HostGator is one of the largest and most popular hosting companies in the world. They offer shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, and managed WordPress hosting plans.
Read our detailed HostGator review to find out if HostGator is the right choice for you.
In this detailed HostGator review, we will put their promises through our testing process. The following are the areas we will look into:
- Reliability: Will your website be available 24/7/365 without any downtime?
- Performance: How fast will your website load on HostGator? We will run thorough performance tests to analyze this.
- Customer Support: Can you count on their customer support? Will you be able to quickly get help when needed?
- Features: Do their features help you easily create and manage your website?
- Pricing: Do they offer the best pricing in the industry? Are there any HostGator deals that can save you money?
If you don’t want to go through all the details, then the following is a quick summary of our HostGator review score with our conclusion below it.
| HostGator Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Performance grade | A+ |
| Average load time | 1.03 s |
| Average response time | 143.4 ms |
| Free domain | Yes |
| Free SSL | Yes |
| 1-click WordPress | Yes |
| Support | Phone / Live Chat / Knowledge base |
| Start with HostGator | |
Bottom line: Want to skip the details? To summarize, we found HostGator to be a reliable and customer-friendly hosting service. Their 24/7 customer support is among the best.
That’s why we’ve added HostGator as one of the best WordPress hosting companies.
Let’s move on to the more detailed parts of our HostGator hosting review. This will help you determine whether HostGator is right for your website.
About HostGator
HostGator was founded in 2002 and grew quickly to become one of the biggest hosting companies in the world. Its monstrous growth is credited to its great shared hosting plans, reliable web hosting, and quality customer service.
Today, it is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and hosts over 2.5 million websites. Its 850+ employees offer around-the-clock support and serve businesses of all sizes.
It is a subsidiary of Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance International Group) and offers a wide range of web hosting solutions to a massive global customer base.
Pros and Cons of HostGator
Like every other product and service, each hosting company has its pros and cons. We discovered the following pros and cons of HostGator while using their hosting for our websites and testing it for our reviews.
Pros
- Reliable hosting: HostGator guarantees an uptime of 99.99%. If you experience downtime below that, you will receive one month’s credit on your account.
- Generous money-back guarantee: HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Flexible billing periods: You can choose between monthly and yearly billing periods. Longer billing periods will get you the most discount.
- Free migration: HostGator offers a free migration service with all new accounts. Their expert team will transfer your website from your previous host at no extra cost during the first 30 days of signing up.
Cons
- Higher monthly pricing: Monthly pricing is relatively higher than annual plans. You can get lower HostGator pricing by choosing the annual plans, as they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Aggressive upselling: You may see additional services like automated backups and advanced functionality. Make sure they are unchecked if you don’t need them right away. You can always add them later if needed.
HostGator Performance Tests
What would you do if you sign up for a host and find that your website is painfully slow and often disappears? You’d have to switch providers, which would cost you more money and headaches.
That’s why you want to choose a web hosting provider that is reliably fast and has stable performance records. But how would you get this information?
We decided to check HostGator’s performance by running our tests. Let’s find out how well it performed.
HostGator Speed Test Results
The most important performance indicator is speed. A faster website is good for users and also helps your SEO rankings.
In fact, studies suggest that a one-second delay in page load will result in 7% fewer conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in user satisfaction.
For our detailed HostGator review, we created a test site to find out how fast HostGator really is.
Our test site was powered by WordPress using the default theme. We also imported dummy content for theme development, including images.
After that, we used the Pingdom website speed testing tool to run the tests. Here are the results:
As you can see, our test site loaded in 989 ms, which is great.
However, this is a new website with no traffic at all, so a speed test alone is not the best way to judge its performance. We wanted to see how it would perform under peak traffic.
HostGator Stress Test Results
To test performance under peak traffic, we used a tool called K6 by Grafana Labs. We sent virtual users to our HostGator test site and gradually increased the number of users up to 50 at once.
You can see the result in the chart below:
The green line in the chart shows page response time, and the gray line shows the number of users on the site. Our test site performed really well throughout the test, with an average response time of 126 milliseconds.
These results are particularly good for a shared hosting account.
HostGator Uptime Test
Another remarkable thing to be noticed is that our test site didn’t go down during the test.
HostGator Server Response Time
The content of your website significantly affects the page load time. For example, if your website has many images, then it will increase the page load time.
This affects your server’s speed test results. We wanted to see how fast the HostGator server responds.
To test this, we used a tool called Bitcatcha. It works differently than other website speed testing tools. Instead of loading the content, it only tests the response time of the server.
Here is how HostGator performed in these tests:
Our HostGator review site performed really well. The server response time remained less than a second, merely 26 milliseconds in the United States.
Overall, this result indicates that your site will load quickly around the world.
HostGator Hosting Plans and Features
HostGator offers a variety of hosting plans. Their plans include shared hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, reseller hosting, and dedicated hosting. They also offer hosting for other website builders and app platforms like Joomla and Magento.
However, their main offering is shared WordPress hosting, and this is where most users begin their journey.
Let’s take a look at these plans offered by HostGator.
Breakdown of HostGators’s Shared Hosting Plans
HostGator’s shared hosting plans come in three different levels. Under their terms of use, all plans include unlimited storage and bandwidth. The main difference is the number of websites you can host.
- Hatchling: The Hatchling plan allows you to host ten websites. It includes a one-click WordPress installer and comes with a standard set of features.
- Baby: The Baby plan can host twenty websites and offers 20GB of storage. It includes all the features of the Hatchling plan, and you can also use addons such as private SSL.
- E-commerce / Business: This plan is suitable for starter online stores and small business websites. It includes fifty websites, email accounts, domain privacy, and SEO tools.
Apart from shared web hosting services, they also offer a fully hosted Gator website builder. Other services provided include VPS hosting and dedicated hosting with Linux and Windows servers.
Their VPS plans offer great value for the money, and their shared cloud hosting plan is overpriced for what you get.
HostGator Hosting Plan Features
Another thing you would want to look at is the features that you’ll get with each hosting plan. Here is what’s included in each hosting plan offered by HostGator.
- Install WordPress with 1-Click Installer
- Free SSL Certificate
- Easy to use control panel cPanel dashboard to manage hosting services
- Free email accounts
- 24/7 customer support
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
You can host multiple websites and domain names under the same hosting account.
As for security features, you can activate the free Cloudflare CDN caching to protect your WordPress site against malware and attacks. The Cloudflare free website CDN also gives you an additional performance boost.
During checkout, you would also be offered to purchase CodeGuard and SiteLock addons. Most beginners don’t need them right away, so you can skip them and add them later if needed.
HostGator Support and Customer Service
HostGator offers one of the best customer services in the industry. Customers can contact the support team 24/7 via phone, live chat support, and ticket-based email support.
Inside your hosting dashboard, you will find their support portal. This portal helps you find quick answers from a knowledge base of hundreds of articles and video tutorials.
Most HostGator customers are satisfied with the quality of support they receive. We have a few of our smaller websites hosted on HostGator and have found their support satisfactory.
Conclusion: Is HostGator the Right Choice for You?
Now that you have read our detailed HostGator review, you are probably wondering if HostGator is suitable for you.
HostGator offers a variety of hosting plans that fit all budgets and requirements. They offer all the user-friendly tools you will need to build a website.
Over 2 million customers have already trusted HostGator. Whether you are a seasoned Internet pro or just starting out with your first website, you’ll find every necessary tool to bring your website to the next level.
Ready to get started with HostGator? Click here to select your HostGator plan today.
HostGator Coupon
WPBeginner users get an exclusive 81% OFF with our HostGator coupon code.
All you have to do is click on this link to make a purchase. The discount will be applied automatically.
FAQs About HostGator Hosting
We have been answering user questions about WordPress hosting for over a decade now. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about HostGator that we have heard from our users.
1. Is HostGator good for WordPress?
Yes, HostGator is good for WordPress and highly recommended for anyone who wants to start a WordPress website.
It offers a one-click WordPress installation, which even lets you pick essential plugins and templates during setup. Plus, you get 24/7 tech support, which is handy for most beginners.
2. Which is better, HostGator or Bluehost?
HostGator and Bluehost are both our recommended hosting companies. In terms of Bluehost vs HostGator, they’re pretty similar when it comes to CPU resources, unmetered bandwidth, disk space, MySQL databases, pricing, and more.
We find Bluehost’s user experience to be slightly better as they’ve invested heavily in their WordPress platform.
Bluehost has an advantage in overall performance, SSD storage, security, and value for money. HostGator tries to beat that with slightly cheaper hosting plans, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and faster support.
3. How does HostGator compare with SiteGround and GoDaddy?
HostGator is better than GoDaddy in terms of support, ease of use, and overall user experience.
The major difference between HostGator and SiteGround is pricing. SiteGround plans start at $3.99 and don’t include a free domain name. This makes HostGator a better option for users on a tight budget.
However, if you’re looking for faster performance, then SiteGround is a better option since its servers are hosted on Google Cloud and offer faster speed. See the SiteGround review for more details.
Before you ask for a comparison of HostGator with other hosts, it’s pretty much on par with Hostinger, Dreamhost, InMotion hosting, and most other shared hosting providers.
3. Where are HostGator servers located?
HostGator servers are primarily located in Provo, Utah, and Houston, Texas. However, they also use data centers in other locations.
4. Does HostGator have a cPanel dashboard?
Yes, HostGator has cPanel dashboard integrated into its own custom dashboard. You will find the link to cPanel under your website hosting package. Your hosting dashboard also includes an FTP-like file manager so you can easily upload files or edit them if needed.
5. Is HostGator good for eCommerce?
Yes, HostGator is good for running an online store using WooCommerce or other e-commerce platforms. However, as your business grows in terms of traffic, you may need to upgrade from a business plan to a virtual private server (VPS hosting plan).
6. Which HostGator plan do I need?
If you only want to start a single website or blog, then you can start with their Hatchling plan. However, we recommend starting with the baby plan as it offers multiple install support. You can always upgrade your hosting plan later if needed. Click here to select your HostGator hosting plan.
Damien S
Don’t use this company! There are so many better options out there. Took close to $500 usd for hosting, only to br told they don’t support my domain type. Yet when asked where this was clearly stated, I was sent to a page that didn’t even include my domain type as part of the restricted list. Not even a partial refund, even though I hadn’t used a single service. Avoid avoid avoid
Daryl
Hostgator is the worst provider there is. They automatically upgraded Joomla requiring PHP 8.x. However, the only way to get PHP 8.x is to do a forced upgrade in costs to a VPS. They have promised for months to fix the issue and they haven’t.
JM
Caution Hostgator doesn’t support any of the PHP versions above 7.4 yet. They have been promising it for over a year
TM
Pretty terrible experience. Don’t move your website here. My website crashed the moment I moved it and the support tried to sell me stuff to fix it – then when I tried to get that it was still broken.
TM
I tried the support again and it got fixed. Is not that bad after all.
Alex Rivera
Host Gator is amazing!! Their support is 6 stars in my opinion. Every time I’ve had an issue and called the support team has always gone out of their way to help. I am very happy with their service. Just upgraded to VPS, and my website is now lightning fast. If your looking for the best, definitely put Hostgator to the test, lol, You will not be disappointed!
James Andronicos
WOW
Today I ve contacted HOSTGATOR to assist with serious Outlook email issues .
It was a total pleasure chatting with Liza and Mike …Personal service with care and patience . Fantastic . They were so considerate to my lack of IT skill .What a pleasant change from other call centres . Its a pity I can’t give 6 stars.
HAPPY HOSTGATOR CUSTOMER
Adam Dewe
Fantastic work hostgator team very happy.
Erinn
Hi Adam,
Woo! Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Hasan abdallah
Wonderful customer support
Erinn
Hi Hasan,
Our support teams are amazing, right? Thanks for the great review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Daniel Cuoco
The site is up and running. We are very pleased with HostGator’s technical support representatives which helped make the launch seamless.
Erinn
Hi Daniel,
Yea! We’re so glad that our support team has taken good care of you. Thanks for being here and being the best part of the HostGator family.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Brooke Zeigler
Been with HostGator since I started my business in 2010. Thanks for always being there and keeping up with the changing times.
Erinn
Hi Brooke,
We love hearing from our long term customers! Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Joyce
I am very glad that my website was restored. The expert that helped me was very patient and professional. Thank you for the quick response and support.
Erinn
Hi Joyce,
It was truly our pleasure to be of support. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Debbie Carson
Hostgator helped me to get the website running and problem solve a few settings that were restricting access to my site. I am so far very happy with the support received and the hosting.
Erinn
Hi Debbie,
We’re glad that we were able to get things worked out for you. Thanks for the great review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Syed Sajjad Haider
My site is live and working fine and I will refer hostgator for any kind of hosting. Thanks
Erinn
Hi Syed,
Awe, thanks! Word of mouth referrals are huge. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Victor Attansey
Smooth service works well
Erinn
Hi Victor,
Thanks for the great review! We’re glad to hear things are working well for you.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
LIZA
my website is alive and kicking
Erinn
Hi Liza,
Well that’s great news! We’re so glad things are up and running. Thanks for the review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Aurelio Contreras
Amazing host site.
Erinn
Hello Aurelio,
We think you’re pretty neat too. Thanks for the great review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Elaine Lee
Very happy with the hosting and customer service.
Erinn
Hi Elaine,
Yea! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Meghan Johnson
HostGator is great. Every time I’ve had to call they help me very quickly and professionally. I would recommend HostGator.
Erinn
Hi Meghan,
Our support team is amazing, right? Thanks so much for the kind review and for being part of the HostGator family.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Dee
As a complete IT novice I was very nervous about switching to hostgator. But c-panel is pretty user-friendly, the web builder is intuitive, and the live customer support has been superb. I have migrated all my organisation’s email accounts and set up a new website in only a couple of weeks. Fantastic!
Erinn
Hi Dee,
Woohoo! It sounds like everything is going swimmingly. We’re so happy to have you aboard. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Michael Napoli
Very Smooth Transition from Old Host to Host Gator. Helpful technical support.
Erinn
Hi Michael,
Smooth migrations are really great! We’re happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Wanda Purcell
There was confusion between my original domain name purchase and the purchase of the word press package. I did not understand that the hostgator site editor would not transfer directly into word press. I sought advice from an IT professional to assist with the server settings. I am now developing the website on the word press editor. Hope to be up and running soon!
Erinn
Hi Wanda,
We’re pleased to hear that things got straightened out for you. Please let us know if we can help you at all. Thanks!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Dominic
My website was constantly going down due to issues with GoDaddys servers so I switched to Hostgator and have been pleased so far.
Erinn
Hi Dominic,
Welcome aboard! We’re so happy that things are going well for you. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Ed H.
Very good discounted hosting price for slightly above average server speed. Having no issues or need to contact support. Hoping as time goes on this will be the norm!
Erinn
Hi Ed,
Our prices are indeed super competitive. We’re glad that you’re finding everything to your liking. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Ethan Steer
My site is running fine with no problems
Erinn
Hi Ethan,
That’s what we like to hear! Thanks for the review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Ash
I like the interface. Easy to navigate between sites, but migrating my sites was not easy. Often on chat solving issues. Hope that is over with.
Erinn
Hi Ash,
Our UX is cool, right? We’re disappointed that your migration wasn’t smooth, but we’re glad to hear that it has now been completed. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with everyone!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Craig Plouff
I am a retired web designer that had my own business and used HostGator’s services in the past granted its been a long time. Now I just decided to build a basic site for a hobby for some other things I do. So far everything is working great and trying to still learn some of the new tools that have been added in cPanel and things like that. Mainly cause its been 15+ years since I did this and many of the things there now and not there back then. Plus I have non of the programs I had back then so do everything through cPanel.
The support database is great since there has been an answer for every question I have had. Keep up the Great work!
Erinn
Hi Craig,
Welcome back to the game! We’re so glad you decided to give us another go now that you’ve some time on your hands in retirement. We really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Amos Djimdigue
My site is live and I like the experience with Hostgator. The customer is very nice and I really appreciate it.
Erinn
Hi Amos,
We’re thrilled to hear things are going well for you and that support is taking good care of you. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Soklim
good service, since I purchased your services everything going well.., please keep going as this.
Erinn
Hi Soklim,
We’ll do our best for you and all of our customers. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Rickey B.
Hostgator is great.
Erinn
Hi Rickey,
We think you’re pretty great too. Thanks so much for the review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Daniel Sommerfeld
Hello,
Yes, my site is live. Everything is ok.
Thanks for your attention!
Daniel Sommerfeld
Erinn
Hi Brian,
You’re so very welcome. Thank YOU for the great review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Brian Stark
Great service. Site is never down.
Erinn
Hi Brian,
We pride ourselves on our uptime and we’re glad that’s what you’re experiencing. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Bashar Mal
Great service. I will soon buy hosting and domain for my other website as well from HostGator.
Erinn
Hi Bashar,
Welcome aboard! We’re so glad you’re here. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Juquoyah Drayton
So far I am enjoying the hosting and do not have any problems with it. it is easy to switch your old domain to this hosting and HostGator has better benefits Free webpress!
Erinn
Hi Juquoyah,
We’re glad to hear that domain transfer process was smooth and that things are going well. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Eugen
Your help was very helpful
Erinn
Hi Eugen,
Our support teams are amazing right? Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Cusotmer Advocate at HostGator
Siska ZEE
My website is live and it has no problem so far.
hostgator is best hosting provider. I have been using hostgator for years
Erinn
Hi Siska,
We love hearing from our loyal long term customers! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Raúl Martínez
Definitely the best place to host your website is Host Gator.
Erinn
Hi Raul,
Thanks so much for the great review! We’re so happy that you’re happy.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Kaleem
I am a website developer and SEO expert having more than 8 years of experience. I have used many hosting companies and found Hostgator as the best hosting and support is also very very cooperative and I have recommended my clients (and the good thing is they have purchased and using Hostgator hosting)
I hope Hostgator will be the best among all if the focus on customer satisfaction not on their sales.
Erinn
Hi Kaleem,
Awe, thanks! Our support teams really are the best, aren’t they/ Thank you for being the best part of the HostGator family.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Peter Sharpe
setting up my site took some time, sorting out changes required with my domain hos. However, the Hostgator help was always available and helped me sort it all out
Erinn
Hi Peter,
We’re glad we were able to get you all straightened out! Thank you for the kind review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Tommy DeRosa
Tech support is excellent they deliver when they say deliver
Erinn
Hi Tommy,
Woo! Our support team is really great, right? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Rudy Timmerman
The entire process of getting my domain name and hosting plan went without a hitch, and my site was up and running in a very short time. Had I been able to spent more time creating the site, it could have been up the same day. Any delay was due to me being too busy to work on it. Happy customer.
Erinn
Hi Rudy,
Fantastic! We’re so glad to hear things went smoothly for you. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Mathew McAllister-Jones
I’ve been with host gator for about 6 weeks and so far I have no complaints, My website is currently private until I have more content to present to my readers.
Erinn
Hi Mathew,
Thanks so much for the great review. We can’t wait to see the site once you get it put up!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Bill Roddie
Any questions asked of support have been answered quickly and well.
Erinn
Hi Bill,
Yea! Our support teams really are great aren’t they? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Julie Holmes
My site is up and running. Awesome support when moving from my previous hosting service to this one. Thank you!
Erinn
Hi Julie,
Yea! We’re so glad your migration went smoothly and that you’re happy. Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Bardhyl Dobroshi
Hosting is just great, costumer service is the best.
Erinn
Hi Bradhyl,
Our support teams really are amazing, right? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Penny
I have been using Hostgator for many years now. I’m very happy with your service and have never had a problem that couldn’t be quickly fixed. I recently had to use help articles, and I solved the issue almost immediately thanks to a help video you provided which was very easy to follow. Thank you! I regularly recommend you.
Erinn
Hi Penny,
Woohoo! We are thrilled to hear that things are going so well for you. Thank you for taking advantage of all the awesome resources we offer. We really appreciate this great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Chloe
I’m happy with the service so far. Customer service was really patient with me as well.
Erinn
Hi Chloe,
Yea! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the lovely review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Greg Cannata
Everything is working fine. Thanks
Erinn
Hi Greg,
You’re so very welcome. Thank YOU for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Kemiso
The web designing part is just taking a bit longer than expected but we are on it! Thank you hostgator!
Erinn
Hi Kemiso,
You are so very welcome. Thanks for your kind words.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Sudhir Kumar Pantagani
Good, my first website. Without any prior knowledge in handling everything myself. Sometimes hostgator support team help me to clear some.doubts and sometimes YouTube helps me,.
Overall I’m happy
Erinn
Hi Sudhir,
Yea! We’re so pleased that you found the site easy to use. Our support teams and YouTube videos are great aren’t they? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Arnold Greenspan
Our use is currently minimal. We are satisfied with the service you are providing.
Erinn
Hi Arnold,
We are so happy that you’re happy! Thank you for the kind review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator