Free cPanel-to-cPanel migration, owned hardware, CloudLinux account isolation, and renewal pricing that matches your signup. Most HostGator sites move in 24-48 hours with zero downtime.
A factual side-by-side of the points HostGator customers ask about most. HostGator pricing changes with promotions; numbers below reflect their commonly advertised entry tier. Check their current pricing page for exact figures.
| HostGator (Basic) | Ultra Web Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Promotional intro rateTypically requires 12 to 36 month prepay | As low as $3.95/moNo long-term prepay required |
| Renewal price | Significant jump at renewalOften 3 to 4 times the intro rate | Same as your signup priceBacked by the Ultra Price Guarantee |
| Migration service | Paid (HostGator Pro migration) or self-service | Free with annual planscPanel-to-cPanel transfer: files, databases, email |
| Resource limits | Per-account CPU, memory, and inode capsHits during traffic peaks trigger throttling or suspension | CloudLinux isolationPredictable allocation, no surprise suspensions |
| Server platform | Shared infrastructure across Newfold Digital brands | CloudLinux on owned hardwareAccount-level resource isolation |
| Page-load performance | Slow Time-to-First-Byte commonly reportedOvercrowded shared servers + capped resources | Nginx reverse proxy + SSDFree CloudFlare CDN integration |
| Support model | Tiered phone, chat, ticket; varies by plan | 24/7 US-based, in-house12-min average response, since 2002 |
| Hardware ownership | Newfold Digital (parent company since 2012) | Owned, in-house datacenter |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes (Let's Encrypt, auto-renew) |
| Money-back guarantee | 45 days | 45 days |
| Years in business | Founded 2002Acquired by EIG 2012 (now Newfold Digital) | Founded 2002, still independent |
HostGator uses standard cPanel, so the migration team handles a direct cPanel-to-cPanel account transfer. Files, databases, email, DNS, your domain. You do not touch a single config file.
Full HostGator cPanel-to-cPanel transfer including files, accounts, cron jobs, and config.
Core, themes, plugins, wp-content/uploads, and the database. WooCommerce and Elementor friendly.
MySQL and MariaDB of any size. The team rewires the connection strings on the other side.
Mailboxes, forwarders, autoresponders, and stored messages copied with cPanel-to-cPanel transfers.
Static sites, custom apps, legacy LAMP stacks. The team handles manual FTP pulls when needed.
Zone records copied so your custom subdomains, MX, and TXT entries survive the move from HostGator.
EPP code, registrar unlock, and a free year added to your registration. Search a new domain.
Auto-issued free Let's Encrypt SSL on arrival. Bring custom certs if you need to.
You pick a plan, hand the team your HostGator credentials, and the migration team does the rest. Your HostGator site stays live the whole time.
Pick the tier that matches your HostGator setup. Shared hosting from $3.95/mo replaces Hatchling and Baby. WordPress hosting from $9.95/mo replaces Managed WordPress. Managed VPS from $49.95/mo for sites that have outgrown shared.
After signing up, open a support ticket with your HostGator cPanel URL, username, and password. The team handles the rest. Free with any annual or longer plan.
HostGator runs standard cPanel, so the team performs a direct cPanel-to-cPanel account transfer: files, databases, email, DNS, the lot. Your HostGator site keeps serving traffic the entire time, so there is no downtime. You get a temporary URL to verify the new site.
Once you confirm the site looks good on the temporary URL, point your domain's nameservers at Ultra. The team provides exact values. Most DNS propagation finishes in hours. Cancel HostGator only after you have verified everything.
Ultra's in-house migration team has spent 23 years moving sites onto our platform. HostGator cPanel transfers, WordPress installs, WooCommerce stores, custom LAMP stacks, the lot. They have seen it, they have fixed it, and they will walk you through anything you want to confirm before, during, or after the move.
Start a free migrationThe four points HostGator customers raise most often, plus the platform features that make the move worth doing.
HostGator's introductory rate jumps significantly at renewal. Ultra Web Hosting's renewal price matches your signup price. What you pay in year one is what you pay in year three. Check the Ultra Price Guarantee.
HostGator's shared plans enforce CPU, memory, and process caps that throttle or suspend accounts during traffic peaks. Ultra uses CloudLinux to isolate each account with predictable resources, so a busy day for your site does not trigger a suspension email.
Ultra owns and operates the servers in our own datacenter. Dell PowerEdge in our racks, not rented cloud capacity, not a shared Newfold pool. Hardware decisions, capacity planning, and on-site response stay in-house.
Live chat, phone, and tickets answered by the same engineers who run the platform. No tier-one script reader, no overseas call center, no upsell pressure. 12-minute average response, since 2002.
Account isolation via CloudLinux plus Nginx reverse proxy for fast page loads. Your site gets dedicated resources and is not affected by noisy neighbors. Faster Time-to-First-Byte than overcrowded shared boxes.
Every hosted domain gets a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate automatically, with auto-renewal. Free Cloudflare CDN integration for global edge caching and DDoS protection.
Your site stays live on HostGator while the team copies everything over. DNS only flips after you verify the new site works, so your visitors do not notice the move.
Every shared host runs JetBackup with 30 days of restorable snapshots. If anything goes sideways after the HostGator move, the team can roll the account back in minutes.
HostGator was acquired by EIG in 2012, now part of Newfold Digital. Ultra has been independently owned and operated since 2002. Same team running your server today built the platform. No conglomerate, no corporate cost-cutting.
If you are a HostGator customer thinking about moving, you are in good company. Ultra Web Hosting has been hosting websites for over 23 years, and a meaningful share of new signups every year are people switching from large national hosts whose pricing, support, or platform no longer fits. The move is straightforward: free cPanel-to-cPanel migration with any annual or longer plan, typically 24 to 48 hours, US-based support, owned hardware, and renewal pricing that matches your signup price.
HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on initial signup. If you are within that window, you can request a refund after migrating. If you are past it, the cleanest approach is to migrate now and let your remaining HostGator term run out in parallel. Your site keeps serving traffic from HostGator during the migration window, so there is no rush from a downtime standpoint, and no risk to your visitors during the transition.
If you want to coordinate timing around a contract end date, an upcoming campaign, or any other constraint, mention it in the migration request and the team will plan around it. They do this every week. If you want to talk to a person before you decide, start a live chat: the team running the servers is the same team answering chat, not a sales script.
Most HostGator migrations complete within 24 to 48 hours of submitting your account details. Larger sites or complex configurations (heavy databases, custom server settings, many email accounts) can take longer, but the migration team will give you a timeline when the work begins.
No. Ultra Web Hosting performs the migration to a separate environment first, gives you a temporary URL to test, and only switches DNS when you confirm everything moved correctly. Your HostGator site keeps serving traffic the entire time. Once DNS propagates, visitors land on the new server with no interruption.
HostGator runs standard cPanel, so email accounts, passwords, and stored messages transfer automatically via direct cPanel-to-cPanel account transfer as part of the free migration. You will need to update your mail client incoming and outgoing server settings once the move is complete; the team provides the exact values.
Yes. Once the migration is complete and you have tested the site on the temporary URL, you point your domain's nameservers (or A records, if you keep DNS at your registrar) at Ultra Web Hosting. The migration team provides exact values. Most DNS propagation finishes within a few hours, though it can take up to 48 hours in rare cases.
The migration team handles these regularly. WooCommerce stores migrate intact with products, orders, customers, and Stripe or payment integrations. Custom code, cron jobs, .htaccess rules, and PHP version settings transfer as part of the move. If your HostGator setup includes anything unusual, mention it in the migration request and the team will plan around it.
Migration is included at no cost with any annual or longer hosting plan for cPanel accounts under 1GB with fewer than 5 databases. Larger sites may have a small fee based on account size, and the team will let you know before starting work. Monthly billing plans have a migration fee. The plan you sign up for is what you pay, and Ultra Web Hosting renewal pricing matches your signup price.
HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee that applies to your initial term. If you are within that window, you can request a refund after migration. If you are past it, you can still move at any time and run out the remainder of your HostGator term in parallel. The migration team can advise on timing if you want to minimize overlap.
HostGator's shared hosting packs many accounts onto each server, and CPU, memory, and inode caps throttle accounts that go over their share. Combined with the loss of senior engineering after the 2012 EIG acquisition (now Newfold Digital), shared customers commonly report slow Time-to-First-Byte and occasional account suspensions during traffic spikes. Ultra Web Hosting uses CloudLinux to give every account guaranteed resources on owned, in-house hardware so a busy day for a neighbor does not affect your site.
Almost certainly. HostGator's introductory rate jumps significantly at renewal, often three to four times the intro price after the first term. Ultra Web Hosting's renewal price matches your signup price. What you pay in year one is what you pay in year three. The Ultra Price Guarantee backs this in writing.
Yes. Ultra Web Hosting has been independently owned and operated since 2002. We have not been acquired, rolled up, or rebranded under a hosting conglomerate. HostGator was acquired by EIG in 2012 (now part of Newfold Digital), which is when many longtime customers report that support quality and platform investment changed. With Ultra, the team running your server today is the same team that built the platform.
Pick a hosting plan, open a migration ticket, and the team will have you live on Ultra in 24 to 48 hours. Free with any annual plan. No setup fees, no downtime.
