InterServer vs. HostGator (2024)

Laura Bernheim

By: Laura Bernheim

Laura Bernheim

Laura Bernheim, Contributing Expert

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.

Lillian Castro

Editor: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro, Senior Editor

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

Cristian Lopez

Reviewer: Cristian Lopez

Cristian Lopez

Cristian Lopez, Contributing Expert

Cristian Lopez uses his Business Marketing background from the University of Illinois at Chicago to create comfortable environments for customers, clients, and colleagues to share their thoughts and ideas openly. From interviewing tech leaders to conducting UX market research projects, Cristian knows the importance of storytelling — a key variable for innovation and inspiration. His goal at HostingAdvice is to wow readers on the ever-evolving nature of the tech industry and bring his audience the most reliable and exciting content on all things hosting.

Laura Bernheim Laura Bernheim Hosting Expert
“We tested InterServer & HostGator — The winner is InterServer!”

Whether you’re hosting a personal blog or an online store, the web host you choose will impact your website’s success. Nothing ruins your user’s experience faster than unexpected 401 errors and slow page loads. But you’re aware of this already, which is likely why you’re performing due diligence before choosing a hosting provider. In this comparison, we’ll present the pros and cons of InterServer and HostGator to help you make the best choice.

Overall Rating
4.6/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit InterServer »
Overall Rating
4.6/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit HostGator »

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Overall Hosting Comparison

Best Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

As tech-savvy teenagers in the days of dial-up internet, Mike Lavrik and John Quaglieri started InterServer to show their former hosting providers how it should be done. Fed up with their hosting options, Mike and John created InterServer on a strong foundation of technical expertise and customer support.

Now, InterServer is a refreshing, independent hosting option built on modern infrastructure that is assembled, deployed, and supported at the datacenter housed in company headquarters in New Jersey.

InterServer's robust shared plans come with the features you'd expect from higher-tier providers: unlimited storage, bandwidth, email, and SSL certificates, along with power-packed SSDs, free migrations, and affordable domains.

Rookie site owners might be intimidated by InterServer's long list of features, but each will help customers large and small succeed in their hosting ventures.

InterServer can't match the low prices of some of the mass-market competitors out there when it comes to shared hosting, but they become exponentially more affordable as your website or application grows to VPS or dedicated plans — especially when you consider the perks of 24/7 on-site support and IT-minded Co-Founders who still manage the datacenter and respond to support tickets.

No matter which level of hosting you need, InterServer offers a price-lock guarantee. Whatever price you sign up for, that's what you'll pay as long as you have the account (unless you add or upgrade services).

You'll never be surprised with a rate increase or be locked into lengthy contracts. We're struggling to come up with another hosting provider who can make that promise.

  • Independently owned datacenter and NO contracts
  • 24/7 on-site support through chat, phone, and tickets
  • Same price guaranteed for life
  • Unlimited storage, sites, and email
  • FREE website migration, caching, and security tools
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

Best Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

HostGator has been around for more than a decade and is well-respected for its large number of servers and consistent reliability.

Known mostly as a shared hosting provider, HostGator still supplies decent dedicated and VPS options if you need your site to scale.

HostGator costs slightly more than some of the other budget-minded shared hosts, but that echoes the brand's reputation for strong infrastructure and helpful support.

HostGator offers decent features in its basic shared hosting offerings, such as unlimited disk space, a nice control panel, and free website templates. Plus, you get the flexibility to add numerous add-ons for privacy, security, and productivity as you see fit.

Aimed primarily at the semi-technical user, HostGator's flexibility is its strong suit. Dedicated, VPS, and Windows hosting is available if that fits your needs, as well. Root access, SSH, and support for Ruby, Perl, Python, and other languages are available on all plans.

HostGator has nearly limitless options and control available for their servers, with the support and beginner-friendly tools that will appeal to the full range of customers.

  • Familiar and easy-to-use cPanel control panel
  • FREE drag-and-drop custom website builder
  • Unlimited disk space, email, and bandwidth
  • Flexible term lengths with no contract required
  • 74% off your first three years
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Cheap Hosting Comparison

Cheap Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

It's hard to argue with a shared hosting plan that includes unlimited storage, bandwidth, websites, and email — but shared hosting is a crowded industry that turns on name recognition, reputation, and bargain-basement prices.

InterServer outperforms some of our higher-rated hosts, but we understand that many first-time site owners are laser-focused on finding the lowest costs.

InterServer's shared options are best for the more experienced user who will appreciate SSD caching servers and RAID-10 storage, along with included perks such as Cloudflare CDN and free SSL certificates. Free migrations and automatic weekly backups add to the list of advantages included under InterServer's premium price.

On the flip side, however, novice customers will enjoy a free website builder when designing and launching their site. Although InterServer's 400-plus installation scripts cover a number of content management systems and eCommerce tools, other hosts take a more hands-on approach to empowering these customers to start an online store.

InterServer may make up for its somewhat higher rates with a price-lock guarantee — the price when you sign up is what you can expect to pay for the life of your account. What's more, InterServer won't lock you up with lengthy contracts.

Customers can get discounted rates by paying up front for services; otherwise, your hosting plan runs month-to-month. Users will appreciate knowing what bills to expect and not having to deal with annual rate hikes.

  • $0.01 first month (coupon code HOSTINGADV)
  • $2.50/month after. No contracts or increases
  • Unlimited storage space, data transfers, and email
  • Register or transfer domains for less than $10
  • 99.9% uptime and price-lock guarantee
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

Cheap Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

#9 out of 10 in Cheap Hosting reviews

HostGator is a great compromise between performance and price. The company offers unlimited emails, MySQL databases, disk space, and bandwidth, plus one-click installs of popular open-source projects, in addition to a 99.9% uptime guarantee on its shared hosting plan.

HostGator’s price-to-performance perks also apply to its vast array of other hosting options, such as VPS, dedicated servers, and even reseller hosting.

The company's many hosting options make HostGator a great choice for sites on the rise, in need of options for the future.

For those just getting started and looking for a good, cheap host, HostGator bundles some nice features that hosting newbies can appreciate.

The Hatchling Plan is perfect for users who just want to create one website, while upgrading to the HostGator Baby Plan unlocks unlimited bandwidth, domains, and email inboxes.

The web hosting company’s custom website builder comes with more than 4,500 drag-and-drop, mobile-friendly templates to help users launch their website, blog, or ecommerce store, while the familiar HostGator cPanel interface helps customers seamlessly manage domains, email, databases, and one-click software installations.

If you are looking for a solid web host, with a ton of flexibility, plenty of power, and great price points, you should consider making HostGator your web host of choice. Be sure to use a HostGator coupon to make sure you score the best deal!

  • Host up to unlimited websites on a single plan
  • FREE SSL certificate included on all plans
  • Unlimited bandwidth & email addresses
  • 1-click WordPress installs & FREE blog tools
  • Get 74% OFF by buying 36 months upfront
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Dedicated Hosting Comparison

Dedicated Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

#7 out of 8 in Dedicated Hosting reviews

You know a hosting company means business when it owns and operates its own datacenters.

Because InterServer employees build and manage servers in the same building as company headquarters, dedicated hosting customers get the utmost in flexibility, support, and around-the-clock monitoring.

Co-Founders Mike Lavrik and John Quaglieri started InterServer in 1999 out of frustration with their own personal hosting providers and insist the company remain independent and customers are supported 24/7 through phone, chat, or tickets with InterServer's US-based team.

In fact, chances are a Co-Founder will answer your ticket in fewer than 20 minutes.

Servers are up and running within four hours and come with at least 1GB of RAM, 250GB of storage, 10TB of bandwidth, and five IP addresses. With the company's base Intel Dual-Core Atom configuration costing roughly $50 per month, InterServer brings surprising affordability to the high-end dedicated hosting products.

At the other end of InterServer's spectrum of server setups, we were utterly blown away by the amount of storage you can configure — users can max out their servers with not one, but two, 6TB SATA hard drives. If you need SSD, you can install up to 2TB of the performant drives.

Users can also configure up to 13 IP addresses and choose among several different flavors of Linux or Windows operating systems.

  • 24/7 uptime monitoring and private datacenter
  • Up to 24 cores and 100TB bandwidth
  • 12 operating systems and 3 control panels
  • Custom configs built and maintained in-house
  • Price-lock guarantee without contracts
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
N/A
Disk Space
250 GB SSD - 80 TB HDD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

Dedicated Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

#5 out of 8 in Dedicated Hosting reviews

Founded in 2002, HostGator is one of the largest web hosts with a long lineage of dedicated server hosting. With updated hardware, including Intel Xeon Quad-core processors and a boatload of RAM, HostGator balances performance, quality web hosting service, and competitive pricing.

As one of the few hosts to offer managed support and a Windows-based operating system, HostGator is an excellent fit for those seeking hassle-free ASP.NET support.

HostGator boasts a top-of-the-line, fully redundant network and datacenter, which dedicated hosting users should appreciate.

The company also offers several dedicated IP addresses per HostGator server hosting account.

Finally, HostGator has a fantastic support team and 24/7 customer service available via phone, chat, or email. Combining that HostGator support with plenty of power, HostGator is a very respectable choice for a dedicated server host.

  • Linux or Windows servers available
  • HDD or SSD storage plus unmetered bandwidth
  • Fully redundant network and datacenter
  • SSH access and support for multiple languages
  • Managed or semi-managed solutions
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
N/A
Disk Space
512 GB SSD - 2 TB HDD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

VPS Hosting Comparison

VPS Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

#6 out of 9 in VPS Hosting reviews

InterServer's on-site datacenter and hands-on involvement with configuring and provisioning virtual private servers give customers a level of flexibility not seen with many other hosting providers.

InterServer rations VPS and cloud resources through slices. Users can select just one CPU core or more than a dozen, with disk space ranging from sane to absurd amounts of high-powered SSDs.

In addition to that speedy standard feature, we love that virtual servers are provisioned instantly and come with the latest versions of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby pre-installed. Users can take further control through full root access and InterServer's web-based control panel.

InterServer brings incredibly affordable options to the VPS and cloud space, with plans starting at $10 or less per month and a free migration service from shared hosting accounts.

We're not wild about the rest of InterServer's managed VPS services but understand that many customers at this level are plenty capable of handling their virtual servers.

The company will support issues related to the operating system or control panel if the account has at least four slices (four cores, 8GB memory, 120GB of storage). InterServer isn't being unreasonable by any stretch, but other hosts make management a simpler, smoother process.

InterServer guarantees hardware, network, and infrastructure uptime of 99.9%, which has become pretty standard for the web hosting industry. We expected to see the in-house expertise bump that guaranteed rate a little higher, but we trust InterServer will overdeliver on their SLA promise.

  • $0.01 for the first month using code HOSTINGADV
  • Then $6 monthly with no contracts, no changes
  • Latest of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby
  • 7 operating system options for Linux or Windows
  • Full root access and choice of datacenter
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
N/A
Disk Space
30 GB SSD - 480 GB SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

VPS Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

#7 out of 9 in VPS Hosting reviews

HostGator has built a great reputation in the industry for its shared web hosting options. The company's VPS hosting solution, with optional cPanel support, provide a nice and easy introduction to those who are new to VPS hosting and know their needs require more than a typical shared plan.

Starting at low price points and boasting tons of support, HostGator makes transitioning to a VPS plan reasonable and doable.

Each plan comes with two IP addresses and a bunch of storage, and recently expanded CPU and RAM offerings lend a ton of computing power.

If you're not sure a VPS hosting package is a good fit, take a look at the revamped HostGator cloud offerings, which offer additional scalability and redundancy at remarkable price points.

For those managing multiple hosting accounts, be sure to consider a HostGator reseller hosting plan, as well.

HostGator’s strongest point comes from its state-of-the-art datacenter. Featuring a fully redundant network with no single point of failure and multiple bandwidth providers, uptime should almost never be a concern.

Founded in 2002, HostGator is one of the largest online web hosts. The company has more than 12,000 servers under management and award-winning support. If you are looking for a small VPS server or value the strength of a great network, give HostGator a shot.

  • Full root access with fully or semi-managed options
  • Redundant network with multiple layers of security
  • FREE website, domain, MySQL, and script transfer
  • RAID-10 storage for data protection
  • Get up to 75% off when you sign up
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
120 GB SSD - 240 GB SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

WordPress Hosting Comparison

WordPress Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

With managed WordPress hosting plans being all the rage lately, we occasionally get peeved at hosting providers that capitalize on the frenzy without optimizing its platform for the specific strengths and weaknesses of the world's most popular content management system.

That being said, InterServer's standard shared and VPS infrastructure provides more than enough resources to run your WordPress site at peak performance.

Perhaps most importantly, InterServer promises to clean up customers' compromised websites and get them back online if you get hacked — especially important for WordPress users, as the platform's popularity unfortunately makes it a prime target for attacks.

Even the most experienced WordPress users can fall victim to an exploit, and InterServer's support team is available 24/7 to fix any issue when it arises.

The company's proprietary InterShield security suite, however, does an impressive job at keeping attackers at bay. The company's in-house malware database drives a firewall powered by machine learning and collecting data from InterServer's thousands of servers.

When it comes to speed, InterServer has you covered with five levels of content caching solutions, covering SSL certificates, packets, software, hardware, and RAID configurations. A partnership with Cloudflare garners users extra protections and global content delivery.

Enjoy single-click installs for the WordPress software, easy-to-use cPanel control panel, and solid-state drives (SSDs) to get your site performance extra oomph.

To the value-minded shoppers in the crowd, note that all InterServer customers are assured a price-lock guarantee and will never be asked to sign a control. That's a longer-term value in the shared hosting market that's tough to beat.

  • FREE website migration and privately owned datacenter
  • The price you pay now is guaranteed for the life of your account
  • 24/7 support teams will fix and restore hacked websites
  • Plans optimized for speed with SSD storage and caching
  • NO long-term contract required
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

WordPress Rating

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0

#7 out of 9 in WordPress Hosting reviews

HostGator is great for all things shared hosting, and application-specific services — such as the classic one-click-install WordPress hosting — are no exception.

The team recently updated its already clean and intuitive HostGator cPanel dashboard, wherein users can find a myriad of free apps and scripts to install, including WordPress.

You could quite realistically have a WP-powered site up and running in as little as an afternoon. As is the case with many of our favorite shared WordPress hosting providers, including sister company Bluehost, HostGator offers unlimited emails, databases, disk storage, and bandwidth.

The one downfall is the lack of the popular free domain perk, but domain names are easy to obtain for around $10 to $15 bucks with any registrar.

You can also select, register, and pay for a domain directly from the HostGator signup page. If you're serious about your WordPress hosting, we recommend HostGator's new(er) managed WordPress platform, which is optimized for performance with cloud resources, multiple layers of caching tools, and a complimentary CDN.

Managed WordPress plan subscribers enjoy up to 2.5x faster page load speeds for their HostGator website or blog.

If you're running a business WordPress site, this is an excellent investment.

Once your site is designed and ready for promotion, HostGator helps you kickstart your online marketing efforts with $100 in paid advertising credits. Attract blog readers, potential clients, or online shoppers browsing Google search results.

We wish you the best of luck in your blog or online business hosting endeavors. WordPress is a known favorite in the space, and HostGator has established itself as a trusted partner well worthy of your consideration.

  • Managed WordPress hosting on shared servers
  • WordPress is preinstalled on all plans
  • Unlimited email addresses hosted at your domain
  • 99.9% uptime guarantee for your blog
  • $150 in Google Ads spend match credit
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
20 GB SSD - 100 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)

Site Builder Hosting Comparison

Website Builder Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

Although InterServer's unrivaled tech expertise and flexible VPS plans foster a brand reputation that serves experienced developers, the company's focus on affordability and customer satisfaction at the shared hosting level show that InterServer is highly tuned to serving everyone's needs.

A partnership with the drag-and-drop SitePad website builder is proof that InterServer doesn't require users to code their sites into creation.

Website design is simplified and consolidated into a matter of minutes with the what-you-see-is-what-you-get features found within SitePad. InterServer customers can install the website builder through cPanel or DirectAdmin integrations, and the builder comes with more than 300 professional themes, organized into categories such as business, travel, photography, real estate, health, and others.

Site owners will be sure to find a template that works for their specific niche, and each design is already prepped and ready for mobile devices. We especially appreciate that SitePad and InterServer enable customers to establish multiple sites on one account, given the unlimited hosting resources and site builder flexibility.

To further distinguish your online brands, SitePad provides more than 40 widgets to further customize themes with photo galleries, text boxes, buttons, videos, and other interactive elements.

Coupled with unlimited SSD storage and hundreds of cloud-based applications (think WordPress, MediaWiki, phpBB, and others), InterServer is poised to provide all the tools site owners need to be successful.

Add in the company's incredible first-month rate and guaranteed long-term pricing, and we're confident you'll find a hosting partner capable of ushering you through growth.

  • $0.01 for the first month, then $5 monthly after
  • FREE SitePad builder comes with 300+ themes
  • Drag-and-drop interface with 1-click pubishing
  • 40+ widgets for galleries, videos, maps, and more
  • Unlimited storage, transfer, websites, and email
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited SSD
Domain Name
New or Transfer

Website Builder Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0

#4 out of 9 in Website Builder Hosting reviews

Setting itself apart from the scores of competitors that rely on white-labeled website builder solutions, HostGator spent the time to painstakingly craft its own platform.

Gator provides a frustration-free experience that pairs the simplicity of drag-and-drop design with the company’s powerful and respected web hosting services.

Signing up is a breeze, and HostGator gives customers an option to add a suite of social media marketing tools. Users are quickly ushered into a gallery of more than 200 modern, mobile-responsive, and visually impressive templates that can be sorted by categories like beauty and fashion, music and entertainment, real estate, business consultant, portfolios, and others.

Gator covers blogs and ecommerce stores, even coming with a free domain name and SSL certificate.

Once you choose your basic look, Gator ushers you through a 15-second tour to show you the basic features of the editor — and it’s all you need.

Clicking on any element opens a menu that gives you options to change styles, whether it’s a section’s complete design or something simple like font or color.

We especially appreciate how Gator’s drag-and-drop interface gives users pixel-perfect control while still suggesting guides and grids for appropriate spacing.

Throughout the customization and design phase, users can seamlessly switch between desktop and mobile views to understand how your site will appear to all visitors.

Adding a blog or ecommerce store takes just a click. We wish Gator would suggest a select few designs that matched the current site’s template instead of the dozen or so options that reflect a wide range of categories, but we were impressed that the in-depth previews covered both the blog page and individual posts, for instance.

All in all, HostGator can be incredibly proud of its proprietary site builder — and customers can sit back and enjoy the confidence in having such a well-rounded tool at their design disposal.

  • Drag-and-drop design with the Gator™ site builder
  • Hundreds of mobile-friendly templates
  • FREE hosting, domain name, and SSL certificate
  • Easily add a blog, store, and social media
  • Analytics portal helps gauge site performance
  • Get started on HostGator now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
10 GB SSD - 40 GB SSD
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
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InterServer vs. HostGator - Our Conclusion

Laura Bernheim Laura Bernheim Hosting Expert
“We tested InterServer & HostGator — The winner is InterServer!”

Well, there you have it. But just because we named a winner today doesn’t mean your specific needs don’t warrant a reversal. InterServer’s hands-on approach to IT-minded environments is ideal for our more tech-savvy readers. But on the flip side, HostGator is probably more likely to appeal to site owners who are less technologically experienced. Ultimately, the web host you choose should fit your website’s goals, expected traffic, and size.

Overall Rating
4.6/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit InterServer »
Overall Rating
4.5/5.0 ★★★★★
Visit HostGator »

About The Author

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.
Laura Bernheim