HostGator Review and In-Depth Analysis

Still, wondering if HostGator is a good choice? Well, read my Hostgator review, where I will answer pretty much every possible question you may have!

HostGator is a huge hosting company with over 2 million live websites hosted on its infrastructure. If that number doesn’t speak for itself, I don’t really know what else does 🙂

HostGator offers every possible hosting option to suit your business needs:

• Shared Hosting – easy, affordable, and simply awesome
• Website Builder Hosting – build your awesome website in a few minutes
• WordPress Hosting – combining their flexibility and HostGator’s amazingly fast hosting solutions
• Reseller Hosting – be your own boss and provide your clients with the right tools for their hosting
• VPS Hosting – dedicated resources, full root access, easy scaling – complete control without the expense
• Dedicated Hosting – made for both power and performance, providing unmetered bandwidth, powerful hardware, and a choice of Linux or Windows-based servers

I’m now going to dig into every single hosting option offered by HostGator. There will be a lot of technical bits involved, as I always try to cover everything, therefore I think a little coffee is a must 🙂

Go and make one now if you want. Oh, already got one? Smashing! Let’s go then!

HostGator Shared Hosting Review

Their robust web hosting tools get the job done right and are designed so that when you grow, your site can grow with you too. A scalable solution, indeed.

Their shared hosting is available in 3 different plans:

• Hatchling Plan – $2.75 / first month (60% cheaper)
• Baby Plan – $3.50 / first month (65% cheaper)
• Business Plan – $5.25 / first month (65% cheaper)

Let’s see what their shared hosting pricing structure looks like and what sort of features each plan includes:

Hatchling Plan key features:

• Single website
• One-click WordPress installs
• Free WordPress/cPanel website transfer
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain included

Baby Plan key features:

• Unlimited websites
• One-click WordPress installs
• Free WordPress/cPanel website transfer
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain included

Business Plan key features:

• NEW Cloudflare CDN with up to 2.5x faster page load times
• Unlimited websites
• One-click WordPress installs
• Free WordPress/cPanel website transfer
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free SSL certificate
• Free upgrade to Positive SSL
• Free dedicated IP
• Free SEO tools
• Free domain included

Let’s dive into all features available with every plan, so you know exactly what you pay for.

Top Features	Hatchling Plan	Baby Plan	Business Plan
Price	$2.75/mo*	$3.50/mo*	$5.24/mo*
Websites	Single	Unlimited	Unlimited
FREE 1 year domain registration
One-click WordPress Installs
FREE HostGator Website Builder
FREE website & domain transfers
Bandwidth & disk space	Unmetered	Unmetered	Unmetered
45-day money-back guarantee
FREE SSL certification
$150 Google Ads spend match credit
$100 Microsoft Advertising credit
FREE email
FREE MySQL transfer & script transfer
FREE Dedicated IP
FREE Positive SSL upgrade

Apart from the main features outlined above, every shared hosting plan comes with the following features included as a standard:

cPanel:

• Latest cPanel web hosting control panel
• Website statistic tools – AWStats, Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, Referrer and Error Logs
• Application installs – Instant Shopping Carts, Blogs, Portals, Forums, and Counters
• Password protected directories
• Custom error pages
• Expert management tools – Web Based File Manager, Hotlink Protection, IP Deny Manager, Redirect URL

Email:

• Unlimited POP3 email accounts with SMTP
• Webmail access – Access your email via several available webmail clients provided through your account
• Get email on phone via IMAP support
• Prevent spam with SpamAssassin
• Advanced email tools – Unlimited Email Aliases, Autoresponders, Mail Forwards, 25 Mailing Lists

Domain/FTP:

• Unlimited subdomains
• Unlimited FTP accounts
• Unlimited addon/parked domains (not included in Hatchling Plan)

Support:

• 24/7/365 live chat and phone support
• Courtesy website backups – HostGator automatically works in the background to provide frequent website backups as a courtesy to their customers
• 24/7/365 hosting server monitoring

Programming/Databases:

• MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin access
• Supported programming languages – CGI, Fast CGI, PHP 5 and 7, Ruby on Rails, Perl, Python, SSL
• Supported programming modules – Curl, CPAN, GD Library, ImageMagick
• System Management – SSH Access and Cron Job Scheduling

Applications:

• One-click installs Instantly install over 75 open-source scripts with just a click!
• WordPress Hosting – Host your very own WordPress blog
• Joomla & Drupal Hosting – Professional CMS Solutions
• Magento Hosting – Free E-commerce platform for your own store
• Wiki Hosting – Start a Wiki website with MediaWiki

HostGator Website Builder Hosting Review

Most website builders make you drag and drop your way to a satisfying site – after sifting through hundreds of templates, that is. So they said “buh bye” to slow features and introduced smart technology instead.

Gator Builder automatically creates your site in an optimized layout and industry-specific design. On top of that, you’ll be up and running in a matter of minutes (yep, minutes) instead of hours.

Your site will be backed by a team of HostGator geeks who are eager to help you out. Novice or pro, it’s pretty clear they got your back. Not a bad deal, right?

HostGator Website Builder Hosting is available in 3 different plans:

• Express Start – $3.84 / first month (50% cheaper)
• Express Site – $5.99 / first month (50% cheaper)
• Express Store – $9.22 / first month (50% cheaper)

Now let’s have a look at what each of those plans has on offer:

Express Start key features:

• Intelligent site builder
• Free domain
• Free SSL certificate
• 3 email campaigns per month
• 3-product online store

Express Site key features:

• Intelligent site builder
• Free domain
• Free SSL certificate
• 5 email campaigns per month
• 10-product online store
• Appointment booking
• Priority support

Express Store key features:

• Intelligent site builder
• Free domain
• Free SSL certificate
• 10 email campaigns per month
• Unlimited product online store
• Appointment booking
• Priority support
• No transaction fees

Table below will show you what else is included in each Website Builder Hosting plan.

Top Features	Express Start	Express Site	Express Store
Price	$3.84/mo*	$5.99/mo*	$9.22/mo*
Intelligent site builder
FREE hosting
Free domain	12-month term	12-month term	12-month term
Connect your domain
Bookings
Fully mobile responsive
Fast websites (CDN)
Free SSL certificate
Unsplash image library

Email Marketing	Express Start	Express Site	Express Store
Price	$3.84/mo*	$5.99/mo*	$9.22/mo*
Campaigns per month	3	5	10
Unique emails per month	250	500	1250
Campaign send refills	Optional	Optional	Optional
Contacts upload limit per file	50	50	50
Contacts upload/manually add limit per day	250	250	250
Total contacts	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Integrated contacts CRM
Professional AI-driven designs
Storage of images	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Free Unsplash image library
Match your logo & website branding
Mobile-friendly layouts
Integrated eCommerce landing pages
Website pop-up lead capture forms
Visual analytics & campaign reporting
Share blog posts to email
Simplified opt-out management
Automated email scheduling

Online Store	Express Start	Express Site	Express Store
Price	$3.84/mo*	$5.99/mo*	$9.22/mo*
Maximum number of products	3	10	Unlimited
Transaction fee	3%	3%	None
Digital products / downloads
Online payments
Order & tax management
Discount & coupons
Inventory management
Integrated shipping management	Basic	Basic	Advanced

Online Store	Express Start	Express Site	Express Store
Price	$3.84/mo*	$5.99/mo*	$9.22/mo*
Calendar management
Side-by-side view all of your staff calendars
Email notifications

You will also get the following features included with every Website Builder Hosting plan:

Support:

• 24/7 chat and email
• Phone support
• Priority support (not available in the Express Start plan)

Marketing tools:

• Contact management – CRM
• Lead capture forms
• Menus & event sections
• LogoMaker
• Advanced site statistics
• $200 search engine marketing credits

HostGator WordPress Hosting Review

Their ready-to-go solution makes setting up WordPress quicker and easier than doing it all on your own. Plus, their simplified control panel is hassle-free, so you can set up auto-backups, access 1-click restores, and do loads of other account management things without missing a beat.

As for the HostGator team? With over 2 million sites under their belt, it’s safe to say their pros (aka WordPress wizards) know all the ins and outs. So should a problem arise, you’re in pretty darn capable hands.

HostGator WordPress Hosting is available in 3 different plans:

Starter Plan – $5.95 / first month (40% cheaper)
Standard Plan – $7.95 / first month (50% cheaper)
Business Plan – $9.95 / first month (57% cheaper)

Here’s a quick overview of each plan’s advantages:

Starter Plan key features:

• 1 site
• 100k visits per month
• 1 GB backups
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain included

Standard Plan key features:

• 2 sites
• 200k visits per month
• 2 GB backups
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain included

Business Plan key features:

• 3 sites
• 500k visits per month
• 3 GB backups
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain included

And here’s a more detailed comparison of each HostGator WordPress Hosting plan’s top features:

Top Features	Express Start	Express Site	Express Store
Price	$5.95/mo*	$7.95/mo*	$9.95/mo*
Websites	1 site	2 sites	3 sites
Visits per month	100k	200k	500k
Unmetered bandwidth
100% free migration by their web pros	Up to 1 site	Up to 2 sites	Up to 3 sites
Free domain
Free email
$150 Google Ads spend match credit
One-click WordPress installs
99.9% uptime guarantee
45-day money-back guarantee

Features listed below also come with every single plan as a standard:

WordPress:

• WordPress free install
• 100% free migration by their web pros
• Hundreds of themes available

Email:

• Unlimited POP3 email accounts with SMTP
• WordPress free install (Horde, RoundCube)
• Receive your email to your phone via IMAP
• Prevent spam with SpamAssassin
• Unlimited email aliases
• Unlimited autoresponders
• Unlimited mail forwards
• 25 Mailing lists

Security:

• Free SSL certificate
• Free CodeGuard
• Free SiteLock Fix
• Backups
• Automatic malware removal

Support:

• 24/7/365 premium support

HostGator Reseller Hosting Review

Reseller hosting lets you start your own web hosting company by white labeling their products. It’s a great way to earn money on the side by becoming your own web hosting company, or by simply adding more value to the customers you already have.

And, with HostGator, you get complete control over every aspect of your business. All while they stay behind the scenes.

In other words, they provide the products, you take the credit. Yup, it’s that easy!

HostGator offers 3 different Reseller Hosting plans:

• Aluminum Plan – $19.95 / first month (43% cheaper)
• Copper Plan – $24.95 / first month (49% cheaper)
• Silver plan – $24.95 / first month (64% cheaper)

Let’s have a quick look at what sort of hardware each Reseller Hosting plan offers:

Top Features	Aluminum Plan	Copper Plan	Silver plan
Price	$19.95/mo*	$24.95/mo*	$24.95/mo*
Disk space	60 GB	90 GB	140 GB
Bandwidth	600 GB	900 GB	1400 GB
Websites	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
FREE SSL certificate
Control Panels	WHM & cPanel	WHM & cPanel	WHM & cPanel
WHMCS Client Management
Billing Software

Above is just the hardware comparison, but the stuff below is where the real fun starts and it’s totally FREE!

Reseller features:

• Unlimited domains, subdomains, email accounts, MySQL databases, FTP accounts
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Private name servers based on your domain

WHM:

• Latest WHM Control Panel with multi-language availability
• Monitor server status
• Limit packages, specify disk space, bandwidth, email, databases, and more
• Password modification, DNS, account creation/termination

cPanel:

• Latest cPanel Control Panel
• Website statistics – AWStats, Webalizer, raw log manager, referrer, and error logs
• Instant installs – Shopping carts, blogs, portals, forums, and counters
• Password-protected directories and custom error pages
• Web-based file manager, hotlink protection, IP deny manager, redirect URL

Email:

• Autoresponders, mail forwards, email aliases, 25 mailing lists
• Maximum POP / IMAP connections
• WebMail access – Horde, RoundCube
• Prevent spam with SpamAssassin

Programming and Databases:

• MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin access
• Programming language – CGI, Fast CGI, PHP 7, Ruby on Rails, Perl, Python, SSL
• Programming modules – Curl, CPAN, GD Library, ImageMagick
• System management – SSH access and cron job scheduling

Support:

• Premium support
• Server monitoring and remediation

HostGator VPS Hosting Review

Their VPS lets you customize your hosting environment to the exact scale you need without paying a penny over. That’s the (totally awesome) HostGator way.

“When we built our Virtual Private Server platform, we knew we were building for people who value the same things we do: more control, less service limitations, and heaps of beefed up features.”

HostGator

Hostgator VPS Hosting comes in 3 different plans:

• Snappy 2000 – $23.95 / first month (75% cheaper)
• Snappy 4000 – $34.95 / first month (75% cheaper)
• Snappy 8000 – $59.95 / first month (75% cheaper)

Here’s a quick summary of what each VPS Hosting plan brings to the table:

Snappy 2000 key features:

• 2GB RAM
• 2 core CPU
• 120 GB SSD
• Unmetered bandwidth

Snappy 4000 key features:

• 4 GB RAM
• 2 core CPU
• 165 GB SSD
• Unmetered bandwidth

Snappy 8000 key features:

• 8 GB RAM
• 4 core CPU
• 240 GB SSD
• Unmetered bandwidth

Here’s also a useful table, so you can quickly compare all plans in one go:

Hardware	Snappy 2000	Snappy 4000	Snappy 8000
Price	$23.95/mo*	$34.95/mo*	$59.95/mo*
vCPU	2 cores	2 cores	4 cores
RAM	2 GB	4 GB	8 GB
Storage	120 GB SSD	165 GB SSD	240 GB SSD
Unmetered Bandwidth
Dedicated IP	2 IPs	2 IPs	2 IPs

Again, it’s just a hardware comparison. Each VPS Hosting plan comes with the following features included as a standard:

VPS Features:

• Root access
• Optional cPanel/WHM
• Operating System CentOS 7+
• Softaculous script installer
• LetsEncrypt SSL included
• Unlimited email accounts
• Free content transfers
• Network guarantee
• MySQL

Email:

• Unlimited maximum outgoing emails
• Unlimited maximum POP/IMAP connections

Security:

• Centralized DDoS Protection
• Weekly offsite backups
• Create manual backups
• Create scheduled backups

Network:

• Network uptime guarantee
• US-based Data Centers
• Fully redundant network
• Multiple bandwidth providers – AboveNet, AT&T, Comcast, Global Crossing, Level (3), NTT

Support:

• Premium support
• Server monitoring and remediation

HostGator Dedicated Server Review

Having a dedicated server to call your own is already pretty neat. But combine that with HostGator’s pro team and almost 20 years of experience? Then you’ve REALLY got a winning combo.

Yup. They know their web pros want it all. So go on and swim in maximum customization, configuration, installation, and flexibility while their best-of-the-best tech team supports you from the side.

“If we haven’t reached Dedicated perfection yet, we’re pretty dang close.”

HostGator

There are 3 Dedicated Server plans offered by HostGator:

• Value Server – $89.98 / first month (52% cheaper)
• Power Server – $119.89 / first month (52% cheaper)
• Enterprise Server – $139.99 / first month (52% cheaper)

And here’s a quick summary of each one of them:

Value Server key features:

• 4 core / 8 thread
• Intel Xeon-D CPU
• 8 GB RAM
• 1 TB HDD
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Linux or Windows OS

Power Server key features:

• 8 core / 16 thread
• Intel Xeon-D CPU
• 16 GB RAM
• 2 TB HDD / 512 GB SSD
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Linux or Windows OS

Enterprise Server key features:

• 8 core / 16 thread
• Intel Xeon-D CPU
• 30 GB RAM
• 1 TB SSD
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Linux or Windows OS

Here’s also a table for a quick comparison:

Hardware	Value Plan	Power Plan	Enterprise Plan
Price	$89.98/mo*	$119.89/mo*	$139.99/mo*
CPU	4 core / 8 thread Intel Xeon-D CPU	8 core / 16 thread Intel Xeon-D CPU	8 core / 16 thread Intel Xeon-D CPU
RAM	8 GB	16 GB	30 GB
Storage	1 TB HDD	2 TB HDD or 512 GB SSD	1 TB SSD
Unmetered Bandwidth

Here’s also a list of all the additional stuff that each Dedicated Server comes packed with:

Features:

• Full root access
• Dedicated resources
• Free content transfers
• Unlimited MySQL

Control Panel (you choose):

• cPanel/WHM (Linux)
• Softaculous (Linux)
• Plesk (Windows)
• Plesk Application Vault (Windows)

Email:

• 3 Dedicated IPv4 IPs
• Unlimited maximum outgoing emails
• Unlimited maximum POP/IMAP connections

Security:

• Advanced DDoS Protection – Scrub Center
• Create manual backups
• Create scheduled backups

Network:

• Network uptime guarantee
• US-based Data Centers
• Fully redundant network
• Multiple bandwidth providers – AboveNet, AT&T, Comcast, Global Crossing, Level (3), NTT

Support:

• Premium support
• Server monitoring and remediation

HostGator Review Summary and Additional Options

There are also a lot of advanced features for the advanced users:

• Unlimited MySQL Databases
• Subversion Repository (SVN)
• Server Side Includes (SSI)
• Support for PHP 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3
• HostGator Portal Control Panel
• Full Unix Shell
• Access to Raw Log Files
• Crontab Access
• Full CGI Access
• Canned CGI Scripts
• Reseller & Sub Accounts
• Secure Shell (SSH) Access
• IPv6 Support
• Rails, Python, Perl Support
• Unlimited SFTP Users

You can also extend your HostGator Hosting with these optional features:

SiteLock Security – Starting at $5.99 / month

SiteLock Security key features:

• Scan ’n’ zap – SiteLock scans your site, identifies the bad stuff, then zaps it outta there
• Weekly reports – Get a weekly scan report so you’re up to date on what’s happening
• Email alerts – Malware or harmful code detected on your site? You’ll know right away
• SMART removal – Their Secure Malware Alert & Removal Tool (SMART) does all the magic
• Bye-bye blacklists – Save your reputation by decreasing your chance of being blacklisted
• Rock a SiteLock badge – Displaying this can increase conversions by about 15%. Neat!

Google Workspace – Starting at $6.00 / month

Google Workspace key features:

• Professional email – Look profesh with an email address that matches your domain name
• Oodles of storage – Start with 30GB per user, then upgrade to an unlimited amount as needed
• Google apps – Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Meet, Docs, Slides, Drive, etc.
• Admin controls – Add and remove users, create groups, configure security options & more
• Mobile management – Enjoy device location, passwords, and even mobile data deletion
• Easy data migration – Use tools & services to easily move your data into Google Workspace

CodeGuard – Starting at $2.75 / month

CodeGuard key features:

• Daily backups
• File change monitoring – View changes and schedule monitoring all from a simple dashboard
• Email alerts – You’ll get alerted as soon as any sketchy changes are identified
• Live protection against viruses, hackers, & broken code

Conclusion

As you can see, HostGator offers plenty of options, software, add-ons, etc. No matter what stage of your online career you’re at, HostGator will surely have your back. And with their 24/7/365 excellent support, you’re in good hands!

Find out more about the latest HostGator Deals!