As an old HostGator customer myself, in this post I’ll have a look if HostGator is a legit company or are they scamming their customers..?
And I’ll put the facts on the table for the truth about HostGator.
HostGator was founded way back, in 2002 and they have more than half a million customers and they employ hundreds of people to run their services.
You can read all the company details of HostGator here.
So obviously it’s a legit company, and if they were out there to scam everyone, that would obviously hurt their business which to date continues to grow.. or..?
But How Legit HostGator is Really?
While I wouldn’t really question their legitimacy, some people argue that they are being scammed by HostGator. In my opinion, you get what you sign up for.
But what is probably considered a “scam” is that you are paying more than you really need to. As most huge hosting companies are hungry for profit.
Let’s compare a truly legit company to see where you are scammed!
I’m talking about the affordable but feature-rich FastComet Hosting.
HostGator Upselling Scam;
Making big profits from charging for additional services, HostGator is pushing it’s expensive website builders, automatic backups, website security suites, etc. The idea is, that you can grab a cheap hosting plan for cheap and when you want something more, they will charge you for it.
FastComet includes all features in it’s hosting plans without upselling.
HostGator SSL Scam;
Perhaps one of the biggest downfalls is the lack of free SSL certificates, when hosting your site on HTTPS is an absolute must in 2024.
The free provider of SSL certs “Let’s Encrypt” is supported by many hosting companies, such as FastComet. Although free, the SSL is completely legit.
HostGator Upcharge scam;
Upcharging is extremely common in the hosting industry, so while I would think this is the least of their “scams”, fact is that HostGator’s regular pricing is not cheap.
That’s why I prefer companies like FastComet, who have flat, fixed pricing. Meaning that the low price you pay first, never changes and stays for ever.
HostGator Domain Scam;
While they are completely open to the fact that they do not provide free domain names, pricing is on the expensive side. And again, you end up paying more.
What about FastComet? They provide domains for free, not just for the first year but for as long as you keep your site hosting with them, for years to come!
HostGator SiteLock Scam;
There’s plenty of talk on how HostGator is scamming their users by getting them to purchase an expensive SiteLock web security service.
Fact is that there are free solutions for malware removal and protecting your WordPress. Or get automatic protection from FastComet, for free.
And those are the key points in my opinion!
So definitely HostGator is a legit company and you can host WordPress and other websites there if you wish. However, you might want to consider your options.
Click here to get to know more about FastComet Hosting services.
And btw! here’s what the HostGator Customer Portal looks like;
It’s all there and you can trust them. But you might as well may trust on being charged for it, especially if you want to enjoy all of their features.
HostGator is a big company owned by a big corporation (EIG or Endurance International Group), with an outsourced support team.
With FastComet you are singing up with a more friendly, mid-sized company that has an in-house support team for better, quality support and customer care.
Grab a free trial of FastComet to get to know what modern hosting truly is.
What do you think is HostGator legit or scam?
Your experiences are much appreciated so please share!
And finally I want to clarify to my readers that many of the links may carry affiliation that supports my blog financially. Thank you for voluntary contribution and I sincerely hope that the benefit is mutual. Cheers, Tim.