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HostGator and Bluehost belong to the same company, Newfold Digital, and their Black Friday banners look almost identical. Their renewal invoices don’t. HostGator Business renews at $21.99 a month; Bluehost Business renews at $13.99 for the same 50 sites.
That gap is the first thing I check every November, and it matters more than anything on the sale page. Last year HostGator advertised up to 73% off, with Hatchling at $3.75 a month on 36 months. Hatchling costs $3.75 on 36 months today, too.
None of my own sites has lived on HostGator. They have been on WordPress.com, GoDaddy, WPX, ScalaHosting, Hetzner and now a Hostinger VPS, so read this as a comparison rather than a testimonial. HostGator still makes sense for someone who wants cPanel and a phone number to call. Most other buyers will pay less elsewhere, and the numbers below show where.
HostGator vs Bluehost: Same Owner, Different Renewals
Both are Newfold brands and both need a 36-month term for their best price. Matched by the number of sites each plan allows:
| Sites | HostGator today | HostGator renews at | Bluehost today | Bluehost renews at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 sites | Hatchling $3.75/mo, 10 GB SSD | $10.99/mo | Starter $3.99/mo, 10 GB NVMe | $9.99/mo |
| 50 sites | Business $6.25/mo, 50 GB SSD | $21.99/mo | Business $6.99/mo, 50 GB NVMe | $13.99/mo |
| 100 sites | Pro $13.95/mo, 100 GB SSD | $29.69/mo | eCommerce Essentials $14.99/mo, 100 GB NVMe | $21.99/mo |
HostGator wins the first three years at every tier, by a little. Bluehost wins every year after that, and it gives NVMe storage where HostGator lists SSD. If you plan to stay past year three, Bluehost is the better buy from the same shelf.
HostGator Plans and Renewals
| Plan | On 36 months | Renews at | Sites and storage | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatchling | $3.75/mo | $10.99/mo | 10 sites, 10 GB SSD | Chat only |
| Baby | $4.50/mo | $16.49/mo | 20 sites, 20 GB SSD | Phone and chat |
| Business | $6.25/mo | $21.99/mo | 50 sites, 50 GB SSD | Phone and chat |
| Pro | $13.95/mo | $29.69/mo | 100 sites, 100 GB SSD | Phone and chat |
Two details on the plan pages are worth knowing: Hatchling has no phone support, and site migration is listed as a paid service on the main plans.
Last Year’s Sale Moved the Banner More Than the Price
- When: late November through Cyber Monday 2025; the 2024 sale ran from November 25 to December 2
- Headline: up to 73% off shared hosting for new accounts
- Hatchling: $3.75/mo on 36 months, unchanged from its everyday price
- Extras: a domain free for the first year and SSL
The 73% matches the discount Baby carries against its list price on any day of the year. So if HostGator is your choice, buying in October costs you nothing.
What Three Years and Year Four Cost
| Plan | Paid upfront for 36 months | Year four |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchling | $135 | $131.88 |
| Baby | $162 | $197.88 |
| Business | $225 | $263.88 |
| Pro | $502.20 | $356.28 |
Baby’s fourth year costs more than its first three combined. That is the year the Bluehost comparison above starts to matter.
If You Choose HostGator
Baby
If I had to pick one HostGator plan, it would be Baby, mostly for the phone line.
- $4.50/mo on 36 months, renews at $16.49/mo
- 20 websites, 20 GB SSD storage
- Phone and chat support, cPanel, staging, SSH and WP-CLI
Seventy-five cents a month over Hatchling for phone support and twice the room is fair. The renewal sits close to what Hostinger charges for Unlimited, which has more storage on NVMe.
Hatchling
Hatchling fits one small site whose owner never needs to call support.
- $3.75/mo on 36 months, renews at $10.99/mo
- 10 websites, 10 GB SSD, unmetered bandwidth
- cPanel and free SSL, a domain free for the first year, support by chat only
The storage, not the site count, is what runs out first on an entry plan like this.
Business
Business adds storage, security and backup extras for several sites.
- $6.25/mo on 36 months, renews at $21.99/mo
- 50 websites, 50 GB SSD storage
- Phone and chat support
This is the plan where the gap to Bluehost Business is widest: about $8 a month from year four, every year.
HostGator India
HostGator India at hostgator.in is a separate store with rupee prices and its own sales. Shared hosting starts at ₹69 a month there even outside Black Friday; a .com is ₹999 a year on a 2-year purchase and a .in starts at ₹529 a year.
I would still price Hostinger India next to it, where Unlimited is ₹249 a month on 48 months with an India data center. Unlimited web hosting in India covers the local field.
Little Has Changed at HostGator
- 2021: Newfold Digital. Endurance International merged with Web.com to form Newfold, which also owns Bluehost.
- November 2025: Bluehost’s Oracle Cloud move. The announcement covered Bluehost customers; HostGator was not part of it.
- 2026: Pricier cPanel. Every HostGator shared plan runs on cPanel, whose 2026 licence fees went up again.
- 2026: Old names, current renewals. Hatchling, Baby, Business and Pro remain, renewing at $10.99, $16.49, $21.99 and $29.69.
- October 2026: New group CEO. Sachin Puri took over Newfold on October 1.
Who HostGator Still Suits
- People who want cPanel and phone support on a small budget. Baby covers both for three years.
- Existing HostGator customers adding a site. That beats a migration.
- Not first-time buyers chasing value. Namecheap and Hostinger renew lower; my Black Friday hosting comparison has the full list.
HostGator Black Friday FAQs
When does HostGator run its Black Friday sale?
Around Thanksgiving week. In 2024 it ran from November 25 to December 2; in 2025 from late November through Cyber Monday.
Is the HostGator Black Friday price a real discount?
Barely. Hatchling was $3.75 a month on 36 months in the sale, which is also its price today.
What does HostGator cost after renewal?
Hatchling $10.99 a month, Baby $16.49, Business $21.99 and Pro $29.69.
Is HostGator owned by Bluehost?
Both belong to Newfold Digital. They are separate brands with different prices; Bluehost Business renews about $8 a month lower than HostGator Business.
Does HostGator migrate sites for free?
It lists migration as a paid service on its main shared plans, so budget for it or use a migration plugin yourself.
Does HostGator India have Black Friday deals?
It runs its own rupee sales. Shared hosting starts at ₹69 a month there outside the sale.
Verdict
Already happy with HostGator? Buy Baby on 36 months whenever you are ready; the sale won’t change the price. If you are choosing fresh, look at the renewal column first, and you will usually end up at Bluehost or Hostinger instead.