HostGator.com vs DreamHost.com: Services & Products Comparison

In Round 3 of this comparison between HostGator and DreamHost, we’ll have a look into each web host’s services and products. While both web hosts are aimed at similar markets, they both offer some products or services the other don’t and that’s what we’ll look into.

HostGator Reseller Hosting

One product that HostGator has and that DreamHost don’t is reseller hosting.

Reseller Hosting is great for people who want to make extra money off their existing services. I have known quite a few small businesses making a decent income by adding web hosting to their current web design or web development services. Be creative and you’ll find plenty of ways to make money off reseller hosting!

That said, HostGator is very popular for their reseller hosting packages. To manage your customers’ web hosting accounts, you will use a control panel call WHM (Web Host Manager). This very simple control panel allows you to:

• manage user accounts
• manage your hosting packages
• manage DNS zones
• manage SSL certificates
• handle support requests

All reseller accounts include WHMCS or WHMautopilot billing system to fully automate your billing needs. That means that you can be selling when hosting packages even when you’re not there! Once the payment is processed, the account is automatically created and all the necessary information are sent to the customer automatically.

With your HostGator Reseller Hosting account, you will also be able to sell domains through a domain reseller account at discount prices.

The control panel offered to your customers is the ever popular cPanel. This will allow them to manage their websites, databases, email accounts, FTP access and lots more.

HostGator Reseller Hosting plans are available from only $24.95 to $99.95 a month and are a great way to earn extra money.

Click here for more information on HostGator’s reseller hosting packages.

DreamHost VPS Hosting

On DreamHost’s side, one service that isn’t offered by HostGator is VPS Hosting. In partnership with Hosting.com, Dreamhost are offering Virtual Private Server plans based on VMWare Server technology.

Virtual Private Servers are a great alternative to dedicated servers. For a fraction of the price, you get the same features, security and flexibility. The difference is that virtual servers deliver less performance as they are hosted on a shared physical server.

While a VPS may not be as powerful as a dedicated server, this is not an issue as long as you’re just hosting a handful of websites with low to medium traffic.

I’ve got a VPS with about 10 websites that generates a total of about 6000 uniques visitors a day and performance is not an issue at all.

With your VPS plan, you get the choice of Windows 2003 Standard or Red Hat Fedora. Unfortunately they do not provide any pricelist as you have to request a quote from Hosting.com.

DreamHost.com vs HostGator.com – Products & Service Comparison Conclusion

Before you decide on one of these web hosts, you may want to look at your long term possibilities. If you think you could offer your customers a complete product or service that includes web hosting, you should really have a look into HostGator’s reseller packages.

On the other hand, if you need more control over your web server but can’t afford a dedicated server, a VPS plan might be the answer.