Are you asking yourself – Bluehost or HostGator? Trying to figure out which web hosting provider is the best option for you? Then you’re in the right place because you’ve just stumbled across a thorough Bluehost VS HostGator comparison. Here you’ll definitely find all the answers you need to decide which one is a better fit for your needs.
Why HostGator versus Bluehost? Because they’re both proud members of our best web hosting service list. Bluehost overall is one of the best web hosting providers on the market while HostGator is a trusted veteran in this field.
However, before starting this comparison, we’ll have to settle some ground rules. What kind of rules? Certain points of comparison that are important to consider whenever you’re choosing a hosting provider.
If you want to see a shorter version of this comparison, check it out here.
Table of Contents
Bluehost VS HostGator: The Points of Comparison
The points that I will discuss further might not cover all the possible angles for comparing web hosting providers. However, these are definitely the points that must be considered whether it’s a Bluehost VS HostGator comparison or any other.
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| Hosting Websites on an Established Platform | Growing Online Businesses | |
| All Bluehost Coupons | See All Coupons of Best Hosting Providers | |
| One of the more-reliable web hosting platforms with great uptime statistics and 24/7 customer support. | A top-tier hosting provider with some amazing uptime statistics. | |
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Table: Some general information about Bluehost and HostGator
The list below consists of uptime, site speed & servers, security, WordPress support, bandwidth & storage, customer support, and pricing. Now, let’s have a more detailed look at these points.
- Uptime, Site Speed & Servers. These three are definitely important no matter if you’re comparing HostGator VS Bluehost or any other hosting services. Why? Because uptime measures how long your website is online, and site speed measures how long your website takes to fully load. The location of web hosting servers will determine how fast the site speed is in different parts of the world. So, yeah, these are definitely crucial to consider if you want to have a reliable website.
- Security. It’s pretty obvious why this one is important. When choosing hosting services you must make sure that it provides all the necessary security measures for your website. I’m specifically talking about the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate that makes your website’s identity authentic and enables an encrypted connection. I’ll elaborate more on that later, but I can tell you that it’s important for both – your website and your website’s visitors.
- WordPress Support. If you’re reading through Bluehost VS HostGator comparisons, you should know that finding a hosting provider is necessary when you ditch website builders and decide to choose content management systems (CMS). If you’re interested in website creation, you’ve probably heard about WordPress once or twice because it’s the most popular CMS. Thus, every top-tier hosting provider should support it.
- Bandwidth & Storage. These two might not be that important for newbies who are just beginning their website creation journey. However, these are really important for those who care about the scalability of their websites in the long run. Bandwidth measures the amount of data that can be exchanged at any given time between your website and the visitor. The amount of storage will determine how much content your website will be able to hold. So, if you want to go big with your site, you’ll need space to grow.
- Customer Support. Some people might think that customer support is not that important. Sure, it might not be the most crucial feature but it does matter. Hosting services are not always that easy to use for just anyone, they surely can get a bit complicated for newbies. Besides, the quality of customer support can really tell you a lot about the company itself. So, I suggest you consider customer support whether you compare HostGator versus Bluehost or any other hosting services.
- Pricing. There’s not that much to explain here. If something has a price, it will always be a point to consider when choosing the best option for you. For some people, especially those who are just starting out, pricing can definitely be a make-it-or-break-it decision. Apart from the pricing of the hosting plans, you should also consider how much of the other features you might need are locked behind additional paywalls. So, always check what you’re getting yourself into.
Now that we’ve settled that, we can move further in our Bluehost VS HostGator comparison.
Bluehost VS HostGator: The Comparison
I’ll begin this comparison by talking about uptime, site speed & servers, and then move further through the points according to the list above. So, buckle up and let the Bluehost VS HostGator comparison begin.
Uptime, Site Speed & Servers
I’d say these might be the most important points to consider when choosing a web hosting provider. Every proper hosting service should provide its users with impeccable uptime and site speed statistics.
I did explain previously what these terms mean but let’s look at them in more detail. Uptime measures how long your website is up and running. It’s the opposite of downtime which shows how much time your website is offline (yes, the definitions of these terms are pretty obvious). So, your uptime statistics should be as high as possible and, in a perfect scenario, there should be barely any downtime.
Talking about site speed, it actually measures a few different things. However, in the most basic sense, it measures how fast your website loads for your visitors to fully interact with it. Though it’s important not only for retaining your visitors but also for optimizing your website for Google and other search engines (in terms of SEO).
However, site speed is something that depends not only on the hosting provider but also on your own choices. You should know that if you overpack your website with a huge amount of features, crazy fonts, ultra-high-quality images or videos, and other over-the-top things, it will slow down your site speed. So, keep in mind that a lot is in your hands.
The location of web hosting servers also has a huge impact on site speed statistics. If a hosting provider has servers only in the US, it might mean that you’ll have great site speed stats in that region, but if you live in Europe, your website might load up slower.
However, most hosting providers offer content delivery networks (CDN) that are networks of servers and data centers that are geographically distributed around the world. This helps to have great site speed no matter where you are.
Now that you know everything you need, let’s see how HostGator VS Bluehost compares in terms of uptime and site speed.
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| 2 | 2 | |
| Provo, Orem (US) | Houston, Provo (US) | |
| 99,94% | 99,95% | |
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Table: Bluehost VS HostGator in terms of uptime & site speed
Talking about Bluehost, its estimated uptime in the past year (from writing this article) was 99,94%. That’s actually great! However, if you looked at the uptime of each month, you could see that Bluehost’s uptime does fluctuate a bit throughout the year. This means you might not have perfect stats all the time.
If these numbers don’t say much to you, check out our uptime calculator to see preliminary how much downtime you’ll have if the uptime is estimated to be 99,94%.
Daily you’d get only 51s of downtime and yearly it would be around 5h 15m. Yes, I know, it might seem much when you put it this way, but it’s really not. I think you would barely notice that. Overall, the optimal uptime for a good and healthy website is 99,9% and Bluehost definitely delivers that.
Site speed, on the other hand, is not its strongest suit. According to various Bluehost user reviews, it has some pretty average speed statistics in comparison to other hosting providers.
That’s also where the servers come in. Bluehost only has them in the US. Though it does offer CloudFlare to its users, which is the CDN they use. So, it’s weird that there are still various complaints about site speed stats in the user reviews. Probably the location of Bluehost servers is not the only thing affecting the site speed.
What about HostGator? It has pretty amazing stats, even better than Bluehost. The estimated uptime over the last year of HostGator was 99,95%. Again, we can check how much downtime your website would have in this case, preliminary.
43s a day and 4h 22m a year. That’s pretty great! Almost one hour less than with Bluehost.
What about the site speed of HostGator? Well, this one is definitely different in comparison to Bluehost. According to HostGator user reviews, we can see that its site speed statistics are rated to be very fast. So, you shouldn’t have problems with that.
Talking about web servers of HostGator, it also has two main ones in the US, and it also offers CloudFlare (CDN) which will route your website throughout 23 servers based in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. So, you’ll have great site speed stats wherever you are.
Now, who is the winner in the Bluehost VS HostGator battle in terms of uptime and site speed? HostGator is definitely the one that has more advantages in this case.
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Security
When you're considering the security aspect, you should check if there is an option to have an SSL certificate. It’s the main security feature that is used by most websites online. When a website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, it is viewed as untrustworthy and potentially dangerous. You can check if a website has an SSL certificate by pressing on the lock icon at the top-left corner of your screen (at least that’s how it is with Chrome browser).
This feature lets your site's visitors share and enter information without worrying about data leaks or any unwanted third-party activity. In other words, if a visitor is making a purchase and inputting their credit card information on your page, an SSL will protect that information from being stolen. So, yeah, it is really important.
What’s the case in our Bluehost VS HostGator comparison? Do both of these hosting services provide their users with SSL certificates? Yes, they do.
Talking about Bluehost, it offers free SSL certificates with all of its hosting plans. That’s really cool because not every hosting provider does that, especially with plans that have lower prices. Overall SSL certificates actually are pretty expensive.
And how is it with HostGator? It also includes free SSL certificates with its plans. However, there is a bit more flexibility with HostGator. You can choose from three other paid SSL certificate options to have even more advanced security features (check them out in the image above).
So, how does HostGator versus Bluehost compare in consideration of security? Well, both HostGator and Bluehost provide free versions of SSL certificates with their plans. However, if you want more advanced security choices, HostGator is the one that will offer you that.
WordPress Support
If you’ve been reading through HostGator VS Bluehost or any other hosting service comparisons, you’ve definitely seen that WordPress support is always mentioned. That’s normal because, as I said before, WordPress is one of the most popular CMS out there.
If you don’t know what CMS is, let me explain. Essentially, it is a more advanced website creation tool that is similar to website builders but offers way more customization and management options.
However, unlike website builders, most CMS doesn’t have hosting services included. So, when you use, let’s say, WordPress, you need to find a hosting provider in order to put your website online (that’s probably what you’re doing right now).
Obviously, every top-tier hosting provider offers this feature. So, what’s the case in this Bluehost VS HostGator comparison? Do both of these hosting providers offer WordPress support? Yes, of course, they do.
Talking about Bluehost, it has a pretty close relationship with WordPress. The feelings here are mutual because WordPress recommends Bluehost as one of its preferred hosting services since 2005.
Besides, apart from just being compatible with it, Bluehost offers a drag-and-drop website builder plugin that is made for WordPress. It will allow you to easily build beautiful and responsive websites on WordPress. Cool right?
What about HostGator and WordPress? Their relationship is also really good. After you choose a HostGator plan for WordPress, you get additional perks like WordPress integration in the hosting panel, advanced security, simplified resource and account management panel, free site migration, and a free domain for a year. That’s a lot!
Though if by any chance you decide that you want to go back to website builders, HostGator has its own website builder called Gator. You should definitely check it out because it is a part of our best website builder list!
Now, coming back to our Bluehost VS HostGator comparison, which one has better compatibility with WordPress? Bluehost or HostGator? Well, I’d definitely say that they are both great with WordPress. Though you could take into consideration the fact that WordPress itself recommends Bluehost hosting services.
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See & compare TOP website builders side by sideBandwidth & Storage
As I said before, bandwidth and storage might not be that important for you if you’re just playing around with website building and not really thinking about the long run of your website. However, if you’re serious about your website, and you’re thinking about its growth in the future, then these are really important.
I’ll repeat myself but bandwidth measures how much data can be transferred between a website and a visitor at any given time. Basically, when a website has high bandwidth, it will function without any interference, even when a huge flow of visitors comes into a website at the same time. This is especially important for online shops when, for example, they have sales.
Talking about storage (disk space) it’s pretty obvious that it is important if you want to grow your website. The amount of storage a web hosting service allows you to have will determine how much content you can store on your website. So, when you want to grow your website, there will be definitely more and more content, thus you’ll need more and more storage.
Now, how does HostGator VS Bluehost compare in terms of bandwidth and storage?
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| 1 | 1 | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Unlimited | 500 GB | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| 200K | 200K | |
| Daily | Weekly | |
| Free | Paid | |
| Free | Free | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Unlimited | Unlimited | |
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Table: Bluehost VS HostGator in terms of hosting features
Talking about Bluehost, you can see that it offers unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage. That sounds great! However, the word “unlimited” doesn’t mean that there are actually no limits. It means that there are no defined limitations and you will not be charged based on the amount of disk space and bandwidth you use.
However, the disk space and bandwidth that Bluehost offers are not completely infinite so you cannot have an excessive amount of content on your website. Though Bluehost definitely makes sure that their customers have just enough bandwidth and space for their needs (when their needs are not over the top).
Now, how is it with HostGator? You can see in the table above that it also offers unlimited bandwidth and storage. However, it’s the same as with Bluehost, you will definitely have enough space for growth, just don’t go over the top.
So, how does HostGator versus Bluehost compare in terms of bandwidth and storage? Well, you’ll get an unlimited (ish) amount of disk space and bandwidth with both of these web hosting providers. So, you’ll definitely have space to grow your website.
Customer Support
Even though customer support is usually underrated as a feature to be considered when choosing a hosting service, I’d say that it shouldn’t be. It definitely tells a lot about the company itself and it’s very useful for the sake of your sanity to receive fast and sincere help when you need it.
There are various types of customer support that hosting providers offer – 24/7 support, live chats, support tickets, support via email or phone, and forums.
Now, how does Bluehost VS HostGator compare in terms of customer support?
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| Free | Free | |
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Table: Bluehost VS HostGator in terms of customer support
Talking about Bluehost, according to user reviews, it definitely has reliable customer support that works 24/7. Bluehost support agents are really knowledgeable and usually respond pretty quickly. Bluehost offers live chat, support via phone or email, and a knowledge base where you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions. Bluehost will never leave you hanging.
Talking about HostGator, it offers even more customer support options. Apart from having all the essential features like 24/7 support, live chat, support via email and phone, and a knowledge base, it also has support tickets and a forum. Besides, the customer support service provided by HostGator is really praised in user reviews. There’s no way you’ll ever feel frustrated with HostGator.
So, what is the verdict of this Bluehost VS HostGator comparison in terms of customer support? Which one is better – Bluehost or HostGator? Well, they’re both pretty great but HostGator does offer slightly more support options.
Pricing
Now, the last point in our Bluehost VS HostGator comparison is the pricing. Which one offers better pricing options? Bluehost or HostGator? Let’s see.
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| $2.95 | $2.75 | |
| Choice Plus - $5.45 | Baby Plan - $3.50 | |
| 30 Days | 45 Days | |
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Table: Bluehost VS HostGator in terms of pricing
For starters, you should know that there is always a huge variety of different pricing plans with hosting services. Dedicated and Shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and so on. However, in this Bluehost VS HostGator comparison I’ll only talk about Shared hosting and WordPress hosting because these two are probably the most common ones.
Shared hosting is when your website is hosted alongside other websites on the same server. WordPress hosting is, well, hosting for WordPress (duh). Now, let’s see what kind of pricing options Bluehost offers.
Note! Keep in mind that the prices change over time so always check the official websites.
Bluehost Shared hosting plans:
- Basic – $3,45/month billed annually
- Plus – $5,45/month billed annually
- Choice Plus – $5,45/month billed annually
- Pro – $13,95/month billed annually
Talking about WordPress hosting that Bluehost offers, the plans are actually called the same and cost the same as its shared hosting plans, so I won’t write these out again.
Now, let’s see what kind of pricing options HostGator offers.
HostGator Shared hosting plans:
- Hatchling – $2,75/month billed annually
- Baby – $3,50/month billed annually
- Business – $5,25/month billed annually
HostGator WordPress hosting plans:
- Starter – $5,95/month billed annually
- Standart – $7,95/month billed annually
- Business – $9,95/month billed annually
You can definitely notice that HostGator offers lower prices for its Shared hosting plans than Bluehost does. However, if you’re focused on WordPress hosting, HostGator plans are slightly more expensive.
In general, compared to some other hosting providers, the prices that Bluehost and HostGator offer are not the lowest on the market. Besides, after the first year passes, the prices go up a bit. Maybe not even a bit, for example, the Bluehost Choice Plus plan changes from $5,45 to $18,99, so there is a pretty big jump. However, that’s usually the case with all web hosting providers.
Besides, always check what the plans offer before choosing. Bluehost, for example, doesn’t offer unlimited bandwidth and storage with its Basic plan, so this plan will not be a good fit for you if you want to grow your website. In addition, Bluehost doesn’t provide its users with automated backups with Basic and Plus plans. Backups are important to keep all your work intact and your website healthy.
Talking about HostGator, even though it includes the main features in its plans, it keeps a lot of additional important features locked behind paywalls. These features include backups, a business email address, SiteLock, and even SEO tools. That’s definitely a bummer because this means additional expenses for you.
However, the prices that these web hosting providers offer are not that bad, I’m just saying that you should always check what you get with the plans and whether you’ll need to make additional purchases in the future. It’s especially important if you’re searching for an on-the-budget option.
So now, what is the verdict in our Bluehost VS HostGator comparison in terms of pricing? I’d say that even though at first it might seem that HostGator offers lower prices than Bluehost, eventually, HostGator might end up being a more expensive option due to all the additional paywalls it has. However, if you don't need these features, then HostGator is a less expensive option for sure.
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Bluehost VS HostGator: Conclusion
That’s it, this Bluehost VS HostGator comparison has come to an end, so it’s time to decide which web hosting option is better. Well, it depends on your preferences.
If awesome uptime & site speed stats and exceptional customer support are your deciding factors, then I’d say that HostGator would be a better choice in this case.
| BLUEHOST | HOSTGATOR | |
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| Orem, US | Houston, US | |
| 2003 | 2002 | |
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Table: General information about the companies behind Bluehost and HostGator
However, if you’re looking for an overall great hosting provider that doesn’t have too many additional paywalls, then I’d say you should check out Bluehost.
Though if after reading this review you decided that neither is a good fit for you, check out our list of the best web hosting providers on the market. I bet you’ll find the most suitable option there.
That’s all I have to say this time. Good luck with finding a web hosting service that fits your needs! Until next time.
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