Hostinger vs GoDaddy: Web Hosting Giants Go Head-to-Head 2023

⏳ Do you want to skip the read and get right to my pick in this Hostinger vs GoDaddy comparison? The better web hosting provider for most people is Hostinger.

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Introduction to my Hostinger vs GoDaddy comparison test:

So Hostinger vs GoDaddy – who is the better web hosting provider?

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, including the way products and services are delivered to consumers. Before, we used to capitalise on brick-and-mortar retail. Now, we have a number of online retail hubs and even small businesses are putting up sites where they can sell their merchandise directly to customers.

As a result, the challenge that many entrepreneurs and business owners now have to face is about creating an engaging ecommerce site. Indeed, creating one entails hopping aboard a reliable hosting service.

In our Hostinger vs GoDaddy review, we will see how two of the most popular web hosting providers in the world stack up. We're evaluating both GoDaddy Hostinger in terms of features, functionality, practicality, as well as value for money.

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Quick Comparison Table of Hostinger vs GoDaddy

Criteria	🥇 Hostinger (My Pick!)	GoDaddy
Type of Hosting	Shared, WordPress, Cloud, and VPS Hosting	Shared, WordPress, Business, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting
Features	Storage: Starts at 30GB SSD Bandwidth: 100GB to Unlimited Number of Websites: Starts at 1 Databases: Starts at 2 MySQL Emails: Starts at 1 account	Storage: 100GB to Unlimited Bandwidth: Unmetered Number of Websites: Starts at 1 Databases: Starts at 1 MySQL Emails: 1-5 email accounts
Performance	LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare CDN, Custom Advanced Optimizations	Standard HDD, GoDaddy's own CDN available
Security Features	Free SSL certificates BitNinja Security Weekly Backups DDoS Protection	Free SSL certificate (with selected plans) Security scanner Daily backups DDoS Protection
Pricing and Plans	Starts at $1.39/month Check Pricing	Starts at $5.99/month Check Pricing
Money-Back Guarantee	30-day money-back guarantee	30-day money-back guarantee
Customer Support	24/7 Live Chat, Ticketing, Knowledgebase	24/7 Phone Support, Live Chat
Scalability	Easy plan upgrades, Cloud and VPS options	Easy plan upgrades, VPS and Dedicated options
User Reviews/Ratings	Generally positive	Mixed reviews
Environment Friendliness	Energy-efficient hardware	Not specified
My View	Best for users on a tight budget looking for a good balance of performance and features.	Best for users who want a range of products including domains, hosting, and website builder from a single provider.
Official Website	Visit Hostinger	Visit GoDaddy

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Overview:

Hostinger:

With 29 million users currently online, Hostinger began its run as Hosting Media in 2004. This Lithuanian hosting service is now used in almost 180 countries. The brand itself has been recognised for its push towards innovation and is now one of the most trusted tech brands and online service providers in Europe.

GoDaddy:

Considered one of the “grand old men” of the website creation and development industry, GoDaddy began offering site-building and hosting services in 1997. Since then, the Arizona-based company has diversified from just web hosting to offering its own domain registry, a domain appraisal tool called GoValue, and the online marketplace GoDaddy Auctions.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Ease of Use:

So Hostinger vs GoDaddy which is better in terms of ease of use?

Hostinger:

Hostinger definitely pushes for innovation – and one particular aspect that they have focused on is making things easier for their users. For example, the most recent iteration of the Hostinger user interface (UI) did away with the standard cPanel and replaced it with a user-friendlier management dashboard using intuitive technology. The end result: an engaging UI that puts everything within the user’s reach and is much easier to learn how to use.

GoDaddy:

Signing up is easy – it’s the waiting time between that and setting up that’s challenging. If you aren’t a fan of pop-ups and spam marketing (and, seriously, who is,) GoDaddy can give you a headache. The initialisation period that follows sign-up and initial log-in bombards new users with pop-up promotions for various add-ons to its standard packages. Still, once you’ve managed to get out of that phase of sign-up, the UI is quite easy to use and it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there.

Winner – Hostinger! We prefer our hosting services to be ad-free when we’re working with them, so Hostinger takes this ‘Ease of Use' in this Hostinger vs GoDaddy round.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Features:

Now that we've dealt with Ease of Use, which between Hostinger vs GoDaddy offers better features?

Types of Hosting:

Hostinger

Shared Hosting:

• Hostinger’s shared hosting is known for its affordability while still offering a range of features such as LiteSpeed caching, a free SSL certificate, and 99.9% uptime guarantee.
• They also offer a free domain for the first year, along with 24/7 customer support.

VPS and Dedicated Hosting:

• Hostinger provides VPS hosting with full root access, SSD storage, and a dedicated IP.
• Hostinger does not offer traditional dedicated hosting, but their VPS plans can cater to those needing more resources.

Specialized Hosting:

• Hostinger offers specialized WordPress hosting plans that come with WordPress acceleration, LiteSpeed Cache, and managed auto-updates.
• Additionally, Hostinger offers Minecraft hosting for gamers, which includes DDoS protection and full access to the gaming server.

GoDaddy

Shared Hosting:

• GoDaddy’s shared hosting comes with cPanel access, one-click application installs, and a free domain name with annual plans.
• GoDaddy also offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and 24/7 support.

VPS and Dedicated Hosting:

• GoDaddy’s VPS hosting includes full root access, allowing for customization and control over your server environment. They offer plans to cater to different performance needs.
• They also have dedicated server hosting with powerful configurations and features such as RAID-1 storage and unmetered bandwidth.

Specialized Hosting:

• GoDaddy provides Managed WordPress hosting, including automatic WordPress updates, daily backups, and access to thousands of free themes and plugins.
• They also offer WooCommerce hosting for e-commerce websites, with a free WooCommerce extension and storefront theme.

Domain Names:

Does Hostinger or GoDaddy allow you to register domains?

Hostinger:

Regardless of the plan you sign up for, Hostinger will only give you one domain name free. In case you signed up for either Premium or Business hosting and need additional domains or domain names, you’ll need to shell out an additional $8.99 a year.

GoDaddy:

Unlike Hostinger GoDaddy doesn't believe in free domain. The service allows for just one domain per subscription and you need to pay an annual renewal fee. While it does offer an option with multiple domains and domain names, you may recoil and rethink your decision to go with it as the prices are on the high side.

Email Rating:

Which has a better email service – GoDaddy vs Hostinger?

Hostinger:

Hostinger offers just one email address with its most basic subscription plan. However, those on either a Premium or Business subscription are allowed to create 100 email inboxes for their accounts, and that’s one reason to choose to pay a little more.

GoDaddy:

Compared to Hostinger GoDaddy offers between 100 and 500 emails for your account if you’re on the Economy or Deluxe plan. On the other hand, those on premium subscription plans are allowed to create an unlimited number of email addresses.

Databases:

Does Hostinger or GoDaddy let you manage databases?

Hostinger:

Single Web Hosting subscribers are entitled to only one MySQL database, but those on more expensive plans can create an unlimited number of databases for their sites.

GoDaddy:

Compared to Hostinger GoDaddy's average hosting plan accords 1GB per database. However, how many databases you may create will depend on the service package you signed up for. For the most part, users get 10 databases on an Economy plan, 25 for a Deluxe plan, and an unlimited number in the higher subscription tiers.

Applications:

Which enables more apps integrations – GoDaddy vs Hostinger?

Hostinger:

Hostinger’s one-click installer enables users to download, install, and use a number of popular software packages and applications. This includes WordPress and several ecommerce solutions such as Magento and Squarespace. In addition, Hostinger subscribers who primarily use WordPress as a builder will be at an advantage, as they can use the full range of applications and plugins available on that building platform.

GoDaddy:

GoDaddy allows users to install third-party building platforms like Joomla and Drupal, as well as ecommerce-specific builders like Magento and Squarespace.

WordPress:

Both Hostinger GoDaddy do work with WordPress and they both allow you to take full advantage of the many sub-apps and plugins available for the CMS builder. It should be noted at this point that GoDaddy has a bit of an edge here as standard subscriptions already include updates for core software and security.

Site Staging:

What about staging environments – who has a better feature in GoDaddy vs Hostinger?

Hostinger:

Unfortunately, Hostinger does not have provisions for the creation of test sites in its management dashboard. Users may find that staging is only available if the default site builder used for their site is WordPress, as the building platform has its own staging tool built into its UI.

GoDaddy:

You pretty much get the same deal with GoDaddy, as staging appears to be exclusive to WordPress shared and managed hosting. Also, keep in mind that this hosting service has its own specific procedure to follow when it comes to creating a staging site using the CMS ware.

Website Builder:

When it comes to creating websites, who wins in GoDaddy vs Hostinger?

Hostinger:

Not a fan of WordPress.org? Hostinger has you covered with its proprietary site builder Zyro. The stand-alone building platform enables users to build a site with it in minutes: just choose a template, customise it to your liking, and then publish online.

GoDaddy:

Compared to Hostinger GoDaddy website builder is nothing fancy. The very basic builder doesn’t give you that much to work with in terms of functionality and very little in the way of template variety.

To be fair, however, GoDaddy’s builder UI has something in common with WIX: it’s driven by artificial intelligence, making it quite intuitive. All you need to do is answer a few questions to create a very simple yet functional website.

eCommerce:

Let's talk about how our web hosts GoDaddy vs Hostinger support eCommerce.

Hostinger:

The platform offers ecommerce-specific hosting plans. These usually include applications for order, inventory, and tax management, along with provisions for monitoring shipping and delivery.

A free SSL certificate is already included across all subscription packages, but the coverage is quite basic. If you pay a little extra, Hostinger will upgrade your basic SSL to a Comodo SSL certificate which allows for ample security for ecommerce sites.

GoDaddy:

Just starting out on your ecommerce journey? GoDaddy has you covered. Its Starter eCommerce plan offers the ability to offer up to 100 products, over 40 payment gateways, as well as integration with social media marketplaces; you can also create multiple pages in a number of categories. The Premium ecommerce plan offers an expanded version of these features, along with multiple language support, couponing, inventory management, and advanced stock control.

Either Hostinger or GoDaddy's subscription packages include a free SSL certificate.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Security:

How does GoDaddy vs Hostinger assure your website's security? What about backups – how frequent are they with Hostinger or GoDaddy?

Hostinger

SSL:

• Hostinger offers free SSL certificates with all of its hosting plans, ensuring that the data transferred between your site and its visitors is encrypted.

Backups:

• Hostinger provides weekly backups for lower-tier plans and daily backups for higher-tier plans, like Business Web Hosting and Cloud Hosting.

Malware Protection:

• Hostinger's hosting plans include protection from malware and DDoS attacks.

Additional Security Features:

• Hostinger uses Bitninja or Imunify360 (Web Application Firewall) on all shared and cloud hosting plans for comprehensive, real-time protection against a variety of threats.
• Hostinger also offers Cloudflare integration for added DDoS protection.

GoDaddy

SSL:

• GoDaddy offers free SSL certificates for the first year with its hosting plans. After the first year, SSL certificates are available as a paid add-on.

Backups:

• GoDaddy offers daily backups with one-click restore as an add-on service.

Malware Protection:

• GoDaddy offers Website Security, which includes continuous malware scanning and removal services.

Additional Security Features:

• GoDaddy uses firewalls and DDoS protection to safeguard websites from various attacks.
• It also offers a website backup service that includes ransomware protection.

Winner – Draw! This match is levelled, with both web hosting providers GoDaddy vs Hostinger offering excellent features.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Performance:

In this GoDaddy vs Hostinger comparison, how your website performs is crucial to attract traffic and rank high on the search engines. So which between Hostinger vs GoDaddy has better performance?

Performance Summary Table for Hostinger vs GoDaddy

Criteria	Hostinger	GoDaddy
Server Locations	Asheville, North Carolina, USA Singapore Sao Paulo, Brazil Vilnius, Lithuania Amsterdam, Netherlands London, UK	Phoenix, Arizona, USA Los Angeles, California, USA Chicago, Illinois, USA Ashburn, Virginia, USA Amsterdam, Netherlands Singapore
Speed (Load Time)	Approx. 350ms	Approx. 500ms
Uptime	99.99%	99.97%
Server Response Time (US, East Coast)	Approx. 65ms	Approx. 75ms
Server Response Time (Europe, London)	Approx. 40ms	Approx. 100ms
Server Response Time (Asia, Singapore)	Approx. 170ms	Approx. 180ms
Bandwidth	100GB to Unmetered depending on the plan	Unmetered
Webspace Limits	Starts from 30GB	Starts from 100GB
Global CDN	Yes, through Cloudflare	Yes, through Cloudflare
Scalability	Scalable with plan upgrades	Scalable with plan upgrades

Server Locations:

Where are the data centres of Hostinger vs GoDaddy located?

Hostinger:

Servers are located in seven countries. Specifically, its servers are located in Lithuania, the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia.

GoDaddy:

Primary servers are located in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Users can choose the server closest to their physical location for better site performance. Note also that compared to Hostinger GoDaddy's server support teams are localized, so check the website to see if there’s a GoDaddy team servicing your country.

Speed Results:

Which offers better speed – Hostinger vs GoDaddy?

Hostinger:

One of the fastest in the business as it clocks in at 345 milliseconds.

GoDaddy:

Compared to Hostinger, times are somewhat slower. To illustrate, sites hosted via GoDaddy will load in an average of 2.50 seconds.

Average Uptime, Bandwidth, and Webspace limits/Storage:

Hostinger:

Unfortunately, fast doesn’t always mean reliable. For instance, in Hostinger’s case, it falls short of the global standard uptime as its uptime only hits 99.91%

Likewise, while its Premium and Business subscriptions offer unlimited amounts of both bandwidth and storage, the most basic account only gives users 100GB of bandwidth and 10GB of storage.

GoDaddy:

Unfortunately, relative to Hostinger GoDaddy also falls behind the industry standard. Its uptime only clocks in at 99.90%.

On the upside, though, bandwidth and data storage are both unlimited regardless of your subscription tier.

Winner – Hostinger! In terms of this ‘Performance' round of this GoDaddy vs Hostinger showdown, we’re giving the win to Hostinger.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Support and Resources:

Hostinger:

Multiple channel support is available 24/7 and it has the additional advantage of having a multilingual support team who can talk to users in their native language for clarity.

Moreover, it has an extensive and regularly updated knowledge base.

GoDaddy:

24/7 technical support has long been one of GoDaddy’s strongest points, and it continues to be offered across the board to all subscription packages. You can get in touch with the support team via phone or live chat and they are pretty much online all the time – and you can get localized service. However, they can get very techie on users: don’t expect easy answers when it comes to more complicated technical issues.

Compared to Hostinger GoDaddy's only real issue here, however, is that the knowledge base is updated sporadically.

Winner – Hostinger! We’re going with Hostinger for the support round as getting local support is always a good thing.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy Pricing:

In this GoDaddy vs Hostinger comparison, the cost is something that concerns every consumer. So which between Hostinger or GoDaddy offers better value for money?

Quick Comparison Table for Hostinger vs GoDaddy Pricing Plans and Transparency:

Criteria	Hostinger			GoDaddy
	Single	Premium	Business	Economy	Deluxe	Ultimate	Maximum
Initial Price	Starts from $1.39/month	Starts from $2.59/month	Starts from $3.99/month	$5.99/month	$7.99/month	$12.99/month	$19.99/month
Renewal Price	$2.99/month	$3.99/month	$7.99/month	$8.99/month	$11.99/month	$16.99/month	$24.99/month
Free Domain	No	Yes (1 year)	Yes (1 year)	Yes (1 year)	Yes (1 year)	Yes (1 year)	Yes (1 year)
Free Trial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Refund Policy	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days
Money-Back Guarantee	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days
Check Pricing	Check Hostinger Pricing			Check GoDaddy Pricing

Plans

Here's a more detailed look at how Hostinger or GoDaddy's pricing plans are:

Hostinger:

As of 2023, price ranges for Hostinger's subscription plans are as follows:

• Shared web hosting: $0.99 – $3.99 per month.

• WordPress hosting: $2.15 – $14.95 per month.

• VPS hosting: $3.95 – $29.95 per month.
• Cloud hosting: $7.45 – $37 per month.
• Windows VPS hosting: $26 – $250 per month.
• Minecraft hosting: $8.95 – $29.95 per month.

>> Check for our latest Hostinger discount code pricing plans <<

GoDaddy:

GoDaddy currently has four shared hosting plans and the standard monthly price range runs between $5.99 (Economy) and $19.99 (Maximum.)

The platform also offers WordPress hosting at the cost of $6.99 per year. The service is quite popular with the developer community and those into eCommerce.

VPS plans for enterprise-grade sites will set you back between 4.99 and $69.99 monthly.

>> Check for our latest Godaddy discount code pricing plans <<

Hostinger vs GoDaddy Free trial, refund policy, and money-back guarantee:

Which between Hostinger or GoDaddy offers a free trial, refunds, and money-back guarantee? Please also check the legal page for Hostinger and legal page for GoDaddy for detailed information on Free trial, refund policy, and money-back guarantee.

Hostinger:

Like many of its contemporaries, Hostinger no longer offers a trial period. It does, however, have a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can ask for a refund within the first 30 days if you aren't satisfied with the service.

GoDaddy:

Compared to Hostinger GoDaddy offers a free plan – but you don’t get your own domain. Instead, the *.godaddysites.com suffix will be appended to your site URL and in-platform ads will be scattered throughout your site until you decide to go premium.

It’s also one of the last platforms that allows you try before you buy: GoDaddy’s free trial runs for a month. If you’re satisfied with the service, you may opt to sign for a premium account or, if not, you will need to downgrade to the free – ad-studded – edition.

While GoDaddy does have a money-back guarantee, it only applies to cancellations of annual contracts. Note that refunds are only given if the subscription is cancelled prior to the end of the current billing cycle.

Winner – Hostinger! Hostinger has the lowest basic prices and best value for money in this Hostinger vs GoDaddy ‘Pricing' comparison.

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Hostinger vs GoDaddy User Reviews

Hostinger

Hostinger is recognized for its low-cost hosting solutions and performance-oriented features.

Trustpilot

• Hostinger has an excellent rating on Trustpilot, with a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
• Many users praise the affordability of Hostinger’s plans, making it a favorite among startups and small businesses.
• Hostinger's customer support is often lauded for its quick response times and helpfulness.
• Some users have expressed disappointment with certain limitations and upsells.

Reddit

• On Reddit, Hostinger is often recommended for those looking for budget-friendly hosting without compromising on performance.
• Users appreciate the ease of use and setup, and the inclusion of necessary features in the basic plans.
• Criticisms include occasional server downtime and limitations on the cheaper plans.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is best known as a domain registrar, but it also offers a range of web hosting services.

Trustpilot

• GoDaddy holds a rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot.
• Users praise the ease of domain registration and management with GoDaddy.
• Some users have had negative experiences with customer support and find it lacking in responsiveness and helpfulness.
• Others have raised concerns about aggressive upselling and high renewal prices.

Reddit

• On Reddit, opinions about GoDaddy are mixed. While some users appreciate it for domain registration, there's a general consensus that its hosting services are not on par with competitors.
• Performance, especially during high traffic, is often cited as an issue.
• Customer support is frequently mentioned as a weak point for GoDaddy.

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Comparison Winner: Hostinger or GoDaddy?

After analysing each of our contestants in this Hostinger or GoDaddy battle, we conclude that it was a close fight. But if we’re going to talk about which service works better for regular websites and eCommerce websites, we are giving the Hostinger vs GoDaddy showdown to Hostinger as Comparison Winner.

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Personal Experience with Hostinger and GoDaddy

Signing Up

Hostinger

Hostinger's sign-up process is very user-friendly. The website is modern and clean, making it easy to choose a hosting plan. The checkout process is smooth with clear pricing.

GoDaddy

Signing up with GoDaddy is also relatively easy, but they have a tendency to upsell many additional services during the checkout process, which can be a bit overwhelming for beginners.

Setting Up a Website

Hostinger

Hostinger provides hPanel, its own version of the control panel, which is very intuitive and easy to use. The auto-installer makes it easy to install popular applications like WordPress with just a few clicks.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy offers cPanel for Linux hosting and Plesk for Windows hosting. It’s relatively easy to set up a website, but the interface feels more cluttered compared to Hostinger’s.

Performance

Hostinger

Hostinger generally has excellent performance with fast loading times, thanks to LiteSpeed web servers. They also offer Cloudflare CDN integration, which is beneficial for global audiences.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s performance is adequate but not as impressive as Hostinger. Their servers are stable, but the loading times can sometimes be on the slower side.

Customer Support

Hostinger

Hostinger offers 24/7 customer support through live chat and tickets. The response times are usually fast, and the support staff is knowledgeable and helpful.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy also offers 24/7 customer support, but their service can be inconsistent. Phone support is available, which can be useful for more complicated issues.

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Conclusion and Recommendations to my Hostinger vs GoDaddy Comparison Test:

Now, let's wrap up our GoDaddy vs Hostinger comparison;

What is Hostinger best for?

Hostinger stands out for its excellent performance and user-friendly interface. It's an ideal choice for those looking for high-quality hosting at a reasonable price, particularly for smaller websites and projects.

What is GoDaddy best for?

GoDaddy is more of an all-rounder, offering a wide range of services beyond hosting. It’s a convenient option for those looking to have domains, hosting, and other services in one place, but its performance isn’t as strong as Hostinger's.

Hostinger and GoDaddy Alternatives:

Hostinger vs GoDaddy Final word:

Hostinger may have come away as the winner in our Hostinger vs GoDaddy comparison, but we recommend that you shop around online for a hosting service that suits your particular requirements.

Check for the best Hostinger pricing

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FAQs:

Does either GoDaddy or Hostinger have a free hosting plan?

GoDaddy does, but the features it offers are quite limited and in-house advertising will be placed on your site. Also, a *.godaddysites.com suffix will be appended to your URL.

Which between Hostinger or GoDaddy offer a staging feature?

Not a proprietary one, but both Hostinger or GoDaddy use the one-click staging tool that comes when you install WordPress.

Can I use a different site builder with Hostinger or GoDaddy?

Yes. Both Hostinger GoDaddy have their own proprietary site-building platforms ,and you may also choose to use an ecommerce-specific building tool.

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That’s all for now:

If you've read our Hostinger vs GoDaddy comparison review up to here, we are grateful. Remember always to keep abreast of the latest developments on website builders, eCommerce, and other articles, such as the ones below;

• Hostinger Review
• GoDaddy Hosting Review

Please share any comments below!