HostGator Review: How’s Their Speed & Uptime? [With Data]

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HostGator is known for their unlimited web hosting and 24/7 tech support. They were founded in 2002 and now host over 9 million websites. Their data centers are located in Provo, Utah.

I have purchased a hosting plan on HostGator and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.

Here is the plan information I chose:

Plan NameHatchling
Cost$8.95/month
Disk SpaceUnlimited
BandwidthUnlimited
Uptime Guarantee99.9%
Money Back Guarantee45 days
NotesSite was ready within minutes after I purchased.

On this page: Uptime | Speed | Support | Alternatives

Uptime Test

I use Pingdom to report website uptime. Pingdom is configured to make an HTTP request to the host every minute, and report if it is unreachable. It'll also report an error if the host takes longer than 30 seconds to respond (Yes, that's not actually down, but if your site takes that long to respond it is unusable in my opinion). Pingdom performs this test from at least 3 servers worldwide, and reports a problem if 2/3 servers do no respond. This test is important if you are concerned about the reliability of your web host (this is important!)    

HostGator Uptime Test Results

HostGator performs incredibly in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 99.97 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 97.000 %. HostGator most recent result on Oct 16 was 100.000 %. Back in 2013 HostGator had several outages that lasted days. While I wasn't recording detailed stats at the time, I can vouch that it was a miserable experience. Many blame the lack of reliability on their new data center, which they made everyone move to after they were bought out by EIG. To be honest, HostGator's downhill performance was the reason I created this site (I was too annoyed by them to let them get away with it).

Let’s see if HostGator is consistent in its uptime stats:

Recent Raw Results for HostGator

Date Uptime Downtime Outages Avg Response Time
2019-09-22 100.000% 0 mins 0 758 ms
2019-09-21 100.000% 0 mins 0 774 ms
2019-09-20 100.000% 0 mins 0 843 ms
2019-09-19 100.000% 0 mins 0 864 ms
2019-09-18 100.000% 0 mins 0 827 ms
2019-09-17 100.000% 0 mins 0 801 ms
2019-09-16 100.000% 0 mins 0 741 ms
2019-09-15 100.000% 0 mins 0 743 ms
2019-09-14 100.000% 0 mins 0 760 ms
2019-09-13 100.000% 0 mins 0 817 ms
2019-09-12 100.000% 0 mins 0 773 ms
2019-09-11 100.000% 0 mins 0 852 ms
2019-09-10 100.000% 0 mins 0 996 ms
2019-09-09 100.000% 0 mins 0 972 ms
2019-09-08 100.000% 0 mins 0 886 ms
2019-09-07 100.000% 0 mins 0 878 ms
2019-09-06 100.000% 0 mins 0 920 ms
2019-09-05 100.000% 0 mins 0 904 ms
2019-09-04 100.000% 0 mins 0 905 ms
2019-09-03 100.000% 0 mins 0 758 ms
2019-09-02 100.000% 0 mins 0 720 ms
2019-09-01 100.000% 0 mins 0 852 ms
2019-08-31 100.000% 0 mins 0 856 ms
2019-08-30 100.000% 0 mins 0 902 ms
2019-08-29 100.000% 0 mins 0 1098 ms
2019-08-28 100.000% 0 mins 0 1447 ms
2019-08-27 99.000% 2 mins 1 3607 ms
2019-08-26 100.000% 0 mins 0 1826 ms
2019-08-25 100.000% 0 mins 0 1402 ms
2019-08-24 100.000% 0 mins 0 1109 ms
2019-08-23 100.000% 0 mins 0 1032 ms
2019-08-22 100.000% 0 mins 0 958 ms
2019-08-21 100.000% 0 mins 0 832 ms
2019-08-20 100.000% 0 mins 0 856 ms
2019-08-19 100.000% 0 mins 0 1050 ms
2019-08-18 0.000% 0 mins 0 0 ms
2019-08-17 100.000% 0 mins 0 786 ms
2019-08-16 100.000% 0 mins 0 765 ms
2019-08-15 100.000% 0 mins 0 815 ms
2019-08-14 100.000% 0 mins 0 865 ms
2019-08-13 100.000% 0 mins 0 933 ms
2019-08-12 100.000% 0 mins 0 765 ms
2019-08-11 100.000% 0 mins 0 1017 ms
2019-08-10 100.000% 0 mins 0 809 ms
2019-08-09 100.000% 0 mins 0 791 ms
2019-08-08 100.000% 0 mins 0 827 ms
2019-08-07 100.000% 0 mins 0 767 ms
2019-08-06 100.000% 0 mins 0 834 ms
2019-08-05 100.000% 0 mins 0 727 ms
2019-08-04 100.000% 0 mins 0 745 ms
2019-08-03 100.000% 0 mins 0 787 ms
2019-08-02 100.000% 0 mins 0 1031 ms
2019-08-01 100.000% 0 mins 0 985 ms
2019-07-31 100.000% 0 mins 0 1010 ms
2019-07-30 100.000% 0 mins 0 934 ms
2019-07-29 100.000% 0 mins 0 978 ms
2019-07-28 100.000% 0 mins 0 961 ms
2019-07-27 100.000% 0 mins 0 777 ms
2019-07-26 100.000% 0 mins 0 798 ms
2019-07-25 100.000% 0 mins 0 856 ms

Page Speed Test

This test is performed by submitting a typical web page served on the host to WebPageTest and recording how long it takes to load. This test web page is 56 KB of HTML, 287 KB of JavaScript, 51 KB of CSS, and 1,128 KB of images (these are typical according to the HTTP Archive). WebPageTest (a 3rd-party, vendor-neutral organization) uses servers located in Virgina and California to measure the page load waterfall in the latest version of Chrome, on a very fast internet connection. The test is ran 5 times each, and the middle (median) result is what is counted from each location. Then the east coast and west coast times are averaged, which should eliminate any bias due to server location. We're interested in first page load, not the repeat/cached view. If you're really interested, I use the 'Load Time' measurement that's returned from WebPageTest for ranking page speed. I still collect other metrics such as TTFB (time to first byte), fully loaded time, and the speed index, in addition to server setting scores which are translated to grades. You can see these detailed values in the "Raw Results." This test is important if your site resembles a typical website and you're concerned about speed (which you should be!)   In September 2014 I updated this test to be more accurate, and you'll notice page speeds were a bit higher before then. The test used to be run only 3 times from one location using a simulated cable internet connection on Internet Explorer 11. The new method provides much more consistent results.

HostGator Page Speed Test Results

HostGator performs impressively in the Speed Test, with an average result of 2.7 seconds. It's best result was 2.00 s but it has been as bad as 15.02 s. HostGator most recent result on Oct 16 was 2.00 s. Back in the day HostGator used to share a datacenter with SoftLayer - and they were lightning fast. Now that they made everyone transition to their own datacenter (after the EIG buyout), page speed has been worse, although not as bad as some other hosts here.

Let’s see if HostGator is consistent in its page speed stats:

Recent Raw Results for HostGator

Date Location Load time TTFB Fully loaded Speed index Keep-alive Score Compress Score Caching Score
2019-10-15 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-14 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-13 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.6s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-12 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.6s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-11 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-10 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-09 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-10-08 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-10-07 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-06 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-05 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-04 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-03 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-02 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-10-01 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-30 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-29 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-28 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-27 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-26 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-25 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-24 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-23 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 2.9s 1.2s A A F
2019-09-22 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 2.9s 1.2s A A F
2019-09-21 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-20 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-19 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 3.0s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-18 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 3.0s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-17 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-16 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-15 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-14 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-13 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 2.8s 1.2s A A F
2019-09-12 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.7s 2.8s 1.2s A A F
2019-09-11 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-10 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-09 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.6s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-08 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.6s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-07 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.5s 2.8s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-06 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.5s 2.8s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-05 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-04 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-09-03 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-02 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.1s A A F
2019-09-01 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-31 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-30 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-29 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-28 Dulles, VA 12.8 3.1s 13.2s 11.4s A A F
2019-08-27 Dulles, VA 12.8 3.1s 13.2s 11.4s A A F
2019-08-26 Dulles, VA 3.4 0.8s 3.5s 1.8s A A F
2019-08-25 Dulles, VA 3.4 0.8s 3.5s 1.8s A A F
2019-08-24 Dulles, VA 2.9 0.8s 3.0s 1.3s A A F
2019-08-23 Dulles, VA 2.9 0.8s 3.0s 1.3s A A F
2019-08-22 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.6s 2.8s 1.1s A A F
2019-08-21 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-20 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-08-19 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-08-18 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-08-17 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.5s 2.7s 1.0s A A F

Does HostGator Suck?

Some people may think HostGator sucks. Here are some real benchmarks to show you HostGator‘s speed, reliability, and support – so you can see if they really do suck.

Is HostGator slow?

This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better.  Learn more about the Page Speed Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
StableHost2.54 s0.00 s12.29 sTest Results
DreamHost2.66 s0.00 s21.25 sTest Results
HostGator2.70 s2.00 s15.02 sTest Results
GoDaddy2.80 s0.31 s37.97 sTest Results
Bluehost2.90 s0.00 s9.17 sTest Results
InMotion Hosting2.92 s0.00 s14.12 sTest Results
MDDHosting2.93 s2.00 s74.96 sTest Results
Namecheap3.04 s2.00 s72.71 sTest Results
Site53.06 s0.00 s46.29 sTest Results
Yahoo Small Business3.84 s2.00 s60.96 sTest Results

HostGator performs above average in the Speed Test, with an average result of 2.7 seconds. It's best result was 2.00 s but it has been as bad as 15.02 s. HostGator most recent result on Oct 16 was 2.00 s. Back in the day HostGator used to share a datacenter with SoftLayer - and they were lightning fast. Now that they made everyone transition to their own datacenter (after the EIG buyout), page speed has been worse, although not as bad as some other hosts here.

Let’s take a look at some of the times that HostGator had some poor page speed performance:

Date Location Load time TTFB Fully loaded Speed index Keep-alive Score Compress Score Caching Score
2019-08-28 Dulles, VA 12.8 3.1s 13.2s 11.4s A A F
2019-08-27 Dulles, VA 12.8 3.1s 13.2s 11.4s A A F

Is HostGator unreliable?

This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
HostGator99.970 %100.000 %97.000 %Test Results
GoDaddy99.960 %100.000 %94.720 %Test Results
Bluehost99.940 %100.000 %84.930 %Test Results
StableHost99.930 %100.000 %73.000 %Test Results
Namecheap99.930 %100.000 %92.000 %Test Results
MDDHosting99.880 %100.000 %64.580 %Test Results
Yahoo Small Business99.850 %100.000 %82.780 %Test Results
InMotion Hosting98.860 %100.000 %0.000 %Test Results
Site588.810 %100.000 %0.000 %Test Results
DreamHost70.930 %100.000 %0.000 %Test Results

HostGator performs great in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 99.97 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 97.000 %. HostGator most recent result on Oct 16 was 100.000 %. Back in 2013 HostGator had several outages that lasted days. While I wasn't recording detailed stats at the time, I can vouch that it was a miserable experience. Many blame the lack of reliability on their new data center, which they made everyone move to after they were bought out by EIG. To be honest, HostGator's downhill performance was the reason I created this site (I was too annoyed by them to let them get away with it).

Let’s take a look at some of the times that HostGator had some poor uptime performance

Date Uptime Downtime Outages Avg Response Time
2019-08-27 99.000% 2 mins 1 3607 ms
2019-08-18 0.000% 0 mins 0 0 ms

Does HostGator have poor customer service?

This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
MDDHosting0.11 h0.10 h0.20 hTest Results
GoDaddy0.12 h0.10 h0.30 hTest Results
Site50.28 h0.10 h0.80 hTest Results
StableHost0.37 h0.10 h1.70 hTest Results
InMotion Hosting0.94 h0.20 h2.30 hTest Results
Namecheap2.20 h0.10 h6.00 hTest Results
DreamHost2.79 h0.20 h11.00 hTest Results
Bluehost34.67 h0.10 h168.00 hTest Results
Yahoo Small Business50.89 h16.00 h124.00 hTest Results
HostGator53.40 h0.30 h168.00 hTest Results

HostGator performs pretty poorly in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 53.4 hours. It's best result was 0.30 h but it has been as bad as 168.00 h. HostGator most recent result on Mar 22 was 0.30 h. HostGator's tech support had proven to be pretty slow - you can count on them taking about a day to respond to you. Things used to be faster before they were bought out by EIG.

Let’s take a look at some of the times that HostGator had some poor support response performance:

Date Support Ticket Submitted Support Ticket Resolved Response Time
2015-02-24 Feb 24, 3:28am Over 7 days 168.0 hours
2015-01-27 Jan 27, 5:54am Feb 1, 12:46pm 126.9 hours
2014-11-28 Nov 28, 4:33pm Dec 2, 4:18am 83.7 hours
2014-10-26 Oct 26, 10:55am Oct 28, 12:13am 37.0 hours
2014-09-06 Sept 6, 6:46pm Sept 7, 5:48am 23.0 hours
2014-08-09 Aug 9, 2:46pm Aug 10, 3:18pm 24.5 hours
2014-07-12 July 13, 2:07pm July 14, 7:03am 16.9 hours

Still think HostGator sucks?

I’ve presented you with lots of data that will show you whether or not HostGator sucks. So, what do you think? Are they reliable, fast, and helpful? If not, consider these HostGator alternatives.

Support Response Test

I personally contact each host's support department with a new question/concern and measure how long it takes for them to get back to me. This test is important for every host - it's imperative your web host is able to quickly address your concerns in a timely manner, even if you're an expert webmaster. Who wants to deal with a host that has poor customer service? Tech is hard, and tech support is critical!  

HostGator Support Response Test Results

HostGator performs miserably in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 53.4 hours. It's best result was 0.30 h but it has been as bad as 168.00 h. HostGator most recent result on Mar 22 was 0.30 h. HostGator's tech support had proven to be pretty slow - you can count on them taking about a day to respond to you. Things used to be faster before they were bought out by EIG.

Let’s see if HostGator is consistent in its support response stats:

Recent Raw Results for HostGator

Date Support Ticket Submitted Support Ticket Resolved Response Time
2016-03-22 Mar 10, 4:19pm Mar 10, 4:34pm 0.3 hours
2015-02-24 Feb 24, 3:28am Over 7 days 168.0 hours
2015-01-27 Jan 27, 5:54am Feb 1, 12:46pm 126.9 hours
2014-12-20 Dec 20, 2:51pm Dec 20, 3:10pm 0.3 hours
2014-11-28 Nov 28, 4:33pm Dec 2, 4:18am 83.7 hours
2014-10-26 Oct 26, 10:55am Oct 28, 12:13am 37.0 hours
2014-09-06 Sept 6, 6:46pm Sept 7, 5:48am 23.0 hours
2014-08-09 Aug 9, 2:46pm Aug 10, 3:18pm 24.5 hours
2014-07-12 July 13, 2:07pm July 14, 7:03am 16.9 hours

HostGator Alternatives: Better speed, reliability, and support

Are you having problems with HostGator? It’s not uncommon to want to change to a better host if your current host has issues with being slow, down, or unsupportive. Let’s see if we can find a HostGator competitor that has better uptime, faster load times, and speedier support.

Hosts faster than HostGator

This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better. Learn more about the Page Speed Test.

If HostGator is having page speed problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
StableHost2.54 s0.00 s12.29 sTest Results
DreamHost2.66 s0.00 s21.25 sTest Results
HostGator2.70 s2.00 s15.02 sTest Results

Hosts more reliable than HostGator

This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.

If HostGator is having uptime problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
HostGator99.970 %100.000 %97.000 %Test Results

Hosts more helpful than HostGator

This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.

If HostGator is having support response problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
MDDHosting0.11 h0.10 h0.20 hTest Results
GoDaddy0.12 h0.10 h0.30 hTest Results
Site50.28 h0.10 h0.80 hTest Results
StableHost0.37 h0.10 h1.70 hTest Results
InMotion Hosting0.94 h0.20 h2.30 hTest Results
Namecheap2.20 h0.10 h6.00 hTest Results
DreamHost2.79 h0.20 h11.00 hTest Results
Bluehost34.67 h0.10 h168.00 hTest Results
Yahoo Small Business50.89 h16.00 h124.00 hTest Results
HostGator53.40 h0.30 h168.00 hTest Results

HostGator vs Other Hosts