Anyone who wants to make money online — whether it’s a full time income or just some extra cash — needs a hosting provider to host their websites. There are a ton of hosting services out there, and they vary greatly in terms of quality, reliability, features, functionality and price. Two of the most popular hosting companies (especially amongst the internet marketing community) are Bluehost and Hostgator.
Both companies are well established and, therefore, extremely reliable when it comes to keeping your site up and running with very little (or no) downtime. Also, both providers offer a fully functioning cPanel with all of the bells and whistles, such as Fantastico, SimpleScripts, SEO tools, file managers, FTP, email…you get the point. Finally, both of these hosting services come with 30 day money back guarantees.
As you can see, there are many similarities between Bluehost and Hostgator. Of course, there are some important differences that you should be aware of before making a decision about which hosting service you will use. For example, Bluehost doesn’t offer an uptime guarantee (which means they won’t compensate you if you experience downtime above a certain threshold, like 99.9%). Hostgator, on the other hand, will give you one free month of hosting if your uptime goes below 99.9%, which is a pretty awesome guarantee.
Another important difference between Hostgator and Bluehost is their pricing plans. Bluehost requires a 12 month commitment, while hosting on Hostgator can be paid for on a monthly basis. Their pricing is tiered depending on how long you stay with them. Here’s a look at how much you will end up paying after certain amounts of time with each company (thanks to Clickfire.com for this table):
| How Long | HostGator | BlueHost |
| 1 Month | $8.95 | N/A |
| 6 Months | $53.70 | N/A |
| 12 Months | $83.40 | $83.40 |
| 24 Months | $142.80 | $166.80 |
| 36 Months | $178.20 | $250.20 |
So, as you can see, the price for one year of hosting is exactly the same with each provider, but you would save a few bucks in the long run if you go with Hostgator. For those of you who pay for Adwords, you should know that Bluehost gives complimentary $75 gift certificates for Adwords to everyone who signs up for the first time.
One final different between Hostgator and Bluehost is the fact that only Hostgator offers dedicated hosting and reseller accounts. This means that if you need dedicated servers, you have to go with Hostgator. Also, if you require a reseller account (for those of us who provide hosting for our clients, such as offline marketers who sell websites to local business) you should choose Hostgator over Bluehost.
Both companies have exceptional customer service via email and telephone. You really can’t go wrong with either Bluehost or Hostgator, so choose whichever company has the right pricing plan and extra features for you and your business model.
Click here to learn more about Bluehost plans and pricing options | Click here to learn more about Hostgator plans and pricing options
Do you use another company besides Bluehost or Hostgator? Tell us why you chose them in the comments section below!
Hi Brock!!!
Nice site!!!!!
I have one Bluehost account and two Hostgator accounts. Here are my observations, which is not scientific.
- The Hostgator reseller account is nice if you’re going to sell sites.
- This is something I cannot prove, but from my site speeds, my Bluehost sites are slower than my Hostgator sites.
Tim
I’ve heard that from other web masters too but have never actually tested the difference in speed between Hostgator and Bluehost. Thanks for your input!