FatCow gives you a fat, happy cow that lets you know that using his service will be good for the environment. BlueHost gives you no mascot at all, offering a straightforward, no-nonsense offering of solid web hosting at a competitive price. Which one really has the best offering?

Features

For the scrupulous web hosting shopper, features can easily make or break a deal. Knowing when, and for what, one web host will work and another won’t can be the key to running a successful website. The table below highlights a few main areas where the features of the two web hosts differ:

Don’t misunderstand, FatCow does provide a fair amount of information about what it can and can’t do, but it simply doesn’t state as much information as BlueHost does.

FatCow offers more ad coupons, more MySQL databases, and they are definitely greener than BlueHost, who clearly opts to be blue instead. BlueHost clearly supports PostgreSQL and shell access, both potentially very big deals, while FatCow may or may not support them. On average, BlueHost is clearly in the lead when it comes to features.

Pricing

FatCow prides itself on having a single and simple price point and calls the rest of the web hosts “complicated” for offering a variety of options at different feature levels. Well, FatCow, it would seem that BlueHost agrees with you, because they only offer a single price point as well. As ClickFire’s BlueHost review shows, BlueHost used to offer multiple price points, but later switched to a single price plan. Here are the prices for FatCow and BlueHost, both of which only offer unlimited storage and bandwidth plans:

Thanks to a recent price drop from FatCow (from a previous $99/year), they are now cheaper than BlueHost while still managing to run off of 100% wind power. It is worth noting, however, that both FatCow and BlueHost do not offer any plans that last less than a year, but FatCow openly offers a 30 day money back guarantee just in case you are not satisfied with their service. BlueHost does not seem to offer any such money back guarantee at the time I’m writing this BlueHost versus FatCow article.

Note: Hosting providers are very competitive. Check the web hosting reviews to see if coupons or price cuts are available. We try to list the best and most current specials in the list and on the review pages.

Terms of Service

If BlueHost has a long terms of service agreement, FatCow has a colossal one. But neither of them have anything really unusual in them. Both of them explain that their unlimited services are not without limits. If you’re confused, let me explain: for both web hosts, you can’t use their services as an unlimited storage area for personal backups, the content you upload needs to be for the site you are running. You can’t create a download portal because they are very resource intensive and typically edge on illegal, depending on the content being offered for download. Also, if you use so many resources that it is slowing down other users, your per second bandwidth and resource usage will be temporarily capped, and if you constantly use too many resources, your account can be deactivated. These are almost universally true among all “unlimited” web hosting offers.

So, in short, despite length differences, their terms of service are approximately equal for the typical web hosting customer.

Type of Control Panel

If you’re looking for a control panel that you already know, you’re probably looking for cPanel. In short, BlueHost uses cPanel, FatCow does not. In long, however, while BlueHost does use the real cPanel, FatCow uses a control panel that is very similar to cPanel, so much so that you really just need to figure out the name differences between the two, then you’ll feel right at home.

However, FatCow loses a significant number of points due to the occasional full-screen advertisement you’ll get when accessing your control panel. This is bordering on unacceptable for a paid service like web hosting.

Customer Support

Customer support can be a hot-button issue for many webmasters who find themselves with unusual problems while trying to run their websites. If you’re an expert, then perhaps this isn’t important to you, but even then there are sometimes settings that only customer support can change.

Both companies offer USA based customer support, so there are no worries about misunderstandings due to accents or poor language skills. However, FatCow falls short in that they use scripted answers that they do not deviate from, even when the scripted answers are not answering the question. Check out the FatCow review to see an example of how these scripted answers can fail.

The Bottom Line

For basic web hosting, both are just fine. If you want to be green and don’t need too many fancy features or programming languages, then go with FatCow and save around 50 cents a month. If you want to be sure to have the features you need, or might need in the future, BlueHost seems to be the better choice.

Winner:

http://www.blueHost.com

Back to:

• BlueHost Review
• FatCow Review

A cow versus a gator? Well, this should be a mascot themed battle to remember. HostGator has a wide variety of prices, plans, and features, all at a wide variety of prices. FatCow believes that all of that is too complicated, and offers one plan at a low price, but missing some features.

For this HostGator versus FatCow battle, the cheapest version of HostGator’s plans, the Baby Plan, will be used.

Features

Features can really define a service. The table below shows the key differences between the two services. Keep in mind that additional domains can be added to HostGator by paying for a more expensive plan, but this review is targeted towards entry level.

FatCow provides more domains and more ad coupons, as well as clearly supporting backup power supplies. But, when you look at supported programming features, HostGator comes out ahead on multiple fronts.

Pricing

No matter what features are available, sometimes it comes down to what you can and cannot afford. For HostGator, the monthly price varies based on how long you commit to using their service, though their 45 day money back guarantee always applies. FatCow offers the same price at all time lengths, except that you can’t sign up for less than a year of hosting.

If you only need one domain, HostGator is literally always cheaper. If you need multiple domains, HostGator is more expensive unless you commit to a full three years, in which case HostGator becomes a little cheaper than FatCow. Occasionally, FatCow offers promos that can get pricing lower than HostGator, though. At the time of this writing, FatCow offers Clickfire visitors a 1 year plan for $56 (comes to 4.67/mo) and a 2 year plan for $88 (comes to $3.67 per mo).

When you also consider the number of programming features that HostGator clearly supports, HostGator is easily the better option when it comes to price and flexibility.

Terms of Service

Of course, as is with all “unlimited’ web hosting plans, there are actually limits, they just aren’t in terms of megabytes or gigabytes. HostGator’s terms of service are quite clear as to what the limits actually are. Using more than 25% of the system resources for more than 90 seconds and you can’t have more than 250,000 files of any kind. If you wish to take advantage of the backup system, you cannot have more than 20 Gbs of data stored. Most of this is easy to follow, but it can be difficult to know the amount of server resources you are using at any given moment.

FatCow’s terms of service are much more general. They let you know that they reserve the right to determine when you are abusing your unlimited bandwidth or storage capacity, and to take action if they feel that you are.

Having clear guidelines that you can’t exceed seems much butter than not knowing if you are nearing the limits or not. HostGator exceeds FatCow in this area.

Control Panel

HostGator uses cPanel, the most familiar control panel among webmasters. Simple, straightforward, and has the usual features like Fantastico. FatCow really has all of the same features in their control panel, but without the usual names. Once you figure out the equivalent names, it is also very familiar.

But FatCow has one fatal flaw when it comes to their control panel. Every once in a while, FatCow will serve a full-page advertisement. It’s easy enough to skip, but it just doesn’t seem right to put full page ads on a paid service like web hosting.

Customer Support

Customer support is important even when you’re an expert webmaster. The simple fact is that there are sometimes settings that only the host can actually change. In these scenarios, every user will need to contact customer support to get the problem resolved. For those who are not experts, customer support is even more important because there will be far more reasons to contact customer support if you’re initially learning about how to be a good webmaster.

FatCow provides support in proper English with excellent wording, but their answers are overly scripted. So much so that they occasionally do not actually answer the original question. For an example of this evasive scripted answers see ClickFire’s FatCow review. Thankfully, the provided knowledgebase is often extensive enough to compensate for it.

HostGator, in stark contrast, doesn’t always word their answers as cleanly in English, but they are much more flexible in their answers, and you can usually get the answer you need from the person you are chatting with. For an excellent example of HostGator’s flexibility, check out the HostGator review.

In the end, HostGator actually answers the questions while FatCow doesn’t always manage to do so. HostGator wins this category as well.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, unless you really feel the need to be green, or you have to save as much money as possible on a yearly contract while supporting more than one domain, it’s hard to justify going with FatCow as opposed to HostGator. For a single domain, HostGator offers better features, better support, and lower prices.

Overall winner: HostGator

Features

Their features are collectively similar, both of them offering the basics. There are, however, a few differences here and there between the two. Here is a list of differences in their features. As you look through the list, keep in mind that very every difference, there are 2 to 3 similarities between the two. So, even though this list might look long, it’s not actually THAT long. Also, keep in mind that this is only a comparison of each of their respective cheapest offerings, and that the differences tend to get even smaller as their respective prices go up.

Just a note: unspecified does not necessarily mean that they do not support it, it simply means that they make no claim to support it on their site. It does, however, mean that there is a chance that they do not support it. Furthermore, bolded items are more likely to be important compared to the other items.

As you can see, at least at the base level, IX Web Hosting definitely has a wider breadth of features. However, as our HostGator Review points out, they have all the essentials of a shared web host.

IX Web Hosting earns 1 point for having more features.

Pricing

To get detailed pricing for IX Web Hosting, you actually have to start the ordering process. This is annoying, but you can always start the order process and quit it once you find the information you need. It’s much easier to see HostGator’s prices, which is good, but doesn’t necessarily make them the best. Let’s see what the prices come out to:

It looks like IX Web Hosting wins for any long-term commitment. However, something important to note is that they are currently in a promotional period right now that shaves off $3.00 a month for the longer terms. So, the 3 year plan could increase back to $250.20 at any time, which would make HostGator the cheapest. They don’t provide all of their normal rates right now, so it’s unfortunately not possible to determine how expensive their 12 month option normally is.

Both IX Web Hosting and HostGator earn 1 point for being a better deal… sometimes.

Terms of Service

HostGator’s Terms of Service seems more strict than IX Web Hosting’s does. For example, it includes a fairly long list of topics that their customers aren’t allowed to host on their websites, including a few things that seem relatively harmless like investment sites and even some online games (RPG’s, a.k.a. Role Playing Games, and MUD’s, a.k.a. Multi-User Dungeon games, for example). They also have very strict guidelines about how much of the server’s resources you can use. For example, using more than 25% of a server’s resources for more than 90 seconds at a time can get your account suspended or banned, which is problematic since it’s impossible to actually know how much of the server’s resources you are using.

HostGator loses 1 point for being so strict.

Control Panel

Almost every shared web host uses cPanel as their Control Panel of choice. HostGator is no different, and they use a fairly standard cPanel configuration, complete with Fantastico, which is great for quickly installing a number of things (like WordPress). IX Web Hosting does not use cPanel, though. Our IX Web Hosting Review states that IX Web Hosting uses a variation of H-Sphere, which is old and kinda tacky, but performs all the essential functions in a straightforward manner. But, if you want a familiar Control Panel, IX Web Hosting is likely lacking in that area.

Familiar:

Unfamilar:

HostGator earns 1 point for being familiar.

Customer Support

Both HostGator and IX Web Hosting have excellent customer support. They both provide support 24 hours a day through multiple avenues, they answer questions clearly and quickly, and there’s not really anything to complain about. However, IX Web Hosting does get a slight 1-up for having a call center in the USA, ensuring that you can understand what is being said when you call them. So, in this area, IX Web Hosting does better… but barely.

IX Web Hosting earns 1 point for having a US-based call center.

The Final Score

IX Web Hosting: 3

HostGator: 1

It would appear that, as it stands right now, IX Web Hosting is the winner. Lower prices, more features, and their terms of service aren’t quite as strict. However, they may only be a clear winner while their promotion is going. Once that promotion wears off, they won’t have lower prices, and that could make the comparison that much more difficult. For now, though, I can personally recommend IX Web Hosting over HostGator.

–March 2010, Steve Miller

Visit HostGator or IX Web Hosting

Features

BlueHost and IX Web Hosting claim many of the same features. From 24/7 tech support to “unlimited” storage and bandwidth, many of these features are top notch and very desirable. There are a few areas they differ in, though. For example, BlueHost allows up to 100 MySQL databases with no specified maximum size, whereas IX Web Hosting limits you to 50 MySQL databases and a 1GB maximum size at it’s lowest plan. By going for more expensive plans, you can increase IX Web Hosting’s limit to unlimited MySQL databases, but it still caps the size at 10GB. Granted, it’s actually pretty hard to use up 1GB in MySQL databases, and all that much harder to use up 10GB, but a cap versus no cap is hard to ignore.

Below is a table listing all of the differences in features based on the websites of each company:

This may look like a lot of differences, but for each one of these differences, there are 4 similarities. Both sides have details that are unspecified, and while this doesn’t mean they don’t have that feature, it seems likely that it’s the case. Either they don’t have it, or they didn’t consider it important enough to list. Either way, it’s not the best of signs.

Still, there aren’t many differences in the features between the two. They both offer a large variety of free scripts, from multimedia to blogging and even e-commerce, and all of the usual features you would expect from good hosts. Nonetheless, it seems that BlueHost just barely squeaks ahead of IX Web Hosting in terms of raw features.

Pricing

Finding a detailed pricing list for either of these two isn’t as simple as it should be. In both cases, you have to start the order process in order to see prices for their different plans, as long as you want to see more detail than the cheapest monthly price you can get through that particular web host. The true cost, including setup fees, for both hosts are as follows:

IX Web Hosting proves to be cheaper than BlueHost at every step of the way. That being said, IX Web Hosting forces you to commit to a year of hosting in order to get a decent deal, but then again, BlueHost doesn’t even offer anything under a year’s worth of hosting. So, IX Web Hosting certainly wins this round.

Terms of Service

Reading the terms of service closely on both companies will reveal a few things about their services.

First, the “unlimited” parameters I mentions earlier are not truly unlimited. How could they be? With tons of users on a single server, they can’t all have unlimited access to the limited resources available. IX Web Hosting actually gives some sort of upper bound you can watch out for in terms of size, though. IX Web Hosting, deep in their terms of service, says that the maximum number of files one user is allowed to have is 100,000 if they are using a Windows based server (not available on the lowest plan) or 300,000 files if a Linux server is chosen instead. BlueHost does not give such specifics for storage, and neither web host provides specifications for the true maximum bandwidth allowed.

However, both state that they reserve the right to limit individual users in both storage and bandwidth as they see fit to maintain a certain level of quality among all users. This is both good news and bad news. Good because nobody else can hog all the resources on a server and push a smaller site out of operation temporarily, but bad because you don’t necessarily know when you’ll need more resources or how much of the available resources you are using at any given moment.

Control Panel

BlueHost uses the industry standard cPanel, with minimal customization. Those who have used another host will likely be familiar with cPanel since almost every web host uses it. But IX Web Hosting does not. Instead, they use a variation of H-Sphere, which our IX Web Hosting review shows is very capable and not difficult to use. But, if you’re really looking for familiarity in a control panel, BlueHost might be better for you.

VERSUS

Customer Support

Both companies offered pretty impressive customer support. They were reasonably quick to respond, seemed knowledgeable, and they both have 3 ways to contact support: phone support, LiveChat, and a ticketing system. The only real difference between the two is that IX Web Hosting proudly boasts of a call center that is located in the US, which is very appreciated. So, in that sense, IX Web Hosting wins by a little bit. However, we do have a detailed account of how good the BlueHost support is in our BlueHost Review if you’d like to see firsthand how good theirs is.

The Bottom Line

If what you’re after is the best possible features, then your safest bet is to go with BlueHost. However, if you’re goal is to get a bunch of excellent features at an impressive price, then IX Web Hosting might be for you, especially since they offer a lot of the same features that BlueHost does, but at a much lower price.

www.ixwebhosting.com or www.blueHost.com

Both HostGator and HostICan offer shared and dedicated hosting. HostGator also provides reseller hosting and HostICan provides Virtual Private hosting. The offerings of each host are summarized below:

HostGator
Shared: Linux (and Windows was coming soon at time of writing)
Reseller: Linux
Dedicated: Linux (Red Hat and CentOS) and Windows
Control Panel: cPanel for Linux, Plesk for Windows

HostICan
Shared: Linux
Virtual Private Servers: Linux and Windows
Dedicated: Linux and Windows
Control Panel: cPanel for Linux, Plesk for Windows
Merchant Accounts

If you are in need of a specific type of hosting the above information is helpful in deciding which host to choose. For example, if there is an interest in reseller hosting, the choice must be HostGator because HostICan does not provide this service.

Bandwidth

One of the main things that sets HostICan apart from their competition is that they offer unlimited bandwidth on their second tier plans. They offer two tiers of hosting plans in each hosting category: The first tier is limited bandwidth, and the second is the unlimited. HostGator only offers unlimited bandwidth on their highest shared hosting plan, but not on any other plans. Therefore if unlimited bandwidth is of value on VPS or dedicated plans, HostICan may be the choice to make. Unlimited bandwidth from HostICan can only be used for website related content, so the bandwidth cannot be used to host a download site. HostGator does not allow torrents.

Support

Support provided can often set two hosts apart. In the case of HostGator and HostICan, both hosts provide 24/7 support via toll-free numbers and email. Live chat is available from HostGator around the clock, but is provided by HostICan only during certain hours. Take a look at each host’s respective reviews individually for more information regarding the quality of support each host provides.

Money Back Guarantees

There are other important concerns when comparing hosts such as uptime and money-back guarantees. Both HostGator and HostICan guarantee 99.9% uptime. HostGator “eats up” the competition with their money-back guarantee of 45 days while HostICan provides the industry standard of 30 days. Both hosts also offer rewarding affiliate programs.

Conclusion

When choosing between HostGator and HostICan it will likely come down to what services each offers as they are both quality hosts. The specific numbers for price, disk space and bandwidth change often so check them out right before you are about to buy and see where each hosts stands for what you are looking for. If you need virtual private hosting, the choice has to be HostICan, but if you need reseller hosting you have to go with HostGator. Although you are bound to be satisfied with either host, the details can often be the difference between simply being satisfied and being happy with a host.

WWW.HOSTGATOR.COM vs WWW.HOSTICAN.COM

Each host offers various shared, virtual private server, and dedicated hosting plans. Lunarpages also offers reseller hosting, while HostICan does not. The offerings are summarized below:

Lunarpages
Shared: Linux and Windows
Virtual Private Servers: Linux and Windows
Dedicated: Linux and Windows
Reseller: Linux
Control Panel: cPanel for Linux, Plesk for Windows
Sitebuilder plan

HostICan
Shared: Linux
Virtual Private Servers: Linux and Windows
Dedicated: Linux and Windows
Control Panel: cPanel for Linux, Plesk for Windows
Merchant Accounts

Bandwidth

A big difference between the two hosts is that HostICan provides “Unmetered Bandwidth.” They define this as no restrictions on bandwidth or how an individual uses it. In HostICan’s terms of service, they do restrict the use of this unlimited bandwidth so that it may not be used for the purpose of providing a download service for movies, torrents, images, etc. They require that the unlimited bandwidth be used for website-related content only. HostICan offers two tiers of hosting, with unmetered bandwidth only available on the second tier plans. Since Lunarpages only offers one plan in each hosting category, HostICan’s unmetered plans are not compared below.

Shared Hosting Plans

The shared hosting plans at each host offer similar features. The pricing on the most basic plan may even look identical ($6.95 at the time of writing). Yet look closer and you will find that the pricing stated at each host is for their longest billing cycle. At the three month billing cycle, Lunarpages is two dollars cheaper a month, and they offer much more disk space and bandwidth than HostICan (1,500 GB vs. 600 GB and 15,000 GB vs. 6,500 GB, at time of writing).

VPS

When it comes to virtual private hosting, Lunarpages offers more disk space and bandwidth and charges less for any given billing period. Lunarpages offers one plan each for Linux and Windows VPS, while HostICan offers the choice between two.

What about Dedicated Hosting?

It is more difficult to compare the two companies’ dedicated plans because their pricing, disk space and bandwidth vary widely. On their first tier dedicated plan HostICan provides more than three times as much disk space, three times as much bandwidth, twice as much memory, and about the same processor, but for $100 more a month. On HostICan’s second level dedicated plan you get their advertised “Unmetered Bandwidth” and roughly the same disk space and memory as Lunarpages for $30 more a month than Lunarpages. If the unmetered bandwidth is valuable to you, it may be good to choose HostICan.

Both hosts state that they provide 99.9% uptime. While HostICan guarantees this, Lunarpages only makes a promise that their uptime is within these limits. If uptime is critical, it may be worth going with HostICan as they back their claim with a guarantee.

Lunarpages wins on shared, virtual private, as well as dedicated hosting when it comes to price. If unmetered bandwidth is of value, then it may outweigh the cost savings to go with HostICan. Both hosts offer common features with their hosting, yet they do each have a few of their own unique offerings that may make up your mind for you. For example, if reseller hosting or a site builder is of interest, choose Lunarpages as HostICan does not provide these services. If a merchant account would be of value, go with HostICan.

The quality of hosting is bound to be good whether you choose Lunarpages or HostICan. Yet it’s likely you will find that those small details can really make all the difference.

www.lunarpages.com vs www.HostICan.com

HostGator (review) is a cPanel shared, reseller, and dedicated host based in Houston, Texas. The company hails from South Florida (hence the gator part) and moved to Houston in September 2006. HostGator is fiercely independent and uncommonly straight forward with its business and business practices. Their servers are leased from The Planet and are located in Texas.

1&1 Internet (review) claims to be the world’s largest and fastest growing web host. The German company is owned by United Internet AG, a conglomerate that serves as an ISP to more than two million German customers. The company’s newest datacenter is in Kansas City and they own or operate 4 others. 1&1 offers a lot of services ranging form exchange hosting to dedicated servers.

Which company you go with should primarily depend on what you’re looking for. 1&1 doesn’t offer cPanel and HostGator does exclusively. HostGator doesn’t offer SharePoint or Exchange hosting, but 1&1 does. The differences in services, addons, and incentives between the two hosting companies are huge – and change frequently.

Here is an overview of the services offered by each host:

HostGator:

• Domain registration
• Shared hosting (Linux only. Windows coming soon.)
• Reseller hosting (Linux only)
• Dedicated hosting (Managed. Linux only. Windows coming soon.)

1&1 Internet:

• Domain registration
• Email hosting (Exchange and regular)
• Shared web hosting (Linux and Windows)
• VPS hosting (Linux and Windows)
• Dedicated hosting (Managed and unmanaged. Linux and Windows)
• Eshops
• SharePoint

The pricing and plans from both of these web hosts are competitive. You’ll get more space and bandwidth than you could ever need for a reasonable amount of money. Like most web hosting companies, 1&1 and HostGator encourage you to signup for months and years in advance by offering discounts. They guarantee their uptime (99.9% at HostGator; 99.99% at 1&1).

One thing to keep in mind is the size of each host. 1&1 has over 3,000 employees. HostGator’s head count is around 150. There is going to be more personal attention with HostGator and you have a chance of talking to the same representatives. HostGator is largest enough where you don’t have to worry about it disappearing, but it is not huge like 1&1.

Both companies provide 24/7 support via the phone and over their respective helpdesks. Both 1&1 and HostGator have good reputations as reliable hosting companies that back their services. Both hosts offer sitebuilders with their shared hosting plans. HostGator offers a 45 day money back guarantee; 1&1 offers a 90 day money back guarantee.

So which is the best hosting service for you, 1&1 or HostGator? If you’re looking for a keep it simple type web host that offers good service at a reasonable price, go with HostGator. If you want more bells and whistles in terms of marketing and software extras or if you have requirements beyond standard web hosting, you probably want to go with 1&1.

Visit www.hostgator.com or www.1and1.com

The personalities of these two web hosts are very similar. Both hosting companies are comparable in size. HostGator employs about 150 people, and Lunarpages employs about 100 employees. Since both hosts are relatively small and neither has changed hands since their inception, they each maintain that “family feel” that provides their customers with a more personable experience. HostGator provides 24/7 phone support, but the phones at Lunarpages are only staffed on weekdays from 6-8. They both provide around-the-clock support via email help desk, and HostGator also offers live chat online. HostGator emphasizes their customer service as they prominently display their toll free number, while Lunarpages forces their customers to dial their California-based number. Neither company outsources their technicians. If a customer wishes to collaborate with others, Lunarpages provides a forum with about 36,000 members. HostGator customers are also provided access to a similar community with nearly 13,000 members.

Each host provides a quality level of hosting. HostGator’s network is comprised of four datacenters in Texas backed by 10 carriers. Lunarpages has three datacenters, all of which are located in the southwestern U.S. Both hosts provide 99.9% uptime, although Lunarpages does not provide a SLA guarantee for this while HostGator does. If either is found to be dissatisfying, it is helpful to know that both provide money-back guarantees. HostGator offers a superior money-back guarantee allowing a customer up to 45 days and allowing them to cancel unconditionally. Lunarpages offers a comparable guarantee, but only for 30 days and it only refunds certain things.

The basic hosting plans of each are very similar in terms of bandwidth and disk space. As expected, they are competitively priced.

An overview of the services provided by the two web hosting companies appears below:

Lunarpages:

• Shared hosting (Linux and Windows)
• Dedicated hosting (Linux and Windows)
• Virtual Private Servers (Linux and Windows)
• Reseller Hosting (Linux only)

HostGator:

• Shared hosting (Linux with Windows coming soon)
• Reseller hosting (Linux only)
• Dedicated hosting (Linux with Windows coming soon)

Both hosts use cPanel for Linux hosting and Lunarpages uses Plesk for Windows hosting.

Each web host provides some extra features that may be of interest to certain customers. Lunarpages provides their customers with at least one free domain for life, depending on the hosting plan. They also offer free design software. If a site builder is of interest, both hosts offer one as well as free design templates. HostGator provides a WYSIWYG editor with their site builder while Lunarpages does not. Both hosts offer affiliate programs that are very rewarding, with HostGator offering up to $125 per sale and Lunarpages giving $65 and up.

When comparing two similar hosts whose plans change often, it is useful to look at the defining qualities of each host, as these can often make or break them. For example, webmasters requiring the convenience of toll free telephone support will go with HostGator. With 99.9% uptime backed by a SLA and a 45 day money-back guarantee, HostGator may be the choice to make. Although, if Virtual Private Hosting is required, the best choice is Lunarpages since HostGator does not offer this service. You can be assured that both of these hosts are reputable, offer competitive services, and provide valuable means for service and support.

www.hostgator.com vs. www.lunarpages.com

HostGator and DreamHost have slightly different company cultures. A review of HostGator.com’s web site reveals it’s personal and informative approach. The HostGator web site doesn’t venture into humor or carefree talk. HostGator.com has few jokes. On the other hand, DreamHost likes to laugh at itself and sports a web site that contains obvious jokes and light hearted comments among more serious information. Some web hosting customers like the jokes, others don’t. Both web hosting companies, though, are highly technical and know when to take their work seriously.

HostGator’s shared hosting plans are competitively priced and offer a lot of space and bandwidth. Dreamhost has always offered vastly oversold (they admit it) and very generous plans. The entry level plan offers 500 GB of disk space and 5 TB of monthly bandwidth. Both numbers increase by the gigabytes each week. Both companies include plenty of email accounts, databases, etc with all of their plans.

DreamHost’s cheapest plan will cost you $7.95 per month if you pay for three years in advance. HostGator’s cheapest shared hosting plan is $4.95 per month if you pay three years in advance. HostGator’s next plan up (the Baby plan) offers more space and bandwidth than DreamHost’s comparably priced plan, but does not increase weekly.

Both web hosts offer lengthy money back guarantees. HostGator’s is 45 days. DreamHost’s money back guarantee period is 97 days.

It is important to note that HostGator uses cPanel exclusively whereas DreamHost uses a custom control panel. DreamHost’s control panel offers all of the expected features and is very powerful, but it is not cPanel. If you have a particular affinity for cPanel, DreamHost won’t be the choice for you.

As far as customer support goes, HostGator provides more options. All of HostGator’s plans come with unlimited, toll free phone support. DreamHost only offers 3 call backs per month for an extra $9.95 per month. HostGator also offers 24/7 live chat, which DreamHost does not. Both companies have active communities forums and extensive knowledge bases (a wiki in DreamHost’s case). Both companies provide 24/7 email support, though. At DreamHost, you have to be logged into to your control panel to send in a ticket. While it is purely a personal pet peeve, DreamHost does not publish its office address (they publish a PO Box).

Which web host you go with is entirely up to you. As always, spend time researching both companies. Since both companies have such generous money back guarantees, you can even give them a try and see which one you prefer.

www.hostgator.com  vs www.dreamHost.com

BlueHost and HostGator are two well known web hosting companies. They’ve both been reviewed here at Clickfire and are both regarded as leaders in the web hosting industry. Each company received a 5 star rating in its respective review and both companies had far more pros than cons listed.

So which one is better? This little analysis will hopefully help answer that question.

Features

The features offered by the two companies are essentially the same. You can get a fully functional cPanel account with things like a site builder and Fantastico from either company. Both BlueHost and HostGator support Ruby on Rails and PHP5. You can get as many email and FTP accounts as you need and the way you manage them is pretty much the same. Each company has detailed plan pages that outline exactly what they do and don’t support.

BlueHost does not offer reseller or dedicated hosting. HostGator, on the other hand, has fairly extensive offerings for customers who require reseller or dedicated hosting accounts.

Guarantees

One thing that can be of concern is that BlueHost does not have any meaningful uptime guarantee. According to a sales representative I spoke to, all their uptime guarantee (99.9%) allows you to do is cancel and get a pro-rated refund. They won’t compensate you if the site is down. At HostGator, most of their plans have a 99.9% uptime guarantee. If they fail to meet it, you receive a refund for that month.

Both companies offer 30 day money back guarantees. The guarantees allow you to cancel at any time if you aren’t completely satisfied with your experience.

Pricing

HostGator’s pricing is pretty straight forward. Shared plans range from $4.95 per month (paid yearly) to $14.95 per month (can be paid monthly). Reseller hosting plans range from $24.95 per month to $99.95 per month. Dedicated servers are priced from $174 per month to upwards of $374 per month. None of HostGator’s plans have any setup fees.

To find pricing for BlueHost, you have to dig a little bit. It also takes a little bit of thinking to figure out what you’ll end up paying at the end of the day. BlueHost only offers one plan (a shared hosting plan). You simply cannot purchase anything shorter than a 1 year commitment.

BlueHost’s one plan provides customers with “unlimited” disk space and bandwidth, but BlueHost reserves the right to put a soft cap on anyone they feel is adversely affecting their other customers.  HostGator’s smallest plan matches the “unlimited” disk space and bandwidth with similar soft restrictions.

Assuming you stay with the companies for the following amounts of time, here is what you’ll pay (including setup fees, if they apply):

As you can see, BlueHost and HostGator have the same price at the 12 month mark, but in all other cases either HostGator is cheaper or BlueHost doesn’t even offer service for that length of time. If you’re getting close to a decision on one of the two, check each hosts review at Clickfire as HostGator and BlueHost both regularly offer coupons (HostGator) or special discount promotions (BlueHost) that can lower your cost. You can also check the Clickfire web hosting review top list for this stuff.

Customer Service

I called BlueHost’s sales department to ask if they had an uptime guarantee. The call was answered in about 30 seconds. The representative’s answers and tone didn’t give me a lot of confidence, but he managed to answer the question. A call to HostGator was answered within about 30 seconds as well. The representative seemed to be more knowledgeable and was more confident about his answers.

I sent emails to each company’s support department in the late evening on a Sunday. BlueHost doesn’t let you send a ticket in via email – you must use their web-based interface. The web-basted interface offers a lot of categories (which can be confusing) and forces you to look through a knowledge base before submitting a ticket.

I heard back from HostGator after 14 minutes. Their response was good and provided the information needed. I heard back from BlueHost about two and a half hours later. Their reply was helpful, but not as good as HostGator’s.

Both companies provide customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all of their customers over email and live chat. HostGator also offers support over live chat.

Extras

New BlueHost customers receive $75 in advertising credits from Google and Yahoo. HostGator does not offer an equivalent to this. BlueHost also includes a domain with certain purchases (when you pre-pay a year or two in advance). HostGator does the same thing, but only at $50 in credits and only for Google. Not a huge perk, but it’s not a bad thing. Both hosts will help you move your sites over from other web hosts.

Bottomline

If it is between BlueHost and HostGator, you can’t make a bad choice. Both companies are well known and reputable companies that offer pretty much the same service for similar prices. Their customer service is consistent, effective, and easily available.

If it were my web site and my money, I think I’d go with HostGator. The company has always impressed me with their very straight forward, no hype attitude. I like that they offer more choices when it comes to plans and payment terms and I appreciate that flexibility.

The choice is yours, though. One of the great things about the web hosting industry is that there are lots of choices and lots of great companies to choose from.

–June 2007, Douglas Hanna

–Updated: March 2010, Steve Miller

Back to:

• BlueHost Web Hosting Review or BlueHost.com
• HostGator Web Hosting Review or HostGator.com