Finding the right hosting solution for you can take time and effort. There are many options, each offering its pros and cons, each the same in some ways and different in others. As you search for the best service to host your new website, you’ve probably come across two of the most known names: Bluehost and GoDaddy. While both options are great for building a website — or hosting a blog — it may be challenging to see the difference between the two and which is better for your needs. So which is best, Bluehost vs. GoDaddy?
Let’s take a look at both Bluehost and GoDaddy and look at how they differ and how they’re similar. Then, we’ll break them down based on performance, features, price, and more to help you decide which is best for you.
Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Side-By-Side Comparison
| Bluehost | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Cost | $2.95 per month (with a 12-month contract) | $3.99 per month (with a 36-month contract) |
| Renewal Cost | $9.99 per month | $3.99 per month (with a 36-month contract) |
| Entry Level Storage | 10GB | 30GB |
| Entry Level Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Free Domain | Yes, with all plans | Yes, with its mid-tier plans or higher |
| SSL Certificate | Yes, free | Yes, free |
| Business Email | Yes, up to five free | Yes, with mid-tier plans or higher |
| Service Uptime | 99.98% | 99.97% |
| Mobile Apps | Yes | Yes |
| Security | Free SSL, 24/7 server monitoring, and Cloudflare DDoS protection | 24/7 network security, DDoS protection |
| Automatic Backups | Included in top-tier plan | Included in all plans |
| Marketing | Ad landing pages, CTA buttons, email marketing, social post buttons, and social review templates | SEO, email marketing, sync with Instagram and Meta, free digital marketing suite |
| Support | Chat and phone support | 24/7 chat and phone support |
Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: What’s the Difference?
Both Bluehost and GoDaddy are leaders when it comes to web hosting. While Bluehost supports more than two million websites, GoDaddy hosts more than 5 million. Both providers are known for their affordability, offering several different tiers and payment options with a 30-day money-back guarantee. They also provide a secure socket layer, or SSL, certificates, and cPanels. Both services are relatively easy to get started and use. In addition, both of them have superb uptimes, meaning your website will almost always be accessible.
Features
Both Bluehost and GoDaddy offer basic features you would expect from any reputable hosting solution. You’ll get a free domain, site migration, and ample storage with both. In addition, they both boast the best WordPress features. However, there are many differences between the two regarding features.
Some people may find Bluehost intimidating, especially if they’re not tech-savvy or have never used a hosting platform. However, while GoDaddy makes it easy to get your new WordPress site running, Bluehost does win out in terms of WordPress usage. With Bluehost, you’ll see an easy-to-use dashboard that includes themes, plugins, and other essential WordPress essentials, such as a staging environment.
If you already have a hosting service, it’s notable that GoDaddy offers free site migration, while Bluehost will charge $149.99. However, when you pay for Bluehost’s migration services, it’s completely hands-off, meaning you won’t have to do a thing. Not having to worry about migrating your site yourself is perfect if you’re short on time or know-how. Bluehost can move up to five websites and 20 email accounts in the migration.
On the other hand, GoDaddy’s free site migration will require you or your team to manually download your site’s files and upload them to GoDaddy’s servers. It can be time-consuming and frustrating if it’s something you’ve never done before.
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Interface
It may take a while for new users to get used to Bluehost. Their interface can be frustrating and complicated until you get the hang of it. However, Bluehost offers a single-click WordPress installation, making it relatively painless to get a new WordPress site up and running.
GoDaddy has a more user-friendly interface that’s easier to navigate than Bluehost’s. However, it is known to be just as frustrating as Bluehost.
Performance
Performance is critical for your website to instill trust in its visitors Both Bluehost and GoDaddy boast excelling uptime. Uptime is how often the site is up and running — as opposed to being down. Bluehost is up 99.98% of the time, while GoDaddy claims to be up 99.97% of the time. If we look at that yearly, that’s a little over two days of downtime.
Both solutions are pretty similar when it comes to loading times. They tend to only need 1 or 2 seconds for loading, which is hardly an issue. In addition, both Bluehost and GoDaddy can handle large amounts of traffic. All of this equates to almost perfect performance for both solutions.
Security
Both Bluehost and GoDaddy offer a free SSL certificate. The certificate encrypts transferred data to and from your site with 256-bit encryption, ensuring the security of your site. Also, both companies provide updates to WordPress and security features.
Bluehost offers additional security in the form of two-factor identification. Two-factor identification makes it harder for hackers to gain access to your site. In addition, Bluehost integrates with Sitelock, which is a tool that monitors possible nefarious activity and prevents your site from being blocked by search engines. Finally, SSL certificates are offered with every hosting plan.
GoDaddy offers features like their Website Security Service that includes scanning and removing malware and DDoS protection. In addition, their SSL certificates come with their Business and Deluxe hosting plans.
Support
Whether you’ve never had a web hosting solution or if you’re not that technical, website support may be a concern of yours. While things rarely go wrong, it can be stressful when they do. Therefore, you’ll want to choose a hosting provider that offers the kind of support you need when you need it.
Bluehost and GoDaddy both offer knowledge centers, as well as phone and chat support. However, Bluehost’s support offerings are a little more hearty. For example, its knowledge center is more robust than GoDaddys, and they offer personalized support tickets.
Plans and Price
If you’re on the fence and trying to decide between Bluehost and GoDaddy, the price can be an important factor. Bluehost has a basic plan, which starts at just $2.99 a month and includes a free domain name, 10 GB of storage, and free WordPress integration.
If you need more than the basic plan, Bluehost has a Plus plan that is $5.45 a month and includes 20GB of storage, malware scanning, and unlimited websites. If you’re looking for even more oomph, the Bluehost Choice plan is $5.95 a month and includes features in other plans in addition to 40GB of storage space. The Pro plan will set you back at least $13.45 but offers 100GB of storage space.
GoDaddy’s starting price for its basic plan is 6.99 a month, but it offers highly sought-after SEO tools. You can upgrade to the standard plan, which starts at $13.99 a month and offers all the basic features, as well as 50 GB of storage and 50 email addresses.
A premium GoDaddy plan starts at $14.99 monthly and adds a toll-free number and a private SSL certificate. If you’re opening an eCommerce store, GoDaddy offers a hosting plan which starts at $29.99 a month and includes unlimited email plans and a free shopping cart plugin. Plus, some extras, such as unlimited email accounts and a free shopping cart.
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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: 5 Must-Know Facts
- Bluehost site migration is $149.99, and they take care of everything. GoDaddy’s site migration is free but requires some technical know-how.
- Both hosting sites offer a modern native dashboard and a cPanel integration.
- Bluehost has server locations in the US, while GoDaddy has server locations in the US, Netherlands, and Singapore.
- Bluehost has lower initial costs than GoDaddy, but both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Bluehost is the best option for WordPress integration, while GoDaddy isn’t as user-friendly.
- Both offer SSL certificates, but Bluehost also integrates with Sitelock.
Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Use?
Both Bluehost and GoDaddy are good hosting solutions. If you’re still on the fence about which one to choose, here are a few final thoughts.
Choose Bluehost if:
- You’re on a budget and want to get up and running quickly
- You’re looking to move your existing web hosting services
- You don’t mind a little bit of a learning curve, then Bluehost might be worth considering
Choose GoDaddy if:
- You’re used to working with web hosting sites and are comfortable with a complex interface
- You want more features and value, although it costs more to start
- You’re looking for a web hosting company that offers a simple and user-friendly interface
The image featured at the top of this post is ©sdx15/Shutterstock.com.
