Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, HostGator VPS wins more of the head-to-head checks (7 vs 1) and ranks higher overall (#50 of 160). HostGator VPS is cheaper to start ($4.68 vs $4.99 a month) and Hostwinds has more locations (3 vs 1).
Verdict
HostGator VPS is cheaper to start: Snappy 1000 - NVMe 2 costs $4.68 per month against $4.99 at Hostwinds, and it stays cheaper per gigabyte of RAM ($2.41 vs $4.99 median).
Hostwinds has the wider footprint with 3 locations in 2 countries, against 1 in 1 at HostGator VPS; they share no cities.
On features, only HostGator VPS offers DDoS protection.
Customers rate HostGator VPS higher on Trustpilot: 4.6 from 17,852 reviews versus 2.1 from 730.
Overall Hostwinds ranks #104 and HostGator VPS #50 of 160 providers we track. Choose Hostwinds if you need a wider choice of locations or you pay in crypto; choose HostGator VPS if price matters most or DDoS protection must be included.
Hostwinds and HostGator side by side
| Hostwinds | HostGator VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Unmanaged Linux 1: $4.99/mo | Snappy 1000 - NVMe 2: $4.68/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic | 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe, unmetered traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | No Windows | No Windows |
| Median price per GB RAM | $4.99 | $2.41 |
| Data-center locations | 3 in 2 countries | 1 in 1 countries |
| Regions | Europe, North America | North America |
| Virtualisation | KVM | Not stated by HostGator (same Newfold NVMe platform as Bluehost, reported as KVM) |
| Hourly billing | No | No |
| NVMe storage | No | Yes |
| DDoS protection | — | Yes |
| Backups | Free | None |
| Managed option | Yes | Yes |
| Payment methods | card, paypal, alipay, crypto | card, paypal, wire, other |
| Money-back | 3 days | 30 days |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9999% network and power uptime guarantee | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot | 2.1 (730 reviews) | 4.6 (17,852 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 2010, Seattle US | 2002, Houston US |
Highlighted cells mark the better value where the comparison is objective (lower price, more locations, higher rating).
Plans at the same size
The closest matching plans by RAM from each provider.
| RAM | Hostwinds | $/month | HostGator | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Unmanaged Linux 1 (1 vCPU, 30 GB) | $4.99 | no plan | — |
| 2 GB | Unmanaged Linux 2 (1 vCPU, 50 GB) | $9.99 | Snappy 1000 - NVMe 2 (1 vCPU, 50 GB) | $4.68 |
| 4 GB | Unmanaged Linux 3 (2 vCPU, 75 GB) | $18.99 | Snappy 2000 - NVMe 4 (2 vCPU, 100 GB) | $9.35 |
| 8 GB | Unmanaged Linux 5 (4 vCPU, 150 GB) | $38.99 | Snappy 4000 - NVMe 8 (4 vCPU, 200 GB) | $18.70 |
| 16 GB | no plan | — | Snappy 8000 - NVMe 16 (8 vCPU, 450 GB) | $39.53 |
| 32 GB | Unmanaged Linux 8 (8 vCPU, 400 GB) | $124.99 | no plan | — |
Locations
Hostwinds operates 3 locations (Europe, North America); HostGator VPS operates 1 (North America).
Only Hostwinds: Amsterdam, Dallas and Seattle.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hostwinds or HostGator VPS better?
As of October 23, 2026, HostGator VPS wins more of the head-to-head checks (7 vs 1) and ranks higher overall (#50 of 160). HostGator VPS is cheaper to start ($4.68 vs $4.99 a month) and Hostwinds has more locations (3 vs 1).
Is Hostwinds cheaper than HostGator VPS?
HostGator VPS has the lower entry price: $4.68 against $4.99 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Hostwinds or HostGator VPS?
Hostwinds, with 3 locations in 2 countries versus 1 at HostGator VPS.
Do Hostwinds and HostGator VPS offer Windows VPS?
Neither offers Windows Server.
Sources
Prices, plans and locations were read from these pages; last checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.