HostGator vs Bluehost: Same Owner, So What’s Actually Different?

Bluehost is the better pick for most new sites: its 50-site Business plan renews at $13.99 a month on a 3-year term, against $21.99 at HostGator.

HostGator fits people who want phone support on its 20-site Baby plan or email accounts included from day one.

Both brands belong to Newfold Digital but price and run their plans separately.

This comparison uses each company’s official pricing, help, and news pages, checked on September 25, 2026.

HostGator vs Bluehost at a glance

Are HostGator and Bluehost the same company?

HostGator and Bluehost share one owner, Newfold Digital, but run as separate brands with separate plans, prices, and support.

Newfold lists both on its brands page. A perk on one brand isn’t automatically on the other.

HostGator and Bluehost plans side by side

HostGator and Bluehost both sell shared hosting with a 10-site entry plan and a 50-site plan called Business, and both use cPanel.

Specs come from HostGator’s pricing page and Bluehost’s pricing page. Bluehost’s cPanel help page explains cPanel access through its portal.

HostGator also sells a Baby plan in between, with 20 websites, 20 GB of storage, and phone support.

Bluehost Starter adds a staging site and malware scanning, which HostGator’s pricing page doesn’t list.

HostGator vs Bluehost renewal prices

On a 3-year renewal, HostGator Business costs $21.99 a month and Bluehost Business $13.99, so HostGator’s 50-site plan costs $96 more each year.

Both hosts renew at a regular price once the first-term discount ends. At the entry level, the gap is small. On the 50-site plan, it’s large.

Prices confirmed on September 25, 2026.

Prices change often, so check HostGator’s current prices and Bluehost’s current prices before you buy.

These come from HostGator’s price chart and Bluehost’s renewal price list, updated February 11, 2026.

Bluehost’s first-term prices are $3.99 for Starter and $6.99 for Business on 36-month terms.

HostGator shows only a percentage discount on 36-month terms, so check its checkout for the current first-term price.

Storage type: HostGator SSD vs Bluehost NVMe

Bluehost’s shared plans use NVMe storage, while HostGator’s use standard SSD storage, with the same 10 GB and 50 GB allowances.

NVMe is a newer type of drive that reads and writes data faster. For a small site, you may not notice.

For a WordPress site with many plugins, or a busy store, faster storage helps pages load. The NVMe vs SSD gap matters more as a site grows.

Data centers: HostGator’s US servers vs Bluehost’s new locations

HostGator keeps most servers in two US states with no choice of location, while Bluehost announced seven new regions outside the US in October 2025.

HostGator says most of its servers sit in Provo, Utah, and Atlanta, Georgia, and you can’t choose, according to its data center page.

That’s fine for a US audience, but slower for visitors far away.

Bluehost added data centers in Frankfurt, Mumbai, São Paulo, Paris, Sydney, London, and Madrid. The announcement doesn’t say whether customers can pick one.

In November 2025, Newfold also announced that Bluehost is moving all customers to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with completion expected in 2026.

Backups and uptime: HostGator vs Bluehost

Bluehost lists a weekly backup and a 99.99% uptime commitment, while HostGator offers courtesy backups and states no uptime guarantee on its pricing page.

HostGator’s backup article keeps one week of copies for accounts under 20 GB. It charges a one-time fee to restore them.

The Hostinger vs HostGator comparison covers HostGator’s backup terms in full.

If Bluehost misses 99.99% uptime, you can claim a single 5% monthly credit within 30 days. That credit is small, but HostGator’s pricing page offers no equivalent.

Neither host’s backups replace your own. With either host, keep a copy of your site somewhere else.

Phone support and email: HostGator vs Bluehost

HostGator adds phone support from its 20-site Baby plan and includes email accounts, while Bluehost’s phone line starts at the 50-site Business plan.

Bluehost’s phone line runs from 7 a.m. to midnight Eastern. If you need phone help with around 20 sites, HostGator Baby is the cheaper route.

Bluehost’s Pro Email is a one-month trial that then renews at $2.99 a month. The GoDaddy vs Bluehost comparison shows what that adds up to over three years.

Refunds and fees if you leave HostGator or Bluehost

HostGator and Bluehost both refund hosting within 30 days, and both keep money back for a free domain: HostGator lists a $15.00 non-refundable domain fee.

HostGator also lists a $17.99 fee if you cancel a plan with a free domain in the first year. Its money-back guarantee covers hosting fees only.

Bluehost’s refund policy covers new sign-ups on 12- or 36-month terms, not monthly terms. It also deducts a domain fee if your plan included a free domain.

Winner: tie. Both keep a domain fee, and both have conditions to read before you buy.

HostGator vs Bluehost winners by category

Bluehost wins on renewal price, storage, data centers, backups, and uptime terms, while HostGator wins on mid-tier phone support and included email.

Our pick: Bluehost for most new sites. HostGator is the better fit if phone support and included email matter more to you than renewal price and storage speed.

If you’re torn between HostGator and Bluehost

Bluehost fits long-term multi-site owners and non-US audiences, while HostGator fits people who want phone help and email on a mid-tier plan.

You want the lowest long-term price for several sites: Bluehost. Its 50-site plan renews for $96 a year less than HostGator’s.

You want to call someone about your site: HostGator Baby, which includes phone support at a lower tier than Bluehost.

You need email at your domain without extra bills: HostGator, since email accounts come with the plan.

Your visitors are in Europe, India, Brazil, or Australia: Bluehost, given its newer data centers there. Confirm which one your account will use.

You’d like to compare beyond these two sister brands: our roundup of the best shared hosting includes hosts with different owners and approaches.

The HostGator review and the Bluehost review cover each company in more depth.

Ready to check prices? Visit HostGator or visit Bluehost to see today’s plans before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

How we compared HostGator and Bluehost

This comparison uses official sources only. For HostGator: its pricing page, price chart, data center page, and backup article.

For Bluehost: the pricing page, renewal price list, refund policy, and cPanel help page.

Ownership and infrastructure details come from Newfold Digital’s brands page and two 2025 news releases. All details were checked on September 25, 2026.

Our Methodology and Editorial Guidelines explain how we research hosts and correct errors.