Looking for the ideal hosting service? Bluehost and HostGator are among the top-tier hosting providers in the market. But which is truly the best web hosting service, Bluehost vs HostGator? Understanding the differences in pricing plans and features between these two providers is essential. Our unbiased comparison of Bluehost vs HostGator will help you decide the best for you.
Bluehost vs HostGator: A General Comparison
Both Bluehost and HostGator excel as web hosting providers. While HostGator is renowned for its budget-friendly plans, Bluehost receives praise for its outstanding performance. Here’s a brief overview of Bluehost vs HostGator to provide a general understanding.
| Bluehost | HostGator | |
| Rating | 4.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Price | From $2.95/mo | From $2.52/mo |
| Free Domain | Yes | Yes |
| Payment Types | Credit card and PayPal | Credit/Debit card, PayPal, Check, Money Orders, Bank wires |
| Hosting Types | Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, and Dedicating Hosting | Shared, WordPress, Cloud, VPS, and Dedicating Hosting |
| Control Panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| Average Speed | 361ms | 525ms |
| Uptime | 99.99% | >99.99% |
| Server Locations | US | US |
| Security | Free SSL, 24/7 server monitoring, Cloudflare DDoS protection | Free SSL, server monitoring, automated backups and DDoS protection |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, ticketing and phone | 24/7 live chat and phone |
| Extras | Staging, emails, website builder, Cloudflare CDN | RoR hosting support and email accounts |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Read Reviews | Bluehost Review | HostGator Review |
Bluehost vs HostGator: Hosting Plans and Pricing
Bluehost vs HostGator offers a variety of plans to cater to different website needs. Let’s have a look at how Bluehost and HostGator annual prices compare!
| Bluehost | HostGator | |
| Shared Hosting | $2.95 – $13.95 | $3.95 – $7.25 |
| Cloud Hosting | N/A | $4.95 – $9.95 |
| WordPress Hosting | $2.95 – $13.95 | $7.95 – $11.95 |
| WooCommerce Hosting | $9.95 – $12.95 | N/A |
| VPS Hosting | $23.99 – $83.99 | $23.95 – $59.95 |
| Dedicated Hosting | $99.99 – $139.99 | $109.98 – $159.99 |
In Bluehost vs HostGator comparison, Bluehost supports ecommerce store owners using WordPress by offering managed WooCommerce hosting whereas HostGator doesn’t. While HostGator offers cloud hosting options and Bluehost doesn’t. However, its crucial to consider the features and resources provided with each plan to determine the overall value for money.
Shared Hosting Plan
Bluehost vs HostGator have different shared hosting plans for different users. Shared hosting is the most fundamental and cost-effective type of hosting where multiple websites share a single server’s resources.
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Basic | $2.95/mo | 1 website, 10 GB SSD Storage, Unmetered bandwidth |
| HostGator | Hatchling | $2.75/mo | 1 website, 10 GB Disk Space, Unmetered bandwidth |
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are like an improved version of shared hosting because they give you more resources and flexibility. Both hosting companies have various VPS plans:
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Standard | $29.99/mo | 2 cores, 30 GB SSD Storage, 2 GB RAM, 1 TB bandwidth |
| HostGator | Snappy 2000 | $23.95/mo | 2 cores, 120 GB SSD Storage, 2 GB RAM, Unmetered bandwidth |
Dedicated Hosting
In Bluehost vs HostGator, Dedicated hosting is the most robust choice, offering an entire server exclusively for your website. It is perfect for high-traffic websites.
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Standard | $89.98/mo | 4 cores, 500 GB SSD Storage, 4 GB RAM, 5 TB bandwidth |
| HostGator | value | $89.98/mo | 4 cores, 1 TB HDD Storage, 8 GB RAM, Unmetered bandwidth |
Managed WordPress Hosting
Managed WordPress hosting is a hosting service designed specially for WordPress websites. Both companies offer extra perks such as automatic updates and backups to enhance your WordPress experience.
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Basic | $2.95/mo | 1 website, 10 GB SSD Storage, unmetered bandwidth, Auto WP install |
| HostGator | Starter Plan | $5.95/mo | 1 website, 100k visits/month, Unmetered bandwidth, Free migration |
Woo Commerce Hosting
WooCommerce hosting is designed for online stores that use the WooCommerce plugin with WordPress. This hosting includes pre-installed WooCommerce and extra e-commerce features. Only Bluehost provide this hosting plan:
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Starter | $9.95/mo | 1 online store, 100 GB SSD storage, storefront theme, WooCommerce pre-installed |
| HostGator | Not Available |
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is a modern hosting solution that relies on multiple servers for stability and scalability. Currently, only HostGator provide Cloud hosting.
| Provider | Plan Name | Price (Strating from) | Features |
| Bluehost | Not Available | ||
| HostGator | Hatchling | $4.95/mo | Single domain, 2 GB RAM, 2 Cores, unmetered bandwidth and storage |
Bluehost vs HostGator – Features Comparison
Ease of use
Both hosting providers Bluehost vs HostGator use cPanel for server management. cPanel is a popular Linux-based platform that offers a variety of administrative tools via a user-friendly graphical interface. While HostGator’s cPanel interface follows a conventional layout. Generally, both Bluehost and HostGator are excellent choices for beginners. Upon signing up, you will receive step-by-step guidance through the setup process in a clear, concise, and user-friendly manner. Both hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation and provide accessible support if needed.
Speed and Uptime
When considering the speed and uptime, small differences can exert a substantial impact on your business. Page performance is a crucial factor in Google ranking algorithm, and majority of the visitors expect your web page load within seconds. Page speed loses its significance when your website encounters downtime. Reliable hosting providers will usually promote an average uptime percentage that is nearly 100%, because any downtime can damage your reputation and disappoint your audience. Downtime typically decreases with the higher-tier plans, but even the most budget-friendly plans should maintain an online availability for at least 99.95% of the time.
Security Comparison
All Bluehost plans include a free SSL certificate designed to enhance the security of your eCommerce website and protect your visitors while they connect to your site. An SSL certificate is essential for your website, as many web browsers warn users before accessing non-SSL protected sites. Additionally, Google takes SSL encryption into consideration when determining search engine rankings. Like Bluehost, HostGator offers a free SSL certificate to all of its customers. Moreover, they provide optional paid add-ons like CodeGuard and SiteLock for malware scanning and backup solutions. The company also includes automatic weekly backups at no additional charge, and you have the ability to manually backup your site at any time.
Money-back Guarantee
Bluehost offers a standard 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not satisfied with their service, you’ve the option to request for refund. Its important to keep in mind that the refund will be issued after deducting the expenses associated with your free domain and any refundable extras from the total amount. While HostGator offers a more lenient refund policy compared to the Bluehost. You can ask for a refund up to 45 days.
| Bluehost | HostGator | |
| Free domain name | Yes, for 1st year | Yes, periodically |
| Free SSL certificate | Yes | Yes |
| Free website migration | No, it’s cost is $144.99 | Yes |
| Website builder | Grid system | Drag-and-drop |
| WordPress Integration | Yes | Yes |
| Free backups | No | No |
| Money-back Guarantee | 30 days | 45 days |
Customer Support
Both Bluehost vs HostGator comprehensively cover most areas of support, ensuring their team of technical experts is readily accessible with just a click or phone call. Just follow the given table:
| Bluehost | HostGator | |
| Knowledge base | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Phone | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Tickets | ✔️ | ❌ |
Bluehost vs HostGator – Pros and Cons
Pros and Cons of Bluehost
Pros
- Free SSL encryption
- Free CDN
- Fast and Reliable
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Great customer service
- Unlimited MySQL database
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free domain name for the first year
Cons
- No monthly free website migration
- Less control over Automatic data backups
Pros and Cons of HostGator
Pros
- Free SSL certificate
- Free website migration
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Available monthly pricing plans
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited disk space
Cons
- Not the best option for business
- Backups require an additional fee