GoDaddy is a popular web hosting service known for its high uptimes and fast load times at an affordable price. However, there are a number of top-rated web hosting providers offering competitively priced plans with high-quality services, so the decision as to which host to use is not always easy. To help, we reviewed the leading web hosts to find the best GoDaddy alternatives based on factors like price, ease of use, and customer support.
GoDaddy Alternative | Best For |
|---|---|
(Best Overall) Businesses looking for an affordable, yet feature-rich website hosting service | |
Solopreneurs and startups wanting good, reliable hosting services for cheap | |
Businesses whose websites contain more content like images or video | |
Companies that use WordPress and want a hosting service that will integrate | |
Larger organizations that can afford to spend more money on web hosting services | |
Amateurs and low-level beginners looking for a cheap, easy-to-use website builder |
Which GoDaddy Alternative is Best for You?
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How We Evaluated GoDaddy Alternatives
GoDaddy is an affordable web hosting company with a website builder that is user-friendly and caters to all tech skill levels. Therefore, to be considered, alternatives had to offer similar, if not better features, site reliability, and support options while remaining at a competitive price point. Available add-ons and each product’s user interface were also considered.
Our criteria for comparing GoDaddy alternatives for hosting small business websites or building websites included:
- Overall cost with and without add-ons
- Average server uptime
- Features to help you build and manage your website, like templates and control panels
- Storage limitations and bandwidth restraints
- Ease of initial setup and on-going use
- Customer support
For the best GoDaddy alternative, we chose Bluehost. There are four service tiers, each offering 24-hour customer support, a minimum of 50GB of website space, and an incredibly easy-to-use user interface (UI). Bluehost also offers great introductory rates for new users, letting you try it for a cheaper price first.
Bluehost: Best Overall GoDaddy Alternative for Small Businesses
What it is: Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting services in the world. Pricing starts at $8.99 per month for a 12-month term.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: One Bluehost feature that stacks heavily against GoDaddy is that it offers free backups; GoDaddy charges you a starting price of $2.99 to back up your website. This feature, combined with a user interface (UI) that is easy to navigate, an intuitive, user-friendly control panel, and amazing customer service, win Bluehost our vote for the best overall alternative to GoDaddy.
Bluehost Strengths | Bluehost Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Reasonably priced; introductory pricing starts as low as $2.95 per month | No free migration services—you will be charged about $150 for this process to be completed |
Choose from a .com, .org, or .net domain | Automatic backups are not offered with the first two service tiers |
Easy-to-use for all skill levels | Website speeds are reportedly slow when there is a lot of traffic, which is a drawback for larger organizations |
Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost offers tiered pricing on a 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month basis:
- Basic: Pricing ranges between $7.99 and $8.99 depending on length of hosting agreement
- Plus: Hosting at this level costs between $10.99 and $12.99
- Choice Plus: Costs range between $14.99 and $16.99 for this plan
- Pro: Services at this tier cost between $23.99 and $25.99
Bluehost Features
- Unmetered bandwidth: There is no limit to how much data is transferred with this feature.
- Domains: Start with one domain included in your plan or unlock unlimited domains with higher tiers.
- Easy UI: No matter how tech-savvy you consider yourself, the UI is laid out in a completely user-friendly way to guide you through the onboarding process.
- Education available: Building a website can create questions, which is what makes Bluehost’s knowledge base such a fantastic resource.
DreamHost: Best GoDaddy Alternative for Startups
What it is: DreamHost is a web hosting service and domain name registrar. Its low starting price of $3.95 per month on an annual basis with the option of no annual contracts can be attractive for budget-conscious startups.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: DreamHost is cheaper and more user-friendly for beginners, as evidenced by its glowing positive user reviews. For this reason and some of the same features of other web hosting services on this list, we voted DreamHost as the best GoDaddy alternative for startups and for those creating a business website for the first time.
DreamHost Strengths | DreamHost Weaknesses |
|---|---|
No commitment necessary—you can be billed on a monthly basis | Add-on features tally up quickly in price |
Many different support routes available to users, including 24/7 support tickets | Live chat is only available 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time, and there is no phone option |
Installs as a web extension for easy access | No free website is offered with monthly plans; you must pay an additional $6.99 |
DreamHost Pricing
- Shared:
- Promotional price: $3.95 monthly for an annual contract; $4.95 monthly for three months
- $6.99 monthly; $4.95 monthly on an annual basis
- DreamPress:
- Promotional price: $10 monthly for an annual contract
- $19.95 monthly; $16.95 monthly on an annual basis
- VPS:
- $15 monthly; $13.75 monthly on an annual basis
DreamHost Features
- Easy to use: A user interface (UI) that is simple to navigate through makes building a website quick and relatively painless.
- Customizable: Add-on features for an added fee make your website exactly what you want it to be.
- WordPress migrations: Pay nothing to have your existing WordPress website migrated to the DreamHost server.
- Unmetered bandwidth and unlimited traffic: Never worry about overage fees through DreamHost thanks to unmetered bandwidth and traffic.
HostGator: Best GoDaddy Alternative for Content-heavy Domains
What it is: As one of the oldest and original web hosting services, HostGator has been an industry standard since 2002. It has a starting price of $2.75 per month.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: Unlimited storage and bandwidth for all plans means images, video, and other multimedia can be saved to your HostGator server. GoDaddy, on the other hand, does not offer unlimited storage for all of its plans. This, and its reliable uptime, make it a great alternative for content-heavy websites.
HostGator Strengths | HostGator Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Excellent reputation for uptime | There are not as many stock features as other services on this list |
Unlimited storage | Hidden fees for many smaller features, like Gmail access and SEO tools |
Unmetered bandwidth | Wait times can be long for support |
HostGator Pricing
HostGator charges customers on a monthly basis:
- Hatchling Plan: $2.75 monthly*
- Baby Plan: $3.95 monthly*
- Business Plan: $5.95 monthly*
*Although the initial monthly plan prices are low, note that there are many hidden charges with HostGator. Introductory fees are impressive, but once they wear off, then you can be surprised with hidden fees: $25 to restore from one of their backups, $17.99 domain renewal fees, and so on. Be sure that when you pick a plan, you understand all of the extras that you might need to sign up for to complete your plan.
HostGator Features
- Available domains: Whether you’re looking for a .com, .net, .me, or a dozen other domains, HostGator has a total of 15 to choose from.
- Enhanced security: A free SSL certificate ensures encryption between visitors and your website.
- Unlimited storage: This feature is especially handy if your website has lots of content and images.
- Uptimes: HostGator is known for having reliable uptimes, making for better service.
InMotion Hosting: Best GoDaddy Alternative for WordPress Users
What it is: InMotion Hosting, which starts as low as $6.39 per month, provides hosting services for websites. Its marketing and website building tools are what truly set it apart from other hosting services.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: InMotion’s integration with WordPress makes it ideal for people who are already familiar with the website building environment. WordPress plugins and widgets are available with GoDaddy, but InMotion Hosting’s focus and partnership with the website design platform is what win it its title as the best GoDaddy alternative for WordPress users.
InMotion Hosting Strengths | InMotion Hosting Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Has many different WordPress solutions | No option for annual billing |
Hosts all sizes of companies, from small businesses to corporations | Users report long website downtimes, which is frustrating |
Focuses on SEO, marketing, and building a better company | Slow service; users complain of technological issues not being solved quickly |
InMotion Hosting Pricing
InMotion Hosting has three service tiers, and as of this writing, there’s no annual billing option for any of them. This means that all prices are based on a monthly basis:
- Launch: $7.99 regularly; $6.39 as a current promotional price
- Power: $9.99 regularly; $8.49 as a current promotional price
- Pro: $15.99 regularly; $14.71 as a current promotional price
InMotion Hosting Features
- Free domain: You are given a free domain with every service tier.
- Marketing tools: All packages come with tools such as a website builder and visitor statistics.
- Security: Free hack protection and an SSL certification are stock features.
- Unlimited disk space: Create and upload content quickly with no limit on your disk space.
SiteGround: Best GoDaddy Alternative for Large Corporations
What it is: SiteGround is a web hosting provider based in Bulgaria, servicing over 2,000,000 domains worldwide. Pricing starts at $3.95 per month.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: SiteGround offers a multitude of features like unlimited email accounts, unmetered bandwidth, and exceptional customer service with all plans. GoDaddy offers these same features, but not all of them are included in the entry-level plan. SiteGround’s prices, as well as its streamlined professional features, makes it our pick for the best GoDaddy alternative for large corporations.
SiteGround Strengths | SiteGround Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Daily backups with up to 30 previous versions stored on the cloud | Renewal fees are very expensive compared to introductory rates |
30-day money-back guarantee | Features like advanced priority support are only available with the highest-service tier |
Free SSL certificate with all purchases | No annual billing option available |
SiteGround Pricing
There are three service tiers with SiteGround. Each is charged on a monthly basis since there is no annual pricing available at this time. Note that once the introductory prices transition to renewal prices, the price tag changes significantly:
- Startup: $3.95 monthly introductory rate; $11.95 monthly per renewal
- GrowBig: $5.95 monthly introductory rate; $19.95 monthly per renewal
- GoGeek: $11.95 monthly introductory rate; $34.95 monthly per renewal
SiteGround Features
- Integrations: Enjoy integrations with services you already use such as WordPress, WooCommerce, and Weebly.
- Unmetered bandwidth: Transfer all the data you want with SiteGround’s unmetered bandwidth.
- Tutorials and help: Learn how to enhance the user experience and optimize your website with free resources.
- User-friendly: Drag-and-drop functionalities make learning and using SiteGround easy.
Weebly: Best GoDaddy Alternative for Beginners
What it is: Since Weebly is not a web hosting service, it is a different GoDaddy alternative than others on this list. Instead, Weebly is a website builder that has many features for free, but its paid plans unlock even more incredible features. There is a free version available, with paid versions starting at $6 per month on an annual basis.
Why it’s a great GoDaddy alternative: Weebly is best suited for amateurs who don’t need as robust a service as GoDaddy. Easy-to-use tools and customizable templates are highly user-friendly and great for beginners, making it our choice for the best GoDaddy alternative for beginners.
Weebly Strengths | Weebly Weaknesses |
|---|---|
Free plan is available for amateurs or hobby bloggers | Difficult to personalize templates; limited customization tools |
Three different ways to get in touch with customer service | Email marketing is not included with a Weebly subscription |
Offers SEO services | Small items like a search bar are not available with lower-service tiers |
Weebly Pricing
There are four service tiers with Weebly. You can be billed annually or monthly:
- Free: $0
- Personal: $9 monthly; $6 monthly on an annual basis
- Professional: $16 monthly; $12 monthly on an annual basis
- Performance: $29 monthly; $26 monthly on an annual basis
Weebly Features
- Templates: Prebuilt webpages can help you cut down on time spent designing them.
- SEO: Weebly offers many different search engine optimization (SEO) solutions, including tracking tools and keyword research.
- Support: Visit the community forum, write a support ticket, or call on the phone for tech help.
- Mobile app: Manage your website directly from your smartphone by accessing the mobile app.
Bottom Line
When it comes to choosing a web hosting service for your website, it’s important to pick one with outstanding customer support, a modest price, and most importantly, strong uptimes with a user-friendly user interface (UI).
We believe that Bluehost is the best overall alternative to GoDaddy. Its customer support team has a top-notch reputation for fast service and answering any questions that you might have. Additionally, it offers many standard features like domain names and different integrations within its service tiers that others on this list charge extra for. Visit Bluehost’s website and learn about how you can start your free 30-day trial.
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