Godaddy and DreamHost are big players in the web hosting market. Both companies offer various hosting services and different packages to their customers. Each company has its pros and cons that might influence your final decision. As two top hosting services, Godaddy vs DreamHost are always compared. Which one is better?
Stick around as we explore GoDaddy and Dreamhost in our detailed comparison, covering important features, prices, performance, and more. Ultimately, you’ll know which hosting service best suits your needs.
GoDaddy vs. Dreamhost: Side by Side Comparison
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| GoDaddy | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Year founded | 1997 | 1996 |
| Address | Gilbert Office, 2299 W. Obispo Ave #201, Gilbert, AZ 85233 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 12235 El Camino Real, Suite 200 San Diego, CA 92130 |
| Payment types | Credit/Debit Card, GoDaddy gift card, wire transfer, PayPal, GoDaddy in-store credit | Check or Money Order, PayPal, Electronic Check / ACH, and Credit/Debit Card |
| Types of support | Knowledge base, phone, 24/7 email support, live chat during working hours | Timezone-limited live chat, 24/7 ticket system, knowledge base, phone support callback |
| Data Centers | Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, Chicago, Ashburn, Virginia, Amsterdam, and Singapore | Irvine, California and Ashburn, Virginia |
| Pricing | From $4.99 per month | From $2.59 per month |
| Unlimited data storage | Yes | Yes |
| Control panel | cPanel | Dreamhost Control Panel |
| Money back guarantee | 30 days | 97 days |
| Website immigration | Free migration on managed WordPress | Free automated migration |
GoDaddy vs. DreamHost Hosting: Six Must-know Facts
- While GoDaddy began as Jomax Technologies, DreamHost was started by four college students.
- DreamHost has been in the hosting business for over 20 years, giving them plenty of experience to draw on. They’ve grown significantly since their founding, establishing their online presence by providing affordable and reliable hosting services.
- As of August 2022, GoDaddy has more than 21 million customers and over 6,600 employees worldwide.
- DreamHost’s dedicated hosting is more expensive than Godaddy because the company uses high-end servers.
- GoDaddy payment methods include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club International. Compared to DreamHost, which offers Check or Money Order, PayPal, Electronic Check / ACH, and Credit/Debit Card.
- GoDaddy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee compared to DreamHost, which provides a 97-day money-back guarantee
GoDaddy Vs. DreamHost Hosting: Key Differences
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So, which of these two hosting services – GoDaddy vs. Dreamhost – is the best for your website? Which one is going to be easier to use and provide better service? To help you determine which one is right for your needs, we’re going to go over some of their key similarities and differences.
Shared Hosting Plans
DreamHost provides a free domain and website migration with every plan, while GoDaddy offers these if you sign up for year or longer. GoDaddy’s cheapest hosting plan starts at $3.99 per month and it comes with unlimited bandwidth and 100 GB of storage. A free domain (for the first year) is included with the purchase. DreamHost offers two shared hosting plans: Shared Starter priced at $2.59/mo ) and Shared Unlimited starting at $3.95/ mo. The Shared Starter with 50GB of SSD storage is a great choice if you have just one website.
Storage and Bandwidth
GoDaddy offers unlimited bandwidth of 100 GB of storage, free Office 365 email, and a standard cPanel. DreamHost, on the other hand, provides unlimited storage and bandwidth with its shared hosting plans. The platform also has a custom control panel, automatic backups, and pre-installed WordPress.
Performance
GoDaddy promises a more realistic 99.9%, compared to DreamHost’s uptime of 100%. Regarding downtime, GoDaddy performs much better than Dreamhost, which serves below average. GoDaddy has its own data center is in Phoenix, Arizona, and lease two others sites in Scottsdale, which is also home to its headquarters, and Mesa. The others are in Singapore, Amsterdam, Virginia, Chicago, and Los Angeles. DreamHost currently has data centers in Ashburn Virginia and Hillsboro Oregon.
Security
GoDaddy offers advanced firewalls, 24/7 server monitoring, and DDoS/Brute-Force protection. On the other hand, DreamHost offers a web application firewall for Nginx, traffic encryption, Free Domain Privacy, HTTP/2, mod security, and malware remover. It also provides SSL certificates and automatic backups. Overall, DreamHost provides significantly more security with its basic plans.
Domain Registration
Both are domain registrars and also offer a free domain for one-year with any annual plans. GoDaddy has a drag-and-drop interface compared to DreamHost, which doesn’t provide one with its plans. Plus, GoDaddy has a site backup and restore plan at a monthly fee. This is unlike DreamHost which prohibits backups on the server in its shared plans.
cPanel
GoDaddy uses cPanel with some customization compared to DreamHost, which uses a proprietary control panel. GoDaddy also offers services like online marketing, SEO, and other services for additional charges.
Support
Unless you are an absolute expert, you’ll likely run into some problems. When it comes to customer support, both DreamHost and GoDaddy are solid options. Both companies have extensive knowledge bases with several articles, blogs, and tutorials on top of 24/7 support.
DreamHost will be your best bet for top-notch customer service. GoDaddy is usually a good choice for new customers who don’t need to communicate with their hosting provider regularly. If you’re looking for a low-cost hosting provider that offers reliable customer service, then both companies are worth considering. However, it’s important to note that DreamHost does not have a call-in phone number. You must pay for phone support services if you want to speak to a DreamHost customer service representative.
What is GoDaddy?
Founded by Bob Parsons, GoDaddy is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar and web hosting service. The company offers a range of affordable hosting plans plus and website building tools.
Their web hosting services are available in both shared and dedicated plans. The shared hosting plan is the cheapest option and is usually sufficient for most small businesses. GoDaddy’s shared hosting plan starts at $3.99 per month, and includes limited server access and other features, like site backups and malware scanning.
GoDaddy’s dedicated servers start at around $99.99 a month. With this plan, you get unlimited email accounts and ample space to host multiple websites that require a lot of bandwidth. If you need a lot of storage and bandwidth, the dedicated server is a much better option for hosting your website.
GoDaddy also provides SSL certificates, eCommerce solutions, professional business email, website builders, and more. It also offers SEO tools such as product promotion, Google listing, and building a subscribers list. With GoDaddy, you can get a domain name, create your website, market online and enjoy 24/7 customer support.
What is DreamHost
Owned by Dream Network, DreamHost is an LA-based domain registrar and hosting service that’s been around for over 20 years. The company provides web hosting, domain names, business email, managed WordPress hosting and more. Unlike other web hosts that lock you up in lengthy contracts, DreamHost offers flexible month-to-month hosting plans with zero commitment and uptime guarantee. You can cancel your plan without incurring additional fees.
Beyond this, DreamHost offers secure performance, including free SSL certificates and a custom dashboard that is easy to use. Additional features include a free domain name, CDN & SSL certificate, month-by-month billing, 1-click instant WordPress installation, and much more. Like Godaddy, DreamHost has a wide range of hosting plans which include shared hosting and VPS (virtual private server) hosting. The shared server plan is designed for small businesses and individual websites.
DreamHost’s shared hosting plan starts at $2.59 per month. If you host more than one site, you’ll need to upgrade your hosting plan. Their dedicated server plan costs $149 monthly and is designed for businesses with resource intensive apps and high-traffic websites that require huge bandwidth and greater storage space.
GoDaddy: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Largest domain name registrar | Customer support response is quite slow |
| Unlimited bandwidth | Occasional Uptime |
| Free phone and chat 24/7 | Economy plan has limited features |
| Affordable hosting plans | |
| One-click WordPress installation available | |
| Flexible payment methods |
DreamHost Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High-speed bandwidth is available for every plan | Longer livechat support wait times |
| Manual migration is simple | Text-based Control Panel isn’t always intuitive |
| Lower price point than GoDaddy | Steeper learning curve than GoDaddy |
| Experienced WordPress support | No direct telephone support |
| Clean layout | |
| Excellent security | |
| Automatic daily backups |
GoDaddy vs. DreamHost Hosting: Which One Should You Choose?
In this GoDaddy vs. DreamHost comparison, both hosting providers performed well in several key areas. Their pricing and performances were fair. DreamHost outmatches GoDaddy in the three areas: response time, uptime, and security.
When you take everything into account, the clear winner is DreamHost. It offers significantly more cost-effective hosting plans with powerful security features. Its user-friendly custom-panel makes it a good option for personal blogs and small business websites.
Up Next
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