GoDaddy vs. Bluehost: Which One Should You Use?

In this age of digitization, it is pretty common to have an online presence in the form of a website – whether you are an individual professional, have a startup or have a medium- to a large-sized enterprise.

And, since website maintenance and hosting requires specific skills, you would not want to stress about these things by getting this done by a third-party service provider.

You are also more likely to go with a web hosting company that has been doing business in the industry for quite some time and is well known and trusted by many businesses globally.

This is where two popular hosting providers – Bluehost and GoDaddy – come in.

Bluehost (founded in 1996) and GoDaddy (established in 1997) have been doing business in the industry for over 19 years each. It is thus difficult to choose between these two web hosts in terms of their vast hosting experience.

Hence, you will need to know the different features and functionalities offered by each to make an informed decision based on your hosting requirements.

While Bluehost is owned by the renowned Endurance International Group (EIG), GoDaddy does not fall under any such group.

EIG is known to have a vast pool of web hosts under it, including other popular names like iPage and Hostgator.

The fact that Bluehost has hosted over two million sites so far is a testimony to its focus on hosting services.

GoDaddy is a prominent name when it comes to domain registration as well. In 2014, GoDaddy reached a significant milestone of having more than 59 billion domain names under its management and, thereby, becoming the world’s largest ICANN-accredited registrar.

GoDaddy is also known for its cheap shared hosting plans, while Bluehost is not far behind regarding affordability for shared hosting plans.

Both web hosts also offer VPS hosting, WordPress hosting, dedicated server hosting, and so on.

While Bluehost only offers Linux hosting services, GoDaddy gives you the option to select between Linux hosting or Windows hosting.

Moreover, GoDaddy has won several awards for its services, such as the Gold Stevie Award for computer services (in 2012) and Bulby award for best use of a single letter domain.

Bluehost has also won a few awards, such as the Best Budget Hosting, Best Web Hosting Company, and Best Affordable Hosting from HostReview.

Since both have a vast amount of experience and offer similar award-winning services, we will help you understand these providers better and simplify your decision by comparing the hosting features and services offered by Bluehost and GoDaddy and their different hosting plans in this article.

Uptime. One of the keys to success for an online business is the availability of its website and associated features at all times.

While GoDaddy does give an uptime guarantee of 99.99%, Bluehost does not give any such uptime guarantee.

And, having used Bluehost for a couple of websites, we can say that the uptime percentage is indeed around 99.99% in real time. The actual uptime percentage of GoDaddy has often fallen slightly short of 99.99%, but it is still that good.

Reliability. GoDaddy has a massive data center located in Phoenix, while Bluehost has its data center based in Utah.

The Bluehost data center supports mirrored storage backup, UPS power backup, diesel generator, and several other power-related features.

The GoDaddy data center also supports diesel generators and uninterrupted power supply and ensures a high speed of about 20 gigabits per second by being connected to an optical fiber DWDM Ethernet backbone.

Performance. The time it takes for your website pages to load is also critical to create a positive impression about your site.

The maximum time was taken to respond to a page load request by a GoDaddy hosted server has been found to be quite high compared to that of a server hosted by BlueHost, especially during a surge in site traffic.

During testing with small traffic sites, it was revealed that Bluehost manages to give a load time of fewer than 2.4 seconds and GoDaddy goes past 2.6 seconds for the same.

Bluehost servers run on AMD power centers, while GoDaddy servers run on Intel Core i7 processors. Both also manage to deliver good performance for their respective websites.

Opinion on Bluehost and GoDaddy Performance

Website Builder. To build a website, Bluehost offers you the Weebly site builder or the goMobi mobile website builder. You can easily create a website without any coding knowledge by using the drag-and- drop functionality of Weebly.

You can also use Weebly for free to create a simple website of up to six pages. However, if you want some advanced features, such as password protection for your web pages and custom themes, then you can upgrade your Weebly tool to a paid plan of around $8.99 per month.

GoDaddy does not offer any free version of its website building tool, with prices starting at $1 per month (for a personal plan which is pretty cheap).

The GoDaddy website builder is highly popular with several amazing easy-to- use features and the resulting website is likely to be more attractive than you can build using the Bluehost site builder.

Security. Bluehost impresses us with its comprehensive set of security features that consist of hotlink protection and different anti-spam tools, such as Apache Spam Assassin, Spam Experts, and Spam Hammer.

It also offers CloudFare to provide enhanced security in the form of SSL and protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

Bluehost also supports password-protected directories, IP address blacklist creation, filter creation for email accounts and users, and management of digital certificates and private keys. And, your site administrators will feel secure in accessing the configuration files with the provision of the Secure Shell (SSH) access.

You can even make use of the SiteLock Domain Security which starts at around $1.67 per month.

With GoDaddy, security comes at an additional cost in the form of SiteLock which starts at around $17.88 per year. Using this option, you are entitled to app scanning, spam and malware monitoring, and a site verification certificate. It even helps to identify network vulnerabilities and to remove malware.

MySQL Database GoDaddy gives you access to limited MySQL databases, with its shared hosting plans, while Bluehost offers access to unlimited MySQL databases for all its plans.

Also, GoDaddy offers considerably fewer email accounts, with its various hosting plans, compared to Bluehost.

Backup. While both hosting providers enable you to conduct manual backups as part of your hosting account, they differ regarding their automated backup options. Bluehost gives you the option to make automatic backups from the cPanel (standard control panel).

Such an option is not available with GoDaddy.

Managed WordPress Hosting. Neither GoDaddy nor Bluehost requires you to install the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) because they come pre-installed with it.

This allows you to quickly start with the WordPress platform and create pages, posts, galleries, and so on. Both also offer automatic software and plug-in updates, around the clock support, and so on.

Both web hosts offer four different WordPress hosting plans. These are compared below:

GoDaddy Basic – at $3.99 per month, with 10GB storage and no IP address, for one website, and to handle about 25,000 monthly visitors.

GoDaddy Deluxe – at $4.49 per month, with 15GB storage and no IP address, for one website, and to handle about 1,00,000 monthly visitors.

GoDaddy Ultimate – at $7.99 per month, with 30GB storage and no IP address, for two websites, and to handle about 4,00,000 monthly visitors.

GoDaddy Developer – at $13.99 per month, with 50GB storage and no IP address, for five websites, and to handle about 8,00,000 monthly visitors.

Bluehost Blogger – at $24.99 per month ($12.49 for the first month only), with 30GB storage and 1 IP address, for five websites, and to handle about 100 million monthly visitors.

Bluehost Professional – at $74.99 per month ($37.50 for the first month only), with 60GB storage and 1 IP address, for ten websites, and to handle about 300 million monthly visitors.

Bluehost Business – at $119.99 per month ($60 for the first month only), with 120GB storage and 1 IP address, for 20 websites, and to handle about 600 million monthly visitors.

Bluehost Enterprise – at $169.99 per month ($85 for the first month only), with 240GB storage and 1 IP address, for 30 websites, and to handle unlimited monthly visitors.

Clearly, GoDaddy’s WordPress hosting plans are cheaper than Bluehost. However, the Bluehost plans are more suited for higher traffic.

Ecommerce SolutionsWith the GoDaddy online store functionality, you can get your products listed and start selling them in no time. You get the ability to use and customize themes, build a mobile-friendly online store, create a shopping cart, use marketing tools, use SEO capabilities, and so on.

It also supports numerous payment methods, including credit cards, net banking, debit cards, and wallets. GoDaddy’s online premium store is available at $19.99 per month (annual subscription) or $29.99 per month (monthly subscription).

Bluehost also gives you access to a similar set of eCommerce features. You can use the Magneto application to create your online store, use the TransFirst payment gateway to accept payments from your customers, and use any of the different shopping carts, such as Agora, Cube Cart, Zen Cart, and OS Commerce.

Opinion on Bluehost and GoDaddy Key Features

Note: We shall only compare the Linux hosting plans offered by both, as Bluehost does not offer any Windows hosting plans. It should be noted that GoDaddy does offer Windows hosting plans.

The cheapest GoDaddy hosting plan is available at around $2.24 per month (GoDaddy Starter), while the most affordable Bluehost hosting plan is available at $3.95 per month (Bluehost Starter). Both these plans may prove sufficient if you are a beginner trying out any web host for the first time.

Types of Hosting Plans

Shared Hosting Plans We compare the GoDaddy shared hosting plans and Bluehost shared hosting plans below:

All the Bluehost shared plans use cPanel as their control panel for Linux hosting, while GoDaddy shared plans use cPanel for Linux hosting and Plesk for Windows hosting.

With Bluehost shared hosting, you can buy SiteLock Security at $1.99 per month (annual subscription), and with GoDaddy shared hosting, you can opt for the same at $1.49 per month (1-year subscription).

Bluehost Starter – at $3.95 per month (3-year subscription) or $4.95 per month (2-year subscription) or $5.95 per month (1-year subscription), with 50GB disk space, 5 email accounts, and unlimited MySQL databases, for 1 website.

Bluehost Plus – at $6.95 per month (3-year subscription) or $7.95 per month (2-year subscription) or $8.95 per month (1-year subscription), with 150GB disk space, 100 email accounts, and unlimited MySQL databases, for 10 websites.

Bluehost Business Pro – at $14.95 per month (3-year subscription) or $16.95 per month (2-year subscription) or $19.95 per month (1-year subscription), with unmetered disk space, unlimited email accounts, and unlimited MySQL databases, for unlimited websites.

GoDaddy Starter – at $2.24 per month (3-year or 2-year or 1-year subscription) or $2.49 per month (1- month subscription), with 30GB disk space, 10 email accounts, and 1 x 1GB MySQL databases, for 1 website.

GoDaddy Economy – at $3.99 per month (3-year subscription) or $4.49 per month (2-year subscription) or $4.99 per month (1-year subscription) or $6.99 per month (3-month subscription), with 100GB disk space, 100 email accounts, and 10 x 1GB MySQL databases, for 1 website.

GoDaddy Deluxe – at $4.49 per month (3-year subscription) or $4.99 per month (2-year subscription) or $5.99 per month (1-year subscription) or $8.99 per month (monthly subscription), with unlimited disk space, 500 email accounts, and 25 x 1GB MySQL databases, for unlimited websites.

GoDaddy Ultimate – at $7.99 per month (3-year subscription) or $8.99 per month (2-year subscription) or $9.99 per month (1-year subscription) or $14.99 per month (monthly subscription), with Unlimited disk space, 1000 email accounts, and unlimited (x 1GB) MySQL databases, for unlimited websites.

VPS Hosting Plans Bluehost offers 4 VPS hosting plans in comparison to the 5 VPS hosting plans provided by GoDaddy, with almost similar storage, RAM, and pricing. However, GoDaddy offers unlimited bandwidth, while Bluehost offers bandwidth in the range of 1TB to 4TB.

Dedicated Hosting Plans GoDaddy offers five dedicated server hosting plans, while Bluehost offers around 3 of them. Also, GoDaddy offers a maximum storage of 2TB (as compared to Bluehost’s 1TB maximum) and maximum RAM of 32GB (as compared to Bluehost’s 16GB maximum).

While Bluehost offers a bandwidth of 15TB (with a Bluehost Premium), GoDaddy offers unlimited bandwidth with all its dedicated plans. The pricing range for both web hosts is almost similar, though you get cheaper options for dedicated hosting with GoDaddy.

Money Back Guarantee Both web hosts offer a money back guarantee period, which means that they are confident about the services they offer.

While GoDaddy allows you to seek your money back within a period of 45 days, if you are unsatisfied, Bluehost only allows the same for 30 days (pro-rated refund policy).

The other difference is that GoDaddy offers this money back guarantee only for its annual subscription plans.

Opinion on Hosting Plans Pricing

Both web hosts offer the industry standard cPanel, which has a user-friendly interface, as the control panel.

GoDaddy also allows you to use the Parallels Plesk Panel, as it also supports Windows hosting which Bluehost does not. Since the cPanel is an industry standard control panel, users can get used to its working style pretty quickly.

Moreover, you can use the one-click installer functionality to install WordPress and various other applications for both hosting service providers. (See the Mojo marketplace for Bluehost and GoDaddy marketplace for GoDaddy.)

Opinion on Ease of Use

Both web hosts offer a variety of options to get in touch with their customer support team at any time of the day or night.

If it is an emergency, you can easily contact their support teams by using a toll-free telephone number. And, if you are not in a hurry to get the issue resolved, you can still get quick replies through both web hosts’ live chat option.

Alternatively, you can even use the ticketing system or email both hosting providers.

Having hosted sites with both these web hosts, we can share that GoDaddy’s support team responses have been delayed on quite a few occasions.

The Bluehost support team’s response time has been consistently good.

Opinion on User Support

Note: It may not be an excellent idea to rely entirely on the reviews posted by different customers online for any web host. However, they do help you understand which issues or which advantages of a particular host are being brought up again and again.

Negative Reviews for Bluehost and GoDaddy

For GoDaddy, most of the negative reviews refer to the considerable amount of time taken by its support team to respond during real-time crisis situations.

And it is not just the first-time response, rather the time taken to arrive at a solution for customer’s issues.

For Bluehost, a lot of customer reviews refer to the disadvantage of having to install plenty of add-ons for several functionalities. Also, many customers are requesting that Bluehost starts offering monthly shared hosting plans.

Positive Reviews for Bluehost and GoDaddy

There are plenty of positive reviews from newbies who found it extremely easy to build a site when using GoDaddy’s site builder and to get their site hosted with GoDaddy’s most basic plan (the starter plan).

For Bluehost, the positive reviews are mostly reserved for the VPS and dedicated server plans. With these plans the server performance and availability of unlimited MySQL databases and emails have been praised a lot.

Also, special mention has been made about Bluehost’s terrific security and customer support in most reviews.

The following are reasons to choose Bluehost over GoDaddy:

• Unlimited MySQL databases and email accounts with several plans
• Enhanced security
• Great technical and customer support
• Ability to deliver high uptime, even for increased levels of traffic

The following are reasons to Choose GoDaddy over Bluehost:

• Support for Windows hosting
• Cheaper prices
• More products and features
• Longer money back guarantee period of 45 days

It is clear that if you are a total newbie and just want to get started with a site, without having any technical knowledge, GoDaddy proves to be a much cheaper and more convenient option.

Also, if you are looking for a Windows hosting platform, GoDaddy is the one to choose.

However, if your website is getting lots of traffic and you are looking for reliability and improved performance, then Bluehost seems to be the ideal web host for your needs.

If you are looking for an alternative to Bluehost, you need not look beyond one of its sister sites, including Hostgator which is also owned by EIG.

In terms of support, scalability, and high traffic management, Hostgator is not bad as well. If you are looking for a low-cost alternative to GoDaddy to start a basic website, then you can get it hosted on Dreamhost.

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Do you have any prior experiences in using GoDaddy or Bluehost? Has this comparison answered any queries that you had or do you still have any questions? Please feel free to post any comments or share your experiences in the comments section below.