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HostGator Hatchling costs $135.00 across three years. SiteGround StartUp on its 24-month term costs $251.64. The same HostGator figures set against Newfold Digital’s Bluehost are in our Bluehost and HostGator comparison.
So HostGator is cheaper by $116.64. Then you read what its backups actually promise.
A Courtesy Is Not a Service
HostGator describes its weekly backups as courtesy copies rather than a guaranteed service. That wording means no obligation if a copy is missing.
Daily backups are a separate product. CodeGuard costs $35.88 a year, which is $107.64 across three years.
Add it and the Hatchling total reaches $242.64. The gap to SiteGround falls from $116.64 to $9.00.
Our Hidden Costs table lists no backup charge for SiteGround. That is an absence of a row rather than a confirmation, so read the wording before you trust the copy.
The Short Answer
HostGator, but by $9.00 rather than $116.64. Once you pay for daily backups, the two plans cost almost the same.
However, take SiteGround’s 12-month term instead and the gap reopens to $225.00 in HostGator’s favour.
The Term Decides More Than the Company
SiteGround sells StartUp on two terms. Both advertise $2.99, and the renewal differs by three dollars a month.
The 24-month term renews at $14.99 and reaches $251.64. The 12-month term renews at $17.99 and reaches $467.64. The same HostGator figures against a Cloudways server are in our Cloudways and HostGator comparison.
Therefore picking the wrong term costs $216.00, which is more than this entire comparison turns on. We set out every renewal with its term for that reason.
HostGator holds $3.75 for 36 months and then charges $10.99. Its multiplier is 2.9 and it arrives after the three-year window closes.
One Column Has Been Measured
We score SiteGround 3.9 and HostGator 3.2. Yet five of our nine tables carry no SiteGround row at all.
HostGator appears in all five. It recorded 487 milliseconds from New York, 99.908 percent uptime, and timeouts at 100 concurrent users across a twelve-month test. The same HostGator figures against Kinsta are in our Kinsta and HostGator comparison.
In other words, the host we rank lower is again the one we have measured. We found the same asymmetry comparing it with GoDaddy.
What the Timeout Means
One hundred concurrent users is not a large number. A newsletter send or a modest sale reaches it.
A timeout at that level is worse than a slow response. The visitor sees nothing at all and leaves.
No equivalent figure exists for SiteGround in our tables, so we cannot say it holds up better. We can only say it has not been tested here.
Where HostGator Is Ahead Beyond Price
Its refund window runs 45 days. Most hosts give 30, and our tables record no window for SiteGround at all.
Six weeks matters when migrating, because propagation consumes the first week of any trial.
Its ownership is documented. HostGator has belonged to Newfold Digital since 2021, alongside Bluehost and six further brands.
That last point cuts both ways. A shortlist holding both HostGator and Bluehost holds one company twice.
What Else HostGator Sells Separately
SiteLock appears pre-selected at checkout at $23.88 a year. A dedicated IP costs $59.40 and professional migration $149.99 as a one-off.
None of that is unusual in this category. The difference is how many boxes you uncheck before paying.
| Host | Charge | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | Premium SSL, single domain | $89.88 (optional; Let's Encrypt is free) |
| Bluehost | Domain privacy | $15.00 (free year one on Business and up) |
| Bluehost | SiteLock Essentials | $95.88 |
| Bluehost | SiteLock Prevent | $239.88 |
| Bluehost | Yoast SEO Premium | $99.99 |
| Bluehost | Early cancellation, free domain | $15.99 one-off, deducted from refund |
| GoDaddy | SSL on Economy after year one | $119.99; other tiers include it for the plan's life |
| GoDaddy | Pre-checked extras at checkout | $345.39 counted by one review, unverified |
| HostGator | CodeGuard daily backups | $35.88 (weekly copies are a courtesy, not guaranteed) |
| HostGator | SiteLock, pre-selected at checkout | $23.88 |
| HostGator | Dedicated IP | $59.40 |
| HostGator | Professional migration | $149.99 one-off |
| Hostwinds | Standard SSL | $75.00 (free AutoSSL on shared via cPanel) |
| Hostwinds | Wildcard SSL | $150.00 |
| Scala Hosting | Processor core, added or removed anytime | $36.00 per core |
| Scala Hosting | Memory, added or removed anytime | $12.00 per gigabyte |
| Hostinger | WHOIS privacy | Included |
| Hostinger | Domain renewal, .com | $15–$20, no first-party figure published |
| DreamHost | WHOIS privacy | Included for the life of the domain |
| Namecheap | Domain privacy | Included for the life of the domain |
| InterServer | Everything on the one plan | Included; no tiers to upgrade to |
Our Hidden Costs table holds four HostGator rows and none for SiteGround. Again, absence rather than confirmation.
Four Things That Decide It
Whether your backups are guaranteed. Search the terms for the word courtesy, because it changes what you are owed.
Which SiteGround term you buy. That single dropdown moves your total by $216.00.
What happens at a hundred users. One host timed out and the other has not been tested.
The refund window. Forty-five days at HostGator, and unrecorded at SiteGround in our tables.
How We Research
Every figure here comes from our own tables, each row naming the source that published it, checked on 12 September 2026. Six figures are arithmetic on those rows: $107.64 is three years of $35.88, $242.64 adds it to $135.00, $9.00 is the gap to $251.64, $116.64 is the gap before the add-on, and $216.00 and $225.00 are the gaps to SiteGround’s 12-month term.
Where a table holds no row for a host, we say so rather than filling the gap. We run no tests of our own. Our criteria are on our About page.
SiteGround vs HostGator FAQ
HostGator, though by less than it appears. Its Hatchling plan costs $135.00 across three years against $251.64 for SiteGround on its 24-month term. Add CodeGuard daily backups and HostGator reaches $242.64.
Weekly copies are, but the terms describe them as a courtesy rather than a guaranteed service. Daily backups require CodeGuard at $35.88 a year, which is $107.64 across three years.
Because it sells StartUp on two terms. The 24-month term renews at $14.99 and reaches $251.64 over 36 months. The 12-month term renews at $17.99 and reaches $467.64.
Poorly by the figure we have. A twelve-month test recorded timeouts at 100 concurrent users, along with 487 milliseconds from New York and 99.908 percent uptime.
HostGator, at 45 days on all plans against the 30 days most hosts give. Our tables record no refund window for SiteGround, which is an absence of data rather than a short window.
The Verdict
HostGator on the 24-month comparison, by $9.00. That margin makes the backup wording matter more than the price.
In short, a hundred-dollar advantage turns into nine once you guarantee the copies. Then a timeout at a hundred users decides the rest.
Buy SiteGround on its 24-month term and you pay $9.00 more for a host nobody has measured. Buy HostGator and you pay for backups separately.