SiteGround vs HostGator - Which One Is Better And Why?

This comparison between HostGator and SiteGround is written for readers who are standing at a nonplus to pick a preferable one for shared hosting services. It is conducted on the basis of many aspects including features, price, uptime, speed and customer service.

In the following description, we have explored the detailed information of the services offered by these two companies and get their veil lifted. After in-depth review and comparing, SiteGround is a good provider but still turns to be mediocre when compared with HostGator. In below, we are to further explain the reasons and reveal their secret.

Overall Ratings

Based on our real hosting experience, combining with hundreds of reviews from validated customers of both HostGator and SiteGround, we have produced the following editorial ratings chart which shows some general information.

Price

For shared web hosting, HostGator comes with 3 upgradable packages known as Hatchling, Baby and Business which start at $4.95/mo. With a 25% discount offered by this company, all readers using the coupon code BWH25Percent can get the price low to $3.71/mo, saving $44.64 altogether. In contrast, SiteGround offers 3 shared web hosting plans named as StartUp, GrowBig and GoGeek. Respectively, their prices are starting at $3.95/mo, $7.95/mo and $14.95/mo.

Please check the table in below for more information.

Features

All HostGator packages include basic features such as unlimited storage, email accounts, disk space, monthly data transfer, add-on domains, parked domains, subdomains and so forth. By comparison, SiteGround is limited in many resources. Specifically, the StartUp package which is suitable for 10,000 visits monthly allows 1 website and comes with 10 GB web space.

With respect to control panel, both of these two companies adopt the most popular cPanel which is recognized as the best far and wide. Using cPanel ensures people to get free from tedious and time-consuming management of websites. For detailed information on more features, please refer to the following table.

Performance

HostGator rents state-of-the-art data centers from The Planet. By using Dell servers and highly advanced facilities, this company promises 99.9% uptime. As for SiteGround, it strategically situates 3 data centers in Chicago, Amsterdam and Singapore, which are all well equipped with high performance power redundancy and network redundancy.

To get an evidence-based judgment on their performance, we have personally hosted 2 websites including at least 280 pieces of articles and 300 images on their servers for more than 3 months. As a result, we get objective statistics as followings.

• HostGator: delivers 99.99% uptime averagely.
• SiteGround: delivers 99.93% uptime on average.

In addition, we also launched a real time monitoring. Consequently, we have made the following chart which shows that HostGator takes 338ms in server response time. Frankly speaking, this speed is notably faster than that of SiteGround which is 689ms.

Technical Support

Backed by hundreds of proficient and practiced technicians, both HostGator and SiteGround offer 24/7 technical support which can be sought via various sources including phone, live chat and email. The help is so reachable and prompt at any time that their customers can always get the technical issues settled easily and efficiently.

We also have personally tried their technical support, the staffs of these two companies are so professional and friendly that we have enjoyed responsive and helpful assistance to get over technical difficulties.

Conclusion – HostGator Recommended

From the comprehensive elaboration above, although SiteGround is a good web hosting provider, it still pales in comparison with HostGator. SiteGround can meet common requirements of webmasters. Nevertheless, considering the budget-friendly price, rich features, awesome uptime and fast loading speed of HostGator, we impersonally regard it as a better option for shared web hosting service.