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.
![HostGator complete analysis of hosting performance and speed HostGator complete analysis of hosting performance and speed](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-reviewmain.png)
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.
![HostGator website HostGator website](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-website-1.png)
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.
![Strangeloop performance case study Strangeloop performance case study](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/strangeloops-speed-study.jpg)
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:
![HostGator speed test results HostGator speed test results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-speed-test-mar2024.png)
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:
![HostGator stress testing results HostGator stress testing results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-stress-test-mar2024.png)
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 uptime test HostGator uptime test](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-uptime-test-mar2024.png)
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:
![HostGator response time test results HostGator response time test results](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-responsetime-test-mar2024.png)
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.
![HostGator support HostGator support](https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hostgator-support-website.png)
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.
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Brian Stark says
Great service. Site is never down.
Erinn says
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 says
Great service. I will soon buy hosting and domain for my other website as well from HostGator.
Erinn says
Hi Bashar,
Welcome aboard! We’re so glad you’re here. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Juquoyah Drayton says
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 says
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 says
Your help was very helpful
Erinn says
Hi Eugen,
Our support teams are amazing right? Thanks so much for the great review.
Erinn
Cusotmer Advocate at HostGator
Siska ZEE says
My website is live and it has no problem so far.
hostgator is best hosting provider. I have been using hostgator for years
Erinn says
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 says
Definitely the best place to host your website is Host Gator.
Erinn says
Hi Raul,
Thanks so much for the great review! We’re so happy that you’re happy.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Kaleem says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Tech support is excellent they deliver when they say deliver
Erinn says
Hi Tommy,
Woo! Our support team is really great, right? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Rudy Timmerman says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Any questions asked of support have been answered quickly and well.
Erinn says
Hi Bill,
Yea! Our support teams really are great aren’t they? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Julie Holmes says
My site is up and running. Awesome support when moving from my previous hosting service to this one. Thank you!
Erinn says
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 says
Hosting is just great, costumer service is the best.
Erinn says
Hi Bradhyl,
Our support teams really are amazing, right? Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Penny says
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 says
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 says
I’m happy with the service so far. Customer service was really patient with me as well.
Erinn says
Hi Chloe,
Yea! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the lovely review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Greg Cannata says
Everything is working fine. Thanks
Erinn says
Hi Greg,
You’re so very welcome. Thank YOU for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Kemiso says
The web designing part is just taking a bit longer than expected but we are on it! Thank you hostgator!
Erinn says
Hi Kemiso,
You are so very welcome. Thanks for your kind words.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Sudhir Kumar Pantagani says
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 says
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 says
Our use is currently minimal. We are satisfied with the service you are providing.
Erinn says
Hi Arnold,
We are so happy that you’re happy! Thank you for the kind review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Brendan Kelly says
When setting up my website, I went on the chat line several times. On almost every occasion I received excellent help. I am continuing to gather resources to put on my website, but I have not abandoned it and will have it up and going within a month or so.
Erinn says
Hi Brendan,
Keep up the great work. We can’t wait to see the finished product. Thanks so much for your kind words about our support teams. They really are great, huh? Thanks.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Gurusamy Mani says
My site is live and very happy with the technical support team. They are very helpful and informative too.
Erinn says
Hi Gurusamy,
Our support teams really are great aren’t they? Thanks so much for the kind review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Isaac A says
Host gator is the best hosting site I’ve ever used. I was able to design my webpage with WordPress and have my site published within a week. I’m happy with my overall experience, and if you’re wondering if this is the right hosting site for you, then I suggest you give it a try.
Erinn says
Hi Isaac,
Fantastic! We are so happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Genevieve says
I am very happy with the services. My website is not live yet, but i am working on it!
Erinn says
Hi Genevieve,
We’re so happy that you’re happy! We’re here to help you out should need us. Thank you for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
veerapan says
Hostgator has been easy to use and the customer service is responsive and helpful.
Erinn says
Hi Veerapan,
We pride ourselves on being easy for everyone to use, from newbies to web-pros. Thanks so much for the great review!
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Roderick Wright says
Site is live and I love the purchase. Will be hosting my other domains this weekend on hostgator.
Erinn says
Hi Roderick,
Yea! We’re so very happy that you’re happy. Welcome to the HostGator family, we’re so glad you’re here. Thanks for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
Anne Ready says
Am so happy my tech recommended Hostgator!
First Ms. Kirby then Ralph M have been delightful with whom to work. They answered quickly, knowledgeably and patiently with my lack of expertise in these areas.
Thank you and please keep them!
Anne
Onome Ekama Onome says
My site is live and am so glad to have a working site which I could call my own without consulting someone else to help me build one a d still have it to my taste. Thank God and thank you.
Erinn says
Hi Onome,
We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thank you for the great review.
Erinn
Customer Advocate at HostGator
John Solaroli says
Hostgator is about half the price that we were paying to host our sight. Its working great!
Rumbn says
Site is live
Thanks
Christine Johnson says
Hostgator has always been responsive to my phone calls which is not too often. Any issue I may have had is always corrected pretty much right away. I don’t really have any complaints. Hope this helps people.
Monica Bartha says
I use HostGator for 2 years and no problem with the services. I am working with different hosting providers and I found HostGator among the best.
Victor says
I have found customer service at Hostgator knowledgeable and courteous. Helped me get up and running, held my hand through the process, in no time.
Thanks
Edgar Akonski says
Good service ,cheap prices working well with wordpress
nina bandoni says
my website is alive and kicking
Lidija says
I am very satisfied with Host Gator and my site is live.
Fernando Menezes says
Thanks!!… Everting is fine and worked.
Regards,
Fernando
Farzand says
I am satisfied with service of hostgator and recommend it.
Willian Barreto says
I love hostgator! I have worked my page very easily and quickly! I recommend them !!!
Happy says
We’re happy with the account and the service.
John Bradley says
Live and living it so far.
I will soon move all my sites to HostGator bc it’s simple and user friendly.
Ibrahim Thahmid says
Very happy, Customer service is very good also.
Marko says
Good hosting and good server speed
Roy Harrington says
All is well with the new hosting.
Thanks
Roy
Glenn Bowman says
Thanks for the updates. My site is working just fine.
Manuel Gil says
I use hostgator for a long time for several domains and email purposes.
Recently I hosted my first site and the process is easy and efficient.
For several times used the helpdesk and have been extremely satisfied. Their support is solid when they solved my problems. They are great.
Cynthya A. says
I am a starter on making web pages. So my first experience doing it is with Hostgator services. It’s been so good and so well that I had almost not to think about my hosting.
There is much I have to learn but this has been a great start.
chakri says
Yes, this goes back to the point of “unlimited resources”. There is no such thing. The smaller tier plans work great for smaller sites, but once you start getting too much traffic, they will ask you to upgrade.
Avinash Mittal says
I have been using hosting services from Hostgator for past many years and have found them excellent on every count. First, it allowed me to reduce my initial costs significantly; second I got prompt services as and when required.
Just take a look at the pricing offered by them, and you will realize that it is within your budget. And I am not the only customer who is happy about up-time and tech support.
Finally, if you are going with Hostgator, you are with the best web-hosting.
Narmail Singh says
I am hosting my website and two others on hostgator from last one year. In starting my wordpress email not going to customers. but soon they start.Also there support takes much time to help otherwise it is good overall