DreamHost vs HostGator: Which is the Better Web Host in 2023?

If you arrived here while searching for a detailed comparison of DreamHost vs HostGator, then you have reached the right destination.

There are thousands of hosting providers available in the market, but it does not mean that all are good or all are bad. The hardest task is to find one perfect among those thousands.

We have a research team, who researches and tests different hosting services from time to time.

And we also have multiple websites, one hosted on HostGator and one hosted on DreamHost.

So you will get to see a fair comparison between these two in this article.

Let us tell you that there is no significant difference between the features and prices of HostGator and DreamHost, but we have to find out which of these two is worth your money.

In this article, we will discuss each and every aspect of DreamHost vs HostGator like their features, performance, customer support, pros, and cons, hosting plans, prices, and more.

So let's start the HostGator vs DreamHost detailed comparison.

HostGator vs DreamHost: The Detailed Comparison

DreamHost vs HostGator: Which is the Better Web Host?
DreamHost vs HostGator: Which is the Better Web Host?

DreamHost vs HostGator: Features Comparison

So let's start comparing DreamHost and HostGator with the features of both and find out which one is stronger in terms of features.

Features of HostGator

  • 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Site Transfer
  • Free Domain Transfer
  • Free Domain Name Registration
  • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • 24/7 Customer Support
  • cPanel Access
  • 1-Click WordPress Installation
  • Free Website Builder
  • 10 GB to Unlimited Disk Space
  • $500 Google Ads Credit
  • $100 Microsoft Ads Credit
  • Free Unlimited Email Accounts
  • Free MySQL Transfer
  • Free Script Transfer
  • Unlimited Subdomains
  • Unlimited FTP Accounts
  • And more


Features of DreamHost

  • Free Website Migration
  • 97-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • 100% Uptime Guarantee
  • Affordable Monthly Hosting Plans
  • Free Domain Registration
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Automated Daily Backups
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • 50 GB to Unlimited Site Storage
  • Easy-to-Use Custom Control Panel
  • Unlimited Traffic
  • Free WP Website Builder
  • Pre-Installed WordPress
  • Fast SSD Storage
  • 24/7 Support
  • Unlimited MySQL Databases
  • Unlimited FTP
  • Free Automated WordPress Migration
  • And more


So as you can see the features of both are exactly the same. So there is a tie between the two in terms of features.

However, if you want to take advantage of the facility of automated backup for free, then definitely go with DreamHost.

DreamHost vs HostGator: Security Features Comparison

If you want to keep your website safe from any untoward incident, then choose a hosting provider that offers strong security features.

So let's find out which one offers more robust security features between HostGator and DreamHost.

HostGator's Security Features

  • SiteLock Essentials - It protects your website from malware and malicious attacks. (Addon feature - $2.99/mo)
  • Backup - Powered by CodeGuard (Addon feature - $2.00/mo)
  • SSL Certificate (free)
  • Password Protected Directories (free)
  • Hotlink Protection (free)
  • IP Deny Manager (Free)
  • Prevent Spam with SpamAssassin (free)
  • 24/7 Hosting Server Monitoring (free)
  • SSH Access (free)


DreamHost's Security Features

  • SSL certificate (free)
  • Automated Daily Backup (free)
  • Privacy Protection (free)
  • SSH Access (free)
  • Domain Privacy (free)
  • Multifactor Authentication (free)
  • Web Application Firewall (free)
  • Automated Security Updates (free)
  • Staging Environment (free with Managed Hosting)


So there is also a tie between HostGator and DreamHost in terms of security features, as both offer similar security features.

But again DreamHost provides a backup facility absolutely free, but HostGator charges separately for it.

DreamHost vs HostGator: Customer Support Comparison

Whether the hosting provider is good or bad, their customer support has to be the best. Because as long as you use their services, you may need their customer support anytime.

We divide customer support into three different categories, which are as follows:
  1. Immediate Response
  2. Satisfactory Response
  3. Immediate + Satisfactory Response

As a user, we choose a hosting provider that provides an "immediate and satisfactory response" every time.

So let's find out who has the best customer support between HostGator and DreamHost.

HostGator's Customer Support Service

HostGator offers several different mediums to connect users with their expert team, which are as follows:
  • Live Chat
  • Phone Support
  • Email Support

HostGator's live chat support is available 24/7 and you can get in touch with the engineers at any time via live chat.

However, sometimes you may have to wait a long time to get a response. We often have to wait for around 30 minutes to receive a response from HostGator's engineers via live chat.

If you're lucky, you might get a response within 10 minutes. We are definitely satisfied with HostGator's customer support but not completely impressed.

Because most of the time they send you links to various knowledge-base articles instead of answering you properly.

Talking about phone support, it is not available 24/7. HostGator has fixed the timing for the phone support feature.

If you wish to get in touch with the expert team via phone support, then it is available every day from 11 am to 9 pm ET.

HostGator also provides a knowledge base and video tutorials where you can get information about everything related to their services.


DreamHost's Customer Support Service

Similar to HostGator, DreamHost also offers several different mediums to connect users with their expert team, which are as follows:
  • Live Chat
  • Phone Support
  • Discussion Forum
  • Ticket Support

We like DreamHost's live chat support, where you get a much faster response than HostGator.

Although you can't expect an immediate response every time, but you don't need to wait long to get a response.

Previously DreamHost did not offer 24/7 live chat, it was only available daily from 5:30 am to 9:30 pm Pacific Time.

But now DreamHost is always available 24/7 even on live chat to solve the problems of its customers.

One thing I would like to mention here is that DreamHost offers US-based customer support. You will always get satisfactory answers whenever you get in touch with experts through live chat.

If you have any questions or problems related to their services, they explain everything very nicely and in detail to you.

Apart from this, DreamHost offers a 24/7 ticket support facility in case you face any technical issues.

DreamHost also offers phone support. But you have to pay upfront to avail of this service. This is a callback request service.

They also offer a vast knowledge base, where you can find tons of articles.


So basically DreamHost customer support service is much better than HostGator.

We categorize this as an "immediate + satisfactory response". So the winner is DreamHost.

DreamHost vs HostGator: Customer Rating

So now let's find out what real users of DreamHost and HostGator think about them. That is, what is the rating given by the real customers to these two, let us know.

HostGator Customer Rating

HostGator Customer Rating

As you can see in the screenshot, HostGator is rated 4.2 out of 5 stars by real users on Trustpilot.

Furthermore, 50% of users have rated HostGator's services as excellent, while 34% of users have rated its services as poor.


DreamHost Customer Rating

DreamHost Customer Rating

As you can see in the screenshot, DreamHost is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars by real users on Trustpilot.

Furthermore, 85% of users have rated HostGator's services as excellent, while only 05% of users have rated its services as poor.


So here DreamHost is the clear winner.

HostGator vs DreamHost: Performance Comparison

When it comes to website performance, we should only focus on two major things – uptime and response time.

If your main source of income comes from your website, you should consider uptime.

If your hosting provider provides better or higher uptime then your website will be available online for a longer period for your visitors and customers.

Plus, if your hosting provider offers fast response times, your website will rank quickly. Because Google ranks faster loading websites quickly.

So let's find out which one is better in terms of performance between HostGator and DreamHost.

Note: We have used the HRank tool to check the performance of both of them.

HostGator's Uptime and Response Time Result

HostGator's Uptime and Average Response Time Result
The uptime of HostGator is at 99.909% over the past 30 days, which is pretty close to their claimed uptime guarantee.

Whereas the loading speed i.e. response time is 1187 milliseconds (1.137 seconds), which is completely normal.

HostGator offers an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. HostGator offers you a one month of hosting credit if you encounter physical downtime that is less than the 99.9% uptime guarantee.

You will need to contact HostGator's customer support to get the credit. If the downtime is due to server maintenance, no credit will be given for the same.


DreamHost's Uptime and Response Time Result

DreamHost's Uptime and Average Response Time Result
So as you can see in the screenshot, the DreamHost's uptime is at 99.985% in the last 30 days and the response time is 546 milliseconds (0.546 seconds).

DreamHost's response time and uptime are quite impressive as compared to HostGator.

We've been using DreamHost's services for quite some time, and we've never been disappointed.

Similar to HostGator, DreamHost also compensates its customers when there is downtime.

DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee. DreamHost offers hosting credits to its customers in case of downtime. But you need to contact customer service to avail of this.


So the winner is DreamHost as it offers a 100% Uptime Guarantee.

HostGator vs DreamHost: Pricing and Plans Comparison

HostGator and DreamHost offer many different hosting services such as shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, etc.

But here we will discuss the shared hosting plan and pricing of both as it is economical and beginner-friendly.

HostGator's Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing

HostGator offers its users 3 different tiers in its shared hosting plans, which are as follows:
HostGator Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing
1) Hatchling Plan: This is HostGator's introductory plan, which is also the cheapest. If you go with this plan then you are allowed to host only one website here.

Hatchling plan prices start at $2.75 per month. Here you are offered a free domain, free SSL, unmetered bandwidth and 10 GB storage, etc.

2) Baby Plan: Most of the users opt for the Baby plan on HostGator because here you can host up to 5 websites.

Baby plan prices start at $3.50 per monthHere you are offered a free domain, free SSL, unmetered bandwidth and 40 GB storage, free marketing credits worth $600, etc.

3) Business Plan: If you are a seasoned website user, you should go with HostGator's Business Shared Hosting plan, as many premium features are offered absolutely free of cost.

Business plan prices start at $5.25 per monthHere you are offered a free domain, free SSL, unmetered bandwidth, unlimited storage, unlimited websites installations, free dedicated IP, free SEO Tools, free upgrade to Positive SSL, marketing credits, etc.

What other hosting service is offered by HostGator?
  • WordPress Hosting (starts at $5.95/mo)
  • Cloud Hosting (starts at $4.95/mo)
  • Windows Hosting (starts at $4.76/mo)
  • VPS Hosting (starts at $23.95/mo)
  • Reseller Hosting (starts at $19.95/mo)
  • Dedicated Hosting (starts at $89.98/mo)


DreamHost Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing

DreamHost offers its users 2 different tiers in its shared hosting plans, which are as follows:
DreamHost Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing

1) Shared Starter Plan: This is DreamHost's introductory hosting plan, starting at $2.59 per month.

With the Shared Starter Plan, you'll get (Features)
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Install 1 Website
  • WordPress Pre-Installed
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • 50 GB SSD Storage
  • Unlimited Traffic
  • Website Builder
  • Free WordPress Migration
  • And more

2) Shared Unlimited Plan: Most of the users who come to DreamHost opt for the shared unlimited plan, as here they are provided with unlimited features at affordable prices.

The Shared Unlimited plan starts at $2.95 per month, offering you the following features:
  • Free Domain (1 year)
  • Install Unlimited Websites
  • Unlimited SSD Storage
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Unlimited Traffic
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Unlimited Custom Emails
  • WordPress Pre-Installed
  • Website Builder
  • WordPress Migration
  • Unlimited Subdomains
  • Unlimited MySQL Databases
  • And more

What other hosting service is offered by DreamHost?
  • WordPress Hosting (starts at $2.59/mo)
  • VPS Hosting (starts at $10.00/mo)
  • Cloud Hosting (starts at $4.50/mo)
  • Managed WordPress Hosting (starts at $16.95/mo)
  • Dedicated Server Hosting (starts at $149/mo)


So as you can see all the hosting plans of DreamHost are much more affordable than HostGator. So DreamHost is the winner in terms of prices.

HostGator vs DreamHost: Pros and Cons

Any product-related article is incomplete without pros and cons. Advantages and disadvantages are one aspect that shows a solid reason to choose any product.

So let us discuss the benefits and drawbacks of HostGator and DreamHost below:

Pros of HostGator (Bad)

  • HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all hosting services and website builders except dedicated hosting.
  • Here you are offered a $500 Google ads credit and a $100 Microsoft ads credit for absolutely free to promote your blog and website.
  • If you are not satisfied with your existing hosting, then you can switch your website to HostGator, as the website transfer and domain transfer facility is provided absolutely free of cost here.
  • Here you get unlimited resources with hosting plans like unlimited websites, subdomains, FTP accounts, emails, databases, addons/parked domains, unmetered bandwidth, storage, etc.
  • HostGator provides an SSL Certificate absolutely free with all plans to secure the connection between your server and the visitor's browser.
  • HostGator has hosted more than 2 million websites worldwide to date and is owned by EIG Group (Endurance International Group).
  • Here you are offered a completely free website builder with all hosting plans, using which you can create a mobile responsive website in a very short time.
  • All HostGator hosting plans are offered at affordable prices
  • Here you are offered 24/7 customer support.
  • HostGator offers free domain name registration for 1 year with all plans
  • HostGator offers an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. If you face downtime that drops below 99.9%, you can seek compensation.

Cons of HostGator (Bad)

  • Here the backup facility is not provided for free. Backup is one of the most important features, you have to pay extra if you want to use it.
  • HostGator customer support is not much impressive as here you will have to wait longer to get a response from the expert team via live chat.


Pros of DreamHost (Good)

  • DreamHost also offers month to month payment option with their hosting plans, which is very affordable compared to other hosting providers
  • DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee on shared hosting and WordPress hosting, which is the longest money-back period in the entire hosting market.
  • Here a free domain name is also given with all hosting plans. Note that the free domain is not provided if you choose the month-to-month payment option
  • DreamHost is an independent employee-owned company that has hosted 1.5 million websites worldwide to date and has over 400,000 customers in over 100 countries.
  • WordPress, the world's largest CMS platform, recommends DreamHost on its own official website "WordPress.org".
  • Here you are offered pre-installed WordPress with all hosting plans. You can build your website directly on WordPress with DreamHost
  • DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee. If you face downtown, the company offers you hosting credits.
  • US-based customer support is offered here, which is much satisfactory and impressive.
  • DreamHost offers unlimited resources like unlimited websites, traffic, subdomains, FTP accounts, emails, MySQL databases, unmetered bandwidth, storage, etc. with a Shared Unlimited plan.
  • Here you also get free SSL, automatic daily backups, website builder, website migration, and fast SSD storage

Cons of DreamHost (Bad)

  • DreamHost offers 97 days money back guarantee only to users who pay by credit card


Final Verdict on DreamHost vs HostGator

So as you have seen in this article, both HostGator and DreamHost are giving very tough competition to each other.

But most users consider DreamHost to be much better than HostGator.

Because DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee, free automatic backups, a 100% uptime guarantee, and excellent US-based customer service.

Apart from this, you have also seen in this article that there is not much difference in the prices and features of HostGator and DreamHost hosting. Both offer useful features at affordable prices.

But if you are a beginner and want to launch your first website or blog, then you should go with HostGator, as HostGator provides cPanel, which is very easy to use for beginners.

DreamHost offers its own custom control panel, which is a bit hard for beginners to use.

So what do you think about HostGator vs DreamHost, do let us know by commenting in the comment box below

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