Hetzner vs HostGator 2026

Both Hetzner and HostGator sit in our live hosting matrix. Overall scores land at 8.8 (Hetzner, from about $4.51/mo) and 8.4 (HostGator, entry near $3.75/mo). Spec rows pull from April 2026 catalogue checks; median TTFB and uptime, when available, come from multi-week probes. Treat this as a starting point and confirm renewal pricing on the host's checkout.
Hetzner
8.8
from $4.51/mo
Get Deal Hetzner →
VS
HostGator
8.4
from $3.75/mo
Get Deal HostGator →

Behind this comparison

Parallel active accounts on Hetzner and HostGator stay maintained. In the latest pass, median TTFB came in near 288 ms on Hetzner and 445 ms on HostGator, while observed uptime windows landed around 99.95% versus 99.92%. Support ping checks showed median first meaningful replies near 45 minutes for Hetzner and 6 minutes for HostGator, though queue times swing with seasonality. The spec table reflects current plan pages as of the publish date; when vendors change tiers, numbers are re-run before adjusting the verdict boxes.

Hetzner: Median TTFB288 ms
HostGator: Median TTFB445 ms
Hetzner: Observed uptime99.95%
HostGator: Observed uptime99.92%

Feature comparison

Feature Hetzner HostGator
Overall score 8.8 8.4
Speed score 9.0 8.0
Reliability score 8.9 8.5
Support score 7.8 8.3
Starting price $4.51/mo $3.75/mo
Median TTFB (our probes) 288 ms 445 ms
Uptime (listed) 99.9% 99.9%
Storage (entry) 40 GB NVMe (CX22) Unmetered (fair use)
Websites (entry) Unlimited (self-managed) 1 (Hatchling)
Free domain (1st year) No Yes
Free SSL No Yes

Our verdict

Our pick
Hetzner
Choose Hetzner if you prioritise the higher overall score in our matrix (8.8 vs 8.4) and faster median TTFB in our probes (288 ms vs 445 ms). Low EU hosting costs, below big-cloud prices for similar specs. On the trade-off side, not for teams that will not use SSH. Cloud VPS, not managed WordPress.
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HostGator
Choose HostGator if you prioritise the lower advertised entry price ($3.75/mo) and stronger rated support in our rubric. Familiar brand for buyers who know it from ads. On the trade-off side, slower loading than LiteSpeed rivals with default caching.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Should I pick Hetzner or HostGator?+
It depends on budget, audience location, and whether you need phone support or specific regions. Our overall scores are 8.8 vs 8.4; cross-check the table with your must-haves, then confirm renewals on the host's checkout.
Do you run live tests on both providers?+
Published TTFB and uptime figures come from parallel test accounts and external probes over several weeks. Storage and site limits reflect published grids checked in April 2026.

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