Bluehost vs GoDaddy, one of the great contests of our time. Of all time. Ali/Frazier, Kennedy/Nixon, Bluehost/GoDaddy. This may sound hyperbolic (because it is) but the two hosting providers are genuine forces online. They host millions of websites serving millions of visitors worldwide.
Given they’re both such big forces in the market, you’re probably asking yourself, ‘What’s the difference? Each will offer more or less the same service as the other, right?’ Well, kind of. Bluehost and GoDaddy are often very similar, but there are key differences to consider when choosing which one to sign up with.
Overall Bluehost ranks higher than GoDaddy in our research. Although both are feature-rich with excellent performance, Bluehost offers slightly better support and value for money. GoDaddy’s reach into domain registration and website building makes it a better all-in-one option.
Click below for our in-depth reviews of each provider.
Or, for a good old-fashioned head-to-head, read on. We’ll break down the strengths and weaknesses of the two and help you decide which is the right fit for your site.
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
Bluehost and GoDaddy are both excellent where features are concerned. As leaders in the market they can’t afford not to be. Accordingly, there’s very little to separate them.
| Bluehost | GoDaddy Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Yes | Yes |
| Control panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| Free backups | Yes | No |
| Disk space | 100GB | Unlimited |
| Uptime | 99.98% | 99.97% |
The uptime of both is excellent — 99.98% for Bluehost and 99.97% for GoDaddy. That’s less than three days of downtime a year. Perfect uptime simply isn’t possible, but these two get as close as is reasonably possible.
Both use the cPanel control panel, the industry standard for managing your hosting. The interfaces are clean and easy to use, though we think Bluehost has a little extra polish.
GoDaddy offers unlimited disk space, whereas Bluehost caps it at 100GB, but then smaller websites rarely get close to that limit. Importantly, Bluehost provides free backups, which is good security to have lest something dreadful happen to your site.
More Information:
What is Web Hosting? – Our complete beginner’s guide to the ins and outs of web hosting
Best Web Hosting Providers – Research-driven rankings of the best all-round hosting providers
Ironically, the major difference between Bluehost and GoDaddy is the support you receive to build a website after signing up for a hosting plan. GoDaddy has its own in-house drag and drop website builder, whereas Bluehost integrates with Weebly and WordPress.org.
This is one of the key differences between Bluehost and GoDaddy. If you want to build your own site but aren’t technically savvy, GoDaddy provides the structured, intuitive experience you probably need. For a site built in WordPress we’d recommend Bluehost above anyone else. More on that below.
Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Features and Ease of Use: Verdict
GoDaddy offers slightly better features and ease of use than Bluehost. GoDaddy’s in-house drag-and-drop website builder keeps the setup process simple and provides all-in-one convenience. GoDaddy’s unlimited disk space is also a major plus – though most websites probably won’t even max out Bluehost’s 100GB limit!
Is GoDaddy the Right Host For You?
GoDaddy just wins on features, as it offers all-in-one convenience. Explore its plans to make sure it’s the best host for you.Let's See - Show Me GoDaddy!
Pricing & Value for Money
The real reason a lot of you are here is to find out which one’s cheaper, and fair enough. Bluehost and GoDaddy are both safe, reliable hosting options. If you don’t want to think about them any more than that then go for Bluehost. It offers better value for money.
| Bluehost | GoDaddy Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | $2.95 – $14.99 | $2.99 – $12.99 |
| WordPress Hosting | $19.99 – $49.99 | $4.99 – $24.99 |
| WooCommerce Hosting | $12.95 – $24.95 | $15.99 – $24.99 |
| VPS Hosting | $19.99 – $59.99 | $19.99 – $74.99 |
| Dedicated Hosting | $79.99 – $209.99 | $89.99 – $179.99 |
| Reseller Hosting | Outsourced for $17.99 – $45.99 | $39.99 – $89.99 |
More Information:
Bluehost Pricing Review – Discover which Bluehost plan offers the best value for money
GoDaddy Pricing Review – Learn more about the cost of a GoDaddy plan
It’s an old trick of all the the website hosting providers to a) always have a ‘sale’ on, and b) have a bunch of addons that you’ll need to pay for on top of the basic monthly rate. A Lamborghini on sale for $50 sounds great until you learn you need to buy the wheels and engine separately.
Neither Bluehost or GoDaddy get too cheeky with this. You shouldn’t expect to pay more than a few dollars a month to get a website off the ground, regardless of the one you choose. On the whole though, we think Bluehost offers that little bit more value – especially given that GoDaddy’s shared hosting rate soon jumps up to $7.99 per month.
Both offer 30-day money back guarantees, which is a brilliant option to have if you want to test the waters.
Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Pricing: Verdict
Bluehost offers better value for money than GoDaddy. Neither provider is going to burn a hole in your pocket, but Bluehost’s excellent customer support and competitive renewal prices make it the winning provider here.
Do You Want Great Value For Money?
Bluehost packs a ton of powerful features into its plans, meaning it’s the better value option over GoDaddy.Yes! Pick My Perfect Bluehost Plan
Which has Better WordPress Integration?
It would be remiss not to give WordPress.org its own section when comparing hosting providers. A solid third of the internet is built on WordPress, and if you’re looking to arrange hosting yourself there’s a decent chance you’ll be joining those ranks.
Bluehost is the best platform around for WordPress integration. That’s not our opinion either. WordPress themselves recommend Bluehost (along with Dreamhost and SiteGround) as “the best and brightest of the hosting world.” They would know.
Bluehost’s WordPress expertise extends to its WooCommerce features as well. If you’re running an online store, Bluehost’s WooCommerce plans come with one-click integrations for payment processing tools, and a compatible online store theme already set up for you.
More Information:
WordPress Review – Everything you need to know about the CMS powering 1/3rd of the internet
Best WordPress Hosting Provider – A closer look at the strengths of Bluehost for WordPress
How to Install WordPress with Bluehost – Our step by step guide to installing Bluehost on WordPress
Installing WordPress.org (and/or WooCommerce) on Bluehost is literally a one-click process. You could have a functioning website up within minutes of confirming your hosting plan, if you felt so inclined. Bluehost understand that WordPress is their bread and butter, so their strength in this area is unlikely to dwindle any time soon.
Poor GoDaddy actually have strong WordPress game themselves, but you’re here for a comparison and Bluehost is comfortably ahead at the moment.
Bluehost vs GoDaddy – WordPress Integration: Verdict
When it comes to WordPress integration, Bluehost is the clear winner. This provider has been recommended by WordPress itself since 2005, and for good reason. Bluehost beats GoDaddy for WordPress integration, because Bluehost is simply easier, faster, and more seamless to use.
Are You Using WordPress?
If so, we highly recommend Bluehost. It’s the best in the business when it comes to WordPress hosting – even WordPress itself says so!Yes! Show Me Bluehost's WordPress Plans
Which Has a Better Switching Process?
If you already have a hosting provider, and are looking to make the switch to Bluehost or GoDaddy, then you’ll want to make sure you don’t end up with a technical headache that could’ve been avoided. The good news is, neither provider makes website migration particularly hard – but there is a clear winner between the two!
Bluehost offers a professional switching service for a one-time fee of $149.99, which migrates up to five websites and 20 email accounts. All the work is completely done for you. Bluehost’s team of experts offer expedited service and complete migration of all the databases and files associated with your old hosting account – and you don’t have to lift a finger, or have any migration knowledge.Rather not spend the money? That’s no problem! Bluehost also offers a free switching service for WordPress websites that meet its qualification criteria. This service is available after you’ve signed up for an account with Bluehost, when you can fill out a “free migration contact form” in your Bluehost dashboard. From there, Bluehost’s team of migration experts will contact you to review factors like your site’s WordPress version, database size, and PHP version to decide whether your site is eligible for a free migration.
On the other hand, switching your website to GoDaddy involves a little more work. It’s definitely doable, and it is free – but that’s because GoDaddy doesn’t offer a completely hands-off migration process. Non-WordPress websites have to be migrated manually, which involves downloading your website’s files from your old hosting provider and then uploading them to GoDaddy. WordPress websites are a little easier – these can be migrated to GoDaddy in the “My Products” section of an existing GoDaddy account, where you’ll need to choose your desired hosting plan and provide information about the site you’d like to transfer.
Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Switching Process: Verdict
Bluehost is the winner when it comes to switching your hosting provider. Its free WordPress migration option is a huge asset, and the paid migration option is even more stress-free. Switching a website to GoDaddy isn’t painful, but it definitely isn’t as easy as switching to Bluehost.
Are You Switching Hosting Providers?
Bluehost’s completely hands-off WordPress migration is hard to beat, whether you choose the free or the paid version.I Want to Switch to Bluehost
- How to Move a WordPress Site to a New Host – Learn how to manually migrate a WordPress site in eight steps
- How to Transfer a Domain Name to a New Host – Five steps for moving your domain name
Bluehost Support vs GoDaddy Support
Good help and support is invaluable in hosting. Things don’t go wrong often, but when they do you want the techies in your corner.
Bluehost and GoDaddy both tick most of the boxes, offering knowledge centers, live chat, and 24/7 phone support. For commonplace problems this is all you’re likely to need.
Bluehost’s knowledge center is a bit more thorough – it even exceeded our customer service expectations by 15%. That said, GoDaddy’s knowledge center is also helpful. And if you don’t find the information you’re looking for there, both providers are so widely used that someone, somewhere will have encountered the same problem as you and shared the solution online.
The big difference is Bluehost offers support tickets while GoDaddy doesn’t. Sometimes only personalized attention will do, and at the very least it’s good to have the option. Largely, though, there are better things to scrutinize than support when looking for the key differences between Bluehost and GoDaddy.
Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Support: Verdict
Bluehost has better customer support than GoDaddy. Bluehost offers support tickets while GoDaddy doesn’t, and tickets are an easy way to solve many website issues. Bluehost’s knowledge base is also more comprehensive than GoDaddy’s, and you can learn a lot by browsing the articles posted there.
Do You Value Great Support?
Bluehost is a reliable provider with top notch support, meaning it’s suitable for beginners and pros alike.Yes! I Want to See Bluehost
Bluehost vs GoDaddy Hosting: Conclusion
Bluehost and GoDaddy are such established, reliable hosting platforms that going with either will put you in safe hands. They’ve both been around for an age in internet terms and know what they’re doing.
Whether to go with Bluehost or GoDaddy depends on your needs. If you want great value for money and/or to host a WordPress.org site, Bluehost is better fit. If you want all your website elements in one place, GoDaddy edges it. They both offer 30-day money-back guarantees, so there’s minimal risk to giving one of them a spin.
Are You Ready to See Bluehost?
Bluehost is the better hosting provider overall, with stronger features, better value, and especially powerful WordPress plans.I'm Ready! Take Me to Bluehost
Are You Ready to See GoDaddy?
GoDaddy provides all-in-one convenience for its users, and comes with a ton of extra features on top of just hosting.I'm Ready! Take Me to GoDaddy
FAQs
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