Over the past few years, Bluehost and HostGator have been leading services in the hosting industry. However, recently many problems have occurred with both of them.
Customers are complaining about performance, and there are also a few security incidents that make you question the ownership and reliability of these companies.
This brings us to the question: Are Bluehost and HostGator the same company? Is it time to start looking for better alternatives?
This article will cover everything you need to know about Bluehost and HostGator, including which is better. You will also find the best alternative for these providers. Continue reading to learn more.
Are Bluehost and HostGator the same company?
Bluehost and HostGator are two different brands owned by the same company. The parent company was called EIG (Endurance International Group) and was previously named BizLand. EIG has now merged with Web.com forming a new company, Newfold Digital.
So, Newfold Digital now manages Bluehost and HostGator.
This doesn’t just apply to Bluehost and HostGator. Newfold Digital also owns various other hosting companies. The image above shows some famous names in the hosting industry working under Newfold Digital.
One might wonder, as the same company owns the brands, will the service level be the same? To answer that question, we need to look at both companies more closely.
Who owns Bluehost hosting?
Bluehost started in 2003 in Utah, USA, and its headquarters are currently in the same place. In 2010, EIG acquired it for an undisclosed amount.
Matt Heaton started Bluehost and left the CEO position soon after the acquisition. There have been many changes in CEOs since then. For the past many years, the company has been one of the most lucrative web hosting services of the Newfold Digital group.
Who owns HostGator?
HostGator was founded in October 2002. The original headquarters were in Florida, USA. However, the founder, Brent Oxley, moved it to Texas, USA, in 2006.
Later in 2012, EIG acquired it for $225 million. Since then, it has been part of the EIG, now known as Newfold Digital.
What’s the difference between Bluehost and HostGator?
With the above information, you might be curious about the differences between these hosts and which is better. Right?
Here is a quick chart that shows both companies’ trending popularity.
Now, let’s come to the differences.
- Features: Both hosting services offer similar features, so it’s a tie.
- Security: Bluehost provides free security, whereas HostGator charges extra in most hosting packages.
- Beginner-friendliness: HostGator has an easy control panel as compared to Bluehost.
- Website migration: HostGator provides free migration from all cPanels, whereas Bluehost charges $149.99.
- Uptime: Both have a similar uptime of around 98% (as long as there are no technical issues).
- WordPress: You get WordPress features in both of them. However, Bluehost is WordPress’s recommended hosting service.
So, both of these hosting companies are evenly matched. HostGator is suitable for beginners and provides free migration, whereas Bluehost offers better security. Therefore, it becomes hard to select a winner
What do customers say about these companies?
Customers often face issues with technical configuration, problems with money being deducted from their accounts, etc. This makes us question the security of these hosting services.
So, let’s understand some of the most significant security incidents with these hosts.
- In 2005, the Syrian Electronic Army hacked HostGator and Bluehost (among other EIG sites), claiming they were hosting terrorist websites.
- In 2006, HostGator faced a trojan attack.
- In 2012, UGNazi leaked over 500k customer credit cards from HostGator as service was compromised with a social engineering attack.
- In 2013, EIG faced server outage issues causing problems with many sites, including those supported by HostGator and Bluehost.
- In 2019, Paulos Yibelo (a well-known researcher) posted vulnerabilities (CORS Misconfigurations issues, XSS, JSON validation vulnerability, etc.) on both these giants and other sites under the EIG group.
HostGator and Bluehost are facing criticism for the drop in their service quality. Here are some of their customer reviews.
HostGator customer reviews
In recent years, HostGator has faced much backlash for aggressively selling. People have also been complaining about unexplained charges being issued to their accounts.
Considering all their previously mentioned technical issues, their performance has not been up to the mark.
When we talk about customer support, the routine queries are typically solved. However, you won’t get a proper response from HostGator for medium to significant issues.
Bluehost customer reviews
The customer reviews for Bluehost are pretty similar. That’s why the question arises: Are Bluehost and HostGator the same company?
Usually, the performance is good, but there have been some cases where issues are not solved at all.
Customer care at Bluehost is similar to HostGator, where they solve most small issues but rarely get back to solving important queries. They also have complaints of unexplained charges being issued to customers’ accounts.
Best Alternative for HostGator and Bluehost
With their recent lousy customer reviews and aggressive selling, it’s best to use another reliable alternative.
We recommend A2 Hosting as the best alternative to Bluehost and HostGator. Their shared hosting has affordable rates and comes with super-fast servers. Plus, their support is incredible.
Their price increases upon renewal, but the service is worth every penny.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Is HostGator better than Bluehost?
Yes, HostGator is slightly better than Bluehost as it’s more beginner-friendly and costs a bit less.
Which is cheaper, Bluehost or HostGator?
HostGator is a lot cheaper, even if we consider the renewal price. Bluehost’s most affordable shared hosting plan for 36 months starts at $4.95/mo, with a renewal price of $9.99/mo.
HostGator charges a starting price of $2.75/mo for the same duration, with a renewal price of $7.99/mo.
Is HostGator and GoDaddy the same?
No, HostGator and GoDaddy are different companies, and HostGator is a part of Newfold Digital. GoDaddy is a publicly-listed company.
Conclusion
3 main groups rule the web hosting industry:
- NameCheap & GoDaddy
- Google, Microsoft, & Amazon
- Endurance International Group (EIG), or now, Newfold Digital.
The last group has gained a bad reputation as customers have complained about their services. Most of these are due to unusual charges, lacking performance, and faulty customer support.
We think their most significant issues—technical problems and poor performance—are because they stack so many customers on a single server.
It’s becoming smarter to shift to better alternatives such as A2 Hosting.
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