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Are you drowning in the sea of web hosting choices that are available? With hundreds on the market, it’s certainly a daunting task to pick the best web host for your needs. HostGator, one of the most popular web hosting services, could be just the ticket.
HostGator provides a fantastic combination of affordable pricing and robust features and has a ton of different hosting plans for almost any type of website. But does Hostgator deliver the reliability you need for your websites?
Article Overview
- Pros & Cons
- Key Features
- Pricing
- How Do Users Rate HostGator?
- What Type Of Web Hosting Do I Need (Video)?
- How Does HostGator Compare?
HostGator
Pros
- Offers 24/7/365 customer support
- Among the most affordable hosting services
- Flexibility of content regulations that allows for legal adult content hosting
- 45-day money back guarantee
- $100 Google AdWords offer and $100 Bing ad credits
Cons
- Many user complaints about poor site performance
- Tech support replies are slow at times
- Data backup not as frequent as some other hosting services
- Oversell resources
- BBB reports a recent pattern of complaints for deceptive business practices and rude and unhelpful customer support reps
7 Key Features
- Offers shared, cloud, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting
- 99.9% guaranteed uptime
- More than 75 one-click script installs
- cPanel access gives newcomers an easy hosting experience
- Windows hosting with Plesk control panel
- Powerful HostGator web builder with 100+ free mobile-friendly templates and image library
- Excellent resources to help you choose the Host Gator plan that’s right for your website
Pricing
Below are the pricing and tech specs for all of HostGator’s hosting solutions. Prices below are for the first year only.
Shared Web Hosting
| Hatchling | Baby | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $2.75 | $3.95 | $5.95 |
| Number of Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free Dedicated IP Address |  |
Cloud Hosting
| Hatchling Cloud | Baby Cloud | Business Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $4.95 | $6.57 | $9.95 |
| Number of Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Available CPU | 2 Cores | 4 Cores | 6 Cores |
| Available Memory | 2GB | 4GB | 6GB |
| Dedicated IP Address | |
Managed WordPress Hosting
| Starter | Standard | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $5.95 | $7.95 | $9.95 |
| Max Sites | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Max Monthly Visitors | 100,000 | 200,000 | 500,000 |
| Automated Daily Database Backups | 1GB | 2GB | 3GB |
VPS Pricing
| Snappy 2000 | Snappy 4000 | Snappy 8000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $29.95 | $39.95 | $49.95 |
| CPU | 2 Cores | 2 Cores | 4 Cores |
| RAM | 2GB | 4GB | 8GB |
| Disk Space | 120GB | 165GB | 240GB |
| Bandwidth | 1.5TB | 2TB | 3TB |
Dedicated Server Pricing (Linux & Windows)
All dedicated server plans include the following:
- 3 Dedicated IPv4 IPs
- RAID-1 Configuration
- Full Root Access
- DDOS Protection
- Unlimited Databases
- Fully Redundant Network
- Unmetered Bandwidth
- And much more
| Value Server | Power Server | Enterprise Server | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Month | $118.99 | $138.99 | $148.99 |
| CPU | 4 Core/8 Thread | 8 Core/16 Thread | 8 Core/16 Thread |
| RAM | 8GB | 16GB | 30GB |
| Disk Space | 1TB HDD | 2TB HDD or or 512GB SSD | 1TB SSD |
Customer Reviews
We’ve researched online user reviews about HostGator, and they’re across the board. See below for a sampling of positive and negative reviews we found from real HostGator customers.
Positive Reviews
I really fell into webdesign and new I wanted to have a place to host all the sites. HostGator was running an AMAZING special for WordPress sites so I bit. It is the most affordable and easy program to use. Their customer support is ALWAYS very helpful with all that I need. I’ve even messed up a site that they happily corrected for me. PLUS they always send me information to help me learn what to do and what not to do. – Angela B., G2 Crowd 1/10/2019
I’ve been hosting all my domains and subdomains with Hostgator since 2011 and they have always been prompt to fix tech glitches I’ve had and follow up with me regularly when progress on support tickets was slower. I highly recommend them to everyone I know! They constantly upgrade their servers and stay current with tech requirements so they can be trusted with all your hosting needs. Furthermore, the free SSL certificate that comes with *any* Hostgator hosting plan is one more reason to sign up/stay with them. Very happy so far! – Nadine B., Trustpilot 11/8/2018
Negative Reviews
I have been with Hostgator for a few years, and their service has gone from average to absolutely awful. The wait time for daytime live chat support is generally about an hour, and the replies are pretty slow – generally from a foreign call center with poor English. It is not possible to create a support ticket yourself, so you are stuck in queue for this awful live chat. Hostgator consistently fails to resolve anything on live chat, and, almost always, after an hour of waiting and slow replies – they place your question to a ticket. Ticket replies generally take over a day, and typically just repeat the same non-answer that the live chat person had already suggested. One of my customers had intermittent email issues, and despite a dozen support requests – Hostgator failed to resolve them. – Totalwebsitedesign.co.uk, Trustpilot 4/6/2019
Nothing but issues with HostGator billing. But thankfully I am almost done transferring domains and hosting to NameCheap and LiquidWeb. Hostgator is expensive for what you get. They charge you when you cancel anything and then tell you it is non-refundable..then you have to dispute with them and eventually your credit card. HostGator is like the trailer park of hosting. I suggest taking a hard pass on HostGator..there are much better options out there. I signed up with them years ago because I didn’t know any better..they market everywhere and you know their name but that’s about all they are good at..marketing a junk product and service. – Stephen P., BBB 3/3/2019
What Type Of Web Hosting Do I Need?
Shared? VPS? Dedicated? As technology advances, the more web hosting options grow. It can be confusing to figure out which hosting type you need for your business. Our hosting essentials article goes into the details, and the video below by GoDaddy gives you a snapshot of the differences.
How Does HostGator Compare?
HostGator gives you a lot of bang for your buck with low monthly prices in their shared plans, especially their shared business plans. You get a lot for your money, including 24/7 tech support, site migration and much more. Unfortunately, Hostgator’s performance and customer support have declined in the last few years. How does HostGator compare to other hosting companies? Find out our top picks in our regularly updated web hosting reviews.
Think you’ll give HostGator a try or look elsewhere for your hosting needs? Let us know in the comments!
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