NameHero vs Hostgator – LiteSpeed Makes the Difference

Table of Contents

NameHero vs Hostgator: LiteSpeed

Thanks to the amazing LiteSpeed web server, NameHero can provide out of the box server-level caching for all major platforms like WordPress etc. While it still needs a plugin, the heavy lifting is done by the server instead of your site. Here’s a more in-depth article on what LiteSpeed actually is.

Hostgator on the other hand, doesn’t offer server-based caching on its regular plans. The only package where it’s available is on the Hostgator WordPress packages, which are much more expensive. But even Hostgator’s WordPress plans don’t use LiteSpeed. It’s a custom solution without any of the added benefits that LiteSpeed has.

Hostgator instead uses ordinary Apache servers. The reason is simple – Apache is free. LiteSpeed is a licensed product that increases the costs of hosting. And since Hostgator’s pricing strategy relies on low-cost hosting, they can’t afford to use a premium product like LiteSpeed.

NameHero vs Hostgator: Pricing

NameHero’s discounts tend to fluctuate for long periods throughout the year. It ranges from 65% off to 55% off depending on the season. Hostgator’s prices on the other hand, are much more stable. The Hostgator flash sale lasts only for a few days with elevated discounts. In terms of sheer discount percentages, NameHero can have Hostgator beat.

But despite this, Hostgator’s prices are lower than NameHero’s. Because of the added costs of hosting, NameHero simply can’t afford to keep its baseline price as low as Hostgator does. It also has additional costs from customer service and high-end servers. In an earlier article about why NameHero is so good, I explained that NameHero isn’t chasing the lowest prices. However, it’s still in the same ballpark range as Hostgator.

So as far as raw pricing goes, Hostgator is cheaper than NameHero.

Winner: Hostgator

Backups: NameHero is Much Better

Hostgator’s backups are non-existent. They make a vague promise about random weekly backups that aren’t guaranteed, and you need to raise a ticket to restore a backup. Compared to this, NameHero backups are amazing, and are enabled by default. It takes both weekly and nightly backups that you can restore with the click of a button from your cPanel dashboard. There’s no need to raise a customer request, and there’s no limit on the number of times you can restore your site.

Even better, NameHero stores its backups in an off-site location. So if something happens to the server site itself, your backups are still safe. This is a feature that even expensive hosts like SiteGround are unable to compete with. On Hostgator however, you need to purchase a separate CodeGuard solution for backups. Honestly, I’m not a fan of CodeGuard, and there are many great alternatives like DropMySite.

Winner: NameHero by a mile.

Malware Scanning

NameHero has real time malware scanning for free. Basic Hostgator hosting on the other hand, has no such features – you have to purchase an additional package. As a result, NameHero is more secure, and requires fewer additional add-ons compared to Hostgator. NameHero has a tie-up with the company Imunify360, which you can access via the cPanel plugin. The plugin automatically scans your installations for the latest malware, and scrapes it from your site if it finds any.

Winner: NameHero

Storage Drives Comparison

One big drawback of Hostgator is that it doesn’t use SSD drives. There are good reasons for this, since it allows them to offer “unlimited” storage. But here’s the kicker. NameHero offers unlimited SSD storage too!

That’s very impressive. Lots of web hosts like Bluehost for example, have limited storage due to their SSD drives for their basic plans. By making it unlimited, NameHero has completely negated Hostgator’s advantage in this area.

Winner: NameHero

NameHero vs Hostgator: Customer Service

NameHero’s customer service is a lot more personal compared to Hostgator. While the latter outsources its customer service personnel to reduce costs, NameHero ensures that all its customer reps are in-house. In addition, the CEO Ryan Gray is actively involved in customer service. He comments on blogs, makes Youtube videos, and is a frequent participant in the web hosting community.

Hostgator on the other hand, suffers from the curse that comes from corporatization. It was made even worse when EIG acquired them. So with Hostgator, you’re dealing with a faceless behemoth, whereas with NameHero, it’s a lot more personal.

Winner: NameHero

Data Center Locations Comparison

NameHero has datacenters on two continents. Two in the US, and one in the EU

NameHero Data Centers:

• Lansing, Michigan
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Netherlands, EU

Hostgator on the other hand, is a US based hosting company. It has two datacenters in the US:

Hostgator Data Centers:

• Houston, Texas
• Provo, Utah

Given that NameHero has a data center in Europe, as well as two locations in the US, it’s objectively better than Hostgator. More is good right?

Winner: NameHero

Bottom Line: NameHero is Better

Apart from initial discounts, there’s no reason to pick Hostgator over NameHero. The latter has more features, better customer service, and lower long-term hosting costs. It’s not even a close call between them!