Bluehost vs HostGator -Which One Is Better?
Bluehost vs HostGator, which one should you go with? This is a question that has been asked by many website builders and hosters.
Whether you’re just a little tech-savvy or you have been in the business for years, these are the two best hosting providers you could choose.
My BlueHost and HostGator review show that they are very similar in terms of features and value. They are both unbelievably tough, and they host millions of websites from all over the world.
If you are thinking of using one of them for your website but aren’t sure which one, check out this web hosting comparison guide for Bluehost vs HostGator.
Let’s dive in…
Bluehost Reviews
Bluehost has been around since 2003. It has risen to the top to become one of the largest providers of web hosting services.
Fun fact-Bluehost inc is owned by Endurance International Group, which also owns HostGator; so Bluehost and HostGator same company, and thus you can now see why they are both similar in features.
Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost plans currently offer six hosting plans:
I. Shared
Shared web hosting gives you space on the shared server for a fee each month. You then have to set up and run your own website.
However, the hosting provider is responsible for the upkeep of the hardware and software, and they must provide customer support.
This isn’t for everybody, but it’s cheap and beneficial for businesses that are just starting out. The price for this package is $2.95 per month and renews at $7.99 per month.
II. Shared WordPress
With shared WordPress, you gain access to hundreds of themes that can be used on their website. You can build a website in mere minutes with automatic installation.
Bluehost pricing for this package is the same as the shared web hosting package.
III. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plugin that links to WordPress. It’s an open-source eCommerce platform that allows you to create a store within your WordPress site.
The price for WooCommerce is $6.95 per month and renews at $13.99 per month.
IV. VPS
VPS stands for a virtual private server. With this, you can build your website using only SSD storage. This gives you better control over your websites, flexibility, and all the power you need.
Bluehost VPS pricing is $18.99 per month and renews at $29.99 per month.
V. Bluehost WordPress(Managed)
Managed Bluehost WordPress hosting has an all-in-one dashboard and marketing center. You have access to social media tools, email marketing, SEO, and quick site speeds.
This package costs $19.95 per month and renews at $29.99 per month.
VI. Dedicated
This is the most powerful hosting you can get, but it’s also the most expensive. Dedicated hosting is for websites that need superior performance, control, and security.
The dedicated package costs $79.99 per month and renews at $119.99 per month.
Hostgator Reviews
HostGator web hosting also known as hosting gator was created in a small dorm room in 2002. They had their first 100 customers by 2003, and in 2004 they were up to 1,031 customers. They are owned by the same company that owns Bluehost.
Gator Host offers its customers a 99.99% uptime guarantee, which is the best you could possibly find in a web hosting company since nothing goes to 100%.
HostGator plans only offers five types of hosting:
I. Shared
Hostgator shared hosting is the easiest and cheapest hosting option. It’s the same as Bluehost’s and costs only 20 cents less starting at $2.75 per month
II. Managed WordPress
This package gives you free migration. If you already have a WordPress website, you can transfer it to HostGator for free.
Hostgator price for this starts at $5.95 per month, which is higher than Bluehost.
III. VPS
Hostgator VPS package is higher than the other packages, but you get more server resources. This is something to consider if you are just starting your business.
The cost starts at $29.95 per month to start, which is again, more expensive than Bluehost.
IV. Dedicated
As with Bluehost, HostGator dedicated server is the most expensive type of hosting. It’s necessary for large eCommerce businesses but has incomparable power and scalability.
Hostgator pricing for this package starts at $118.99 per month. Just $1 cheaper than Bluehost.
V. Cloud
Cloud hosting is something Bluehost does not offer. This is a form of hosting that gives you better resources, speed, and reliability. HostGator’s cloud hosting price starts at just $4.95 per month.
When you look at Bluehost vs HostGator, it seems that Bluehost has better prices and more package selections. However, HostGator does have the Cloud storage that Bluehost does not offer.
Bluehost.com Vs HostGator – Which is Easier to Use?
So we have looked at the packages that Bluehost or HostGator offers, but which one is easier to use? Let’s see how they rank up against each other.
· Domains
Both Bluehost and Host gator offer a free domain when you sign up for a plan. However, with Bluehost, you have to pay to register your domain, which is between $10-$15.
You don’t have to pay the registration fee for Hosting Gator. After one year, you have to pay to renew your domain name.
·Bluehost vs HostGator– Guarantees
Bluehost and Host Gator offer their users a money-back guarantee. Bluehost’s guarantee is for 30-days. However, you cannot use it for add-on products like a domain name.
If you cancel within that 30-day limit, you will get a full refund. If you cancel after the 30-day limit, you will receive a refund for the remainder of your term.
As for HostGator, you get a 45-day money-back guarantee on hosting plans. They are the same as Bluehost as you cannot use it for add-on products such as the domain name.
If you cancel within the 45-days, you will be refunded for the entire contract amount.
We would say that between Hostgator vs Blue host, Hostgator has a better money-back guarantee.
· Bluehost vs HostGator–Migration of Websites
Bluehost has two transfer options for moving your website. You can do it yourself for free by manually moving your files, or you can use their Transfer tool.
Their tool allows you to migrate up to five websites and 20 email accounts. This is going to cost you $149.99. Remember to add the FTP option to your package before you migrate.
On the other hand, HostGator lets you migrate WordPress/cPanel website files and one domain registration for free with every new hosting account. You have to do this within 30-days of your sign-up.
This applies to newly upgraded accounts as well.
If you’re trying to save some money or you’re just starting out, we would say that HostGator is the better of the two in this Gator host vs Bluehost battle.
·Bluehost and HostGator For WordPress Installation
Both HostGator and Bluehost use MOJO Marketplace to install your existing WordPress site. But with HostGator, you can use Softaculous as well.
Additionally, Gator host offers tutorials on how to install WordPress manually. There’s also one for installing an Optimized site.
· Website Builder Tool
Bluehost has an on-site builder powered by Weebly that you can use to build your site. You can also install WordPress. There are also options in the Mojo Marketplace.
HostGator, on the other hand, has way more features than Bluehost. They offer a free proprietary site builder and an interface that offers drag and drop functionality.
You will get more than 100 optimized templates, sites that are already built, and six pages included in the free plan.
· Bluehost vs HostGator–Apps & Plugins
Bluehost.com gives you more than 140 plugins. You can also take advantage of a variety of WordPress-related services and themes with templates that are ready for launch.
With HostGator, you have more than 190 plugins for free.
We can confidently say the battle for ease of use between Bluehost vs Gator Host, the latter is more beginner-friendly than Bluehost.
Bluehost vs HostGator WordPress Hosting
More than 35% of all websites are powered by WordPress. This is why the website you choose must give you hassle-free hosting options that are both easy to use and secure.
· Installation
With both HostGator and Bluehost, you can install WordPress just by clicking a button. The cPanel manages all of your installations, allowing you to begin building your site instantly.
After you install WordPress, you can have your website up and running in no time. The only difference between the two is that Bluehost is recommended by WordPress.org, but HostGator is not, and HostGator does not use the cPanel control panel.
· Security
Security is huge for business owners running their own websites. With the basic plan through Bluehost, you get a free SSL certificate, a custom-designed control panel from WordPress, and a Cloudfare CDN, no coding necessary. You will also get malware detection and removal, backups, and more.
The more advanced plans will include the premium and pro versions of Jetpack.
As for HostGator, they also offer a free SSL certificate as well as a global CDN. You also have access to automatic malware removal with SiteLock security.
There is also the automatic website backup feature through CodeGuard. Your website will back itself up daily with the simple 1-click restore.
· WordPress Speeds
Bluehost WordPress hosting is built on a VPS platform. With this, you get an advanced NGINX architecture and a custom PHP-FPM configuration.
HostGator, on the other hand, offers ultra-fast speeds without the need to configure your CDN and cache. You will get up to 2.5x quicker load times, low-density servers, CDN, and more.
In the battle of HostGator vs Bluehost, Bluehost has a better WordPress hosting it would seem.
Gator Host vs Bluehost – Who Has Better Support & Customer Service
Customer service is one of the most important features you have to look for in a hosting platform.
You need to be able to solve your problems quickly and efficiently so that your website is constantly up, running, and working as it should.
Here is how customer service and support do between Bluehost vs HostGator web host comparison.
· How to Contact Them
Bluehost web host gives you multiple ways to contact them for any number of reasons. They have a toll-free number you can call as well.
Additionally, you can submit a support ticket or even utilize their live chat feature.
As of right now, chat and phone support have instant response times, but there was no time available for support tickets. Their team of experts is dedicated all day, every day to account management, sales, and technical support.
Much like Bluehost, Hostgator customer service also has chat and phone support. Additionally, they have forums that allow people to ask and answer questions.
Chat response times are instant as are phone response times. Billing support response times are minutes to around one business day, and the forum response times can vary.
The HostGator hosting platform has an active community of people who are helpful and friendly.
There are also videos and tutorials available every day of the week, no matter what time of day.
It’s safe to say that Bluehost has better customer service and support.
·Bluehost vs HostGator– Security
Along with customer service, security is another essential part of website hosting. When you look at Bluehost vs Gator Host, it’s important to consider everything, each one has to offer or what it does not offer.
Both Bluehost and HostGator offer website backups. With Bluehost, you get CodeGuard basic. This automatically backs up your information. You can schedule it to be daily, weekly, or monthly. This is included in all plans.
HostGator, on the other hand, performs automatic weekly backups. You can also do instant manual backups. If you want to perform a 1-click restore and create daily automated website backups, you have to upgrade to CodeGuard. With Bluehost, it’s included in the package.
· SSL Certificates
The Bluehost hosting website gives you a free shared SSL for all accounts that are on a shared IP. Standard and Pro account only have one dedicated IP, so you will only get one SSL certificate.
If you choose VPS, reseller, managed, or dedicated accounts, you can purchase multiple SSL certificates.
With HostGator, you get a free domain-validated SSL certificate. This is included in all plans. You can purchase additional SSL certificates as well.
· Bluehost vs HostGator–Scans for Malware
Malware is intrusive software that is downloaded on your computer with the intent to harm or corrupt files or the computer itself. This can be catastrophic to a business.
Bluehost only offers malware scanning as a paid upgrade from SiteLock. You can also pay a yearly fee for a Site Doctor. This quickly seeks and destroys any issues that may pop up from malware.
HostGator, on the other hand, partnered up with SiteLock to scan your computer for malicious software for free. The HackAlert service will also check your website daily and will let you know immediately if your website has fallen into the hands of a hacker or contains malicious coding.
· DDoS Protection
Bluehost has DDoS protection built into its platform, but these attacks are not something that customers can be warned about until it’s too late.
However, they do say that if an attack were to happen, they would work diligently to restore your service as quickly as possible.
As for HostGator, they also protect from DDoS attacks. However, unlike Bluehost, they have a custom firewall ruleset that helps protect the servers from various attacks. They also have a data center with network-level flood protection.
We think that both Bluehost and HostGator’ss hosting platforms offer fantastic security features. With that said, we think that it’s a tie between the two.
HostGator vs Bluehost – Who Has Better Speeds & Uptime?
Having a quick-performing website that is always live are two important aspects of any good website. Let’s look at how Bluehost vs Gator Host performs.
· SSD Drives
This one is pretty quick to the point. Bluehost offers SSD, and HostGator does not.
· Hostgator vs Bluehost –Data Center
Bluehost does not tell us where their data center is. We do know that they are based out of Utah.
HostGator is not shy about their data centers. They have many Tier 4 centers located in both Utah and Texas. Each one of their facilities has state-of-the-art backup generators as well as high-security facilities with controlled access for optimal security.
· Technology & Infrastructure
Bluehost servers operate at Tier 3 certifications. They have uptime of around 99.982% and are only down 1.6 hours per year.
Their infrastructure consists of quad-processor servers, backup generators that run on diesel, multiple 10GB internet connections, and a power supply that cannot be uninterrupted.
HostGator is backed by its SLA. They promise at least 99.9% uptime. This is all the information we know about their infrastructure and technology.
· CDN
Both Bluehost and HostGator hosting platforms use CloudFlare for their firewall networking and content delivery.
We think that Bluehost has a better infrastructure, but Hostgator has a better uptime percentage.
Bluehost Review vs Reviews For HostGator –Conclusion
After looking over all the aspects of Bluehost vs HostGator, it’s quite obvious that they both have their distinct features, some of which one might prefer over the other and vice-versa.
Making a decisive choice between the two host providers really boils down to what you’re looking for in hosting a website.
If you’re a beginner and ease of use is a significant factor for you, then you should opt for hosting with HostGator. The free website migration and transfers will be an added bonus for you. Also, HostGator’s refund policy is better than Bluehost hosting.
If you’re into WordPress hosting, then you should opt for Bluehost, given that it is one of the hosting providers most used by WordPress users and even recommended by WordPress.
Furthermore, you get more secure storage with Bluehost in the form of solid-state drives (SSD), and Bluehost page load speeds are twice as fast as Hostgator; Uptime does not have much difference. Finally, Bluehost has slightly better security than HostGator.
As earlier said, both host providers are great and also have awesome customer service, both offer similar contact methods and live chat functionalities as well.
By now, choosing a hosting company to suit your needs shouldn’t be a thing of worry anymore.
Read also: Bluehost vs Siteground
What is your experience with Bluehost and HostGator?Please leave valid and unique reviews for Hostgator vs Bluehost below that brings value to our visitors. Thanks for your support.
About Ross
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