In this article, I will guide you through the different web hosting services that HostGator offers, and help you find the best web hosting and the best HostGator pricing plan for your business.
If you have read my HostGator review then might be ready to pull out your credit card and get started with HostGator. But before you do, I’m going to show you how the HostGator pricing structure works so you can pick the plan that’s best for you and your budget.
Quick Summary
Hostgator offers six different types of web hosting services.
- Shared web hosting ⇣: $3.75/month – $6.25/month.
- Cloud hosting ⇣: $4.95 – $9.95 per month.
- WordPress hosting ⇣: $5.95 – $9.95 per month.
- Reseller hosting ⇣: $19.95 – $24.95 per month.
- VPS hosting ⇣: $29.95 – $49.95 per month.
- Dedicated server hosting ⇣: $118.99 – $148.98 per month.
Plans & Pricing
Hostgator is a web hosting provider that is trusted by thousands of businesses around the world. Whether you are a startup or a thriving small business, Hostgator has a web hosting solution for you.
They offer many different services to make it easy for businesses to scale their operations. Although Hostgator’s pricing is one of the cheapest on the market, it can be a little confusing.
Shared Hosting
Hostgator offers cheap, affordable shared web hosting plans that scale with your business:
| Hatchling | Baby | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Traffic | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| 24/7 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost | $3.75/month | $4.50/month | $6.25/month |
WordPress Hosting
Hostgator offers web hosting optimized for WordPress at affordable prices. If you want to start a WordPress blog or website, this is one of the best deals you can get.
| Starter | Standard | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Websites | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Visitors | ~100k | ~200k | ~500k |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Storage | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Backups | 1 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Monthly Cost | $5.95 | $7.95 | $9.95 |
Cloud Hosting
Hostgator’s cloud hosting offers more control over your business website at affordable prices.
Not to mention, it comes with a lot more server resources, which can give your website a speed boost.
| Hatchling | Baby | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| CPU | 2 Cores | 4 Cores | 6 Cores |
| Storage | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Domains | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Monthly Cost | $4.95 | $6.57 | $9.95 |
VPS Hosting
Hostgator makes VPS hosting affordable and scalable for small businesses. Their VPS hosting plans are one of the cheapest on the market.
| Snappy 2000 | Snappy 4000 | Snappy 8000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| CPU | 2 Cores | 2 Cores | 4 Cores |
| Storage | 120 GB | 165 GB | 240 GB |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Monthly Cost | $19.95 | $29.95 | $39.95 |
Reseller Hosting
Hostgator’s Reseller Hosting makes it easy and affordable for anyone to start their own web hosting business:
| Aluminum | Copper | Silver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domains | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 60 GB | 90 GB | 140 GB |
| Bandwidth | 600 GB | 900 GB | 1400 GB |
| Monthly Cost | $19.95 | $24.95 | $24.95 |
Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated Hosting gives you full control over a real server, not just a virtual one. Hostgator only offers 3 simple Dedicated Hosting plans:
| Value | Power | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cores | 4 Core | 8 Core | 8 Core |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | 30 GB |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD | 2 TB HDD (or 512 GB SSD) | 1 TB SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Monthly Cost | $89.98 | $119.89 | $139.99 |
Which Type of Hosting is Right For You?
Hostgator offers six different types of web hosting services. They are all designed and suitable for different types of businesses. If you want to pick the right one for your business, here are some things you need to consider:
Is Shared Hosting Right For You?
HostGator’s shared web hosting is great for anyone who is just starting out or is launching a small website. If you are a small business or if this is your first website, shared web hosting is more than enough for your use case.
Shared web hosting can handle a lot of visitors. You won’t need to upgrade your hosting plan for a long time if your website is just starting out. It’s a great way to save money because your website probably won’t get a lot of visitors in the first couple of months.
Which Hostgator Shared Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
Hostgator’s shared hosting plans are very simple. Unlike other web hosts like Bluehost, HostGator wants to make it easy for you to make a choice.
Their shared hosting plans only differ in one or two small features. All three plans include unlimited bandwidth and storage space, and a free SSL certificate and CDN.
- The Hatchling plan is for you if you are a beginner who only needs one website. The biggest difference between the three plans is that the Hatchling plan, which is the cheapest of the three, only allows one website whereas the other two allow unlimited websites.
- The Baby plan is for you if you want to launch more than one website. The only difference between the Baby and the Hatchling plan is that the former allows unlimited websites.
- The Business plan is for you if you want a Free Dedicated IP and a free upgrade to Positive SSL. It also comes with anonymous FTP.
Is WordPress Hosting Right For You?
If you want to start a WordPress blog, it isn’t a good idea to use any other type of web hosting if this is your first website.
Hostgator’s WordPress Web Hosting service is optimized for WordPress websites. If you are moving your website from some other web host to Hostgator, you will see a visible boost in your website’s speed.
Another great reason to opt for WordPress hosting rather than Shared Hosting is that it comes with a free domain name and free website migration service.
Which Hostgator WordPress Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
The Starter WordPress Hosting plan is right for you if:
- You are a beginner: If this is your first website, any other plan will be an overkill. It will take time before your website starts gaining some traction. This plan can handle up to 100k visitors a month, which is more than enough for a starter site.
- You only have one website: This plan only allows one website.
- You don’t get a lot of traffic: If your website doesn’t get a lot of traffic, and you aren’t planning on running ads anytime soon, this is the plan for you. It allows more visitors than most websites need.
The Standard WordPress Hosting plan is right for you if:
- You own two websites: The Starter plan only allows one website. If you own multiple brand names or businesses, you will need this plan. It allows up to two websites.
- Your website is growing fast: If your website gets more than 100k visitors every month or is on the verge, this is the plan for you. It allows up to 200k visitors every month, which is enough for a growing business.
The Business WordPress Hosting plan is right for you if:
- You own three websites: If you own up to three brand names or websites, this plan allows you to create up to 3 WordPress websites.
- Your website is growing crazy fast: If your website is getting more than 200k visitors every month, you need this plan. It allows up to 500k visitors a month and comes with 5 times relative compute power.
Is Cloud Hosting Right For You?
HostGator’s cloud Hosting gives you a lot more control over how your website behaves. It also packs a lot more power than Shared Web Hosting.
If you want your website to load fast or if you are building a custom web application, you need Cloud Hosting or VPS Hosting. Cloud Hosting is cheaper than VPS Hosting.
Which Hostgator Cloud Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
The Hatchling Cloud plan is right for you if:
- You only own one domain: if you own more than one domain, this plan isn’t for you. It only allows one domain.
- You don’t need a lot of computing power: if your website is a simple blog or if it isn’t a custom web application, this is the best plan for you. It comes with 2 GB RAM and 2 Cores.
The Baby Cloud plan is right for you if:
- You get a lot of traffic: If your website gets a lot of traffic, you need more RAM and cores. This plan comes with 4 GB RAM and 4 Cores.
- You own more than one website: This plan allows unlimited domains.
The Business Cloud plan is right for you if:
- You get a TON of traffic: This plan comes with 6 GB RAM and 6 CPU Cores. It can handle thousands of visitors every day.
Is VPS Hosting Right For You?
HostGator’s Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting lets you run your website on a small virtualized server. It gives your website a lot more resources than Shared web hosting and offers a lot more control over the server. If your website gets a lot of traffic, you need a VPS.
Which Hostgator VPS Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
Hostgator’s VPS plans scale with your business. Their plans are designed to be as simple as they can be. Their VPS plans only differ in RAM, Cores, and Storage.
- If you are a small business, start with the Snappy 2000 plan. It comes with 2 GB RAM, 2 Cores, and 120 GB storage, which is enough resources for a small business.
- As your business grows and you start getting more traffic, you can upgrade to a higher plan to get more server resources. It doesn’t take any time and can be done in a couple of clicks.
Is Reseller Hosting Right For You?
Ever wanted to start your own web hosting business? Now’s your chance to do it with Reseller Hosting. As the name suggests, it lets you resell Hostgator’s web hosting services to your customers. It is completely white-label meaning your customers will never see Hostgator branding. They will only see your business’s name.
Reseller Hosting is great for anyone who deals with web design or development clients. If you are a freelancer or an agency, you can offer managed web hosting to your clients at a premium price and have control over all of their websites.
Which Hostgator Reseller Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
- The only difference between the three Reseller Hosting plans is storage and bandwidth. As you get more customers and more clients, you will need more storage space and more bandwidth. To get more resources, all you have to do is upgrade your plan, which can be done from your account settings.
- The Aluminum plan, which is the cheapest of the three, comes with 60 GB disk space and 600 GB bandwidth. The Copper plan, which comes after it, offers 90 GB disk space and 900 GB bandwidth. The Silver plan comes with 140 GB storage and 1400 GB bandwidth.
Is Dedicated Hosting Right For You?
HostGator’s Dedicated Server Hosting gives you direct access to a live server. Unlike other types of hosting, this one gives you complete control over the server.
Which Hostgator Dedicated Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
- The Value plan is right for you if: Your website gets a lot of traffic but doesn’t need a lot of resources. If your website gets anything less than 200k visitors a month, this is the plan for you.
- The Power plan is right for you if: Your website gets a lot of visitors or if you are running a custom web application such as a Software-as-a-Service business. This plan can easily handle up to 500k visitors a month.
- The Enterprise plan is right for you if: Your website needs a lot of computing resources or if it gets over a million visitors a month.
Questions & Answers
How much does Hostgator cost?
Hostgator offers six types of web hosting services. Their shared hosting plans start from $3.75/month. Their WordPress hosting plans start from $5.95 per month. Their Cloud Hosting plans start at $4.95 per month. Their VPS hosting plans start from $19.95 per month. Their Reseller hosting plans start from $19.95 per month. And their Dedicated hosting plans start from $89.98 per month.
Does Hostgator offer a free domain name?
Hostgator offers a free domain name for one year when you subscribe to an annual plan of Shared Web Hosting, WordPress Web Hosting, or Cloud Web Hosting. Before you sign up, be sure to check the pricing page to see if the type of web hosting you chose comes with a free domain name.
Is there a free trial for Hostgator?
Like any other web hosting company, Hostgator doesn’t offer a free trial. But they do offer a 45-day money-back guarantee with almost all their products. If you are unsatisfied with the product you purchase, you can ask for a refund within the first 45 days. Be sure to check the relevant product pricing page for more details.
Recent Improvements & Updates
HostGator constantly improves its hosting services with additional features. HostGator has introduced several updates and improvements to its services and hosting products recently (last checked November 2024):
- Easier Customer Portal: They’ve redesigned their customer portal to make it easier for you to handle your account. Now, you can quickly change your contact details or how you want to handle your billing.
- Faster Website Loading: HostGator has teamed up with Cloudflare CDN, which means your website can load faster for visitors around the world. This is because Cloudflare has servers globally that keep a copy of your site, so it loads quickly no matter where someone is accessing it from.
- Website Builder: The Gator Website Builder from HostGator uses AI to assist users in creating websites, making the process simpler, especially for those with limited technical skills. This tool allows for easy setup of blogs or e-commerce stores as part of the site.
- User Interface and Experience: HostGator uses the popular cPanel for its control panel, known for its ease of use, making it a good choice for both beginners and experienced users. The user interface is intuitive, simplifying tasks like managing files, databases, and email accounts.
- Security Features: HostGator’s hosting services include various security features such as free SSL certificates, automatic backups, malware scanning and removal, and DDoS protection. These features enhance the security and reliability of websites hosted on their platform.
Reviewing HostGator: Our Methodology
When we review web hosts, our testing and evaluation are based on these criteria:
- Value for Money: What types of web hosting plans are on offer, and are they good value for money?
- User Friendliness: How user-friendly is the signup process, the onboarding, the dashboard? and so on.
- Customer Support: When we need help, how quickly can we get it, and is the support effective and helpful?
- Hosting Features: What unique features does the web host provide, and how do they stack up against competitors?
- Security: Are essential security measures like SSL certificates, DDoS protection, backup services, and malware/virus scans included?
- Speed and Uptime: Is the hosting service fast and reliable? What types of servers do they use, and how do they perform in tests?
For more details on our review process, click here.
