Plans and Pricing

Whatever kind of hosting package you’re looking for, HostGator probably has it. Whether you want to create a blog, use CMS, or start an e-commerce site—this company has you covered.

A plethora of apps with every HostGator plan!

New to the game? HostGator offers easy to understand tools and a large library of templates and applications to get you going. You can get a full functional website up and going in a matter of minutes! A little bit more experienced? WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Magento—even specific offerings for Windows ASP.NET hosting—are all at your fingertips. Maybe you’re a seasoned veteran looking for more options and wiggle room; that’s not a problem. HostGator can provide unlimited MySQL and phpMyAdmin access, and even more.

HostGator Partners

This company offers shared, cloud, VPS, and dedicated hosting—and that’s just to start. There’s even reseller hosting! Plans typically have unlimited bandwidth, storage space and shared SSL Certificates.

Shared Hosting: From $10.95 Monthly

HostGator offers customers three shared hosting plans to choose from: Hatchling, Baby, and Business. These packages come equipped with all the bells and whistles you need for a great start.

HostGator Powerful Web Hosting

  • The Hatchling Plan offers unmetered storage and bandwidth, although the company reserves the right to throttle the speed, or even suspend the account, if you exceed the normal usage parameters. It also comes with one allowed domain, marketing credits for Google Adwords and Yahoo/Bing, unlimited subdomains, FTP accounts, POP3 accounts and databases, WordPress hosting, eCommerce features, email hosting features, cPanel and more.
  • The Baby Plan offers all the features of the Hatchling Plan, with a few additions: unlimited allowed domains, unlimited addon or parked domains, and the option to add a private SSL and a dedicated IP.
  • The Business Plan adds even more on top of the features of the two previous plans: your own toll-free number, free dedicated IP and private SSL, and anonymous FTP.

These plans are available at discounted introductory prices that can start for as low as $3.95 per month; sometimes even less, depending on seasonal promotions. However, it should be noted that the discount is only apparent if you choose a lengthy initial term period—the minimum being 12 months.

Powerful Web Hosting Plans

Here’s a breakdown of HostGator’s introductory pricing:

 IntroductoryHatchlingBabyBusiness
36 Months$3.95/mo$5.95/mo$5.95/mo
24 Months$4.95/mo$6.95/mo$6.95/mo
12 Months$5.95/mo$8.95/mo$8.95/mo
1/3/6 Months$10.95/mo$11.95/mo$16.95/mo

As you can see, going for a shorter term leaves you with less than friendly rates that are actually the same as their regular renewal pricing. Regular shared hosting monthly rates start at $10.95! Below is a look at HostGator’s regular rates in full.

 RenewalHatchlingBabyBusiness
36 Months$6.95/mo$9.95/mo$14.95/mo
24 Months$7.95/mo$10.95/mo$15.95/mo
12 Months$8.95/mo$11.95/mo$16.95/mo
1/3/6 Months$10.95/mo$11.95/mo$16.95/mo

The price disparity between introductory and regular pricing is probably part of why HostGator seems keen to push the lengthier term periods to its customers. Case in point: Upon signing up, the default billing cycle is set to 36 months. Pretty sneaky, but also almost standard practice among most hosting providers.

Aside from all these essential features, you can pay separate fees to avail of the following premium add-ons:

  • SiteLock Website Protection: The SiteLock-powered HackAlert service monitors your website around the clock, complete with immediate alerts for any instances of hacking or malicious intrusions.
  • Google Professional Email: Google-powered enterprise-level email gives you more than 30 GB of storage, support for contacts and calendar events, and syncing across all your devices.
  • CodeGuard Site Backups: Thanks to CodeGuard, you’ll get automatic daily backups for all your website data, with 1-click restores if needed.
  • SSL Certificates: HostGator can provide you SSL certificates to signal your site’s top-notch security, protection, and overall trustworthiness.

Take note that the Business Plan does already give you a dedicated IP address and SSL certificate for free, with a free VoIP-based toll-free number to boot.

Cloud Hosting: From $12.95 Monthly

Compared to shared hosting, cloud hosting is lightning-fast and offers quick scalability; mostly because it’s not limited to just one server. Multiple servers means better allocation of a larger pool of resources, without loss of control over your specific usage. The cloud hosting plans are tiered the same way HostGator’s shared hosting plans are: Hatchling, Baby and Business.

  • The Hatchling Cloud Plan offers HostGator’s blanket promise of unmetered storage and bandwidth; as well as local caching, one domain, unlimited subdomains, and access to two CPU cores and  2 GB RAM.
  • The Baby Cloud Plan offers all of the above mentioned, plus a little bit more: unlimited domains, unlimited parked domains, and access to four CPU cores and 4 GB RAM.
  • The Business Cloud Plan includes even more than what the Baby Cloud Plan gives you: access to six CPU cores and 6 GB RAM, plus a dedicated IP and private SSL.

Of course, HostGator introductory pricing makes cloud hosting all the more enticing.

IntroductoryHatchling CloudBaby CloudBusiness Cloud
36 Months$4.95/mo$7.95/mo$9.95/mo
24 Months$6.95/mo$8.95/mo$10.95/mo
12 Months$7.95/mo$9.95/mo$11.95/mo
1/3/6 Months$12.95/mo$13.95/mo$19.95/mo

Page loads and overall website performance will be faster because of optimal integrated caching. Expansion is made easier and is less bogged down by growing pains. Cloud hosting makes data mirroring possible, ensuring redundancies that keep your content safe—and if any hardware issues arise, they will be detected by cloud server monitoring. This will trigger a failover, and your site will be moved to another server to provide uninterrupted service. Considering all of this, HostGator’s regular and renewal pricing doesn’t seem so bad—but it’s still a little steep, especially without the monthly fee going down even at a year’s worth of prepayment.

 RenewalHatchling CloudBaby CloudBusiness Cloud
36 Months$8.95/mo$11.95/mo$17.95/mo
24 Months$9.95/mo$12.95/mo$18.95/mo
12 Months$10.95/mo$13.95/mo$19.95/mo
1/3/6 Months$12.95/mo$13.95/mo$19.95/mo

If this all sounds like gibberish to you, don’t worry—HostGator makes sure that everything is user-friendly and intuitive. Through your dashboard, you’ll be able to track your website’s information, performance and metrics. A cPanel account is provided for you to manage your subdomains, email accounts, and more.

VPS Hosting: From $89.95 Monthly

All VPS plans offered by HostGator come with a bunch of unlimited features, which include: domains, sub domains, email accounts, FTP accounts, and MySQL databases. They don’t provide the unmetered storage and bandwidth that’s present in their shared hosting and cloud hosting plans, but with the ample storage and bandwidth each VPS plan provides, that’s not an issue. HostGator also gives weekly site backups, private name servers, secured VPS, and even seamless kernel upgrades. They also throw in freebies for good measure: a reseller account, website/domain/database/script transfers, and a variety of easy-install scripts.

HostGator VPS Features

You can choose between semi-managed or fully-managed servers. The former excludes a control panel, but you still get assistance from the company with configuration, hardware, and the like. The latter option, meanwhile, throws in a control panel into the mix, in addition to hardware, configuration, or software assistance. Take note, however, that because the fully-managed option includes a control panel, there will be an extra cost. However, you can also freely install any software that you need thanks to full root access.

HostGator gets confusing when it comes to VPS plan pricing. On the official website, you will easily find a page that offers three VPS plans: the Snappy 2000, Snappy 4000, and Snappy 8000. Here is a brief rundown of the respective features of each plan offers:

Features
CPURAMStorageBandwidthIP Addresses
Snappy 200022GB120GB1.5TB2
Snappy 400024GB165GB2TB2
Snappy 800048GB240GB3TB2

What’s confusing about this? It’s not the features, but what’s clearly stated—and not stated. A quick look at HostGator’s own support portal reveals two more plans listed—the Snappy 500 and Snappy 1000—sans description, but clearly showing more affordable rates. This begs the question: Are only a select few allowed to subscribe to these plans? The three main plans are perfectly adequate, but the fact that two lower tier plans are blocked off might alienate those on a tight budget.

HostGator VPS Plans

The introductory prices of the Snappy 2000, 4000 and 8000 are pretty competitive; but the renewal rates are pretty expensive! And if you want cPanel, the fully managed option drives the price up even further. Here is a quick breakdown of their prices—showing the 36-month term introductory discount versus the regular renewal rate—so you can get a good idea of what to expect:

Pricing
With cPanelRenewalW/O cPanelRenewal
Snappy 2000$29.95/mo$89.95/mo$19.95/mo$79.95/mo
Snappy 4000$39.95/mo$129.95/mo$29.95/mo$119.95/mo
Snappy 8000$49.95/mo$159.95/mo$39.95/mo$149.95/mo

Dedicated Hosting: From $174.00 Monthly

HostGator stands out from the field by offering managed and semi-managed plans for both Linux and Windows dedicated servers; all the more because pricing and technical specifications remain the same across all of HostGator’s dedicated hosting plans regardless of which OS you choose. There are three tiered plans that HostGator are currently pushing: Value Server, Power Server and Enterprise Server. These plans all have unmetered bandwidth and run on brand new servers that boast of dynamic scalability and a substantial increase in resources—up to twice the memory, storage and processing power—compared to their old platform. Here’s a quick breakdown of the plans, including features and a comparison of the 36-month term maximum introductory discount prices and regular renewal rates:

Features
Pricing
Intel Xeon-D CPURAMDiskIntroductoryRenewal
Value4 Core / 8 Thread8 GB1 TB HDD$179.00/mo$199.00/mo
Power8 Core / 16 Thread16 GB2 TB HDD or 512 GB SSD$128.99/mo$239.00/mo
Enterprise8 Core / 16 Thread30 GB1 TB SSD$139.00/mo$279.00/mo

Note that the prices above are for semi-managed plans. Should you choose to get a managed dedicated hosting plan, there will be a small additional fee.

There are also two legacy plans—Basic and Elite–that still run on the old servers. These are ostensibly cheaper than the new plans, but don’t seem to come with the option to have them managed or semi-managed; although you still have a choice between Linux and Windows. The details are listed below:

Features
Pricing
CPURAMDisk (RAID-1)BandwidthIntroductoryRenewal
Basic2 Core3 GB0.5 TB10 TB$79.00/mo$174.00/mo
Elite4 Core8 GB1 TB20 TB$109.00/mo$279.00/mo

If you opt for Linux, you can get servers running Linux CentOS 6 or CentOS7—with options for Debian or Ubuntu also available. HostGator arms you with root access, the latest WHM and cPanel control panels, and support for programming languages ranging from PHP to Python. There are also options for everything; from tracking website statistics, to mailing lists and unlimited POP3 email accounts, to quick-installation of different site modules. On the other hand, the dedicated Windows servers come with Windows Server 2012 R2. You can configure your server through the latest Parallels Plesk control panel, which comes with a full vault of applications for your site, as well as tools for managing files and directories. Like the Linux options, you also get support for email systems and various programming languages and databases. Additionally, WebMatrix lets you design sites using thousands of templates and new web apps.

Both Windows and Linux come with freebies like domain reseller accounts and up to 100 free transfers for the first month of use. This means you can also sell your own domains or provide hosting services for others. HostGator anchors all of these on a fully redundant global network supported by layers of security and a complement of backup generators and HVAC units, promising you enhanced security and privacy with minimal chances of site failure.

HostGator Reseller Hosting

Reseller Hosting

In terms of price range, HostGator offers fairly standard reseller plans. You’ll have three to choose from: Aluminum, Copper, and Silver.

Here’s a table showing the plan features, as well as introductory 36-month term discounts and renewal rates:

AluminumCopperSilver
Introductory$19.95/mo$24.95/mo$24.95/mo
Renewal$29.95/mo$41.95/mo$59.95/mo
Disk Space60 GB90 GB140 GB
Bandwidth600 GB900 GB1.4 TB

All plans give you and your clients unlimited domains, email accounts, MySQL databases, and FTP accounts, and you can carve up your given resources in ways that maximize your profits. Aside from the bundled-in industry-standard control panel software, which you can customize with your own logos, you’ll also get tools like the premium WHMCS client billing software, so managing multiple clients will be a breeze. You’ll also have access to easy script installers, so you can offer your clients thousands of applications ranging from ready-to-deploy shopping carts, merchant gateways, and payment systems to blogs, forums, wikis, and more.

All this, while maintaining total control over client access through WHM’s control panel, on which you can monitor resource usage and server status, specify the extent of client account functionalities, and more. HostGator gives you a similar degree of control in how you can build your brand, because you can also take measures such as using your own private nameservers to ensure a more professional feel for your business. If you already have an existing reseller account and domain, HostGator will also transfer those and up to 30 cPanel accounts/client domains for free.

HostGator Reseller Hosting Features

ResellerClub

HostGator also enjoys a partnership with ResellerClub, which means any plan also comes with a free ResellerClub accounts. This gives you access to domain reselling tools and discounts, so you can save your clients the trouble of looking elsewhere for their domain name registration needs. ResellerClub also gives you access to a raft of handy seller-centric tools, such as a ready-made storefront.

Add-Ons

There are certain features that you can also get as paid add-ons, like SSH activation for client accounts and domain-validated SSL certificates. It’s worth noting that some of these features—notably, dedicated IP addresses, which cost $2 a month each—come free with some providers’ plans, so it’s best to check if HostGator’s specific set of free features best fit your needs.

Specialty Hosting

If you need more specialized plans that are optimized for reselling, for WordPress, for hosting applications, or a whole spectrum of other purposes, this is also a good place to look.

WordPress Cloud Hosting: From $14.95 Monthly

If HostGator’s shared hosting plans are compatible with WordPress, why offer a different set of plans for WordPress hosting? It’s in the details. HostGator’s three tiered WordPress hosting plans—Starter, Standard and Business—are equipped with cloud architecture, multicaching, and CDN for lightning-fast performance, plus advanced security features geared specifically for protecting WordPress sites. Below is a rundown of what the plans offer; as well as introductory rates based on a 36-month initial term, and regular renewal rates thereafter.

StarterStandardBusiness
Introductory$5.95/mo$7.95/mo$9.95/mo
Renewal$14.95/mo$20.95/mo$27.95/mo
Sites123
Visits/mo100k200k500k
Backups1 GB2 GB3 TB

All plans come with 100% free migration, unmetered storage and bandwidth, $100 of Google Adwords Credit, unlimited emails, a global CDN service, and shared SSL certificates.

Hostgator Windows ASP.NET Hosting

Windows ASP.NET Hosting: From $9.95 Monthly

There are two subscriptions offered by HostGator for their Windows ASP.NET hosting services: the Personal and Enterprise plan. Both subscriptions come with unmetered bandwidth and disk space, unlimited domain aliases, sub domains, FTP accounts, MySQL/MS SQL Databases, POP3 Email accounts and round the clock support. They are also backed by both the 99.9% uptime guarantee and the 45 day money back guarantee. HostGator also offers instant backups, various web hosting features and control panel features.

PersonalIntroductory PriceRenewal Price
36 months$4.76 a month$5.95 a month
24 months$5.56 a month$6.95 a month
12 months$6.36 a month$7.95 a month
6 months$7.96 a month$9.95 a month
1 month$7.96 a month$9.95 a month

The main difference is that the Personal plan allows for a single domain and does not come with Private SSL and a dedicated IP, while the Enterprise plan allows for up to 5 domains and includes Private SSL and a dedicated IP. Both plans also come at a lower subscription fee for new customers and renew at their regular rates.

EnterpriseIntroductory PriceRenewal Price
36 months$14.36 a month$17.95 a month
24 months$15.16 a month$18.95 a month
12 months$15.96 a month$19.95 a month
6 months$15.96 a month$19.95 a month
1 month$15.96 a month$19.95 a month

These HostGator plans allow you to use the Plesk Control Panel. You can monitor the amount of bandwidth and space that your website uses and instantly create email address, sub domains, databases and more! HostGator also offers a demo of the lastest Plesk Control Panel so you can experience using it without having to sign up for a subscription, giving you a better grasp of their services before you do decide to sign up.

HostGator for Drupal

HostGator for Drupal

Regardless of which plan you choose, you’ll get great tools like HostGator’s free website builder, cPanel software, and 1-click installation of Drupal and other scripts. First, though, HostGator gives you top-level guidance and support right from the start. You’ll get free and immediate account setup upon registering for account; and if you’ve already got an existing site, HostGator will transfer one website, cPanel account, and domain name registration, also free of charge.

If you’re confident in your technical chops, you can also install custom scripts written with PHP 5, Perl, Ruby on Rails, Python, CGI and Fast CGI, and SSL. What’s more, HostGator also supports programming modules like ImageMagick and CPAN. For easy installation of various scripts and web applications, HostGator gives you the Mojo Marketplace-powered QuickInstall tool.

HostGator for Drupal Pricing

HostGator includes the latest cPanel control panel software free of charge, giving you full control over all aspects of your account and domains right from a centralized dashboard. You can deploy installations easily, as well as monitor your site performance and traffic thanks to detailed site statistics tracking: AWStats, Webalizer, a raw log manager, and referrer and error logs are all available to give you better insights to help you optimize your website.

HostGator also gives you SSH access and cron job scheduling, so you can automate maintenance functions and other regular actions that are needed for your site’s upkeep. HostGator lends you a hand with round-the-clock server monitoring, too; as well as automatic off-site data backups every week, so you can rest easy knowing your website data is duly protected.

HostGator for Magento

HostGator for Magento

Beyond the usual shared hosting offerings, HostGator provides features that should improve the Magento hosting experience. Setting up the e-commerce platform on your server, for instance, is quick and painless. Thanks to one-click installation, you can get to working on your online store in no time. And in case you already have a Magento website, the company will transfer it for you, free of charge.

For securing connections, all plans come with shared SSL certificates, so you can be sure that your customers’ data are protected. Going with a HostGator Business plan might be the best choice for those who need more robust tools and solutions for hosting their Magento online store. This is because this plan offers private SSL, a free dedicated IP, and your own toll-free 866 number.

However, unless you start on one of HostGator’s cloud hosting plans, you may run into inconveniences caused by slightly below average uptime and speed. There is also the issue of the provider’s lack of Magento-optimized servers—which some of their competitors offer, along with Magento-specific hosting plans.

Magento is the best e-commerce choice!

Customer Support

Customer satisfaction should always be a top priority for any company that offers a product or service. It’s a good thing HostGator keeps this philosophy alive, with its money back guarantee and 24/7/365 support.

45-Day Money Back Guarantee

In the unfortunate event that you find yourself unhappy with their service for any reason, there is have a money back guarantee to fall back on. Simply inform their support team in order to have them begin processing your request. Do take note that this guarantee does not cover purchases made for dedicated servers, administrative fees, installation fees, custom software fittings, and domain name purchases.

HostGator Guarantee

Round the Clock Service

Although the speed and reliability of the HostGator’s customer service hasn’t been consistent through the years, it has been constant in offering support venues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can opt to talk to them via live chat, phone call, or by submitting a ticket request. If you want to check for a solution by yourself first, they have a support portal where you can find relevant articles and video tutorials to help you get by.You can also check their blog and follow them on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and more for the latest news and announcements.

What's the Verdict on HostGator?

Worth It, Some Issues

HostGator Review 2020 – Conclusion

For a solid track record of reliable service, plus a hosting network that can handle millions of websites without a problem, look no further than HostGator. The company’s diverse and comprehensive collection of hosting plans—not to mention the premium add-ons that you can tick off right before checkout—will practically ensure that you only really pay for what you need. Each plan comes with a good suite of features, most of which will be available to you regardless of which pricing tier you sign up for. Introductory pricing makes many of HostGator’s offerings a steal—although you do have to pony up eventually after your initial term period is done and a renewal statement arrives. The cherry on top: HostGator’s 24/7/365 support, plus the 45-day money-back guarantee.