// checkout · tested November 2026
HostGator checkout walkthrough: what's pre-added and what to remove before you pay
A HostGator plan advertised at $6.25/mo can turn into an $800 order if you say yes to everything. Here's what the cart shows and what I'd remove.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Remove the pre-added Professional Email Trial unless you want $2.99/mo after the first month.
- The "Buy more, save more" box pushes the AI pack, a VPS or another plan at 15-20% off.
- Of the four recommended add-ons, only daily backups ($1.99/mo) are worth considering.
- The cart's "Features Included" list doesn't confirm your plan's features. Screenshot the plan page.
Pre-added: the Professional Email Trial
Every cart I built, on every plan and term, had a "Professional Email Trial" already in it: $0 for one month, crossed out at $2.99. Your plan already includes cPanel email (POP3, IMAP, webmail), so you don't need it unless you want Titan's apps.
The four recommended add-ons
| Add-on | Price | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|
| Malware protection | $5.99/mo | Only for sites that have been hacked before. A basic Malware Scan is already included. |
| eCommerce | $4.99/mo | WooCommerce is free; this bundles bookings, payments and gift cards. |
| Yoast SEO Premium | $2.99/mo | No. Free Yoast or Rank Math covers basic SEO. |
| Xcitium daily backups | $1.99/mo | Maybe. It's the only way to get daily backups from HostGator on shared plans. |
All billed yearly. Adding all four to a 3-year Business plan takes the order from $225 to about $800.
The feature list that lists almost nothing
On a $502.20 WordPress Pro order, expanding "Features Included" showed one line: "Free SSL – Let's Encrypt". The plan page promises 100 sites, 100GB, 5 vCPUs and weekly backups, but the cart doesn't repeat any of it. Save a screenshot of the plan page with the date before you pay.
See the whole picture
13 years as a HostGator customer: dashboard, backups, Terms of Service and every price.