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A budget-priced, established host: just watch the renewal price.

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Pricing
Shared Hosting $3.75 - $13.95
WordPress Hosting $4.50 - $13.95
eCommerce Hosting $9.95 - $12.95
Server locations
Provo, Utah, US
Atlanta, Georgia, US
$3.75/mo
Visit HostGator
How we reviewed HostGator

We last reviewed HostGator in October 2026. Every price comes from HostGator's own plan pages, which state the renewal price on each card, and the refund and data center details come from HostGator's knowledgebase. We did not find an independent HostGator review from the last 12 months, so third-party checks are limited. This is desk research: we did not buy a plan for this update.

Free Version
No
Image Editor
No
SEO Features
Yes
Money-back Guarantee
30 days

Overview

HostGator has been operating since 2002 and now hosts more than 2 million websites, with roughly 30% of its customers describing themselves as web professionals. The company is owned by Newfold Digital, the same parent group behind Bluehost, Web.com, and Network Solutions. HostGator's core product is cPanel-based shared hosting, alongside VPS, dedicated, and reseller hosting tiers.

Features of HostGator

Free automated site migration
HostGator's migration tool moves an existing WordPress site over at no cost on every shared plan, no manual file transfer needed.
Malware detection & removal on every plan
Even Hatchling includes malware scanning and removal, a web application firewall and DDoS protection; Baby and up use AI-powered detection.
Free Cloudflare CDN with Argo Routing
Every shared tier, even the cheapest Hatchling plan, ships with Cloudflare CDN enabled at no extra charge.
Unmetered bandwidth, generous site allowances
Even the entry Hatchling plan allows 10 websites with unmetered bandwidth; most budget hosts cap the cheapest tier at one site.
WordPress staging site
Baby plan and up include a staging environment for testing site changes before pushing them live.
30-day money-back guarantee + free first-year domain
Every plan includes a 30-day refund window and a free domain registration for the first year.

Building a site with HostGator

HostGator provisions shared hosting through a standard cPanel control panel with one-click installs for WordPress and other open-source apps, plus a free site migration tool. Every shared plan includes managed WordPress updates and a WordPress staging site for testing changes before publishing. Trusthost has not purchased a test account to walk through this flow first-hand; this description is based on HostGator's own product pages.

Building a site with HostGator

HostGator pricing

HostGator's $3.75/mo Hatchling price is a 36-month intro promo. It renews at $10.99/mo, nearly 3x higher, so factor the renewal rate into your decision, not just the sign-up price.

Shared Hosting

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Hatchling $3.75/mo $10.99/mo 36 months 66%
Baby $4.50/mo $16.49/mo 36 months 73%
Business $6.25/mo $21.99/mo 36 months 72%
Pro $13.95/mo $29.69/mo 36 months 53%

WordPress Hosting

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Baby $4.50/mo $16.49/mo First term 73%
Business $6.25/mo $21.99/mo First term 72%
Pro $13.95/mo $29.69/mo First term 53%

eCommerce Hosting

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Online Store $9.95/mo $24.95/mo First term 60%
Online Store + Marketplace $12.95/mo $39.95/mo First term 68%

VPS Hosting (self-managed)

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Snappy 1000 (1 vCPU / 2 GB) $2.24/mo $4.95/mo First term 55%
Snappy 2000 (2 vCPU / 4 GB) $4.18/mo $9.35/mo First term 55%
Snappy 4000 (4 vCPU / 8 GB) $8.36/mo $18.70/mo First term 55%
Snappy 8000 (8 vCPU / 16 GB) $17.67/mo $39.53/mo First term 55%

Dedicated Hosting

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Value (8-core / 32GB) $144.19/mo $191.79/mo First term 25%
Power (16-core / 64GB) $205.52/mo $279.37/mo First term 26%
Enterprise (32-core / 128GB) $294.77/mo $401.77/mo First term 27%

Reseller Hosting (cPanel & WHM)

Plan Discount price Regular price Term Savings
Snappy 2000 (2 vCPU / 4GB) $49.99/mo $68.99/mo First term 28%
Snappy 4000 (4 vCPU / 8GB) $68.99/mo $98.99/mo First term 30%
Snappy 8000 (8 vCPU / 16GB) $97.99/mo $143.99/mo First term 32%

HostGator support

HostGator offers 24/7/365 support. The entry Hatchling plan is chat-only; Baby and higher shared plans add phone support. The new self-managed VPS plans do not include cPanel or 24/7 priority support. We have not contacted support ourselves for this update.

Pros and cons

Pros
✓Free automated WordPress migration on every plan, including the cheapest tier
✓Unmetered bandwidth and a generous 10-100 website allowance even on entry plans
✓Free Cloudflare CDN, malware removal, WAF and DDoS protection on every shared plan
✓Self-managed VPS from $2.24/mo for developers who want root access
Cons
✗Steep intro-to-renewal jump: the Hatchling plan goes from $3.75/mo to $10.99/mo (about 3x) at renewal
✗Cheapest (Hatchling) tier is chat-support only; phone support requires the Baby plan or above
✗No choice of data center: servers are in Provo, UT and Atlanta, GA
✗VPS plans are self-managed: no cPanel and no 24/7 priority support

What is HostGator in 2026?

HostGator has run shared hosting since 2002 and hosts more than 2 million websites. It is part of Newfold Digital, the group behind Bluehost, Web.com and Network Solutions, so much of the cPanel hosting stack is shared across those brands. Shared plans start at $3.75/mo on a 36-month term, and the range also covers WordPress, eCommerce, VPS, reseller and dedicated hosting.

What stands out

Even the entry Hatchling plan includes 10 websites, unmetered bandwidth, a free Cloudflare CDN, malware detection and removal, a web application firewall, a free site migration tool and a staging site. New in 2026, HostGator sells self-managed VPS from $2.24/mo with root access but no cPanel, while its managed cPanel/WHM servers now sit under reseller hosting from $49.99/mo.

What should you watch out for?

Renewals are steep: Hatchling's $3.75/mo intro rate renews at $10.99/mo, close to 3x. Hatchling has chat support only, and you cannot choose between HostGator's Provo and Atlanta data centers. The 30-day money-back guarantee covers shared, WordPress, VPS and dedicated hosting but not reseller plans, monthly-term services or add-ons.

Is HostGator right for you?

Good fit if…

Good fit if you want a low headline price with room to grow: the entry plans allow 10-100 websites and unmetered bandwidth, and the free migration tool makes switching from another host straightforward.

Better to avoid if…

Better to avoid if you plan to keep the plan long-term without renegotiating (the renewal price is roughly 3x the intro rate), or if you need phone support on the cheapest tier, which is chat-only.

Frequently asked questions

Disable auto-renew from the Customer Portal's Renewal Center, or contact HostGator support by phone or chat within the first 30 days to request a cancellation and refund.
Shared, WordPress, VPS and dedicated hosting have a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first package bought on a new account. It does not cover reseller hosting, monthly-term services, domain fees, setup fees or add-ons such as SiteLock, or payments by check or wire. If your plan included a free domain and you cancel within a year, the standard domain fee is deducted.
No. HostGator's own knowledgebase says most servers are in Provo, Utah, or Atlanta, Georgia, and customers cannot pick one. Activating Cloudflare routes cached content through 23 more data centers worldwide.
Both are Newfold Digital brands with similar cPanel-based shared hosting and 36-month intro prices. HostGator Hatchling costs $3.75/mo and renews at $10.99/mo; Bluehost Starter costs $3.99/mo and renews at $9.99/mo. Neither entry plan includes phone support. Bluehost is on WordPress.org's recommended list; HostGator is not.
Steave Platt

About Steave Platt

Tech Contributor

Steve Platt is an independent web hosting analyst with over 12 years of hands-on experience - from running his own VPS and dedicated servers, through client migrations, to testing dozens of hosting providers under real traffic conditions.

His career started as a system administrator at a small agency, where he saw firsthand the gap between marketing spec sheets and actual performance under load. That experience shaped his "test before you recommend" approach - every provider he reviews goes through his own uptime, load-speed, and support-quality checks before getting a rating.

Steve writes for TrustHost with a focus on the practical side of choosing a host - what actually matters for small businesses and developers, not what reads well on a landing page. Outside of editorial work, he handles server configuration tuning and DNS/domain troubleshooting.