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How Do I Downgrade My Hosting Account?

 

You may downgrade your account at any time (move from your current HostGator plan to a cheaper HostGator plan). There is no contract to keep you in your plan, though we do require you to move your own data to your new account when you downgrade. If you would like to know more about the hosting packages we offer before downgrading hosting your plan, please see: Hosting Price Chart.

Important Note about Downgrading
Do not change your name servers or cancel your current plan until your new plan is fully set up and propagated; this will reduce downtime and ensure that all content is transferred.

Shared to Shared or Reseller to Reseller

To request a downgrade of your Shared Hosting Plan, please contact us via phone or chat so that we can further assist!


Reseller to Shared

Because Shared and Reseller plans are hosted on different servers, you do not need to use the online form. Since a server move is required, you will need to purchase a new Shared account, move your data over, propagate your name servers and then cancel the old Reseller account.


VPS to VPS Hosting

Here are the steps in downgrading your VPS hosting package.

Before you downgrade your VPS or Dedicated hosting, let us first identify if you are on Legacy or KVM VPS/dedicated hosting package.

  • KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) VPS/Dedicated hosting
    • These are the VPS/Dedicated accounts purchased after April 13, 2021 (VPS) and Dedicated hosting purchased after November 2020.

    • Your Plan ID begins with VH for VPS and DH for Dedicated hosting. 

  • Legacy VPS/Dedicated Hosting
    • These are the VPS/Dedicated accounts purchased before April 13, 2021 (VPS) and Dedicated hosting purchased before November 2020.

    • Your Plan ID begins with VPS for VPS and DC for Dedicated hosting.

What Is Your Package ID? Click Here To Know How To Find Out
  1. Log into the Customer Portal.
  2. Navigate to the Hosting tab.

    HostGator Customer Portal Hosting Tab

  3. Click on Manage underneath the primary domain of the hosting plan.

    Manage Package

  4. On the top-left side, you will find the Plan ID below your domain name.

    Plan ID

Now that you know whether you're on KVM or Legacy VPS hosting let's discuss the downgrade process. Please click on the link below to view the instructions for your VPS package.


KVM VPS Hosting

For KVM VPS, the option to downgrade your package is now available in the Customer Portal! 

  1. Log in to the Customer Portal.
  2. Click on the Hosting tab. 

    HostGator Hosting Tab

  3. Navigate to your KVM VPS hosting, then click Manage. 

    Manage KVM VPS

  4. Select the  Resources tab, then click on the Change Plan button.

    HostGator Customer Portal Resources Tab

  5. The next screen will show your current plan and the options to upgrade or downgrade. Plans that are different from your current plan will be highlighted with up or down arrows.

    KVM VPS Downgrade Options

  6. After you select the downgraded plan, there will be a popup with the Downgrade Summary.

    Downgrade Summary Popup

    Important: The downgrade will not take effect until the start of your next billing cycle.
  7. Select the option to Agree to the Terms Of Service. Then, click on Complete Downgrade.

 

Legacy VPS Hosting

To request a downgrade of your Legacy VPS Hosting,  Please do the following:

  1. You need to order a new VPS package within your Customer Portal or through the front-of-site.
  2. Once your new VPS hosting package is active, go ahead and submit a migration request. Follow the steps in the  HostGator Website Transfers article to process the migration request for VPS.

VPS to non-VPS

Because VPS, Reseller, and Shared plans are hosted on different servers, when you downgrade from VPS to Reseller or Shared, you cannot use the downgrade form on our website. Since a server move is required, you must purchase the new plan, move your data over (follow VPS migration instruction on HostGator Website Transfers), propagate your name servers, and cancel the old plan.


Dedicated to Dedicated Hosting

Please see the instructions above to know if you are on a KVM or Legacy Dedicated Hosting plan.

Once you know whether you're on a KVM or Legacy Dedicated hosting package, please click the link below to see the instructions for your dedicated hosting plan.


KVM Dedicated Hosting

The steps to downgrade your KVM Dedicated server has the same process as downgrading a KVM VPS hosting. Please see the instructions above to know how to downgrade within your Customer Portal.

 

Legacy Dedicated Hosting

To request a downgrade of your Legacy Dedicated Hosting, you need to do the following:

  1. You need to order a new Dedicated hosting plan within your Customer Portal or through the front-of-site.
  2. Submit a migration request. Follow the steps in the  HostGator Website Transfers article to process the migration request for your dedicated hosting package.

Dedicated Hosting to Any Type of Account

When you downgrade from (or to) a Dedicated Server, you cannot use the downgrade form on our website. Since this process will require a server move, you must purchase the new server or plan, move your data over, propagate your name servers, and cancel the old plan.

If you need help moving data and do not qualify for the free content transfer service, our transfer team can provide a quote for the work. To request a quote, contact us via phone or chat for assistance.