HostGator Review: Is It a Reliable Hosting Company?
Kelly is a former Google Tech Entrepreneur and Apple Developer who has counseled businesses of all sizes and growth stages. You can find her expertise across Fit Small Business in marketing, business website, and business trend content.
Rain is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on sales, such as VoIP and video conferencing.
This article is part of a larger series on Small Business Websites.
HostGator is a web hosting company with unmetered disk space and bandwidth beginning at its base plan. It provides everything you need to build a website from scratch, like domain, SSL, and storage, or migrate your existing site onto its servers. It is best for beginners for its no-frills hosting packages and businesses with content-heavy sites. Find out if this web host is also the right choice for your business.
HostGator
What We Like
- Unmetered storage and bandwidth come standard
- Free domain name with annual plans
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited free business email
- Many contract lengths available
- Free WordPress site transfer service
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Reliable 99.9% uptime guarantee
What's Missing
- Domain privacy not included, like it is with DreamHost plans
- Pricing doubles upon renewal
- Month-to-month plans are more expensive than DreamHost
- Backups are not automated, like they are with GreenGeeks
- Users report that server maintenance is occasionally unannounced
- Does not provide a site builder, like Bluehost or GoDaddy
HostGator Is Recommended For:
- Businesses with content-heavy sites, such as a photography portfolio or large ecommerce site
- Those with existing websites looking to migrate to a feature-rich, low-cost provider
Who HostGator Is Best For
HostGator offers all-inclusive web hosting packages that enable users to quickly set up and publish a website. Its ease of use, features, and simple plans work best for customers with no coding experience. HostGator is worth considering if you want to migrate your existing site or build your new website quickly.
HostGator is best for:
- Businesses with content-heavy sites: HostGator provides unmetered storage and bandwidth perfect for companies looking to build sites with rich content without limits on file size, which makes it one of the best hosting companies for businesses that utilize a number of images or downloads in their marketing or outreach materials. These inclusions are available even at its base plan, while most hosting companies, like DreamHost, offer it at their higher tiers.
- Those with existing sites looking to migrate to a high-value provider: Apart from its low-cost, feature-rich plans, HostGator also provides free migration for new accounts within 30 days of signing up for a plan. Other web hosting providers, like Bluehost, charge for this service.
- Businesses with large teams that need email hosting: HostGator comes with free business emails even at its shared hosting base plan. Its unlimited storage feature also makes it one of the best email hosting services as well as a great website hosting provider for businesses that are sending a high volume of emails.
- Businesses that want to bundle website hosting as part of other services: In addition to offering businesses a quick way to publish their own website, HostGator also gives designer and website developers the ability to resell their hosting services along with offering a WebHost management tool for client management, which is why it is one of the best reseller hosting providers.
Who HostGator Isn’t Best For
Though HostGator provides a good balance of inclusions, performance, and price, it doesn’t mean it fits all types of users. If you are looking for more advanced hosting packages, then HostGator isn’t for you. Moreover, those with tighter budgets can still find cheaper options elsewhere.
HostGator is not recommended for:
- Businesses looking for commitment-free web hosting: While HostGator offers short-term contracts—specifically in one-, three-, and six-month periods—it isn’t the cheapest in the market. You can check out DreamHost, which offers a similar set of features at lower short-term plan fees.
- Companies with a global presence: HostGator has data centers only at two U.S.-based locations. Those who want fast page loads anywhere around the globe may choose GoDaddy instead. It has data centers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Even with HostGator’s excellent offerings and customer support, other providers like Bluehost and A2 Hosting can be more appealing to some. These alternatives provide the same or more value at lower prices. It all boils down to your preference and priorities in terms of your needs.
HostGator Pricing
HostGator is among the most affordable web hosting companies that provide great value in its plans. There are still cheaper options in the market, like DreamHost, but HostGator boasts unlimited storage in its base plan for just a few cents more.
HostGator’s introductory prices start at $2.75 per month for a 36-month term. It already includes unlimited storage and bandwidth, SSL certification, one-year domain registration, and a professional email, perfect for putting your business out there on the web. However, keep in mind that these ultra-low initial fees are more than doubled after the discounted period.
Shared Hosting Plans | Hatchling Plan | Baby Plan | Business Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Small business owners who need to publish one website | Entrepreneurs who need to put up sites for their multiple businesses | Teams running multiple high-traffic websites |
Introductory Pricing* | $2.75/month | $3.50/month | $5.25/month |
Renewal Rates** | $6.95/month | $9.95/month | $14.95/month |
Number of Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Unmetered Bandwidth & Disk Space | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
SSL Certification | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
One-year Domain Registration | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Business Email | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Dedicated IP | ✕ | ✕ | ✔ |
Positive SSL Upgrade | ✕ | ✕ | ✔ |
*Introductory prices are only applicable in the initial 36-month term. Plans are paid in full at the beginning of the billing cycle and renew at the regular rates.
**Renewal rates reflected are applicable for plans with 36-month contracts.
For more information, select a plan from the drop-down menu below:
Hatchling Plan
HostGator offers low introductory fees applicable for the initial term for all plans subscribed long term. It then renews to the regular rates thereafter. Rates for its Hatchling Plan are as follows:
Hatchling Plan Fees | Introductory Pricing* | Renewal Rates* |
|---|---|---|
12 months | $3.95/month | $8.95/month |
24 months | $3.45/month | $7.95/month |
36 months | $2.75/month | $6.95/month |
*All prices are paid in full at the beginning of the billing cycle.
While discounts are available for long-term plans, regular fees apply for contracts under one year. Short-term Hatchling plans cost $10.95 per month for one-, three-, and six-month subscriptions.
HostGator’s base plan is perfect for those who only need to build one website. It doesn’t matter if they’re creating a site with heavy content, as this already features unmetered storage and bandwidth. Other inclusions are:
- Free email
- MySQL transfer and script transfer
- $100 Microsoft Advertising credit
- $150 Google Ads spend match credit
- One-click WordPress installation
- One-year domain registration (long-term plans)
- HostGator Website Builder
- Free website and domain transfers
Baby Plan
Baby Plan’s pricing starts at $3.50 per month for the initial term. Fees for short-term contracts—specifically for one, three, and six months—cost $11.95 per month. This higher-tier HostGator plan best suits those who need to host and build more than one website. It includes everything the Hatchling Plan offers, except it allows users to host an unlimited number of websites.
Baby Plan Fees | Introductory Pricing* | Renewal Rates* |
|---|---|---|
12 months | $5.00/month | $11.95/month |
24 months | $4.25/month | $10.95/month |
36 months | $3.50/month | $9.95/month |
*All prices are paid in full at the beginning of the billing cycle.
Business Plan
If you want the all-out HostGator shared hosting experience, then go for its Business Plan. Its introductory monthly pricing starts at $5.25, while its monthly renewal fees begin at $14.95. For one-, three-, and six-month contracts, monthly rates cost $16.95. This highest tier comes with the Baby Plan’s offerings, plus a free dedicated IP and Positive SSL upgrade.
Business Plan Fees | Introductory Pricing* | Renewal Rates* |
|---|---|---|
12 months | $7.25/month | $16.95/month |
24 months | $6.25/month | $15.95/month |
36 months | $5.25/month | $14.95/month |
*All prices are paid in full at the beginning of the billing cycle.
HostGator Features & Key Insights
HostGator’s shared hosting plan comes with all the essential features for building websites from scratch. It includes domain registration, bandwidth, disk space, SSL certification, and business email. It’s perfect for those looking for a straightforward web hosting package for their basic needs.
Storage & Bandwidth
HostGator is known for its unmetered disk space and bandwidth, making it a perfect choice for building websites with heavy content, such as portfolios. Though it offers unlimited bandwidth and storage, it still requires users to abide by its fair usage conditions. These rules are created to ensure that no single customer is using so much of a server that it prevents other users from using it as well.
Once you exceed usage, HostGator will send an email asking you to reduce consumption. Note that it is very rare for customers managing a personal or small business site to exceed its usage terms and policies.
If you already have an existing domain and are looking for a cheaper option with unlimited SSD disk space and bandwidth, you can try DreamHost’s Unlimited plan. Though it has lower short-term costs, domain registration comes at an additional annual fee of $7.99 for the first term, and $17.99 per year upon renewal.
Reliability
HostGator ensures optimal web hosting performance by placing its state-of-the-art servers in well-maintained, top-tier data centers in Provo, Utah, and Houston, Texas. Having these Utah and Texas-based data centers is good enough if you are targeting U.S.-based site visitors. However, if you are planning to go global, you can look into alternatives like GoDaddy, which has numerous data centers across the globe.
HostGator offers a 45-day money-back guarantee that allows shared, VPS, or reseller hosting customers to get a refund if they aren’t satisfied with its service. The length of the cancellation refund is quite generous, given that most providers offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. DreamHost, on the other hand, provides the longest at 97 days.
To provide customers with more peace of mind, it provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee—ensuring that HostGator will keep your site up all the time. Customers may receive one month of credit for their purchased package (applicable for shared or reseller services only) if it falls short of the 99.9% uptime.
Features & Inclusions
HostGator provides no-frills shared web hosting packages perfect for beginners. Its base plan includes the essentials for putting up your website and improving your online presence, such as the following:
- Unmetered storage and bandwidth
- One-year domain registration
- SSL certification
- HostGator Website Builder
- One-click WordPress installation
- Business emails
- Microsoft Advertising credit
- Google Ads spend match credit
While HostGator is recommended for beginners, it is still generous in its storage and bandwidth, making it a better and cheaper choice than some of its alternatives, like SiteGround.
Customer Support
HostGator’s searchable knowledge base includes articles and guides on all of its products and services.
(Source: HostGator)
HostGator offers 24/7/365 customer support through phone, live chat, and its Twitter account. Most users are impressed with its support quality as their issues are resolved in a timeline manner. Additionally, it features a searchable knowledge base page that aims to answer users’ common inquiries without connecting to a support representative.
You may also check out HostGator’s blog, which includes tips on building a website and online marketing.
What Users Think of HostGator
There are numerous HostGator customer reviews online, given that it is among the most famous names in the industry. Recent views found online match our analysis—HostGator is one of the best web hosting companies for the value it provides on its very affordable plans. At the time of writing, it earned the following unbiased ratings from popular and credible user review websites:
- Trustpilot: 3.6 out of 5 stars based on 1,450 reviews
- ConsumerAffairs: 3.5 out of 5 stars based on 69 reviews
- G2: 3.5 out of 5 stars based on 120 reviews
- Sitejabber: 4.51 out of 5 stars based on 842 reviews
Most users love its customer support team, helping them resolve problems or answer their inquiries. Others pointed out that they love its affordable prices, reliability, and its renewable energy initiative as a bonus.
Meanwhile, HostGator customer reviews complaints online are about experiencing multiple server downtime and billing issues. There are mixed reviews on its ease of use. Some commented that they found it intuitive while some said it is complicated to use, which is why they canceled.
Bottom Line
HostGator is an excellent option for those wanting to build websites with heavy content, thanks to its unmetered storage and bandwidth, even in its base plan. It is also best for businesses that prefer long-term commitment to maximize their savings. If you are looking for a basic and affordable web hosting service for your small business, and do not mind the usual price jumps upon renewal, then HostGator is for you.
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