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Choosing between different hosting companies can be a bit of a challenge as there are a lot of hosting companies, all claiming to be the best in the business! For this purpose, we have put two of the most famous names of the hosting industry against each other.
In this BlueHost vs GoDaddy comparison, you’ll find everything you need to know about the two companies and, hopefully, you’ll be able to pick one for your hosting companion.
When it comes to hosting comparisons, there are many things to consider: bandwidth, disk space, hardware configurations a.k.a RAM and CPU, uptime, page load, etc. For this purpose, we have compared the different hosting plans of each company and the perks they offer. So, without further delay, let’s dive in.
BlueHost is better than GoDaddy in many ways. If we compare pricing on different hosting plans and related perks, BlueHost wins by a big margin. But when it comes to registering domains or reseller hosting, GoDaddy seems to be the clear choice due to more benefits and full control over your hosting.
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GoDaddy vs BlueHost hosting comparison
Below, you will find comparisons of the different types of hosting in detail. These include Shared, WordPress, Cloud, dedicated and other hosting plans that each company has to offer.
You’ll get an idea of the pricing of the different packages as well as the benefits to help you make an informed decision as to which company should be your hosting companion.
You can simply click on the table of contents to jump to a specific section or you can read the entire piece and leave no stone unturned!
OK, let’s compare BlueHost and GoDaddy:
BlueHost or GoDaddy for shared hosting?
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
Bluehost has four shared web hosting services available for you. The name and pricing of those packages are as follows:
- Basic $3.95/mo
- Plus $5.95/mo
- Choice Plus $5.95/mo
- Pro $13.95/mo
Note that the above prices are excluding VAT and only applicable if you choose a 3-year billing cycle; that is, these are monthly equivalents if you pay for 3 years upfront.
If you don’t have the budget to for 3 years upfront, you will need to pay:
- Basic $7.99/mo
- Plus $10.99mo
- Choice Plus $14.99/mo
- Pro $23.99/mo
Irrespective of the plan you opt for, you will get a Free SSL certificate. This means that you get an additional layer of security for your website at no additional cost.
But that’s not all. BlueHost also offers unmetered bandwidth, meaning that you will not be charged on the basis of disk space of bandwidth used. This can come quite handy if you are just starting your online business and you don’t have an idea of the resources you are going to use. Of course, unmetered doesn’t really mean that you can go crazy on the resources. There are certain terms of services that your site needs to comply with.
Further, BlueHost also offers a free domain with all its packages (even the basic one), provided you buy at least 12 months of any hosting plan. This is certainly a plus point as there are only a few companies currently offering this, so kudos to that.
As you go up the ladder, the benefits in each package start to increase. All the packages (except for the basic one) offer unlimited websites, meaning that you can host an unlimited number of websites with your hosting plan.
Furthermore, the benefits also include:
- Spam experts
- 1 Office 365
- Mailbox - free 30 days
- Domain privacy + protection
- Site Backup - CodeGuard Basic
- Dedicated IP
In order to get all these benefits, you will need to select the Pro plan. However, the Plus and Choice Plus plans do have some of the above-mentioned benefits.
In the BlueHost vs GoDaddy comparison, BlueHost wins this round by a mile!
Similar to BlueHost, GoDaddy offers four shared hosting plans and the pricing of these are as follows:
- Economy $5.99/mo
- Deluxe $7.99/mo
- Ultimate $12.99/mo
- Maximum $19.99/mo
Keep in mind that you’ll only get these prices if you choose to pay a 3-year fee upfront! So, we have a clear winner in terms of pricing: BlueHost.
If you are short on budget and cannot pay for 3-years upfront, you will need to pay the following prices:
- Economy $10.99/mo
- Deluxe $12.99/mo
- Ultimate $19.99/mo
- Maximum $28.99/mo
GoDaddy does not allow users to pay month-to-month for the Economy Plan, and this price is based on a 3-month minimum term. The other prices are based on a 1-month term.
As you can clearly see, there is a big difference in terms of prices and that’s not all.
Wondering why GoDaddy is charging such higher prices?
Let’s find out;
Similar to other top hosting companies, you’ll get a free domain if you buy any plan for at least 1 year, so there are no surprises here. Further, you can enjoy unmetered bandwidth with any package you choose. However, if you need unlimited storage, then you must choose the Deluxe or higher packages as the Economy package only offers 100 GB of storage.
With regard to the other benefits, GoDaddy doesn’t offer a free SSL certificate with its basic packages and you need to pay an additional $10 annually if you opt for the Economy or Deluxe package. Things do get better if you choose the Ultimate or Maximum package in terms of other benefits (think Free Premium DNS) but if those packages are too expensive or not what you need, then you are stuck with paying $10 per annum for a basic benefit that other companies offer for free.
So, why exactly does GoDaddy charge more than other companies?
The answer: 2x processing power and memory.
For the Ultimate and Maximum packages, GoDaddy offers 2 CPUs and 1 GB of RAM, meaning your website(s) will enjoy an improved page load speed and rapid server response times. Furthermore, these packages are built to handle maximum traffic. No matter how many visitors your site gets, it will not go offline unlike with other cheap hosting providers. Judging by this, we have to say that GoDaddy have a slight edge over BlueHost in this department.
It is fair to say that GoDaddy has put a lot of thought into naming their packages, and you do need to get the maximum package in order to enjoy maximum benefits.
With the Maximum package, you will get:
- Free SSL certificate for the full term
- 2x maximum site traffic
- 2x more power and memory
Plus, all the benefits of the Ultimate package are included.
The packages of BlueHost seems to be a better deal if you are on a tight budget and just starting out your new online business. However, for sites with huge traffic, GoDaddy might be more suitable.
BlueHost vs GoDaddy for WordPress hosting
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
The pricing of Bluehost’s WordPress hosting packages are same as the shared hosting packages. You can choose from 3 different packages:
- Basic $3.95/mo
- Plus $5.45/mo
- Choice plus $5.95/mo
These are the lowest prices you can get (excluding VAT) if you choose to pay for 3 years upfront.
However, if you wish to buy hosting for one year only, then you are required to pay:
- Basic $7.99/mo
- Plus $10.99/mo
- Choice plus $14.99/mo
The Basic package allows you to host only one website, so if you are looking to host several sites, your best choice would be Plus or Choice Plus packages as they offer unlimited number of websites to be hosted.
BlueHost hasn’t specified the amount of traffic each package can handle, but all the packages come with a free SSL certificate, free domain, and unmetered SSD storage except for the Basic package, which is capped at 50 GB SSD storage.
One thing we particularly like about BlueHost is the $200 marketing credit that comes with any plan you choose. This means you will get $100 for Microsoft advertising and $100 for Google Ads if you spend $25 on advertising with your new account.
Apart from this, BlueHost also offers automatic WordPress installation and automatic updates. These features can come quite handy if you are not a developer.
As expected, GoDaddy charges more than BlueHost in this department as well.
For WordPress hosting, you can choose from the following four packages:
- Basic $6.99/mo
- Deluxe $9.99/m
- Ultimate $12.99/mo
- Ecommerce $15.99/mo
These are the best prices that you can only get by paying for three years upfront.
However, if you wish to buy hosting for a year (and these prices are at a discount too), then the pricing of the packages is:
- Basic $7.99/mo
- Deluxe $10.99/mo
- Ultimate $17.99/mo
- Ecommerce $19.99/mo
Again, GoDaddy looks well beaten in terms of pricing.
Furthermore, these packages only offer hosting 1 website; in order to add more websites on your hosting plan, you will need to pay an additional amount (or you can look at their Pro plans, starting from $24.99/mo).
What’s even worse is that these packages come with a certain cap as to the amount of visitors your site can handle.
You get:
- Basic: up to 25k visitors
- Deluxe: up to 100k visitors
- Ultimate: unlimited visitors
- Ecommerce: unlimited visitors
There is some respite here as GoDaddy offers daily backups and automatic daily malware scans. So, at least, your site can stay safe from the hackers.
If you need added security, then maybe you can choose one of the GoDaddy WordPress hosting packages. However, BlueHost is not too bad in that department as well.
So, for this round, BlueHost is the clear winner.
Cloud hosting plan comparison
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 0/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 0/5
BlueHost has discontinued providing cloud hosting services, so there is nothing to see here folks.
Oops. Looks like Godaddy has discontinued cloud hosting services, so there is no winner here.
Bluehost or GoDaddy for VPS hosting?
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
Want superfast servers and greater control for your website? Then consider one of the following BlueHost VPS hosting packages:
- Standard: $19.99/mo
- Enhanced: $29.99/mo
- Ultimate: $59.99/mo
(Prices are based on a 3-year term.)
If you wish to purchase any plan for 1 year, then these prices jump to:
- Standard $29.99/mo
- Enhanced: $59.99/mo
- Ultimate: $119.99/mo
Here are some benefits you can expect with VPS hosting packages:
RAM:
Standard package: 2 GB RAM
Enhanced package: 4 GB RAM
Ultimate package: 8 GB RAM
You also get 2, 2 and 4 CPU cores respectively per plan.
Furthermore, the disk space allocated to each package is:
- Standard package: 30 GB SSD storage
- Enhanced package: 60 GB storage
- Ultimate package: 120 GB storage
An important thing worth mentioning here is that there is a limit on bandwidth and you will get 1 TB, 2 TB or 3 TB bandwidth allocated based on the package you select.
Additional benefits include free domain for the first year and a dedicated IP address but for the high price you are paying, you are entitled to such benefits.
A good thing about these packages is that they come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can claim a full refund if you are unsatisfied
In terms of VPS hosting, GoDaddy offers a bit more flexibility. You can choose from four packages, listed below:
- Launch $24.99/mo
- Enhance $34.99/mo
- Grow $44.99/mo
- Expand $54.99/mo
These prices are applicable only if you choose to pay for 3-years upfront.
If you wish to buy hosting for only a year, then you are required to pay:
- Launch $26.99/mo
- Enhance $38.99/mo
- Grow $50.99/mo
- Expand $62.99
It is quite evident that GoDaddy allows more flexibility and a slightly better pricing when compared to BlueHost. But let’s find out the benefits you will get:
RAM:
- Launch package 2 GB RAM
- Enhance package 4 GB RAM
- Grow package 6 GB RAM
- Expand package 8 GB RAM
You also get 1, 2, 3 and 4 CPU cores respectively depending on the package you pick.
Furthermore, the disk space allocated to each package is:
- Launch package: 40 GB SSD storage
- Enhance package: 60 GB storage
- Grow package: 150 GB storage
- Expand package: 200 GB storage
So far, so good for GoDaddy. The better pricing and more flexibility is certainly a plus point but let’s see what other benefits GoDaddy is offering.
In terms of additional benefits, users will get unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate for the first year, 24/7 expert customer support, ability to pick between managed and an unmanaged option where you can get some pre-installed software, and it also allows automatic updates and weekly backups.
Based on all the benefits and better pricing, GoDaddy is the clear winner in this department.
Dedicated hosting comparison
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
Looking to take full control of a server to better manage your online business? Then try getting dedicated hosting. With dedicated hosting, you can get full control of a server. This means, you can customize the server's resources according to your business needs. Other benefits include: additional security, reliability, and hassle-free maintenance.
BlueHost offers 3 packages for dedicated hosting, and if you choose to a 3-year plan, you will get the following prices:
- Standard $79.99/mo
- Enhanced $99.99/mo
- Premium $119.99/mo
If you don’t want to pay for 3-years upfront and wish to take it year by year, then these prices jump up to:
- Standard $199.99/mo
- Enhanced $159.99/mo
- Premium $209.99/mo
Dedicated hosting is the best thing your site can have, so expect nothing but top of the line performance.
Here’s what you will get depending on the package you select:
Hardware configuration:
- Standard: 4 cores @ 2.3 GHz with 4 GB of RAM
- Enhanced: 4 cores @ 2.5 GHz with 8 GB of RAM
- Premium: 4 cores @ 3.3 GHz with 16 GB of RAM
You also get a mirrored disk storage of 500 GB, 1 TB and 1 TB respectively.
As for the bandwidth, BlueHost seems to impose restrictions, but it is fair to say that they offer a generous bandwidth that should be efficient for any business needs.
The bandwidth allocated to each package is as follows:
- Standard: 5 TB bandwidth
- Enhanced: 10 TB bandwidth
- Premium: 15 TB bandwidth
Further, you also get 3, 4 and 5 IP addresses respectively.
GoDaddy is quite famous for providing top of the line dedicated servers with slightly more flexible packages.
You can choose from the following four packages and these are monthly equivalent payments for a 3-year term:
- Economy: $89.99/mo
- Value: $104.99/mo
- Deluxe: $129.99/mo
- Ultimate: $179.99/mo
If you wish to reduce the purchasing term for only 1 year, then the monthly equivalent payment will be:
- Economy: $159.99/mo
- Value: $189.99/mo
- Deluxe: $239.99/mo
- Ultimate: $339.99/mo
Compared to the pricing of BlueHost, GoDaddy seems to be charging more. But are these prices justified?
Let’s find out:
Hardware configuration:
All the packages come with a super-fast CPU with 4 cores @ 3.1 GHz; however, the allocated RAM memory increases with each package as you go up the ladder. The RAM memory allocated to each package is as follows.
- Economy: 4 GB of RAM
Value: 8 GB of RAM - Deluxe: 16 GB of RAM
- Ultimate: 32 GB of RAM
In terms of storage, GoDaddy offers more of it, meaning that your business will never run out of disk space.
The storage offered in each package is as follows:
- Economy: 1 TB storage
- Value: 1.5 TB storage
- Deluxe: 2 TB storage
- Ultimate: 2 TB storage
But the thing that bugged me is that GoDaddy hasn’t specified as to whether they’ll be providing HD or SSD. Assuming it’s 2020, we can say that they will be using SSDs but we are not entirely sure.
The best thing I like is the fact that GoDaddy offers unmetered bandwidth for any package you select, meaning that your site will never have any issues regarding bandwidth allocation, so this is definitely a plus point here.
Additional benefits include:
Multiple IP addresses, 24/7 monitoring, patching and an option to choose between a managed plan or an unmanaged one.
Compare GoDaddy vs BlueHost domain registration
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 0/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/5
Unfortunately, BlueHost does not mention domain renewal prices. The only way to see how much a renewal will cost you is by going to your Cpanel after registering your domain.
By default, domains are set to auto renew according to the initial term unless selected otherwise in the Cpanel manually.
Judging by this, we have to declare GoDaddy a clear winner here.
These are the prices that your domain extension will renew at, NOT the introductory offers (green denotes the cheaper option):
When it comes to domain registration, GoDaddy is one of the oldest and most trusted names in the industry. Not only do they offer great initial pricing for the 1st year, but you also get better renewal pricing as compared to other top companies:
- .com $17.99/YR
- .website $29.99/YR
- .tech $27.99/YR
- .net $14.99/YR
- .biz $24.99/YR
- .site $39.99/YR
- .co $11.99/YR
- .us $19.99/YR
- .org $10.99/YR
- .club $17.99/YR
- .info $21.99/YR
And you can get other domain extensions as well for your website.
GoDaddy vs BlueHost website builder
BlueHost
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this piece, BlueHost doesn’t provide any website builder services. We will update this piece in future if things change.
GoDaddy offers a comprehensive website building service and, the best part is, you can try it for free for the first month.
The longest duration for the purchase of this service is one year and the pricing is as follows:
- Basic $10/mo
- Standard $15/mo
- Premium $20/mo
- Ecommerce: $25/mo
If you are looking to create a standard website, then the Basic package should suffice as it offers:
- Mobile-friendly site building option
- Free SSL certificate
- PayPal integration
- Site analytics
- 100 promotional emails/mo
- Easy editing interface, etc.
However, if you want the extensive web development option, you may want to consider the other packages, which comes with additional benefits including various ecommerce options, online booking integration, enhanced social media and email marketing options, etc.
Since BluHost doesn’t provide a website builder service, GoDaddy wins this department!
GoDaddy vs BlueHost speed, uptime, and reliability
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
BlueHost has made a name for itself over the past few years in terms of quality services. With a 30-day money-back guarantee, it’s safe to say BlueHost can be trusted with your online business!
With any hosting package with BlueHost, you will get:
- Uptime: 99.99%
- Speed: a load time of 401ms (0.401 seconds)
GoDaddy is one of the pioneers of hosting and domain industry and you can expect nothing but the best from this giant!
Along with an award-winning 24/7 customer support service, you also get:
- Uptime: 99.99%
- Speed: 517ms (0.517 seconds)
Reseller hosting comparison
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 2.5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
When you click on the reseller hosting plans, BlueHost seems to take you to another site called “resellerclub.com”. Assuming that these two are linked together, here is the pricing of reseller hosting plans that you can get for a 3-year term:
- R1: $10.99/mo
- R2: $14.49/mo
- R3: $16.49/mo
- R4: $25.49/mo
One good thing about the above-mentioned plans is that you get the same pricing for every package even if you reduce the purchase term to 1-year. Honestly speaking, this was a good surprise for me as it’s quite common in the hosting industry to charge more for a shorter-term plan.
The benefits that you will get from the above plans are:
- Free SSL certificates (which is quite common in the industry)
- Unlimited emails
- Unlimited cPanels accounts
- Free WHMCS (except for R1 package)
Coming towards disk space and data transfer, each plan has its own limit, which is:
- R1 comes with a 40 GB disk space and 800 GB data transfer.
- R2 comes with a 50 GB disk space and 1000 GB data transfer.
- R3 comes with a 100 GB disk space and 2000 GB data transfer.
- R4 comes with a 200 GB disk space and 4000 GB transfer.
Since we are not entirely sure about the services of resellerclub and there is a lack of information available on the site regarding the hardware configuration of the servers, we’ll have to say that the advantage goes to GoDaddy.
Unlike BlueHost, GoDaddy has a dedicated page for reseller hosting plans.
You can select from 4 different plans and the monthly equivalent payments for a 3-year term are:
- Enhance: $39.99/mo
- Grow: $49.99/mo
- Expand: $64.99/mo
- Established: $89.99/mo
In case you opt for a 1-year term, monthly prices will jump up to:
- Enhance: $54.99/mo
- Grow: $74.99/mo
- Expand: $99.99/mo
- Established: $129.99/mo
The pricing of these packages seems to be a bit on the higher side; however, you do get full value for your money.
The benefits include:
- Free SSL certificates
- Unlimited websites and databases
- Unlimited cPanel accounts
- Free WHMCS
And most importantly, you get unmetered bandwidth!
As far as hardware configuration goes, you will get:
CPUs and RAM:
- Established: 2 CPUs with 4 GB of RAM
- Grow: 3 CPUs with 6 GB of RAM
- Expand: 4 CPUs with 8 GB of RAM
- Established: 4 CPUs with 16 GB of RAM.
There is also a storage limitation on each package and packages offer 90 GB, 120 GB, 150 GB and 240 GB of storage respectively.
Based on the clear hardware configuration information given and the years of trust that GoDaddy has developed among its vast customer base, we definitely recommend GoDaddy, even though the pricing is a little on the higher side.
GoDaddy vs BlueHost pricing comparison
BlueHost
☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
GoDaddy
☆☆☆☆☆ 3.5/5
Based on 3-year subscriptions (green denotes the cheaper option):
- Shared: $3.95 - $13.95/mo
- Cloud: N/A
- WordPress: $3.95 - $5.95/mo
- Reseller: $10.99/mo - $25.49/mo
- VPS: $19.99 - $59.99/mo
- Dedicated: $79.99 - $119.99/mo
Based on 3-year subscriptions (green denotes the cheaper option):
- Shared: $5.99 - $19.99/mo
- Cloud: N/A
- WordPress: $6.99 - $15.99/mo
- Reseller: $39.99 - $89.99/mo
- VPS: $24.99 - $54.99/mo
- Dedicated: $89.99 - $179.99/mo
BlueHost hosting vs GoDaddy hosting conclusion
The winner is BlueHost!
It’s quite evident that BlueHost provides quality hosting services at better rates than GoDaddy. And it’s not just the pricing!
BlueHost is our pick with an easy-to-use interface, one-click WordPress install and automatic updates and a 30-days money back guarantee.
BlueHost versus GoDaddy final score
BlueHost vs GoDaddy FAQs
How can I host my GoDaddy domain on BlueHost?
You can host your GoDaddy domain on BlueHost, it’s a simple matter of pointing the domain nameserver at GoDaddy toward BlueHost.