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HostGator hosts over 10 million domains and is one of the most popular web hosts in the industry. With 1-click WordPress installation, 99.9% up time guarantee, and 24/7 support, it's a smart choice for every website owner. We consider them one of the best web hosting for businesses. They're offering our readers an exclusive 62% off discount, a free domain name, and free SSL certificate.

Pros:

  • Reliable Web Hosting
  • Free Domain Name and SSL
  • Free Business Email Address
  • 1-click WordPress install
  • 30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Cons:

  • Higher monthly Pricing
  • Aggressive Upselling

WPBeginner users get an exclusive 62% off discount and free Domain!

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HostGator Review from Our Experts

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

In this detailed HostGator review, we will put their promises through our testing process. 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 our own performance tests to analyze this.
  • Customer Support: Can you count on their customer support? Will you be able to easily 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 gradeA+
Average load time1.03 s
Average response time143.4 ms
Free domainYes
Free SSLYes
1-click WordPressYes
SupportPhone / 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 jump to the more detail-oriented parts of our HostGator hosting review. This will help you figure out if 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. You can credit the monstrous growth to their 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. They have 850+ employees that 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

Pros and Cons of HostGator

Like every other product and service, each hosting company has its pros and cons. Here are the pros and cons of HostGator that we learned.

Pros

  • Reliable hosting: HostGator guarantees an uptime of 99.99%. If you experience downtime below that, then you will get back one month’s credit on your account.
  • Generous money-back guarantee: HostGator offers 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 avail of lower HostGator pricing by choosing the annual plans, as they do 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 when needed.

HostGator Performance

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, and this will cost you more money and headaches.

That’s why you want to choose a web hosting provider that is reliably fast with stable performance records all around. But how would you get this information?

We decided to check HostGator’s performance by running our own 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 your users, and it also helps your SEO rankings.

In fact, studies suggest that 1 second delay in page load will cost you 7% fewer conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in user satisfaction.

Strangeloop performance case study

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 result

As you can see, our test site loaded in 1.01 seconds, 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.

To test this, we used a tool called K6 by Grafana Labs. We used it to send virtual users to a website and gradually increased the number of users on the site up to 50 at once.

You can see the result in the chart below:

HostGator stress testing result

The light blue line in the chart is page response time, and the purple line shows the number of users on the site. As you can see, our test site performed really well throughout the test, with an average response time of 132 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 results

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

Our HostGator review site performed really well. The server response time remained less than a second. In the United States, it was merely 26 ms.

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. All plans include unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth under their terms of use. The main difference is the number of websites you can host.

  • Hatchling: The Hatchling plan allows you to host only one website. It includes a one-click WordPress installer and comes with a standard set of features.
  • Baby: The Baby plan allows you to host unlimited domains and subdomains. It includes all the features of the Hatchling plan, and you can also use addons such as private SSL.
  • E-commerce / Business: Suitable for starter online stores and small business websites. This plan includes unlimited websites, unlimited email, dedicated IP address, SEO tools, and is suitable for starting an eCommerce website.

Apart from shared web hosting services, they also offer Gator website builder, a fully hosted 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

With Baby and Business hosting options, 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

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 60% OFF with our HostGator coupon code.

All you have to do is click on this link to 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 1-click WordPress installation, which even lets you pick essential plugins and templates during setup. Plus, you get 24/7 tech support, which comes in 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 regarding 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 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 eCommerce platforms. However, as your business grows in terms of traffic, then 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.

WPBeginner users get an exclusive 62% off discount and free Domain!

Reader Interactions

188 HostGator User ReviewsLeave a Review

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  2. Caution Hostgator doesn’t support any of the PHP versions above 7.4 yet. They have been promising it for over a year

  3. 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.

  4. 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!

  5. 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

    • Hi Hasan,

      Our support teams are amazing, right? Thanks for the great review!

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  6. The site is up and running. We are very pleased with HostGator’s technical support representatives which helped make the launch seamless.

    • 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

  7. Been with HostGator since I started my business in 2010. Thanks for always being there and keeping up with the changing times.

    • Hi Brooke,

      We love hearing from our long term customers! Thanks so much for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  8. 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.

    • Hi Joyce,

      It was truly our pleasure to be of support. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  9. 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.

    • 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

  10. My site is live and working fine and I will refer hostgator for any kind of hosting. Thanks

    • Hi Syed,

      Awe, thanks! Word of mouth referrals are huge. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • Hi Victor,

      Thanks for the great review! We’re glad to hear things are working well for you.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • 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

    • Hello Aurelio,

      We think you’re pretty neat too. Thanks for the great review!

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • Hi Elaine,

      Yea! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks so much for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  11. HostGator is great. Every time I’ve had to call they help me very quickly and professionally. I would recommend HostGator.

    • 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

  12. 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!

    • 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

    • Hi Michael,

      Smooth migrations are really great! We’re happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  13. 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!

    • 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

  14. My website was constantly going down due to issues with GoDaddys servers so I switched to Hostgator and have been pleased so far.

    • 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

  15. 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!

    • 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

    • Hi Ethan,

      That’s what we like to hear! Thanks for the review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  16. 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.

    • 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

  17. 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!

    • 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

  18. My site is live and I like the experience with Hostgator. The customer is very nice and I really appreciate it.

    • 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

    • Hi Soklim,

      We’ll do our best for you and all of our customers. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • Hi Rickey,

      We think you’re pretty great too. Thanks so much for the review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  19. Hello,

    Yes, my site is live. Everything is ok.

    Thanks for your attention!

    Daniel Sommerfeld

    • Hi Brian,

      You’re so very welcome. Thank YOU for the great review!

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • 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

  20. Great service. I will soon buy hosting and domain for my other website as well from HostGator.

    • Hi Bashar,

      Welcome aboard! We’re so glad you’re here. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  21. 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!

    • 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

    • Hi Eugen,

      Our support teams are amazing right? Thanks so much for the great review.

      Erinn
      Cusotmer Advocate at HostGator

  22. My website is live and it has no problem so far.
    hostgator is best hosting provider. I have been using hostgator for years

    • 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

    • Hi Raul,

      Thanks so much for the great review! We’re so happy that you’re happy.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  23. 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.

    • 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

  24. 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

    • 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

    • Hi Tommy,

      Woo! Our support team is really great, right? Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  25. 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.

    • Hi Rudy,

      Fantastic! We’re so glad to hear things went smoothly for you. Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  26. 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.

    • 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

    • Hi Bill,

      Yea! Our support teams really are great aren’t they? Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  27. My site is up and running. Awesome support when moving from my previous hosting service to this one. Thank you!

    • 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

    • Hi Bradhyl,

      Our support teams really are amazing, right? Thanks for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  28. 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.

    • 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

    • Hi Chloe,

      Yea! We’re so happy that you’re happy. Thanks for the lovely review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

    • Hi Greg,

      You’re so very welcome. Thank YOU for the great review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  29. The web designing part is just taking a bit longer than expected but we are on it! Thank you hostgator!

    • Hi Kemiso,

      You are so very welcome. Thanks for your kind words.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  30. 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

    • 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

    • Hi Arnold,

      We are so happy that you’re happy! Thank you for the kind review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

  31. 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.

    • 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

  32. My site is live and very happy with the technical support team. They are very helpful and informative too.

    • Hi Gurusamy,

      Our support teams really are great aren’t they? Thanks so much for the kind review.

      Erinn
      Customer Advocate at HostGator

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