GoDaddy Hosting and HostGator are two of the biggest hosting platforms around. They’ve been going strong for an age in internet years and offer affordable, reliable services. Their reputations are stellar and well-earned.
It can be difficult to separate the top providers sometimes, but that’s where we come in. We’ve dug into the features of both to provide research-based recommendations (and warnings).
HostGator and GoDaddy Hosting ranked 1st and 3rd respectively in our rankings, so you’re in safe hands either way. They’re both excellent providers, just for different things. HostGator offers a stronger all-round service, but GoDaddy is better for an all-in-one experience.
HostGator Pros
- Cheap, scalable plans
- Email marketing
- 99.9% uptime
HostGator Cons
- No free domain on signup
GoDaddy Hosting Pros
- All-in-one convenience of hosting, website building, and domain registration
- Feature-rich
- 99.98% up time
GoDaddy Hosting Cons
- Steeper pricing than most of its competitors
If you’re looking for more detail, read on for a feature-by-feature comparison of the two. By the end you’ll know which will better suit your needs.
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
As big dogs (and crocs) in the hosting sphere, GoDaddy and HostGator tick all the boxes. They can’t afford not to. Convenient, low maintenance hosting is good hosting, and both offer this.
| GoDaddy Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Yes | No |
| Control panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| Free backups | No | No |
| Disk space | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Uptime | 99.97% | 99.99% |
Both have superb uptime, GoDaddy boasting 99.97% and HostGator one-upping it with 99.99%. Perfect uptime is impossible, so these two get as close as is reasonably possible. Both use cPanel, but once you set your site up with a content management system you’re not going to use it that much.
GoDaddy may actually have the edge for certain beginners. Domain management, web hosting, and website building all in one place is very convenient option to have if you’re not keen on juggling them separately.
GoDaddy’s website builder is not the glossiest around, but it is nothing if not functional. Basic sites are in good hands. HostGator doesn’t have an in-house website builder; instead it’s integrated with SiteBuilder, which isn’t the best in the market.
A major draw of GoDaddy is its free email scheme. On a basic shared hosting plan, GoDaddy throws in a year-long subscription to Microsoft Office 365 business email, which usually costs $60.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – Features, Performance and Ease of Use: The Verdict
It’s a close one, but HostGator just edges it. HostGator is much easier to use than GoDaddy, and it has a slightly better uptime of 99.99% compared to GoDaddy’s 99.97%. However, GoDaddy does offer more non-hosting features than HostGator, including free Microsoft Word subscription on the Basic Plan.
Which has Better WordPress Integration?
There’s not much to separate the two where WordPress is concerned. Setup is super simple on GoDaddy, though it currently takes up to 24 hours to take effect.
HostGator on the other hand can have a WordPress site ready to go in minutes. This won’t make much difference to you unless you’re in the midst of a life-or-death race against time involving WordPress. We assume you’re not. Still, that difference speaks to the smoothness of integration, which is where HostGator has an edge.
The thing about WordPress is once you’ve set up your site there’s no real need to interact with your hosting at all. It’s enough that the foundations of a house are there; you don’t need to go check on them every day. You’ll know if something’s wrong.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – WordPress Integration: The Verdict
Both platforms perform really well in this section, but HostGator just wins it. In terms of WordPress.org install time, HostGator is faster than GoDaddy. Also, HostGator has a much simpler WordPress control panel, making the whole integration process much easier from start to finish.
HostGator Support vs GoDaddy Support
GoDaddy’s knowledge center is clearly presented and easy to navigate. The platform is so widely used that if you can’t find official documentation for a problem odds are it’s been discussed and resolved elsewhere.
| GoDaddy Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 Chat | Yes | Yes |
| 24/7 Phone | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge Center | Yes | Yes |
| Tickets | No | Yes |
Both offer all the standard avenues: 24/7 phone and chat support, and dedicated social media support accounts. HostGator offers tech tickets, which is a really useful option to have when your hosting needs hand-on support.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – Customer Support: The Verdict
It’s another close one, but HostGator just beats GoDaddy again. Both platforms offer all the main customer support functions you’d need like 24/7 phone and live chat support, plus social media support accounts. However, HostGator goes the extra mile by offering tech tickets.
Pricing & Value for Money
For a lot of people price is all that really matters. Hosting isn’t exactly the sexiest thing to focus on when putting a website together. If a service is reliable, great. How much?
As is the case with most hosting platforms, GoDaddy and HostGator offer a variety of plans scaling up in cost and capability depending on your need. Entry level plans for both amount to little more than a coffee a month.
Monthly Rates
| GoDaddy Hosting | HostGator | |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | $2.99 – $12.99 | $2.75 – $5.95 |
| WordPress Hosting | $4.99 – $24.99 | $5.95 – $9.95 |
| VPS Hosting | $19.99 – $74.99 | $19.95 – $39.95 |
| Dedicated Hosting | $89.99 – $179.99 | $119.99 – $149.99 |
| Cloud Hosting | – | $4.95 – $9.95 |
It’s worth noting that these numbers exclude any addons, some of which border on essential (backups and hacking protection, for example). The ‘real’ cost tends to be a couple of dollars more than what you see. That’s a hosting thing, though. It’s not exclusive to GoDaddy and HostGator.
When you’re just starting out it’s pointless going for a more expensive plan. Start with the basics and scale up your plans as your site grows. Both providers offer affordable basic rates, but as you can see above HostGator’s are generally a little cheaper.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – Value for Money: The Verdict
HostGator is slightly better value for money than GoDaddy. Firstly, HostGator has generally cheaper price plans overall than GoDaddy, and secondly, it offers a Cloud Hosting plan, which GoDaddy does not. So, you can see you get more for your money with HostGator.
HostGator vs GoDaddy Hosting: Conclusion
HostGator tops our rankings for a reason. Their size has allowed to strengthen every aspect of their service, from user support to value for money. In pure hosting terms it’s comfortably ahead of GoDaddy and we wholeheartedly recommend it.
But — and it’s a real but — GoDaddy’s appeal is convenience. Whereas HostGator is purely a web hosting company, GoDaddy plies its trade in hosting, domain registration, and website building software. Bring those services into the equation and for some GoDaddy actually offers better value.
Website Builder Expert aims to provide you with honest data. That’s why we conduct our own research and obtain direct, personal insight. Analyses and graphics in this article are based on authentic sources cross-validated by our in-house experts.
We take great care to ensure the information we publish is reliable and accurate. However, WBE takes no responsibility for any inaccuracy in information supplied to us by users, research participants, or other entities.
Please note the insight contained within this article is for general information purposes only. We’re glad to answer any questions you may have about this article and its supporting research. For further information, please contact Website Builder Expert directly via email at info@websitebuilderexpert.com.
HostGator vs GoDaddy: FAQs
Which host is better value for money, HostGator or GoDaddy?
HostGator represents better value for money than GoDaddy, but only slightly. HostGator not only has cheaper price plans than GoDaddy overall, but it also offers a Cloud Hosting plan which GoDaddy doesn’t support, so you get more for your money with HostGator.
Which has the the better dedicated hosting?
GoDaddy is our recommended host for dedicated hosting. While HostGator is the best overall hosting provider, GoDaddy represents better value for money in this particular department, with dedicated hosting plans starting from just $69.99 compared to the starting price of $119.99 on HostGator.
Which has the best VPS hosting?
HostGator is the best overall hosting provider, and so it should come as no surprise it has better VPS hosting than GoDaddy. However, it’s also worth trying InMotion, which, in our user testing, we found to offer the best VPS hosting specifically.
Which has the best cloud hosting?
HostGator has the best cloud hosting, gaining 100% overall in our ‘types of hosting’ research which investigated the strength and depth of each provider’s hosting options. Our research also found 1&1 IONOS is the best option for pure cloud hosting.
Which is better for small business?
The best hosting provider for small businesses is HostGator. It’s the easiest provider to use and has the best up time of 99.99% so your business can get online more easily, and stay online for longer. You can see why it’s the chosen provider for 8 million domains today.
Are there better hosting providers out there?
Choosing the best hosting provider depends on your needs. For instance, Bluehost is best for WordPress specific hosting, InMotion is best for Shared and VPS hosting, but HostGator is still the best overall. Finding the cheapest hosting provider is also important, especially for small businesses looking to stay within a tight budget.
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