To kick start your website, you’ll need a web hosting provider.
Now, HostGator and Hawk Host are some of the current web hosting providers available in the market.
HostGator | Hawk Host | |
Owner | Endurance International Group (EIG) | Tony Baird (CEO) |
Basic Plan | Hatchling Plan | Primary |
Price | $2.75/mo | $2.99/mo |
Free Domain? | Yes | No |
Average Uptime | 99.89% (August 2023) | 99.92% (August 2023) |
Average Speed | 614 ms (August 2023) | 926 ms (August 2023) |
One-Click WordPress Installation? | Yes | Yes |
Free SSL? | Yes | Yes |
Number of Sites | 1 | Unlimited |
Free Email? | Yes (1 account) | Yes (Unlimited) |
Free Backup? | Yes | Yes |
Moneyback Guarantee | 45-days | 30-days |
Support Channels | 24/7/365 phone and live chat, call, knowledge base | 24/7/365 ticket and email |
Control Panel | cPanel | cPanel |
Space | Unmetered | 10GB SSD |
Free CDN? | No | No |
Migration Services | Yes | Yes |
Overall Rating | 3.7/5 stars in TrustPilot (based on 1,655 reviews) | 3.8/5 stars in TrustPilot (based on 21 reviews) |
Get Hosting | ||
Other Plans | WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Dedicated Servers | VPS Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Cloud Hosting |
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The table above might already give you a picture on what are the similarities and differences between HostGator and Hawk Host.
But let’s dive a little deeper with our HostGator vs Hawk Host comparison review to see which one is better for YOU.
So shall we?
HostGator vs Hawk Host - A Side by Side Comparison
We’ll be comparing both hosts based on the following:
Uptime and performance
Migration services
Products and features
Security
Pricing
Customer Support
Let the comparison begin!
Uptime and Performance
Both hosting providers deliver good uptime and performance.
HostGator holds an impressive uptime score of 99.89% (August 2023), while Hawk Hosts comes up at 99.92% (August 2023).
Hawk Host also promises a 99.9% uptime guarantee. With this, they give you a 10% off your next billing if they don’t keep up a 99.9% uptime. Sounds like a good deal, right?
When it comes to speeds, HostGator delivers a good average speed of 614 ms (August 2023). This is a somewhat close call to Hawk Host’s average speed of 926 ms (August 2023).
Moreover, HostGator and Hawk Host both run on SSD storage. This means that your site content will load a lot quicker, too.
WINNER: HostGator. Though both hosts excel here, HostGator offers a higher uptime average, plus faster speeds to Hawk Host.
Migration Services
Already have a site and planning to transfer it to either of these hosts?
Good news! Both HostGator and Hawk Host offer FREE migration.
You can sit back and relax while their technical teams do all the dirty work for you. And also, because the experts are doing it, your site will hardly face any downtime or glitches.
WINNER: Tie. Both HostGator and Hawk Host offer FREE migration, which allows you to sit back while the experts do the migrating for you.
Products and Features
When we talk about features, there isn’t one that excels over the other. This is because they both have their strengths and weaknesses.
For HostGator, they provide unmetered storage space, free domain for a year, and a 45-day money-back guarantee. This is more than enough.
As for Hawk Host, they might only have 10GB of storage space, but they also offer unlimited websites and email accounts.
So depending on what you prioritize more, you’ll find the one better than the other.
When it comes to products, HostGator has Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Reseller Hosting, and Dedicated Servers. This is perfect if you want to upgrade your website in the future.
Hawk Host, on the other hand, has Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Semi-Dedicated Web Hosting, and Cloud Hosting. Though these aren’t the most common products, it’s a good choice for online businesses.
WINNER: Tie. As we said, it’s hard to pick a winner here. As features and products are subjective, it all depends on what YOU are looking for.
Security
SSL certification is essential for your website’s user data security, website ownership verification, and prevention from hackers and attackers.
Luckily, HostGator and Hawk Host offer FREE SSL certificates.
HostGator also offers SiteLock Fix, which keeps you protected from incoming viruses with daily scans to remove malware. This comes at an additional cost of $5.99/mo.
Hawk Host has a proactive malware scanning and defense feature. The best part is that you get it for free.
WINNER: Hawk Host. Though both hosts have great security features, Hawk Host takes the cake here as they offer more protection for FREE.
Pricing
The price may be the first thing you’ll look at.
HostGator’s basic Hatching Plan starts at $2.75/mo. You can get an upgrade and opt for the Baby Plan, which starts at $3.50/mo, and the Business Plan, which starts at $5.25/mo.
Hawk Host’s basic Primary Plan has an introductory offer of $2.99/mo. If you want, you can also get their Professional Plan is priced starting at $7.99/mo. However, there’s not much difference between these plans, other than the no-cap in the SSD storage for the Professional plan.
If you change your mind and opt to cancel your purchase, then HostGator offers a 45-day money-back guarantee, while HawkHost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
WINNER: HostGator. HostGator slightly edges out Hawk Host. It’s only cheaper by a few dollars and cents. That, plus, HostGator is much more flexible with all of its plans, offering even more features than the previous plan.
Customer Support
When in need of assistance, customer support will always come in handy.
For Hawk Host, you can submit a ticket or send an email when you’re planning to seek assistance. They are quick to respond most of the time and available 24/7/365.
On the other hand, HostGator offers support through phone and online live chat. This is an advantage as you can get assistance in no time. You can also get information through their knowledge base and video guides if you don’t want to rely on the customer representatives.
WINNER: HostGator. You can’t beat support through phone and online chat. These two platforms are easily accessible and can deliver fast responses.
Verdict
And now, let’s look at the tally board.
Uptime and Performance | HostGator |
Migration Services | Tie |
Products and Features | Tie |
Security | Hawk Host |
Pricing | HostGator |
Customer Support | HostGator |
That was a very interesting matchup between HostGator and Hawk Host.
But which is the better web host?
Well, if you ask us, HostGator is the better option of the two.
But don’t leave Hawk Host out just yet. As a matter of fact, these two are on the industry-standard level of good web hosting providers. I mean, HostGator edges Hawk Host by a hair.
Then again, it all depends on what you and your website are truly focusing on. What we’re saying is that the real better host will depend on what YOU are looking for.