Comparison Guide
HostGator and Rochen are different in most respects. HostGator is focused on shared server up to dedicated hosting and Rochen is focused on business class up to dedicated hosting. They differ most in plans, usability, and technical support.
1. Company Info
HostGator is a much larger company and a lot cheaper than Rochen. Rochen is a much smaller company which is less affordable.
HostGator
HostGator was founded in 2002, they are located in Austin and Houston, TX, and they have over 500 employees. They have over 400,000 customers and over 9,000,000 domains. They have datacenters in Provo, Utah, Austin, and Houston Texas.
HostGator is popular for their affordable and scalable plans.
Rochen
Rochen was founded in 2000, they are located in Dundee, UK, and an undisclosed number of employees. I don't have the numbers for how many customers or domains they have. Their datacenter is located in Dallas, US.
Rochen is a Joomla favorite. They host the main Joomla.org website.
2. Plans and Pricing
HostGator
Shared Hosting
- Hatchling plan - $3.96/Mo. unlimited diskspace, bandwidth, emails, databases, and 1 domain
- Baby plan - $6.36/Mo. unlimited diskspace, bandwidth, emails, databases, and domains.
- Business Plan - $10.96/Mo. unlimited diskspace, bandwidth, emails, databases, and domains. Free SSL & IP and Toll Free Number.
VPS Hosting
- Entry plan - VPS Level 1 - $19.95/Mo. 10GB space, 250GB bandwidth, unlimited domains, email and databases.
- Top plan - VPS Level 9 - $219.95/Mo. 231GB space, 3150 bandwidth, unlimited domains, email and databases.
Dedicated Hosting
- Entry plan - Basic Dedicated Server - $174/Mo. 500GB RAID-1 space, 10TB bandwidth, unlimited domains, email, and databases, 5 free dedicated IP's.
- Top plan - Pro Dedicated Server - $374/Mo. 1TB RAID-1 space, 10TB bandwidth, unlimited domains, email and databases, 5 free dedicated IP's.
Rochen
Shared Hosting
- Plan 1 - $8.95/Mo. for 1GB RAID10 storage, 50GB bandwidth, 1 domain
- Plan 2 - $12.95/Mo. for 3GB RAID10 storage, 100GB bandwidth, 3 domain
- Plan 3 - $24.95/Mo. for 5GB RAID10 storage, 150GB bandwidth, 5 domain
VPS
- Plan 1 - $149.95/Mo. for 30GB RAID10 storage, 1GB RAM, 400GB bandwidth, cPanel.
- Scale Up - Every extra 1GB storage is $10/Mo., 1GB bandwidth is $0.50/Mo., 128MB is $10/Mo.
Dedicated
- Entry level - $399.95/Mo. Plus $99.95 setup fee. 4GB RAM, Quad Core Processor, 500GB RAID1 storage (plus backup).
- Custom - call for price
3. Control Panel and User Experience
cPanel runs on both companies servers. HostGator has a much easier to use design for billing and other account management areas. Rochen harder to use inside the billing and account management areas.
HostGator
HostGator does not alter cPanels design much. A lot of the original icons are used. HostGator has all the same features inside of cPanel that Rochen does except Joomla Utilities (Rochen's proprietary application). Instead HostGator has QuickInstall and Fantastico one-click installers.
Their account area is ok, but could use an update.
Rochen
Rochen has the same control panel with a lot of the same options. Their Joomla Utilities is their unique application and is a great way to set up, migrate or stage a Joomla website.
Their design of the accounts area looks very outdated.
4. Installing and Managing Joomla
To install and manage Joomla both HostGator and Rochen have custom applications that handle the process for you. HostGator uses QuickInstall and Rochen uses Joomla Utilities.
HostGator
The easiest way to install Joomla at HostGator is to use their proprietary software called QuickInstall. With it you can install Joomla in just a couple of clicks.
You can also use Fantastico which is just as easy. Although you should note that Fantastico is not always kept up to date, so the Joomla version may be old.
I prefer to install Joomla manually because it gives you a little more control over the installation and you can verify each step of the process.
You won't have any server compatibility errors at HostGator.
Rochen
The easiest way to install Joomla at Rochen is using Joomla Utilities. This application is a one-click installer that gives you the ability to install, update, migrate, create staging environments and more. It's a well rounded tool with some great options.
Like I previously mentioned I like to install Joomla manually, so the same applies here.
You wont have any server compatibility errors at Rochen.
5. Performance
I currently only have numbers for the performance of HostGator.
HostGator
After over four years of testing I have some great numbers on how well HostGator performs. The average uptime for our site is 99.26% over a four year period which is great. The average response time is 963ms over a four year period which is also great.
The numbers speak for themselves. HostGator is capable of great speed and reliability.
6. Technical Support
HostGator and Rochen differ on what type of technical support they offer. HostGator gives you 24/7 support via phone, live chat, and ticket system. Rochen gives you support via email only.
HostGator
I have used HostGator's live chat more than any other support method they have. It works well and I'm able to work more efficiently to solve the issues.
The phone support is great too.
The ticket system works well. It takes around 20-30 minutes to get a response.
Rochen
You can only use the ticket system at Rochen. They are efficient at answering questions but I have heard they can be tough to deal with sometimes.
I prefer to have a more instant method of contacting technical support. Rochen is okay for some people, but I would rather have live chat or phone support available.
Conclusion
Straight to the point, I prefer HostGator more. The account area is laid out better, prices are more affordable, plans come with more features, and technical support is much easier to get in touch with.
