Having doubts about Bluehost vs HostGator?
From customer support to pricing. The two most popular web hostings have crucial differences.
★★★★★
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#1 Introduction
Bluehost vs HostGator at a glance
Bluehost
At first look, the services provided by these two companies appear to be fairly similar. On the other hand, Bluehost came out on top above HostGator in terms of features and value for money. Find out why as you go on.
Bluehost is the most outstanding all-around web hosting provider.
While the competition is intense right now, it continues to perform great in almost every way, providing the whole combination of speed, protection, flexibility, and, most importantly, exceptional reliability.
In addition to various web hosting services, Bluehost also provides marketing programs, content development, and more!
Overall, this web host caters to everyone, from new bloggers to huge e-commerce companies, as well as long-time WordPress users. The good always exceeds the negative, so it’s a web hosting service worth investigating—particularly for WordPress users.
I believe that most consumers would love Bluehost’s wide product offerings, including WordPress hosting, shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and multi-tiered price plans.
HostGator
HostGator is an amazing web hosting service that provides various tools for bloggers and small businesses. It includes FREE features, such as unmetered bandwidth, domain registration, SSL certificate, and one-click installs for its beloved users.
In fact, you can already start with its shared hosting for only $2.75 per month as an introductory offer.
If you’re feeling lost with the whole process, you can visit HostGator’s knowledge base to resolve any pending concerns.
Overall, it can surpass your expectations with web hosting. Need some advanced features for an advanced user? Look no further.
Table of contents
#2 Pricing
Let’s talk about pricing. This might be the variable that could help you choose between Bluehost and HostGator.
Bluehost
Bluehost has trustworthy hosting packages designed for your goals, whether you’re just starting or require extensive functionality. Check out these plans before getting one for yourself or your desired business.
Just a piece of advice, every Bluehost plan includes a free SSL certificate, so you’ll never have to deal with the hassle of visitors seeing a notice that your website is unsafe.
Pros
Spend a bit of time studying the top web hosting services, and Bluehost will be mentioned multiple times as it’s widely utilized and extremely popular.
But what distinguishes Bluehost from the competition?
Check out these pros I came to know as your helpful guide.
- Blogger-friendly
- The first term is cheap
- Simple to use, even for beginners
- Exceptional server uptime (99,98%)
- Breakneck server speed
- WordPress compatible
- Great customer service
- Generous storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
Cons
Even though Bluehost is an ideal choice for web users, it still has its downsides for you to know about. Check out the following:
- Increased price for renewals
- Constant upsells
- Upgrades and add ons modes are pricey
- Limitations of the entry-level plan
- Speed could be better
- Entry-level plan limitations
HostGator
HostGator provides several hosting plans to accommodate such needs, including Shared hosting, WordPress hosting, Dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, and Reseller hosting.
Whatever you demand, they have a plan suited for you.
Check out the following pricing and features as your reference.
Hosting Plans
Shared Web Hosting
- Hatchling – $17.99 per month
- Baby – $21.99 per month
- Business – $27.99 per month
WordPress Hosting
- Baby – $21.99 per month
- Business – $27.99 per month
- Pro – $34.99 per month
eCommerce Hosting
- Online Store – $29.95 per month
- Online Store + Marketplace – $47.95 per month
Gator Website Builder Hosting
- Express Start – $12.95 per month
- Express Site – $14.98 per month
- Express Store – $26.98 per month
VPS Hosting
- Snappy 500**- $19.95 per month
- Snappy 1000** – $39.95 per month
- Snappy 2000 – $79.99 per month
You can check the other options here if you want! I am sure there’s something for you, whatever hosting you require.
Winner:
Bluehost emerges victorious over HostGator as the best all-around provider despite being on an even playing field. Although both are pretty equal in terms of features, Bluehost’s cleaner interface and availability of a free domain name put them ahead of HostGator.
#3 Speed
Remember this: the faster your site loads, the higher your conversion rate.
People despise waiting, so do your best to choose a web host that provides quick page loading time. The more effort you invest in maintaining your website fast and conveniently, the more revenue you generate.
The question is…
Can HostGator and Bluehost give you the speed you’re looking for?
Bluehost
Bluehost is among the quickest A-rated hosting providers with a speed of 140 ms. In my judgment, you can be guaranteed that Bluehost will be able to process regardless of where your core audience is located.
HostGator
I’m happy to tell you that HostGator isn’t famous for nothing. Truth be told, it has an average load time of 1.03 ms, and an average response time of 143.4 ms, which are both fantastic results.
Winner:
Bluehost and HostGator have excellent speed results to please users and web visitors. They both manage to provide outstanding performance, so no need to stress yourself when picking one. However, Bluehost is far superior.
#4 Uptime
Uptime is an excellent indicator of how well a web hosting service keeps its systems up and functioning. Having said that, do Bluehost and HostGator have a high uptime percentage? Let’s find out.
Bluehost
Bluehost guarantees 99.88 percent uptime! Because no web host can promise 100 percent uptime, 99.88% is a convincing win, equating to approximately one hour and 45 minutes of downtime every year.
HostGator
HostGator has a 99.99% uptime which is really great for your website!
Winner:
Both have excellent uptime, with HostGator taking the lead with 99.9% and Bluehost coming in second with 99.88 %.
Given the impossibility of achieving 100% uptime, both are working tirelessly to keep your site accessible to your users.
Remember that uptime is critical for your website, particularly if you are running a business. If your website is constantly down, you won’t be able to reach out to clients or build your reputation.
#5 Customer service
It is simple to obtain hosting. And while things seldom go wrong, if they do, you don’t want the burden of feeling like you’re handling it alone, especially if you’re unfamiliar with everything.
Let’s see if Bluehost and HostGator have the support you need when things get rough.
Bluehost
One advantage of partnering with a large provider such as Bluehost is that they provide complete support, such as 24/7 chat and phone assistance!
They’re easily reachable via live chat, and I didn’t even wait more than five minutes to speak with someone. In addition, the agents always answer with beneficial information, frequently including links that are beyond helpful. What a relief!
HostGator
If you need a passably support, I would recommend HostGator.
As a user, you have multiple options to resolve your pending inquiries. In fact, you can reach their support team at any time via phone, live chat support, or ticket-based email support. What more can you ask for?
Winner:
HostGator and Bluehost cover most areas of support, so you can take comfort in knowing that their staff of tech experts is just a click or a phone call away. With so many consumers depending on them, neither can afford to overlook customer service. Trust me.
However, as someone who knows Bluehost well, their support will be your knight in shining armor.
#6 How to install
Installing Bluehost or HostGator is actually super easy! Just follow my steps, and you’ll have everything set up in less than 5 minutes. Pinky promise!
I split it up into 2 phases.
Phase 1 is for Bluehost, and Phase 2 is for HostGator.
Phase 1 – Bluehost
Step 1: Open the website of Bluehost and click ‘get started’
I arranged a nice 50% discount for your entire hosting plan.
Step 2: Select your hosting plan.
Depending on how many websites you plan to host, you can select your plan. If you only need to build 1 website, you can choose the cheapest one.
Step 3: Find an available domain name.
Here comes the fun part. Play around with the domain name checker and find an available one. Click ‘next’ if you found one.
Step 4: Enter your details and confirm the payment.
Now you’ve registered with Bluehost, it’s time to install Wordpress. Luckily for you, this is the easiest part. Bluehost offers a one-click install for Wordpress.
Here’s what you need to do:
In the control panel on your left side, click ‘My Sites’.
From here you can launch your Wordpress website by clicking on ‘Create site by Wordpress’.
That’s it. It’s dead easy.
Step 2: Choose a plan for your needs.
There are various options for you to choose from.
- Shared Hosting
- Website Builder Hosting
- WordPress Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Reseller Hosting
- Windows Dedicated Server Hosting
- Windows Shared Hosting
- Reseller Hosting
- Cloud Web Hosting
- Optimized WordPress Hosting
Step 3: Proceed to Checkout.
Enter your domain, billing info, and add some additional services if you want. Make sure to have a coupon to save more money!
Step 4: Review your order details!
That’s it! Four easy-peasy steps to get started with HostGator’s hosting.
Good luck with the rest.
#7 SEO
I’m going to keep this short. Both of them are great for SEO.
Nowadays, web hosting helps your website be accessible to all users and visitors. With that, you need something excellent to get that sweet traffic.
The good thing is, I’ve seen several websites with millions of visitors per month with the help of Bluehost and HostGator!
Trust me; you’ll get various hosting features you’ll love whatever you choose.
Both Bluehost and HostGator are well-known and dependable hosting companies that have earned their stellar reputations.
Also, both are suitable for both beginners and professionals, and have inexpensive/competitive pricing options.
In any case, you’re in wonderful shape to start your web hosting career.
Winner:
Bluehost vs HostGator? It is up to you to decide because both are good with SEO.
#8 Examples
- Here is a collection of my favorite Bluehost website examples
Also, definitely look at this example to better understand what’s possible with Bluehost.
Sneaker Politics
The overall design is very classy and is very image-focused. Oh, and the clothes are nice too.
Things we love about this website design:
- Call to action above the fold
- Bold typefaces
- The basic black and white scheme
#9 Conclusion
In this Bluehost vs HostGator comparison article, you can notice that they shine in different categories! Would I recommend the two of them? A solid yes!
Indeed, these two companies both offer fantastic hosting.
However, I do believe that Bluehost is the better one. While HostGator has a lot to offer, Bluehost clearly outperforms it in terms of functionality, ease of use, and uptime.
Bluehost’s WordPress plans are superior to HostGator’s, and its overall performance is outstanding. While Bluehost is my winner, the ideal decision for you is totally dependent on your personal or commercial needs.