On this page
Our verdict on HostGator
HostGator is our #4 web host for 2026 and our pick for the most features for the money. At $3.75/month through our special deal, its Hatchling plan lets you host up to 10 websites with unmetered bandwidth, a free domain for the first year, free SSL, a free Cloudflare CDN, free backups and a free site builder.
Founded in 2002 and now hosting more than 8 million domains, HostGator is one of the biggest names in web hosting, with plans that grow from a first site all the way to reseller and dedicated servers. Speed and uptime are solid rather than class-leading, but for a new or growing site the value is hard to beat.
Best for
- New and growing websites
- Hosting several small sites on one plan
- Anyone who wants month-to-month billing
- Future resellers and web designers
Not ideal for
- Resource-heavy sites on the entry plan
- Anyone shopping only on renewal price
HostGator pros & cons
Pros
- $3.75/month special price through TopWebHosts
- Host up to 10 websites on the entry plan
- Free domain for the first year, plus free SSL and Cloudflare CDN
- Free site builder and one-click WordPress
- Free backups and malware scanning
- 24/7 support by live chat and phone
- Month-to-month billing available, plus reseller plans
- Excellent
rating
Cons
- Renewal prices rise significantly after the first term
- Domain privacy costs extra on the lower plans
- Speed and uptime are solid rather than class-leading
- Busy or resource-heavy sites will want a higher plan
HostGator at a glance
Key specs for the Hatchling plan we feature, which suits most new websites.
- Featured plan
- Hatchling, $3.75/mo
- Storage
- 10 GB SSD
- Websites
- 10
- Bandwidth
- Unmetered
- Free domain
- Yes, first year
- SSL certificate
- Free
- Site builder
- Free
- Backups
- Free
- Email accounts
- Unlimited
- MySQL databases
- Unlimited
- Control panel
- cPanel
- Uptime guarantee
- 99.9%
- Support
- 24/7 live chat & phone
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 days
- Setup fee
- Free
Key features explained
Room for several sites. The Hatchling plan we feature lets you host up to 10 websites on 10 GB of SSD storage with unmetered bandwidth, which is unusually generous for an entry plan. Setup is free, and you get a free domain name for the first year plus free SSL certificates.
Packed with free extras. Every plan includes a free Cloudflare CDN to speed up your pages, a free site builder, one-click installs for WordPress and dozens of other apps, unlimited MySQL databases and email for your domain. Developers also get staging sites, SSH and WP-CLI.
Flexible billing. Unlike many hosts, HostGator lets you pay month to month with no long-term contract, so you can start small and cancel any time. Longer terms unlock the lowest prices, and a 30-day money-back guarantee covers you either way.
HostGator plans & pricing
HostGator offers several shared hosting plans with its trademark playful names. Every plan includes unmetered bandwidth, free SSL, a free Cloudflare CDN and free backups; moving up adds more websites, storage and security.
Hatchling
Best for new websites
- Up to 10 websites
- 10 GB storage
- About 40K visits a month
- Free domain (1st year) and SSL
- Free site builder and backups
Baby
Best for growing sites
- Up to 20 websites
- 20 GB storage
- About 50K visits a month
- Free SSL and Cloudflare CDN
- Malware scanning
Business
Best for businesses and stores
- Up to 50 websites
- 50 GB storage
- About 200K visits a month
- Malware removal included
- Free domain privacy (1st year)
How HostGator’s pricing compares
HostGator’s plans are easy to compare: you mainly choose how many websites and how much storage you need. Hatchling handles up to 10 sites, Baby doubles that to 20, and Business gives you 50 sites plus malware removal and free domain privacy. Beyond shared hosting, HostGator also offers reseller, VPS and dedicated servers, so you’ll never outgrow it.
At $3.75/month through our special deal, HostGator’s Hatchling plan costs a little more than the $2.90 average of the other hosts in our top 10, but it lets you run up to 10 websites on one plan, with unmetered bandwidth, a free domain and free SSL. It still costs less than InMotion ($4.59) and GoDaddy ($5.99), and few hosts let you run 10 websites for this price.
Speed & reliability
Solid speed and dependable uptime. In our testing, HostGator’s pages loaded at a good, steady speed and uptime was in line with the industry average, which is very respectable for the price. If you run a busy or resource-heavy site, its higher plans add more power for even faster pages.
HostGator runs thousands of servers in its own secure Texas datacenter, monitored 24/7 and protected by backup power and fire suppression. Every plan includes a free Cloudflare CDN with Argo smart routing, which serves your pages from locations close to your visitors for faster loading worldwide.
Built-in object and static caching speeds up WordPress sites, and the 99.9% uptime guarantee means HostGator will credit you if your site is down more than it should be.
Security that keeps your site online
Every plan includes a web application firewall, DDoS protection and malware scanning, with malware removal included from the Business plan up. Free SSL keeps visitor data encrypted, and free automated backups let you restore your site if anything goes wrong.
Customer support
Helpful, around-the-clock support. HostGator’s support team is available 24/7, and in our checks live chat connected us in about 30 seconds. Agents were friendly and helpful, and the online ticket system was a great way to get detailed answers.
HostGator offers 24/7 support by live chat, phone and support tickets, with a US-based support team for US customers. For do-it-yourself help, its knowledge base has hundreds of searchable articles and video tutorials covering everything from setting up email to installing WordPress.
Customers back this up: the user reviews below praise HostGator’s chat team for quick, efficient answers and say support has been pretty fast when they’ve needed it.
Ways to get help
- Live chat, 24/7: the fastest way to reach an agent
- Phone, 24/7: talk to a real person any time
- Support tickets: best for detailed or technical questions
- Knowledge base: articles and video tutorials
Ease of use
HostGator is built for beginners. Sign-up is quick, WordPress and dozens of other popular apps install in one click, and the free site builder lets you put together a professional-looking site without touching code.
As your skills grow, staging sites, SSH access and WP-CLI are there when you need them, and you can upgrade to a bigger plan in a few clicks.
The control panel
HostGator uses cPanel, the industry-standard control panel, so managing your hosting account is quick and easy. You can set up domains, email accounts and databases, install apps and check your website traffic stats, all from one place.
If you want to run your own hosting business or manage lots of client sites, HostGator’s reseller plans add Web Host Manager (WHM), a control panel for creating and managing separate hosting accounts.
HostGator rating breakdown
We score every host on the same 10 criteria. Here’s how HostGator earned its 9.3.
What HostGator customers say
Made staging my site easy
“I’d never staged a website before, so I wasn’t sure how to go about it. Vikas was a big help and got everything taken care of during our first chat. He made the whole process easy and explained everything along the way. Really appreciate the help.”
Patient, knowledgeable support
“I was having trouble with my website and wasn’t getting much help from my current hosting provider, so I reached out to HostGator. I connected with Stan, who was extremely helpful. He took the time to explain everything, walked me through the fixes, and made sure I understood what he was doing before making any changes. He got the issue resolved quickly, and I really appreciated his patience and knowledge. Great experience with their support team!”
Quick help getting set up
“I ran into a few issues while trying to get our website installed and set up, but HostGator’s support team was able to help me get everything sorted out. I reached out through live chat, and they quickly pointed me in the right direction. Thankfully, we got the site up and running without too much hassle. Really appreciated the quick help!”
Quick and efficient customer service
“Quick and efficient customer service. The chat helped navigate me to a customer service rep, and Purab was able to answer all my questions and assist me with the issue I was having.”
Not bad for the money
“HostGator has been a good choice so far. I don’t have a large site by any means, but the issues have been minimal and tech support pretty fast. No big complaints.”
Good deal, reliable host
“HostGator seems to be a good deal and reliable host so far. I moved over a couple of weeks ago and haven’t had any real downtime. The price is good and what I need. The only complaint is that support took an hour and a half to get back to me on a simple issue.”
HostGator alternatives
Not sure HostGator is the one? These are the other top hosts on our list.
9.8Our top pick overall, with a free domain, site builder and backups, plus 24/7 in-house support since 1996.
9.6The cheapest way in, with unlimited websites, 350 GB of NVMe storage and free daily backups.
9.5Fast LiteSpeed hosting for up to 3 websites, with a free domain, an AI website builder and 24/7 support.
HostGator FAQs
Is HostGator good for beginners?
Yes. HostGator is very beginner-friendly: WordPress installs in one click, the free site builder needs no coding, and 24/7 chat and phone support is there if you get stuck.
How much does HostGator cost?
Through TopWebHosts, HostGator’s Hatchling plan is $3.75/month. That’s an introductory price for your first term; HostGator’s renewal prices are noticeably higher, so check the renewal rate at checkout.
Can I pay for HostGator month to month?
Yes. HostGator offers month-to-month billing with no long-term contract, although longer terms get you the lowest prices.
How many websites can I host on HostGator?
The Hatchling plan hosts up to 10 websites, Baby up to 20 and Business up to 50.
Does HostGator include a free domain?
Yes. HostGator includes a free domain for the first year with an annual or longer shared hosting plan, plus free SSL certificates.
Does HostGator have a money-back guarantee?
Yes. HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its hosting plans. It covers hosting fees, but not domain registration or other add-ons.
Does HostGator use cPanel?
Yes. All HostGator shared hosting plans come with cPanel, and its reseller plans add WHM for managing multiple hosting accounts.
Is HostGator fast and reliable?
HostGator offers solid, dependable performance for the price, with a free Cloudflare CDN, built-in caching, 24/7 server monitoring and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
