HostGator vs Instapage: guide for 2024

Final verdict

HostGator and Instapage both offer unique strengths, catering to different user needs.

HostGator (Overall Grade: 6.2/10)

is a versatile website builder and hosting platform, ideal for users looking to create a variety of websites, including blogs, business sites, and e-commerce stores. It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, a wide range of customizable templates, and comprehensive hosting services. However, it falls short in advanced marketing features and AI capabilities compared to Instapage. HostGator is best suited for users who need a reliable and straightforward website builder with robust hosting options.
Instapage (Overall Grade: 6.6/10)

excels in creating high-converting landing pages with its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, AI content generation, and extensive marketing integrations. It is designed to optimize advertising conversions through personalized and data-driven landing pages. While it lacks the broad website-building capabilities of HostGator, Instapage is perfect for businesses focused on marketing and lead generation. Its advanced features and ease of use make it a strong choice for marketers and small teams.

	Overall grade: 6.2	Overall grade: 6.6
Design functionalities & templates	7.9	8.0
Ease of use	8.0	8.5
Ecommerce	6.3	4.2
Website Editors	7.3	7.5
Product testing options	2.6	6.1
Price	6.2	7.0
Hosting quality	8.0	6.0
Website speed optimization	6.2	6.2
Plugins and integrations	7.3	6.8
Marketing features	6.9	7.7
Customer support	7.3	7.6
Security	7.4	8.4
AI capabilities	2.6	6.0
User Management	3.2	7.3

Best for ecommerce

6.3

4.2

Verdict

: HostGator is more suitable for comprehensive ecommerce needs, while Instapage is better for landing page optimization with some ecommerce integrations.

HostGator

: HostGator offers a robust set of ecommerce features, including secure online payments, unlimited products, and multi-channel inventory management. It is designed to help users create and manage online stores efficiently, making it a strong choice for those looking to build a full-fledged ecommerce website. However, when comparing HostGator vs Instapage, HostGator’s ecommerce capabilities are more extensive and user-friendly for complete online store management.
Instapage

: Instapage excels in creating high-converting landing pages with ecommerce integrations like Shopify. It supports various payment gateways and offers tools for optimization and personalization. However, it lacks the comprehensive ecommerce features found in HostGator, making it more suitable for businesses focused on landing page performance rather than full-scale ecommerce operations.

Best for informational & business websites

7.4

7.9

Verdict

: When it comes to creating informational and business websites, Instapage slightly outperforms HostGator, thanks to its user-friendly interface and advanced design functionalities.

HostGator

: HostGator offers a robust website builder with a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for users without technical skills to create professional-looking websites. It provides a variety of customizable templates suitable for different types of websites, including business sites. However, its primary strength lies in its hosting services, which might be more than what is needed for a simple informational site. HostGator scores 7.4 in this category.
Instapage

: Instapage excels in creating high-conversion landing pages and offers a range of tools for personalization, optimization, and testing. Its intuitive interface and extensive design functionalities make it ideal for businesses looking to create effective informational websites. Instapage scores 7.9, making it a slightly better choice for informational and business websites compared to HostGator. When comparing HostGator vs Instapage, Instapage’s focus on ease of use and advanced design features gives it the edge.

Detailed comparison

7.9

8.0

🏆

Winner: Instapage.

Although both platforms offer a variety of templates and design functionalities, Instapage slightly outperforms HostGator with a score of 8.0 compared to HostGator’s 7.9.

HostGator provides a substantial variety of design templates, catering to different user needs and preferences. It offers over 200 different mobile-friendly themes. Additionally, there’s a separate collection of 4,500 templates available for free download to users hosting their sites on HostGator servers, which are not interchangeable with the site builder’s own templates.

On the other hand, Instapage provides an extensive collection of 100+ design templates for website building, business-specific templates. These templates are tailored to support small teams and businesses in executing their marketing campaigns efficiently, including features for marketing automation, CRM, and analytics integrations.

Instapage Themes

Get a head start on website creation with AI

Create a custom website tailored to your business needs 10X faster with 10Web AI Website Builder!

Generate Your Website

No credit card required

8.0

8.5

🏆 Winner: Instapage

. Scoring 8.5, Instapage edges out HostGator, which scored 8.0, in terms of ease of use. Instapage’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, wide range of customization options, and seamless integration with numerous marketing tools make it a more user-friendly platform.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Instapage

. Both platforms offer comprehensive learning resources, but Instapage provides a wider range of resources, including blogs, webinars, videos, podcasts, ebooks, dictionaries, guides, and customer stories, making it a more versatile learning platform.

Learn HostGator

Learn Instapage

6.3

4.2

HostGator and Instapage offer different ecommerce capabilities. HostGator, a website builder, includes ecommerce features that allow users to create an online store, manage products, track inventory, and process payments securely. On the other hand, Instapage, primarily a landing page platform, supports integration with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify.


Ecommerce themes and templates	7.0	0.0
Product page customization	6.5	0.0
Payment processing and commissions	6.0	5.0
POS capabilities	5.0	0.0
Payment gateways	5.5	6.0
Product numbers	4.5	0.0
Additional ecommerce features	6.5	4.0

HostGator ecommerce features:

Secure Online Payments
Unlimited Products
Product Search & Filtering
Wishlists & Gift Cards
Multi-Channel Inventory Management
Shipping Labels

Instapage ecommerce features:

Shopify integration
Payment gateways such as Stripe and Paypal

Ecommerce themes & templates

HostGator caters to ecommerce needs by offering a broad selection of free templates, all designed with mobile responsiveness in mind. These templates are equipped with essential ecommerce features such as product catalogs and payment processing options. The platform is user-friendly, enabling users to effortlessly create professional-looking online stores tailored to their specific requirements, all without the need for any coding knowledge. In contrast, Instapage does not have ecommerce specific templates.

Product page customization

HostGator Website Builder offers basic features for customizing product pages, enabling users to add products with details such as name, price, description, and images. It supports product variants and categorization to enhance customer navigation. Advanced settings include inventory management, discount options, and the ability to set products as shippable or downloadable. Instapage, however, does not have product page customization capabilities.

Payment processing

When it comes to payment processing, HostGator Website Builder integrates with PayPal as a payment gateway for processing transactions. The platform charges a 3% transaction fee on Express Store and Express Site plans, no transaction fees are charged on higher Express Store plan. Instapage supports payment gateway integration, notably through external systems and third-party services like Commence Payments for Stripe, facilitating various payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and card payments. The platform itself does not directly charge commissions for transactions, but payment gateways may have their own fees. While Instapage specializes in creating high-converting landing pages with a focus on online marketing, it does not explicitly offer Point of Sale (POS) capabilities, suggesting a primary use case away from direct sales or retail transactions.

7.3

7.5

🏆

Winner: Instapage

. Instapage, with a score of 7.5, is a comprehensive website builder focused on creating and optimizing landing pages for various marketing campaigns. It offers a drag-and-drop editor, AI content generation, detailed analytics, and extensive customization through custom code editing, alongside security and compliance features. The platform supports collaboration, integrates with numerous marketing tools, and is designed to streamline the process of building, testing, and optimizing landing pages to increase conversions.

HostGator’s website builder, scoring 7.3, offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, enabling users to easily create and customize their websites without needing any coding knowledge. It provides a wide range of templates that are fully customizable, allowing for the personalization of layouts, colors, and fonts to match the user’s brand identity. Additionally, the editor supports the integration of various multimedia elements like images, videos, and social media links, enhancing the visual appeal and functionality of the website.

Hosgator website editor

Mobile editor/app

4.0

🏆

Winner: HostGator

. Neither HostGator nor Instapage offers a dedicated mobile editor app. However, HostGator provides some limited capabilities for making small changes to your website using a mobile browser. On the other hand, Instapage does not provide any mobile editing capabilities. Therefore, while neither platform excels in this category, HostGator comes out slightly ahead due to its limited mobile browser editing capabilities.

2.6

6.1

Overall Result

:

Instapage Wins

. Instapage scores 6.1 in product testing options, significantly higher than HostGator’s 2.6. Instapage offers a 14-day free trial, during which users can test all premium features. However, users are required to fill in their payment information, and if they don’t cancel by the end of the trial period, they may be charged automatically. HostGator, on the other hand, does not offer a free or trial version, but users can test all features within a 30-day refundable period.


Free Plan	No	No
Trial Duration	No	14 days (with payment information)
Testing Premium Features	Within 30-day refundable period	During the free trial

6.2

7.0

HostGator offers more affordable plans compared to Instapage, but Instapage provides more advanced features, especially for businesses seeking to optimize their conversion rates.

	Offerings	Offerings
$10-$14	Express Start ($12.95/month): Includes hosting, basic analytics dashboard, 3 email campaigns per month, up to 3 products. Value for price: 6.0	No offering at this amount.
$14-$20	Express Site ($14.98/month): Offers hosting, advanced analytics dashboard, 5 email campaigns per month, up to 10 products. Value for price: 7.0	No offering at this amount.
$20-$30	Express Store ($26.98/month): Comprehensive plan including hosting, advanced analytics dashboard, 10 email campaigns per month, unlimited products. Value for price: 8.5	No offering at this amount.
$200+	No offering at this amount.	BUILD ($299/month): Optimize conversions with experimentation and lead generation. Includes #1 Landing page builder, No Conversion Limits, Server-Side A/B Testing, AI Content, Unlimited Triggered Popups, Thor Render Engine, Dynamic Text Replacement, SSL Encryption, GDPR Compliance, Google SSO, Zapier, HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo Integration, Multi-Step Forms, Invisible reCAPTCHA, and more. Value for Price: 7.5

In some cases companies have different prices based on various components like a
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.

8.0

6.0

Winner: HostGator

. HostGator offers a variety of hosting types, including shared, managed WordPress, VPS, and dedicated hosting, with unlimited storage and bandwidth. It also has data centers in multiple locations around the world. Instapage, on the other hand, offers cloud hosting but does not disclose the locations of its data centers. Both platforms have an uptime of 99.9% and offer an uptime guarantee. However, the variety of hosting options and transparency about data center locations give HostGator the edge in this category.


Do they offer hosting?	Yes	Yes
Data Centers:	4: US(Texas, Utah), India(Mumbai), China(Hong Kong)	Not disclosed
Type of hosting:	Shared, Managed WordPress, VPS, Dedicated	Cloud Hosting
Uptime:	99.9%	99.9%
Uptime Guarantee:	Yes, 99.9%	Yes, 99.9%

6.2

🏆 Winner: HostGator

Both HostGator and Instapage have similar website speed optimization scores, but HostGator takes the lead due to its emphasis on improving Core Web Vitals (CWV) for websites.


Focus	Browser Caching, CDN	Responsive design, Image optimization, Caching
Performance Tools	Google Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights	Google PageSpeed Insights Integration
Key Strategies	Browser Caching, CDN	Responsive design, Image optimization, Caching
Load Times	Varies widely, depending on the optimization, website complexity and the chosen hosting plan	Varies depending on optimization
Page Speed Scores Range	Varies widely, depending on the optimization, website complexity and the chosen hosting plan	Varies depending on optimization
Core Web Vitals Improvement	Emphasis on LCP, FID, CLS improvements	No information provided

HostGator, a well-known web hosting company, also offers a powerful website builder tool. It focuses on browser caching and Content Delivery Network (CDN) for speed optimization. The load times and PageSpeed scores vary widely, depending on the optimization, website complexity, and the chosen hosting plan. HostGator provides guidance on understanding and improving Core Web Vitals (CWV) for websites, with an emphasis on LCP, FID, and CLS improvements.

On the other hand, Instapage, a comprehensive landing page platform, focuses on responsive design, image optimization, and caching for speed optimization. The load times and PageSpeed scores vary depending on optimization. However, Instapage does not provide any information on their Core Web Vitals improvements.

Get a head start on website creation with AI

Create a custom website tailored to your business needs 10X faster with 10Web AI Website Builder!

Generate Your Website

No credit card required

7.3

6.8

🏆 Winner: HostGator.

With a score of 7.3, HostGator offers a wider range of plugins, known as apps, accessible via their app market. These apps cater to diverse needs such as advertising, website analytics, integrating social media, managing appointments, and conducting email marketing. On the other hand, Instapage, with a score of 6.8, supports over 40 integrations with third-party platforms, including major CRM, email marketing, analytics, and advertising tools. However, the broader range of functionalities provided by HostGator gives it an edge over Instapage in this category.

Hostgator plugins

Instapage Applications

Instapage integrations

6.9

7.7

🏆

Overall Winner: Instapage

. Instapage outperforms HostGator in marketing features, particularly in analytics and reporting, and ads and promotions. However, HostGator offers blogging features, which Instapage lacks.


SEO Tools
Email Marketing	On higher plans
Blogging
Social Media Integration
Analytics and Reporting	Google Analytics integration (on higher plans)	Conversion analytics, real-time reports, and A/B testing
Ads and Promotions	Google Ads and Bing Ads integration	AdMap for ad-to-page personalization and integration with advertising platforms

7.3

7.6

🏆 Winner: Instapage

. When comparing HostGator vs Instapage, Instapage takes the lead with a slightly higher customer support score of 7.6 compared to HostGator’s 7.3. Instapage offers live chat support within the application from Monday to Friday, 24 hours a day, and provides technical support via email and toll-free phone during regular business hours. This ensures users have multiple channels to seek assistance and maintain a written record of their service requests.

HostGator, on the other hand, provides 24/7 customer support through email, phone, and live chat, catering to the global needs of their customers. While HostGator’s support is highly accessible, Instapage’s dedicated Success Managers and Launch Specialists for enterprise-level users offer a more personalized and strategic approach to customer support, making it the preferred choice for businesses looking for tailored assistance and optimization guidance.

7.4

8.4

🏆

Winner: Instapage

. Instapage has a higher security score and offers a comprehensive security approach, including SOC 2 Type I and Type II compliance, risk management policies, and a strong focus on privacy, aligning with GDPR and CCPA regulations. Their Information Security Program is based on ISO 27001/2 and NIST 800-53 frameworks, covering multiple aspects of security from asset management to incident response. Physical, access, and network security protocols are rigorously enforced, alongside SSL/HTTPS support for all landing pages to ensure secure client data handling and privacy.

Although it may not offer the same level of specialized security features as Instapage, HostGator is committed to maintaining a secure platform for all types of websites. This includes regular monitoring and updates to protect against the latest cyber threats, ensuring that users’ websites are safe and their visitors’ data is protected. HostGator secures its servers against various threats, including DDoS attacks, through extensive custom firewall rules and mod security rule sets, alongside regular password audits to encourage strong user password practices. Website owners are responsible for aspects such as password security, updating applications, and ensuring their site is malware-free. Additionally, HostGator offers SiteLock Security services for enhanced protection, including daily malware scans, automatic removal, Web Application Firewall, and DDoS protection to safeguard hosted websites comprehensively.

2.6

6.0


AI Builder	Basic AI capabilities in new website builder
AI Ecommerce Features
AI Content Generation		AI Content Generator for quicker landing page creation
Additional AI Features		AI Experiments for dynamic traffic allocation to landing pages

🏆 Winner: Instapage

. With a score of 6.0, Instapage’s AI capabilities, though limited, are more developed than those of HostGator, which scored 2.6. Instapage’s AI Content Generator and AI Experiments feature provide valuable tools for content creation and traffic management, respectively. HostGator, on the other hand, has only basic AI capabilities in its new website builder and lacks AI ecommerce and content generation features.

3.2

7.3

🏆 Winner: Instapage

. User management is a crucial aspect of website building, and it’s clear that Instapage has a more robust system in place compared to HostGator.

HostGator mentions the possibility to have multiple users for its hosting solutions, however, there’s no mention whether the mentioned users have the permission to edit the websites built with their website builder.
On Instapage, users managing a website can be assigned different roles: Viewer, Editor, or Manager. A Viewer has limited access, only able to view pages. An Editor can edit pages, and a Manager has full access except for billing information and the audit log. The number of users you can invite depends on your subscription limits. However, only one user can edit a page at a time to prevent overwrite issues.

Instapage User Roles and Access Levels:

Role	Description	Access Highlights
Administrator	Oversees the entire Instapage account, managing users, settings, and billing information.	Full access to all features, including user management, settings, billing, and page creation and editing.
Editor	Works on creating and editing landing pages, responsible for the design and content.	Can create and edit pages, manage integrations, and view analytics, but cannot change account settings or manage users.
Viewer	Has view-only access to the landing pages, typically for review or analytics purposes.	Can view pages and analytics but cannot make any edits or access account settings.

Additional Features


SSL Certificate
Custom Domain
Free Custom Domain Included
International Domains
Mobile Responsive
Page Speed
Website Builder Mobile App
Convert a Website To An App
Website Analytics
Multilingual Sites
Multiple Users

User Feedback

HostGator

244 reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars

Instapage

488 reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

HostGator’s website builder receives mixed reviews from users, highlighting both its strengths and areas for improvement. Users appreciate the platform for its ease of use, making it accessible even for novices to build professional-looking websites, and for its range of web services that facilitate website creation and management, including domain registration and SSL certificates. However, concerns are raised regarding its customer support, which is often described as slow or unresponsive, potentially impacting users requiring timely assistance. Additionally, some users find the pricing structure to be high, particularly for small-scale developers or those needing only basic services.

Instapage, on the other hand, is generally praised for its user-friendly interface, robust customer support, and seamless integration capabilities. Users highlight its effectiveness in creating high-quality, high-converting landing pages optimized for lead capture. Positive feedback emphasizes the platform’s ease of use, allowing both experienced marketers and newcomers to quickly design and deploy landing pages, along with its broad range of integrations with other marketing tools and CRM systems. However, some users encounter challenges with mobile responsiveness, custom domain settings, and occasional bugs.

The making of this blog

We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.

Our Ranking Criteria

FAQ

Which platform is better for creating landing pages, HostGator or Instapage?

Instapage is specifically designed for creating and optimizing landing pages, making it the superior choice for businesses focused on maximizing advertising ROI through high-converting landing pages.

Can I use HostGator for ecommerce websites?

Yes, HostGator provides a suite of ecommerce tools including secure online payments and unlimited products, making it suitable for users who want a website builder that can handle both their site and ecommerce needs.

Is Instapage suitable for building a comprehensive online store?

While Instapage excels in landing page optimization, it lacks native ecommerce features. However, it can integrate with ecommerce platforms like Shopify for online store capabilities.

Which platform offers better customer support, HostGator or Instapage?

Instapage slightly outperforms HostGator in customer support, offering live chat support 24/5 and personalized assistance for enterprise customers through Success Managers and Launch Specialists.

How do HostGator and Instapage compare in terms of website speed optimization?

Both platforms prioritize website speed optimization, but HostGator takes the lead due to its emphasis on improving Core Web Vitals (CWV) for websites.

Which platform is more secure, HostGator or Instapage?

Instapage has a higher security score and offers a comprehensive security approach, including SOC 2 Type I and Type II compliance, making it the more secure option.

Do HostGator and Instapage offer AI capabilities?

Instapage offers limited AI capabilities, including AI Content Generator and AI Experiments, providing valuable tools for content creation and traffic management. HostGator has only basic AI capabilities in its new website builder.

Can I manage multiple users on both platforms?

Instapage has a more robust system for user management, allowing different roles such as Viewer, Editor, or Manager, making it better suited for team collaboration compared to HostGator.

Which platform is more affordable, HostGator or Instapage?

HostGator offers more affordable plans compared to Instapage, but Instapage provides more advanced features, especially for businesses seeking to optimize their conversion rates.

What are the main differences between HostGator and Instapage?

HostGator is a versatile platform that combines web hosting services with a user-friendly website builder, suited for users looking for an all-in-one solution. Instapage specializes in creating and optimizing landing pages for advertising conversion, ideal for marketers and businesses focused on maximizing their advertising ROI.