There are literally thousands of web hosts on the internet. To be honest, most of them suck and finding one that doesn’t suck takes a lot of time and research.
Even after you shortlist two or three web hosts, you still need to pick one of them to go with. Choosing a web host even from a shortlist can be a tough decision.
Your site’s performance and uptime – your site’s success – will mostly depend on which web host you go with.
Bluehost and Hostgator are both entry level web hosts for beginners, who have built a reputation in the industry. Choosing between one of the two can be a tough decision.
After all, they offer shared hosting plans that are very similar in terms of price and features.
In this Bluehost vs Hostgator comparison, I will help you figure out which web host is the best for your needs.
Total score
Total score
Bluehost comes out as the winner between these two web hosting companies. Find out more about HostGator vs Bluehost in the below comparison table:
Bluehost vs HostGator Comparison Table
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| Founded in: | 1996 | 2002 |
| BBB Rating: | A+ | A+ |
| Address: | Bluehost Inc. 560 Timpanogos Pkwy Orem, UT 84097 | 5005 Mitchelldale Suite #100 Houston, Texas |
| Phone Number: | (888) 401-4678 | (866) 964-2867 |
| Email Address: | Not Listed | Not Listed |
| Types of Support: | Phone, Live Support, Chat, Ticket | Phone, Live Support, Chat, Ticket |
| Server Location: | Provo, Utah | Provo, Utah & Houston, Texas |
| Monthly Price: | From $3.49 per month | From $3.95 per month |
| Unlimited Data Transfer: | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Data Storage: | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Emails: | Yes | Yes |
| Host Multiple Domains: | Yes | Yes |
| Hosting Controlpanel: | cPanel | cPanel |
| Server Uptime Guarantee: | No | 99.90% |
| Money-Back Guarantee: | 30 Days | 45 Days |
| Dedicated Hosting Available: | Yes | Yes |
| Bonuses & Extras: | Search Engine Submission Tools. $100 Google Advertising Credit. $50 Facebook Ad Credit. Free Yellowpages Listing. | $100 Google Adwords Credit. Basekit Site Builder. 4500 Website Templates to use. Plus loads more. |
| The Good: | Variety of Hosting Plans: Bluehost offers shared, VPS, dedicated and cloud hosting as well as options like managed WordPress hosting, giving you the flexibility to easily scale your site to your changing hosting needs. 24/7 Support: In addition to some of the best self-help resources of any host, Bluehost has a veritable army of fast-acting experts ready to assist you 24/7 via support ticket, hotline, or live chat. Good Refund Policy: Bluehost will give you a full refund if you cancel within 30 days, and pro-rated refunds if you cancel beyond that period. | Affordable Plans: HostGator has exactly what you need if you have a tight budget. Unlimited Disk Space and Bandwidth: HostGator doesn’t put caps on your storage or monthly traffic, so your website will have room to grow. Windows Hosting Options: HostGator carries both Personal and Enterprise-class hosting plans that use the Windows OS and will support your ASP.NET website. Robust Uptime and Money-Back Guarantees: HostGator assures you of at least 99.9% uptime and a full 45 days to claim a refund if needed. |
| The Bad: | No Uptime Guarantee: Bluehost doesn’t offer you compensation for any prolonged or unexpected downtime. Website Migration Fees: Unlike some of its competitors, Bluehost charges additional fees if you want to migrate pre-existing websites orcPanel accounts. | Customer Support Problems: It took forever for HostGator to respond over live chat, and even then, we got only mediocre solutions. Bad Traffic Spike Responses: HostGator is infamous for sending complaint emails or moving users to another server rack whenever users get a spike in traffic. |
Shared Hosting Plans
Both Bluehost and HostGator offer identical plans when it comes to shared web hosting. Below are their starter plans.
One thing you need to remember about shared web hosts is that unlimited storage and bandwidth does not truly mean unlimited.
While your dashboard and cPanel will show that you have unlimited bandwidth and storage, they WILL suspend your site if you use way too much bandwidth or storage or server resources.
If you are just starting out, your chances of exceeding those limits in the first few months are very low.
Bluehost Basic/Starter Plan
- Unlimited Disk Space
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Only one domain name allowed
- From $3.49 per month
Hostgator Hatchling Plan
- Unlimited Disk Space
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Only one domain name allowed
- From $3.95 per month
Features
There are a lot of features you need to look for before signing up with a web host. The features your web hosts offer will dictate how easy or difficult it will be to do certain things.
Here are some of the features these web hosts have to offer at a glance.
Bluehost Features
- Bluehost throws in a free domain name when you register.
- You get a cPanel control panel to help you easily manage your website.
- One-click installation of all the popular CMS including WordPress, Joomla, and even Magento.
- Comes with an on-site website builder that is powered by Weebly.
Hostgator Features
- One-click installation of all popular content management systems using Mojo Marketplace.
- Free website builder tool that comes with hundreds of fully customizable templates.
- Hostgator will migrate your website from your old web host for free. This includes migration of one domain, databases and all your files.
WordPress
If you are a blogger, you probably use WordPress for your websites.
And in that case, it is important to look for a web host that offers ease of installation and makes it easy to get started with WordPress.
Bluehost
- Bluehost is a web host recommended by the WordPress.org itself.
- Installing WordPress is as easy as clicking a few buttons using the Mojo Marketplace installer that comes with Bluehost.
- You get a free SSL to make your site secure.
- Free CloudFlare CDN you can activate with just a few clicks.
Hostgator
- Hostgator offers a free site migration for one domain and all files and databases.
- You will be able to install WordPress with just a few clicks using Mojo Marketplace.
- Just like Bluehost, Hostgator offers CloudFlare CDN service.
Performance
It is important to know how the web host you are about to go with stacks up against its competitors in terms of performance. Your website’s speed mostly depends on your Web Host’s server configuration.
If your web host’s server performance sucks, nothing you do to improve your website’s speed will ever work.
Bluehost Uptime
Bluehost uses industry-standard servers and projects an uptime of 99.98%. But unlike Hostgator, they don’t offer a service level agreement.
Hostgator Uptime
Hostgator uses industry standard servers just like Bluehost. They offer a Service Level Agreement that guarantees a 99.9% uptime. This means that if your website is not up at least 99.9% of the time, you will get free credit.
Bluehost Speed
Homepage:
Pricing Page:
Hostgator Speed
Homepage:
Pricing Page:
Pros and Cons
Would you call it a review if it doesn’t end with a list of pros and cons? If you are in a hurry or still can’t decide which web host to go with, this list of pros and cons will probably help you make a decision:
Bluehost Plan
Pros:
- Offers a free SSL certificate.
- Offers free automatic backups but recommend that customers create their own backups as well.
- Free DDOS protection.
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer a free site migration service like Hostgator. You will have to pay $150 if you want them to migrate your website.
Hostgator Plan
Pros:
- A free site migration service that makes it super easy to switch to Hostgator.
- Free DDOS protection.
- Offers fast support using live chat.
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer a free SSL certificate.
- Unlike Bluehost, you won’t get free automatic backups.
Conclusion
I hope this HostGator vs Bluehost comparison helped you figure out which web host serves your needs the best. At the end of the day, it is more important to choose a web host and get started than it is to pick the perfect one from the Day one.
You can always switch web hosts later with minimum hassle.
But if you are still confused, let me make the decision easier for you:
If you are just starting out, HostGator is a great choice. They offer a beginner-friendly service and fast support.
But if you aren’t just starting out, Bluehost is a better choice. While their service is not as beginner-friendly as Hostgator, they offer a service that is at least a bit better than Hostgator.
Bluehost also throw in a free domain name and a free SSL Certificate.
Updated by Lisa.