and efficient hosting provider. The company's commitment to delivering top-notch services is reflected in the robust infrastructure and state-of-the-art data centers that power its hosting solutions. HostGator's shared hosting plans provide reliable and stable performance for smaller websites, while dedicated servers offer unparalleled power and control for resource-intensive applications. The VPS hosting options strike a balance between cost-effectiveness and dedicated resources, ensuring optimal performance for a diverse range of projects. HostGator's commitment to speed is further emphasized by its content delivery network (CDN) integration, contributing to reduced load times and enhanced global accessibility. Regular updates, security features, and a range of optimization tools contribute to maintaining high levels of website performance. With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, HostGator continues to be a preferred choice for users seeking a hosting provider that prioritizes performance and reliability.

HostGator Customer Support

HostGator's commitment to customer satisfaction is exemplified through its robust and accessible customer support. Available 24/7, the support team comprises knowledgeable and friendly professionals ready to assist users with any queries or challenges they may encounter. Users can reach out to HostGator's support team through various channels, including live chat for real-time assistance, phone support for immediate solutions, and a support ticket system for more complex issues. The company's extensive knowledge base, featuring articles, tutorials, and guides, serves as a valuable self-help resource for users seeking information and solutions independently. HostGator's commitment to transparency is evident in its online forums and community, where users can share experiences, seek advice, and engage with fellow website owners. The responsive and comprehensive customer support offered by HostGator reinforces its dedication to ensuring a positive hosting experience for users at every step of their online journey.

Concluding Thoughts

Catering to a diverse clientele, from novice users to established businesses, HostGator offers an array of hosting plans marked by reliability and scalability. The company's steadfast commitment to optimizing performance, incorporating robust security measures, and providing scalable solutions reinforces its standing as a preferred hosting provider. With an intuitive control panel, extensive features, and round-the-clock customer support, HostGator prioritizes accessibility and efficiency for users across all proficiency levels. Whether for small enterprises, expanding businesses, or personal endeavors, HostGator's comprehensive hosting solutions and exemplary customer support position it as an attractive choice for those seeking a trustworthy ally in establishing and maintaining a successful online presence.

Frequently Asked Questions about HostGator Hosting

What hosting options does hostgator offer.

• Shared Hosting: Ideal for beginners, shared hosting allows multiple websites to share resources on a single server, making it a cost-effective choice.
• WordPress Hosting: Tailored for WordPress users, these plans offer optimized performance, one-click installations, and additional features to enhance your WordPress-powered websites.
• Dedicated Servers: For maximum control and resources, dedicated servers provide exclusive access to an entire server, making them suitable for high-traffic websites or resource-intensive applications.
• VPS Hosting: Offering a middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting, Virtual Private Servers provide dedicated resources within a shared environment, providing enhanced performance and scalability.
• Reseller Hosting: Designed for entrepreneurs, reseller hosting enables users to create their own hosting business by offering customized plans to clients using HostGator's infrastructure.
• Ecommerce Hosting: Tailored for online businesses, these plans come with features like dedicated IP addresses, SSL certificates, and tools specifically designed for hosting e-commerce websites.
• Web Hosting: Offering versatile solutions for a wide range of website types, web hosting plans are designed to provide fundamental resources for a strong online presence.

In how many global data center locations does HostGator operate, and what are the top locations available?

HostGator's top data center locations include:

• Provo, Utah, USA: HostGator's data center in Provo is strategically located to serve a large portion of North America, providing reliable hosting services to users in the United States and beyond.
• Houston, Texas, USA: HostGator's headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, and the presence of a data center in this region further ensures seamless hosting for users in North America.
• India (Exact Location may vary): HostGator has a data center presence in India, catering to the growing demand for hosting services in the South Asian region.

What are the key features of HostGator's hosting services?

• Unlimited Bandwidth: Allowing for smooth and uninterrupted data transfer, ensuring optimal performance for your website.
• Free SSL Certificates: Enhancing website security by encrypting data transmission between the user's browser and the server.
• User-Friendly Control Panel: HostGator utilizes the popular cPanel, providing an intuitive interface for easy management of hosting settings, domains, and website resources.
• Scalable Hosting Packages: Whether you're a beginner or a growing enterprise, HostGator offers a variety of hosting plans that can scale with your needs.
• One-Click WordPress Installation: Simplifying the process of setting up and managing WordPress-powered websites.
• Dedicated IP Addresses (Certain Plans): Offering dedicated IP addresses for improved website performance and security.
• Root Access (VPS and Dedicated Servers): Allowing advanced users greater control and customization of their hosting environment.
• Ecommerce Tools: Specifically designed features for hosting online stores, including dedicated IP addresses, SSL certificates, and e-commerce applications.
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) Integration: Distributing website content across multiple servers globally to reduce load times and enhance global accessibility.
• 24/7 Customer Support: Accessible through live chat, phone, and support ticket system, ensuring assistance whenever needed.

What customer support channels are available at HostGator?

• Live Chat: Users can engage in real-time conversations with HostGator's support team through the live chat feature, allowing for quick and efficient problem resolution.
• Phone Support: HostGator provides phone support, allowing users to connect with support agents for immediate assistance. This is particularly beneficial for urgent inquiries or technical issues.
• Support Ticket System: Users can submit support tickets through the online ticketing system, detailing their concerns or issues. This provides a structured way to address more complex queries and receive a detailed response.

Does HostGator offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes, HostGator provides a 45-day money-back guarantee for their hosting services. This guarantee allows users to try out HostGator's hosting solutions risk-free. If, within the first 45 days of signing up, a user decides that HostGator's services do not meet their expectations, they are eligible for a full refund of the hosting fees paid.

It's important to note that certain additional services or products, such as domain registration fees, add-ons, or dedicated IP addresses, may not be covered by the money-back guarantee. Users are encouraged to review HostGator's terms of service for specific details regarding the refund policy and any exclusions that may apply.

The money-back guarantee reflects HostGator's confidence in the quality of their services and provides users with peace of mind when exploring their hosting solutions.

HostGator VS 2 other hosting companies

Head to Head

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SSD Only servers

Rocket Booster

Let’s Encrypt

Cloudflare CDN Caching

SpanExperts

Web Application Firewall

Malware Scan & Reports

Free Daily Backups

Instant chat response

Multiple server location

2.75 /month

2.99 /month

6.35 /month

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HostGator Pricing – How Much Does HostGator Hosting Cost?

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Hostgator hosting plans begin from as little as $2.75 per month , but can scale up into the hundreds of dollars for dedicated hosting tiers. In this guide, we’ll explain which plan may be best for your needs, and how to get the best HostGator deal.

The tiers vary in cost, with a higher price tag netting you more storage, website domains, features, or support options.

Discounts and deals are available , as well, though you should check the fine print to ensure you know how much you’ll be paying when you renew your plan: HostGator regularly sells its plans at 40-50% off for the first 12-36 months, which can make for a big surprise when you renew at their original prices.

We’ve included the best deals in our table below, which covers all the plans, tiers, and non-discounted pricing options available from HostGator.

In this review:

Which HostGator Plan Is Best?

• Shared Hosting
• VPS Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting
• Cloud Hosting
• WordPress Hosting

Frequently Asked Questions

• Verdict – Should You Use HostGator Hosting?

There are a variety of types of hosting plans, all aimed at those with differing needs. HostGator offers all five of the major hosting plans, and each plan comes with multiple tiers.

The plan differences are mostly defined by your website’s relationship with the physical server that hosts it. If you shared the server with other sites, you’re using  shared hosting ; If you have a server all to yourself, you’re using  dedicated hosting ; if you get a defined section of the server for your site, you’re using VPS hosting. You can also shared multiple servers under a  cloud hosting plan. Finally, there’s a  WordPress hosting plan, which is a little different from the rest: It’s essentially just cloud hosting, but with additional help from the popular WordPress website creation software, which provides ready-made templates and plugins.

You don’t really need to remember all that, however. Here’s what’s really relevant:

• Shared Hosting  – cheapest, but the least powerful; best for small websites
• VPS Hosting  – good for medium-sized or growing business websites
• Dedicated Hosting  – most powerful and most expensive; best for bigger website
• Cloud Hosting – relatively inexpensive but dependable option for mid-size websites
• WordPress Hosting  – the hands-off option, best for website newbies

If you’re eager to learn more about the ins and outs of web hosting prices (as well as take a look at HostGator’s competition), feel free to check out Tech.co’s full guide to web hosting costs .

HostGator Shared Hosting

Shared hosting plans mean you’ll save the most money, but since you’ll be shared the physical server your site is hosted on, your site might occasionally run slowly or even stop functioning entirely. However, HostGator proved to have the most up time in Tech.co’s tests, meaning that its shared hosting plans are more likely to keep your website continuously functioning than its competitors’ plans. It’s tough to argue with those results.

All three HostGator shared hosting plans come with a free SSL certificate and unmetered bandwidth, but none of them include free domains or free site backups. For a detailed look at the differences between shared hosting tiers, check out the graph below.

HostGator VPS Hosting

Medium-sized businesses that hope to grow their online presence can’t rely entirely on the less-dependable shared hosting, but shouldn’t pay through the nose for dedicated hosting: VPS hosting is the best option for them.

Here are the three HostGator VPS plan tiers, the benefits they offer, and the prices they’ll cost you. Free backups and two IP addresses are available at all tiers.

HostGator Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting: Sure, it’ll cost more, but it’s definitely the most cost-effective route for a huge company with a lot of online data and a lot of traffic.

HostGator offers two server locations for their dedicated hosting plans, both of which are U.S.-based, and it supports both Linux and Windows OS. Here are the features and costs that each tier comes with.

HostGator Cloud Hosting

Unlike some cloud hosting providers, HostGator won’t give you the option to tailor the server cluster to your exact RAM, CPU, or storage needs. You’ll pay a fixed rate rather than an hourly one, as well. In other words, the three tiers you see are all that you can get.

Here are the three HostGator cloud hosting plan tiers, with a little more data about the benefits and costs of each.

HostGator WordPress Hosting

If you don’t have a lot of experience with web hosting, coding, or running any IT programs, never fear: WordPress hosting is probably for you. The plans will host your website on a cloud-based server cluster and deliver your website through the WordPress software, which lets you pick your favorite front-end template out from thousands of options, making your site easy to access and update.

Take a look at each of HostGator’s three WordPress hosting plans here to get a good idea of what each of them offers at which price point.

HostGator Review Summary

Founded in (where else?) Florida in 2002, HostGator is one of a handful of well-known and respected web hosting brands operating today. It has a strong reputation for good reason: Its offers great service and a high quality across the board.

In our testing, we found that HostGator performed better than any other top brands when it came to up time (the amount of time that websites hosted on HostGator stayed online and functional). HostGator’s 99.99% up time makes them the most dependable hosting service on the market today. Their range of plans and their storage space are also highlights.

We have a few quibbles, as a few additional features could be included in a few plans, and the pricing can be a little higher than it needs to be, but HostGator is definitely a strong contender in web hosting. Here’s our full review, which details their five different plans, their features, and how much it all costs. Also, don’t forget to check out the special HostGator deals so you can get a great price right off the bat.

HostGator provides a good service for plenty of reasons, but the biggest one is worth highlighting: They're dependable, keeping their hosted websites available and functional online more consistently than their competitors, according to Tech.co's tests. Their range of plans and tiers, their strong support team, and their good storage options all make HostGator a recommended web hosting service, even if its pricing and feature set leave a little to be desired.

Verdict – Should You Use HostGator?

Yes, HostGator is a strong contender in the web hosting world. It offers great storage options, a solid 24/7 support team, and a wide range of plans and tiers. Best of all, their website up time is 99.99%, meaning your website will stay functional and working almost all the time. They’re not perfect (features are a little limited, and they’re a bit pricier than a few of their competitors), but they’ll definitely serve you well .

If you’re interested in checking out HostGator for yourself, make sure to take advantage of the regular HostGator deals so you can get the best price on a web hosting provider that works for you.

Is HostGator reliable?

Does hostgator charge monthly, is hostgator good for wordpress, which is better, hostgator or godaddy, is bluehost better than hostgator.

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HostGator Web Hosting review

Great value and feature-packed hosting for home and business users.

TechRadar Verdict

A likeable web host with responsive support and fast, feature-packed and great value shared hosting plans. We'd like more choice in the VPS and dedicated ranges, but overall HostGator has appealing products for home and business users alike.

Speedy shared hosting plans

Low starter prices

45-day money-back guarantee

Helpful live chat support

Easy-to-use website builder with ecommerce support

Some downtime during the review

Underpowered VPS and dedicated hosting plans

US-only data centers

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

HostGator is a hugely popular Texas-based web hosting provider who has been helping customers get online since 2002.

These days the company is owned by Newfold Digital (previously Endurance International Group), the hosting giant who also runs Bluehost , iPage, Domain.com , Web.com, SiteBuilder.com and more.

HostGator's cartoon mascot, cheerful website and low headline prices might leave you thinking it's mostly for consumers and hosting newbies, but in reality the service offers a full range of products for all levels of user.

It's a winning recipe which delivers great results. Datanyze' Web Hosting Share report puts HostGator in 5th place with 5.71%, ahead of all but the largest of web names ( GoDaddy , Amazon AWS, Google .)

• Want to try HostGator? Check out the website here

What hosting plans does HostGator offer? 

HostGator's range starts with low-cost shared hosting , simple to manage, but with all the features many sites will ever need.

If you don't have a website already, HostGator's website builder helps you create a starting design in minutes. Editing can be as easy as typing in some text, and dragging and dropping images, contact forms and anything else you need onto the page.

More powerful VPS and dedicated products deliver extra speed and reliability, and are better suited for large or business-critical sites.

There's also a capable managed WordPress range, reseller hosting , domain registration and more.

Next, we'll talk about some of HostGator's most important hosting products, their pros and cons, who they'll suit best and any alternatives you might want to consider.

Shared hosting

Sign up for a shared plan and HostGator places your website on a single server which also hosts many other accounts. With everyone using the same CPU, hard drive and network connection, speeds aren't the best. But they're enough for many sites, and with the cost of the server spread across many users, prices are low.

HostGator's shared hosting starts at just $2.75 a month over three years ($6.95 on renewal). It only supports a single site, but still delivers everything we'd hope to see: free domain, free migration, unmetered storage and bandwidth, one-click WordPress installs (via the excellent Softaculous ), free SSL , the powerful cPanel control panel and 24/7 support via phone, live chat and email, all protected by a generous 45 day money-back guarantee (most hosts only offer 30).

Upgrading to the top-of-the-range plan gets you support for unlimited websites, along with a dedicated IP and a free Positive SSL certificate (a higher grade of SSL which allows you to display a Trustlogo® Site Seal on your website). This could be a smarter choice for businesses, but it's still very reasonably priced from $5.25 a month for the first three years, $14.95 afterwards.

Overall, HostGator's shared hosting is a capable product which has loads of features, but still remains very easy to use.

If price is key, iPage shared hosting starts at only $1.99 a month over three years. But although it more than covers the basics, the service doesn't match HostGator for quality and speed, and it's more expensive on renewal at $7.99.

Hostinger's shared hosting is an interesting HostGator alternative. Its Premium plan is priced similarly to HostGator's starter package, for instance, but it has similar performance, supports up to 100 websites, and adds useful WordPress and other tools.

Power users or anyone with large and advanced sites should look at A2 Hosting, too. Its top shared hosting packages are far more expensive ($12.99 a month over three years, $25.99 on renewal), but they get you more RAM and CPU time, high-speed storage, a faster web server and assorted other performance-boosting tech.

WordPress hosting

WordPress is a powerful and configurable platform which can help you build anything from a simple single-page website, to a personal blog, a professional business site or (with help from add-ons like WooCommerce ) a full-featured web store.

HostGator's shared hosting plans are the most cost-effective way to try WordPress. The bundled Softaculous installs WordPress in seconds, and you can begin building websites right away. That could be the smart choice for simple sites, or if you’re just looking to learn the WordPress basics.

HostGator also offers managed WordPress hosting for more demanding users. Valuable extras include CodeGuard's daily automatic backups and 1-click restores. And SiteLock Fix doesn't just scan for your website files for malware, like most of the competition; it grabs any affected files, removes the threat and uploads a clean version back to your site.

Other benefits are less visible, though also important. Managed WordPress servers are optimized for WordPress, delivering more speed and higher security. And the support team has more WordPress expertise, helping you solve tricky WordPress-specific issues.

Despite these advantages, the managed WordPress plans are only a little more expensive, with prices starting at $5.95 a month over three years ($9.95 on renewal) for a single site account.

This looks like a good deal to us. CodeGuard backups and SiteLock Fix are top-quality, industry-standard tools which are premium extras with most web hosts, and getting them bundled with even the cheapest Managed WordPress plan is a real plus.

Bluehost's managed WordPress range is relatively costly, with a starting price of $17.95 a month, but support for unlimited bandwidth and websites, free domain privacy protection and bonus marketing and other tools could make it a worthwhile alternative for business users.

If you can't decide what level of WordPress support you need, take a look at InMotion Hosting . A huge range of plans from a $3.99 a month standard hosting option to specialist VPS and dedicated WordPress options ensure there's something for every level of user.

VPS hosting 

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting, like shared hosting, has multiple accounts on the same server. But there aren't as many, and every VPS gets its own resources. If you buy a VPS with two CPU cores and 2GB RAM, for instance, no other account can use them, ensuring your site delivers higher and more consistent speeds. While shared hosting might run into trouble if you have tens of thousands of visitors a month, a good VPS can handle hundreds of thousands.

HostGator has only three VPS plans. The starter product gives you 2GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, 120GB SSD storage, free domain, free SSL and 2 dedicated IPs from $23.95 a month for 12 months, $79.95 on renewal. 

The top-of-the-range plan offers 4 cores, 8GB RAM and 240GB storage for $59.95 a month over 12 months, rising to $149.95 on renewal. 

(cPanel is available, but only as a paid extra: add $10 a month to each of those plans if you'd like a copy.)

These are capable products, all fully managed (which means HostGator offers full support to keep the VPS updated and running smoothly), and should deliver solid and speedy hosting for larger, resource-hungry websites. But other providers typically have a far wider range of plans, and if you're looking for something cheaper, more powerful or configurable, it's well worth checking a few alternatives.

Hostwinds has ten VPS plans rather than three, for instance. It has unmanaged plans (no software support, you run the server yourself) from only $4.99 billed monthly.) The top-of-the-range VPS has far more resources, with 16 CPU cores and 96GB, and all plans are available with Windows as well as Linux . Plus, there are network and power uptime guarantees of 99.9999%, equivalent to 31.56 seconds of down time a year.

Dedicated hosting 

Opt for shared or VPS hosting and you'll share your server with other accounts, limiting your site's speed. Choose dedicated hosting and the server, the CPU, the RAM, the network connection is all yours, ensuring you'll never be affected by other site's behavior.

Another big plus for experienced users is the ability to set up the server just as you'd like. You can choose the hardware specs, the operating system , web server and more, and tweak them to suit your precise needs.

HostGator's dedicated server hosting products (like its VPS range) is limited, with only three server configurations. 

These start with a 4-core, 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD system, priced at $89.98 a month over three years, $189 on renewal. 

The top-of-the-range is an 8-core, 30GB RAM and 1TB SSD system for $139.99 a month over three years, $289 on renewal.

Both systems support Windows as well as Linux, a welcome option you won't see with most web hosts.

These are decent mid-range systems, fully managed with 24/7 support, and good value for what you're getting. But with three plans only, your choice is very limited. If you're looking for something outside of this middle ground, a cheaper or more powerful server, there are many more options available.

IONOS' dedicated server range doesn't have the most powerful hardware, but there's some amazing value. Managed entry-level servers start at $45 a month (billed annually) for the first six months, then $65, and we’ve seen special deals as low as $33 billed monthly.

Alternatively, Hostwinds and A2 Hosting support far more powerful servers, are supremely configurable (you can install up to ten drives in some systems), and allow you to choose your operating system (Hostwinds supports Windows as well as Linux).

Does HostGator have a website builder?

Website builders are just about the easiest way to start a site. Choose from a selection of designs, drag and drop elements like text blocks, photos, maps and video onto the page, then customize the content to make it your own. Even newcomers could have a good-looking site online within hours.

All HostGator's shared hosting products include a free version of the Weebly site builder. This limits sites to six pages and displays a HostGator link in the footer, but it might work for kids or just learning what a website builder can do.

HostGator has a far better option in its stand-alone Gator Website Builder plan. Instead of asking you to choose a template, then drag and drop page blocks, Gator Builder asks you some questions and then automatically builds a site to suit your needs. 

Prices start low at $3.84 a month over two years, $7.68 on renewal, which gets you hosting, a free domain, free SSL, the Gator Builder, and even support for a tiny three-product web store.

The top-of-the-range Gator Builder plan lifts the product limit, helps encourage customers with up to ten email campaigns a month, includes an appointment booking system and allows taking payments with no transaction fees. Those are some valuable e-commerce extras, yet it's still cheap at $9.22 a month over two years, $18.45 on renewal.

Put it all together and Gator Builder is well worth a look, especially for newcomers looking to take their first steps into the web design waters. 

If you're looking for more features, try Wix . It's just as easy to get started, but gives you many more design and website tools, and you can try it out and build your first site for free.

GoDaddy's Website Builder also has a surprisingly capable free option (there's email marketing, an appointments system, even the ability to sell online with GoDaddy Payments), along with some business-friendly paid plans. And Bluehost's WordPress-based website builder has 300+ appealing templates, a custom image library and support for unlimited websites, but starts at only $2.95 a month.

Can I build a web store with HostGator?

HostGator doesn't have the same ecommerce-focused products as the likes of Bluehost and GoDaddy, but as we've discussed above, the Website Builder's Express Store plan is a simple solution for smaller web stores. 

This is an appealing option for ecommerce newbies. Creating your site is easy; there's a free domain and free SSL, and you can add as many products to the store as you like. Many e-commerce hosting products take a share of every sale you make, but not this one: Express Store has no transaction fees. That's great value at only $9.22 a month over two years ($18.45 on renewal).

If you're looking for more power or features, then opting for a specialist WooCommerce hosting plan could make more sense (WooCommerce is one of the best ecommerce platforms around). 

Bluehost's baseline WooCommerce plan includes tools to simplify building your site, take payments and collect customer reviews from only $12.95 a month on the annual plan ($24.95 on renewal). InMotion Hosting gives you even more choice, with optimized OpenCart and Magento software, bonus features and a pile of performance-boosting tweaks.

How fast is HostGator?

We assess web host performance by signing up for a shared hosting package, using a standard WordPress template to create a basic site, then watching how it performs in different situations.

Uptime - the proportion of time a website is available to visitors - is a vital factor in hosting success. We test this by using Uptime.com to try to access our test site every five minutes over 14 days, and logging any failures. HostGator managed 99.63% uptime, and although that sounds like a high figure, it's a little disappointing for a short test (most providers manage 100%.)

We measure website load speeds by using GTmetrix to access our test site, then calculate how long it takes to display the main content (a value known as Largest Contentful Paint, or LCP.) The lower a site's LCP, the faster and more responsive it feels.

This time HostGator trampled all over the competition, with an LCP of 0.551 seconds earning it first place out of our last 15 tests. The lead isn't huge - most providers score between 0.600 and 0.800 seconds - but this is an important stat, and a good result for HostGator.

We're also interested to see how a site performs when it's busy. The service k6 helps us figure this out by unleashing 20 simultaneous visitors on the site and monitoring what happens. This time the results were typical of most providers, with our HostGator site handling a very acceptable average of 15 requests per second.

How easy is HostGator to use?

HostGator's customer portal has a helpful Create Website guide which walks hosting newcomers through their first site-building steps: installing WordPress, choosing another CMS or app, maybe uploading files via FTP. This doesn't do very much, but it's still a welcome touch which could be very handy if you're still finding your way around.

The rest of the portal is little more than lists of links. Click here to open the WordPress dashboard, there to create email accounts, and over there to manage your domains. There's even a Search box to find relevant support documents without opening a separate tab at the HostGator knowledgebase.

This is useful, but HostGator spoils the effect by regularly trying to sell you more stuff. At least eight of the control panel links were mostly about pushing other products. You'll quickly learn which links to avoid, but we don't think that should be necessary.  If you've spent maybe hundreds of dollars on a hosting package, we expect its dashboard to focus on helping you use that, not selling you even more.

Fortunately, once you identify the useful links, they point you to some top-quality hosting tools. HostGator's shared hosting plans all come with cPanel, for instance, a very popular platform which has all the features you need to manage domains, emails, web space, databases and more.

Put aside the over-enthusiastic marketing, then, and HostGator is relatively straightforward to operate, even for newcomers to the hosting world.

How good is HostGator's support?

Run into any issues at HostGator and its web knowledgebase could be the quickest route to an answer. 

Searching for common hosting terms brings a huge number of hits, but that's partly because there are duplicates or not-so-relevant articles in the list. 

When we searched for 'subdomain', the top result was an article called '[Featured] HostGator Datacenter Migration', for instance: not something we'd expect to come first. And the next three articles were titled 'What is a subdomain name and how to create one', 'Please read before creating a subdomain' and 'How to create a subdomain' (a blog post.) What we really want is a single comprehensive page, but here we'd probably open and read all three.

The various articles mostly have a lot of helpful content, and they can also be filtered according to their category. If you're only interested in cPanel guides, say, or video tutorials, you can view those results only with a click.

When you finally reach your chosen article, there's usually a lot of helpful content, but we found this wasn't always well maintained. The How To Create a Subdomain piece has broken image link icons where its screenshots used to be, for instance, making it less than useful as a tutorial.

If you can't find what you need, there's real live help available 24/7 via telephone, live chat and email.

Our experience with HostGator support has been excellent over the years, and it was broadly positive in this review. Email queries received speedy and accurate replies, and although we waited a lengthy 19 minutes to get a response on one live chat session, once the agent arrived he did a good job of identifying our fictional test problem and pointing us to the best and easiest solution.

Final verdict

HostGator has some of the best shared hosting plans around, speedy, great value, with a pile of features and responsive support on tap when you need it. Its high-end VPS and dedicated plans can't match the power of the best of the competition, but there's still a huge amount to like here for both home and big business users.

HostGator FAQs

What payment types does HostGator accept?

HostGator accepts payment via card or PayPal.

Does HostGator offer refunds?

HostGator offers a better-than-most 45-day money-back guarantee for managed shared, VPS and reseller accounts (most providers only give you 30 days.)

It's not all good news. The guarantee doesn't apply to dedicated servers, or monthly-billed hosting plans, which are covered by some hosts.

There are other exclusions, but they're more typical. For example, domains, setup fees and third-party products and services aren't protected by the guarantee, much the same as we see with other providers.

Does HostGator have an uptime guarantee?

HostGator's shared and reseller hosting servers have a 99.9% uptime guarantee, much the same as the rest of the shared hosting competition.

The company also says you could receive a credit of one month's fees if this target isn't hit. How might this work? The small print simply says if the service falls short of the 99.9% figure, you 'may' receive one month of credit. But you also may not, presumably. All you can do is talk to the Billing department and ask.

That's better than nothing, but we prefer a guarantee to spell out how this works. Scala Hosting, for instance, says you get 0% credit for downtime of 0.1% or less; 10% if downtime is up to 0.2%; 20% if downtime is up to 0.3%, and so on. The company still gets to define what 'downtime' means, but it's still doing a better job of defining your rights.

Dedicated servers are covered by a separate guarantee where you're credited depending on the amount of time your server is down, a simpler and more straightforward scheme.

Where are HostGator's data centers?

HostGator has two main data centers in Provo, Utah, and Houston, Texas. The company says there are 'some [servers] residing in other locations.'

We like to see hosts provide more data centers, ideally spread around the world. GoDaddy, for example, can host your website in North America, India, Singapore or Europe. This means customers have a better chance of finding a data center close to their audience, giving their site an immediate speed boost.

What is my HostGator IP address?

Sign into HostGator's customer portal (portal.hostgator.com).

Find your hosting package in the list, and click its Launch cPanel button.

The IP address for the server hosting your IP address is displayed as 'Shared IP Address' in the right-hand General Information box.

What are HostGator's nameservers?

If your website domain isn't managed by HostGator, you may need to set it to use HostGator's nameservers to connect the domain to your new web space.

Unlike some providers, there aren't fixed values such as 'ns1.hostgator.com' and 'n2.hostgator.com' which you can use everywhere. The names you need, and how to find them, vary depending on your product and where it's hosted.

To find the details you need, log into HostGator's customer portal (portal.hostgator.com).

Click Hosting in the left-hand sidebar.

Click Manage for your website domain, then the Settings link.

Your nameservers are displayed in the 'Server Info & Settings' box.

How do I cancel a HostGator product?

To cancel a HostGator product, first log into the company's portal (portal.hostgator.com.)

Find your hosting package in the list, and click Manage Package.

Click Billing, scroll down and click Cancel Package.

Read and follow the instructions carefully to cancel your HostGator plan.

Check out the latest Hostgator coupon codes to get discounts this month.

Mike is a lead security reviewer at Future, where he stress-tests VPNs , antivirus and more to find out which services are sure to keep you safe, and which are best avoided. Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace. The early PC viruses caught Mike's attention, and he developed an interest in analyzing malware, and learning the low-level technical details of how Windows and network security work under the hood.

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HostGator web hosting review

Great on the surface but average underneath.

Tom's Guide Verdict

Despite being one of the most popular web hosting providers in the world, HostGator’s services are just too basic for us to be able to recommend them.

Excellent website builder

Competitive introductory prices

Terrible security features

Deceptive price structure

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

The best web hosting services for your needs will likely be very different for someone else. This can make the search for a hosting provider quite complicated, especially if it’s not an industry you know a lot about. 

In our HostGator review, we take a close look at every aspect of this popular web hosting provider. With a range of hosting options, one of the best website builders , and competitive prices, there’s a lot to like on the surface. But let’s see what a deeper analysis reveals.

HostGator: Plans and pricing

At first glance, HostGator’s range of hosting options appears to offer excellent value for money. However, not everything is as it appears here. With the shared hosting plans , for example, you will have to pay for 36 months upfront to access the advertised prices. You will also pay significantly more when the time comes to renew your plan. 

The cheapest Hatchling shared hosting plan starts at $2.75 a month for a three-year subscription ( $10.95 with monthly payments). It supports one website, with unmetered bandwidth, unlimited storage, a free SSL certificate, and a free domain name for the first year. 

Upgrading to the Baby plan (from $3.50 a month for a three-year plan) unlocks unlimited website connections. A high-end Business subscription (from $5.25 a month for a three-year plan) includes a free dedicated IP address, free SEO tools, and an advanced Positive SSL certificate for extra security. 

Basic WordPress hosting starts at $5.95 a month for a Starter plan, which supports a single site with 100,000 monthly visits and 1GB data backup. More advanced VPS plans start from $19.95 a month , and dedicated server hosting costs from $89.98 a month . 

Reseller hosting is also available, with the $19.95 a month Aluminum plan getting you 60GB storage, 600GB bandwidth, and support for unlimited websites. Or, you can harness the power of the Gator Builder website builder for just $3.84 a month .

HostGator: Features

HostGator offers a very basic hosting service with few advanced features. We’ve outlined some of the most noteworthy inclusions below. 

For one, HostGator’s Gator Builder website builder is excellent. It offers similar design flexibility to industry leaders such as Wix , is backed by a suite of advanced tools and a decent template library, and costs from just $3.84 a month . 

All shared hosting plans come with $150 worth of Google Ads and $100 of Microsoft advertising credit. These provide an excellent way for those new to digital marketing to get their foot in the door and begin to figure things out. 

On the surface, HostGator’s unlimited everything shared hosting appears to be excellent. In short, it offers unmetered bandwidth and storage. However, in reality, you will be asked to upgrade to a more advanced subscription if your website starts using too many server resources.

HostGator: Interface and in use

The HostGator checkout process is smooth, but there are a few things to watch out for. For one, you’ll need to pay attention to the length of your subscription. Shorter plans are much more expensive. You’ll also need to look closely at the hosting add-ons, as the chances are that some will be pre-selected for you. 

Meanwhile, the main dashboard provides a neat interface for managing everything from your domains and hosting to your email accounts and ongoing billing. When it comes to looking after your hosting, you’ll benefit from the powerful cPanel control panel, which is beginner-friendly and packed full of advanced tools. 

HostGator: Support

If you need technical support from the HostGator team, you can reach out via phone or live chat. The support agents tend to be friendly and knowledgeable, which is a major plus. There’s also a decent knowledge base that contains a suite of guides, tutorials, and other self-help resources. 

HostGator: Security

Unfortunately, HostGator’s security features are average at best. You will benefit from DDoS attack protection, a decent firewall, and a free SSL certificate, but that’s about all. Malware detection and removal is completely absent, there’s no multi-factor authentication option, and you’ll be encouraged to purchase a SiteLock security subscription to unlock more advanced tools. 

Alternatives to HostGator

•  Bluehost vs HostGator

•  HostGator vs IONOS vs GoDaddy

•  Bluehost vs GoDaddy

•  GoDaddy vs Wix

HostGator offers a decent hosting service but there are plenty of better options out there. One of our favorites is Hostinger , which offers high-quality shared hosting from just $0.99 a month . This is backed by a great selection of advanced features, along with leading security tools.

Another powerful choice is InMotion Hosting . With prices starting at $5.99 a month , it is a little more expensive than HostGator but it offers premium service across the board. All plans are built on modern hardware, with excellent security and a knowledgeable support team.

HostGator: Final verdict

All things considered, HostGator really isn’t as good as it might appear. Sure, its advertised prices are very competitive, but they are misleading at best. The checkout process is deceptive, security tools are almost entirely absent, and there really aren’t any advanced features to speak of. 

On the plus side, the user interface is tidy and easy to navigate, and the customer service is excellent. Unfortunately, though, this just isn’t enough for us to be able to recommend HostGator. 

The bottom line is, if you need high-quality, reliable hosting, look elsewhere.

Further reading on web hosting

To learn more about HostGator, read our comparison feature pitting Bluehost vs HostGator , and to see where HostGator ranks across different hosting types, read our guides outlining the best VPS hosting , the best Linux web hosting , the best WordPress hosting , the best unlimited hosting , and the best cloud hosting services.

Daniel is a freelance copywriter with over six years experience writing for publications such as TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, and Hosting Review. He specializes in tech and finance, with a particular focus on website building, web hosting, and related fields. 

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HostGator Web Hosting Review (2024)

Our Verdict

Is hostgator worth signing up for.

Winner of awards like Best Web Hosting award from PCMag, HostGator is no stranger to acclaim. And rightly so. This industry leader has been providing reliable and quality web hosting services from shared to reseller, VPS, and dedicated to businesses for 2 decades. HostGator keeps expanding its offerings too, so keep your eyes peeled for new features constantly. Easy, affordable, powerful. That works for us.

HostGator at a Glance

Simple setup, technical features, security features, customer service, hostgator pros & cons, top hostgator reviews.

How do I know I can trust this HostGator review?

Top10.com authors, contributors, and editors are serious about research. We combine our own experience with the services we recommend, with reviews that come from verified users–just like you! Together, with reviews from industry experts, we find the Top 10 best products and services to make sure you can choose with confidence and ease.

• WordPress businesses
• Any business that enjoys flexible, easy, feature-rich hosting

Up to 62% Off HostGator Coupons & Promo Codes

• Free 1 Year Domain Registration on Select Plans
• Hundreds of Drag-and-Drop Website Templates
• E-commerce Ready
• 1-Click WordPress Installation
• $150 in Google AdWords and $100 in Bing Ad Credits
• Get HostGator Promo Code Now!

How to Use the HostGator Promo Code

With this exclusive HostGator Coupon code you can get up to 62% off their WordPress hosting, which is a considerable discount for a service like this. As part of the deal you'll also get a free domain name and free SSL certificate to help with all your hosting needs. 

In order to properly redeem the HostGator coupon code to get the maximum discount, here's what you need to do:

1. Click the HostGator link to go to their website. You'll see the WPBeginner logo on the left hand side of the screen.

2. Click the ”Get Started Now’ button to begin.

3. Choose from one of three plans: Hatchling Plan, Baby Plan or Business Plan.

4. Type in the domain name you want. 

5. Create a username for your Hostgator account, and choose a 4-8 digit PIN number for security.

6. Enter your contact and payment information.

7. Under ‘Enter a Discount Code’ you should see that the HostGator discount code has already been entered for you.

How HostGator Works

Hosting types.

HostGator has plenty of hosting options to choose from, so you can have the pick of the litter in terms of shared vs. dedicated, cloud, WordPress, or any other hosting style you need. HostGator gives you 3 plans to work with in each category. Here’s a quick look at each of them:

• Shared web hosting

HostGator’s shared web hosting comes in 3 options, called the Hatchling Plan, the Baby Plan, and the Business Plan (cute theme-based plans, but they kind of dropped the ball on that last one). You’ll get a free SSL certificate with all plans, one-click installation, and unmetered bandwidth. With the Baby Plan, you get unlimited domains, and with the Business Plan, you'll receive several other features including a free upgrade to Positive SSL, free dedicated IP address, and free SEO tools. At $5.95/month, the Business Plan is a good bargain for most businesses.

• VPS hosting

With 3 more plans to choose from, HostGator’s VPS hosting gives you dedicated control in a completely scalable environment. The starter plan is called Snappy 2000, which gives you 2GB RAM, 2 core CPU, 120GB disk space, and unmetered bandwidth. Bumping up to the next level, the Snappy 4000 gives you 4GB RAM, 165GB disk space, and unmetered bandwidth. If you want to go for the gold, the Snappy 8000 offers an impressive 8GB RAM, 4 cores CPU, 240GB disk space, and unmetered bandwidth. You’ll get total customization, a virtual app that lets you write custom script, web development tools, and hosting for unlimited domains, subdomains, email addresses, databases, FTP accounts, and more. It packs a lot into one package.

• Dedicated server hosting

Taking a dedicated server means you get full autonomy and control over every aspect of your hosting environment. The Value Server plan gives you 2 core/8 thread Intel Xeon-D CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive space, and unmetered bandwidth. It works with Linux or Windows OS, too. The Power Server plan boosts you up to 8 core/16 thread, 16GB RAM, and 2TB HDD (or 512GB SSD). Finally, the Enterprise Server plan offers the same thing as the Power Server plan plus 30GB RAM and 1TB SSD.

• Managed WordPress cloud hosting

As with the other services, HostGator’s managed WordPress hosting has 3 options. The Starter Plan gives you 1 site managed, 100k visits per month, 1GB backup space, and a free SSL certificate. The next plan is the Standard Plan, and this doubles your options, meaning that you get to manage 2 sites with 200k visits per month and 2GB of backup storage space. Finally, the Business Plan works with 3 sites and gives you 500k visits per month with 3GB backup.

HostGator’s WordPress hosting is particularly attractive (regardless of the plan) because it guarantees up to 2.5x faster load times thanks to the cloud architecture of its hosting servers (and a few other technical details we won’t go into). Faster load times is a big perk for all businesses on the web.

As you can see, HostGator definitely has a lot of hosting options. On top of that, HostGator will transfer your website with all its data and details completely free. There are some caveats to this offer, like that you need to do it within the first 30 days after signing up, and the number of sites you can migrate may be limited to the plan you choose. But it’s still a great offer.

Uptime and Performance

HostGator gives its users a 99.9% uptime guarantee. And as one of the top names in web hosting today, HostGator has proven that that’s a guarantee they’ll stand by. In terms of performance, HostGator has also more than shown itself to be a powerful hitter that is as resilient as it is reliable. Get up to 2.5 times faster page load times with this service for the optimal customer support available.

Website Builder Features

HostGator has a separate plan for website building. We didn’t like that this was a stand-alone product rather than being incorporated within the hosting plans like with many other web hosting services. But with the rates being as reasonable as they are from HostGator, it’s hard to complain about the extra fee.

Website builder plans come in 3 levels:

• Starter Plan

The Starter Plan gives you free hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate. You’ll be able to use the sleek and easy drag-and-drop builder tool to create attractive and professional website designs. It’s nice that even on the Starter Plan HostGator gives users customizable templates and web analytics, 2 features that you often have to upgrade to get with other services.

• Premium Plan

This plan offers everything you get from the Starter Plan and also includes priority customer support. This is a big benefit for businesses that like having someone hold their hands when it comes to technical issues.

• Ecommerce Plan

Finally, the Ecommerce Plan is the most inclusive of all of HostGator’s website builder plans. That’s because it has everything from the other 2 plans plus Ecommerce functionality. It streamlines all the complicated bits of building an Ecommerce website, so you can focus on other things.

Depending on the plan and level you choose, HostGator also has email hosting. One thing we liked about this service is that you can set your email preferences for optimal performance. So, you can tell your outbound email to cap at 500 per hour to avoid IP blacklisting, for example. That’s a good service, and HostGator even gives you tips to help you understand more about it.

Control Panel

HostGator uses the widely-used cPanel control panel. What this means is that you’ll have no trouble navigating or managing any of the features, settings, or actions you can control from your dashboard.

HostGator Customer Support

As friendly as its mascot gator, HostGator has the most available and personable support staff out there. You can reach someone 24/7 and on every day of the year. Get a customer support rep via live chat or phone for any technical, sales, or customer questions.

HostGator Pricing

Pricing & special offers.

As detailed above, HostGator has plenty of plans and packages to choose from. Which is right for you will depend on your business and its needs. Here is a breakdown of the HostGator pricing structure:

It’s no secret that this brand offers some of the most affordable pricing plans out there. What’s more, HostGator offers customers a 45-day money-back guarantee, so you can try out the service for up to a month and a half without any risk. That's a long enough time to get to know a product, see if it works with your business, and sniff out any issues.

Bottom Line

It’s no exaggeration to say that HostGator is among the top 3 web hosting brands available today. With free website transfers, a 45-day money-back guarantee, and tons of plans to choose from, HostGator boasts an impressive service for any business. Add to that easy to use control panel, affordable pricing structure, and 24/7/365 customer support, and HostGator has earned its place at the top.

Hostgator's coupons offer discounted subscriptions for terms lasting as long as 36 months.

Hostgator regularly offers coupons on its website that offer significant discounts on its services. These coupons are good for everything from domains and website hosting to website building services.

Using Hostgator coupons is simple. Simply navigate to the coupons page and click on 'redeem' under the coupon you'd like to redeem, or click on the service you plan on purchasing and paste the coupon code when prompted.

HostGator reviews

Explore more Top10.com Categories

• HostGator Review

What is HostGator Business Plan?

Last updated on September 25, 2022 @ 7:10 pm

HostGator is a global web host with a business plan that is designed to help you succeed. HostGator offers a wide range of features and services, so you can find the perfect solution for your business.

The HostGator business plan includes everything you need to get started, and provides support throughout your hosting experience. The plan includes:

A free domain name with HostGator.

A free website builder.

A free email account with HostGator.

A free unlimited storage account with HostGator.

Free migration services from other web hosts.

A 99.9% uptime guarantee.

A team of experts available 24/7 to help you get started and grow your business.

The HostGator business plan is designed to help you succeed. With a wide range of features and services, HostGator is the perfect solution for businesses of all sizes.

9 Related Question Answers Found

How much is hostgator business plan, which hostgator plan do i need, what is hatchling plan in hostgator, how do i buy hostgator domain and hosting, how do i create a hostgator account, what is hostgator used for, is hostgator business plan worth it, how do i get a new domain on hostgator, what is the purpose of hostgator.

Morgan Bash

Technology enthusiast and Co-Founder of Women Coders SF.

Hostinger vs HostGator: which provider delivers better services?

Through independent research and testing, our team of experts offers transparent and thorough reviews of web hosting providers. We use the same testing criteria for all providers to offer a fair and unbiased assessment of each hosting service.

Our in-depth articles include feedback about our hands-on hosting experience and other crucial information for potential customers.

• Fact-checked by Miglė Vosyliūtė

In this Hostinger vs HostGator comparison, I’m going to give you a detailed breakdown of the pricing, ease of use, performance, security, and customer support for both hosting providers.

Hostinger and HostGator offer super affordable hosting solutions, making them extremely attractive to users on a tight budget. Not just that, but both providers demonstrate reliable and speedy performance results.

They also cover the basic security needs and have a trained team of customer support reps available 24/7 to help if anything goes wrong.

On the surface, both providers seem very similar but are they really? In this HostGator vs Hostinger comparison, I aim to uncover their differences and help you pick the right one for you.

Hostinger vs HostGator: general info

Both Hostinger and HostGator are well-known and affordable hosting providers that come with resource-packed plans and good performance results. Hostinger is a star when it comes to the lowest prices on the market, while HostGator is known for its " unlimited” hosting " offerings.

To better understand how the two stack up against each other, I have prepared a table with providers’ key qualities. However, if you’d like to see a more detailed summary, jump to the conclusion at the end.

Hostinger vs HostGator: pricing comparison

Between the two hosting providers, Hostinger offers more affordable plans starting at just $2.54/month. In comparison, the cheapest shared hosting plan from HostGator will cost you $3.75/month.

As for other types of hosting, here are some of the scalable options both providers offer:

As you can see, both hosting providers offer many hosting services. However, the most popular option remains shared hosting , so that’s exactly what I’ll be focusing on.

Both hosting providers share a few common features. You will get a custom domain name, an SSL certificate, and at least 100 email account, with all Hostinger’s and HostGator’s shared hosting plans.

Here’s what each provider’s cheapest plan looks like:

• Hostinger's Premium Shared ($2.54/month) – Host up to 100 websites and get 100GB SSD disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and access to weekly backups.
• HostGator's Hatchling ($3.75/month) – allows hosting 1 site and includes unlimited storage, email accounts, and unmetered bandwidth.

Just looking at the feature list, it might seem that HostGator is better with unlimited storage. However, there is no such thing as "unlimited". The host has set a disk and bandwidth utilization limit adjusted for personal and various small agencies' website hosting .

Now, although the cheapest options are always tempting, both Hostinger and HostGator have 2 more shared hosting plans to woo you.

So which one of these plans will best fit your needs and requirements?

Hostinger provides you with 2 shared and 1 cloud hosting option, priced between $2.54/month and $6.79/month.

According to Hostinger, its Premium plan at $2.54/month is the most popular option, and for a good reason. For a reasonable price, you get to host 100 websites and the storage is very generous (100GB). More so, a free domain is also included.

One more thing, Hostinger offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Within this time you can get a full refund of the services. However, be mindful that a domain name is non-refundable.

Just like Hostinger, HostGator also has 3 shared hosting plans. The prices for those start at $3.75/month and go to $6.25/month.

HostGator also has a plan that it deems the best value for money out of the 3. The provider’s official recommendation is its Baby plan at $4.50/month. And it’s not hard to see why. For just $0.75/month more than Hatchling, you get to host unlimited websites. At the same time, Baby’s renewal rates are much lower than with the business plan.

One thing to note, HostGator comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Just be aware, such elements like a domain name, are not refunded.

In short, both providers deliver resource-rich plans for very reasonable prices. However, taking price as the main deciding factor, Hostinger wins this round.

Hostinger vs HostGator: ease of use

Both Hostinger and HostGator are targeted at beginners and, as such, offer simple user interfaces. Although similar in terms of simplicity, Hostinger and HostGator use different management systems. Hostinger presents you with a single native hPanel, while HostGator uses a classical native dashboard and cPanel mix .

One great thing about Hostinger is that it makes the setup process extremely fast and easy. Immediately after account creation, you’ll find yourself with an automatic account setup wizard.

It’ll help you with SSL certificate activation, domain registration, and setting up your hosting environment.

You’ll also get your hands on Hostinger’s custom control panel – hPanel. It offers a clean, organized, and user-friendly interface that allows you to access and manage various tools like domain names, SSL configuration, email accounts, databases, a CMS installer, and many more. If you’re curious to know more about the provider’s management, jump to Hostinger review.

On the flip side, you have HostGator, which includes a native user interface and cPanel .

HostGator’s native interface handles basic tasks like billing, connecting to support, accessing the HostGator marketplace, and serves as a link to the cPanel.

Talking about cPanel, there you access more advanced tools, like email accounts and files on your server, manage databases, and security features. Simply put, all your website management settings and main tools are found in the cPanel.

It’s also here that you’ll find the Softaculous Installer app to help you install WordPress or any other CMS you like. To further explore the provider’s management functionalities, check HostGator review .

Overall, both providers are very simplistic and easy in terms of management. However, with its custom control panel and automatic setup wizard that practically holds your hands, Hostinger came on top in this round.

Hostinger vs HostGator performance

In my time with Hostinger and HostGator, I found both hosting services deliver similar performance. However, to pick a winner, I ran both through a series of tests. What I found was that Hostinger offered slightly better uptime, response time, and faster loading speeds .

The performance difference isn’t that big between HostGator and Hostinger. However, as your site grows and you add more content, graphics, CSS/JS scripts, etc., the slight advantage with Hostinger might be exactly what you need.

Uptime and response time

For this test, I’ve examined both providers for an almost identical period of time – just around 2 months. Here are my findings.

In 2 months of examination, Hostinger did not have a single outage, resulting in a perfect 99.9% uptime.

This is excellent! However, expecting 100% uptime in the long run (>1 year) isn’t realistic. That said, Hostinger does give a standard 99.9% uptime guarantee .

Now looking at the responsiveness, I got an average response time of 511ms – the time taken for the browser to retrieve HTTP headers and the first byte of data. This is also within the industry average of 600ms.

Coming to HostGator, the host experienced 3 outages or 5 minutes of downtime in 2 months. This has brought HostGators uptime to an impressive >99.99%.

Just like Hostinger, HostGator comes with the standard 99.9% uptime guarantee. Knowing this, I’m even more impressed with the results I got.

Moving on to the server speeds, I got an average response time of 525ms . While this is just barely slower than Hostinger’s, HostGator still manages to slip below the market’s average of 600ms.

In short, both hosts put up a good fight and went hand in hand in terms of uptime and response time. However, I must admit that Hostinger showed slightly better results overall.

Website speed

I host my website in the US with both providers. Therefore, the loading speed takes place in the US too. Important to note is that HostGator has data centers in the US alone, while Hostinger allows picking 1 out of 8 locations ( the USA, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Singapore) with its shared hosting plans.

Now, before I talk about the speed and performance of each hosting provider, you must become familiar with a few terms:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is the time that it takes for the largest graphic element to load. According to Google, an LCP should not exceed 2.5s, as that’s the maximum recommended time.
• Fully Loaded Time , as the name implies, signifies how long it takes to fully load all elements on the site. For the best user experience, this time should be under 3 seconds.

With that being said, here’s how my Hostinger site performed:

As you can see, the site has an LCP of 849ms and a Fully Loaded Time of 936ms. Both figures are well below the industry averages, which further proves just how fast Hostinger is. It easily makes it among the fastest hosting providers in the market.

Moving on, here’s how my HostGator site held up:

As you can see, the LCP here is 1.1s, whereas the Fully Loaded Time is 1.2s . Here, too, both measurements are significantly below the undesired 2.5 and 3 seconds, respectfully.

However, Hostinger is slightly faster than HostGator , which gives it the win this round.

As a whole, when it comes to overall performance, Hostinger and HostGator are pretty equal rivals. However, it is pretty clear that this Hostinger vs HostGator comparison has to crown Hostinger, as the host was more reliable and overall faster.

Website security

Hostinger and HostGator cover the basic security features you will need to keep your site safe and protected. With both hosting providers, you will find the following features:

• Free SSL certificate;
• DDoS protection;
• Automatic backups;
• Server-level security enhancements.

Hostinger also comes with a 2-factor-authentication. However, HostGator skips out on this basic feature.

Other than this, it is worth noting that Hostinger offers weekly backups with the Premium plan. Daily backups are only available with its Business and Cloud Startup plans. Unfortunately, HostGator isn’t as transparent. All their plans get automatic backups. They do state that backups can be taken daily, weekly and monthly, but the schedule is unclear, and you are asked to pay if you’d like to restore one of the versions.

There are also some differences in how Hostinger and HostGator handle security at the server level :

• With Hostinger, you get 24/7 server monitoring backed by security modules like mod_security and PHP open_basedir. This is good enough to keep your site safe from common threats.
• HostGator’s custom firewall provides the same level of security to keep malicious and suspicious traffic off your website.

Now, apart from these basic security features, HostGator does give you the option to install add-ons:

• Positive SSL upgrade ($39.99/year) : secures your domain and subdomain with a TrustLogo site seal and offers a $10k warranty. This is free with HostGator’s Business plan.
• SiteLock Essentials ($23.88/year): an automatic monitoring tool that will screen your site to fight off malicious attacks, spammers, and hackers.
• CodeGuard ($23.95/year): an enterprise-level website backup utility that offers automatic server backups, monitoring, and restores services.

Now, it is worth noting that all these are third-party security add-ons. You can easily get these features on Hostinger by installing similar or alternative security plugins. As such, to compare Hostinger and HostGator, I will only consider their free security features.

As a whole, Hostinger comes out slightly more appealing in terms of security. Its clear backup policies and the addition of 2FA make it a very secure hosting provider . Other than this, both providers are the same.

Customer support

Both Hostinger and HostGator have 24/7 live chat support and pretty detailed knowledge bases. Additionally, Hostinger offers support via email, while HostGator’s agent can be reached via phone.

Now, whenever I test any provider’s support, I always go for the live chat option as I find it the quickest and most convenient. Here are my findings of each provider:

Talking about Hostinger, I had to wait up to 20 minutes before connecting to a support expert. However, once I got through, my problem was quickly resolved in a couple of minutes. The support members were also extremely friendly and helpful, which is always a plus.

On the flip side, I got connected to a HostGator support rep within just a few seconds. It did take 9 minutes for the agent to solve my issue, but to be fair, it was not a common error. The agents were also very helpful and friendly, which always leaves a good aftertaste.

Now, in terms of knowledge bases, both providers offer very well-organized, informative, and easy to navigate options . Any issue you might be having, chances are high you’ll be able to find an article on it.

Overall, Hostinger and HostGator come forward with very knowledgeable support agents and extensive knowledge bases. Although, I must say that the lack of phone support with Hostinger and email for HostGator does take some points off.

Video review

Check out the Hostinger vs HostGator video comparison and determine your hosting winner:

Hostinger vs HostGator: final recommendations

And this brings us to the end of this HostGator vs Hostinger comparison. Both Hostinger and HostGator are pretty comparable in most departments. However, Hostinger delivers slightly better performance at much more affordable prices. This gives Hostinger a great practical advantage over HostGator.

With cheaper prices, a more intuitive control panel, friendly support, and slightly better performance metrics, Hostinger takes the overall win. It’s one of the best options for users who are tight on budget but want reliable hosting to establish their online presence.

However, if you’re looking for a host with pretty generous storage for a personal site, HostGator is an excellent option too.

Alternatives to Hostinger and HostGator

Both Hostinger and HostGator are affordable hosting providers focused on delivering good and cheap hosting solutions. However, as there are many great hosting providers out there, you might be curious to see some other options.

In that case, here are a couple of alternative hosting providers worth considering.

Bluehost is one of the cheapest hosting providers with prices starting at just $1.99/month. It is also effortless to use, combining a custom dashboard with cPanel to showcase its full potential in hosting management. Bluehost is one of the best providers for WordPress as well. Some of its best features include website staging and a website builder. It is a great option for any site, from a personal blog to a business website.

Visit Bluehost

SiteGround is a premium hosting provider that delivers simplicity and speed. For $2.99/month, you get access to a quality server infrastructure with fast loading speeds (<1 second Fully Loaded Time) and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. The security measures are also top-notch, and you get a team of technical experts available 24/7 over the phone, live chat, and email.

Visit SiteGround

DreamHost's shared hosting plans are comparably priced to HostGator, starting at just $2.59/month. However, they are mostly known for their affordable managed WordPress hosting – DreamPress, which will cost you $16.95/month for the base plan. If you plan on hosting a WordPress website and want a powerful server with a team of experts to handle the technicalities for you, then DreamHost is worth consideration.

Visit DreamHost

More HostGator comparisons you might want to read:

SiteGround vs HostGator

GoDaddy vs HostGator

Bluehost vs HostGator

Namecheap vs HostGator

DreamHost vs HostGator

Wix vs HostGator

HostGator vs InMotion Hosting

A2 Hosting vs HostGator

1&1 IONOS vs HostGator

Hostinger vs HostGator FAQs

Hostinger vs hostgator – which provider is better.

Hostinger is the better hosting provider if you are looking for an affordable yet reliable option. It gives you an intuitive backend to manage your hosting, complete with basic security features, above-average website performance, and excellent 100% uptime.

Hostinger vs HostGator – which host is safer?

Hostinger offers slightly better security as all its plans cover the basic requirements like SSL certificate, 2FA, automatic backups, DDoS protection, and internal servers security optimizations.

Which host is better for WordPress hosting?

Hostinger is a more suitable provider for WordPress hosting. It uses powerful LiteSpeed servers, advanced security options, and a simple and intuitive control panel.

Do Hostinger and HostGator both use cPanel?

No, only HostGator uses cPanel for its website management tasks. Hosting uses a native hPanel, which is pretty similar to cPanel in terms of functionality.

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• Services & Software

Article updated on September 27, 2024 at 1:00 PM PDT

Ionos Review: The Best Web Host We’ve Tested So Far

Ionos is one of the most affordable web-hosting companies, but how much bang does it provide for your buck? Find out in this in-depth, hands-on Ionos review.

Our Experts

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

• Excellent long-term pricing, especially for shared hosting
• Wide variety of plans, including VPS and dedicated hosting
• Excellent uptime
• Fast, reliable customer service
• Lots of upsells during the purchase process and initial site creation
• Mediocre site speed

Ionos, formerly 1&1 Ionos, is a web-hosting and data infrastructure company founded in Germany in 1988, with over 6.2 million customers around the globe. The numbers are impressive -- but is the company? That’s what I set out to discover in my hands-on Ionos review.

I purchased an Ionos plan and spent a week testing Ionos’s account management, site creation, server management and customer service. I also ran one week of uptime monitoring and several speed tests, as outlined in CNET's explainer on How We Test Web Hosting .

Despite some initial complications, Ionos impressed me at almost every stage of my review. My favorite part was the fast and reliable customer support, especially after the disappointment I’ve experienced with the customer service of other web-hosting services I’ve tested. If you’re looking for shared hosting, Ionos is a great choice.

Ionos plans and pricing: Versatile and affordable

Ionos offers several types of web hosting :

• Shared hosting 

WordPress hosting

Website builder hosting, ecommerce hosting.

• VPS hosting

Dedicated hosting

Ionos also features cloud computing, allowing developers, large companies and businesses with unique data needs to build custom cloud servers and virtual data centers. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of Ionos’s customer-focused hosting types:

Ionos’s pricing structure is unique, with most hosting types -- including shared, WordPress and website builder -- offering midtier plans at $1 a month for the first year. That’s cheaper than the basic plans, so you get more value for your dollar initially, like the ability to host more websites and more data storage. While the renewal pricing is higher, often $12 or more, Ionos’s competitively priced midrange plans give you more value for the first year than competitors. You can switch to the base plan in a year if you’re not using all the midtier plan’s features.

Let’s take a closer look at what Ionos offers for each type of web hosting.

Shared hosting

In shared hosting , a web host splits a web server’s resources -- like storage and processing power -- between numerous websites. This limits your site’s space for files -- like blog posts and web pages -- and how many monthly visitors it can have. However, most shared hosting includes enough data for hundreds or thousands of pages and bandwidth for 10,000 to 400,000 monthly visitors, making it suitable for most hobby sites, blogs and small business websites.

Splitting a server between many websites allows the hosting company to also divide the cost of maintaining the server between many customers, making shared hosting highly affordable. Many plans start at $2 to $5 a month and rise to $10 to $20 per month on renewal. This, along with the ease-of-use offered by a prebuilt server, makes shared hosting great for first-time website creators.

All four of Ionos’s shared hosting plans include:

• A free domain for the first year
• SSL certification
• Email hosting for one email address
• Daily backups
• 99.99% uptime guarantee
• Unmetered bandwidth
• 24/7 access to support via phone and live chat

The main differences between plans are the storage, bandwidth and price:

All of the prices listed above are based on a one-year contract. You may end up paying more if you choose a different contract length.

WordPress is a popular content management system (aka CMS ) for creating, organizing and maintaining blog posts and web pages. Many companies, including Ionos, offer specialized hosting with automated WordPress updates and other tools to simplify running a WordPress site. Ionos’s WordPress hosting also includes dedicated resources (memory and processing power) to ensure reliable and fast site performance, plus advanced security tools like a vulnerabilities scanner.

Ionos offers its midrange Grow plan for a starting price of $1 a month, with 50GB of storage, enough for at least 500 pages, and unlimited traffic. However, this plan increases to $10 a month on renewal. You can build a smaller website for a lower long-term cost by purchasing the entry-level Start plan for $5 a month. The Start plan renews at just $6 a month and includes enough storage for at least 250 pages, plus unlimited traffic. 

Larger websites can use Ionos’s Boost plan, which provides enough storage for at least 750 web pages, 20GB of RAM for improved site speed and email hosting for 10 email addresses. The Boost plan costs $12 a month to start and renews at $15 a month.

Ionos offers specialized web hosting for its website builder, a tool designed to help you build a site without using any code, complicated updates or a need to install additional software. Ionos’s website builder even includes an AI site generator that lets you enter basic information about your website -- like the name you want and the purpose of your site -- and uses that to build a site for you in minutes.

You can add the website builder to any Ionos plan or buy the specialized website builder plan for $1 a month in the first year and $18 a month on renewal.

eCommerce hosting is optimized for running software necessary to create an online store. Ionos offers plans for four types of store-building software:

• WooCommerce: A plugin used to create an online store with WordPress. This plan starts at $16 a month for the first year and rises to $20 a month on renewal.
• Online store builder: The Ionos site builder with added e-commerce functionality. There are several online store builder plans, with the entry-level option starting at $6 a month and rising to $24 a month on renewal. The midrange Plus plan starts at $1 a month but rises to $30 a month on renewal, leading to higher long-term costs.
• Magento: Magento is the open-source version of Adobe Commerce, an Adobe-owned solution for creating an attractive online store. The Magento platform is aimed at developers who understand how to take advantage of its extensive customizability. Ionos’s Magento hosting plans start at $0.0097 per hour, with a maximum of $7 a month.
• PrestaShop: PrestaShop is a specialized e-commerce store builder predominantly used in Europe and Latin America. The lowest introductory price for Ionos’s PrestaShop hosting is $1 a month for the middle-of-the-pack Plus plan, but this plan increases to $12 a month on renewal. You can save more money in the long run with the base Essential plan, which starts at $4 a month and renews at $6 a month.

VPS Hosting

VPS (virtual private server) hosting involves partitioning sections of a physical web server into several virtual servers. Each virtual server has dedicated resources, like processing power and bandwidth, to ensure faster, more reliable performance than shared hosting. Most VPS plans can also accommodate more monthly users than shared hosting plans.

Ionos offers several unmanaged VPS plans, meaning you’ll be responsible for configuring and updating the digital aspects of your server -- like the operating system -- yourself. These plans start at $2 a month for the resources needed to create at least 100 pages and accommodate unlimited monthly visitors.

Dedicated hosting involves renting an entire web server for yourself. You’ll get all of the server’s resources, often including enough storage for tens or hundreds of thousands of web pages and millions of visitors.

Ionos offers unmanaged dedicated hosting on either Intel servers or AMD servers (powered by Ryzen and Epyc processors). The most affordable plan starts at $32 a month ($65 a month on renewal) for enough resources for you to create over 100,000 pages. However, this plan relies entirely on hard drive storage (aka HDD), which isn’t as fast as the industry-standard SSD (solid state) storage. Instead, I recommend the $50-a-month plan, which uses HDD storage for static pages and SSD storage for smoothly running applications like WordPress.

Ionos ease of use: Sales-y but simple

I purchased the Essential shared hosting plan to test Ionos’s ease of use in three areas: the purchase process, account management, and website creation and server management.

Purchase process

The Ionos purchase process is very involved, with each step (from choosing a domain to making your payment) located on a different page. There’s even an entire page devoted to upsells, trying to get you to buy things like email hosting . This is cumbersome when compared to the upsells included in the checkout process of companies like HostGator , but is similar to the GoDaddy purchase process. The good news is that you don’t need to pay attention to this page; you can skip it and not worry about any preselected upsells.

Ionos web-hosting checkout with optional upsells such as cloud storage, email access and malware protection, that aren't preselected.

Skipping the upsells takes you to the shopping cart, where you can see the best thing about the Ionos purchase process: a clear explanation of what you’ll pay for your first term and how much the price increases on renewal. I love how well this is laid out, especially compared to how other companies, like A2 Hosting , hide this information during purchase.

Ionos web hosting makes the checkout process pretty simple.

Overall, purchasing a plan from Ionos is a bit cumbersome, especially when compared to the one-page checkout offered by companies like HostGator and A2 Hosting. However, the clarity around pricing is the best I’ve seen. Another benefit is that the upsells, while intrusive, aren’t preselected, so you don’t have to worry about surprise fees -- something you do have to watch out for when buying from companies like HostGator and DreamHost .

Account management

The Ionos account dashboard immediately impressed me with its easy-to-navigate layout. Important areas -- like domain and website management -- are accessible through buttons in the center of the page. You can even access account and billing settings through these buttons, which is great when compared to companies like HostGator that hide these settings in a corner menu. The categories Ionos uses are broad enough to include everything in just six categories, avoiding the overload I experienced in the InMotion dashboard . 

Website and server management

At first glance, creating a website with Ionos seemed easy. The Websites & Stores button takes you to a page listing various options for building a site:

However, if you click Create a Website , Ionos takes you to a page listing various hosting plans. The Continue buttons don’t mention payment, but when you click on one, you’ll see that you’re only getting a free trial -- Ionos will automatically charge you for this plan as an add-on after the first month.

To create a website without making additional purchases, I had to return to the original Websites & Stores page and click Create a WordPress Project . This led to yet another upsell -- for managed WordPress hosting -- but I did find a button saying Manage WordPress Yourself underneath. This whole process was rather shocking, as I’ve never encountered such aggressive upsells when trying to perform initial site setup on other hosts.

The WordPress installation process itself was partially guided, offering some preselected themes for me to choose from based on the purpose of my site -- blogging -- and plugins to optimize the theme. The only hiccup was the lack of automatic SSL certification, an issue I fixed with two more quick clicks.

The WordPress install is pretty standard, without additional tools like the A2 Hosting Site Assistant. This isn’t a big deal for most users, as the WordPress dashboard is fairly simple to navigate and there are thousands of tutorials to help you. However, you might want to consider A2 Hosting if you want your web host to hold your hand through site creation.

The one additional tool Ionos offers for WordPress users is Ionos Performance, a plugin that lets you control various site settings to improve speed.

Server management

Ionos uses a proprietary system for server management instead of the industry-standard cPanel . Clicking on the Hosting button in the account dashboard takes you to a page where you can view different aspects of this system, including Webspace -- a dedicated area for storage information -- Databases and PHP management.

Everything is clearly labeled and the individual areas are intuitive to navigate. In fact, I found the user interface for Ionos’s hosting management system easier to navigate than cPanel -- and I’m an experienced cPanel user.

Despite the simplicity of this system, it can be a drawback if you’re already used to cPanel and you don’t want to switch to something else. Ionos’s proprietary system can also complicate transferring your site to a new host later on, as many free web-hosting transfer services transfer the cPanel from one host to another and aren’t trained to deal with other systems. Similarly, most tutorials for manually transferring your site to a new host focus on how to transfer a cPanel site.

Overall ease of use

The unwieldy purchase process and the aggressive attempts to upsell higher-tier plans when I was trying to install WordPress made it incredibly frustrating to get started with Ionos. Things got easier once I had WordPress set up, and I’m a big fan of how simple the hosting management tools are, but I’m still only giving Ionos a 6.5/10 ranking for ease of use . This is one of the lowest ease-of-use rankings of any hosting company I’ve tested so far; only DreamHost scored lower, with a ranking of 4/10.

Ionos performance: Excellent uptime, mediocre speed

The next thing I considered for my Ionos review is how well the servers perform in two areas: uptime, the percentage of time sites are accessible online for; and site speed, how quickly a site loads. I also took a quick look at the performance tools offered by Ionos.

Performance tools

Ionos doesn’t list any performance tools on the page for shared hosting plans, but when I booted up WordPress, I found a preinstalled Ionos Performance Plugin. This plugin lets you enable things like file compression to improve site speeds.

Ionos Performance automatically enables basic caching , a specialized storage protocol that increases your site speed by reducing the amount of data visitors’ browsers have to pull from your host server.

Uptime matters because users who can’t access your site will often go elsewhere, which can result in lost traffic and income. Most hosting companies guarantee 99.9% uptime, meaning that server issues won’t shut down your site for more than 10 minutes per week. Ionos goes beyond this with a 99.99% guarantee, so your site won’t experience more than two minutes of server-related downtime per week.

I monitored my Ionos site with BetterStack for one week to see how it lived up to this guarantee -- and I’m pleased to report that my site experienced no downtime at all, earning Ionos a 10/10 uptime ranking. This uptime ranking is on par with what I’ve experienced with other top web hosts I’ve reviewed, like A2 Hosting and GoDaddy, and miles ahead of the spotty uptime of InMotion Hosting.

Site speed, a measurement of how many seconds your site takes to load, is essential because many people will leave your site if it doesn’t load fast enough. In fact, bounce rate, the percentage of people who leave your website after viewing only one page, increases by 32% when site load time goes from one to three seconds. Many experts recommend keeping your site speed to less than three seconds for this reason.

I created a test page simulating a simple homepage with two images and two text boxes and ran speed tests on WebPageTest at different times of day over the course of five days. I also tested from devices in several locations, allowing me to simulate how international users may experience Ionos sites.

Through these tests, I came up with the following average site speeds (remember, lower numbers are better):

Based on these numbers, the average site speeds are:

• An average mobile site speed of 3.63 seconds.
• An average desktop site speed of 2.31 seconds.

This equals out to an overall average of 2.97 seconds. While this does fall under the recommended maximum of three seconds of loading time, it’s not great, especially when compared to GoDaddy’s 2.29 second average or HostGator’s 2.41 second average. The only hosting company I’ve experienced worse loading speeds with was InMotion Hosting, which had an abysmal average loading speed of 3.84 seconds.

Loading speed will vary for users based on their location, internet plan and the device they’re using, but my tests provide a good representation of the average user’s experience, giving me the confidence to grant Ionos a 7.5/10 speed ranking . This ranking is disappointing, especially considering that I left Ionos Performance on during my speed tests, but it’s not bad enough for me to suggest avoiding Ionos altogether. You can always improve site speed with a caching plugin other than Ionos Performance, many of which are free.

Overall performance

Ionos has excellent server uptime, on par with what I experienced with other CNET-recommended hosting companies like A2 Hosting and GoDaddy -- and better than some hosts, like HostGator. The site speed isn’t so great. My Ionos site experienced the second-highest loading time of any test site I’ve created so far, but it’s still reasonable, leading Ionos to earn an 8.75/10 performance ranking.

Ionos security: Better than many rivals

Ionos provides the following security protocols for all customers:

• Secure socket layer ( SSL ) certification: A security protocol that encrypts data sent to and from your website, protecting sensitive information like email addresses submitted through a contact form. SSL certification also signals that your site is safe; some VPNs and browsers won’t even let users open a site without it. Moreover, Google may penalize sites without SSL certification, making it harder for your site to rank well.
• Firewall : Software that scans all data attempting to enter your site, preventing malware and other threats from harming it. No firewall is perfect (there’s always a chance something will get through), but a good one will protect your site from most malware.
• Malware scanning: A daily scan of your website to discover any malware that makes it through the firewall. You’ll be immediately notified of any threats discovered. Customer service can then walk you through the process of removing them.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection: A DDoS attack involves malicious traffic flooding your site in an attempt to overwhelm the server, causing it to shut down. Ionos offers comprehensive protection against these attacks to keep your site running continuously.
• Automated backups: Ionos creates daily backup copies of your site that are stored in a separate server for six days. If your site goes down, you can recover it using one of these backups.

This is one of the most comprehensive security packages I’ve seen for shared hosting users, with the automated backups being especially notable. Even A2 Hosting , which offers multilayered malware protection, doesn’t offer automated backup on its lowest-tier plan.

Ionos customer support: The best in the biz

If something goes wrong with your site, you want to be able to reach customer service quickly and get helpful answers to your questions. Ionos promises 24/7 customer service via live chat and phone, plus a personal consultant who Ionos claims will provide personalized advice on improving your site. There’s also a knowledge base you can use to figure out basic problems on your own. I tested all of these customer support avenues to determine if Ionos lives up to its promises.

Knowledge base

The Ionos knowledge base is called the Help Center and provides answers for performing many basic web-hosting tasks, including domain transfers, site setup and SSL certification. There’s a search bar at the top, plus buttons leading to sections related to various website management tasks.

Each button leads to an area where you can quickly view basic answers and find links to articles about performing more complex tasks. I especially like the accordion-style content blocks that minimize information you’re not likely to need, so you’re not overwhelmed when you open the page.

The articles themselves are clearly laid out, with step-by-step instructions and images showing how to perform each step. However, none of the articles I looked at included video tutorials, which could be an obstacle for users who prefer learning through video. This leads to the Ionos Help Center earning a 9/10 ranking.

Direct communication

Ionos offers 24/7 customer service via live chat and phone, plus a personal consultant who can be contacted between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. Your personal consultant can also be reached via both live chat and phone.

I tested the general live chat first and was connected to a customer support representative in under two minutes, a similar response time to what I’ve experienced with other web hosts like A2 Hosting and GoDaddy. They were polite and helpful, providing an immediate solution to my problem. This earns Ionos a live chat ranking of 10/10.

Next, I reached out via phone. A customer service agent responded almost immediately, transferring me to another department based on my questions. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself speaking to the new department in two minutes. This new department provided helpful answers and the entire conversation only took 14 minutes, a speed only matched by GoDaddy’s phone service. My only complaint is that they tried to sell me email hosting, reducing the rating from what would have been a 10/10 to a phone support ranking of 9.5/10.

Finally, I attempted to contact my personal support consultant. Reaching out via live chat got a near-instant response from a different support representative who said my agent was working on a different case and offered to answer my questions themselves in the meantime. They also told me a phone call might allow me to reach my personal consultant faster.

I called the number for my personal assistant and received the same answers: My personal consultant was unavailable, but the person who picked up would be happy to help. This leads me to believe that personal consultants are given a higher caseload than they can reasonably manage, forcing them to rely on other team members to assist everyone. 

The representative I spoke to also explained that they can help me with any technical issues I’m having but not provide advanced support on things like optimizing my site design, which is what I expected from a service claiming to provide “personalized advice.” I was somewhat disappointed by this because of Ionos’s marketing about personal consultants, but I’m still pleased with the fast, helpful service.

Overall customer service

Despite my inability to contact my personal consultant, I had an excellent experience with Ionos customer service on both live chat and phone. This earns Ionos a customer support ranking of 9.5/10, the best customer service ranking I’ve given any company so far. This is particularly impressive considering that most web hosts I’ve tested offered average or even abysmal customer service, with the second highest-ranking company, GoDaddy, earning only 8/10.

Along with my own testing, I read other Ionos reviews to determine how other customers feel about the company. I was pleased to discover that Ionos has a ranking of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot , and the BBB page shows no outstanding complaints.

Ionos value

Now that we’ve established how well Ionos stands on its own, it’s time to ask the last big question: How does Ionos compare to other popular web hosts?

Here’s a quick look at the offerings from three of the most popular web-hosting companies:

Based on this data, we can come to the following conclusions:

• Ionos’s starting prices are average. The lowest starting price from Ionos, $1 a month, comes in below all of the introductory prices listed above. However, the Essentials plan -- the plan most beginners will want -- starts at $4 a month, a higher cost than the prices of comparable plans from GoDaddy, DreamHost and A2 Hosting.
• Ionos’s renewal prices are low. The Essentials plan only costs $6 per month on renewal, a price only matched by DreamHost. The Starter plan also comes in under $10 a month (specifically, $8 per month) on renewal, which is still less than the lowest-cost plans offered by HostGator and A2 Hosting.
• Ionos offers mediocre storage on the lowest-tier plan. The 10GB storage of the Essentials plan is matched by HostGator’s Hatchling plan and the A2 Hosting Ignite plan, but notably less than the 50GB of DreamHost’s Starter plan. However, 10GB is still enough for at least 100 web pages, and you can upgrade to the Starter plan for 100GB of storage for just $2 more per month.
• Ionos offers above-average security. All Ionos plans include 24/7 malware scanning, a feature not included in the lowest-tier plans from DreamHost or HostGator. A2 Hosting’s security suite -- available for all users -- does include 24/7 malware scanning, but daily backups -- a feature built into every Ionos plan -- aren’t included.
• Ionos’s WordPress tools are limited. Guided setup is offered for all Ionos WordPress users, but there’s no site assistant like the ones offered by HostGator and A2 Hosting. Ionos also doesn’t offer WordPress auto-updates, a feature included with the lowest-tier plans from both DreamHost and A2 Hosting, on its regular shared hosting plans.

In short, Ionos doesn’t offer the same level of features as other popular web hosts covered here, especially not for WordPress users, but the features it offers are excellent for the low long-term costs. This earns Ionos a value ranking of 9/10.

Ionos review FAQs

Is ionos a good web-hosting company.

Ionos is a good web hosting company that offers solid site building tools, excellent uptime and top-notch customer service for highly affordable prices.

Can Ionos be trusted?

Ionos can be trusted to provide high-quality web-hosting services, including some of the best customer service in the industry, for wallet-friendly prices.

Is Ionos or GoDaddy better?

Ionos is better than GoDaddy, performing at the same level as GoDaddy or above during most of our tests.

Can I build a website with Ionos?

Yes, you can build a website with Ionos, using either WordPress or the proprietary Ionos website builder.

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HostGator Review 2024: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

Updated: Aug 2, 2024, 7:10pm

Reviewed By

Our Verdict

HostGator is a popular website hosting provider that offers curated plans for Indian professionals and businesses. It provides all types of hosting packages and tools for developers to build new WordPress websites or to register domain names for email hosting and marketing.

It manages the websites of a vast number of users worldwide to match their speed, performance, and security needs. Plus, its plans are designed to accommodate your budget. Read our comprehensive HostGator review to decide if it’s right for you.

Introductory price

INR ($4.95) p/m (annual billing)

Renews at INR ($111.99) p/m per year

Starts with 10GB SSD

Extras and inclusions

Free domain name for the first year, forever free SSL certificate, pre-installed WordPress, malware scanner, 30-day money-back guarantee

• Affordable hosting plans
• Free SSL certificates
• Data centers in India
• All plans include a 45-day money-back guarantee
• VPS and dedicated hosting are available
• Plans get pricier upon renewal
• Lots of upselling
• E-commerce capabilities not available on all plans

Table of Contents

What is hostgator, how hostgator works, hostgator core features, hostgator pricing and plans, hostgator alternatives and how they compare, is hostgator right for you or your business, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Featured Partners

Hostinger India

Average Uptime

Price starts from

INR 69/month

Money Back Guarantee

At 75% off + 3 months free on Hostinger’s website

INR 149/month

On Bluehost’s website

IONOS Hosting

INR 82/month ($1)

Free domain, free SSL certificate, daily backups

On IONOS’ secure website

HostGator has been a reliable website hosting provider since 2002, with data centers in India and in the U.S. headquartered in Houston, Texas, the web hosting company has offices in Mumbai with local talents to support Indian customers 24*7.

• Hostgator’s beginner-friendly interface and easy navigation tools make it easier to build a new WordPress website.
• Subscriptions are available for various types of website hosting (shared, cloud, VPS, dedicated server), and plans vary according to the number of websites required for hosting, storage, bandwidth, domain name, email accounts, etc.
• Even a beginner can get hands-on experience in developing a new SEO-friendly e-commerce website, though they may require tips from dedicated project managers.
• Hostgator has carefully curated its plans according to need, such as Linux or Windows Shared hosting or self-managed or fully managed VPS.
• The HostGator domain manager simplifies purchasing, transferring, updating, and managing all your domains in one location.
• Hostgator’s Shared hosting servers come with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, while dedicated servers, VPS, and cloud servers are covered under a network guarantee.
• HostGator’s yearly plan costs as low as INR 339 per month and comes equipped with an SSL certificate, site migration service, one-click WordPress installation, free domain name, and many more.

Hostgator provides shared hosting for websites built on a WordPress platform, e-commerce, dedicated VPS, and email hosting plans. Even the lowest tier plan includes a hosting plan for 10 websites, 10GB SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, a pre-installed malware scanner, a free domain name for a year, and a free SSL certificate. Plans can be upgraded as per requirement for hosting more websites, storage, and heightened security, such as Cloudflare CDN or content delivery network to boost speed and performance.

Users must register a domain name with HostGator to build a new website. Existing domain name holders can transfer their domain name to HostGator to start using its hosting plan. Nonetheless, every HostGator plan comes with a new domain for the first year, which can be renewed annually. HostGator provides domain names at a cost between INR 417.82 ($4.99) and INR 2,343.65 ($27.99) per year, depending on the availability of extensions, such as .com, .net, .org, .site, .tech, etc. You can pay an extra INR 1,251.79 ($14.95) per year for domain privacy, an add-on service that shields your personal information like the registrar’s name, location, etc.

HostGator is a reliable website hosting provider established in 2002, making it a well-known player in the market. The web host offers in-demand features to match the latest technology and upgrades to match speed, performance, and security needs. However, plans vary according to requirements.

Types of Hosting Available

• Shared hosting: Disk space, bandwidth, and resources are shared among users as the server hosts multiple websites. It is best suited for users who expect their website to attract low traffic.
• WordPress hosting: This plan best suits bloggers or small businesses that have built a website using WordPress and are looking to go online.
• Cloud hosting: Helpful for growing businesses’ websites that need to maintain fast load times when traffic spikes.
• VPS hosting: Unlike shared hosting, VPS offers a separate hosting environment where users don’t have to share resources with other websites. This hosting plan is designed for businesses whose websites attract a lot of traffic.
• Dedicated Hosting: A dedicated server offers users an entire server, along with all of its resources, to businesses that have a heavy traffic influx or are viral sites.
• Email Hosting: HostGator’s email plan can also be purchased separately, starting at INR 348 for a year. It has 5GB space per email ID, built-in virus protection, spam filters, and a 99.99% uptime guarantee.

Uptime Guarantee

HostGator’s hosting plans have an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. This means that web hosting for your website is available 99.9% of the time, which equates to around 8.76 hours of downtime per year. There can be several reasons for your website’s downtime, including server overload, hardware and software issues, etc.

As per HostGator’s terms of service, users may receive one month of credit on their account if a shared or reseller server has a physical downtime that falls short of the 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, this uptime guarantee does not apply to planned maintenance. Dedicated and a network guarantee covers VPS servers of HostGator.

Nonetheless, basic knowledge can help users resolve issues that cause website downtime.

Speed and Performance

Many factors can slow your website, including network congestion, bandwidth throttling, and restrictions. Overall, HostGator’s speed and performance are rated highly among users. However, you are advised to make plans according to the traffic expected on your website.

For instance, a multipage or e-commerce website with high traffic may take time if hosted on a shared hosting server. Such a website may require unmetered storage and bandwidth, VPS hosting, or Dedicated hosting servers, as mentioned below.

HostGator Security

HostGator’s servers are protected from DDoS attacks, as per the hosting provider. However, users can purchase a SiteLock Security add-on at an extra monthly cost of INR 669.02 ($7.99). This add-on provides an additional layer of security, including daily malware scans, malware removal, site lock seal, automated bot attacks, database scans, and weekly scan reports.

Storage and Bandwidth

HostGator plans start with a 10GB SSD, which can be upgraded as required. As mentioned below, almost all plans provide unmetered bandwidth.

HostGator Ease of Use

Users don’t need to be tech-savvy to use HostGator, as its web hosting features offer easy navigation. The company regularly updates its tutorials and frequently asked questions (FAQs) to walk users through installation or using the hosting tools. Moreover, customer support is available 24/7 via phone calls and live chat to help users optimize their web hosting needs at every step.

Customer Support

HostGator offers 24*7 live chat and email support to both existing and new customers to get resolution to queries. The company also has tutorials, a knowledge base, and blogs, including extensive FAQs.

HostGator offers four website hosting plans for Indian users to choose from servers located in India and in the U.S. These plans are further categorized, and prices and features vary accordingly.

HostGator Shared Hosting

In this type of hosting, a user shares space on the server with other websites. This means a single server hosts multiple websites and resources and bandwidth are also shared. HostGator offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee on shared hosting server plans.

The company provides both Windows and Linux shared hosting services. Windows-shared hosting is recommended for websites built on ASP, ASP.NET, IIS, or MSSQL. Linux-shared hosting is helpful for sites built in HTML or CSS, PHP, and regular WordPress websites.

HostGator’s shared hosting comes with an option: starter, hatchling, baby, or business plans. The prices of each plan become cheaper when users select plans having a billing cycle of higher tenure. We paid attention to features of three sub-categories of this plan with servers located in India.

HostGator WordPress Hosting

HostGator offers Indian users managed WordPress hosting service with servers located in the U.S. Under this plan, HostGator offers features tailored to users’ needs.

HostGator Cloud Hosting

Built on cloud technology, HostGator’s cloud hosting is ideal for websites that need to maintain fast load times when traffic spikes. Indian users can choose to host their website on cloud servers located within the country India or in the U.S. Pricing and features under this hosting plan with servers located in India are as follows:

HostGator VPS Hosting

HostGator’s virtual private server (VPS) offers users more control over their website’s performance. Each user is provided with a separate hosting environment, and unlike shared hosting, users don’t have to share resources such as RAM or CPU with other websites.

It comes equipped with an integrated cPanel, full root access, guaranteed CPU, RAM, SSD storage, and network, and management actions like stopping, restarting, and rebuilding for complete server autonomy. HostGator offers four VPS plans for Indian users to choose from servers located in India and the U.S., as per their needs for storage, bandwidth, and a dedicated IP option.

HostGator Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is suitable for large businesses with heavy traffic or viral sites. It offers the option of Linux or Shared Dedicated hosting and the choice of SSD or HDD hard drives with or without cPanel. A dedicated server offers users an entire server and all of its resources.

HostGator Email Hosting

While HostGator offers basic email with all plans, users can also purchase an email plan separately. Here’s what users get when they sign up with HostGator’s email hosting plan.

HostGator Website Builder

HostGator offers affordable website builder plans for WordPress and helpful tools as per the requirements of pages, payment, shipping integration, mobile-optimized templates, etc. Users must submit their name, email, and phone number to get a call back on the quotation from a dedicated project manager.

HostGator Domain Name Service

A domain name is the online name users use to create a website . Although HostGator is primarily a web hosting company, it facilitates users’ registration and search for domain name availability. It offers top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com, .store, biz, org, .net, and .site, to name a few. However, it can be pricier.

HostGator Domain Name features include:

• Up to two 100 MB email accounts
• Anti-spam and virus protection
• DNS management
• Email forwarding
• Domain theft protection

HostGator is a reliable web hosting provider for Indian users with data centers located within the country and in the U.S. There are many areas in which HostGator excels over its peers. Below is how HostGator stacks up with A2 Hosting and GoDaddy in areas such as pricing, storage, migration, bandwidth, customer service, and other features.

HostGator vs. A2 Hosting

Both HostGator and A2 Hosting offer reliable hosting plans to Indian users. HostGator’s shared hosting plan starts at INR 239 per month for one year, and comes with 10GB storage. The yearly plan of A2 Hosting costs INR 414.47 ($4.95) per month for 10 GB SSD storage. Both web hosting providers offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, website builder, SSL certificate, and site migration service. However, a one-click WordPress installation and a free domain name are not included in A2 Hosting.

Related: A2 Hosting Review

HostGator vs. GoDaddy

HostGator and GoDaddy offer competitive pricing options for their shared hosting plans to Indian users. GoDaddy’s shared hosting starts at INR 149 per month for annual billing. In terms of storage, GoDaddy offers up to 10 GB SSD storage. Both hosting providers offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, website builder, SSL certificate, site migration, one-click WordPress installation, and a free domain to users.

Related: GoDaddy Hosting Review

HostGator works best for bloggers and small and large businesses that want visitors to experience a smooth browsing experience. You can register a domain name, build a website, and host it on servers according to your business’s online presence needs. With unlimited storage and bandwidth, HostGator will help scale your website beautifully as your business grows.

HostGator Is Best For:

• Basic WordPress website
• Businesses on a tight budget
• Website builders with minimal designing skills

HostGator Is Not Recommended For:

• Multi-resource websites that require considerable storage and processing speed

Is HostGator user-friendly?

HostGator offers a beginner-friendly interface and easy navigation tools. The company regularly updates its tutorials and FAQs to walk you through installation or using the hosting tools. Moreover, customer support is available 24*7 via phone calls and live chat to help users optimize their web hosting needs at every step.

What type of hosting plans does HostGator provide to Indian users?

HostGator provides shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and email hosting plans to Indian users.

Does HostGator offer a website builder?

Yes, HostGator offers affordable website builder plans and helpful tools, such as a drag-and-drop editor, mobile-optimized templates, and other features for building static websites, CMS, and e-commerce websites.

Does HostGator offer domain name registration?

Yes—HostGator facilitates users registering and searching for the availability of domain names.

Does HostGator allow users to host their Minecraft server?

According to HostGator, many users have been able to run Minecraft servers successfully on either a HostGator VPS or Dedicated Hosting servers.

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Dipen Pradhan is a Staff Reporter for Forbes Advisor India. He has more than 10 years of experience in journalism. He covers the personal finance beat. When he is not writing, he enjoys documenting the community's ethnic knowledge, and travels to explore rural hotspots.

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News Analysis

Harris Now Has an Economic Plan. Can It Best Trump’s Promises?

A central question in the final stretch of the election is if Vice President Kamala Harris’s proposals will cohere into an economic argument that can top former President Donald J. Trump’s.

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By Andrew Duehren and Jim Tankersley

Reporting from Washington

Vice President Kamala Harris has a plan for the economy: a glossy, 82-page booklet detailing proposals on housing, taxes and health care that her campaign handed out to supporters gathered at a campaign event in Pittsburgh this week.

Former President Donald J. Trump has nothing so detailed. The issues section of his campaign website is spare. He has coughed up a string of four- or five-word slogans promising tax cuts, some of which even his advisers cannot fully explain. He has toyed with a tariff as high as 20 percent on every good imported into the United States, promised to deport millions of immigrants to reduce the demand for housing and boasted that he can halve energy prices in a year.

Even with such an improvisational, loosely defined agenda, he is still leading Ms. Harris on the economy in polls, though his advantage is shrinking in some surveys. Many economists have warned that Mr. Trump’s promises , if turned into concrete policy, could slow growth, raise consumer prices and balloon the federal deficit.

But many voters find Mr. Trump’s punchy promises easy to grasp. His basic message of lower taxes, less regulation and less trade with other countries helped carry him to the White House once before. A majority of Americans fondly remember the economy in the first three years of his administration, before the pandemic and years of elevated inflation.

A central question in the final stretch of the presidential race is if Ms. Harris’s more detailed — but in many cases still not fully formed — stack of policy proposals will cohere into an economic argument that can top that.

To a remarkable degree in a deeply polarized country, Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump have many of the same stated goals for the economy. Lower costs. Reduce regulations. Cut taxes for the middle class. Incentivize corporations to build their products in the United States.

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